episode_0119

*

Long.

The joints of those fingers were incomparably long compared to a human’s.

The knuckles were strangely bulging, and in contrast, the fingers were excessively slender.

Even the palm was narrow, like a small spatula.

It resembled not a body part, but a pale, emaciated branch or an insect’s leg.

Kunat, horrified by the grotesque and repulsive form, quickly covered his mouth.

To hide the fact that he had safely escaped from the Demon King, he couldn’t even risk making a loud gasping sound.

Kunat quickly racked his brain.

Could it be because there are demons everywhere?

The hand that rose from the floor moved slowly, as if frozen.

It almost seemed as if it were completely still at first glance.

Monsters are easily defeated by demons.

Whether it’s an instinct to avoid demons, or an instinct to seek out humans for their propagation,

the hand, which had been drifting past the empty space between the Father and Nuns’ knees, slowly turned towards the Father.

Then, one finger at a time, as if staring at the Father, it slowly bent towards him.

It was then.

“That was delicious.”

The Father exhaled briefly, leaned slightly back against the chair, and tilted his head up.

Lucia, seeing the Father like that, said,

“Already? You really eat fast, Father.”

“Men tend to eat a bit faster, originally. Paolo too… No, never mind.”

“…”

“Sorry. I ruined the atmosphere with my slip of the tongue.”

The Father quietly muttered, firmly planting his feet on the floor and leaning his upper body forward slightly.

It looked like he was about to get up from his seat.

Kunat nodded.

If the monster doesn’t move yet, and if the Father leaves his seat as is,

at least, if he were to discover that hideous hand rising from under the table!

“Father, um… just a moment,”

“Huh?”

“Now that I think about it, there’s something I wanted to ask,”

Sola.

No, the Demon King abruptly spoke to Father Theodore.

It was to prevent him from leaving his seat, and to induce him to be attacked more defenselessly while he was distracted by the conversation.

The Father, unaware of this, quietly sat back in his chair and asked,

“Ask? What is it?”

“I heard you went to look for Paolo today. You even took Lucia and Anna… So, no one was in the village all day?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“But you couldn’t find him?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I couldn’t find him…”

“Even though you searched all day?”

“Well…”

Father Theodore answered in a low voice and nodded.

Not just because of the guilt of not being able to find Paolo, but an awkward silence lingered for a moment.

Lucia’s face began to blush slightly.

On the other hand, Anna nodded with a calm face and opened her mouth in place of the Father.

“We couldn’t find him. Maybe he fell into the sea.”

The Demon King gave Anna a mischievous look.

“Hmph… You weren’t off having fun somewhere without me, were you?”

“Sola, surely you don’t think the Father and us would be having fun? Especially while doing something important like looking for a missing person?”

Anna replied calmly, but Lucia and the Father couldn’t hide their discomfort and fidgeted.

Lucia in particular, was clearly awkward, fiddling with the empty plate with a spoon, as if she had finished eating.

“Lucia? What are you doing?”

“Ah, Sola…”

“What is it? You’re hiding something, aren’t you? Right?”

“Ah, no… nothing like that.”

“How many years have I been with Lucia! I know everything when Lucia lies!”

“Aah… N-No, it’s not!”

“Hmph…”

“…”

Sola, no, the Demon King shrugged and continued.

“Whatever you’ve been doing… can’t I join you?”

The Father, Lucia, and Anna all shouted at the same time.

“No.”

“See, you did something, didn’t you! Ah, you always leave me out!”

Sola puffed out her cheeks and huffed.

From all this conversation to this sulky attitude.

It was exactly the kind of behavior and tone that Sola would use.

Kunat felt a sense of dread at this ‘Sola impersonation’ being performed by the Demon King.

He, one of the rulers of Hell, who had nothing to fear, was now so afraid of a single Cleric that he was even putting on this act.

It must have been an unbearable humiliation for him, yet he perfectly hid that humiliation and anger and continued the act.

Honestly, if he hadn’t known his identity, even Kunat wouldn’t have noticed that he was the Demon King just from this act alone.

Kunat thought that his acting skills were good enough to understand the unpleasantness he had shown when his identity was revealed to him.

“Ah, if you say no, I’ll take your word for it. Haa…”

The Father scolded Sola in a tone as if appeasing a whining child, and slowly pulled his chair back.

This time, he really was about to get up from the table. No, he even lifted his buttocks slightly.

“Just a moment, Father,”

“What is it now?”

The Demon King stopped the Father once more.

The hand under the table was gradually aiming towards the Father’s abdomen, like the hand of a clock pointing to 12 o’clock.

If the monster’s body were to pop out like a cuckoo clock doll, the Father’s abdomen would be pierced in an instant.

There was no more time.

‘Until this moment, I haven’t found a solution. I have to act now, or else, Billy!’

Magic was impossible.

It was clear that he would be caught by the King the moment he activated it.

Even if he succeeded in saving the Father, if he were dragged to Hell this time, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

For the same reason, it was impossible to charge at him.

In fact, he must not enter the King’s sight.

Normally, the demons residing in Anna and Lucia’s bodies would be able to dispose of the monster sufficiently, but now that the Demon King was glaring at them with his eyes wide open, the situation was different.

The King wouldn’t be able to forcibly send the demons bound to the Nuns’ bodies back to Hell, but at least he would be able to suppress those demons from exerting their power.

In fact, during the monastery battle in the past, until the Father woke up, Kunat and Lucia could only bow their heads and buy time with words.

In the end, there was no one who could fight the monster on behalf of the Father in this situation.

The monster’s hand twitched.

It was like pulling a bowstring,

no, like releasing it.

“Ah, damn it.”

Hell, that damn homeland.

I’m not a Nun,

Billy won’t come to save me.

Like an arrow, a pure white ray was shot from the floor under the table.

The monster’s body flew straight towards the Father… but couldn’t.

“Eek! It’s hot!”

“Ugh!”

“What is this!”

Suddenly, a fierce green flame that seemed to burn everything rose in the dining hall floor.

Instantly, a pungent smell of burning and the stench of sulfur filled the dining hall.

While everyone was panicking, only Sola quietly closed her eyes and muttered.

“… Kunat. You’re finally crossing the line. I see. You’ve made a foolish choice.”

An intense heatwave swept through the dining hall.

The tablecloth covering the table fluttered and rose into the air due to the intense heat.

At that moment, Father Theodore witnessed it.

A pale monster was burning under the table.

“Monster…?”

“Father, are you alright?”

“What’s going on…!”

“…”

The Nuns’ flustered voices were heard from all directions.

The Father also rolled his eyes in confusion, as if he couldn’t grasp the situation.

Only the flickering flames, the color reminiscent of Kunat’s hair, filled the Father’s eyes.

“… Billy.”

The fiercely burning green flame subsided as suddenly as it had appeared.

A sudden silence filled the Father’s ears with an overwhelming presence, as if deafening him.

The dining hall was instantly filled with black soot.

The Father kicked the table over, pushing away the tablecloth.

The tableware that had been used until just a moment ago fell to the floor with a clatter and shattered.

Everyone looked down at the floor.

The monster’s corpse had become a pile of burnt ashes and was sprawled out on the spot.

Father Theodore quietly stepped on the monster’s corpse.

With a crackling sound, the monster’s ashes lost their shape and crumbled.

He slowly opened his mouth in a low voice.

“… Sola.”

“…”

Anna and Lucia’s gazes also shifted towards Sola at the Father’s low voice.

Sola’s face, which had been chattering in an innocent manner until just a moment ago, was frozen with an expression that exuded annoyance, anger, and arrogance.

Father Theodore slowly continued.

“Where is Sola?”

The King opened his mouth.

“Ha, how did you know again?”

“Because you were the only one keeping your mouth shut.”

“Ah, I was briefly negligent in my acting because I was seething with betrayal.”

“Where is Sola?”

“In Hell.”

“…”

Anna and Lucia opened their mouths in trembling voices.

“Father, what’s going on?”

“Ah, don’t worry.”

The King gestured.

Anna and Lucia felt as if their bodies were being forcibly crushed.

Their knees slowly buckled, regardless of their will.

“F-Father…!”

The King glared at the Father and said.

“I’ll let you meet her soon…”

A fist flew at Sola’s face as if it were smashing into it.

The small body of the teenage girl collapsed to the floor.