The Priest of Corruption

I’m so embarrassed and scared that I don’t know what to do.
Don’t you think it’s time for you to try your best if you’ve been watching, too?”

He recited a rough prayer as he knelt.
If other priests had heard the almost playful prayer, they’d call it blasphemy.
However, a prayer was good as long as some sincerely offered it and those who accepted it.
Marnak wished, and the Mother of Corruption agreed.

A dark green light flashed in Marnak’s eyes as they opened.
Belkir realized that something was wrong.

“Hey! Shoot everyone! Shoot! Don’t just stare blankly, you bastards!”

Marnak quickly became a hedgehog bristling with arrows.
At the same time, a green light lashed out at the earth, drawing a huge circle around them.
Belkir gave the best order for their current situation with extraordinary perception.

“Hey, retreat now! Run, you bastards!”

The bandits rushing through the snow soon hit an invisible wall.

“I can’t get past it! Captain, there’s a wall we can’t see!”

“I know, you bastards!”

What stood in their way was the line that the living cannot cross, a basic skill that the priest of corruption learned when changing jobs.
It was a skill they must use in case of any unforeseen circumstances before exercising their power, preventing the living from escaping and hiding from the divinity of corruption.

Marnak, who had become a hedgehog, slowly opened his mouth.

“If you want to cross that border, either kill me or break my heart…or are you just going to commit suicide?”

Belkir clenched his teeth, drew his sword, and shouted.

“Hey! Everybody, take your swords up! No matter what a monster he is, he’ll die if cut into pieces! Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right!”

“That’s right! If we cut him into pieces, he’ll die!”

Emboldened by their groundless confidence, the bandits drew their swords as one.

Marnak replied casually, pulling out the arrows one by one.

“Your opponent is not me, but the one who is coming now.”

“That’s nothing-“

Thud!

The air was torn apart, and a giant creature fell through.
Four huge arms, a head with only a mouth stretched over a featureless face, and a muscular body.
The giant slowly decayed and, simultaneously, gained new flesh in an infinite cycle of torment.
Finally, the giant’s mouth opened wide to let out a scream.

“Gahhh!!!”

The first power obtained by Marnak for devoting 10,000 divinity from the first holy object, the Giant of Corruption, came to earth in response to his mother’s call.
Just in time for Marnak to pull out the last arrow from his head.

“You can do whatever you want.”

“Gaaahhhhhh!!!”

Its roar reverberated in the brain and seemed to forcefully pull out everything that was deep inside a person.
Belkir’s instincts screamed for help.

“S-shit…”

Crack.

Those were Belkir’s last words before he was crushed by the corrupted giant.

“Ahhhh!”

“Save me, priest! Please save me!”

The sounds of tearing flesh and agonized screams could be heard.
Marnak watched the slaughter with a sense of calm.
He grinned as he slowly tapped the mother’s hand in his pocket.

“It’s the first time I’ve called that giant friend out, making my heart pound.
I really like this power, Mother.”

“Gaahhhhh!!!”

The giant screamed goodbye and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

*

‘Kill!’

“Yes, yes.
This time, I killed all my enemies as Mother wished, and my companions are all dead.”

I stepped up to save them but failed.

While I was organizing the corpses of the party in one corner, I searched one by one to retrieve their mercenary plaques.

‘Kill!’

“You want me to retrieve the divinity from the corpses right now? I can’t do that.
Mother, if I retrieve their divinity, the body will decompose and disappear.
Then I’m sure the mercenary guilds who will come to investigate the scene will find this situation strange.
As you know, it’s time for me to act cautiously.”

‘Kill!’

“I’ve heard your argument that we should absorb all the divinity, turn them into powder, and then go to another city.
But this son dares to oppose his mother’s words.”

‘Kill…?’

“Look over there.”

In the place I pointed to were the heads of bandits beautifully gathered by the corrupt giant.

“That’s a head worth twenty-nine silver.
I clearly remember what I’ve been looking for, Mother.
Huh?!”

The moment I was about to retrieve the mercenary plaque from Pierre’s chest.
His heart moved quietly, and Pierre’s bear cub-like body barely breathed.
I smiled brightly.

“We saved one, though, Mother.”

‘Kill!’

“I’m on my way there anyway, so please help me do it comfortably.
I will take this bear-like friend back to the Guise and save him.
I’m sure it’ll be a great help to my reputation.
So please help me, Mother.”

At the end of the short prayer, protection was placed on Pierre’s body to prevent the wounds from worsening.
I walked slowly, holding a 29 silver head in one hand and Pierre’s body in the other.

‘Kill!!!’

The Mother of Corruption shouted urgently.

“Oh, right.
I guess I can’t live without Mother.
I almost forgot.”

I picked up the Froststeel sword that the thief boss was so proud of and tied it around my waist.

“Thanks to you, Mother, I can now afford a sword.
When I go back, I’ll give you a hand massage.”

‘Kill…!’

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