Chapter 86 "Human Pillar"

I said no, and at the same time I jumped back and took my distance.

"What are you doing, sir? Mister Apostle?"

　Iger in front of me asked in a curious tone.

"Well said. Your men attacked me the moment I refused."

"What!? That's why you're so alarmed! I am so ashamed of myself for making the Apostle Lord uneasy. If that's the case, it's not surprising that the apostle is wary of us."

　He shook his head sadly as he said it.

Even when I saw it, all I could think was that it was a load of crap. I thought it was a little too suspicious and offensive to say that they had attacked me multiple times and that he just found out about it. This guy is probably the one in charge.

　He is in such a position that it is unacceptable for him to say that he did not know.

　In the first place, what he is saying is, in essence, "Give me your power."

　To put it bluntly, how brazen can you be with someone you've never met before in addition to trying to take their life?　

Most likely, he tried to capture and subdue me, but it was difficult, so he switched to gentle persuasion, didn't he?

　It is a ridiculous proposal to even consider.

　However, he said a lot of interesting things, so I would like to get some information out of him....

　I don't know what to do. By the way, it's a given that I'm going to kill him.

　The first thing that concerns me is the existence of "Apostolos."

　I am sure that he is a reincarnated being.

From what I've heard and the way he talks, he must be in a very important position in Darzain.

Considering the fact that there are several reincarnated people in a row, and the fact that they let such a large-scale project take place so openly, I don't think they're sane, and I'd rather not get involved if I possibly could.

I put myself on high alert.

　Next, how he recognized me.

　Iger said he could see karma.

In other words, the reincarnated seem to look pretty strange to someone like that.

... you can literally tell at a glance.

　Finally, the blessing. I can guess this to some extent.

　Perhaps it's the bio-modification I'm doing.

　Surely that would be a quick and easy way to get stronger.

　It's also easy to break through the shell they are talking about.

The reason they are going out of their way to take me in is because there are only a limited number of people who can get it done.

And Iger in front of me is one of those limited people.

Well, I don't know what kind of a guy the Apostle of Darzine is, but it seems that he doesn't just give his blessing to anyone and everyone.

In fact, doing that stuff is tiring.

Still, as long as there is enough food, I could probably convert a few dozen people a day.

In fact, if I do it with minimal enhancement, I can do it as hard as I can and get close to a hundred a day.

　It's too much trouble, though, so I don't do it.

　Now, let's get back to the story.

　How should I deal with the man in front of me?

I guess the reason he keeps his hand outstretched toward the demon is because he needs it to block its movement.

　The demon is struggling to break free of its restraints with a low growl.

If I could free the demon by first targeting his arms to prevent him from maintaining the restraints, the situation would be a lot easier.

　I'm not going to force him to fight with me, so I'm going to just leave him there. On the other hand, since there is no need to keep him alive, it would be best if they could just fight and end up killing each other.

　I'm going to sink them as fast as I can before they do something strange to me.

　I step forward at once and draw my sword from my waist. I aim for the arm.

　Iger lifts the corner of his mouth and removes the cloth wrapped around his face.

　"I have no choice, sir! I'm going to have to ask you to behave yourself for a moment!"

　The exposed face is, in a way, as expected.

　He went to the trouble of wearing a blindfold. There must be a reason, unless it's a painful fashion choice.

　Iger's left eye is clear and transparent like a glass ball, while the right eye is completely black.

...Looks like the one I just ate.

　And he has a gold eyeball in his forehead.

[Magic Eye: Blind Gaze]

The moment his right eye seemed to glow, my vision turned black.

　What is this? Was it the power of that eye?

　I had no idea what this darkness was, so I decided to blow it away with the wind for the time being.

　The magic was activated, but the darkness did not clear.

I inwardly clicked my tongue, gave up on securing my vision, and switched my attention to finishing off the conjurer.

　I hit him with a [Explosion III] in the front.

There was a roar and I heard Iger's irritated voice.

　I fire a spell in the direction I hear the voice. More explosions.

　"What is this!? Hurry! I can't hold him back!"

　...Are you trying to escape?

　I would not let him do it.

I decided I couldn't hit him with a blind shot, so I activated [Flame Storm III].

The demon will be obliterated, but...well, I guess it doesn't matter. I have no particular grudge against it, but I hope it burns to death with them.

　A storm of flames rages inside the church, which is sealed to some extent, and fills it with heat.

　After burning for a while, my vision suddenly returned.

　Looking around, I see that the church is on fire, and Iger and Void are gone.

The only thing left on the spot is the demon. It's quite sturdy that it's still burning.

　Oh no.... I must have let them escape.

　But the demon is lying on the ground, and it is doubtful if it is alive.

　I kicked and rolled the demon to check its condition, and found a large hole in the middle of its chest.

　I guessed that it had had its "heart" ripped out. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but the thing that was stuck in his back is also gone.

　It seems to die even if it is left alone, but it's a waste, so let's eat it.

　The evidence is that the demon's body is beginning to crumble from the ends.

　...And I want that mysterious gravity attack.

I try to reach out for it and stop myself. What stopped me was the demon's expression.

　His face was twisted into a crumpled mess, and tears of blood were streaming down his face. The only thing on his face was frustration.　

　He was trying to raise his body, which was not free, as if he could not give up, but there seemed to be nothing he could do about it.

　I looked at the demon's face emotionlessly and then opened my mouth.

　"Hey, can you talk?"

　The demon turned his head as if noticing me for the first time.

　"I'm asking if you can talk?"

　I asked again.

　The demon's mouth is agape, but no voice is coming out.

　It seems to understand the words.

　"Do you want to kill those people?"

I say, making eye contact with the demon.

The demon's gaze is filled with hatred. I didn't need to ask.

　As I watched, I felt something black stirring deep inside me.

　I ignore the sensation and continue.

　"If so, I'll make you stand up again. What will you give me for that?"

　The demon grabbed my shoulders, moving his unfettered body with his will alone.

　His eyes have a dusky black gleam in them, and his gaze says, "Take whatever you want."

　I nod at him.

　"We have a deal. Let's start with the treatment."

　Saying this, I carelessly shove my hand into the windhole in the demon's chest.　　

Gasping roughly, I - Void - was walking frantically through the corridors of the ruins.

　"Comrade Void. We are almost there."

　I suppressed the urge to ask him for a shoulder, and followed Iger as he walked frantically ahead of me.

　The wound was deep. The whole body is rattled thanks to the pain inflicted by that demonized Rick.

　I was able to avoid death thanks to the white armor that covered most of the damage, but the armor was no longer useful, so I took it off before entering the corridor.

More importantly, when I tried to pull the "heart" out of the demon, I was hit by an explosion from a man who was nearby.

Thanks to that, I suffered deep burns all over my body and probably not-so-shallow wounds in my internal organs as well.

I had given myself first aid with magic, but if I didn't get serious treatment soon, my life would be in danger.

　But what was that man all about?

He was not normal when he was firing a series of [Explosion] at a ridiculous speed, a magic that is difficult to use alone due to the amount of magic power it consumes. Iger calls him an "apostle," so he must be the adventurer named Roe that was reported to us....

　Who exactly are these "apostles"?

It seems that some of the most important people in Darzain and Tuke are the "apostles," but very few know much about them.

　It seems that Iger knew something about them and was trying to get his hands on them, but it didn't work out.

　It seems that this was the result of an attempt to forcefully capture him, which is a natural reaction, I suppose.

I did feel something unfathomable about Roe, but was it something so far-reaching that it could be called an "apostle"?

　Iger is the man who succeeded in implanting various kinds of "magic eyes" and raised his "rank" to "the first rank - the fifth part" Mono Penta. If Iger has discovered this, then there must be something that I don't understand.

　The "rank" is raised when a person transplants a part of a demon and obtains its abilities.

The more parts you have, the higher your rank, and the higher your position in Darzain.

In the case of Iger, the only part he has is his eye, so he is of the "first rank."

However, if there is more than one transplant, the title "part" is added after "rank."

For example, if both eyes and the forehead are transplanted, and two are transplanted in the palms, then there will be a total of five transplanted eyes, which will be called "five parts."

　When this mission is over, I will be able to have some part of my body transplanted and raise my "rank".

　It was supposed to be....

　It should not have been so difficult.

　The arrangements had already been made, and all that remained was to execute the plan.

To begin with, this city was under the influence of Darzain when it was built, so to speak, this was our territory.

Gnosis was unaware of this, and was dancing on our palms, completely in control.

　As an insurance policy, we disposed of Heretilt, who was about to find out something unnecessary, and made him a scapegoat who would be solely responsible for the aftermath.

　The selection process to gather the "hearts" needed for the ritual catalyst went without a hitch.

　The method of selecting candidates from among the residents and using them as catalysts at the moment the highest "karma" was found had been established.

　The catalyst to create the "heart" that would be the core of the ritual was also easily found.

　He was a very happy-looking boy, one of the students at the academy, especially blessed with relationships.

　It was also fortuitous that one of those relationships was breathing our air, and he was an unquestionable gem in terms of conditions.

　For starters, we destroyed the boy's happiness.

　It takes high "karma" to summon a quality demon.

　Negative emotions such as rage, sadness, and despair increase karma.

　Especially when one is deprived of everything, one's karma increases dramatically, albeit momentarily.

　Seize the moment without missing it.

If we do so, they become a good material to compensate for their poor quality.

In the case of the little boy, we destroy the environment around him in turn, causing hatred to well up inside his chest, and then crush his last hope, causing him to despair.

As a result, we succeeded in summoning a demon of such high quality that it would be difficult to summon it normally.

　However, it was a miscalculation that the little boy's anger was greater than expected and took over the demon's body, leaving his ego intact, but it worked ...... should.

It was supposed to....

The fact that the demon's fighting ability was beyond my expectations, the fact that I had left my equipment in my room to disguise myself, and the presence of a man named Roe who was in the church for some reason, all of these things turned out to be a bad thing.

　All of these things went wrong. I was almost killed and now I am dying.

　My magic power is depleted, I cannot heal myself, and my wounds are deep and the pain is seeping through my body, but I am still alive and I have my "heart". Now I can perform the ritual.

　The boy will not be long now that he has lost his source of magical power. Roe should be no problem if Iger takes care of him.

Iger is the one who proposed the idea of securing him in the first place. Let him take responsibility.

I have the ability I got from Darzain's "implantation" and my exclusive equipment "White Rain Armor" and "Sword of Wet Feathers," which are only allowed to the Cathedral Knights of Gnosis.

　With all of this, I will become even stronger.

And when that happens, those brats and lasses won't be so arrogant....

　"Comrade Void. We are here."

　Iger's voice brought me back to myself.

It seems that we had arrived at our destination before I knew it.

　Looking around, this should be one of the many altars around the city....

　...but that doesn't seem right.

　As long as the ritual is currently in progress, all the altars in the city should be in motion.

　Yet, this altar is not moving. What is going on?

　"Comrade Iger, what is this?"

　"The evil eye: the gaze of restraint."

　I was about to say this when my body stopped moving.

　"You're worried that this place isn't working, aren't you?"

　Iger moves slowly in front of me, holding out his hand.

"The 'heart' used here as a catalyst should have been spitting out magic power to maintain the formation, but it was attacked. I'm sorry to say that he killed all of them, and took the 'heart' away from us."

　After hearing that much, I knew what Iger was going to say.

　"Perhaps it was the work of the Apostle. No, no, I have made an enemy of a troubled man."

　No kidding. Why would I...

　"So, Comrade Void, I'm sorry, but you're here to be a human pillar for the completion of the magic circle."

　Why?

　"Your noble sacrifice will be remembered among us for some time to come."

I became a Cathedral Knight by any means necessary.

　"It must be hard not being able to speak, isn't it? I'll make it easy for you soon."

　Thanks to that woman who made me lick the ground at the imperial games, my position was in jeopardy as people began to question my abilities.

　"So, goodbye."

I was going to make a deal with Darzain, get into their good graces, gain power, take revenge on that woman, remind her of my power, and make her, her, her, her.......

　The next moment, I felt a shock in my body and my consciousness was engulfed by darkness.

　"Good 'karma'. If this is how it's going to be, maybe I should have used you in the ritual from the beginning?"

　I heard something at the end, but could no longer understand it.