The Saintess in the Butcher’s Den
I am here, in the darkness. How carefully I must have wandered through this nightmarish place. As I, Aria, crept breathlessly through the orchard that vibrated with the stench of rot, a freakishly wide, barren clearing appeared in my field of vision. In the very center of that clearing, a massive, grotesque lump of iron loomed, radiating an ominous presence.
Driven by a mixture of fear and curiosity, I took a step forward, but the moment I drew near, I gasped, my breath hitching in my throat. It was a pillar of some unknown metal—no, some material—so thick and massive it could have easily bound two full-grown men. The surface was coated in a dark, dried crimson, so thick with the blood and sticky fluids of countless victims that its original color was impossible to guess.
The most horrifying parts were the massive iron hooks and restraints protruding from the top. Dangling around those hooks were all sorts of spoils, like gruesome trophies from past victims. There was a scalp with the hair still attached, a half-rotted skull, and even a blood-stained necklace that must have been someone’s treasure.
"This is..." I choked back a wave of nausea and hurriedly looked away. 'This is no time for this. I have to turn the waterwheel... They said each person only needs to turn one!'
Just as I was about to turn my back on that horrific pillar and hurry away, I heard it. "Huk... haaak... ugh!" Someone’s ragged, fear-stricken breathing reached my ears. Following that, the sound of dry branches snapping and mud being trampled grew frantically closer, heading straight for the clearing where I stood. I reflexively threw myself behind a large boulder at the edge of the clearing.
The person who burst through the brush was the mage from the Fire School who had been boasting by the campfire earlier. But his appearance was wretched, his arrogance nowhere to be found. His red robes were shredded, and dark, thick blood poured from a long, deep gash on his back.
"Ahk... ugh..." The mage stumbled into the clearing, drooling, and my pupils dilated with madness behind the rock. I saw what was chasing him.
It had no form. But the air distorted, light refracted, and a silhouette like a transparent glass giant clung to the mage’s back. 'Could it be... is that the one?'
The moment I clamped a hand over my mouth, the transparent entity finally caught up. Feeling the overwhelming killing intent from behind, the mage screamed and whipped around.
"D-don't come any closer! You monster! I can do this! I can do it!" Terrified, weeping, and bleeding, the mage desperately raised his hands and began to chant. "Burn! You evil thing! Unquenchable hellfire of Muspelheim! I went to the Fire College—no, the Fire School—and my life changed, damn it!"
-9999 HP
Kwoooong! A pillar of fire as wide as a house erupted from his hands in a straight line. The fierce flames lit the clearing like high noon, pouring toward the transparent silhouette. But the entity’s reaction was far faster. Just before the flames could touch it, the silhouette twisted its body with unimaginable, grotesque speed, deftly dodging the trajectory of the fire. Then, from deep within the thick mist, a bone-chilling metallic sound rang out three times.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
With the sound of the bell, the transparent form distorting the air dissolved, revealing its horrific true appearance. It was the champion 'Jongur'—thin and hideously elongated, draped in blood-soaked rags. In one hand, he held a bizarre bell made from a human skull; in the other, he brandished a beast-bone club embedded with sharp thorns.
"Your talent for magic is quite impressive, mortal. But..." A voice like grinding metal leaked from Jongur’s mouth. "Unfortunately, your proficiency and practical application of incantations are far too sluggish."
Thwack! "Gyaaaak!" The killer’s bone club mercilessly crushed the mage’s shoulder. The mage was thrown to the ground with a wretched scream, writhing like a bug. Jongur grabbed the mage’s ankle as he struggled on the floor.
"No! No, no! Please, just let me live! I’ll give you all the magic stones and gold I have! Noooo!" Even as the mage clawed at the muddy ground, begging and threatening, Jongur didn't even listen. He dragged the mage like a sack of trash and stood before the massive steel pillar. He hoisted the mage’s body up, slammed him hard against the pillar, and pulled a massive iron stake from his waist, driving it straight through the mage’s collarbone.
"Gyaaaaaaaack!" The mage’s piercing scream tore through the sky of the rotten orchard. He hung suspended in the air, unable to move, writhing in agony as blood poured from him. Jongur flicked his blood-stained stake and looked up at the hanging mage.
"It is truly a pity. If this were a different time or a different dimension... those arrogant Outer Gods would have scouted a mage like you as an excellent slave. It is just your misfortune that you fell into a Sacrificial Festival where I need to fill my quota." He chuckled, lifting the skull bell. "I’m just a salaryman who has to do what he’s told from above, so please understand, mortal."
Clang. Clang. Clang. The bizarre bell rang three more times, and Jongur’s hideous form began to melt into the air with a shhh-ing sound, turning perfectly transparent and vanishing.
Watching the entire slaughter from behind the rock, I clamped my hand over my mouth, unable to even breathe properly. 'Is he gone...?' I waited for a long time, but I couldn't feel the killer’s presence. My gaze turned to the mage, who was hanging from the pillar, bleeding and moaning weakly. Claudette’s words came to mind: 'Even if you're impaled on the pillar, if someone approaches and frees you, you can run away again.'
'I have to save him, no matter what!' I forced my trembling legs to hold me and crawled out from behind the rock. I approached the base of the pillar, watching the surrounding mist with frantic caution.
"Ughhh..." The mage had already lost focus in his eyes due to the massive blood loss. "M-mage! Are you okay? I’ll get you down right now!" I grabbed his legs and struggled with all my might to pull the iron stake out. Just then, the mage, barely clinging to consciousness, lifted his head, his eyes widening with madness and terror.
"B-behind you..." The moment he whispered that, squeezing the words out through blood-frosted lips, a chill ran down my spine.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The bone-chilling bell rang three times, barely a foot behind my back. The unpleasant warmth and the stench of rotten blood from behind pierced through me.
"Ah. Finally found you. The top-priority target my employer so desperately desired."
"The most valuable offering. It’s a shame you haven't yet realized that the shallow altruism of mortals is nothing but poison in this survival game."
Before I could even whip my head around—
Thwack! "Kyaaaak!" Jongur’s bone club mercilessly struck my back. I tumbled to the muddy ground, struck by a horrific pain that felt like my bones were shattering. Vomiting blood, I suppressed the pain and desperately tried to crawl away. I managed to stand, staggering, and ran blindly forward. But behind me, the clang-clang-clang of the bell rang out again, and the entity, having switched back to its transparent state, was chasing me at a furious speed, cutting through the mist.
My mind went completely blank. Strategic thoughts—like using the terrain to hide or deceiving the killer’s path—were impossible. In the grip of extreme pain, overwhelming fear, and shock, the young saintess just screamed and ran mindlessly in a straight line toward the dark orchard.
"Lumen! Please... *sob* please, watch over me!" I gasped for air, my lungs feeling as though they would burst, as I scrambled through the endless rows of rotten fruit trees. But for a fragile saintess, not a trained warrior, outrunning an invisible assassin was impossible from the start.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Suddenly, the chilling metallic sound rang out three times, right behind the back of my head. At that very moment, I felt a strange sense of dissonance. The killer’s presence, which had been chasing me furiously, had momentarily slowed and become sluggish as the bell rang and the invisibility dissolved. It was a fatal deceleration penalty that occurred when switching from stealth to an attack stance. But for me, there was no room to think about such advanced techniques, nor any time to react.
"Caught you." A horrific sneer echoed in my ear.
Thwack-thwack! "Aack-!" The club struck the back of my head without mercy. My vision twisted geometrically, and the world flickered into pitch black. With a horrific pain, my consciousness sank helplessly into a deep abyss.
How much time had passed? I groaned at the throbbing pain in the back of my head and managed to lift my heavy eyelids.
"Umm..." Everywhere I looked was surrounded by blood-stained walls, and the air vibrated with a disgusting, nose-stinging stench of blood and humidity. It was a gloomy, enclosed space, like a basement warehouse. "W-where am I?" I tried to move, but I couldn't budge. I realized I was pressed against a cold, thick wooden pillar, my entire body bound tightly with thick, rough rope.
"No... no!" I struggled desperately, trying to snap the ropes. But the knots were tight enough to dig into my skin, and my weak strength was no match for them. Just as I dropped my head in despair—
Clang. Clang. Clang.
A bell rang in the air right before my eyes, and the transparent space distorted as the killer, Jongur, slowly revealed his form. "You’ve awakened, noble saintess." Jongur looked down at me, his bone club slung over his shoulder, and chuckled.
"My employer for this Sacrificial Festival seems to have a deep affection for you. He specifically ordered me to keep you safely bound in this basement." He roughly lifted my chin with his calloused fingers. "Accept that glorious obsession as a blessing and obediently offer your body and soul to him. For now, I have to go catch the other pathetic offerings running around outside for my performance record, so wait here and reflect on your actions until then."
Jongur’s blood-red pupils bored into my terror-stricken eyes. "Until the moment the festival ends, and every part of you is torn to shreds and perfectly reassembled to suit his palate... keep regretting that stubborn, foolish pride of yours that refused to submit to his merciful contract."
He left behind a chilling sneer and struck the skull bell three times again. With a shhh-ing sound, the invisible killer disappeared, leaving only the sound of heavy, creaking footsteps climbing the old wooden stairs in the corner of the basement.
Only perfect darkness and silence remained in the basement. "Sob... *sob*..." I began to sob, consumed by fear and despair. I had struggled to avoid selling my soul to an Outer God, but the result was the fate of becoming a toy for an even more horrific and grotesque perverted Outer God.
Just as I was drowning in the swamp of despair—
"I... am here, in the darkness."
A strange voice popped up from the deepest, darkest corner of the basement. Claudette, the dark elf with skin like the night, unfolded her crouched body and walked out like a ghost.
"Eek! You scared me!" I shouted in a panic. Claudette hurriedly clamped a hand over my mouth, warning me with a sharp "Shhh!" She quickly pulled a small dagger from her robes and sliced through the rough ropes binding me in an instant.
Thwip. Freed from my restraints, I slumped to the floor, gasping for air. "Claudette... thank you. I believed you would save me!" I said, wiping away my tears with a voice full of relief. But soon, a deep question filled my eyes. "But... why were you hiding in this corner?"
I stood up and looked at Claudette suspiciously. "Weren't you the one who said that to escape, each survivor had to take turns turning the waterwheel? It’s been a long time since I was dragged here, so why were you stuck in this narrow, blocked basement corner instead of turning the wheel outside?"
At my sharp questioning, Claudette’s eyes flickered slightly. She avoided my gaze and kicked at the scraps of rope. "T-that... I had something else to do here. Anyway, since I saved you, go up the stairs right now and turn the waterwheel. Before the killer comes back."
Claudette hurriedly mumbled and turned to head toward a massive crate in the corner of the basement. But I grabbed the hem of her cloak tightly. "No. I want an answer. What were you plotting in this basement, and why are you the only one who survived after losing all your companions in the last Sacrificial Festival?"
"Hah. I risked my life to save you, and you’re going to be this picky?" Claudette let out an annoyed sigh and glared at me.