Chapter: 136
“L-Lian?! Is that really you?”
“Wait, surely that’s the god whom you believed in…?”
Before long, Pia had transformed from a witch into a divine benefactor. The two kids spoke in slightly excited voices.
“The blood from Tente’s belly just keeps pouring out… It won’t stop! His body is getting colder…”
“Yeah, exactly. It hurt so much. But then, suddenly, it stopped hurting, and I was just thinking how lucky that was when—”
Their parents, along with the villagers, looked shocked at the heart-wrenching words. The horrifying scenarios the kids had faced were drawn oddly vividly in everyone’s mind. Thank you, Comedy Filter.
“I thought it was great that I wasn’t in pain anymore, but then Lian suddenly showed up, grabbed me, and pulled me back to the surface!”
“Oh! That’s when you were brought back! Then you pulled out the knife, and the wound disappeared in an instant! Look!”
As Aniel lifted Tente’s shirt, a smooth tummy with only faint traces of blood was revealed. It seemed surreal that a knife had been embedded there, yet the clarity of their memories made everyone believe the kids’ words as truth.
“A miracle like that…”
“Could it really be that the god—”
Murmurs filled the air.
Just then, the atmosphere became tense.
Creeeak.
The door at the back of the platform leading to the elder’s room slowly opened. Villagers who were lost in the children’s incredible tale suddenly snapped back to reality.
‘Could it be that bastard who kidnapped the children is back?’
‘But didn’t he die for sure…?’
‘Maybe he’s brought his crew back!’
With wary faces, the villagers stepped forward protectively, brandishing farming tools as makeshift weapons, ready to shield the children, Pia, and the Nest organization kids.
The tension was thick enough that one could hear a pin drop.
Clop, clop.
Familiar footsteps echoed. The sound came from the shoes typically worn by priests. Just then, white moonlight flooded through the temple windows, illuminating whoever had just stepped through the door.
“Gulp…”
“Yikes…!”
Beneath the bright moonlight, hair whiter than snow flowed delicately. With golden eyes that shone softly like a beast’s in the dark, Lian had an enchanting presence.
Dressed in luxurious priest attire embroidered with gold thread, he looked like he had stepped straight out of a myth.
‘Isn’t that how a divine messenger in myth would look?’
The villagers stared at Lian, entranced.
“Pia.”
“Ah…”
When Lian softly called Pia’s name, someone in the crowd let out a painful groan. Jealousy and envy surged for the benefactor who had only been a figure of gratitude just moments ago. It was a jealousy towards a human chosen by a great being.
In contrast to that atmosphere, Lian was sweating buckets on the inside.
‘Not sure this is good…’
Lian surveyed the atmosphere while recalling what had just happened.
The child stabbed with a knife, the fallen beautiful girl, the man who ran away with a grim Magic Sword.
It was obvious just from the information laid out that—if he ran away now, he could be accused of stabbing the child.
In the Comedy World, the one left at the scene when a crime occurs or the one who flees first becomes the suspect. If there are no witnesses, the one left becomes the criminal, while if there are witnesses, the one who flees takes the blame.
Lian’s current situation was clearly the latter.
‘To avoid being seen as the criminal here… I can’t run away.’
This is why Lian was searching for clothes, opening every door in the temple instead of fleeing. Once he found something to wear quickly, he could just say, “Oh, I wasn’t running away; I just went to the restroom!” to avoid getting wrongfully accused.
‘First, I need to find some clothes… Oh! Found the wardrobe!’
He flung open the wardrobe occupying one corner of the elder’s room. Inside hung a priest’s outfit, white with gold embroidery. It looked so flashy that he almost wanted to keep looking for something else.
[ Hmm, this is a pretty standard priest outfit. ]
‘This is standard? Really?’
[ Yeah, priests often wear this outfit. ]
‘But the last priest I saw was dressed in darker tones, wasn’t he?’
[ Well, I wouldn’t know; most priests I’ve seen wear outfits like this. ]
‘Is that so?’
The Magic Sword wasn’t lying. The priest’s outfit he remembered was so outdated that only the dragon might recall it, while the gold-embroidered outfit was just a traditional garb worn during special events.
‘Still too flashy, though.’
Lian rummaged through the wardrobe, searching for something more modest. The elder had thought to change into his priestly robes after slaughtering the children, so he had taken all his usual garments. That left Lian with no alternative options.
‘Ugh… Whatever!’
If he delayed any longer, he’d lose his chance to explain, so he summoned the Magic Sword back and put on the shimmering priest attire.
‘This… is even fancier than I expected?’
With its special occasion status, it was far more radiant than the past priest uniforms. But since he couldn’t strip it off right now, he headed towards the prayer room in this outfit.
‘Aaaah… Surely this looks suspicious!’
Lian worried briefly glancing at the wary villagers, but seeing Pia and the children gave him courage.
‘I can’t run away just because I’m scared when I didn’t do anything wrong!’
Drawing courage from nowhere, he stepped forward confidently. He cautiously called out to Pia, visible among the villagers, conveying, “I’m not a bad person!”
Surprisingly, the atmosphere relaxed dramatically.
‘Okay, maybe it’s not that bad…?’
The villagers welcomed Lian wholeheartedly, all thanks and tears spilling over like a wave.
Lian was unsure how this all turned around but figured that it wasn’t a negative situation, so he just played it cool and responded accordingly.
“Ah… ♥”
Pia, standing behind Lian with her hands clasped, trembled with delight, letting out a small moan.
‘Yes… this is it. This is the right path.’
Experiencing Lian’s transformation into something like a god gave her joy and reminded her of her purpose in existence.
‘I need to spread the greatness of Lian to even more people. Thus, I will guide even more souls onto the path of light!’
From that day forward, Pia actively began to spread the word of the Lian Church. The terrifying miracle known as the ‘Comedy Filter’ began to create thousands of followers, but that was a story for later.
*
Turning back a little in time, while Lian was frantically searching for Pia,
“Big brother…?”
Iris found herself lost. She had lost track of Lian while following him in search of Pia.
“Where am I?”
She quickly looked around. Standing in a hallway made of dull gray stone walls, she stood still to think.
‘Big brother definitely said… if you get lost, you should stay put…’
It certainly didn’t seem like just standing still would solve the situation. Iris wanted to get back to her brother as quickly as possible, so she started to move.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was observing her quietly.
“Ha-ha-ha… You’ve fallen right into my trap.”
It was a middle-aged woman, heavily made up—a priestess who had gawked at Lian and was then warned off by Iris. She sat crossed-legged on the edge of the bed, clad in a white gown.
On the bed lounged a handsome young man, blissfully unaware as he slept. The woman’s gaze roamed over him, scrutinizing every inch.
‘Once I drain that brat’s blood completely, I’ll finish my work perfectly.’
The man lying on the bed was the son of a woodcutter who recently married a beautiful village girl. The woman reveled in ruining newlywed couples.
Especially when the bride was beautiful, her desires flared up. By using curses to break the man’s mind and making him cling to her, she felt more beautiful and alluring than the young and lovely man’s wife, and then did it over and over again.
Tonight, she had special plans to ruin the couple, who had been mutual crushes since childhood, finally ending up in marriage.
‘Tonight will be the best night ever.’
As she savored the thought of quenching her thirst with the unpleasant man’s blood, the woman exhaled in delight, anticipating the perfect night to ensnare the man who called her “Auntie.”
And thus, the worst night began.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
