31 – Advent – 1 (Correction)
The door to the drawing room turned to dust and splattered. Serena goes inside, and I follow her.
Originally, I was going to go in first, but I don’t know what will come out from inside, so I have to take the lead.
Whatever pops out, it’s enough to hit it roughly and play it back, but Serena doesn’t seem to be able to tolerate it.
The room was a mess. Not only the floor, but also the walls and ceiling were stained with blood, and at the center was a huge magic circle emitting bright red light.
On top of the magic circle, Kartina, who had lost consciousness, was floating in the air with her legs together and her arms spread out to the left and right. The binding magic that was filled in the wrists and ankles was also red.
Kartina’s hair fluttered incessantly in the air. A painful moan escaped from her pursed lips, and sweat formed on her forehead.
Even though he lost consciousness, he twisted his body here and there as if he was in severe pain, but it seemed difficult because of the binding magic.
Standing in front of the magic circle was someone wearing a black robe pulled over his head.
I spread my arms wide to the sides, muttering something, then withdrew my arms as Serena and I entered the room. His eyes were still on Kartina.
Stopping Serena from running forward, she opened her mouth first.
“Is it you?”
“That’s a very abstract question. What do you mean?”
“No pun intended. You know what I’m asking.”
“Well, I’m a pagan who has nothing but heresy on my mind. I’m a stupid pagan. I’m not sure what you’re asking?”
“Haven’t I said that yet?”
“It’s obvious.”
Well, I didn’t deny it. Like that guy said, most of the pagans were only doing what they did to their gods.
They are not called pagans for nothing, and they are not targeted for subjugation. No human being with a normal mindset can do this.
“There must have been quite a few adventurers who turned into monsters, but he was the leader of the royal knights. Now even I, who had to fight against you, admired his skills.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear compliments from you.”
“If so, you have to do it again and again. The speed at which it cuts down monsters in an instant, the destructive power that cuts even the skin that is much stronger than steel, and the infinite mana flowing from the body. To the point where I want to drag it in somehow.”
“You guys-“
He grabbed Serena’s wrist. If he didn’t dry it, he was going to tear that robe to pieces. A calm voice continued, as if I knew how to stop Serena.
“You still have a lot to ask me, so I know you can’t kill me.”
“That’s right… Well, like you said, with Serena’s level of skill, you can literally make her not die, right?”
“Then this woman named Kartina will also die?”
His finger pointed at Kartina, who was restrained inside the magic circle.
“Is it a threat?”
“Yes. It’s a threat. The ritual is almost complete. If you kill me now, the missing powers will crawl into this woman’s body and explode her body. If you don’t want to see something like that, please watch quietly. “
The guy wearing the robe pulled back his fingers that were pointing at Kartina with a triumphant voice.
They seemed to know that I couldn’t resist the threat and really kept my mouth shut to save Kartina. Saving Kartina is a good thing, but I didn’t think I had to save it.
In the first place, I had no need to interrupt that ceremony. That’s right, because it’s a magic circle created by sacrificing a city’s worth of humans.
I’ve seen a lot of pagans who tried to summon something by sacrificing a few people or dozens of people, but I’ve never seen a pagan who did such crazy things and drew a summoning magic circle.
They can’t take care of themselves properly, so how can they do it?
However, they openly committed to dedicating an entire city.
How strong the god who manifested after drinking that enormous amount of blood as a sacrifice must be, and even if the force itself is weaker than Charlotte or Serena, he might have a special ability to sever this fucking immortality.
When I thought of the possibility that I could die like this, my heart beat like crazy with excitement.
In short, the point is this. If it was a god who brought out an entire city as a sacrifice, wouldn’t it be possible to kill me?
So I didn’t have to, nor did I want to, stop that ritual. Pretending to agree with the words in moderation, wait leisurely for the ritual to end, and check the result.
It’s good if I can dig up some information in the process, and even better if I can die.
Hardened my thoughts. First of all, let’s unconditionally descend. After that, let’s gently coax him to kill me. He purged his voice, which trembled slightly with excitement, and growled, acting in a penetrating tone.
“Isn’t that the same even if I leave you alone? If Kartina is destined to die anyway, it’s better to break the ceremony and feed you some shit.”
“Well. If you kill me right now, this woman will die with you unconditionally, but if you wait until the ritual is complete, you still have a small chance of being saved.”
“It could be that you’re lying? Conversely, there’s a chance to save Cartina if I kill you now, but it might become impossible after the damn job is done. How can I believe that’s not the same thing as a lie?”
“I swear by the name of my god. There is no lie in this.”
Yes, I am eagerly waiting for that god to descend. Can’t you finish the ritual quickly and summon him now?
“What confidence?”
“It’s not self-confidence.”
The light emitted from the magic circle became more intense. Kartina, who was trembling in pain, lowered her head.
It seemed that his body had now fully stretched out. The restraint magic filled in the wrists and ankles began to crawl toward the center of the body along the forearms and calves.
“It’s destiny.”
“I’ll just cut them all down, lord.”
Serena whispered in a small voice that only I could hear, but shook her head to mean no.
To overturn the table when the possibility of dying was right around the corner is absolutely not possible.
While pretending not to disturb the ceremony because Kartina was held hostage, she calmly reviewed the situation.
I had been so excited until just now that I didn’t have time to think about the identity of that robe, but now I have some time to spare. That robe will think we’re standing still because of the hostages.
It was definitely a voice I had heard somewhere. It’s also quite familiar.
While replaying the conversation we had earlier in my head, I was diligently trying to figure out when and where I heard that voice, and suddenly I remembered what Elliot had done.
At first glance, it seemed to be a mistake in power control, but in fact, that nonsense was intentional.
“I get it roughly. I guess you were the culprit?”
“What do you mean?”
“Receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild building. I’m pretending not to know something. I’m asking you. You’re the culprit.”
“…”
Rob paused, slightly startled. Can I leave it as it is? I’m sure it’s not like I’m losing my mind just in case.
“If we’re going to have it cleaned up, we have to be sure. If we clumsily destroy evidence like that in front of everyone, will we be suspicious or not?”
“That was unexpected for me too. I never thought you and the 1st Knight Commander of the Royal Family knew each other.”
“I thought you thought Serena was gone forever. That’s too bad.”
“That’s right. I don’t know what Kartina did, but because she got so angry and ran out of here. I thought she would have gone back. But… I would have thought someone as big as the Royal Knight Commander was following you. Hiding her power and living as a low-class adventurer. Are the rumors true?”
“Do you believe that nonsense too?”
“I decided to believe it from now on. I couldn’t believe it after seeing the relationship between you guys.”
The binding magic was now encroaching on Kartina’s arms and shoulders. The thick bracelet-shaped magic circle on her wrist was dyed redder.
“The ceremony is almost over. So, I’ll have to answer some questions. Do you have any questions?”
The receptionist turned to me. He was wearing a mask with no decorations except for two small holes drilled in his face to see the front.
The robe was black, the mask was black, and the gloves were black on the hands, and the shoes were black.
It was quite difficult to maintain an angry expression while forcibly pressing the corners of his mouth that were twitching and trying to rise.
If I even laugh here, I’ll buy that guy’s suspicion in an instant. Let the consciousness proceed as it is, and extract all the information that can be extracted.
“What happened to the other receptionists besides you? Were they just as infidels as you?”
“Yes, we were pretty deep in this city. Of course, we were all gladly saved by this ritual.”
“Salvation, salvation… I get it roughly. You bastards, have you all searched except for you?”
“I must correct that. I did not die, I achieved my ascension. Through this ritual.”
“Well, that’s for you to figure out on your own.”
Kartina’s body was unusual. The limbs wriggling and the body twisting around, it was in the mood for something to happen at any moment.
Mana gathered in the magic circle, and even a hum was heard. It seemed that the ceremony was finally over.
“Is there anything else you want to ask?”
The words were clearly meant to be ridiculed. Now that the ceremony is almost over, whatever you ask, the situation is over, mockery in the same sense.
Of course, I wasn’t thrilled when I heard that. Rather, it was the feeling of wanting to finish it a little faster.
“How long has that damn ritual been completed?”
The receptionist glanced back. After confirming that it was emitting a bright red light as if it would explode soon, he replied with a voice full of laughter.
“it’s over.”
At the same time, a bright red light burst out. The light was so intense that I had to close my eyes even though I was covering my face with my arms.
The color became darker, as if the blood that was stained everywhere resonated with it. The parlor floor bubbling. I fell down and my shoes began digging into the floor.
I narrowed my eyes and barely looked straight ahead. Kartina’s body was completely buried in the light emitted from the magic circle.
The receptionist in front of him was cheering with joy with his arms wide open, as if he wasn’t dazzled. Serena was still standing next to me.
Suddenly, I felt that Kartina had opened her eyes.
“God, I only have one request!”
As if the ceremony was complete, the receptionist hurriedly knelt on the floor and bowed his head. Immediately, my calves and knees were buried in the soft floor.
The receptionist begged something in front of him, not paying attention to his own body, which was gradually going down.
“Please annihilate all life in this world!”
The light faded little by little. Kartina’s body gently sank to the floor. Her orange hair, which had been fluttering in all directions, straightened downward.
Two inorganic eyes turned to the receptionist kneeling in front of him. The guy raised his head. Kartina, no, something that descended on her body raised her right hand and extended her index finger.
“It will be.”
Boom, the receptionist’s head exploded. The body, which had lost its head, tilted over and fell to the floor.
When Kartina flicked her index finger at the corpse and made a gesture to come here, the flowing blood and the headless body floated into the air.
Then, it was slowly absorbed into Kartina’s body and disappeared.
Kartina, who had completely absorbed the corpse, turned her eyes this way. The bright red magic circles drawn on her wrists and ankles shone once again.
Legs moved. It was like walking on flat ground, even though the floor had turned into soft mud.
Kartina’s finger pointed at me.
