episode_0048

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No one would deny that quickly accepting new information is important to survive in a world that has suddenly changed.

Especially if that information is directly related to life and death.

In that respect, the knowledge that ‘monsters cannot cross the sea’ was one of the most important pieces of information I had.

It was information I learned at the risk of my life the first day I encountered the monsters, and it was also the reason we could all live safely on the island.

Was I unwilling to shatter the illusion of a safe place?

I bit my lip and regretted it.

When I learned how they reproduced, I should have considered and prepared for it thoroughly.

‘Corpses float on water.’

It was my mistake to neglect common sense I already knew, blinded by new knowledge.

“Sola!”

A monster climbing the lighthouse wall by digging its hands into it is aiming for Sola.

New monsters were popping out of the blisters that had formed on the corpses washed up on the pebble beach by the waves.

And countless corpses, no, monster egg sacs, surrounded the island.

I quickly grasped the situation, but it wasn’t a situation with a clear answer.

As soon as the boat touched the beach, I saw newly born monsters stretching their backs and puffing up their bodies.

“Lucia!”

Lucia kicked off the boat and soared into the air.

The force of the recoil caused the bottom of the boat to crash into the pebble beach and break.

As I jumped out of the boat, the monsters slowly turned their heads towards me.

Bang!

With a huge roar, Lucia landed in the middle of the monsters.

Monster fluids splashed all over her skin and hair, which had turned jet-black,

and above the red eyes that gleamed eerily within.

The monsters’ traces were smeared all over my body as well.

However, without time to shake them off, I immediately kicked off the gravel and said.

“Block them here, I’ll go to Sola first!”

“It’s dangerous! It’s better to go together…”

“No time!”

I ran straight towards the Monastery.

The monster climbing the lighthouse was already almost at the top.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be familiar with climbing walls.

It was slow, and its arms would sometimes pass through the lighthouse and slip.

But that didn’t mean I had time to relax.

“Billy, you know you can’t kill the monsters, right?”

“Shut up.”

Of course, there might be other monsters near the Monastery besides the one I could see now.

Of course, I knew it was safer to move with Lucia, but considering the number of corpses surrounding the island, I couldn’t leave them alone.

It wouldn’t be easy for Lucia alone to deal with the monsters hiding inside the island while protecting us.

But if we blocked the entrance, Lucia could defend it alone.

Above all, I had something to believe in.

“Kunat, it’s time to work.”

“Hmm? Are you suggesting a deal?”

“What deal? Just do it.”

“Does she think devils are volunteers?”

“Then, let’s call it rent.”

“Trying to make a devil sleep in a Monastery and get paid for it, aren’t you thinking too sweetly?”

“I’m going to kill you. Do I look like I’m joking…”

“Haha, get fucked Billy.”

“You bitch.”

The thing I believed in disappeared.

No, asking a devil for help was a stupid idea in the first place.

Even if the situation is urgent.

I bit my lip, scolding myself for my foolish thoughts.

I ran non-stop up the steep hill and reached the Monastery, forcefully exhaling the rising breath.

“One in the yard, one on the roof, one on the lighthouse wall.”

Kunat kindly counted the number of monsters for me, replacing the exhausted me.

Three.

Since roughly two or three are born from one corpse, that meant most of the corpses hadn’t entered the island yet.

At that moment, a loud voice was heard from above.

“Father!”

It was Sola.

Her voice was cracked from screaming so much, but even in that state, Sola was screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Father! Help me!”

“Sola! Are you okay?”

“I’m okay! But, Anna is… Eek!”

Sola stopped talking and threw a brick from inside the lighthouse at the monster.

The monster staggered slightly after being hit squarely by the brick, but didn’t seem to be severely damaged.

Sola threw another brick and said.

“Anna is! She’s hurt badly!

“Where is Anna!”

“Here! She’s with me. She’s lost too much blood, something big might happen!”

“Okay, wait!”

I shouted, but I had no idea what to do.

My mind was racing, but my head kept spinning in place.

Every second, my heart was pounding, and my breathing became unstable and disordered.

“Hmm, what are you going to do.”

“…”

I don’t know.

“Help me.”

“Hehehe, aren’t you starting to regret it? If you had been kind to me usually…”

“…”

“Even so, I wouldn’t help you for nothing. I won’t lie.”

“You bitch.”

To get up the stairs, I would have to break through the monsters in the yard, which would be impossible if Kunat, that bastard, didn’t help.

Even if I managed to break through and get in, it wouldn’t mean anything if the monster on the lighthouse wall arrived first.

At least, it would be nice to shift the monsters’ attention to me, so I could be chased instead, but even though I came closer, they were still staring at the top of the lighthouse.

I threw stones around, but they still ignored me.

“Damn it, do you have to kill Sola and Anna!”

“Now, put down the stones, such useless efforts only waste time and energy. I’ll explain it quickly, considering you.”

Kunat sneered at me in a mocking tone.

“I have a very simple way to solve this situation.”

“… Speak.”

“Wouldn’t it be easy to solve if Sola and Anna handed over their bodies to a devil?”

“Ha, I knew you would say some bullshit. Even if they did, how would you get close to those two…”

“There’s no need to go.”

“… What?”

Kunat giggled and said.

“Aren’t you their guardian? If only you agree, I can put a devil in their bodies right away.”

“Now, are you telling me… to hand them over to a devil with my own will?”

“No signature needed, if you feel guilty, you don’t have to say it. Just nod your head once now, and I’ll take care of everything.”

“…”

Kunat was already standing behind me.

Her two arms, covered in smooth skin of her red skin, gently hugged me from behind.

I couldn’t tell when she had slipped out of my clothes or when she had transformed into human form.

As if she had been there from the beginning, in that form, Kunat hugged me from behind, wrapping one hand around my waist and the other around my neck.

She put her lips close to my ear, as if to stick her disgusting tongue in it, and whispered.

“I understand that you feel uncomfortable. How could you not? You’re a Cleric.”

“…”

“But you don’t think it’s better to die than to be possessed by a devil, do you?”

“Shut up, of course…”

It’s better to die.

It’s clearly better to die.

A human who has met death can escape from the devil’s grasp and enter the path of reincarnation led by God, or enter the heavenly world where a just reward awaits.

Even if I fall for the devil’s whispers, I will only enjoy a little luxury in my short life.

Considering the suffering in Hell for eternity after death, it would be several times better to die than to accept Kunat’s opinion.

But… but,

Anna and Sola’s lives were on the line now.

If my life was on the line, I would choose death without hesitation, but is it right to end those two lives with my judgment?

“… Damn it.”

When I hesitated to answer, Kunat stroked my chin.

It was like handling a dog.

“I know you’re in a dilemma. How could I not know, since I put you in it, but listen… Billy. Do you have time to worry so comfortably?”

I looked up.

One of the monster’s arms was already placed on the lighthouse where Sola and Anna were.

“Fuck…”

“Ah, don’t worry too much, I’ll pick a devil that’s a perfect match for them.”

“I’m thinking, so shut up!”

I picked up a stone again and threw it at the head of the nearest monster.

The monster still looked at the top of the lighthouse and tried to climb the Monastery wall, even after being hit in the head with a stone.

“Pitiful, Billy. You’re so pitiful. I want to hug you.”

“…”

“Ah, I’m already hugging you. Hehehe”

This is strange.

To be ignored this much,

Did I have some kind of grudge against Sola and Anna?

Did Sola pour bricks on the monsters’ heads and make them angry?

Did the blood that Anna shed when she was hurt taste just right to the monsters?

The monsters’ obsession with Anna and Sola, leaving me, an easy prey right next to them, felt a little strange.

“… Wait a minute.”

Why, do the monsters ignore me,

Looking at them, they didn’t seem to know about the existence of the stairs inside the Monastery building.

Why do they only pay attention to Sola and Anna, even while climbing the wall with difficulty?

The monsters kill humans and plant their young in the humans’ corpses.

“Kill humans…”

The monsters’ weakness is the power of the devil.

“The power of the devil…”

I muttered quietly.

“Hey.”

“Hmm? Have you decided?”

I raised my hand and grabbed Kunat’s hair, which was placed near my ear.

“Eung! Ah, that’s good, but right now…”

“It was you. You bastard.”

I wrapped holy power around my hand and stabbed Kunat in the eye.

“Kiaaaaak!”

Kunat screamed and fell away from me.

Then, the monster in the yard slowly turned its head towards me.

But still, the monster climbing the lighthouse wall and the monster on the roof were not interested in me.

“… I guess that’s it.”

The reason the monsters ignored me was because they were afraid of Kunat.

I immediately activated the needle embedded in the monster’s chest, and at the same time, I started beating Kunat with both arms wrapped in holy power.

“Keok, Keuak! What is this…”

“Go back to cat form, while I’m being nice.”

“Being nice,,, Keok, what is this, being nice. Ugh!”

“No time to joke around. Hurry!”

Kunat’s body shrunk and crumpled.

Anyone who saw it might think I had beaten Kunat’s body until it became a cat form.

As the black fur began to cover his entire body, I immediately picked up Kunat.

“Billy, eugh, what, what are you trying to do.”

“Heup!”

I held Kunat firmly in both hands and threw it into the sky in one go.

“Wuaaak!”

Kunat spun around in the air and flew straight towards the monster clinging to the lighthouse wall.

The monster was terrified and fell from the lighthouse wall.

Thud,

The sound of a fruit like a watermelon being smashed on the ground reverberated.

The monster that fell to the ground shuddered, scattering its yellowish entrails covered in pure white blood.

We can’t fight them with human strength, but they die if they fall from a high place.

“… This is an unexpected harvest.”

Good.

Besides the power of the devil, I found a way to kill them.

“… Hah,”

I hurried towards the Monastery fence.

The fence was made a long time ago, so the wood was old and rotten, and the nails were rusty.

I punched the rotten wooden fence and took out the rusty nails from inside.

Then I approached the monsters again and shouted.

“Hey, you ugly bastards!”

When I say this, I feel guilty for some reason.

But it wasn’t wrong.

I may be ugly, but I look like a person, but those things are so disgusting that it’s hard to look at them.

The monster in the yard and the monster on the roof, who was just about to climb onto the lighthouse, all looked at me at once.

“… I hope my guess is right.”

I stabbed my wrist with a rusty nail.

Hot, sticky blood gushed out and poured all over my face.

“Eugh, sshee-bal,”

I firmly grasped the nail, which was slippery with blood, and drew it down my wrist.

A huge amount of blood scattered in all directions in an instant.

“Father! What are you doing!”

Sola shouted.

But I didn’t answer.

If I had time, I wouldn’t want anything more, but I didn’t have time to waste on sentimental farewells.

I pulled out the rusty nail and stabbed myself in the neck in one go.

I felt like my head was about to explode with terrible pain, and at the same time, I felt a chill down my spine from the sudden approach of death.

But it was bearable.

I wanted to cut off all the parts that Kunat touched.

At the same time, the body of the monster on the roof swiveled towards me.

The monsters made clicking sounds and began to crouch as if they were about to pounce on me.

“That’s right…”

The reason they only focused on the lighthouse wasn’t just because they avoided Kunat.

They breed by planting their young on human corpses.

In other words, they are more interested in corpses than in living people.

If there is one human, they will kill him and make him a corpse, but if there are healthy people and dying people at the same time, the monsters will target the dying people first.

Perhaps, the reason they were interested in the lighthouse was because of Anna, who was seriously injured.

Of course, it was also because there were only those two humans on this island in the first place.

In the end, to attract their attention now, I just need to get closer to death than Anna.

I pulled the rusty nail out of my neck with trembling hands and slowly dropped it to the floor.

Then I slowly backed away.

The monsters reacted to me moving away and slowly began to move forward.

I shouted.

“Come on, who’s going to take this priest’s first time!”

And I turned around and ran.

The monsters screamed.

A loud roar was quickly approaching from behind.

At the same time, my vision was getting blurred because of the blood I had already shed too much.

I closed my eyes tightly and ran without looking back.

“Eugh!”

I felt the sharp claws of the monster graze the back of my head.

I already knew their physical abilities well.

I didn’t have much time left.

“Got it!”

But I had already arrived.

That cliff where I kissed Anna.

I immediately kicked off the end of the cliff and threw myself into the air.

At the same time, I felt the monster’s hand pierce through my back.

“Keoheok,”

I spat out blood and grabbed the monster’s hand that had pierced through the middle of my stomach.

Originally, I was going to lure the monsters to the cliff, then recover my body with holy power and escape by swimming, but it was all wrong.

Well, it was a gamble with a higher chance of dying from the start.

Opening my heavy eyes and turning my head, I saw two monsters floating in the air with me.

“Yeah, let’s die together.”

It’s better to die than to hand over the body to a devil.

It’s better for me to die than to hand them over to a devil.

The hazy vision, where everything was gradually being buried in darkness, plummeted towards the ground.

I closed my eyes comfortably.

Please, may the Goddess take care of them.

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