Corrupted Priest Chapter 7

Tredon Filian. He is a demon.

Tredon Filian.

The scum of the world. The evil that tempts the lost. The unholy being who devours their tragedies and wets his clogged throat with their tears. And so on.

If you tried listing all the profane descriptors the world has for demons, you could go on forever, like drawing from a well that never runs dry.

I quietly looked at Tredon Filian and slowly opened my mouth. Despite being the one who had summoned , Tredon, the cold-looking middle-aged man, patiently waited for to speak first.

"Esteed Lord Tredon, I beg your pardon, but may I make a small request?"

"Speak."

"I wish to have a private audience with you."

Even if I knew a demon's identity, the demon wouldn't be able to recognize . The divinity of Corruption was as secretive as it was reviled by the world—perfect for concealnt.

Tredon stared at with his hollow gaze for a long mont before finally speaking.

"Leave us."

The servants and two knights promptly exited the room. Once it was just the two of us, I got straight to the point.

"Are you enjoying your life playing lord while possessing a human, demon?"

A direct statent revealing I already knew his true identity. Tredon silently stared at , then slowly let the muscles of his face move.

His stiff expression lted, dancing with ease. The cold atmosphere disappeared without a trace, replaced by a playful smile as the demon spoke.

"Thanks to the late Gallard, I've ended up receiving quite the special guest."

The demon smiled with a twinkle in his eye and gave an obvious once-over, slowly and thoroughly. It was an exceedingly rude and frivolous gesture—but there was no malice in it.

"Judging by how quickly you recognized , you're clearly not a priest of the Goddess of Preservation, are you?"

Demons were hated by most religious orders. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I smiled gently and said,

"I serve the Mother of Corruption."

The demon's eyes widened in admiration.

"Oh, I thought they were all gone. So there's still a surviving Son of Corruption. What an honor to et you. I go by 'Crawling Wait.'"

"It's an honor for as well. I am Marnak, a priest serving the Mother of Corruption."

The demon—Crawling Wait—smiled warmly and stretched out his legs, settling comfortably into his seat.

"Please, sit. Just the two of us here, after all. And to think, a priest and I having such a friendly chat—it's been a long ti."

The truth was, demons held no particular feelings toward priests. Not even toward the gods they served. Their interests were directed solely toward intelligent beings.

Demons were born imnsely powerful, but were unable to claim anything for themselves. Unregistered beings—invincible yet unanchored—unable to belong to the world. To claim anything within it, they had to make fair contracts with sentient beings.

Thus, demons loved all living, thinking creatures.

They were passionate spectators and overly invested readers, reveling in making deals and becoming engrossed in the lives of mortals.

Each demon had different powers and clear limitations, but from the perspective of fragile humans, they appeared nearly omnipotent.

That was why the gods distrusted and feared them.

The cost of making a deal with a demon always corresponded directly to the magnitude of what was desired. But the magnitude of faith and the blessings bestowed by the gods? That never scaled proportionally.

Unable to bear watching their followers and other intelligent beings turn to demons—who at least gave what was promised—the gods finally drew their sharpest swords and made a divine proclamation to all sentient life:

—From this mont forth, those profane beings shall be called demons (惡魔), and they are the very embodint of evil (惡)!

The demons happily embraced the sudden hostility from the gods. They even began calling themselves demons, delighted that they'd been given such a convenient label to introduce themselves with.

And so began the demon hunts led by the priests against this so-called "obvious evil."

As for why I knew so much about demons? The answer was simple.

The role of a "Demonic Contractor" was an extrely difficult and unpopular playstyle—hunted and shunned by all if your identity was exposed. But it was the exact class I had planned to try after playing as a Priest of Corruption. Though now that I had fallen into this ga world, it was a moot point.

Inside my chest pocket, Mother's hand wriggled, restless.

"Kill."

A bored-sounding voice. Unlike other gods, our Mother of Corruption had little interest in demons. I gently tapped my chest pocket to calm her and spoke to the demon:

"How many years has it been since you possessed that body?"

The demon lord extended one hand and began counting on his fingers before smiling brightly.

"This winter marks the fortieth year! Hahaha! If it weren't for you, priest, I might've let such a milestone slip right by. I suppose I ought to throw a lively festival to warm this chilly city! Although, given the role I'm playing now, I probably can't toss everything aside and join in myself!"

Crawling Wait soon slipped into his own world, muttering to himself.

"Let's see... how much budget does Guise have left this year...? Hmm. A bit tight, but if I chip in a bit, we could easily keep the city partying for five days. Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

Having finished his calculations, the demon clapped his hands together.

"If you're not too busy, Priest, I hope you'll enjoy the festival too! I promise it'll be great fun! Hahaha!"

Then, with a tilt of his head and a cheerful smile, the demon asked,

"By the way, what brings you to ?"

"I ca because you summoned ...?"

The demon smacked his forehead and let out a big laugh.

"Ah, right! My mind is a ss, how careless of ! Hahaha! My apologies, Priest. It's just been so long since I've had soone to talk to so freely. Please accept my apology!"

I smiled gently.

"It's quite alright."

"The Son of Corruption is as generous in character as he is radiant in looks!"

"Kill!"

Mother, pleased by the demon's direct complint, wriggled knowingly, as if she approved.

"To be honest," the demon continued, "there was no special reason for summoning you. Gallard—I just wanted to hear firsthand from a witness how that young man died. If you're willing, could you tell the details? I'll compensate you generously."

That much was no problem. Especially if he was offering compensation. I told the demon all the details of how Gallard had died.

After listening, the demon clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk. Such a tragic event. My one and only brother, gone just like that. I told him over and over again how dangerous rcenary work was. Ah—when I say brother, I an that in terms of this body, of course."

I glanced around. The room had no extravagant decorations, reflecting the lord's frugality.

A demon lord who lives modestly and mourns his illegitimate brother. Amusing.

In the warmth of the room, I shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.

"By the way, was the original owner of that body a contractor?"

As soon as I asked, the demon responded eagerly, as if he'd been waiting for it.

"Haha! Curious about my story, are you? I'd be delighted to share! After all, what's a story without soone to hear it?"

The tale he began to recount wasn't all that complicated.

The demon's contractor had been Tredon's father, the forr lord of Guise. One day, the forr lord encountered a woman he desperately desired. But she was already engaged to a man she loved. Still, the lord yearned for not just her body, but her heart as well.

Eventually, he summoned a demon and confessed his desire.

—Give her to ! Give her heart! I'll give you anything!

The demon, Crawling Wait, replied in a gentle voice, calm and polite.

—There's no need to give everything. Just give as much as what you want is worth.

—What do you want, Crawling Wait?

The demon smiled as he extended each finger of one hand.

—To ruin one life, I need another. If you give the life of your fifteen-year-old son, I'll give you the life of that woman.

Blinded by desire, the forr lord didn't hesitate. He sold his son to the demon. And in return, the demon gave him the woman, just as promised. She beca his mistress.

And the child born between that woman and the forr lord—that was Gallard.

"Truly unfortunate," the demon said, voice tinged with regret. "Gallard was practically a child of my own making. I tried to look out for him. But he resented being a bastard. In the end, he left the house and wandered the world as a rcenary. This winter, he was struggling with no work, so I tried to secretly arrange sothing for him... I never imagined it would lead to his death. Life really is difficult, isn't it?"

The demon smiled gently—utterly delighted.

"Which is exactly why it makes my heart race even more! But alas, it's about ti I return to my duties as lord. I would love to tell you more of my story, truly, but that'll have to wait for another ti. Ah, please do feel free to visit whenever you like. The visit of a friend with whom I can speak comfortably is always a welco one!"

Before I knew it, I had beco the demon's friend. The amiable demon lord handed a small pouch as a token of appreciation for spending ti with him.

"I'm ashad I couldn't put more in it, but it should be of so help to you. Then, may you return safely, Priest!"

After stepping out of the lord's manor, I carefully opened the pouch. Inside were two gleaming gold coins—worth two hundred silver.

"Whoa!"

"Kill!"

"Co now, Mother. The lord is truly a righteous man. Trying to bribe with gold? Perish the thought. This gold is full of pure goodwill."

Apparently uneasy about her inability to bestow gold upon her son, the Mother of Corruption radiated intense jealousy toward the demon lord.

"Kill!"

"A priest greedy for wealth? You're being rather harsh. But you know sothing? Gold doesn't rot."

"KILL!!!"

"Mother, please, don't be angry. Let finish. You know how the end of a sentence is often the most important part."

I cleared my throat.

"Ahem. There is sothing just as eternal and incorruptible as gold. Do you know what that is?"

"Kill...?"

"My devotion to you, Mother."

"Kill...!"

Overwheld by emotion, the Mother of Corruption beca lost in the afterglow of sentint.

"You are always my number one. So please, don't worry too much."

Patting the squirming chest pocket gently, I made my way toward the rcenary guild—with two gold coins in tow.

Gleaming white armor reflecting the sunlight, a massive hamr strapped to the back, a black cloak emblazoned with the symbol of a white scale, and a sword at the waist just in case.

Three priests from the Church of Purification, looking ready to execute judgnt at any mont, were speaking with Erin inside the rcenary guild. Upon spotting enter, Erin waved brightly.

"Oh, you're here! Priest Marnak! Co greet the priests from the Church of Purification!"

A friendly greeting is always nice—but I really had no desire to get chummy with those zealots.

Suppressing my true thoughts, I put on a serene smile and bowed respectfully to the priests of the Church of Purification.

"Greetings. I am Marnak, a priest who serves the Goddess of Preservation, guardian of daily life."

The mont I made eye contact with one of the priests—

"KILL!!!!!"

Mother inford that one of them possessed one of the twelve remaining holy relics.