Chapter 67
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 67: The Traitor (2)
***
Corpseplay.
The moment she heard the name, Agnes felt something ignite deep within her soul.
Before her mind could understand, her body moved first. She charged towards the Corpseplay.
However, at that moment, Margata grabbed Agnes’s head and slammed it to the ground.
“Agnes, calm down.”
Margata spoke with a cold voice.
While Agnes’s face contorted with anger, Margata, in contrast, stared at the Corpseplay with a stern gaze.
“This is the dungeon of Corpseplay. If you can’t control your anger, you’ll become prey just like that.”
With Margata’s advice, Agnes was able to regain her composure.
“The young paladin there seems to hold a grudge against me. Would you mind telling me why? There are too many people who hate me, so I can’t guess the reason.”
The Corpseplay asked as for his tone was surprisingly gentle for someone infamous as a dark mage.
“…Do you remember Palmer Village?”
In contrast, Agnes’s voice was filled with suppressed anger.
“Palmer Village? Oh, I remember it well. It’s the village I personally ‘decorate’ with its residents.”
Each word pricked at Agnes’s nerves. Recalling Margata’s advice, Agnes barely held back.
“I am a survivor of that village.”
“A survivor…? I ordered them to kill everyone in that village, yet there was a survivor…?”
For a moment, the Corpseplay’s expression blanked.
Thinking that she had finally managed to shock the damn bastard, Agnes felt a slight relief.
“Now do you understand why I came for you? I’m here today to kill you and to settle the score for my brother and the villagers…”
“That’s impressive… Not only did you survive from my dolls, but you’ve also become a paladin and come to kill me!”
Suddenly, the Corpseplay burst out in laughter. It seemed overwhelmed with joy, trembling all over as if unsure how to contain himself.
“Receiving such an unexpected gift! This is why life is enjoyable! Ah… now that I think about it, the people of Palmer Village were all gifts to me. They all made excellent materials.”
Materials.
At that word, Agnes felt her body stiffen.
“Now… what are you saying…”
“Ah, you didn’t know. You couldn’t have. Since they were all becoming undead and rotting away, it wouldn’t have been noticeable.”
With a warm smile, the Corpseplay continued speaking.
“I never kill people in vain. I always try to utilize them as materials. I killed the people of Palmer Village, but before resurrecting them as undead, I reserved suitable body parts for other uses.”
Agnes’s entire body began to tremble slightly.
Unaware of this, the Corpseplay continued to boast.
“They were even used in the Flesh Golems your crusade killed. I never waste a single material, so I remember everything clearly. Would you like me to elaborate more?”
Blue flames surged from Agnes’ body. The dark cave was instantly brightened.
“Shut up now.”
Agnes’s voice echoed throughout the entire cave.
“Say another word, and I’ll burn every inch of your flesh until you can’t even whimper.”
***
There is saying that when a person’s anger reaches its peak, they often experience a sudden sense of calm.
The explosive anger actually cooled Agnes’s rationality.
“Agnes, I’ll go and fight first, so stay behind me.”
Margata said while clenching her knuckles. Agnes nodded.
“The goal is to get close to Corpseplay and defeat him as quickly as possible. Within his dungeon, his actions are unpredictable. Any delay could leave us vulnerable to potential disadvantages.”
Margata’s destructive power was so powerful that even among 2nd-grade paladins, she was one of the best.
If she could get close enough, it would only be a matter of time before she reduced the Corpseplay to ashes.
“Then let’s begin.”
Margata summoned blue flames and sprinted across the ground.
Unlike her massive muscular body, Margata’s running figure was light and agile like a leopard.
“Block them.”
Flesh golems fell from the ceiling. Each had a different form.
Margata and the flesh golems collided. Explosions followed one after another.
Accelerated punches shattered the flesh golems into pieces. Every attack was a finishing blow.
The Corpseplay admired Margata’s performance.
“Excellent! Such a sturdy body! You’ll become a great material!”
At that moment, spider-like flesh golems crawled on the ceiling and reached Margata’s head.
The flesh golems shot thorns at Margata.
Just before the purple thorns pierced her back, Agnes deflected them all.
“As expected of my sister!”
Margata cheered joyously.
Since Agnes was supporting her from behind, she could focus on the front.
Margata’s punches became even faster. The flesh golems’ bodies were continuously shattered.
Eventually, only the Corpseplay was left alone in whole room.
“Come on! I’ll give you a big one!”
Margata charged towards the Corpseplay. At that moment, something blocked Margata’s path.
At first glance, it looked just like a human. If it weren’t for the stitches covering its entire body, one wouldn’t have recognized it as a flesh golem.
“You’re trying to stop me with such a flimsy thing?”
Margata changed her target and swung her fist at the flesh golem.
The moment her fist touched the flesh golem, something unbelievable happened.
The blue flames on Margata’s fist vanished.
“…Huh?”
With divine power gauntlets were nothing more than ordinary metal. The gauntlets couldn’t penetrate the flesh golem’s body and were stuck.
Margata tried to use divine power again. However, before she could do that, the flesh golem thrust its fist into Margata’s abdomen.
“…Ugh!”
The divine power protecting her body was shattered.
The fist pierced through her armor and struck her abdomen. Her internal organs exploded. The impact reached her back.
“Sister!”
Margata’s body was thrown far away. Agnes flew into the air and caught Margata.
“Cough, cough…”
Margata coughed up black blood. It was evidence that her injuries had reached a critical stage.
“Sister! Pull yourself together! Sister!”
Agnes desperately infused divine power into Margata’s body. But Margata’s expression didn’t become any more relaxed.
“Ah… He’s truly amazing…”
Suddenly, the Corpseplay knelt down on the ground. He clasped his hands together as if praying.
“How you guys feeling, you can even think that a material with such great abilities exists! How great must the one who created such a thing be!”
Agnes desperately treated Margata.
She gave her potions and infused her with divine power. Only then did Margata’s expression slightly ease.
“Agnes… run away…”
Margata said weakly.
“Something… is strange… Corpseplay… did something strange… run away… we need to inform Church…”
Divine power was always superior to dark magic.
That was common sense and truth. It was just overturned.
“That guy… I’ll stop him… in the meantime…. you should…… run…… away…….”
Agnes hesitated in her eyes.
Run away in front of the enemy? And abandon my Sister?
“…No. I can’t do that.”
Agnes’s words made Margata’s face fill with anger.
“Agnes!”
“Anyway, we can’t run away.”
Before they knew it, they were surrounded by Flesh Golems.
The flesh golems Margata had killed were only the tip of the iceberg, for there were many more flesh golems in Corpseplay’s possession.
Margata wanted to evacuate Agnes as soon as possible.
But Agnes’s eyes were too determined, so she could only watch.
“Sister, I’ve told you about my brother before.”
Agnes choose to become a paladin was for revenge.
And because of her brother. Her brother, who died as a paladin to protect the village, was too honorable death.
“If we can’t run away, I’d rather fight and die. I will also fulfill God’s will like my brother.”
God said.
The reason I give you strength is to help the weak.
The reason I gave you strength is to drive out dark mages.
The reason I allowed you to have strength is to fulfill my will.
“Ah… impressive… to see such a magnificent material…!”
The Corpseplay looked at Agnes with a moved face.
“When you show such a courage, it makes me curious. How long can you maintain that courage?”
Something walked out between the flesh golems. It was a flesh golem in the form of a human.
“Release.”
The human-shaped flesh golems began to transform. They transformed from humans to monsters.
Then, a chillingly powerful aura spread in all directions.
Agnes and Margata’s faces stiffened in an instant.
“This can’t be…”
Of the two, Margata was more shocked.
“They’re… all mid-class…!”
The biggest mistake of the church.
It wasn’t that they didn’t anticipate the Corpseplay’s dungeon was trap or that they didn’t think there would be a strange device that nullified divine power.
Underestimating the Corpseplay’s power was the church’s biggest blunder.
“These are my ‘Masterpiece’ creations that I’m proud of. I really struggled to make them.”
The Corpseplay’s voice was full of pride. It was like an artisan showing off his masterpiece.
“Even after seeing this, can you still stand against me?”
The gauntlets fell from Margata’s hands. A deep sense of despair trampled Margata’s determination.
“Agnes… this can’t be…”
Even Margata, who was called the warrior who knew no fear, was nothing more than a weak human in this situation.
“…”
Agnes’s face was as cold as ice.
She too would fulfill God’s will for the sake of people like her brother, who died for people.
Agnes, as if she had made up her mind, took a few deep breaths and raised her divine power.
A small blue flame burst forth amidst the dark mana emitted by the flesh golems.
“Agnes…”
Margata called the name of her sister with a sorrowful voice.
She soon realized. Unlike herself, trembling with fear, Agnes’s eyes showed no sign of wavering.
At that moment, light burst from Agnes’s body.
The flesh golems, bathed in light, screamed and retreated.
“Unbelievable…”
Margata muttered with a face that was hard to believe.
The way paladins elevated their rank was completely different from knights.
The source of divine power was God.
Therefore, paladins received divine power from God by proving their faith and elevated their rank.
There were various ways to prove faith. Prayer, penance, hunting dark mages, etc.
And there were cases where one received great favor from God and a huge amount of power.
It was called the “Holy Stigma.”
Agnes waved her hand lightly. Explosions occurred one after another.
The flesh golems surrounding her were swept away by the explosions.
“Agnes…!”
Margata looked at her with a moved face.
With the display of power alone, more than ten flesh golems were turned into ashes.
2nd-grade paladin.
No, she was no longer just a 2nd-grade paladin.
Now Agnes was at the peak of the 2nd grade, just one step away from a 1st-grade paladin.
Agnes approached the Corpseplay. Resolve appeared in her determined eyes.
“…Impressive. To see someone else with the Holy Stigma!”
The Corpseplay clapped with joy.
Agnes ignored the Corpseplay’s words. She had no intention of listening to the Corpseplay’s words at all.
“It was the same in Palmer Village. A man who was just a 3rd-grade paladin like you suddenly became stronger after receiving the Holy Stigma.”
However, she had to stop at the words that followed.
“How surprised I was then… I almost lost all the flesh golems I had taken there. Fortunately, I was able to subdue him by taking the villagers hostage and threatening him.”
Margata looked at the Corpseplay with a blank face. Her pupils began to shake slightly.
“I can’t express how happy I was after capturing that paladin. He was the finest material for my work! The flesh golem crafted from that paladin’s body parts was truly exceptional!”
Corpseplay tilted his head.
“Come to think of it, your face looks familiar… I’ve seen it somewhere… Kite, come here.”
The flesh golem that had inflicted a fatal wound on Margata approached the Corpseplay.
The Corpseplay began to untie the cloth covering the flesh golem’s face.
As the cloth was untied, Agnes denied reality more and more.”.
But when the flesh golem’s face was completely revealed, Agnes could only despair.
“…Brother.”
It was exactly the same as the face that remained in her memory.
His face hadn’t aged a bit. He looked as if he could come to life at any moment.
“Brother? That’s why your face looked familiar. It seems like fate is predetermined. Isn’t it?”
Agnes grabbed her head and screamed.
When the scream stopped, Agnes’s face was stained with anger and tears.
“You… I will definitely… kill you…!”
“Good.”
The Corpseplay smiled deeply.
“With such a good material, and such a deeply matured despair… I think I can make a doll that’s even better than Kite when I use you.”
“Shut up!”
Agnes ran towards the Corpseplay, spewing out her anger.
Kite blocked her way. Agnes’s body hesitated.
“Oh…”
Kite kicked her in the side.
As soon as his shin touched, the divine power protecting Agnes was scattered.
Agnes bounced off like a ball and slammed into the wall.
“Cough, cough…”
Agnes coughup mouthful of blood while lying on the ground.
Due to receiving the intense blow of the flesh golem with her bare body, her internal organs had completely ruptured.
A Shadow coming close to her. Suddenly, Kite was right in front of her.
“Brother…”
Kite grabbed Agnes’s face and slammed her down to the ground.
The impact shook her brain. Agnes couldn’t even groan.
“Agnes!”
Margata ran towards Agnes. But other flesh golems blocked her.
“Get out of the way!”
Margata use her divine power. The wounds that had barely healed ruptured again due to the impact.
Black blood poured from Margata’s mouth. She collapsed to the ground weakly.
The Corpseplay approached Agnes. Agnes was being held by Kite, barely able to breathe.
“You’ll make a really great material.”
The Corpseplay looked down at Agnes and grinned.
“How should I use you? Should I make a new flesh golem with you? No, there’s a better way…”
The Corpseplay began to clap thoughtfully.
“That’s it! How about mixing you with Kite? Since you’re siblings, you’ll blend together without any resistance. Isn’t that a brilliant idea?”
Agnes glared silently at the Corpseplay. Soon, tears began to flow from her eyes.
“Yes, cry. Cry all you want. After today, you won’t be able to cry anymore.”
The Corpseplay let out a eerie laugh.
“Let’s go then. Let’s hurry. There’s so much to prepare to make you into a material…”
The Corpseplay’s ears twitched.
There was a distant explosion.
“It seems there are still paladins around?”
The Corpseplay thought indifferently. Soon, another explosion was heard. This time, it was slightly louder than before.
“It seems there are more living ones than I thought?”
The Corpseplay thought indifferently again. Shortly after, another explosion was heard. This time, it was louder.
“What the heck…”
Explosions continued to be heard consecutively. With each explosion, the sound grew louder and closer.
Thud.
The entire cave where the Corpseplay was shook. Dust fell from the walls.
Thud.
This time, the cave shook even more violently. The explosions sounded as if they were right next to them.
And the next moment, with a loud noise, the wall collapsed.
As the wall collapsed, debris poured down. A man settled on top of the rubble.
“It’s really damn deep.”
The man brushed off his dirt-covered clothes.
The Corpseplay immediately recognized who the man was. He was unmistakable, as he had been marked as the first target in material list while watching crusaders.
“You’re here. You son of a bitch.”
Damien Haksen.
He was looking down at the Corpseplay from the pile of rubble.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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