The Priest of Corruption - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Irmel.

I ground another enemy, but there were no screams. The enemies were clearly men who’d been trained well.

‘Kill!’

According to Mother, each person was worth at least two fingers. I pulled back slightly, letting the sharp blade of an enemy short graze my chest. I could get hit on purpose by this kind of attack that didn’t contain divinity and blow off the enemy’s head, but since Carmen didn’t know who I really was, it would be foolish to reveal too many of the peculiarities of my body.

I took a step forward and raised counterattacked. It was a fight similar to the last time with the bandit boss, but there was one clearly different thing.

Whaaaaaaaaang!

Right now, I have the upper hand when it comes to equipment. The Butcher let out a harsh scream, tearing through another’s throat. They’d quickly learned not to stand in the blade’s way, so the rest took two steps back. But it was over since, with my body, I could easily chase them down.

“Hyaap!”

The Butcher dug through another’s chest. Another man sneakily approached behind, aiming for his chance while I was killing his comrade. There wasn’t enough time to pull the Butcher out of the man’s chest, but I had two swords.

I quickly drew the Froststeel Sword and swung around. I wasn’t familiar with using my left hand, so the slash was crude. But for me, that was enough.

Claank!

Unable to overcome the power behind that blade, the man’s sword shattered.

Whaaaang!

The Butcher followed up. There were now five left.

Claank!

When I turned to check where Carmen was, I saw a dead body with an arrow bristling from his head, and beyond that, Carmen was fighting with his sword between two men. When I was about to go help, Carmen shouted.

“Two of the enemies ran to the wagon! They know the situation is unfavorable and are trying to run away! I’m fine here, so you must stop them from escaping now!”

At Carmen’s call, the Irmel wagon began to speed away. I took turns looking at Carmen, fighting fiercely, and looking at the wagon.

If I chased the wagon, I was afraid I would get too far from Carmen. But there was something else I could do if it wasn’t going too fast. The person inside might get hurt a little, but it was better than putting my colleague Carmen at risk.

I switched hands with the Butcher and the Froststeel Sword. Then I raised my right hand and threw the Froststeel Sword. It smashed the rear wheel of the carriage. The wagon swerved, spun around the snow, and stopped after colliding with a tree.

Bang!

To be precise, the tree couldn’t bear its weight and fell over.

“Uh, um.”

It was the first time I had thrown a sword like that, so I didn’t know it would work so well. Was the person inside okay? I thought they would be fine, but I ran over the snow to check. One of the men outside was thrown into the tree, and his neck was broken. There was still one left…

‘Kill!’

Breaking the carriage wall, a blade shot out at my heart. A skillful surprise attack, if I do say so myself. I reached out my left hand and blocked the sword. It pierced my skin and stopped just before reaching my chest. My blood splashed on the snow. If I had been a melee professional such as a warrior or a knight, I would have been able to block the surprise attack just fine.

With that thought in mind, I indifferently swung the Butcher. The saw blade wasn’t even on, so it crushed the man’s head. I roughly kicked the corpse away.

With this, everything was sorted out, but I wondered if Carmen was okay. As if to laugh at my worries, Carmen cut off the head of the last man standing before him. Archers had good arm strength, apparently. Since Carmen also knew that the cleanup was completed, the priority was to check the condition of the person tied up in this overturned wagon. I would feel sorry if the wagon fell over and hurt them.

“Mmp!”

When I ripped open the locked door and looked inside, I found a woman tied up and wriggling. A strange smell that tickled the tip of my nose wafted out. Her vivid silver hair reached down to her neck and partially covered her gleaming golden eyes. Judging from the combination of gold and silver, she was of the Irmel family. I said with a smile that seemed as kind as possible.

“I’m going to release the ties now, but I hope you don’t rebel. I’m on your side.”

The woman nodded slowly. I entered the fallen carriage and first pulled the gag out of her mouth. As soon as the gag was removed, the woman shouted.

“You have to get me out of this wagon right now! It’s still full of anesthetic smoke…”

I picked her up and pulled her out of the carriage. My body wasn’t affected by such drugs anyway, but it was much more comfortable to do what she wanted rather than to explain.

“Please be still for a moment.”

Pulling out the dagger from my pocket, I cut the rope binding her. The woman, calming down a bit, looked up at me from her spot on the ground. The anesthesia was still affecting her.

“I can’t move yet, and I think I might throw up. If you don’t want to see me vomit while looking at the sky, could you take me over and pat me on the back?”

“All right.”

I nodded at her logical argument, grabbed her around the waist, carried her to the side of the road, and patted her on the back.

“Blaaaaargh!”

The sound was terrible, but there was no reason to observe the horrific sight. Carmen approached us and whispered to me.

“Did you hear who she is?”

“Blaaaaargh!”

I patted her on the back and shrugged.

“As you can see, I haven’t had time to ask. Besides, she can’t move because she’s been drugged.”

Carmen asked again, checking her silvery hair.

“Are her eyes golden?”

“Yeah. I think she’s from the Irmel family.”

“Y-You can stop patting me now! If you pat me more, I’ll vomit more!”

“Oh, yes. But can you get up on your own?”

“Wait.”

The woman took a few attempts to stand up on trembling legs. Carmen whispered to me with admiration.

“She has a very generous heart…”

“I agree.”

‘KILL!’

I gestured to Carmen as Mother’s ordered me not to talk bullshit. It was much easier for him to converse with another noble than for me to intrude. Carmen took a step forward with a friendly smile.

“I am Carmen Baltas, son of Sir Ensis Baltas. Could you tell us your name, Lady Irmel?”

The woman, still patting her trembling legs, glanced at Carmen and me before confidently responding.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dachia Irmel. I’m the eldest daughter of Kalto Irmel, the Duke of Small Smiles.”

Kalto Irmel, the Duke of Small Smiles, was the head of the Irmel family. This lady was the eldest daughter. While I was startled by finding a bigger fish than I expected, Carmel whispered to me with a stiff expression.

“If she’s really the daughter of the Duke of Small Smiles, Dachia Irmel, then she’s a wizard.”

Wizards were born randomly regardless of their genetics, so naturally, they could have been born in the family of a great lord. Of course, the nobles didn’t like having a wizard in their family much. It was the perfect combination of a noble and a wizard to be the rudest.

Dachia Irmel looked me in the eye and asked.

“What’s the name of the person who saved me? I can tell that you’re a priest just by looking at you.”

I bowed my head and spoke politely.

“I am called Marnak, a priest who enshrines the Goddess of Maintenance, who protects daily life.”

“Marnak…that’s not a bad name.”

She held out her white hand to me.

“I’m having trouble walking, so could you help me a little?”

‘Kill!!!’

Suppressing Mother’s fierce cry, I gestured to Carmen. I didn’t want to be deeply entangled with a wizard. Besides, it was polite for him to help as a nobleman. Nodding, Carmen took a step forward.

“I’ll help you, Princess Dachia.”

Dachia looked at Carmel with coy eyes and timidly answered.

“I didn’t ask you because of your fiancé, so will you be okay with it? Even rumors about me and the Baltas ‘Black Dog’ could spread throughout the capital?”

Carmel and I looked at each other with our mouths wide open. The words that came out of her mouth were too cultured for a wizard to speak. Carmen smiled awkwardly and said to me.

“Marnak, maybe you should help her?”

I grabbed Dachia’s hand with a reluctant look.

‘Kill!’

My chest pockets twitched violently, but I ignored Mother and said:

“Wait with Carmen here. I’ll collect the bodies and come back.”

***

Ten corpses were buried, and I knelt and prayed.

“Mother. I offer you their lives.”

‘Kill!!!’

Mother turned into a girl and raised a middle finger at me. I was glad she heard my request to quietly do that instead of rushing around when she got angry, but when two middle fingers turned toward me, it felt very strange.

“Mother, fold your fingers and come back to me quickly.”

Mother walked over to me and poked my cheek with her outstretched hand.

‘Kill!’

“Yes, saving the imprisoned girl, as Mother said, could be called being nosy.”

‘Kill!’

“It’s true that I should stop doing things that don’t offer me any benefits and live a more selfish life.”

I hugged Mother, who still flipped me off, and patted her back.

“But I can make the benefits myself. So, don’t worry that I will be at a disadvantage. Doesn’t Mother trust me as much as I trust Mother?”

‘Kill…’

Mother, burying her head in my arms, said it was all right, for now, then turned into a hand with a soft light. I patted the hand in my pocket and prayed again.

“Take their lives, Mother.”

The divinity of corruption permeated my body.

[Divinity: 1241]

Now that the harvest of divinity was over, it was time to go back.

***

Golden eyes looked up at the sparkling flames. Dachia pushed the wreckage of the wagon into the bonfire and slowly spoke as she roasted the meat of a dead horse.

“I don’t have any clear evidence about the culprit, but I have a thought as to who. No, it’s obvious. Clearly, this kidnapping was done by my older brother, Dachen Irmel.”