Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: I Am Your God - 5
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Fang and Arthur went on a rampage.
Arthur alone was practically a one-man army, but with Fang ripping through the orcs like a thresher, the corridor was cleared in no time.
"Aah... aaah..."
The orc, stripped of all its teeth, groaned in agony.
I approached it and stomped down on its chest.
"I've always wondered. Why can monsters with faith actually speak?"
"Aah... ah, aooh... f-faith... wheeere... wheeeere..."
"Losing faith means death, you say?"
Did that mean they could avoid death by having faith?
"But they're all dead."
I pointed at the orcs that Arthur and Fang had torn apart.
A monster's weakness was clear-cut.
Separate the head from the body, and it dies.
By that logic, those things were definitely corpses.
"Did they lack faith?"
"Aah... y-yes... wheeere..."
"Returned to the Lord? What bullshit. They're just dead."
I snorted derisively.
Not liking my reaction, the orc tried to rise, but I pressed down harder with my foot.
"Aah! Aaaah! Woo-iah! Woo-iah!!"
"An unbeliever, huh..."
It wasn't wrong, but it still pissed me off.
So I put even more force into my foot.
-Crack!!
Ribs shattered with a sickening crunch, and the orc spewed blood.
I turned away from it.
"Finish it."
-Grrr...!!
Arthur's sword cleaved its neck.
That took care of all the monsters in the corridor.
But that didn't mean we were done.
"Let's go."
If monsters were guarding it like this, there had to be something important at the end.
We passed through the blood-soaked corridor to find a massive iron door at the far end.
The firmly shut door was, predictably, locked.
But that didn't mean we couldn't get through.
-Slash!!
Arthur's sword sliced right through the door.
No instant office-teleport spell like last time, apparently.
"Stairs?"
Why were there stairs here?
They led downward; there were no other doors to different floors.
With each step down, an ominous aura wrapped around us.
"We've been descending for thirty minutes, and there's still no end."
They wouldn't have built stairs all the way to the bottom of the underworld, right?
Magic was probably blocking the path.
In cases like this...
-Whoooong...!!
I opened Secrets of Light and Shadow.
There was a spell perfect for this.
"From ancient times, those above have signified the authoritative. Those below cannot block those descending from above, nor resist that authority."
⟨ Holy Dyeing to Ward Off Harm ⟩
I sprinkled incense and pig fat from my bag around us.
Just that, and the ominous aura enveloping the stairs began to fade.
"That did it. Let's go."
-Grrr!!
-Snort~!
Arthur, Fang, and I descended the stairs again.
This time, unlike before, we quickly reached the final floor.
"Arthur. Open it."
-Grraaah...!!
Arthur's sword flashed, slicing through the locked iron door.
I kicked the door aside and stepped inside. A thick stench of blood assaulted my nose.
"Whoa."
Sure enough, there was the rift core.
What was surprising were the people around it.
"...Who the hell are you?"
"Who else? The mage, obviously. What are you doing here?"
"Hmph."
The guy I'd seen before the rift core last time slowly drew his sword.
His face was hidden under a large hood, but...
"...Neigan Blocher?"
I'd seen him on TV before.
An American warrior who'd supposedly died in a rift.
"How are you still alive?"
"My god accepted me."
Slowly.
He removed his hood.
Now I could see clearly.
His face was Neigan Blocher's, but his body was covered in scales, with a long tail dragging behind.
He looked just like...
A lizardman. A reptilian.
"You wouldn't understand. Only the great Black Dragon can lead us, the one true god."
He wasn't speaking Korean.
Just hissing in monster tongue, but it came out as Korean to me.
"This is genuinely surprising. How the hell does this even work?"
I approached him and subtly cast Silence of the Sheep.
I got a rough sense of how to deal with this guy.
First, activate the spell...
"You who defy the will of god. This place shall be your end... and a new beginning."
While he ranted, I activated my magic using hand seals, the grimoire, and the sacrifices in my bag.
All that steady training paid off!!
"Hold on. Before we fight, I have something to say."
"Hmph. You think I'll listen?"
"Come on, don't be like that. I might convert, you know."
"..."
"As a fellow believer, you know how important proselytizing is, right? Plus, think of the cliché where the enemy joins your side. Could be useful."
"...I suppose. Very well, speak."
Hook, line, and sinker.
I grinned and summoned my grimoires.
"'Black Dragon' has a weird ring to it, don't you think? In this day and age, calling it 'black' just because of its skin color feels off."
"...That's..."
"If it's truly great, shouldn't it be beyond color? Just the One True Dragon?"
"...You're right."
"So, shouldn't we change what you said earlier? Not 'great Black Dragon,' but 'great Dragon'?"
"...Yes. That fits. By the will of the great Dragon..."
"One more thing. You said 'Dragon' just now, but the word's origin is Greek for 'serpent.' Isn't it problematic to call your god something associated with mere snakes?"
"Well..."
"Not that snakes aren't great. But representing reptiles with one feels off."
"...Fine. What should we call it, then?"
"What do you like?"
"Lizaard..."
Figures, given his looks.
"Let's change it again, then. The great Lizard."
"...By the will of the great Lizard..."
"Hold up."
"What now!!"
"Great Lizard is fine, but just calling it 'Lizard' is too plain, no?"
"What?!"
"Think about it. 'Lizard' means common lizard, right? What's the difference between lizards and snakes?"
"...That's... but still."
"So, let's make it special: 'Lizardrian' instead of plain lizard."
"...Sigh. Fine. I'll convey your words to the divine one. The great Lizardrian wishes to fill this world with its children."
"I see."
"Join that glorious path. Become one of its children."
"You want me to become a lizardman? Or reptilian?"
"Whatever."
"Names matter."
I smiled.
And raised my hand.
"Especially for faith to take hold."
"...?!"
The reptilian's expression hardened.
He'd sensed it too.
"You... what have you done?!"
He'd finally realized he'd been ensnared by magic.
"Yeah!! I did it! Haha! How's that spell to make fools take bullshit seriously?!"
It was an otherworldly spell from Silence of the Sheep.
A simple one that altered perception to treat nonsense as truth, but incredibly useful.
Especially when chained with the next spell.
"Urk...!! You bastard!!"
"You denied your god three times."
Black Dragon downgraded to Dragon.
Dragon to Lizard.
Lizard denied as Lizardrian.
I immediately opened Secrets of Light and Shadow and tossed in incense and purple cloth from my bag.
"Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus embraced that disciple with love. But is the great Black Dragon so merciful?"
Secrets of Light and Shadow began to glow.
That light stimulated the rift core, and immense energy erupted from the rift.
"Ah... aaaah! My god! No! No! Not me! That wicked serpent-tongued one!!"
"Dragon's origin is serpent. Denying the serpent denies your god again, no?"
"Shut up!! Shut your mouth, you wretch!!"
"Yeah, your loose lips are doing great."
As I sneered, a powerful force burst from the rift core.
It enveloped Neigan, as if only natural.
-Boom!!
Flesh exploded, blood gushing everywhere.
His god wouldn't forgive a heretic who'd denied him.
-Grr...!!
-Snort!!
-Whoooong!!
-Rustle!!
-Aaaah!!
The energy that obliterated Neigan slithered toward me like a licking tongue.
The ones behind me cried out in alarm, but there was nothing to fear.
"Alright, alright. Off you go. No messing around on someone else's turf."
I gripped Saint Martha's Staff and swung it full force at the rift core.
Saint Martha's Staff was a holy relic specialized for slaying dragons.
No matter how much they deified it, anything bearing a dragon's name wouldn't withstand this.
-Crunch!!
The rift core shattered on impact.
In that instant, the heavy air filling the area vanished.
The rift was dispelled.
But we weren't done yet.
Time to deal with the cult leader.
.
.
.
.
-Crash!!
"Gaaah!!"
Finding the cult leader's room wasn't hard.
It was nearby in the basement.
He'd been thoroughly indulging in wine, women, and song.
"Y-you bastard!! Our great god will..."
"Your god's gone. More importantly, what are you? How'd you even handle the rift?"
"Th-that's..."
"If you won't answer..."
-Grrraaah!!
-Snooort~!
The cult leader, his three thick chins quivering, glanced behind me.
Back there lay his bodyguards, crumpled after Arthur and Fang tore through them.
"I-I'll talk! I'll talk!!"
"You'll talk? Too curt."
"I-I'll tell you everything, sir..."
The cult leader hesitated before cautiously continuing.
At first, this place was just your run-of-the-mill cult.
"But then, I-I found this."
"Where?"
"On a walk in Dobongsan Mountain..."
He pulled out a precious orb he'd hidden in the room.
Half-broken, but still emanating a faint glow.
"I see."
"A-as I used it for our... activities..."p>
Activities meaning their fake faith stuff, obviously.
"A rift appeared. And from it came that... weird lizard thing."
The one from earlier?
"It's all that guy's fault! He made me do everything!! I just followed orders!"
He desperately claimed everything here was Neigan's doing.
"I found the records room on the way and checked it out."
"..."
"Too many entries about you authorizing, participating in, and leading stuff."
Gathering people for prayer halls.
Creating living spirits.
Capturing escapees.
"And there was CCTV of you beating subdued hunters with a club."
Plus killing the investigating hunters.
He was involved in it all.
"Th-that was..."
Screw it.
People need a conscience.
"Wh-what happens to me?"
"Well... death penalty at minimum?"
Laws got stricter after rifts appeared.
And this time, hunters died too.
Figure that in, and he probably wouldn't get off with a clean death.
"P-please spare me!"
"Why tell me? Say it to the bereaved families and the Association in court."
"I-I have something to tell you!"
"What?"
"Th-there were others who met that lizard monster separately!"
"Oh."
Now that was unexpected.
Who?
"If I tell you... will you spare me...?"
"Whoa. Proposing a deal to me here? You're no ordinary guy."
"Heh... I-I need some leverage to survive."
I mirrored his sleazy grin.
"There's a great spell for those hiding their true feelings!"
"Huh?"
"Note: it doesn't hide them—it gives you the courage to speak your heart."
"Wh-what kind of spell..."
"They say courage is the greatest magic."
"F-first time hearing that?"
"Now you have. Lesson learned. Good stuff, right?"
"Huh? Huuuh?!"
I gripped Saint Martha's Staff with both hands and swung it a few times.
"Let's make this easy. Easy does it."
Fear flickered in the cult leader's eyes.
Come on. If you're gonna proposition a deal without knowing your place, at least brace yourself.