Welcome to Son Billy Village! (3)
“You knew he wouldn’t die, didn’t you!?”
“No. I really killed him because his breath stank. Ugh, I almost threw up.”
Even though I’d grown pretty confident in my stomach’s tolerance, I just couldn’t take it.
“Can you fight?”
“I-I can… but….”
“During the train ride I could match your pace a bit, but this is different. I was planning to go for total annihilation, but looking at the state you’re in, that seems impossible.”
As proof, I flicked a small ember at the village chief’s head, which was slowly regenerating its shape. The ember burst into flames in an instant. As if declaring that such a head was unnecessary, the body scuttled away like a spider and vanished into the fog.
“Uh….”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen something that can survive decapitation.”
In cases like this, you had to either shatter the heart, burn the entire body, or smash it to pieces with a consecrated cold weapon.
“There are three ways to kill it.”
“Then—!”
“Unfortunately, none of them are possible here.”
I wasn’t entirely sure, but in this fog, it seemed like the kind of creature that could regenerate as long as even one part of its severed body remained intact—like a planarian. If I tried to deal with them one by one with limited firepower, it would never end.
“Still, the things themselves aren’t that strong. Their grotesque appearance is the only thing intimidating. You can handle them.”
“B-but….”
“Just trust me a little.”
“I-I can really trust you, right?”
“Of course. I never lie when it comes to exorcism.”
Unless the target isn’t actually an exorcism subject.
“Then… I’ll trust you. So please, you have to help me.”
“Geez, I said I’d help, so stop worrying already. We’ll split up. Focus on restricting their movements rather than killing them. In the meantime, I’ll destroy their altar.”
To maintain a world like this, that central point was absolutely necessary. Erasing the traces they’d left behind would require names, but burning everything to ash didn’t require such tedious effort.
“I’ll head to the ch—”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Leona suddenly let out a strange battle cry and charged forward. I froze, unable to even finish saying I was going to the chief’s house.
“Damn it! We need a way to confirm each other’s positions!”
No matter how much I yelled, there was no way she could hear me as she ran deeper into the fog.
“Haa.”
What choice did I have? I had to run too.
The moment I plunged into the fog, that filthy sensation I’d felt briefly before washed over me again. My vision and senses were thrown into chaos. I recalled what that ghost bastard had done.
Tiny particles of light scattered from my body and began circling around me. Then they burst—pop, pop—and the embers contained within spread outward.
“F-fire!”
“Cut me! Cut my body!”
I didn’t need to see what they looked like to know, but these things screamed just like humans. Why the hell were they eating people?
Bang! Bang! Thud!
Every time Horizon spat fire, the sound of flesh being torn followed, but I didn’t bother with confirmation kills. My only goal was reaching the chief’s house.
“Kyahahahaha!”
“Huh?”
The laughter was so bizarre I actually stopped running and turned my head. For a split second, the craziest woman I knew came to mind, but there was no way she could be here.
“Tsk. I need to finish this quickly and go help.”
I moved even faster, if only to rescue Leona, who seemed to have unfortunately run into something strange.
“Kraaap!”
A massive silhouette burst through the fog and lunged at me. To anyone who charged in so recklessly, I had no choice but to give them a precious gift.
“This’ll be hot.”
Since I didn’t have any grenades, I generously handed over one of my carefully crafted Creative Divine Arts, tucking it right into its embrace.
“Huh…?”
Kwaaaaaang!
“Whoa?”
It seemed adding my own blood had triggered a chain reaction.
“Damn it! Save at least one of McDowell’s fingers! It’ll take a while, but as long as it’s there, that’s enough!”
“Aaaagh! M-my legs!”
“M-my eyes! Kerek!?”
It looked like some of the ones nearby had gotten caught in the blast too. Since I’d drawn their attention properly, nothing else should dare approach me carelessly.
Pop, pop, pop, pop!
Suddenly, particles began exploding in rapid succession. Moving purely on instinct rather than senses, I jerked my head back just as an arrow whistled past. It was a proper killing arrow, no longer the blunt kind from before.
Tap, tap.
I heard movement on the roof for a brief moment, but that alone wasn’t enough to pinpoint the source.
“What the hell…!”
It had to be the same bastard who’d shot the coachman. I zigzagged to avoid the arrows while deliberately heading toward where the interference was growing stronger. Any half-decent thinker would have stayed hidden, but the so-called leader must have had his pride scratched and decided to show himself.
Now not only arrows but even rocks were flying at me.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Eat a damn rock, you bastard!”
I snatched the rock flying toward the spear-wielding bastard’s mouth and shoved it in instead, then generously added some fire to his head as a bonus. But right after I passed him, I heard the sound of something being sliced.
“Haa… haa….”
How long had it been since I last breathed this hard? I mentally patted myself on the back for never skipping training despite how annoying it was, then spotted some creatures who had built a barricade and were waiting for me.
“There you are, you damn bastard.”
Because we were at the center of the fog, it had grown thinner and my vision cleared. Behind the barricade, I saw a figure drawing a bow. While everyone else had four eyes, this one had a single large eye and was boldly nocking an arrow right in front of me. It was clearly taunting me—come and get me.
Well then, I’d oblige.
“With Creative Divine Arts.”
I still had two of the priest grenades—no, Creative Divine Arts—left after using them sparingly. When I’d first used it, I’d detonated it inside that giant’s chest, so only Leona and I knew what it looked like.
The incoming arrow and the Creative Divine Arts crossed paths. The perfectly aimed arrow made my head snap back.
Kwaaaaaang!
Beyond where I fell, a massive explosion roared. It seemed to have detonated properly thanks to me packing it with as much divine power as possible in a situation where it was hard to receive holy energy. With shotgun pellets embedded in it too, recovery would be difficult for a while.
“Ptui.”
I stood up from my fallen position and spat out the arrow I’d caught in my mouth. Catching arrows with your teeth was apparently necessary if you wanted to survive as an exorcist priest. In that moment, I felt the tiniest bit grateful for whatever Homer had done.
Along with the explosion, the fog cleared, revealing other houses and one particularly luxurious residence.
I stepped over the shattered door that had been blown apart by the blast. A nauseating stench of blood hit me immediately. I’d wondered how nobles could eat here, but what I saw wasn’t nobles eating—it was nobles who had become the meal.
Their internal organs had already been removed, and the blood from these pig-like hanging corpses was being carefully collected and funneled into one place. The slaughterhouse itself was a kind of massive altar.
“N-no! Exorcist priest! Stop!”
Since I felt a little bad about blowing his head off just because his breath stank, I stopped for him once.
“Why? You expect me to stop after seeing this?”
“I-if you kill us now, you’ll be in danger too!”
“What kind of bullshit is that? The sooner I finish this, the safer I’ll be.”
“Kuhuhu… kuhuhuhu. You don’t know what kind of girl came with you!”
“……?”
The disciple of the Sword Star. A fairly talented woman. Being timid was a slight flaw, but she didn’t seem like much of a problem. Hmm. He seemed to know something.
“Yes. Go ahead and burn it…!”
“Thanks. I’ll burn it.”
Not sure what got into him, but since he told me to burn it, I set him on fire right away. The flames of divine power burned endlessly, fueled by demonic and evil energy. The chief was swallowed by the inferno, but the look on his face as he stared at me was strange.
“You foolish… exorcist priest. Die by that crazy… bitch.”
Spouting incomprehensible words until the very end, the chief turned to ash and vanished. It was the end of a monster that had completely fallen from humanity. The others in the village had probably all turned to powder and disappeared as well.
With a light heart, I stepped outside, and the rising sun came into view.
“Mr. Sun, you’ve worked ha—urk!?”
The moment I left the chief’s house and tried to deliver a casual closing remark, a chilling sensation struck me as my senses returned. I hurriedly rolled to dodge, then quickly stood up. A trickle of blood ran down my neck.
“Hah… just like the chief said. You really are a crazy bitch.”
The slightly timid black-haired, black-eyed swordswoman was gone. Her black eyes had turned a dark crimson, and her neatly tied ponytail had come undone, hair flying wildly.
“Ah… so you’re the one who took my toys?”
“Exorcism subjects aren’t toys, you dimwit.”
“The girl who shares this body is a dimwit, but I’m not.”
“Oh, is that so? Then who are you?”
“Fiona. The true owner of this body—and the one who will kill you!”
Swish!
Mid-conversation, she scattered the dirt she’d been holding, obscuring my vision.
“You think such cheap tricks will work on me!”
No. I knew they wouldn’t. But they created a small opening, and that opening was perfectly timed.
“Leona. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ll say one thing clearly. Never fight a divine power user at sunrise or sunset.”
Dawn symbolized new hope, and dusk symbolized the final blaze.
“You damn harlot. I’ll put you to sleep.”
This wasn’t some outdated relic of a possessor. There was something else, and I’d find out by hearing it directly.
Clang!
“What!?”
“Wondering why it didn’t cut?”
Fist and sword collided. Normally, I wouldn’t strike the blade edge head-on like this. But now it was different. The quality of the divine power that began at dawn was unlike anything from ordinary times.
Of course, there’s a time limit.
“Ugh!”
Fast. And precise. A sword style focused solely on slaughter, without the slightest hesitation. It was completely different from the honest and upright swordsmanship I’d glimpsed from Leona before.
I dodged a thrust aimed at my throat. But it didn’t end there—the blade changed direction and continued toward my neck without pause.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Before it could land, I closed the distance in an instant and lightly struck her wrist. If I’d hit with full power, her joint would have been completely destroyed, so I had no choice.
“Kikik. All that posturing, and in the end you still have a gentle heart—guek!?”
“Hm? What did you say?”
My follow-up strike landed squarely on her face. Her once-pretty nose seemed slightly crooked, but at that level, a magic user should recover just fine.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“You acted so tough, but you’re actually weaker than that McDowell bastard.”
“No! That’s not true!”
The more excited she became, the simpler her sword path grew. The ghostly, murderous sword from earlier vanished, replaced by wild, childish slashes.
The fact that he left her like this means he’s definitely not a demon.
That Yuri guy was definitely unpleasant, but when it came to demons and monsters, he and I were on the same side.
“After I kill you, I’ll kill McDowell too!”
“Before that, maybe learn how to control your emotions first.”
Crunch!
“Aaaagh!”
Eventually, the hand holding the sword was caught. When I applied pressure, her grip loosened and the sword fell.
I’ll have to start training her body properly from the beginning.
After putting me through all this trouble, if she didn’t become a proper exorcist priest, I’d be the one feeling wronged.
“Aaaagh!”
“Not even an animal, seriously.”
With her sword dropped and both arms sealed, she now tried to bite me with her mouth. Beyond mere killing intent, I could feel a mad obsession with slaughter.
“Let go! Let me go!”
“Letting go is hard, but I’ll give you something else instead.”
“Give me what?!”
“You…!”
I naturally released her hand. As the thrashing girl lost her balance, I quickly moved behind her.
“To the ground!”
Boom!
Grabbing her waist, I slammed her down with a German suplex.
“G-geek….”
Her red eyes returned to black. The problem was that she was foaming at the mouth, but seeing as she hadn’t taken a single wound while fighting the cannibals, holy water should at least heal her internal organs.
“Hmm….”
Twitching on the ground like a frog that had fallen from the sky. It seemed like something I’d have to keep secret.