Throbbing…
It seems like something collapsed when one of the restraints exploded. Small pieces fell like thud thud above my head.
My legs were pinned under something and wouldn’t move. At first, I thought it was one of the two guys that were carrying me, but it turned out to be a rock. With a black cloth covering my head, I couldn’t see much—
Oh, my hands were tied, but now they were free.
I quickly raised my hands and got the cloth off my head. It was still dark, but after blinking a few times and adjusting my eyes to the darkness, the surroundings slowly started to come into focus.
“Ugh…”
My arms were throbbing. This wasn’t good. The fact that I felt pain meant my injuries were serious.
I hastily used my Holy Power to heal my arm and looked down at my hands. Surprisingly, my armor was so sturdy that even after the explosion, not a single piece was damaged. It seemed the rope around my wrist was blown away in the explosion.
“Heal.”
I spoke out loud for the first time in a while to use my Holy Power. Come to think of it, at some point, I stopped chanting and just controlled it instinctively. It seems the more I used it, the better I got at it.
As I calmly poured Holy Power into every part of my body, I realized that what was on my legs wasn’t the corpse of a High-Ranking Demon, but a large rock.
Fortunately, the walls and ceiling hadn’t completely collapsed, so it was manageable. I healed my legs, which had turned awkwardly, stood up, and tapped my toes against the ground. Good.
…Not like a zombie.
If we’re being picky, zombies move while dead, and I’m alive in a dying part, so it could be said I was the opposite.
Grrr…
I turned to see what made the creepy noise, and there was something lodged in the wall. A gigantic creature without legs.
It must have been one of the ones that carried me.
Just as a side note, the one that was probably carrying a bag had only legs left.
I created a spherical light with my Holy Power and floated it beside me. As the light pushed back the darkness, my field of vision widened.
“…”
Regrettably, I began to regret that decision a little.
How did this tunnel not collapse? The walls and ceiling were all covered in something distinctly squirmy. It was a dark, red matter, and it looked like it was alive. Some kind of animal.
No, wait. It was probably a demon or a beast.
To be more precise, this entire tunnel was made up of beasts.
Thanks to the explosion—or perhaps the Holy Power—a part of the beast’s body had been blasted away, and that massive rock that had barely held it together fell off.
So, at that moment, I could have been crushed by the collapsing earth.
A chill ran down my spine.
What kind of confidence did these guys have to drag a Saintess, a literal pile of Holy Power, into the body of a beast?
…No, capturing me might have been just a secondary objective. From the perspective of the Witch, capturing me would be very beneficial, but if that didn’t happen, I could be disposed of.
Looking around, I found a half-burnt backpack. Just in front of the legless creature was a charred bag, and there were six restraints lying around.
Carefully approaching, I picked up all the restraints and slipped them onto one arm. They were supposed to be heated if resisted, but since I made them, they simply released Holy Power steadily as long as I held them.
Originally, they were meant to be worn around the neck. Anyway.
It was fortunate that I had made plenty of extras. Even if one blew up, the impact wouldn’t be catastrophic.
I looked up at the ceiling. Only the part where Baal’s Holy Power had exploded was missing the strange outer layer. Dust was slowly falling from the ceiling that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
I better get out of here quickly.
“Wait a minute…”
As I turned my body, the legless creature spoke.
“S-save me…”
I glanced at the creature’s lower half. It wasn’t just legs missing. Part of its pelvis was also gone, and its innards were spilling out where the pelvis should have held them.
“…”
Even if it had excellent durability, that kind of injury would kill it quickly.
And above all, I had no intention of showing mercy.
It was clear it intended to offer me up to the Witch… It seemed like they meant to use me as some sort of demon factory, but what kind of insane person would show mercy to someone who would do such a thing to themselves?
Without saying a word, I turned and left that place. I could hear the screams behind me, but I didn’t care.
Beg for mercy from the Gods, not me.
*
While running through the beast’s insides, I realized that this beast was not just gigantic. It wasn’t that a single life form existed, and this was its innards—it was that the entire massive tunnel itself was the shape of the beast.
The thick, elongated beast branched out multiple ways, rising up and sinking down. Some parts were even vertically punctured through the ceiling. The place that dragged me in was likely one of those locations. I couldn’t quite tell where I had fallen from.
I tried to grab a hold of one and climb up, but unfortunately, I lacked the skills to climb such a slippery, squirming surface. Also, there seemed to be some kind of villus or something, as I slowly slid down whenever I hung on. Eventually, I gave up and wandered aimlessly through the maze.
Surely there must be a way back up. They couldn’t have made such a place without preparations long before we executed the plan.
“There!”
Oh, and I wasn’t the only one down here.
The whole passage was surrounded by the beast’s flesh, yet the sound echoed quite well. After hearing the sound of my explosion, High-Ranking Demons, who’d been waiting inside, started to rush toward me one by one.
“You little—”
As a creature dashed toward me, I also rushed forward and swung my fist with all my might. As long as I didn’t knock it out cold, it would be fine. No matter where it got hurt, I could heal and move again. The pain was greatly relieved thanks to Baal’s blessing.
Crack! Something broke with a sound. Probably the Demon’s face and my arm. I immediately healed my arm and ran again.
It was such a relief that I had my plate armor on. If I hadn’t, my punches wouldn’t have shown that much power.
Also, most of the High-Ranking Demons appearing here were weaker than those I had directly encountered. Although I had crushed the skull of a High-Ranking Demon born from the union of a real demon and a witch, that time, they hadn’t broken like this in one go.
No matter how much my skills and stamina had increased, it was bizarre.
I think I had seen over a dozen of them. I wasn’t sure how many there were in total.
Playing the game of “how many can I take down” was fun.
No, in reality, I had only taken down a few. Most panicked and ran off after taking a single solid hit.
I didn’t know how many were chasing me from behind. I heard multiple sets of footsteps overlapping.
I was starting to get out of breath. My legs were aching. …If I survive this, I’ll have to run laps around the playground every day to build my stamina.
After running for some time, I quickly ducked into a space that had sunk in.
I kept the glowing sphere facing forward as I pressed myself close to the corner and held my breath.
“Over there! There’s light!”
“Catch her! If you can’t catch her, we’ll all lose our heads!”
The demons dashed toward the direction of the light. After waiting for a while until their footsteps faded away, I peeked outside the corner. …It was too dark to see well. I probably wouldn’t have been able to fool them for long. If the sphere got too far from me, it wouldn’t stay lit.
“Phew…”
I placed my hand on my racing heart and took a deep breath.
“Alright.”
For now, I can’t go over there.
I turned my body toward the way I had come in.
I hadn’t noticed before from all the running, but the sounds in this space were creepy.
What can I say, it sounded like raw meat being kneaded with an egg on top while wearing plastic gloves.
I was pretty sure if I touched it, something sticky would cling to me.
And the unique fishy smell was so nauseating it felt like I could throw up at any moment.
“…”
I stepped forward through the sticky and slimy floor, and I heard a sound. I stopped, thinking it might be another High-Ranking Demon, but quickly realized it wasn’t.
The voices of the large High-Ranking Demons were all deep and low. Just by listening, I could easily tell they weren’t ordinary human voices.
But the sound I was hearing now… was a thin, pleading moan.
And it wasn’t just one.
I moved my feet toward the source of the sound.
Gathering Holy Power to create a light sphere, I illuminated the source of the noise.
I saw many women hanging in what appeared to be stuck to the wall.
“Ah, damn it.”
I couldn’t hold back my vomit at that moment.
I had anticipated this to some extent. Before coming here, I had already thought about it. High-Ranking Demons are usually born from the union of demons and witches. Naturally, since the witches have to bear the children, mass production isn’t possible. Above all, arrogant demons wouldn’t use their own bloodline children as mere expendables.
So, if there were more than twenty High-Ranking Demons discovered…
A lot. And ‘real’ High-Ranking Demons would be weaker than that.
If the witch was ‘male,’ it wouldn’t be a big deal for them to… ‘use’ human women. If they could just kidnap them from somewhere, that is.
As I emptied what I had in my stomach onto the ground, the slimy meat-like floor instantly started to absorb it.
This is really disgusting. Damn it.
I lifted my head and got up. Then I approached the women stuck to the wall. Fortunately, it was also beneficial that the wall was a beast. At least, I could burn away the bonds with my Holy Power.
Eighteen. There were eighteen women here. They were all covered in some sticky and foul substance, and their hair had grown wildly, covering most of their faces. It wasn’t a relaxing situation, so I couldn’t check their ages one by one.
I did my best to get that fleshy stuff off them and heal as much as I could with the Holy Power.
And…
What should I do?
While Holy Power can heal wounds, it can’t restore stamina. I can’t look for a way out while protecting a dozen or so frail people.
Does that mean I have to leave them behind?
…I can’t do that as a person.
A nameless woman in front of me looked at me from behind her tangled hair. Her eyes were blank. I couldn’t even tell if she was looking at me or not.
“Kill me.”
As I was pondering what to do, I heard a sharp male voice from behind me.
Before I could even turn around, I felt something sharp probing into my side.
Looking down, I saw something toothy embedded in me.
Some long, sharp fangs were being gripped by bony hands that trembled.
It was the woman next to me who had stabbed me. Where did those fangs come from?
“It’s you.”
…If the owner of that sharp voice was the master of this place, the story changes. If I thought they were controlling this, making fangs sprout from the ground wouldn’t be hard for them.
And threatening terrified people as well.
…Those fangs are indeed sharp. If someone who was completely weak could stab through plate armor, it must be.
I gently pushed that person away and pulled out the fangs, and this time, one stabbed into my back.
Yup. I’ve freed over ten people, haven’t I?
If each one stabbed me just once, I’d be done for.
Quickly healing the wound, and this time I was stabbed in the arm. Ow, stop.
“Hmm.”
That sound came from behind me, and I heard footsteps. The sound of bare feet walking on the damp ground. …I suspected they weren’t wearing any clothes. Was it lucky I couldn’t look back?
It was a life-or-death situation, but my head cooled down instead. Accepting the situation, I realized.
“You’re quite tough, as expected. Good. Stop.”
The fangs that had been stuck in me suddenly stopped. The women surrounding me still had no focus in their eyes. Have they lost the will to resist? Perhaps they know that if they don’t obey, even worse hell awaits them.
Or maybe they are being controlled. I don’t know what was done to their bodies.
“It must be difficult to resist here. The misuse of Holy Power would endanger those women beside you.”
My anger flared up. It was true. Whether because of Holy Power or miracles, if this place collapsed, everyone would die. If I swung my fist, the women surrounding me would take the hit. If the extremely weakened women were to get hit by my punch, it would likely be irreversible.
“Capture her.”
I felt arms wrapping around me from all sides. Those bony arms looked like they would break if I so much as moved. In this state, any fracture would be deadly.
“Have you given up? Well, that’s fine. If it’s just you, those women are dispensable. If you surrender to me here, out of my last mercy, I’ll let those women go. I’m not sure who would let you go after offering me the Saintess, though.”
“I’m not giving up.”
“Oh?”
A witch… I guess she was a witch? I’ll just call her that. Anyway, she must have a body that can carry offspring from demons.
Anyway, she spoke with intrigue.
“Do you have some kind of plan?”
“Well…”
I sighed as if it were nothing.
“I’m a Saintess. What Saints do is believe.”
“Are you saying you’ll pray?”
“Well, yeah.”
The witch laughed as if she found it amusing.
“Sure, praying is good. But I wonder if the gods will answer you here.”
The moment she said that, boom, a clear sound of something exploding echoed from far away.
Not from above, but from below, in this underground.
…Oh crap, I genuinely thought I was going to die.
*
“Ow… It hurts…”
“I told you to hold on properly.”
“…”
Lina, who had barely hung on to Jian and then fell onto the ground, grumbled as she rubbed her backside, while Jian chuckled. Lina merely stood up without a response.
“By the way, you really are something else. To say you’d ‘dig’ with brute force.”
Jian, pondering how to find Clara, who had sunk into the ground before his eyes, suggested using his own strength to dig.
…And as he sliced through incoming projectiles, it seemed Jian had a remarkable talent not only for swordsmanship but for digging as well.
After digging down vertically, they found an entrance that seemed to have sucked Clara in, and to avoid further collapses, they decided only a few would go down.
“It’s an unpleasant place, but… I think I know what it is.”
Lina stared firmly at the walls.
“This is a beast.”
“A beast?”
“Yeah. The entire tunnel.”
At that moment, someone slid down through the hole they had entered and landed elegantly.
“I learn something new every day.”
Andreiya must have heard their conversation while coming down and said that.
“Can you locate her?”
“Yeah. The scent of the Witch is unsettling. Even if this place vibrates with the stench of beasts, I can find her easily.”
Pure demons like Rina could distinguish scents well. If the same scent was widespread, there would be no choice, but in a narrow tunnel like this, it would be better. They could just follow the path in.
Thud! The last person jumped down.
“I hope the Saintess is nearby.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Rina spoke to Paul.
“If it’s her, she’ll come looking for the Witch without us needing to.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Jian agreed.
When they swiftly ran and located the Witch, that turned out to be the case.
*
“There aren’t any more stuck, right?”
I leaned back against Rina and asked, to which she replied, looking a bit horrified.
“None.”
Phew.
I sighed and swung my arms around. Hmm, it seemed to have all healed properly. Well, if it hadn’t, it would have been a serious problem.
I stood up and approached the fully bound Witch.
The naked Witch lost both her ankles as soon as Jian came to the scene. Then she face-planted on the ground, was slashed by Uncle Paul and Andreiya who followed him, and finally had a hole pierced in her abdomen by Rina’s Holy Power. To see her still alive meant she was indeed a Witch.
As I approached her, my right hand moved of its own accord. Dark and white light seeped from my hand, and the stigmata in it began to throb a bit, but—
No way.
I tightly clenched my fist. The power of that miracle faded as if being suppressed.
I couldn’t allow her to leave just like that today.
There was too much I needed to hear.
“Those punks—!”
On the Witch’s neck, two rings that I had been wearing on my own arm were hanging.
Witches are strong. In fact, just the existence of a Witch has the ability to instill terror in humans, so the sword skills of Andreiya and Uncle Paul against that Witch were ineffective. They couldn’t entirely sever her arms.
If I hadn’t immediately used my Holy Power to control her, everyone would probably have been in danger.
Since I was at it, I also ‘healed’ this Witch.
Leaving the human parts intact, I removed all the magical power of the demons inside her as a ‘treatment.’
That’s right. At this moment, she was human.
And unfortunately, she had a restraint on her neck that would heal her wounds automatically, making her someone who couldn’t die.
If I tried to forcefully cut her off, it would just cause her to burn with agony. Of course, the burns would be instantaneously healed by that malicious object as well.
As long as I didn’t suddenly blow up and burst, that was.
Of course, I hadn’t planned on making a bomb necklace, so that wouldn’t happen.
“You’re coming with me to the Central Church. There, you will confess your sins and spill everything you know. Then maybe someone will forgive you.”
I squatted down and stared directly into the Witch’s eyes. She had a sharp facial expression like a voice. I didn’t know her name, origin, or background of her becoming a Witch, but—
Well, that would soon be revealed.
“…I’ll need more human hands.”
I stood up and looked at the rescued victims. Most of them still couldn’t respond to external stimuli.
“You can’t—”
The Witch tried to say something, but I kicked her in the face to stop her.
“If you want to be treated as a being with human rights, think and act like a human. If you so much as act like you’re on the demon’s side, you will lose even the minimum rights you’ve been afforded.”
I growled at her. I felt a bit bad for not kicking her again, but I held back.
“…Let’s go. We should hurry and escape while destroying this place.”
And I need to thoroughly confirm whether such a space exists in Human Society as well.
…Looks like I’m going to be quite busy moving forward.
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