Cleaning the Underworld (3)

How was I supposed to stay quiet after seeing something like this, even if someone told me to?

I glanced over at Clara, wondering if I was the only one reacting strangely, but she seemed completely unfazed—as if this scene were somehow familiar to her.

…So I was the weird one, huh.

This place looks like some kind of courtroom…

The skill name the message had shown me was definitely Lifespan Judgment. If that was why a courtroom-like space had appeared…

Some kind of holy barrier, I guess…

For a holy barrier, though, the atmosphere was incredibly eerie.

As I looked around, I spotted another figure. The men standing beside the scales were already ten times larger than an ordinary human—just like the scales themselves—but this one radiated an air of detached indifference and was twice as tall as the scales before him.

I had to tilt my head all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the way back just to make out where his face should have been. Yet for some reason, deep shadows clung to it, so I couldn’t clearly make out his features.

The voice rang out not in my ears, but directly inside my head.

“…….”

Hearing it, I understood who this man was.

Putting together whose saintess Freya was, the lines of the prayer she had recited, the phenomena I was experiencing right now, and the words echoing around us, the conclusion wasn’t hard to reach.

Myeongsin Vita—the God of Life.

One of the eight great gods who ruled this land, the deity charged with determining the span of every life. Perhaps the most vital role of all. I had never dared imagine I would one day look upon such a being with my own two eyes.

Even if it was his own saintess calling… I never thought he would answer in person…

Freya was impressive for summoning him, but the god who had answered her was remarkably gracious as well.

Beside me, Freya kept her head quietly bowed. Clara remained silent too. I had a dozen questions, but for now it seemed best to stay quiet myself.

The moment Myeongsin Vita finished reciting the verdict, the two men beside the scales moved. Golden spears in hand, they approached the Minotaur still sitting bewildered atop the scale pan.

“Uoooooh!!”

Startled by their approach, the creature roared—but unlike before, no debuff took hold. Instead a different message appeared.

Nullifying every buff and debuff… what kind of broken effect was that?

“Anubit, Judge of the Underworld.”

“Osiria, Arbiter of the Underworld.”

The two men spoke names that were slight variations of ones I had heard somewhere before. Then they leveled their golden spears at the Minotaur’s chest.

“We carry out the judgment handed down by Myeongsin.”

With a wet thunk, the golden spears sank deep. Strangely, no blood welled from the Minotaur’s chest.

What…?

Instead, bizarre gray smoke I couldn’t identify began pouring from the wounds. The Minotaur screamed in agony.

“Kroooooooooooooo!!!!”

“Struggle all you like, mortal. It is useless.”

The man who had introduced himself as Anubit spoke.

“The judgment of Myeongsin is absolute.”

Indeed, the Minotaur could only howl in pain; it could not resist at all. Smoke continued to stream from its body.

That smoke… is it…?

Thinking back to the verdict Myeongsin Vita had just delivered, it had to be the Minotaur’s “lifespan.” Reclaiming the sinner’s years—so that was what it meant…

Soon the Minotaur’s thick arms began to wither, and its entire body shriveled. When the creature had become a pitiful husk, the two men withdrew their golden spears.

Then they lifted the heart that had rested on one side of the scales and simply shoved it back into the Minotaur’s chest.

So that was its heart?

I hadn’t realized…

Even after returning the heart that had once balanced the scales against the Minotaur’s weight, the pans did not tip. Earlier the heart and the Minotaur had seemed perfectly matched.

…Because it lost so much flesh, maybe.

After withering that badly, it made sense.

Seeing the scales remain level, the men bowed their heads slightly toward Myeongsin Vita.

“The sentence has been carried out.”

Myeongsin lifted his head a fraction and looked at Freya. I still couldn’t see his face clearly, but the direction of his gaze made it obvious.

Even with her eyes closed, Freya somehow sensed it. Hands still clasped, she offered careful, measured thanks.

“This insignificant servant thanks you for granting her request, O great Myeongsin.”

With that expression of gratitude, the scenery shifted once more.

We were back in the labyrinth. Only then did Freya rise from her seat and open her eyes. I asked her,

“…Is it okay to talk now?”

“Yes. It’s over.”

I had felt like a mute the whole time.

I looked ahead. The Minotaur lay completely withered, collapsed in a heap.

The stats were absurd. That powerful boss from earlier was gone; what remained was so pathetic it fell far short of even my own miserable porter stats… no, my pitiful stats.

Strength was still at 100, but with vitality and agility that low it was useless. More importantly, the “Debilitated” status was the real problem.

It could no longer activate any of its traits. In that state it was worse than a regular mob.

“…I could probably kill it myself.”

“Then would you like to finish it, Allen?”

“Huh?”

Was last-hitting something like that even allowed?

“…You need the experience of taking down a monster.”

“Is that really okay?”

“…Yeah.”

I had only said it half-jokingly, but with them pushing me like this I felt a little nervous. Then again, this world didn’t have levels or experience points, so it probably didn’t matter who landed the final blow.

Clara pressed a dagger into my hand.

“…In that condition, just piercing the carotid artery will finish it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cleanly.”

“Carotid artery…?”

“…Here.”

Clara pointed to the side of her own neck.

“…It’s not hard.”

“Uh…”

I took the dagger she had given me and approached the Minotaur.

It still had some strength left, but between the debilitating effect and the poison Clara had injected, its mind was clearly wandering. It didn’t even notice me getting close.

Debilitated and poisoned. Just hearing those two status conditions made it obvious the creature couldn’t be in any normal state.

“…….”

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raised the dagger. The Minotaur was tall, but if I used the wall as a springboard I could reach the right height. I had that much agility, at least.

“…Right. It’s just a mob.”

I didn’t need to think of it as taking a life. Moments ago the Life God’s own judgment had declared that many had died before their time because of this thing’s evil.

I pushed off lightly, kicked against the wall, and drove the dagger toward the spot on the Minotaur’s neck that Clara had shown me.

At the same time I raised my magic power. Partly because I doubted a plain dagger thrust would pierce the Minotaur’s hide, and partly because I wanted to practice the basic technique of channeling magic into a weapon.

“Huh? Allen…?”

Freya tilted her head slightly.

…Come to think of it, Clara already knows, but Freya doesn’t.

I was starting to wonder what the point of hiding it was anymore. Everyone else had already found out… Freya was the only one left in the dark.

So it didn’t matter if she learned now. Whether one more person knew or not wouldn’t change a thing.

In any case the magic manifested cleanly, riding the dagger I brought down and adding its force.

Crack!!

Maybe because of the magic, the blade sank far deeper than I expected. Having struck an artery, the creature’s blood of course erupted, spattering my hands and face.

“Gueeeh… uugh…!”

The Minotaur let out a low, pain-soaked cry and flailed its arms. I hastily dropped the dagger and scrambled back. It thrashed once or twice more, then toppled to the floor.

At the same moment a message appeared.

With the subjugation message, even the faintest twitch left the Minotaur’s body and it fell still. I approached the corpse and pulled the dagger free from its neck.

Even as I withdrew it, blood sprayed again, soaking my chest and legs. I stared at the mess for a moment, then stood.

“It’s done.”

“…Yeah. Good work.”

“Allen, you’re covered in blood.”

“Ah…”

Couldn’t be helped. Stab an artery and blood is going to fly.

“Well, I’ll wash up once we’re out. More importantly, let’s go find the Dragon Jade right away.”

“We should. But the hide and horns look usable, so let’s at least take those.”

Ah—loot.

Freya deftly formed a blade of holy power and began slicing the Minotaur’s hide free and sawing off the horns with practiced ease.

…Just moments ago she had been a noble saintess; now she looked more like a butcher.

“…Allen, wipe off with this for now.”

“Oh, thanks.”

I used the handkerchief Clara handed me to clean the blood from my face and hands. The sticky feeling went away, but the cloth was left stained crimson.

“I’ll wash it later and give it back.”

“…Okay.”

Clara looked at me. Then she reached out, gently retied my loosened sleeve, and said,

“…It’s all right, Allen.”

“Huh?”

“…Everyone’s like that the first time.”

Hearing her words, I looked down at my hands. The tips were trembling slightly.

It wasn’t guilt over killing the Minotaur. This was… shock at the blood that had come from stabbing a living thing. I had never done anything like it before.

Clara ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had noticed and was trying to comfort me.

“I’ll try not to dwell on it. Thanks.”

“…It’s nothing.”

I returned the dagger to her, and she accepted it and put it away.

“By the way, Allen.”

While we were talking, Freya—who had somehow already finished skinning the Minotaur—looked at me and asked,

“What was that magic just now?”

At Freya’s question I gave a slightly sheepish smile.

In the end, everything had come out.

“I’ll explain on the way.”