Much had changed from the past, yet so things remained unchanged despite the passage of ti.
Among these was the purification ritual of religious zealots. It might seem like a distant mory from 500 years ago, but Lucia vividly rembered that era.
Because she had experienced it firsthand. As the world was divided and engulfed in conflict, it was all too natural for people, whether enemies or allies, to perish. People had to sharpen their senses to protect themselves amidst the constant fear of death.
Stealing beca a matter of survival.
To avoid being robbed, it was common for everyone to carry at least one blade in their pocket.
In the face of life-threatening danger, morality took a backseat. While God preferred harmony and instilled compassion in humanity, even the religious zealots preaching His teachings were rciless to traitors.
Demons were simply killed, but traitors were not just killed.
Regardless of gender or race, everyone stoned or brutally beat the apostates. Their screams served as music, and they danced around the purifying flas that burned them alive.
A barbaric festival fitting for an age of barbarism!
Indeed, it was a festival for those who regarded demons as mortal enemies!
And now, Lucia thought the age of barbarism had returned. Shiron, who used to kill without hesitation, now only intended to break fingers, which baffled her. But as expected, Shiron did not disappoint.
Whooosh!
“Aaaaagh!!”
An apostle tied to the cross,
The purifying hot flas!
Indeed, the Colosseum was recreating the heretical interrogations of the past.
“Just kill !!!”
“I don’t kill unnecessarily. Sorry.”
Shiron proudly spoke while watching the burning cross. Even so, he extended his hands forward, healing Verian’s body faster than the flas could burn him.
It was a situation of living because he couldn’t die. Verian, having discarded his refined language, had been spewing filthy curses for hours now. Not just that, even biting his tongue to kill himself didn’t work; it was truly a ssianic mont as if the Bible was being rewritten.
“What the fuck, just kill ! Please kill !”
“You are a minion of a demon, an apostle’s minion.”
“No, fuck! I don’t know about any apostle!!!”
“Whether you know or not isn’t the important fact. Does ignorance absolve sin? My God certainly doesn’t think so…”
“Aaaah!! Aaaah!!”
“Interrupting soone mid-sentence, where did you learn such bad manners? Did the apostle instruct you to do so?”
Shiron manipulated the mana to intensify the flas. The fire that had been burning only the lower half now soared up to Verian’s chest, doubling his pain.
The necessary divine power also doubled, but this was no issue for Shiron. With the support of the holy sword and Latera, Shiron’s divine power was ‘epic’ by any standard.
“Even now? You still won’t co out? Huh?”
Leaving Verian, who could only scream, behind, Shiron shouted towards the sky.
There was no morial song for those sacrificed by the apostates, no prayer to defeat demons, but what did it matter? The important thing today was that the middle of the clouds looked like a giant eye, truly as if a hero was declaring war on the demon lord!
“Did you not cherish this guy? Do the apostles have no sympathy at all? Your comrade is suffering, why don’t you extend a hand to help? Is this your justice? Be ashad!”
Exaggerated gestures.
A cry that shook heaven and earth.
Not just Shiron was intoxicated by the atmosphere. Lucia and Seira felt nostalgic for their era from 500 years ago, but the little angel standing beside Shiron felt a slight dizziness watching the biblical scene replayed.
Ding!
Ding! Ding!
It wasn’t just Shiron’s handsoness that distracted Latera. From outside her field of vision, a beautiful and clear sound drew Latera’s gaze above Shiron’s head.
[Apostate Roast Chef]
[An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth]
[The Standard of Provocation]
[The Hero Who Does Not Overlook Injustice]
[The Hero Conceals rcy]
Translucent fras appeared one after another above Shiron’s head.
‘The hero’s soul has beco even more noble…’
Latera secretly wiped away tears that had gathered in her eyes. This was the path of a hero who saves the world. This was his grief for not being able to join the last two apostle subjugations.
Though she claid to be the guardian angel and sidekick of the hero, in reality, Latera was the youngest and the latest mber of the hero’s party.
While not overly concerned about it, not being able to contribute during the last two subjugations had indeed left Shiron feeling indebted.
“Just a little more. Just a bit more…”
Latera squinted her eyes to check how many derit points Shiron had.
[134…]
[123…]
[97…]
“The reset is soon.”
Swallowing nervously, Latera clutched her rapidly beating heart.
The reset of the derit points wasn’t going to change much imdiately, but it was one of the necessary steps for Latera to beco an archangel.
The number of blessings that could be bestowed on a soul would increase. The quality of usable blessings would improve. The size of the soul would increase… None of that was truly important. It was embarrassing to reveal personal desires in the face of the greater good, but…
Maybe Latera was… more selfish than she thought.
“…How can they be so utterly cruel and barbaric?”
In the temple above the Makal Mountains, the temple keeper Korax clenched his fist. The provocation wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t reacted to on this side, but for Korax, a naturally belligerent dwarf, taking hostages was an effective tactic.
Korax, unable to bear the horror until the end, tightly closed his eyes.
“…Is he really a hero? Aren’t heroes supposed to sing of love and peace?”
Korax shouted, reminiscing about his days as a dwarf.
Verian, the elf who couldn’t die even while burning, was the reason why Korax beca an apostle. If not for that, he wouldn’t have betrayed humanity, so Shiron’s reckless actions felt like a profound betrayal to him.
The first incarnation, made from the remains of a loved one. Although Korax had sworn to live the rest of his life for the demon lord, witnessing that horror made him want to defy the Lord’s command and flee imdiately.
“I can’t believe it, but that’s a hero.”
Jaganata shook his head at Korax’s question.
“That brightly shining sword was in that hero’s possession, as you know, only a hero can wield the holy sword.”
“Wasn’t the red-haired woman holding a holy sword?”
“That wasn’t a holy sword. It had no divine power, so it couldn’t kill us.”
“If that’s not a holy sword… then what is the holy sword…”
“Don’t get shaken. If we fall for their provocations, it plays right into their hands. The incarnation is almost complete.”
Jaganata caressed the nearly completed incarnation. Having destroyed previous incarnations, he was now assisting Korax in creating this one.
The powers of the 7th Apostle of Granting and the 1st Apostle of Destruction were proudly displayed in the masterpiece before them.
It was a heavy armor. However, there was sothing distinct about it compared to other incarnations they had made.
The armor of the god of corruption was also an incarnation, but what lay before them was smaller in size. About 3 ters tall. Compared to the golden giant at 20 ters and the god of corruption’s armor and the lord of the dead at 6 to 10 ters, it was clearly smaller than the incarnations Korax had crafted alone.
But this was the result of thorough learning and modification. A too large incarnation was easy to target. Maybe in a war intended for mass slaughter, but in a one-on-one fight, reducing the size was the right decision from their mutual understanding.
“But, shouldn’t we do a test run?”
They had considered making it even smaller, but one remaining condition prevented that. Jaganata detached the elbow part of the armor.
“No, we don’t have ti, my Berian might die if we delay.”
“That seems too risky. It’s hard to say this, but isn’t it just an incarnation after all? The opponent is a hero. It’s not just the incarnation; he has the power to kill us too. And…”
“It’s not about seeking understanding from others.”
Korax cut off Jaganata’s words. Normally, he would have been furious at any insult to the incarnation, but during these past days, Jaganata had been a great help in creating it. Even now, as Jaganata was helping Korax suit up in the armor, he couldn’t openly show his temper.
“Moreover… the Lord’s voice is calling . Now is the most opportune ti; there won’t be a better mont.”
“…Understood.”
Jaganata nodded. It seed like a aningless gesture since he had no head, but the ring floating above his shoulders tilted at a 90-degree angle.
“Then may I ask my last question?”
“What is it?”
“The na. We’ve put our hearts into creating this masterpiece; I’d like to know its na at least.”
At Jaganata’s words, Korax snickered. He gripped the golden hamr and swung it mightily.
“…Call it the Orphan Maker.”
Korax smiled broadly.
Jaganata laughed at the unexpected joke.
“May the glory of God be with you.”
Jaganata blessed the Orphan Maker.
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