Ch.207207. Infection War (5)

# Ense-Pestgut

The most favored plague priest of the plague god Marus Area, and the pope of the Cult of Plague that worships the plague deity.

Originally a disease specialist doctor who traveled to rural villages providing medical services, he was also the first believer and apostle of the evil plague god.

He treated people suffering from diseases that could be easily cured but lacked proper methods, and developed treatments for all kinds of illnesses, earning acclaim as the greatest internal medicine doctor of his time.

His greatest achievement was establishing the profession of doctor in the Rom Empire; it would not be an exaggeration to say that he essentially founded “medical arts” in this continent.

However, these activities caught the attention of the plague god, who gains power from the spread of disease.

The decisive factor was when he eradicated a disease that the plague god had carefully created, which ultimately gave self-awareness to the plague god, who until then had been little more than a concept.

During this process, the plague god set his sights on Ense-Pestgut, who went by a different name at the time, and executed a plan to contaminate him with plague and force him to submit.

First creating a magical plague, then spreading it to instill despair in him, the god then claimed to be a deity of healing and tempted him with promises of a cure.

The magical plague was horrific and impossible to cure by any means, so he succumbed to the temptation, performed the ritual, and became a slave to the plague.

Now, as no ordinary high-ranking subordinate of the plague, he stands tense, ready to attack the enemy before him at any moment.

The being that Ense-Pestgut encountered was enormous.

Not only was its physical size immense, nearly three meters tall, but what made it truly seem gigantic was its presence.

An overwhelming presence that seemed to press down equally on everything around it was intimidating even to Ense-Pestgut, who was among the highest tier of first-grade beings.

‘…Kuk! Th-this is?!!’

The density of the aura unconsciously emanating from high-ranked beings was so intense that Ense-Pestgut felt pressure as if something was tearing at his body from all directions.

That he—who could easily destroy mediocre nations single-handedly—was now so flustered and in pain yet unable to let his guard down…

This was because the one glaring at Ense-Pestgut was none other than Bjorn Wolfson, the only transcendent being remaining in this world.

Wearing armor so large and heavy it barely qualified as such, he held in his hand the famous cursed magic sword that absorbed souls.

Famous to the point of becoming a symbol of “strength,” he simply stared at Ense-Pestgut after appearing, saying nothing.

“…Kuuugh!!”

Having witnessed with his own eyes what this monster had just done, Ense-Pestgut had no choice but to remain vigilant, setting aside his towering pride for the moment.

Rewinding time briefly to when Bjorn had just arrived on the battlefield:

Using some unknown method, Bjorn had flown in from the sky and landed on the ground, suppressing his presence to the extreme. The surrounding enemies rushed toward him—

Fwoosh…

From the moment Bjorn casually began emitting his aura toward these enemies, almost all the plague slaves, except for a select few, began turning to dust and scattering.

With his magical weapon—a greatsword—fused with his body, and his aura imbued with soul-absorbing power, the current Bjorn was virtually a god of reality.

As those below high rank were destroyed by his overwhelmingly concentrated aura, the chaos power within it collapsed their souls, converting them into soul particles.

These decomposed souls were then transferred to the aura’s owner, absorbed by Bjorn, strengthening his power further.

An absolute being against whom the very concept of battle seemed miraculous—Ense-Pestgut had directly witnessed Bjorn’s ability.

With such a gap between them that it wouldn’t be strange for his spirit to break immediately, Ense-Pestgut ultimately had to choose:

Fight, or give up and perish.

In Ense-Pestgut’s honest assessment, the outcome would likely be the same either way, but dying without even trying to fight seemed… too empty, didn’t it?

*Swoosh.*

So he extended his staff, connected to his internal tentacles, concentrated magical power at its tip, preparing to cast a spell—

—KWAAAANG!!!!

Immediately after, the Level 5 plague magic that Ense-Pestgut fired without an incantation hit Bjorn with a thunderous roar—and the battle began.

※ ※ ※

Of course, the outcome was as good as predetermined.

“《Spear of Punishment》!! 《War Scythe of Plague-Pest》!! 《Spear of Punishment》!!!”

Ense-Pestgut launched all manner of divine magic against Bjorn, but Bjorn calmly defended against every attack.

He dispelled beams of light plunging from the sky using his aura, and shattered the black mist-formed blades with his sword.

Other attacks—like waves made of pus and blood, or plague bombs in the form of inflammation erupting from the ground—were all meaningless before Bjorn, who wielded aura with dispelling abilities.

With the automatic magic dispel power of his pendant, another magical item, Bjorn withstood all attacks while approaching, and finally spoke:

“You’re much weaker than I expected. What were you thinking, rushing in like that?”

Ense-Pestgut had plenty to say in response, but he couldn’t afford to run his mouth in this situation.

At risk of having his soul decomposed into particles and completely annihilated, he gradually retreated while sweating profusely, then collapsed to the ground.

“Hee, heeeee———!!!”

Displaying a truly unseemly attitude, he screamed in apparent terror, then crawled on the ground, trying desperately to create distance.

Presenting the perfect image of a coward, so unsightly it was almost disgusting, Ense-Pestgut retreated frantically, looking at Bjorn with terror-stricken eyes.

“…Cunning bastard.”

KWAJIK!!

Bjorn’s response to Ense-Pestgut’s behavior was to thrust his magic sword straight through Ense-Pestgut’s heart.

“Keogh, keaak!!”

As Ense-Pestgut retched and spewed green-tainted blood, a dagger emanating tremendous magical power fell from his bosom.

Judging by its magical power, it was a magical item infused with a plague that could potentially kill even gods if infected—a plague that even he might not survive.

A dagger with the power to infect the target with plague regardless of any power gap, as long as it was directly stabbed into the body.

Seeing this dagger fall to the ground, Bjorn judged that Ense-Pestgut had planned to feign weakness and then ambush him.

Therefore, determined not to let his guard down and to decisively end Ense-Pestgut’s life, Bjorn raised his magic sword above his head to behead him, when suddenly—

“Cough, cough!!”

Bjorn suddenly spat out something foul rising from within, coughing violently as if struck by a serious illness—

Then it occurred to him to wonder why he, a transcendent being, was coughing at all.

The moment this question arose, Bjorn felt something seeping into and consuming his inner self, while the matter constituting his physical body gradually began to collapse and scatter.

“Wh-what?! What is this?!!”

This incomprehensible phenomenon stripped Bjorn of all composure, and as he fell into confusion from this unfamiliar bewilderment—

“The plan… was a… success!”

Ense-Pestgut, spitting blood from the incurable wound inflicted by the magic sword, still managed to grin and began to explain:

“In my heart, cough! …Kuheu, I implanted a tapeworm. Its very soul particles are… kheok, heu… tapeworms that are pathogens of god-killing disease.”

Ense-Pestgut said no more after that, but this alone was enough to shock Bjorn.

With both his soul and body beginning to shatter and scatter from within, his death was all but certain.

“N-nooooo—”

So, watching Bjorn wail pathetically, Ense-Pestgut smiled brightly despite the throbbing pain in his body—

—”is what you thought I’d say?”

In the next moment, Ense-Pestgut was being split in half, his upper and lower body separated by Bjorn’s greatsword, which had somehow returned to perfect condition.