It Was Just a Lie
Not far from the commercial district.
As spring slipped into late summer and the sun grew warmer, Endy walked along a dirt path beneath his hood.
The smell of freshly turned earth rose around him, and beyond the fields of azure flowers he had seen earlier, rows of soybean fields stretched out instead.
For the sake of a good harvest, they must have been planted there.
Sssss—every time the breeze stirred, the rustling of the leaves felt strangely soothing.
How peaceful and bucolic this village looked.
What kind of tragedy had taken place here?
“My husband had an affair. My wife stabbed him along with his mistress and then my own child before taking her own life.”
“Oh dear.”
The world truly was a cruel place.
Endy had arrived at the isolated mansion in the village as requested.
Before him stood the village chief, whose explanation was more unbelievable than he had imagined.
This was exactly why affairs were such a headache in every household.
“The relative who inherited the property is now making a fuss. They want to tear the place down, but it starts screaming like a ghost. Even if ownership changes hands again and they try to demolish it, the same thing happens. Eventually the house is simply abandoned, and the villagers feel uneasy having such a thing in their midst.”
“That’s why you came to the guild, then.”
“Exactly. The residents pooled together the funds… sigh. You can hear laughter, crying, and things being knocked over just from the surrounding area.”
“Have there been any other strange phenomena?”
“I don’t know. Everyone stays away from the place, and we’ve strictly warned the children not to go near it. As long as you don’t approach too closely, you’re safe. The church performed a light sealing as a temporary measure…”
So the clergy had only handled the initial containment and handed the request over to the guild. They must have figured a quick fix would be enough for now.
With the information gathered, Endy looked up at the three-story mansion.
It sat slightly apart from the village homes, as if it belonged to another world altogether.
Even though it had been warm until moments ago, the air here felt cold and sticky, clinging to his skin like a curse.
Up above, a flock of crows cawed and wheeled through the sky, their cries sounding almost mocking.
“Well then, sir. Is that it?”
“Yes. Trust me and leave it to me.”
“No, I mean… I’m not doubting you, it’s just that—”
“Hmm?”
“You seem young, so I’m asking carefully. Do you have much experience with requests?”
“Haha. Don’t worry. I can handle this properly. I’m quite confident in a fight of willpower.”
“... I’ll leave it to you.”
With a brief farewell, the chief turned and muttered something about how much the body-collection request might pay as he walked away.
It was unsettling, but since he would prove it himself now, there was no problem.
This man had the body to purify negativity. Endy had demonstrated it at the guild earlier.
Watching the guild members’ reactions, he had to admire how shocked they all were that he worked for free. Purification was a lucrative field after all.
Endy opened the gate and stepped inside, still thinking of their faces.
The sealing thread the church had installed was already frayed and broken.
‘If my power is this strong, it should be roughly on par with an average priest.’
Instead of a regular area purification, he chose the request for the entire house. Training had to be challenging for real growth. A few bruises were inevitable anyway.
As he thought this, he turned the doorknob.
The rusty iron groaned as the door creaked open, and a thick, stale scent of dust and decay wafted out.
The smell of old blood and neglect filled the air.
Even though it was daytime, the house felt unnaturally dark, as if it were midnight.
After closing the door, Endy focused on the darkness and blinked his eyes rapidly until his vision adjusted.
The interior gradually came into focus.
Starting with the first floor, he headed toward what he guessed was the living room.
Every step down the hallway echoed with that unsettling creak.
—Hehe.
“...”
Something else had sounded like a giggle.
He brushed it off as his imagination and stepped inside.
Only ashes remained in the fireplace, and the carpet and sofa were covered in dust. The living room, where life should have been, now felt empty.
After a quick look around, there was nothing special, so he turned to leave.
—Hehe.
This time he headed to the kitchen.
The chairs were scattered across the floor as if a wild fight had taken place, and dishes like plates, forks, and knives lay scattered around them.
The sight of the dead plants’ soil on the ground was heartbreaking. The bodies had been cleared away somehow, but the rest of the house had been neglected completely.
Endy squatted down to inspect the signs of struggle when—
—tap tap.
A sound suddenly came from behind.
—tap tap. Woman’s shoes.
“...”
Endy held his breath, and the footsteps stopped abruptly.
Yet there was a clear presence.
After a long exhale, he turned around.
—Get out of our house.
At that moment, a kitchen knife was thrust right in front of his face.
A blood-stained blade floating alone in midair.
“Sorry. A complaint came in.”
—Kyaaa!
The instant he saw it, Endy clenched his fist and poured his purification power into his right hand, swinging with all his strength.
The knife looked close enough to reach, and his instincts told him exactly where to aim.
The moment it made contact—
Thud!
The presence vanished with a satisfying thud.
—Kyaaak!
Yet the bizarre phenomenon of a house where an entire family had been slaughtered persisted. The kitchen knife that had been thrown far away came flying straight back toward Endy.
Unfazed, he frowned slightly and calmly reached out with his hand.
Spark—!
A brilliant flash of light burst from his palm like a camera flash, flooding the entire house and revealing the figure holding the knife.
A woman with a neck bent at a ninety-degree angle, limp and grotesque.
She had lunged at Endy only to freeze in place from the strong light.
He seized the opening and kicked her in the stomach with full force.
—Kyaaa!
She flew toward the table and crashed into the chairs with a massive crash.
Endy was right behind her, kicking the knife away with a single motion and grabbing the woman by the collar to lift her up.
Thud. Bam—
—Kk! Gyaak! Ugh?!
Since she was already dead, he didn’t need to hold back. With the power of purification in his fists, he struck her repeatedly.
He was just a beginner at purification, but he wondered if combining a bit of physical force with holy energy would simply make the negativity disappear.
Every time contact was made, his head throbbed.
Each flash of light felt like a knitting needle stabbing through his mind, just like when he had purified that middle-aged man at the guild.
The woman grimaced in pain from the blows, but then she glared at him with vicious eyes and raised her arms, displaying talons sharp enough to be called inhuman.
They flew toward Endy’s neck as if to tear him apart.
He hurriedly kicked her away and stepped back, giving her a chance to roll toward the knife herself, so he threw his body forward too.
“Kuk…!”
—Kyaa!
Their bodies collided. Despite the impact, his brain felt like it was ringing. He needed to end this quickly.
After pinning her down, he channeled every bit of energy he could gather.
Energy flows through the blood of all living things in this world. It is often called the power of life.
Priests who convert it into holy power perform miracles of purification and healing. Mages who turn it into mana wield miracles that influence the particles of the universe.
Endy belonged to the former group.
The gift bestowed by the status window named “Inheritance of Spirituality.”
As his heart raced, power gathered in his hands and transformed into bright, warm light.
The ghost woman thrashed wildly, but she was pinned beneath Endy. Still, her beastly talons scratched at him, tearing his clothes and peeling away his skin.
—Die! I’ll kill you too! I’ll kill everyone!
The mad woman who had murdered her husband and his mistress, her own child, and then taken her own life.
Endy had been in agony from using purification since earlier, but watching this vicious woman made a faint irritation rise within him.
He understood the hatred, yet it was still wrong to kill a child.
If they had given birth to them, they should have raised them in happiness, right?
That was too irresponsible.
“Tsk.”
Endy clicked his tongue and reached out again.
This time he didn’t punch. Instead, he grabbed the woman’s head and continuously released his power.
—Aaaaah!
A scream of agony echoed, accompanied by a sizzling sound as if something was burning away. The longer the light touched her, the more effective it seemed.
Endy watched her body grow faint and increased his output even further.
His breathing grew ragged, and he felt consciousness slipping away, but he endured it silently.
Finally, the light spread so brightly that it illuminated the entire first floor.
—Flash!
When he opened his eyes again, the ghost had vanished, leaving only the blood-stained knife lying alone on the floor.
“Hoo… Haa…”
He exhaled slowly. Without thinking, he touched his forehead, which was drenched in sweat.
The guild had warned him for a reason. This was never an easy task.
‘...Still, it was doable for now.’
Endy thought of the girl who lived in the mansion. She lived under the shadow of a witch who had once destroyed the world, yet compared to her, this single house of evil spirits was nothing.
Massaging his aching head, he stood up.
The very next moment, the entire house shook, and an unpleasant aura spread from above with a low, eerie moan.
The real body was still upstairs.
“...Everything must be wiped out.”
Purification was absolute.
This world was made of particles.
When people lived their lives, waste was produced, and similarly, particles accumulated waste. That included stagnant souls, curses, and energy. All the filth and negativity were collectively called negativity.
The negativity floating in the air was harmless, but when it gathered and solidified, it began to erode the surroundings, and when the amount grew large enough, it would turn into a monster.
And this house had become a cursed place because the woman who lived here had murdered her entire family and then killed herself out of hatred. It was the textbook definition of a space of negativity.
The church’s initial sealing would prevent monsters for now, but purification still had to be thorough.
Endy had experienced it firsthand, and he understood now.
The evil he had only read about and heard described in stories was something entirely different.
Real evil that could kill a person.
This was his first time experiencing true danger in this world. Today, he would face a being bound by a curse directly. Beyond personal reasons like money or training, a sense of duty arose.
Purification was absolute.
Not even a tiny bit of dirt was allowed to remain—
—Do not allow even the slightest contamination.
“...?”
Wait, there was a familiar feeling.
As if he had thought or heard something similar before.
Urrrum!
The vibration grew stronger, and Endy rushed toward the stairs to focus his eyes ahead.
***
“...Huu.”
The girl, who had covered her mouth with both hands for a long time, finally breathed out.
She had followed the teacher all day to protect him and had witnessed everything.
Cream, who had been crouching by the window earlier, trembled as she hugged her doll tightly to her shoulder with one arm.
Her already pale face had grown even whiter.
“Impossible… How…”
The parts of her body that had reacted to the light enveloping the house earlier tingled. Her veins felt as if they were boiling with unfamiliar liquid, and instead, her whole body felt cold.
“A priest… and such a high-ranking one…”
The power of the light had been terrifyingly strong.
The mask of kindness and benevolence had hidden something else beneath.
She had seen it all.
“...Everything must be wiped out.”
No need to ponder the cold words the man had whispered toward negativity. The answer was already clear.
“As expected… it was all a lie…”
The girl of negativity made a face full of sorrow.
——
Stress: 40% → 80%
——