episode_0123

*

There’s no time to hesitate, no time to calmly gather my thoughts.

I reached out and grabbed the crossbow.

It’s heavy.

I could barely drag it to me along the ground, and I could only lift it with clenched teeth.

A weight I would normally handle with ease, but with my abdomen pierced and my intestines dragging out, it’s such a burden now.

What’s worse, I had so many things to worry about at the same time.

The dust was kicked up so badly that I couldn’t see what state Lucia and Anna were in.

I still hadn’t located the monster that was targeting me from somewhere.

Above all, I couldn’t let my guard down against the Devil beneath me.

Everything was a mess, a desperate moment.

Suddenly, the memory of the day the small island Monastery was attacked flashed through my mind.

It was a surprisingly similar situation to now.

Back then, I was also struck down by a monster, and that time, too, it was the Demon King’s doing.

Back then, there were more monsters and demons than there are now, but this time is a bigger crisis.

Because I was ambushed.

‘Monsters won’t appear inside the village.’ I let my guard down with that complacent thought.

Besides, the affection and pleasure that Anna and Lucia gave me were so sweet that I was distracted by that enjoyment.

My hypocritical and ambiguous attitude, unable to reject corruption, yet not fully embracing it.

That indecisive attitude scattered my mind, so I let my guard down and was careless.

You shouldn’t let your guard down for even a moment in this ruined world, but I complacently let my guard down.

I deserve to die for this.

I lifted the corners of my blood-dripping mouth into a self-deprecating smile.

“Fucking…”

“Yes, that crossbow. But in that condition… you seem to have trouble even lifting it?”

The Demon, with a broken horn and in pain, mocked and laughed at me.

That’s how demons are.

They’re desperate to rile people up, so they don’t stop sneering even when they’re about to die.

“What are you going to do with that? Shoot the monster? Putting aside whether you can even hit it, can you even draw the string properly? And where are the arrows?”

“… Shut… cough,”

As soon as I opened my mouth, a lot of blood gushed out.

The Demon glanced at the blood that spilled beside his face, then snorted and continued speaking.

“Oh dear… how unfortunate.”

“Huff… huff…”

“You’re in a state where it wouldn’t be strange to die right now, barely holding a crossbow with no arrows to shoot. And with that body, you can’t even load it.”

“… Ha… Keuk.”

“Besides, it’s too heavy to use as a club. I doubt you could even swing a branch with your body right now.”

“Shut… up.”

“Can’t you watch your mouth?”

The Demon King suddenly lowered his voice, feigning a solemn tone and began to spout.

“How dare you.”

“Ugh, what a load of crap…”

“Ahem… you’re going to die soon and go to Hell, shouldn’t you at least show some respect to me, one of the six kings of Hell?”

“Hahaha, you crazy bastard…”

The guy brazenly raised his head and looked down at me with an arrogant expression.

He was under me, looking up at me, but the way he somehow seemed to look down on me was very unpleasant.

“Now, bow your head. Father Theodore, then I will try to forget at least some of your impudent attitude.”

“… Dream on.”

“Dream on? Hah, aren’t you the one who should be hearing that, desperately trying to live in this world?”

“…”

“Yes, the human world is already ruined anyway, and you will soon be ruined-”

“Ptooey,”

I spat blood mixed with saliva all over the guy’s face.

Droplets of saliva, redder and blacker than Sola’s hair, stuck to his cheek and dripped down.

“…”

“Haha,”

“… Theodore.”

The guy continued to speak in a low and quiet voice, as if chewing on leather.

“Hell’s time is long. For a long time that you can’t reach even if you live your short life hundreds of times over, I will repeatedly tear and reattach your body, and grind and feed all your organs and flesh until they become the dung of Hell’s most lowly creatures.”

“Ha… Goddess…”

I called out to the Goddess in a small voice.

The Demon contorted his face with an expression that couldn’t hide his disgust.

“Hah, are you trying to pray before you die, like a priest?”

“Goddessssssss… damn it!”

“What…?”

It wasn’t a prayer, it was a battle cry.

I grabbed the crossbow string in one breath and pulled it back with a jerk.

I put so much force into it that I felt my intestines bulge out of the hole in my side with a ‘pop.’

The edges of my vision quickly darkened.

It felt like my eyes would close at any moment.

The sight of the Demon King distorting his face in shock was faintly visible in my fading vision.

Ha, so you make that face too.

I’m the one who flustered the Demon King.

“I knew you weren’t an ordinary priest, but now you don’t even seem like an ordinary human.”

“Hey…”

“…”

“Sola’s soul… you said… it’s already… dead.”

“That’s right.”

“Then… that means… that body is empty… except for your disgusting demonic soul.”

“Yes.”

“Then… huh…? What’s the reason… why I shouldn’t… harm your body?”

“Ah…?”

That’s right.

A Demon borrowing a human body naturally returns to Hell when that body dies.

Like a parasite, it was common knowledge that the host would return to Hell with its soul when it died.

That’s why the Order also taught that if all other methods failed during an exorcism, the possessed human should be killed as a last resort.

But this case of Sola was quite unusual.

Sola’s soul is already in Hell.

In other words, there is no soul of Sola in this living body of Sola.

So, is there any reason why I shouldn’t harm Sola’s body?

“W-wait a minute.”

I struck Sola’s face with the crossbow.

Actually, it was closer to dropping it than striking it.

But since the crossbow was such a heavy piece of metal, Sola’s cheekbone collapsed as is with a terrible noise.

“Keuk,”

When I lifted the crossbow again, he was silent, not knowing whether he was dead or unconscious.

“… Hah.”

The sound stops.

The noisy surrounding sounds gradually stop.

It felt like I could only hear the sound of my heart pounding all over my body and gradually slowing down.

My head became dizzy and the pain gradually dulled.

I think I felt a similar sensation in every truly dangerous moment,

Am I really going to die this time?

“… Ugh,”

But whatever the reason, it’s a good thing that the pain has dulled.

I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Even if I die, I couldn’t stop struggling.

I picked up the best-looking one of the broken horns scattered around with my trembling hands.

I probably won’t be able to move soon, so there’s only one chance.

After placing the horn in the groove where the crossbow’s bullet rests, I took a moment to catch my breath.

Then, I bent my body back with all my might as if lying down.

Yes.

In the center of the vision, where the surroundings had darkly shrunk, the monster’s face, packed with teeth, was flying straight towards me.

It was obvious.

Since the monster was not visible anywhere, I assumed that it would come from behind me.

Of course, it was a somewhat daring assumption.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say it was a hunch.

But in these moments of crisis, hunches often found more accurate answers than theory or logic.

Is it like an instinct as a living being?

Or maybe it’s thanks to the experience I’ve accumulated from fighting demons all my life.

Perhaps it’s because the Goddess is still watching over me.

Whatever helped me, there was only one chance.

Before my back touched the ground, I gently pressed and pulled the trigger.

“…!”

My ears could no longer hear the sound, and my blurry vision was now completely darkened.

But I was sure that the bullet pierced the monster’s head directly in the center.

It was because I felt a tingling sensation that was transmitted through my dulled senses, and at the same time, the monster’s pure white and sticky fluid was poured all over my body.

“Ugh…”

I dropped my head and back on the ground, and dropped the crossbow from my hand at the impact.

That heavy crossbow fell straight on my face.

I don’t know because the pain is dulled, but I think my nose is broken.

It was like I was immediately repaid for hitting Sola’s face.

“Ha… aah…”

Now even my breathing was starting to fade.

If I lose consciousness like this, I won’t be able to come back again.

Even if I try to get up, I can’t put any strength in my waist.

I moved my body, which had such a large wound that my intestines were coming out, so much, so I must have bled a lot.

“… Ha,”

No matter how I think about it, there’s no way to survive.

Besides, my head isn’t working properly anymore.

What happened to Anna and Lucia?

Did they survive?

Lucia aside, Anna fell from that height…

I don’t know.

I have no choice but to believe that they survived.

I felt my mind, which had been firmly holding on to my fading consciousness, gradually losing strength from the end.

I felt a sensation similar to falling asleep, and at the same time, I felt like my vision was gradually retreating one step at a time from the world.

Ah, I’m dying.

Am I going to Hell?

I need to find Sola.

Anna, Lucia.

I love you.

I’m sorry I couldn’t take responsibility to the end.

*

“… Billy,”

“…”

“Billy?”

“…”

“Shall we make a deal?”