Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Unfathomable Darkness
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Hero Party.
They called themselves wanderers.
All to drive out the darkness scattered across the continent.
That darkness sometimes took the form of wanted criminals.
Sometimes monsters that proclaimed themselves gods and sought to enslave entire villages as their thralls.
Sometimes mages who drew both awe and contempt from the world.
The darkness pursued by the Hero Party came in all sorts of shapes.
But there was one thing.
One trait that bound them all.
Incomprehensibility.
Most wielded powers beyond the grasp of ordinary understanding.
That's why no one dared stand against them—their notoriety piled up until it reached the Hero Party.
The Hero Party positioned themselves as the foes of this unfathomable darkness.
"Th-that monster... You actually beat it...!!! As expected of the heroes!!! Even high-rank adventurers trembled at its power, wondering if it was truly some evil god...!"
"Hehe. Fear not. There are no evil gods. Only the Lord God, that vast will you all can feel."
"I-is that so...? Then what about that infinite vitality—"
"Power corrupted by impure forces often warps into unnatural properties. But its essence never changes. Vitality that seems infinite... ultimately isn't."
"Kuhahaha!!! Listen to the Saintess and feast your eyes on this! If its life force was truly infinite, would its head be mounted on my axe like so!?"
"I... I see...!"
From the Hero Party's perspective, it was just plain old darkness—nothing incomprehensible about it.
"M-monsters...!"
"Look at this bastard!!! Babbling from a severed head, calling who the monster? Kuhaha!!!"
In truth, they were the ones beyond comprehension.
A collective force that deemed even unfathomable darkness... unfathomable.
Otherwise hailed as miracle heroes.
That was the Hero Party.
"Hey, noble! You know any more scum like this, strutting around calling themselves evil gods and such!? Spill it! I was just getting fired up, and it drops dead all anticlimactic like. Doesn't hit the spot!"
Yet.
Even for such a Hero Party, the truly unfathomable existed.
"In that case, heroes! How about heading west!?"
"What's there?"
"Word is, that city's lord got devoured by some demon! Surely even demons can't stand against you heroes!?"
"..."
"...Everyone?"
Demons.
No one knew where they came from... or where they went.
Thus, they were immortal. Thus, incomprehensible.
To many, demons were just one of countless unfathomables.
But to the Hero Party, they were the one true enigma.
"West. Got it."
"Hero!?"
"Ack, Lindal! Damn it, demons are the worst—"
The miracle heroes dreamed of a true miracle.
The end of the unfathomable.
The conclusion of immortality.
Miracle.
To the Hero Party, it was a word they'd grown utterly sick of.
Every time they banished new darkness and notched fresh feats, that label inevitably followed.
"A miracle... a miracle...!"
When someone cried it out, they'd exchange shrugs or wry chuckles.
That was their usual stance toward so-called "miracles."
"D-don't make such a fuss, Shuyen. Miracles are something only the Lord God can—"
"Oh, come on! Is this the time for your stuffy sermons!?"
"Shuyen's right. Tara. I guarantee even that Lord God couldn't pull this off."
"Kudarak! You brainless barbarian!!! How dare you—"
"N-now, now. Let's all calm down. Bicker at a historic moment like this? Tara, you half-agree deep down, don't you? That what we've done here... is nothing short of miraculous."
"..."
But this time was different.
Saintess Tara Dolin was bewildered.
Overwhelmed by an indescribable awe swelling within.
The reaction of one who'd witnessed a true miracle.
The Saintess cautiously extended her hand.
At its tip: a demon.
An upper-tier demon they'd only subdued by pooling their strength.
One they couldn't destroy no matter what, forced to settle for sealing.
When they first sealed it, the magic stone at the seal's core brimmed with murky darkness like night fog.
"See? That demon's impure aura—it's been purified clean. Tara, this is your doing."
And now.
The stone emanated holy light, just like the Saintess's own aura.
"My doing?"
"Yes."
"What did I even... do...?"
No one answered lightly. Then the hulking barbarian bellowed heartily.
"What else! Star of Purification! You cleansed a demon with your power!!! That immortal fiend vanished! If this ain't a miracle, what is? Kuhaha!!!"
"..."
The Saintess still looked incredulous as she touched the stone.
"Ah..."
No doubt. The aura from the sealed demon.
It brimmed with holiness.
"Coiling Shadow..."
The Saintess named the demon.
-...
Silence answered.
Only after a long pause did it reply.
[Title: Wait, aren't priests in this game legit the ultimate hard-mode job?]
Seeing black mages and demons getting all cozy right next to you? Reality check incoming hard.
Demon < Message sent, instant reply, sometimes even sends gift icons
Lord God < Wait forever for that '1' to vanish, gift icons? Lol no, reply? Dream on
Demons are yanderes ffs
Truckload of lives ruined from texting back and forth
Fr lol, peaked in life so it's fine
But Lord God < this dude?
Zero difference believing or not ㅇㅇ
Isn't there that event?
Priests try preaching, pick 'Sorry, I already believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster that flies around the sky'
And holy power legit increases
Fr, priests gotta be the extreme job here
Folks begging good gods to exist—no show
Evil god wannabes hyperactive af lololol
Tara's cottage, settling in for a peaceful night, lit up.
Tara fetched a dish from Rishir's room, then called Shuyen and explained everything.
"No way..."
The fairy Shuyen still vividly recalled that moment.
Her proud comrade, Saintess Tara Dolin.
The instant she'd truly wrought a miracle.
Demon purification.
Among the Saintess's countless feats, it ranked top-tier.
It proved no eternal darkness lingered in this world.
-Even demons are equal before the Lord God's holy fire.
Tara believed the purification proved the Lord God's existence.
A great will and providence watching over all from untouchable heights, beyond any darkness!
The foundation of the faith powering the Church today.
But—
"The purified shadow... was behind this incident?"
The demon hadn't been purified.
Merely deceiving them.
"Since when... since when has it been fooling us!?"
-From the start...
"...!"
The fairy's tiny face paled in shock.
Tara was the same.
They knew demons were wicked beings not to be trusted lightly.
Yet they'd never considered the deception.
"How... how could it? That impure aura was clearly purified...!"
A being stripped of impurity, filled with fresh holiness.
To them, it was no longer a demon.
-And yet... I remained a demon...
"Don't make me laugh!!! A holy demon!!!? As if!!!"
Kukukukuku.
It chuckled sinisterly at Shuyen's outburst.
Overlapping her terrified, snarling beast form.
"Isn't a demon's core that impure power...? Destroy that, and the being crumbles too, right!!!"
The unfathomable darkness they'd thought vanquished was resurging, consuming them anew.
-Mortals...
The demon sensed it clearly.
The cracks in the heroes' resolve.
The seeds of delusion sprouting in those fissures.
-Now you realize... your lives are curses of mortality, not blessings... No matter what, you can't resist we who bear immortality's gift...
"..."
The fairy's eyes shook like leaves in a gale.
-Fairy Shuyen... great mortal... You've done well enough... I respect your will, your strength... Among mortals, you're exceptional... I propose: serve me... Then I promise mercy to what you love... I'll share immortality's glory...
Was it true?
Were they mere vermin trapped in mortality's curse?
Against demons, immortal beings—was resistance futile flailing?
The unfathomable darkness swiftly dyed the fairy's thoughts.
Her world filled with pessimism.
At this rate, her surrender to despair was only a matter of time.
"Shuyen. Snap out of it. Don't listen to it."
The Saintess's voice roused the fairy.
She whipped around, eyes wide.
"Tara!? How!? How can you stay calm in this!?"
The darkness they'd unveiled as conquered was alive and well.
Tara was just as shaken.
Yet her demeanor seemed composed, as the fairy noted.
-Don't listen to that fool!!!
"...Huh?"
Shuyen belatedly noticed the anomaly.
"Tara, you can't hear it right now? I mean—it's only whispering to me?"
"Yeah."
-Shuyen!!!
Shuyen tilted her head.
This grand immortal—what was so bothersome it resorted to sneaky plots?
"Oh yeah, Tara. What about Rishir? He okay?"
"More than okay..."
"...What?"
"Know what it said when it first called me out?"
-Ignore it!!! It's jealous!!! Because I'm only interested in you!!!
"'Please save me.'"
"...What?"
"'I'll do anything, just separate me from Rishir.'"
"..."
"So I detached it to see what it'd do—and it tries seducing you behind my back."
Haa.
Tara sighed deeply.
"This proves it beyond doubt..."
"Proves what...?"
"Aura's still holy, but its nature hasn't budged. Still a demon."
Shuyen gaped anew at Tara's blunt admission.
The darkness they'd banished had returned in force—
How could she stay so calm?
"Everyone? What's with the gathering?"
The late arrival answered her doubt.
Rishir.
He gazed at them sleepily, then spoke.
The purified darkness.
The demon's final desperate gambit had worked all too well.
Rishir hadn't noticed its presence at all.
To him, demons reeked of overt impurity.
Thus, his fresh-from-sleep vibe was utterly serene.
-Shuyen! Last chance!!! Accept me now!!!
Which made the demon's panic stand out more.
"Ah."
Shuyen nodded.
She'd forgotten amid the shock.
Actually, shock aside—she still hadn't accepted it.
Gazing at Rishir, she carefully opened her mouth.
"Rishir. That thing you mentioned before... was it true?"
"Pardon?"
"Those spirits you showed us. They were really demons originally?"
Rishir blinked, scratching his head.
Now you ask?—his gesture implied.
"Ah..."
Shuyen finally got it.
Tara's composure.
-Shuyen!!!!
The demon's unnatural flailing.
"Tara. How. Keep it secret from Rishir?"
"Nah. Interrogating after calming it seems worse than just handing it to Rishir."
"Everyone, what're you talking about?"
"Well, you see—"
Miracle heroes.
They were screwed.
"This is wild... A holy demon, huh..."
Rishir eyed the "vessel," astonished.
"But are you sure, everyone? A demon's in here?"
He cocked his head.
No response despite calls.
"Weird..."
"Pardon? Shuyen? What do you—"
"It was yapping nonstop before, but quiets like a mouse the second you show up?"
"Ah. I see."
He examined the vessel again, then asked.
"What's its name?"
Shuyen glanced at Tara.
She spoke cautiously.
"...Purified darkness—"
"Pardon?"
"...No, misspoke. Coiling Shadow. That's it."
-Coiling Shadow...!
Whoosh!
A gray-white fireball flared in surprise.
"Oh. What, you know Dangaleon?"
-Not as lofty as Belvandeth-nim, but it holds a fairly high rank!!!
-Dangaleon!!! Know shame!!! Siding with mortals, reduced to a beast—how!?
-Shut it, wretch!!! Think I'm some lowly demon like you!!!
-...
The demon fell silent.
Fine.
Demon it is.
So what?
That vibe.
"Rishir."
Then Tara spoke after deliberation.
"If you're okay with it... could you manage this demon?"
She figured.
Rishir could—
No, Rishir was the one to control this darkness.
"..."
Tara tensed, watching him.
Shuyen too.
Demon control.
A burden even vast groups like the Church struggled with.
Dumping it on one man?
Even for him, he'd hesitate—
"Shall I purify it first?"
Rishir said casually.
He touched the vessel, pouring in full power.
-Gaaaaahhh!!! No!!! Please!!!
It screamed as holy energy surged.
"...!!!"
Tara and Shuyen jolted up in horror.
Shaaa!
From the necklace gem burst a colossal serpent, thick as a log.
Coiling Shadow.
A massive white-painted snake.
They thought it lunged at Rishir.
No.
It fled full-tilt away from him.
Plop.
Rishir casually grabbed the tail end.
Even the tail needed both hands to grip.
-Let go!!!
The snake thrashed.
Like a sky-piercing tree writhing with will.
The shockwave turned Tara's humble cottage into chaos.
Thud!
Thud!
A mere brush collapsed walls, toppled pillars.
Coiling Shadow swiftly regained its majesty.
Its grandeur recalled their brutal past battle.
The massive castle enshrouded in darkness!
Creeeak—
The Saintess's cottage crumbled helplessly.
The giant snake coiled around it like a snack.
Tara and Shuyen recoiled, overwhelmed.
"Rishir!!!"
They moved to aid him—but
"Whoa. Total mess. Stay put."
That girth, that size.
Given the grip, the tail wasn't so much held as overflowing his hand.
Normally, one thrash would've pulverized that puny grasp like minnow vs. whale tail.
But.
Rishir, holding the colossal tail, looked utterly at ease.
The part in his hand slackened, barely twitching.
No.
Shrinking.
"...Huh?"
The Saintess and fairy blinked, doubting their eyes.
No mistake.
"Oops."
Rishir adjusted his stance.
Too small now—it slipped, so he re-grabbed and pulled the tail.
-Re-lease... release me, monster!!!!!!!
The fiercer the flailing, the faster the change.
How long since he laid the tail tip in one palm, tugging the body with the other?
The serpent vast enough to swallow the cottage whole vanished like a mirage.
Atop the man's palm coiled a thread-thin white snake, like a spool.
-Pyaat!!!
It bravely(?) cried at him.
"Huh. Up close, snakes are kinda cute?"
As Rishir reached out, the snake frantically rubbed its head on his thumb.
-Pyaaaaaat!!!
An adorably snakey squeak flicked with its tongue.
"Everyone, looks like it worked out."
Rishir nodded.
"I'll raise this demon properly."
His nonchalant words made them flinch.
What, like a stray cat?
"Everyone...?"
The fairy and Saintess edged away from Rishir.
Rishir's demon-turned-spirits.
They'd assumed some grand ritual's result.
A massive ceremony demanding his comrades' exhaustive efforts over ages!
No.
Rishir scooped a pillar-to-sky snake like lint... and got a cute pet.
That's what they'd just witnessed.
Demons no longer fazed them.
Their inner unfathomable darkness cleared—in a whole new way.
"So... that's how it works...?"
A new unfathomable took root within them.