Suspicion

Suspicion

At my words, everything around us instantly sank under a sticky force.

As soon as I saw the other person’s excessive emotional reaction.

I could easily realize that the person was a relative of Ariel.

‘Whether a younger sister, older sister, parent, or relative, I’m not sure.’

One thing for certain is that they must have been very close.

Thinking that Ariel, stuck in the torture chamber, would be quite pleased if I gifted her this person in front of me, I spoke.

“It’s even more disgusting with all these pieces of trash crawling around.”

After this brief provocation.

Unable to hold back any longer, she signals nearby and rises from her seat.

“I’ll make sure you regret this.”

A short word and the floor collapses, while numerous Heaven God Cult members attack me with magic or weapons from all directions.

I realized that I had dealt with all those I disliked as I chanted a spell in response to their somewhat skilled attacks.

“Point explosion.”

As I manifest the spell, everything around me is engulfed in a bright white light, exploding without leaving a trace.

I decide to capture the Ariel’s relative who is using magic without even reacting.

Using spatial compression magic, I pull only that person out of the explosion range.

Kwaaaaang!

A loud explosion sound.

Just as I’m watching the mansion being completely destroyed beyond repair even with restoration magic.

The person I pulled along seems unable to grasp the situation, just staring blankly at the mansion.

I step on their back, pushing them into the dirt, and briefly say.

“The mansion seems to burn well, perhaps due to its age. Surely you and Ariel would burn just as well.”

“……”

In a normal situation, such provocation would lead to a frantic attack.

But perhaps because all their allies have just burned away before their eyes, they don’t even show the will to resist and just go limp.

I click my tongue as I look at the person who’s no different from a corpse and look ahead.

‘Next time, it might be better to give some hope before crushing it.’

It’s somewhat disappointing that they don’t even think of resisting when crushed from the start.

‘At least Ariel put up a struggle.’

Thinking that the cult these days lacks willpower, I use magic to drag the fallen person along as I walk into the exploded mansion.

*

‘I’m not sure if it’s right to call it fortunate, but quite a lot remains.’

The Heaven God Cult members hiding everywhere caught my eye, and I expressed satisfaction.

The fact that so many remained meant there were quite a few who could be squeezed for information.

‘Of course, due to the contracts placed on their own bodies and such, there will be almost no one who will speak information.’

Still, with the expectation that maybe one out of a hundred might be able to extract useful information, I pulled out my mace.

‘Well then, shall we begin?’

My main objectives were to extract information and to eliminate the Heaven God Cult members.

Keeping these two things in mind, I opened my mouth.

“I’ll give you 10 seconds to come out. If time passes and you don’t come out, I’ll kill you one by one.”

Only after saying it did I realize this was a line terrorists would use.

But realizing there was no more fitting line in this situation, I let out a small, hollow laugh.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

It’s not like I’m dealing with ordinary people, and it’s not enough that they push normal people into despair.

They were the ones who tortured countless innocent people to create something like seeds of despair.

Recalling their numerous evil deeds that I had seen while reading the novel, I silently fidgeted with my mace.

When 10 seconds passed and no one came out.

I had no choice but to bring down my mace on the head of a nearby priest who was lying face down.

Crunch!

The sound of the skull crumbling spreads all around.

As I watched the commotion spread among the priests who were hiding and watching us at that loud sound.

Ariel’s relative, who was being dragged behind me, shouted at me with a trembling body.

“The Heaven God will not forgive you!”

Heaven God.

I slowly turned around after hearing those words and briefly replied.

“What will you do if he doesn’t forgive me?”

At those words, she glares at me with her mouth tightly shut.

It seemed that her rebellious spirit had returned after I left her alone to rest for a while, so I struck her shoulder with my mace.

Along with a scream, she starts to pour out curses at me.

“Ugh… Th-The Heaven God will… divine punishment… divine punishment.”

It’s just amusing that she can’t even speak properly, yet she clearly articulates the word “divine punishment”.

Looking down at her, I spoke about what the Heaven God Cult had done so far.

“Twin siblings who were abandoned by their parents but lived diligently without harming others were killed by your people when they turned 20.”

After telling her the content written in the original novel, I stepped on her crushed shoulder and continued speaking.

“If they were troublemakers, I could understand. But those siblings were good people who even gave their own food to children in the slums and carried out charitable activities.”

The only ones who helped Rumi when she was injured and collapsed in the slums.

The ones who stepped up to protect Rumi until the very end. I don’t know if that’s why, but it remains in my mind as I continued speaking.

“You tortured and killed such people for no reason, and now who are you to say who should receive divine punishment?”

At those words, the priestess hesitated for a moment, then spoke to me as if she really couldn’t understand.

“… I don’t know who those people are. But if they died by our hands, wouldn’t it be good since they would have gone to the Heaven God’s side?”

Seeing her expression that showed she truly believed this, a hollow laugh escaped me.

Just because they look human doesn’t mean they are human.

I thought I had forgotten about this for a moment, and as I struck the remaining shoulder with my mace, I shouted.

“Run if you can run, hide if you can hide. The result will be the same anyway.”

With those words, I began to draw out mana more strongly and spread it around.

‘If I plant mana here and there like this.’

It will interact with the point explosion I’m going to set off, causing an even bigger explosion.

Deciding to use this to finish off the remaining members of the Heaven God Cult, I used point explosion while looking at the mansion.

*

I thought I had killed them all, but perhaps because the research on magic penetration wasn’t completely finished, some still survived.

I decided to quickly finish the magic penetration research.

I gathered the remaining ones in one place with magic and put them in a nearby box.

‘I can take them like this.’

After selling the story of these guys to the relic site.

As I was about to turn around, deciding to give them an emotional reunion in the torture chamber.

The seed of negation, which had been hiding in box form, transforms into a cat and speaks to me.

[I sense a new seed of negation nearby!]

“Really? Where?”

[Over there.]

The seed of negation points at the floor and looks at me.

I silently looked down at such a gesture, then filled my mace with mana and struck the floor.

Kwaaang!

With a bursting sound, the ground caves in.

I identified a steel door near where I was and forcefully opened it by smashing it with my mace.

[There it is!]

Hearing those words, I slowly made my way towards the basement.

*

‘I don’t understand why the Heaven God Cult members like underground places so much.’

As I descended, thinking about why they like such dark and dirty places while wearing pure white clothes.

I see a box that looks exactly like the Seed of Negation I possess.

As I slowly approach it, the Seed of Negation I have brightly smiles and shouts something.

[Friend!]

Despite calling it a friend, I notice it opening its mouth as wide as possible to devour the Seed of Negation placed on the desk.

Reminding myself once again that despite its cute appearance, its essence is that of the Seed of Negation itself.

For now, I strongly struck the Seed of Negation on the desk with my mace, crushing it.

[Eek]

A startled voice.

Hearing that voice, I lifted the Seed of Negation I had and spoke.

“What were you trying to do?”

Actually, there’s no need to even ask.

It must have been trying to devour the Seed of Negation to make itself even stronger.

‘And then, as it gradually becomes stronger and builds up its power, it would eventually try to kill me when the time comes.’

Its intentions were too obvious.

Nevertheless, I asked to give it a chance.

[I didn’t do anything.]

I shrug my shoulders, pretending to be cute and clueless.

Seeing such a seed of denial, I click my tongue and speak while shaking off the blood on my mace.

“Then I’ll have to keep hitting you until I know what you were trying to do.”

At those words, the seed of denial is startled and hurriedly offers me an apology.

I give an expression as if it’s okay towards the seed of denial.

Then, changing my expression, I use mana to compress the seed of denial into one place and transform it back into a box shape.

‘I brought it along just in case, but it seems it’s not right to carry it around after all.’

Carrying around someone who might betray you at any time just for convenience.

Realizing there’s no foolishness like this foolishness.

I decided that it would be right to carry it around only after casting a spell to prevent the seed of denial from betraying me, or after proceeding with modifications to transform its very essence.

I continued to compress the seed of denial strongly so that it couldn’t do anything.