Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Executioner (3)
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"By now, things down below should be finished."
Jamie spoke to the doctor while keeping his feet planted against the tree trunk.
The doctor was thoroughly irritated by Jamie's nimble dodges.
He snorted and coiled his tentacles into a rounded hammer shape.
"Hmph. That's why I sent two more elites."
"Elites?"
"You don't need to know!"
Kwajik-!
The bundled tentacles utterly demolished the tree Jamie had been standing on.
Jamie flapped Black's wings and soared into the sky.
"Looks like you handled one somehow, but with two gone, there's no way they'll survive."
There were five chimeras he had painstakingly crafted—not quite paladin chimeras, but specialized for battle all the same.
One had regrettably fallen, but with two more sent as reinforcements, the enemy wouldn't stand a chance.
"Your confidence is excessive."
"It's not confidence; it's reality. Now stop scurrying around like a rat and offer up that neck of yours!!"
The doctor shot into the air like a bird.
Jamie evaded the pursuing doctor by climbing even higher.
'Seven in total.'
The number of foreign species grafted onto the doctor's body.
The creature could no longer be called human.
How utterly insane did one have to be to achieve something like that?
Even worse, the seven abilities meshed together remarkably well. It was proficient in magic too, making an easy victory unlikely at present.
'If I turn it into one of my own, that wouldn't be bad at all.'
Chimera undead.
Jamie drew a smile.
Ras heaved rough breaths.
All that remained in the wake of his Judgment Sword was a black monster cleaved clean in half.
'I ended up using the Holy Executioner's power.'
He let out a short sigh.
Holy Executioner was a title bestowed upon only seven paladins within the Pyro Church.
But it was far more than a mere title—upon receiving it, one was granted special power directly from the goddess.
This power was uniform across all bearers and permitted only for the extermination of enemies defined as 'evil.'
It was certainly fitting for the current situation, but he regretted it because the battle was far from over.
'Time limit: 30 minutes.'
He had to wrap everything up within 30 minutes.
After that, a tremendous backlash would hit, leaving him unable even to grip his sword properly.
That was why he had hesitated to use the Holy Executioner's power.
"H-How is this possible?"
"It's still alive?"
At that moment, the shadow knights who had been mauled by the monster shouted out.
"How?!"
The shadow knight behind Ras was utterly flustered by the absurd scene.
One had taken a direct punch and been pinned under a boulder on the verge of death; the other had sustained wounds that should have been fatal.
Yet both knights were perfectly fine now—even their injuries fully healed.
"The Judgment Light's effects vary based on my judgment of good and evil."
Infinite violence for evil.
Infinite mercy for good.
It could be called extreme, but this was precisely the authority of Pyro, goddess of mercy and punishment.
Of course, since it was a human wielding divine power, there was a price to pay.
'When the Holy Executioner's ability fades, a portion of the pain they endured will transfer to me.'
It was something he was used to.
The fate of one who discerns sin.
"Let's head down."
"Understood."
The shadow knights asked no further questions about the situation.
They simply obeyed Ras's orders.
A fairly spacious laboratory came into view below.
"There's a door over there."
"I feel wind coming from below. It's probably a door leading underground."
Ras nodded at the shadow knights' words.
If things went well, he might finish everything before the duration expired.
Chwak-!
"Dodge!"
Ras shoved one shadow knight aside while another shadow knight pushed his comrade.
A blade of green light sliced through the space between them.
"Another chimera!"
There was no end to them.
Ras ground his teeth and stared ahead.
"What the hell is that?"
Its arms were shaped like dao blades, its body a grayish mass of rippling muscle. A single horn protruded from its forehead.
Its lower body resembled a spider's, and a bee stinger gleamed at its rear.
But what terrified them more than those features was—
"That's... aura."
The shadow knight muttered through gritted teeth.
Just as he said, a sharp green glow emanated from its dao-like arms.
They knew that alien power better than anyone.
It was aura—the form of mana wielded only by those who had reached the Expert realm.
And that wasn't the only problem.
Kung—kung—kung—kung—
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, another monster appeared beside the grayish one.
A beast with the lower body of a massive horse and the hulking upper body of a gray ogre.
What was an ogre? A forest predator so tenacious it preyed even on trolls, known for their stubborn regenerative abilities.
It was a monster so powerful that even Expert-level fighters had to steel their resolve to face one.
"The lower body's probably from a Demon Horse."
The legs sturdy enough to support an ogre's upper body weren't from any ordinary horse.
A horse over three meters tall, classified as a monster. A Demon Horse's hooves could pulverize rock like pudding.
With a body weight of 0.5 tons, it was more than sufficient to bear the ogre torso.
"Damn it all."
Ras gave a bitter smile.
The black monster they'd just fought had been horrific enough.
Now two more of comparable strength had joined the fray.
"Everyone, battle stations."
It was relatively spacious, but still a confined area.
The battle began between the two massive chimeras and the four knights.
Riki looked around his surroundings.
His head spun, and his blurry vision made it hard to see clearly.
He propped himself up on his upper body first. His entire frame felt numb, with no strength in his limbs.
His eyelids were heavy, and he felt like he could drift right back to sleep if he lay down again.
But he didn't. He couldn't.
He needed to pull himself together.
Slap!!
He clenched his teeth and slapped his cheek hard.
Tears welled up. He'd hit too hard—nearly screamed.
"Hoo."
The slap worked; his foggy mind cleared a little.
His hazy vision improved slightly as well. He looked around again.
"Where... am I?"
The space was made entirely of iron.
From the hard bed he lay on to the table, chairs, and various unrecognizable tools—everything.
Along the walls stood rows of long glass jars filled with contents too gruesome to look at.
Riki was bewildered. He had no idea why he was here.
He couldn't remember yesterday.
The day before, he'd read a picture book to Anna before falling asleep. What had happened after that?
"This is..."
Then he noticed a dead bug clinging to his chest.
Its grotesque form made him grimace instinctively, but with a strong stomach, he simply peeled it off with his hand.
"Ow, that stings."
It felt like one of its legs had been embedded in his skin.
He tossed the bug aside carelessly and got off the bed to inspect the room. He fiddled with unfamiliar tools before approaching the cluster of glass jars.
They contained unrotted corpses of insects and animals.
Not just those—there were also what appeared to be human eyeballs and organs.
"So gross."
What kind of place was this, filled with such horrors?
He moved slowly, examining them one by one.
Then he stopped before a massive glass jar—easily three times larger than the others.
What was preserved inside was beyond description in its brutality.
Riki's slightly parted lips trembled. He couldn't tell if what he was seeing was real or if this situation was reality itself.
"Si-Sinno?"
Preserved within the jar was the boy Sinno, whom Riki knew well.
He floated curled up inside, but vital parts were missing.
His hands and feet shook uncontrollably.
He placed a hand on the jar.
Cold. So terribly cold. Why was Sinno in such a frigid place?
'He was chosen by Lord Zenith and taken to the head temple.'
Wasn't he supposed to be studying there to become a fine priest?
"Ugh!"
His head throbbed sharply.
Riki staggered with his small body and dropped to one knee.
What had he done yesterday?
Fragments of lost memory began to surface.
Yesterday, the bishop had gathered everyone. He'd announced that another chosen one had appeared. After that... someone was called.
'Who?'
The person walking toward that spot.
In his memory, no one else headed there. The one moving was the memory's owner—himself.
He ascended the podium where the bishop stood and took his place beside him.
'The chosen one is—'
"Urk!"
The headache intensified.
His head felt like it would split open. Riki writhed in agony, rolling across the floor.
Memories from yesterday flowed rapidly into this morning, then afternoon and evening.
'Priest? Is this the head temple?'
It was a gloomy forest.
The priest tasked with guiding him gave no answer, merely leading the way. They arrived at a dilapidated old house—one that seemed haunted. They entered.
A dusty space.
Pulling halfway out a book from the shelf revealed a door to the basement.
There, he saw a scientist in a sinister atmosphere.
'No. There was one more person.'
He'd thought it a mistake, but in that fleeting moment, he'd clearly seen Lincoln Bishop.
The very person who had led him here appeared. He didn't know why he vanished so suddenly, but then his neck stung, and he lost consciousness.
"Hahk, hahk."
In that short time, his body was drenched in sweat.
'I... I...'
Wasn't chosen.
He looked around the room again. This wasn't some head temple. This was hell. A hell that mercilessly crushed all hope and plunged one into despair!
"G-Gotta escape."
He rushed to flee the laboratory, but his eyes fell on Sinno.
His current body had no strength to extract and carry him.
"Soon. I'll come back for you soon."
His friend, unjustly killed.
Why had he envied him? Why had he wished him well?
"Bishop...!"
Fury toward Lincoln surged within him.
His faith in the divine shattered. Endless hatred began to boil in the boy's body.
He wouldn't let him get away with this.
Escaping this place came first.
Riki painfully opened the door and stepped out. At that moment, a commotion erupted from upstairs.
Kwang-! Jjeojeok!!
It sounded like a deafening explosion or something hard being scraped away.
Someone was fighting.
'Did they come to save me?'
It might just be infighting, but in his despair, the boy clung to hope once more.
With a tense expression, Riki moved slowly. He quickly spotted the stairs leading up.
Kung—kung!
The stairs shook violently.
One step, then another—he ascended cautiously. He paused with each impact to check if they would collapse.
Upon reaching the top, he quietly opened the door.
Kagak-!!
The first thing he saw was a shower of red sparks.
The wildly scattering sparks told of the battle's ferocity.
Dazzling light tangled with eerie green glows. Two blue trails cut through the chaos.
The green glow scattered in all directions. But a massive hoof descending from above turned the blue into dust.
Kwang!!
The ensuing roar nearly sent Riki tumbling down the stairs.
As he debated whether to step out—
"Slash incoming from the right!"
A familiar voice reached Riki's ears.
The thought "No way—" crossed his mind just as he flung the door wide open.
"Uncle!"
The knight cloaked in light turned toward the boy.
Ras grinned brightly in response.
"Brother, I told you."