Chapter 31

Chapter 31

A wide array of new skills were added to my repertoire as my assimilation level rose. Holy Purge was on the higher end of the spectrum at a whopping rank of 10. It was a ruthless skill of execution that erased the very existence of the target based on its aggregate amount of evil. A radiant, white fissure manifested along Rodrigo’s body, which traced through him with the guidance of my finger. His body began to fracture around the crevice like shattered stained glass.

The target of Holy Purge must be evil. Demons were the embodiment of evil itself. Thus, this skill was, in essence, an irrevocable purge of Rodrigo Orshe’s very being.

“My… My body! No!”

“Yes.”

Rodrigo cried out to the ceiling. “Damn you, god! How could this be?! You abandoned this horrid, repugnant place. You forsook this world for us to have our way with it! Why, why after all this time have you returned to judge us?! Oh, oh! Ahhhh...!”

His cries didn’t last long. Rodrigo, sensing his inevitable demise, ceased his fruitless wailing and fell to his knees. “Ha, ha ha... Victory is yours, my fiancée. This... must be the fate of a hopeless romantic. Robbed of my love, my heart...”

“Stop playing the victim and hurry up and die.”

Rodrigo yowled, trembling as his body shattered into even smaller pieces. What remained of Rodrigo crumbled into fine dust and was whisked away by a breeze. Finally, he was pronounced dead by the system.

⟬«System» Congratulations! Dungeon Master, Demon Realm Rank 778 [Count Rodrigo Orshe] has been defeated!⟭

“Phew...It’s finally over.”

The gap between an A-class and S-class boss was huge. I probably would’ve struggled quite a bit if I’d tackled him by myself like Ardiman, but things went a lot smoother thanks to Tesilid’s assist.

“Omnipotence. Healing Field.”

⟬«System» Advanced Skill [Healing Field Lv.45] (+10) activated.⟭

A wispy shimmer encircled our group as glittering sparkles rose into the air like fireflies. I healed Tesilid and the other children in one go with an area-of-effect healing spell. The skill was actually quite convenient, as it melted away the Dead Man’s Flowers without requiring any further action on my part. I finished wrapping things up and released the Divine Advent.

“Good work, Tez.” I waited, but there was no response.

“Tez?”

I looked back to find a dumbstruck Tesilid staring at me.

“Excuse me, Mr. Tesilid Argente?”

A moment of shocked silence hung in the air before he responded in a trembling voice, “Just now... that was the Divine Advent, right?”

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World snorts indignantly, telling him to apologize for telling Ailette that she should know her place.⟭

How did he get that from what Tesilid said? I guess there’s no use playing dumb this late in the game. I nodded my head, “Yes, you’re right. Divine Advent. I even chanted the skill name when I used it.”

“Goodness. Then that person the religious order is looking for is...”

“Yup, that’s right. It’s me.”

“Then the new saint is...”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I suppose I’ll have to claim that title. I’m the new saint.”

“T-t-then my absurd outburst earlier...” his face grew bright red as the weight of realization crashed upon him. He seemed to be mentally replaying his outburst from earlier about not being a saint and sacrifices and whatnot.

This guy’s cute even when he’s embarrassed. I suppose this will suffice as an apology. “My identity was supposed to be a secret. You don’t have to feel obligated to tell me your secret, just because you found out about mine.”

Because I already know what it is. Of course, Tesilid didn’t look like he was going to spill the beans anyway. He was too busy trying to wrap his head around this flood of new information. He asked with a bewildered expression, desperate for answers, “How can a child like you use Divine Advent?”

“You’re a kid too, you know.”

“What? Okay, right, forget age. You don’t have any divine power. Even now, I can’t sense anything from you. How can you use Divine Advent without divine power?”

“It’s all thanks to the merciful god’s abounding love for us. He said it’s going to take a while to awaken my divine power, so he’ll just let me use Divine Advent first.”

⟬The Critic for Balance is astounded at your convoluted recollection of ripping them off for the bug compensation.⟭

As Lord Balance kept muttering something about shameless transmigrators and highway robberies, Tesilid murmured under his breath, “Order and Goodness said that? There’s no way he...”

It would seem that Tesilid was well aware of his god’s stinginess. I began to hurriedly give him the rundown since I didn’t have much time to spare before the skill took its toll on my body.

“Tez, I have a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I understand that the religious order is searching for me, but I have no intention of becoming affiliated with them or offering my services as a saint yet. So I need you to keep quiet about me.”

The boy remained silent. I could feel the tension in my body as I awaited his response. What if this responsible, duty-bound fool of a protagonist tells me to offer my services as a saint for the greater good of society? I mean, he did deliver that fiery speech about how civilians should know not to sacrifice themselves during our confrontation with Rodrigo, after all. What if he has the same attitude toward people with powers, but this time with completely opposite expectations?

Tesilid finally opened up and answered with a solemn expression, “Very well, I won’t tell.”

“Ugh, I knew you would say— Wait, what? You’re okay with that? Huh? What? Really? You’ll actually keep it a secret?”

“Yes, I won’t tell the order. I swear in the name of The Strict Order and Goodness.” I guess the disbelief on my face was pretty obvious because he began to explain, “You have a family. Return home to them.”

What the heck? He’s going to make me cry.

Tesilid continued, “No one can force you to become a hero. Even if you are a saint and have been gifted with special powers, you shouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

I was stunned. It seems like my initial character analysis was incorrect. Tesilid didn’t pressure me to serve humanity.

“Thanks. You’re a lot more flexible than you look,” I said.

“I can’t tell if you’re complimenting or insulting me...”

As I was about to explain that it was almost entirely a compliment, I thought of something very important that I had forgotten to do. “Oh no! My loot! There’s no time. I need to go collect the item drops!”

I rushed to the site of Rodrigo’s demise, where all that remained of the demon was a pile of ash. I acquired two skill books. Each book was tailored specifically for a tanker or a healer, forming a complementary set of skills, but the skills were intentionally designed to prevent a single user from acquiring both abilities.

The skill details remained inaccessible suggesting that information about the skills could only be viewed by actually learning the skill.

“You and I can each have one,” I said. “Here, take it.”

“The spoils of battle should be distributed equally amongst friends.”

“You’re the only tanker here. Stop being such a stick-in-the-mud and take it.”

“Stick-in-the-mud?”

“It’s just a thing... Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Anyways, these two skills have some sort of influence on each other. Tell me what kind of skill it is after you learn it.”

“Okay.”

We counted to three and simultaneously acquired the skill. The skill details were finally viewable. But perhaps I would’ve been better off without knowing.

Ew, what is this?!

⟬«Skill» [Healing of Commitment (Passive)]

The ultimate healing skill obtainable within the [Committed Lovers] package. Your healing skills are 5x more effective on your partner [tanker skill of commitment user].

Note: These skill books were closely safeguarded by Count Rodrigo for his future fiancée. Significant clinical effects that restore a partner’s stamina are also included. Especially useful in be...⟭

That’s enough. I rubbed my temples as I told him my short, condensed version. “It says my healing skills are five times more effective on you.”

“Five times, huh...”

It was only for a split second, but I caught a glimpse of mixed emotions flashing across his face. I could tell from his yearning stare in that brief moment that he longed to lock me up in the Vatican. I’d better wake him up before he actually succumbs to the temptation.

“What skill did you get?”

“It’s called Defense of Commitment...”

Tesilid didn’t have system prompts to guide him through the skills, but the skill books were designed so that users would automatically understand what the skills were upon use.

“When you get injured, I can absorb your wounds into my body. In exchange, the pain is divided so that we each feel half.”

“You get injured for me?” I can’t believe this guy. Even the skills he acquires by some coincidence end up being overly altruistic! “That doesn’t sound very good. You probably shouldn’t use it very oft—”

I was unable to finish the rest of my sentence.

“Ailette?”

“Ah, looks like my time is up.”

“What do you mean?”

As a matter of fact, my temperature had been steadily rising since the end of the battle. I had hoped I could last a bit longer than before since my assimilation level had gone up, but I was at my limit now.

I carefully laid down on my back to avoid slamming my head on something if I suddenly collapsed. I glanced up to meet Tesilid’s gaze as I rattled off some final words with a feverish gasp, “Tez, Divine Advent is actually a pretty reckless skill that wrecks the user’s body like there’s no tomorrow. So I’m counting on you to wrap things up here. And it was a real pleasure meeting you. Goodbye.”

“What? Wait! Ailette!”

⟬«System» You are afflicted with [Holy Fever] as a penalty for over-usage of divine skills. Sleep is recommended for your recovery. Time Remaining: 1 day 23 hours 59 minutes.⟭

My consciousness sunk deep into the abyss as I faded away. I was sorry I had to leave prematurely, but there was no helping it.

✠

“Hmm, you say Count Orshe has been purged?”

Golden sand rippled into the distant horizon while a scorching heat wave devoured everything in the Abyssal Dunes. This sandy hellscape was ruled over by Karpeios, who was a Rank 2 in the Demon Realm, as well as one of the three great demon lords.

He sunk deep into his throne of stones carved to resemble the sun. Karpeios’s castle, perched high up on a cliff of rugged rocks, overlooked miles and miles of the open desert. A bloody moon hung in the sky above it as if it had been designed to compliment the building’ foreboding appearance. Below the castle was a perilous drop plunging into an abyss of certain death.

Lesser demons quivered as they bowed down at the end of a long, winding stairway that led to the throne, much like the path of a holy pilgrimage.

“Y-yes! O, Master of the Abyssal Dunes, one amongst the esteemed trinity of unfathomable evil!”

Karpeios brushed aside his maroon-blonde hair that grew bloodier toward the ends. “First it was Ardiman, and now Rodrigo Orshe... and you say Rodrigo was purged to boot?”

“Yes, yes! An Executioner has emerged. This is no small matter, my lord.”

The purging of one’s existence was an entirely different level of threat. The lesser demons quivered in fear at the mere thought, yet Karpeios remained apathetic.

“Well, I guess being purged is better. Reincarnation is such a bother. You’ll just be stuck bouncing back and forth between a cockroach and a fly about a million times before you actually get anywhere. How do you expect me to put up with the humiliation? Being purged is a clean death.”

“B-but there’s still a possibility of being reincarnated into livestock or an animal after a million tries! Life as a cat wouldn’t be so ba—!”

“That’s not the issue here.”

The atmosphere froze at the sound of his voice. The demon lord’s intense presence engulfed the entire palace.

“The Strict Order and Goodness is much too temperamental... What is he doing?” asked Karpeios before giving out his orders. “Go find out who our Holy Purge-wielding Executioner is.”