Lost Lamb (3)

Translator : Elizabeth

A white flash that started from the small wooden goddess statue and swallowed the entire demon village in the blink of an eye. The blinding radiance pouring out as if to break the windows dug into every alley without hesitation, turning the peaceful demon village into a shambles rampant with screams in an instant.

"Kuaaaak!"

"M-My body...!!"

"Save me!! My eyes... I can't see!!"

Demons beginning to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠evaporate helplessly as soon as they touched the holy light. Like ice thrown onto heated iron, they scattered into the air in vain with sizzling sounds. Their existences, unable to even leave a scream, were too powerless before the benevolent radiance.

"Huh..."

A single demon child standing alone and fine in the middle of that terrible hellscape. Like other demons, her body was making sizzling sounds and emitting faint smoke, but for some reason, she was not in pain at all, nor was her skin burning black.

As if soaking in hot spring water. She just stared blankly into the air and blinked her eyelids slowly.

"Wh-What is this... No, why...?"

Flustered, Vivian looked around bewilderdly and murmured with a trembling voice.

Mor, who served warm tea to Vivian just a moment ago. Barzek, who guided her reliably. Both had long since been annihilated by the white flash. On the sofa where they were sitting, only black burnt ash lay scattered sorrowfully.

"Barzek-ssi... Mor-ssi..."

Vivian carefully swept the place where they were with her hand. But what touched her fingertips was not warm warmth, but only cold dust.

Turning her gaze outside the house, the situation was even more gruesome. The demons who bustled in the village had all disappeared as if evaporated. In the square, only axes that lost their owners and torn clothes remained alone.

"......."

As if they didn't exist from the beginning.

The scenery outside the window stared at blankly while hugging the wooden goddess statue tightly. My legs are trembling severely enough to shake the shabby wooden chair I'm using as a stepping stool.

"......."

How on earth did this happen. Although quite a while has passed since the situation exploded. I still haven't grasped the situation properly. My head is too blank.

But that doesn't mean I can stay blank forever. Regretting now won't turn the situation back to before, nor will a brilliant idea come to mind. Regret is merely a luxury for the survivors. An emotion that cannot reach the demons who have already become pitch-black ash.

"I'm sorry. Barzek-ssi, Mor-ssi..."

After getting down from the wooden chair. I stared at the sofa where Barzek and Mor-ssi sat for a long time and murmured quietly. Barzek-ssi, the brave one who guided me reliably. Mor-ssi, the kind-hearted one who served me tea with a warm smile. Both were incredibly kind and sweet, enough that I didn't think they were demons at all. But because of my foolish action, they became no longer demons of this world.

I am a real idiot. An amoeba with no wrinkles in my brain.

. . .

The village square, arrived at with difficulty on trembling legs, was much quieter than I thought. The square, where even screams could no longer be heard, was eerily peaceful.

I knelt on the spot and dug a small pit on the hard ground with my bare hands. And inside it, I buried those who are no longer demons of this world one by one with care.

"Here Barzek-ssi, here Mor-ssi..."

Because I dug the ground with bare hands, my nail tips split and my palms got scratched a little. But despite that, I didn't stop. Compared to the pain these people suffered, this much pain is nothing.

Just as I was digging the pit diligently with the setting sun behind me.

"Ha, surprising. To think there's a survivor."

A strange and cool voice came quietly from behind my back out of nowhere.

"You, how are you alive?"

A gloomy black shadow cast long over the back of my hand covered in dirt. I stopped my hand for a moment and slowly lifted my head upward.

"...?"

"I came because I heard unholy things live together here, but what on earth is this..."

As my gaze went up, what came into view was none other than the imposing figure of a stranger. His pristine, flowing clothes were quite fancy. And the long staff held confidently in his right hand emitted a strange luster toward me.

"Such light covered the village in an instant, yet why are you alive?"

Soon followed the stranger's question mixed with wariness. Although I couldn't see his face well because of the backlight. It seemed certain that he was glaring at me unusually.

"...Who are you?"

Glancing at the people standing orderly behind the man's back, I opened my mouth carefully. Then the man standing in front of me suddenly slammed the staff he was holding in his right hand hard on the ground once and shouted coolly.

"Shut up, you unholy thing!"

Startled by the shout that burst out suddenly, I flinched inadvertently. But the man didn't seem to care about my trembling and didn't withdraw his murderous gaze until the end.

"Holy light descended on this unholy land, yet why is a seed of plague like you holding out without being purified!"

As soon as the shout-like cry fell from the man's mouth. The people standing behind gripped the staffs in their hands straight in unison.

"You abominable and dirty demon mocking the Goddess's authority!"

Gathering my dirt-covered hands gently on my chest, I frowned slightly with a blank expression. Although it was a touch-and-go situation where destructive magic seemed likely to pour out from the staffs at any moment. Still, no thoughts came to my whitely emptied mind.

"A-Abominable, you say... Why are you doing this suddenly?"

"Shut up! How dare you throw questions at whom!"

At the man's rough shout that burst out once again, I reflexively shrank my shoulders and bowed my head deeply. However, despite my effort, the gazes of the people toward me didn't blunt even a little.

"I am Joachim, an Executioner Priest of the St. Haven Papal State, here to purify this unholy land."

"Executioner Priest?"

As soon as the word Papal State was heard in my ears, my stopped thought circuit started moving again belatedly.

This blatant killing intent and hostility toward me. I wondered why they were doing this to me suddenly, turns out they were people from the Papal State? So that's why they harassed me out of the blue. Now I understand the situation a bit...

"Ah, I see... What a coincidence. I was just on my way to the Papal State."

Carefully opening my hands covered in dirt. Smiling brightly, I tilted my head slightly to look as harmless as possible.

"I am not a demon living in this village. I just stopped by by chance while passing..."

"How dare this unholy mouth speak lies!"

However, this time too, my innocent voice was helplessly crushed before Joachim's sharp roar.

"Stopped by by chance? Do you expect me to believe that when you are covered in demon remnants digging a pit in the middle of a demon den?!"

As Joachim swung his staff, a sharp fragment of light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠emitted from the tip scratched fiercely past my feet. Matching that, Joachim's subordinates standing behind also approached closer to me little by little.

"W-Wait a moment... Among my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party, Lumina-ssi from the Holy Knights..."

"Bind this dirty and abominable thing immediately."

I did my best in my own way to resolve the misunderstanding somehow. But my words didn't reach Joachim, who had already made all decisions in his head, even a little.

"Eh, bind... Why are you tying me up suddenly?"

"I can't just kill you who are alive nonchalantly even in that much radiance."

Crossed words scattered helplessly like dust as they were. In that place, only sharp killing intent and touch-and-go tension settled even heavier.

"I will dissect your body piece by piece and uncover the secret of that evil survival."

"D-Dissect...?"

At the gruesome word that flowed calmly from Joachim's mouth, my thought circuit stopped again. Before I could even ask back if the word I understood was correct. The priests who received Joachim's order rushed at me like a swarm of ants.

"...Joachim-nim, this guy is hiding something in her arms."

At that moment when I was struggling wildly to shake off the priests trying to subdue me forcibly. A priest discovered the wooden goddess statue held tightly in my arms and immediately frowned unpleasantly.

"Hand it over, unholy thing!"

Joachim snatched the wooden goddess statue roughly from my arms.

"Hmm, a goddess statue? Why is a demon holding a goddess statue in her arms?"

Joachim looking down at me even more disgustingly while muttering that sentence suspiciously. Soon taking a small breath, he twitched one eyebrow slightly.

"I feel strange Holy Power from this wooden goddess statue. Quite suspicious."

"Th... That's mine! Give it back!"

I reached out my hand with difficulty toward Joachim while stuck miserably on the floor. But Joachim didn't care at all about my desperate shout. He turned the rough wooden goddess statue this way and that, continuing his serious observation.

But that was only for a moment──.

"...?!!"

Joachim's eyes, turning the wooden goddess statue this way and that, were suddenly dyed with shock.

"Wh-What is this..."

The complexion of the triumphant Joachim turned white in an instant. The luster of the fancy staff he was leaning on also blurred noticeably.

"Why is my Holy Power..."

At the very moment Joachim was muttering something blurring the end of his sentence strangely.

"J-Joachim-nim... Something is strange!"

"Ah, Goddess... Why my Holy Power...!!"

"I can't feel any Holy Power from my body...!!"

"How on earth did this happen!!"

The subordinate priests surrounding me in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠circle suddenly showed similar reactions to Joachim and began to retreat hurriedly from my side.