The Priest of Corruption

Encounter.

Red blood splattered across the snow, followed by the severed head of a beast. As I lowered myself, a pair of white claws cleaved where my head had just been.

Whaaaaaaang!

The saw blades ground the clawed monster’s head next. Blood and flesh poured out, steaming from the cold ground. An endless wave of beasts and monsters continued to approach. There was no time to catch my breath.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

A monster resembling a black panther attacked next, and I swung the Butcher and cut it into chunks of meat. The white priest’s uniform I wore was stained with blood and bodily fluids, but I kept mechanically grinding through the monsters. I continued my way through the woods, relying on the faint moonlight to see.

As the lord said, there were four places where I could feel a divinity wafting from. I approached the nearest.

‘Kill!!!’

Taking the chance while I was briefly lost in thought, sharp teeth pierced my shoulder. I stretched out my left hand and crushed the beast’s head, feeling its brain pushing through my clasped fingers. The teeth marks it left in my flesh slowly healed.

“Even though they know I’m approaching, they don’t seem to have any intention of meeting me. I don’t think this is a nice way to treat one’s guests.”

‘Kill!’

Another warning from Mother that an attack was coming from behind. I turned to let the attack pass by.

Whaaaaaaaaang!

I wiped my face with my collar to clean my eyes of gore. Looking around, I realized that the composition of the gathering monsters had changed slightly. The number of snow spiders was increasing.

“If every day is like this, I might have to carry a bathtub rather than a washbasin.”

‘Kill!’

I grinned at her scolding me to concentrate on the battle.

“After all, the only one who cares about me is Mother….”

“Kyiiiiiiiiiiigh!”

A snow spider rushed past. I cut off its forelimbs, shoved the Butcher into its head, and then started the engine.

Whaaaaaaaang!!!

The shock caused the spider to die without a scream. It was a delightful weapon that I had no choice but to like.

But we were nearing our destination. It was a huge cave, large enough to be a giant’s home. The beasts that pursued me didn’t dare follow me inside, however.

“Kyiiiigh!!!”

Except for them, the snow spiders. After dealing with the spiders again, I was able to look around.

“Hmm.”

Although the spiders’ remains had obscured a lot, a few splatters of dark red were clearly visible on the ground. The color, distinctly different from the spiders, was obviously human. With the Butcher in hand, I weaved through the pieces of broken wood and shards here and there to reach the back of the cave.

The attacked wagon was empty because these monsters had taken the items. I could feel the divinity trembling not far away. The worshiper of the evil god crouched deep in there, waiting for me to walk in.

“It’s a very creepy invitation, but it’s almost cute that I can see right through them.”

‘Kill!’

“Mother, don’t worry. I won’t let my guard down.”

In preparation for the battle, I took a deep breath and moved slowly. My body began to cool off.

As I delved further inside, I found cocoons tangled with threads. Tearing through one, a desiccated corpse fell out.

“It’s right to clean it up when you’ve finished eating but to think you’ve decorated the cave with all your leftovers. It’s a little hard to understand.”

The further I went in, the more cocoons I found. How many humans had they eaten? It was too much to eat in only three days.

When I reached the end of the passage, a huge cavern greeted me. If the passageway I had walked so far was a path for giants to pass through, this was a place for their village to live. I silently traversed it, feeling the divinity shimmer above.

“Come out. I know everything.”

As my voice echoed off the walls, several screeches responded.

“Kyiiiiiiiiigh!”

“Kyiiiiiiiiigh!”

“Kyiiiiiiiiigh!”

Several spiders fell from the ceiling.

Thud!

Huge legs, each the size of a wagon, attached to a white body the size of a moving building, and eight red eyes, each bigger than a human head. The Queen of Snow Spiders revealed her presence alongside several of her peons.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Her roar was deafening. I gripped the Butcher tighter.

‘Kill!’

Mother warned me that I could die if I were careless. That gigantic spider queen had divinity running through every nook and cranny of her gigantic claws. Any wounds they left would be impossible for me to regenerate. Death felt closer than it ever had before. Fear tensed my neck.

“Mother. Draw it.”

A dark green light ran down my body and crawled over the rocky floor. The Divinity of Corruption drew the line at the cave’s entrance.

The line that the living cannot cross. This prevented the Divinity of Corruption from leaking out of the cavern.

“I need your power, Mother of Corruption.”

As always, Mother answered my wishes. The air shattered, and a huge giant jumped out.

“Gwoo…ooh…”

The Giant of Corruption didn’t utter a roar as usual but turned its head and looked at me. I laughed awkwardly.

“I’m sorry I left you last time…?”

“Gaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Hearing my apology, the Giant of Corruption let out a contented roar at the Spider Queen. At the same time, the dark green marks of Corruption revealed themselves on my skin. I took out everything I could. My heart was pounding wildly. The fear of death was still choking me, but that too was a little fun.

“Mother. Tonight, I will dedicate the head of that man-eating spider to you.”

‘Kill!’

The battle began with Mother’s warning to not get hurt.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The Giant of Corruption sprinted across the cave toward the Queen of Snow Spiders. The Spider Queen raised her claws and slammed them down on the giant’s head. They crushed the flesh and dug deep into its body. At the same time, the headless giant’s fists smashed into the head of the Queen.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The Spider Queen screeched. After their great collision, countless snow spiders fell around me. So the reason I didn’t run into a single one on the way here was that they were all gathered inside.

Whaaaaaaaaaaang!

The Butcher let out a harsh start-up sound.

“Kyiiiiiiiiiigh!”

“Kyiiiiiiiiiigh!”

“Kyiiiiiiiiiigh!”

Using my strength amplified by the Corruption Arts, I kicked off the floor and threw myself into the swarm. The walls were soon coated in gore.

I shredded the spiders and observed the battle between the giant and the Queen. Unfortunately, the Giant of Corruption was small compared to the Queen. She was rough, twice the size of the giant, and while he fought desperately, it was clear that she had the upper hand. I had to help, but the snow spiders prevented me from approaching.

Whaaaaang!

I ground down another snow spider. It wasn’t possible to win this way. If the Queen defeated the Giant of Corruption, I would surely die here. I made up my mind.

I sent all the divinity in my body to my legs. The tattoo on my legs glowed a vivid dark green color. I squeezed the strength of my muscles to the limit and kicked off the ground. The air resistance smacked into me, but I flew.

“Kyiiiiiiiigh!!!”

Dozens of mouths opened to expose sharp teeth below me. I clenched my teeth, kicked one of the snow spiders in the head, and jumped again. In that brief moment, their claws left deep scars across my back. My body screamed for help, but I suppressed my human instincts. I suppressed the longing for the life I felt.

I could do more. I could go further.

Bang!

After a dozen leaps, I finally managed to escape the siege. My body was already a mess, but hope shone brighter than ever.

“Run!!!”

“Gaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The wretched Giant of Corruption rushed to the Queen.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Queen and the giant collided, and the cave shook violently. My body, accepting divinity to its limit, hit the giant’s back, and I ran up it to reach the spider.

There was only one place I was aiming for, the border that separated the cephalothorax and abdomen located in the middle of its huge torso.

Whaaaaaaaaaaang!

The Butcher’s saw blades spun wilder than ever in response to my wish.

“Hyaaah!”

The Butcher’s chain burrowed into the Queen’s carapace.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Her body shook. I clutched the hilt of the sword and kept wiggling it in deeper.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The giant grabbed the Queen’s body and stretched.

Boom.

Finally, the Queen’s gigantic abdomen couldn’t bear its weight and tore off. With only her head and chest intact, the Queen let out a fading scream.

“Kyyieeeh…”

I won. I’ve won. I smiled triumphantly, covered in goop. And then, a woman protruded from the dead Queen’s head. The beautiful woman with pure white hair raised her red eyes and shouted.

“Fuck!!!”

I replied with a smile.

“As expected, it’s a human.”

The woman glared at me, baring white teeth.

“Fuck!!! Where the fuck did you come from?! You’re also a fucking worshiper of an evil god, no different than me! Do you know how fucking long it took to subjugate this Queen? Do you?!”

I walked slowly over to the woman.

“What is the purpose behind Kelton’s siege?”

“Why do I have to tell you that…! Kyaaaaaah! It hurts! You son of a bitch!”

I dug the Froststeel sword into her shoulder a bit deeper, then softly smiled and asked.

“What is the purpose behind Kelton’s siege?”

Bright crimson eyes stared at me with clear hatred.

“You fucking bastard!!! Fuck!! It hurts! It hurts!”

I slowly turned the sword clockwise. The woman’s shrieks echoed through the cavern.

“What is the purpose behind Kelton’s siege?”

Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!! I won’t tell you even if I die! Bastard!”

“Goodbye then.”

“What?! Are you…?”

The woman’s severed head rolled down over the Queen’s body and hit the floor. I smiled as I wiped the blood from the blade.

“I think about it every time, Mother, but I like murderers. It’s okay to kill them without much guilt. I will dedicate this woman’s body to you, and please accept it.”

This white-haired demon worshiper was a three-and-a-half-finger worth human. A thousand divinity flowed from her decaying and disappearing body and permeated my flesh.

[Divinity: 5582]

“I’ve crossed the halfway mark.”

I chuckled.

“I’m already thrilled to think of the next worshiper waiting for me. Really, will any tell me the truth about this?”

‘Kill!’

“Did you say the third one? I’ll bet on the fourth then.”

I sent back the Giant of Corruption and exited the cave. The night wasn’t over, but a bright light illuminated the dark land.

I was truly surprised by this sight.

“They really got me this time.”

The city I had left, Kelton, was burning in the darkness.