Ch.150Chapter 150. Murderer (1)

Chapter 150. Murderer (1)

The first thing we did was hold a welcome ceremony for my return, and the second was to honor the fallen.

Many people lost their lives, both barbarians and civilized people alike. That’s how difficult the battle had been.

“To those who loved this earth more than anyone and risked their lives to protect it. To those who devoted themselves to me. I, Malak, will remember you all.”

I recited the eulogy I had prepared while staying in what I called the ‘inner world.’

It would have been easier if someone had posted a eulogy template on the community, or if there was a traditional mourning format among the barbarians, but there wasn’t any.

Apparently, it was unusual for Roa to descend personally and honor the dead. It seems the other Roa bastards were too lazy to do even this much.

“Death is not the end but a new beginning, and my followers will gain new life. I will personally call their names to guide them to the spirit realm.”

The spirit realm. It’s like Valhalla, a world or dimension where the Roas live, and where those who serve the Roas are believed to go after death if they achieve great deeds.

“Mora, daughter of Pubo and Hunda.”

“Bundun, son of Jeoun and Susa.”

I called out the names of the fallen as calmly as possible.

I shouldn’t show sadness. If I act composed, they will feel reassured.

“Jake of Blutan.”

“Asia of Linea.”

If there’s one thing that bothers me, it’s that I don’t even know the faces of those who fought while calling out my name.

I won’t make excuses about the tribal federation growing too large or being too busy. I should have paid more attention.

Ah, I do know some of them.

“Denzo, son of Lua and Orol.”

A warrior of the Blue Moss tribe and the security captain of the tribal federation. He was also Kanto’s deputy.

He had fought for me since the early days of the tribal federation and lost his life in the battle against the dark cloud demon.

“Denzo… you were a great warrior and everyone’s teacher. I will never forget you.”

Kanto, always confident and cheerful, paid his respects solemnly.

“Nix, daughter of Ama and Juri.”

The priestess and chief of the Sky Tree tribe.

She had obtained a hidden piece with me from the necromancer’s tomb and journeyed with me from Dubenheim to Volbano before falling in battle.

“She will go to the great hall. To the place where the Roas and ancestors reside…”

Tur, chief of the Golden Sun tribe, looked up at the sky with tearful eyes. Priest Bojak supported Tur, who had lost his left arm in the previous battle.

Bojak’s mask, which had completely covered his face, was now half broken.

Archmage Beatrice, Pope Holland, Denzo, Nix… and countless others whose names I cannot remember.

With each step forward, deaths continue to pile up.

In the next battle… the final battle, we might lose even more. I desperately hope that won’t happen.

After calling the last name, I concluded the ceremony.

“Bring the criminal.”

Next was the matter of dealing with a murderer.

A murder occurred during my absence. It wasn’t an ordinary murder.

One of the paladins who had joined the tribal federation killed a native within the federation and posted about it on the community.

[StrawberryChocolate: One down for now.

(Photo of a dead civilized woman with eyes wide open)

Maybe one more tomorrow.]

– Comments –

[ShotgunAttack: A worshipper?]

ㄴ[ShotgunAttack: What the hell. The blood is red. Did you kill a person?]

[ITrustedMonkeyUncle: The background looks familiar]

ㄴ[MorningTentInstaller: Fuck, that’s definitely the tribal federation]

[PetitNoa: What have you done?]

[Bramanda: Why? Why did you kill her?]

[PrincessDina: Did you kill her?]

[MeleeSpy: …]

[NotACatfish: Hey. Wait. I’m coming to get you]

It was such a shocking post that it temporarily buried the achievement posts from MeleeSpy’s raid team.

This unprecedented incident caused a commotion in both the community and the tribal federation.

[PrincessDina: If we don’t act, we’ll lose the trust of the natives. Let’s catch them ourselves]

The possessed who had joined the tribal federation formed a temporary investigation team under Dina’s leadership to patrol and catch the culprit.

The criminal was caught quickly. It was a simple matter of investigating the activities of the paladins who had joined the tribal federation.

The culprit was one of the paladins who had joined after the dark cloud demon subjugation.

Looking back now, I had suspected it from the beginning. Siwoo, Noa, Monkey, Hannah, and the rest of Dina’s special forces weren’t the type to commit murder.

“Hey, walk! Don’t try to lean on them!”

Hannah kicked the tall woman who was moving with the support of soldiers. This woman, about the same height as Lakye, was the murderer paladin “StrawberryChocolate.”

“Just thinking about how I almost got blamed because of this bitch…!”

Hannah snorted. She had been suspected by the temporary investigation team because her whereabouts were unknown during the estimated time of the murder.

The real culprit was caught a few hours later, so it blew over, but I know why Hannah went missing.

– Private Message –

[NotACatfish: Oh really]

[NotACatfish: This is all because of you, Sans]

[How is this my fault;;]

These were messages exchanged a few days ago.

Hannah had secretly gone outside because she thought I, Sans, lived near Symphonia and wanted to find me. This friend is a bit crazy too.

“Haa, haa.”

The murderer, her face badly swollen from beatings before being imprisoned, looked up at Totem 3 with puffy eyes, breathing heavily.

“She confessed that she had been killing people even before coming to the tribal federation,” Lakye whispered quietly. A serial killer, that’s what she is.

“Kheuheu…”

Is this crazy woman laughing? After killing someone?

“Why did you do it?”

I asked, suppressing my anger.

It was a foolish crime no matter how I thought about it. If she hadn’t posted on the community and had disposed of the body secretly, it might have been difficult to find her.

Why did she deliberately post, revealing herself as a paladin and narrowing the search?

Did she want to stop a demon’s life or something?

“If I’m going to be punished!” she suddenly shouted in a clumsy manner.

“If I’m going to be caught and killed someday… isn’t it better to die by a god than a demon? Right?”

The woman grinned, showing teeth half missing.

“Did you want to receive judgment from me, Malak?”

“That’s right. God’s judgment. Divine punishment. What death could be more meaningful?”

What nonsense.

What is she thinking? I can’t understand. I don’t want to understand.

She must be a psychopath or sociopath pushed to her mental limits.

There have been hundreds of Earth people abducted so far. It’s not surprising that there would be one human trash like her.

“It’s a worthless life. How about leaving her to me?” Lakye, who had been staring at the murderer expressionlessly, placed her hand on her meteor sword.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Right. She wants to die by my hand, so I’ll grant her wish.

“Aah…!”

The murderer’s face was filled with ecstasy. She might be enjoying this, but I have no intention of giving her a meaningful death.

I used “Totem of Confusion” on her. A skill that made even high-ranking demons tremble in fear.

“Gueeeeurgh…!”

Blood spurted from her seven orifices as if flowing backward.

Terrified breathing and gurgling sounds echoed intermittently before falling silent. She died from shock while trembling in fear.

I don’t know what she saw or felt before dying, but I hope it wasn’t as beautiful as the divine punishment she had imagined.

“I need rest.”

“Clean this up,” Lakye ordered the soldiers as we left.

I’m tired from handling too many things in such a short time. And they were all gloomy, unpleasant matters.

I was thinking about taking a break when I remembered something I had forgotten.

The boys I had exiled to Volbano, potential murderers. I should check on them while I’m thinking about it.

I shifted my consciousness to Totem 4.

What? Why isn’t it working? Did the cornered boys destroy the totem in desperation?

No. It couldn’t be destroyed that easily. That’s not an ordinary totem.

It’s a powerful magical weapon made from the finest materials possessed by the Golden Sun tribe, once the most powerful tribe.

The amount of mystical power (magical force) contained within it would be dozens of times greater than this Totem 3. While a high-ranking demon might be able to destroy it, ordinary children couldn’t.

Hmm.

Even if the totem was destroyed, there are ways to track it. My divine nature is imbued within that totem along with the mystical power. If I concentrate, I should be able to trace its remnants.

…After hours of concentrated tracking attempts, it proved impossible. It’s as if my divine nature has been scattered, completely undetectable.

Did someone destroy the totem and steal the mystical power within?

Perhaps a powerful high-ranking demon like the Night Stalker discovered it on the way to the capital and destroyed it.

Several ominous possibilities came to mind, but I was too busy to check.

“Lord Malak!”

[MeleeSpy: EunuchBro raid team, nothing unusual today. Their reconnaissance ended in failure. We’ll slowly head toward Symphonia.]

Finally, “he” is coming.