The game difficulty is insane
“Why… won’t they go down?”
The Black Order’s Prophet, Litera, could not understand the situation.
Slash! Rip—
Endless tentacles poured out, and the two heretic inquisitors of the Minise Church kept cutting them down while advancing.
More than twenty minutes had already passed.
The Sin, enhanced by Litera’s hand—known as the Hand of God—had been attacking them relentlessly, yet neither inquisitor fell.
‘The woman should have collapsed from exhaustion long ago, but…’
“Ahahaha! This is fun. So fun!”
The platinum-blond young man was taking on even the share of attacks meant for the exhausted woman.
The holy power surrounding him had clearly decreased compared to the start, but at some point he stopped relying on it and began wielding his sword even more fiercely.
“Please wait just a little longer, heretic! I’ll be over there soon!”
“……”
The young man’s red eyes swirled with madness, and Litera’s face stiffened.
Because of Prophet Jiroph’s ability, they were isolated in separate spaces. There was no way to call for reinforcements.
If this continued, he would lose.
However, in Litera’s tightly planned strategy, there was no remaining joker card that could turn this situation around.
“Kieeeek!”
The Sin let out a gloomy shriek and unleashed even more tentacles, but that was all.
The young man tore through them with swordsmanship that was faster and sharper than before.
“Ghk!”
Litera swallowed his breath.
‘If only there had been even one more Sin!’
—There are two heretic inquisitors. At best, they’re both 7-star. Unless it’s the Cardinal or the Captain of the Holy Spear Knights, you won’t lose, so don’t waste time doubting.
Those were Litera’s own words when he secured this barely sufficient force.
To think that yielding Sins in order to surely deal with the Cardinal and the Holy Spear Captain would become such a mistake!
“Is that all you have to show?!”
The heretic inquisitor closed the distance to less than ten steps, his gaze fixed solely on Litera.
As that madness-filled face drew closer, Litera unconsciously stepped back.
The instinctive fear engraved into all who are born human—
Even a Prophet of the Black Order who had lived over a hundred years could not escape it.
But this place was a virtual space created by Jiroph.
There was nowhere to run.
“You… filthy hypocrites! How dare you!!”
Litera roared and squeezed out every last bit of Calungod’s power remaining within him, further enhancing the Sin.
The Sin’s eyes turned red, and even more tentacles burst forth from its grotesque body.
“Die…! The one who will win here is not trash like you, but the great Calungod!”
Litera screamed in desperation.
In response, the barrage of tentacles intensified and finally began to push back the platinum-blond inquisitor.
“Kuhuhu… yes… this is the majesty of the god Calungod—”
“Hah. Calungod isn’t all that impressive.”
Despite clearly being pushed back, the platinum-blond inquisitor was smiling, as if mocking himself.
“What…?”
“If the being you call great can only grant that much power… to someone cornered like you… then I wonder just how ‘great’ it really is!”
“…As expected of a lackey of a hypocritical group that worships a hypocritical god. You sure can talk. Can’t you see the situation you’re in?”
“I don’t know… It seems like the one who can’t see the situation… is you.”
Litera frowned—
And at that moment—
“Will this help you understand?”
“!”
At the quiet voice of a woman from beside him, Litera sucked in a sharp breath.
While arguing with the young man, he had forgotten about one existence.
Long black hair fluttered before Litera’s eyes.
“Got you, you damn little bastard.”
The woman he thought had collapsed from exhaustion had somehow reached his side.
She wore priestly white over her armor, and if she had approached normally, he should have noticed long ago.
But he hadn’t.
He immediately understood why.
From the black-haired inquisitor standing right before him, he felt no presence at all.
Just as Litera had gained the power to enhance all things he touched from Calungod.
Just as the platinum-blond inquisitor grew stronger as time passed.
She, too, was using an ability granted by the god she believed in.
As that realization struck him, the fear dominating his mind faded, and cold reason returned.
‘This is as far as I go.’
“…Everything follows the will of the gods.”
Litera let out a long breath.
And the woman’s sharp sword came down on his arm.
With both arms severed, Litera stared blankly up at the ceiling as the two heretic inquisitors stood over him.
“Krrr… kh… rrrk…”
The remaining Sin was easily defeated by Judith and Katrin’s combined attack.
“So… what should we do with him?”
Judith asked, breathing heavily as she looked down at the fallen Litera.
Judging by her eyes, she seemed to have many things she wanted to do to him.
“We kill him. You know we don’t have time to interrogate and get a confession.”
Normally, the right choice would be to escort him to the capital for questioning, but given the situation, they needed to save time.
Judith raised her sword with a regretful look, ready to finish it—
When Litera let out a low, mocking laugh.
“…You will change… nothing…”
Katrin frowned.
When he was silent, his appearance as a young boy almost inspired a trace of pity.
“Destroying my body is commendable. But… my sacrifice for my god… will become a calamity for you.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The divine messenger meant to protect my pitiful life… has become the spear that will pierce the hearts of your Cardinal… and your Saintess.”
It seemed Litera meant that the 7-star Sin assigned to him had been distributed to another Prophet.
“A few more of those won’t—”
“Are you sure it’s only a few?”
Spitting black blood, Litera slowly curled his lips into a smile.
Seeing the look of someone who had completely accepted death only deepened their disgust for the Black Order.
“You—”
“Kukukuk… At the end of the holy war, the victor will be Calungod—”
Thud—
Before Katrin could say anything, Judith brought her sword down, and the light vanished from Litera’s eyes.
“Hey. He wasn’t done talking yet.”
“Sister Katrin. You weren’t actually believing the words of a heretic, were you?”
Judith looked down at Litera’s rapidly cooling corpse.
The red eyes that had been swirling with madness were now cold and calm.
“Heretics speak lies every time they open their mouths. Please judge only by what you see with your own eyes and by the word of God.”
“…I know.”
Katrin spat on the ground and sheathed her sword.
The space began to distort.
With Litera’s death, Judith and Katrin were being returned.
“Still, I can’t help feeling uneasy.”
Katrin narrowed her eyes.
Before she and Judith had been sent here, when they encountered the Prophet, there had been nearly a dozen Sins in the passage.
“If they only sent one to us, that means they sent a disgusting number somewhere else.”
“That does seem likely. But I’m not worried.”
Unlike Katrin, who was shaken by unease, Judith wore a relaxed smile.
“You’re not worried?”
“Yes. Are you worried, Sister?”
How could she not be?
“Hey. Even if His Eminence the Cardinal is 8-star, fighting multiple 7-star demons isn’t easy. He wouldn’t lose, but injuries are still a possibility—”
“Sister Katrin, your only flaw is your lack of faith.”
“I’m just considering possible situations and preparing for—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Judith smiled faintly.
The distorted space returned them to the cave where they had originally stood.
And the moment Katrin saw who was already there, her eyes widened in shock.
