Chapter 11

“Talisman control incantation open. Shadow Bind.”

A strand of shadow ran out, swallowing the pouring light.

The shadow of the sword in Hamel’s hand bent and flew like a blade.

─Screech

With a sharp cutting sound, the blade sliced through Reteil’s body.

What had happened?

Reteil inspected its body.

Despite something having cut through it, there was no pain.

No, there wasn’t even a trace of being cut.

Whatever it was, it seemed a meaningless struggle.

Just as Reteil was about to curl its lips in a bitter smile.

─Whish

A red dot seemed to run, then a red line surged toward it.

Its speed was far more overwhelming than that arrogant apostle who served the deity.

Seeing the human clad in iron all over, Reteil could easily guess his identity.

Humanity’s guardian and a sword.

A knight.

Mana gathered, shimmering on the sword.

‘An Aura Blade, perhaps,’

It was different from the priest’s sword that wouldn’t even leave a scratch.

Just as Reteil thought it was getting annoying, the knight slammed into the ground like a cannonball.

The red-adorned knight closed the distance to its face in the blink of an eye.

It seemed to have noticed the face was a weak spot…

[Regrettable.]

Reteil smiled bitterly.

Its elegant mane was not merely decoration or a threat.

They were thousands of spears, each sharpened to pierce an opponent at any time.

The mane was coated with flesh-rotting poison, so a mere graze would make foes writhe in pain worse than death and often take their own lives.

The knight before it would meet the same fate.

That was what it thought—until a moment later.

─Ssilk

With a smooth sound like silk sliding, Reteil’s shadow split in two.

Then its body stiffened like stone.

A sensation that prevented even the blink of an eye.

It was a feeling it had felt before.

‘This was when it met Him…’

It was similar to the moment its soul had been overwhelmed.

However, unlike then, there was no fear or awe.

It was simply as if the connection between mind and body had been severed and the body would not obey.

[Vermin… what are you doing!!]

Just as Reteil was about to yell out in anger.

─Crack

A searing pain like being burned spread hotly through its head.

A feeling as if sharp shards of glass were gouging its brain.

[────!]

Reteil let out a terrible roar and twisted its body.

A knight.

In the red-tinged vision, a single human knight had driven a sword into its left eye.

But only for a moment—when Reteil realized its body could move, it immediately sharpened its mane and stabbed the knight.

“Kuuugh!”

Daniel, trying to drive the sword in deeper, lost strength and fell to the ground.

The iron-clad body hit the floor, but it didn’t even feel like pain.

Because a far greater agony was already gnawing through its whole body.

Its thighs, arms, and flank had been pierced by Reteil’s mane.

A dreadful, nauseating agony crawled up through the veins of its body.

It felt as if millipedes with thousands of sharp legs were tearing its nerves apart as they ran.

Even being scalded in fire and oil wouldn’t be this kind of pain.

Daniel couldn’t withstand the pain; blood burst from his eyes, nose, and ears and poured out.

Amid that horrible pain, only one thing kept Daniel conscious.

‘The monster—?’

Had he completed the task assigned to him?

Had this pain been meaningful?

Gripping his convulsing arms and legs, Daniel barely raised his head.

“Ah.”

A single lament escaped from Daniel’s mouth amidst his continuous groaning.

[…I shall not let you die peacefully.]

Reteil stood upright, yellow liquid mixed with blood streaming from its eyes.

Emitting a dreadful might befitting the name King of Beasts, it shouted toward the humans in the mansion.

[I will chew the children alive, tear the women to pieces. I will heap the old into a mass of meat and force the men to watch it all before thrusting them into the flames.]

It was merely words, but those who heard them could understand.

They were not simple words, but a prophecy and a promise of the future.

A future that would certainly come to pass.

People fell to their knees and wept.

Fear and despair stained the mansion.

[From tonight on, this land will be erased from maps forever.]

Reteil shouted triumphantly.

“No.”

A dry but confident voice rang in everyone’s ears.

Not very loud, but clear.

Daniel, sunk in despair, raised his head and took in the sight of a man.

The silver-haired priest had rushed forward and was now right before Reteil’s nose.

[…You!]

Blinded by rage, Reteil finally noticed Hamel’s presence.

He was too close to Hamel to withdraw.

Reteil swung a forepaw at the charging Hamel.

The forepaw, cutting the air like a storm, looked like it would tear everything apart.

But Hamel did not slow down.

Instead he ran toward the swinging paw and dodged the attack as if flowing with water.

Reteil’s paw only cut through earth and air in vain.

“…Impressive.”

Daniel’s admiration barely had time to register when Hamel used Reteil’s extended paw as a stepping stone to spring up to its face.

The purpose was clear to see.

The sword Daniel had thrust into its left eye.

That alone was the only move that could fell the beast.

‘But…’

Reteil let out a roar as if incredulous.

[────!]

Earlier, Reteil had been restrained because its body couldn’t move.

Daniel could not have driven a sword into its eye if the beast’s body had been fully functional.

As expected, the black manes sharpened like spears once more.

Thousands of spears coated with poison that induced pain enough to make one lose consciousness at a touch.

There was no way to get through them.

Hamel would inevitably have to dodge or retreat.

Just as Daniel was certain of Hamel’s defeat.

─Ujik

Daniel saw Hamel torn and pierced by Reteil’s mane.

Flesh fell from his arms and legs.

Holes were torn in his abdomen and neck, and his mouth was split wide, gums exposed.

“What the…”

When Daniel was at a loss for words and Reteil twitched, seemingly surprised.

Hamel’s body burst into a blue flame.

He advanced with his burning body.

Despite thousands of sharp manes piercing him, he proceeded as if climbing a mountain on a rope.

He pulled the thorns toward his body and stubbornly moved forward.

─Crunch

Horrible sounds of something like bone or muscle being torn were heard.

Yet Hamel did not stop.

Like a moth on fire.

Even with his body aflame, he only moved forward.

Watching that wondrous scene, Daniel could see it.

The fear written in Reteil’s eyes.

[Verm…in!]

Reteil raged, seemingly ashamed that it felt fear.

[I am the fear of humans who have lived for centuries. I am the King of Beasts!]

Roaring, Reteil swung its forepaw hard to strike Hamel away.

But Hamel was a little faster.

“Let’s go together.”

Hamel smiled and put his hand on the sword lodged in Reteil’s eye.

He grabbed the blade with his hand and drove it deeper with his weight.

At that moment, Hamel’s blood flowing down the blade blazed more brightly than ever.

─Flare

Flames that shone so blue they were almost white.

Reteil’s body faltered for an instant.

[Who the hell are you────!]

Blue flames flared up inside Reteil’s wide-open eyes, as if startled by something.

The light grew and blue flames burst from its nose, ears, and even its mouth.

With a final writhing in pain, Reteil ceased moving.

The massive body crashed down like a puppet with severed strings and did not move again.

It truly was a dreadful pain.

Hamel trembled all over like an aspen and thought so.

Even though he’d been torn, burned, and cut countless times as an Exorcist priest, he’d never experienced pain like this.

But he had no strength left to even let out a scream or twitch a finger.

He could only feel the silent approach of death and pain and slowly die.

─Crackle

The sound of Azure Flame in his ears grew weaker.

He was not immortal.

Azure Flame had a limit to its use, and if mortally wounded, Hamel would die just the same.

‘Is this the end like this?’

He felt regret at that.

There was no need to ponder the reason deeply.

Because he had not yet taken his revenge.

The demon that had taken his mother’s life that night was still vivid in his mind.

The image of the monster with white scales and dozens of writhing tentacles.

And it was only a hunch, but something was happening in his family’s territory now.

A branch of the family, long out of contact, had called for him.

They requested help, saying Gail, a close aide to the house head, had committed suicide and strange events were occurring in the territory.

He became convinced someone was targeting him.

Was meeting a super-class demon this time a coincidence?

He thought not.

The recent incidents around him carried an uncanny pattern he’d never felt before.

He felt as if he were finally about to grasp a shard of that night’s truth, yet unable to see the end left him frustrated.

Before long, he barely felt the pain anymore.

His consciousness slipped slowly into darkness as if sinking into a deep whirlpool.

Was this death?

Hamel was bewildered by how unexpectedly warm the sensation was.

‘This is like…’

─Whoom

A bewildering, sweeping sensation stirred his body.

The pain he had been forgetting struck vividly, making his vision swim.

‘…My vision is dizzy?’

Just as he was about to scream from the unexpected pain, Hamel paused.

Because the sensations and thoughts he was feeling were the prerogative of the living.

Hamel, puzzled, slowly opened his eyes.

What came into his sight was Antonio, pallid, with a hand on his forehead.

“Mother of all lost lives, compassionate one who cherishes wounded young creatures—may your mercy remain at my fingertips, I pray.”

Divine power flowed from his fingertips, driving out Reteil’s deadly poison deep in Hamel’s body and repairing the pierced and punctured wounds.

“Ugh!”

Hamel could not bear the dizzying pain and groaned, and cheers erupted around them.

“He’s alive!”

“The priest is alive!”

So many people shouting with joy at his moan.

Hamel felt a peculiar emotion and opened his mouth with effort.

“What happened to Reteil?”

“Don’t ask. I’m at my limit too.”

The Divine power extending from Antonio’s hand gradually lost its strength.

Then Antonio collapsed with a thud beside Hamel and mumbled weakly.

“Uaaah. Don’t answer—just listen. Reteil has been defeated and the knight is safe.”

Antonio, for his part, groaned that he felt he might die.

Antonio, who had purified the lord’s daughter and been unconscious, had awoken and healed the knight and Hamel.

It was a moment when the presence of God felt nearer than ever.

‘It must not be time yet.’

Hamel believed God had watched over him because tasks he had yet to complete remained.

Hamel quietly gave thanks to God inwardly.

Sunlight had already risen brightly, gently covering the clearing.

“Thank you!”

Hamel quietly looked at the lord who held both of his hands.

Bowing to the waist in gratitude, he was not the lord of Rengbaster but the father of a little girl.

“It’s all right.”

“How can I ever repay this favor?”

“This commission began at the request of the villagers. They’ve already agreed to give alms to the church, so nothing more is necessary.”

“Hmm.”

The lord of Rengbaster looked at Hamel as if troubled with his thoughts.

Then he suddenly brightened.

“Young man, that ring around your neck?”

Hamel picked up the ring hanging on his neck.

A silver ring engraved with a maidenhair flower.

‘Ah, now that I think of it, I had nowhere to put it, so I wore it around my neck.’

Hamel, who had even forgotten about its existence, nodded and answered.

“It’s the signet ring of the Gilmore baronial house.”