When the Pit of Corruption was released, I appeared back outside with the Incarnationâs corpse. I was lying among the burnt rubble. It seemed that the lordâs mansion had collapsed while we were inside.
A number came to mind as I lay on the floor, closed my eyes, and calmed myself.
[Divinity: 10001]
Since divinity was like a skill point to the Priests of Corruption, there were other uses besides obtaining new powers. I could also pay 10,000 divinity to strengthen an existing power. The most reasonable option would be to strengthen the Giant of Corruption that had suffered so much already or the Corruption Arts. Due to the nature of the ability, it wouldnât be a problem to postpone strengthening the Pit of Corruption.
I felt really sorry for the Giant of Corruption, but I wasnât going to choose the option of empowerment. I had a problem where I had to experiment after obtaining three powers.
The Priest of Corruption could equip three powers in the original game. No matter how many powers were obtained, the maximum they could use in battle was three. But did those restrictions still apply now that this world was my reality? I was curious to find out.
âMother, I will offer this divinity. Give me a new power.â
[Divinity: 1]
The divinity I worked hard to gather disappeared, and a new power took hold. And I realized now that it had become a reality; there was no limit to the number of equipped slots. Just like I could wear multiple rings on one hand.
âBut, Mother.â
âKill?â
âWhat do you mean with the power you gave me this time?â
âKillâŠ?â
Mother answered that she didnât know because the power wasnât something she chose to give. Even though I was given the powers I strangely needed every time, I decided to trust Mother. It was too much for her to bother lying to me about something like this.
I quickly let go of those blasphemous thoughts.
âBut isnât this too much?â
âKill!â
I couldnât be happier with Motherâs advice to not feel burdened and to use it as much as I wanted.
This new power, Curse of Corruption, was extremely close to evil. Unlike the previous powers, it wasnât a power that could be used without cost. To cast a single curse, it took a hundred divinity. In addition, the target was limited to inanimate objects of a certain size or larger, such as rocks.
In this way, it could be seen as a useless power, but the true essence of the Curse of Corruption appeared from the moment the cursed target touched the earth. Placing an object cursed with corruption on the ground would set a curse that could envelop the entirety of a small city. This curse would cause all living things there to rot very slowly.
After the curse spread, all food would rot faster than usual, all living things would suffer without even knowing it, and the beasts that roamed the earth would become thin. Even plants would only bear half of their original fruit. In addition, there was a finishing stroke to this power.
Humans who died on the earth cursed with corruption would be harvested when they died, converted into divinity, and pulled into me. In other words, this was a way to constantly obtain divinity even if I did nothing. As it was such a terrifying power, there were also a lot of shortcomings.
First, if the curse medium was destroyed before it progressed too far, the curses would be released. Second, the cursed object constantly emanated the divinity of Corruption. This meant that if other priests came close to it, they would know the cause of all this was an evil god. Finally, there was an even bigger problem with these shortcomings.
I didnât want to use this power.
Surely there must be a way to solve those shortcomings, but I didnât even want to find such a solution. And to get divinity by making unrelated people wither and dieâŠI didnât want it.
âMother, Iâm sorry, but I donât want to use this power.â
âKill!â
I smiled at my Motherâs reply to do whatever I wanted.
âBut, can I ask you something?â
âKillâŠ?â
âThat dead Incarnation is still overflowing with the divinity of other gods. Can I have a way to get it? Isnât it a bit wasteful to let it disappear like that?â
Motherâs hand crawled out of my pocket while I had no strength to move a single finger and turned into a girl again. Mother, dressed in a black dress with a green pattern, put her hand on the head of the Incarnation, frowned slightly, and struggled for a while. I grinned at the scene of Mother trying hard.
âMother, you donât have to work too hard on what doesnât work. Just come back.â
Mother yelled at me, but she soon realized I couldnât hear her voice and ran back over.
âKill!â
âYou mean that you could do something if it were one, but itâs hard in its current state with the divinities of various gods mixed up?â
âKill.â
She stood up, telling me to wait, and then threw the Incarnationâs head away and walked off. As Mother disappeared from my view, a vague sense of insecurity needled at me. Should I just have taken care of it later? No, I should have taken care of it myself!
Self-doubt and loathing tied a noose around my neckâŠ
âKill!â
Her cry awakened my mind once more. I managed to turn my head a little, and Mother reached out her hand to show me a bead split in half, and it was just a piece of the relic that had lost its power.
But why? Why was the holy object that sealed Motherâs divinity inside the Incarnationâs body? What if it wasnât just a coincidence, but the holy relic of the Mother of Corruption was the medium used to create that monster?
It was complicated. But there was one more problem other than how jumbled my head felt. I was hit with so many divine attacks today that my bodyâs condition was reaching its limit. The consciousness I had been clinging to gradually faded.
âKill?!â
Motherâs bewildered voice called out through the dark.
âHurry up, get back into my pocketâŠâ
*
The feel of the soft bed greeted my back, and the sense of comfort created by the loose clothes told me to sleep more. Loose clothes? Not my uniform?!
âGasp!â
âYouâve finally come to your senses!â
I jumped up and grabbed Carmenâs shoulder with a shout.
âMy clothes! Where are my clothes?!â
âP-Please calm down for a moment, Priest Marnak.â
I couldnât dare relax because I couldnât feel Motherâs hand in my pocket.
âWhere are my belongings? Right nowâŠâ
âKill!â
Motherâs voice came from the basket under the bed. I hurriedly stretched out my arm, picked the hand up from the basket, and hugged it.
âI got really scared that I had lost it.â
Carmen smiled.
âAs expected, itâs something with a story. Others said it wasnât something the priest would carry around and wanted to throw away, but I took it and put it there.â
âKill!â
I bowed deeply to Carmen as Mother mentioned she was almost cremated along with the other corpses.
âThank you so much. I donât know how to thank you enough.â
Carmen waved his hand as if I shouldnât dare say such a thing.
âThank you?! If it werenât for the noble sacrifice of Priest Marnak, I would have died before we made it out of Kelton.â
As I calmed down a bit, I was able to slowly understand the situation around me.
âBut where are we?â
âThese are the barracks. Weâre still in Kelton.â
Barracks?
âHow many days have I been asleep?â
âTen full days have passed since Keltonâs disaster.â
Ten days? Well, judging by the hustle and bustle of people coming through the barracks, it seemed that Keltonâs restoration was underway.
âAt first, I was very worried that you wouldnât wake up again, but fortunately, the Goddess of Maintenance took care of you, and your wounds healed quickly.â
I licked my lips a few times, then slowly opened my mouth to ask.
âAre there any survivors?â
Carmenâs smile faded.
âOnly you were alive inside the walls of Kelton.â
It was as relieving as it was heartbreaking. If there were any living people, they would have witnessed the Giant of Corruption fighting the Incarnation, so it was right for me to eliminate as many witnesses as possible. At the same time, even though I tried so hard, I was sad that I couldnât save anyone.
âKill!â
At Motherâs cry, saying, âThatâs for the best,â I squeezed her palm and looked at Carmen.
âKâŠiâŠlâŠlâŠâ
âThen whoâs in Kelton now?â
Carmen spread out his hands and counted them off one by one.
âThe lords of the nearest city have dispatched troops for the reconstruction, and the relatives of the lord Stren Plkor also sent who they could to helpâŠâ
A man with a cane opened the door and stepped inside at that moment.
âI just heard the news that youâve woken up.â
The demon lord of Guise, who walked with the click of his prosthetic leg, smiled at me for a second while Carmen glanced back.
âIf someone has been starving for ten days, it is probably the right thing to eat first.â
Carmen looked at me as if he had forgotten all about that.
âI guess Iâm really out of my mind. Priest Marnak seemed healthy, so I was mistaken. Iâll get someone to bring you something to eat.â
I slowly pushed myself up and put on my uniform.
âIâll go eat. Iâm a little curious about how Kelton looks right now.â
Carmen made eye contact with the demon lord, then smiled awkwardly at me.
âIf you go out alone, it will be a little noisy. Will you be okay?â
âWell, Iâm fine with that.â
The busy noises of construction made by the workers wouldnât bother me.
But the moment I left the barracks with Carmen, I could sense that the noise he was talking about was different than I expected.
âThe Evil Godâs Great Enemy!â
Shouts sounded from the streets.
âThe Evil Godâs Great Enemy, Priest Marnak, has awakened!â
âThe Evil Godâs Great Enemy said he was hungry! Go and prepare the most delicious dishes!â
âI told you that he would surely wake up!â
I asked Carmen.
âWhat the hell is this?â
Carmen replied with a broad smile.
âI put a little effort into spreading your prestige.â
âI meanâŠâ
I tried to say something, but my words were swallowed up by the following cheers.
âWhoooooaa!â
I was slightly dizzy from all the sound. And, well, because I was the priest of an evil god.
âKill!!!â
I pressed my Mother, jokingly shouting, âMarnak, the Evil Godâs Great Enemy!â and turned back into the barracks.
âIâll just eat inside.â
Carmen smiled and nodded, so pure and full of joy at the spread of my fame.
âI thought you would.â
I shook my head as I stepped back inside. First the Demon Slayer, now I was the Evil Godâs Great Enemy? It felt like I was only collecting some burdensome titles. Without knowing how I felt, a powerful shout rattled the windows.