Corrupted Priest-Chapter 33

Descent

I followed the back of the Trumpeter of Rest, my mind racing.

Could it be that he noticed I took the orb that emitted divinity from the head of the Ragged Giant? Or perhaps he realized that I'm a worshiper of the Evil God? Since the Trumpeter of Rest appeared, I hadn't revealed any divinity related to corruption. How could he know?

'Kill!'

My mother's voice stirred, whispering to strike him now while he's walking unguarded, reminding me that the one who strikes first always wins.

The Trumpeter of Rest stopped walking.

I tightened my grip on the Froststeel sword's hilt, ready to draw it if needed.

"He comes."

A short statement, but the weight of it was far from light. Darkness crept up over the white mask. It crawled across the mask before falling back down. An oppressive, suffocating presence began to weigh heavily on the surroundings.

I had felt something similar before.

A pressure from beings beyond human—a natural, divine weight.

Some part of the 'God' had descended to this place.

The Trumpeter of Rest, dressed in flowing black, raised a hand and extended a single finger. A voice, scratching deeply within the recesses of my soul, penetrated my ears and pierced my heart.

[Cathedral.]

The pressure vanished. The darkness streaming down the white mask lifted. The Trumpeter of Rest continued to pant heavily, likely from the aftereffects of the divine presence that had entered his body.

I waited patiently for him to catch his breath, contemplating deeply. My thoughts were tangled.

The finger and the word "Cathedral."

Could it be that the god had come down to inform me of a holy artifact in the cathedral? Does the "Trumpeter of Death and Rest" know the Mother of Corruption personally? I would need to ask my mother about this later.

More than that, if my interpretation was correct, the Trumpeter of Death and Rest must have realized my identity as a priest of corruption. Does this mean he, too, knows who I really am?

"Ha."

The Trumpeter of Rest finally composed himself and stared at me.

"Do you have something to say?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

The simple words carried a clear meaning: "Whatever you are, I'll remain a bystander."

I smiled faintly and nodded.

"Is that so? Then let's move on."

I kept my distance from the Trumpeter of Rest and spoke to my mother.

"Do you know that god by any chance?"

'Kill...?'

'I have no idea...?' came the simple reply.

What was going on? What is happening here?

My mind grew more complicated. I was left with troubling questions, returning to where the others were.

When Carmen saw me coming back, she gave a bitter smile and pointed to the city.

"So, what should we do about this?"

The streets were filled with bodies, blood, and chunks of flesh. There were still areas burning here and there.

The Trumpeter of Rest took out the white trumpet from his robes and blew into it. The corpses that had been lying in the streets began to rise one by one and moved towards the outskirts of the city. Dacia, seeing this, spoke softly to me.

"Wouldn't it be easier to clean up the city if the Trumpeter of Rest helped?"

Carmen nodded as she listened.

"Definitely, as the Princess said. The problem is, seeing those dead rise and leave the city, it seems like the Trumpeter of Rest has no intention of helping us."

"So, we should ask for help."

A pair of golden eyes looked at me, shining brightly.

"Couldn't you, the closest person to the Trumpeter of Rest, ask? You two were just sharing secrets not long ago, after all."

I hadn't shared anything with him, though; it was more like I just listened to him talk to the god.

"We're not that close."

"Then should I ask instead? We're four people, and it's too little to save everyone."

The endless procession of the dead leaving the city. If they helped, we could save many more. I nodded at Dacia.

"I'll ask for help."

"Thank you!"

Dacia's face lit up, and she grabbed my hand eagerly.

'Kill!!!'

I forced my mother's struggling spirit back and gently freed my hand from Dacia's grip.

"I'll go and ask right now."

"Okay!"

I walked toward the Trumpeter of Rest, who was silently playing his trumpet. The white mask turned to face me, and he stared at me without saying anything, as though silently urging me to speak. I smiled and said,

"Would you be able to help clean up Eradico? If you could use the dead to search the city, we could save many more people."

The Trumpeter of Rest, who had been staring intently at me, responded.

"Helping the living is not my job..."

He was about to reject me outright, but then paused and let out a deep sigh.

"Ha."

The sigh was filled with exhaustion. The Trumpeter of Rest spoke.

"What do you need me to help with?"

His sudden change of heart caught me off guard, but I accepted his willingness to help gratefully. This would help us save many lives.

"Please help us find any remaining survivors."

"Is that all?"

"It would also be helpful if you could move them to relatively undamaged buildings."

Slowly, the Trumpeter of Rest nodded. He blew into the trumpet again, and the dead that had been moving towards the gates turned and began to spread across the city.

"And if you could also move any undamaged supplies, that would be great. Otherwise, everything will burn in the spreading fire. Oh, and if you could extinguish the fires..."

I stopped mid-sentence as the white mask glared at me intensely. The Trumpeter of Rest spoke in a low voice.

"Speak all at once. Please."

"Right. I'll summarize everything and bring it to you so you can hear it all at once."

"...Alright."

'Kill!!!'

My mother, now in the form of a young girl, extended both hands toward me.

"Here it is, Mother."

I handed her the orb from Riverkel's head. She took it with a bright smile and immediately started working on it.

The cleanup of Eradico proceeded surprisingly fast with the Trumpeter of Rest's help. Countless waves of the dead mechanically saved people, extinguished fires, and gathered usable food and supplies. My group and I assisted the dead in moving the still unconscious survivors to safe buildings.

Though the survivors appeared physically unharmed, many of them took longer to regain consciousness. But I could see that the divinity that had seeped into their bodies was starting to fade, so by tomorrow, most of them should regain their senses.

The Trumpeter of Rest, who had neatly cleaned up the city, was about to leave without even saying goodbye as soon as I thanked him for his hard work.

Without hesitation, I called out to him as he turned away, walking off. I handed him the right arm of Sanctus that I had kept. He looked at my face, took the arm silently, and left.

We saw him off and chose separate rooms in the building we had set aside to stay in, planning to finish the cleanup tomorrow morning.

'Kill!!!'

My mother, who had been clinging to my side and clutching the orb, threw it onto the floor, clearly frustrated because things weren't going well.

"Mother...?"

I called out to her as I watched the orb rolling around on the floor. In her frustration, she had thrown it and was now glancing at me before hopping off the bed, rushing to pick up the orb, and grabbing my arm with a pitiful expression.

'Kill...'

"Is the divinity tangled in the orb not coming undone? If you keep trying, I'm sure it will loosen. I assure you. But, mother, as much as you're angry, throwing things isn't a good way to vent your frustration. You know very well how bad that is."

'Kill...'

She was furious because she couldn't solve this one problem and was feeling helpless. I lifted her up and patted her back. Her small head burrowed into my chest.

"Mother, you're not useless at all. If it weren't for you neutralizing the magic, I wouldn't have been able to land such a great blow on Riverkel. You've been very helpful. Really. But mother, there's one thing I must say."

'Kill?'

Her beautiful eyes, constantly swirling with darkness and dark green light, looked at me. She tilted her head.

I smiled and said, "Next time, no matter how frustrated you get, let's make a promise not to throw things. If you don't throw things, no matter how angry you are, you'll become three times more attractive. Everyone will worship your patience, especially when you're angry but don't throw things."

'Kill?'

"Did you ask if you'd become three times more attractive to me?"

'Kill!'

I slowly shook my head.

"Sadly, no."

'Kill?!'

She was extremely surprised and disappointed. I comforted my struggling mother and said, "As I always tell you, you have to listen to the end of what people say."

I smiled widely as I picked her up.

"Because I'm already deeply in love with your charm, which I can't even begin to fathom. Whether it grows three times or a hundred times, it doesn't matter to me."

'Kill...!'

A wave of emotion flooded over her. Seizing the opportunity, I spoke.

"So, you've promised me that next time, no matter how angry you are, you won't throw anything, right?"

'Kill!'

"What?! Don't lie!"

Hilden, the head of the Eastern Branch of the 'Ireh' organization that controls the underworld of the Northern Kingdom, screamed.

"Don't lie!" he yelled.

Denial.

The subordinate who came to report lowered his head in shame.

"These damn demon worshipers!"

Anger.

"Did anyone from the princess's group die, like our people?"

Compromise.

"Why does this only happen to me...?"

Depression.

After going through all the stages, Hilden finally collapsed into a chair, muttering gloomily.

"Shit..."

His plan to ambush the princess's group, who would be caught off guard inside the city thanks to a large bribe paid to the lord of Eradico, was completely ruined by those damn demon worshipers.

The assassins and the bribed lord were all dead.

"How am I supposed to explain this? That bastard is going to throw a fit again."

But he had to. If he stayed silent, that bastard would cause even more trouble.

Hilden buried his body in the chair, tightly closing his eyes. The thought of the humiliation he would face was too painful.

"Fucking bloodline! Fucking reptile! Just because he's the prince of the Dragon Kingdom, does that mean he's untouchable? Huh? Is that it? Shit! Every time I see beastmen, I just want to fucking lose it! I can't stand it!"

Three days had already passed since we arrived in Eradico. It had been a whirlwind of non-stop work.

As I served stew to the citizens of Eradico, the one who received it bowed deeply, expressing his gratitude.

"Savior! Thank you so much!"

I awkwardly smiled and waved my hand.

"That title is a bit much."

"No! We can never thank you enough, Savior! Right, everyone!"

"Yeah! Long live the four saviors! Yup!"

"Long live!!!"

Those who made eye contact with me cheered.

"Long live the savior of Eradico, Marnak!!!"

The Demon Slayer, the adversary of the evil gods, now the savior of Eradico.

'Kill!!!'

I held my mother, who was chanting along, and quickly moved the ladle. I had planned to serve today and leave the city afterward.

"Next person!"

This passage contains detailed narrative elements, showcasing complex interactions and the development of the main character's relationship with others. The tone shifts between moments of light humor, frustration, and intense emotions, reflecting the high-stakes environment the characters are in.