Chapter 160

"I am a man. I cannot conceive."

"No, you can."

Was this person mentally disturbed?

The clergyman was bewildered by the "conception" statement that buried the fact that the female believer held the position of representative of the royal direct territory.

He emphasized again.

"Men lack the organs for conception. That is a natural providence since creation-"

"Providence?"

The female believer laughed sharply.

"Yes, that so-called providence. Humans are merely inferior versions of the children ■■ ■■■ bore at will. Do you think such an inferior deity has the ability to determine providence?"

"What did you just say?"

"The providence and order of creation that humans have long served and worshipped will crumble in an instant before a greater power. Our Mother oversees abundance and gives birth to life greater than ■■ ■■■!"

The female believer, who had been shouting with anger words that couldn't be understood, suddenly pulled away the blanket covering the dead city lord.

Before he could be shocked at the fact that the corpse was placed naked, an even more shocking scene was revealed.

He had thought it looked raised because the blanket was thick, but that wasn't the case.

The body of the corpse hidden beneath the blanket was greatly swollen,

Bulging veins pulsated through the old man's large belly, thighs, and calves.

Under the skin, something unidentifiable was moving ceaselessly.

A maiden standing next to the female believer handed her an obsidian dagger.

Taking it, the female believer swung the dagger without the slightest hesitation.

"No-!"

A scream echoed through the room, covering the terrible sound of flesh being cut.

The female believer, with a cunning and beautiful smile, thoroughly soaked both hands in blood.

The clergyman stared blankly at the scene while the bed sheet became drenched.

The female believer's hands forcibly extracted something that had been sleeping inside the corpse.

That which was forcibly given life was not in human form.

Half human, half goat in appearance, it was definitely not something that could be called a person.

The hands and feet resembled the split hooves of a goat, and at the strangely bent joints of the legs, an extra foot protruded from each.

Twisted horns rose where ears should have been, and the face, closer to an animal than a human, only exhaled ragged breaths instead of crying.

The dark gray fur, soaked and clinging to its chest, was the same color as that covering its legs.

The female believer, who had extracted it herself, said with satisfaction.

"Mother might say she doesn't need this, but in truth, she does. She lost her incarnation a few days ago, so this will be a comfort."

The woman, who had handed the half-human, half-beast creature to another believer, approached the clergyman who was blankly watching the scene and caressed his cheek.

Wet blood left a sticky mark.

"You've clearly seen Mother's power? Now that we've performed the ritual to call her, we need a body for Mother to descend into."

"A body......"

"We need a beautiful and strong body. Originally, we intended to use that woman as a vessel to call Mother,"

The believers threw the unconscious woman onto the pattern.

There was an eerie quality to the way they tossed her like prey.

The female believer continued softly.

"Men have stronger bodies than women. One must have one's blood and flesh sucked by what they carry for as long as possible. So I concluded that you would be more suitable."

"Why."

"Because you are beautiful."

The female believer smiled broadly.

"Beautiful and strong."

For such a reason?

Before the clergyman could ask, the female believer approached the woman rolling on the floor.

With an ominous premonition, the clergyman shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Don't lay a finger on that woman!"

"When I complete the pattern with the blood squeezed from this woman's heart, all preparations will be done. And on this, right here, you and I, a faithful believer of Mother."

-Ripping sound.

The bloodless woman's chemise was torn away.

The tip of the black dagger brushed over her pale bare chest, creating vivid red droplets of blood.

The female believer licked her lips with an equally red tongue.

"We will copulate while accepting Mother. Right here."

It was madness from beginning to end.

The clergyman struggled, but his limp body had no chance of overcoming the believers clinging to him.

Lord, if you are there, give me strength to overcome this trial.

If you are watching over me, please!

Before the clergyman's eyes, as he screamed inwardly,

The blood of his benefactor to whom he owed his life was flowing down.

He couldn't bear to watch and squeezed his eyes shut.

And at that moment,

"-Leandros!"

The windows and walls were completely shattered as everything turned white.

The female believer's surprised scream and the sounds of believers calling for help were heard.

As soon as the clergyman raised his head, his eyes met with merciless black ones.

The Black Knight standing on ice so blue it felt chilling.

It was the moment he first encountered his own deity.

* * *

Though the situation wasn't entirely clear, he could make some guesses after recognizing a few familiar faces.

Amelia, lying fallen with her chest cut.

And Russel, kneeling with blood on his face.

Leandros must have discovered Amelia as well, as the arms carrying Arenheit tightened.

"Leandros."

"Command me."

"Seal the exit and stop those people."

"As you command."

With one swing of the ice sword, frost and ice crystals on the door grew rapidly.

The trapped people began to be wary of Leandros, who was sliding down from the massive ice that had pierced the window.

Well, not that Leandros would lose to such small fry anyway.

Arenheit broke free from him and approached the female believer who was crushing Amelia.

She screamed while tightly gripping the black dagger.

"Take one more step closer, and I'll separate this woman's head from her body!"

Arenheit stopped in his tracks.

Relief and cruel cunning flashed across the female believer's face.

She grabbed Amelia's hair and pressed the dagger firmly against her defenseless neck.

"Back away slowly. Don't come any closer!"

"Your Grace. Do you need assistance?"

Leandros asked from behind him.

Arenheit shook his head.

"No. I can handle this alone."

"What are you saying! Both of you, shut up, shut up and put down your weapons!"

The female believer shouted desperately.

A drop of blood trickled down Amelia's nape.

Arenheit said to the female believer.

"I don't have a weapon, though?"

"That man behind you! Make him put down his weapon! Now!"

"I don't really feel like it in this situation. Let her go."

"That's impossible. If he doesn't drop his weapon, this woman's life is over. Now!"

Leandros glanced at him, then shattered and eliminated the ice sword in his hand.

At that moment, something bulged and moved under Arenheit's cloak.

The female believer, who had caught sight of this, shrieked again.

"What's inside there? Put it down immediately. Send it over here!"

"This isn't a weapon."

"It doesn't matter. If you don't, you know what will happen to this woman?"

No choice.

With a deep sigh, he took out the moving object from inside his cloak and slowly rolled it on the floor.

The white ball that rolled toward the female believer bumped against her knee.

In the instant the female believer looked at the ball that had approached her.

The ball suddenly swelled, jumped up, and attacked her face.

"Release human woman! The great me, replenished ice! Need human woman!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Leandros!"

Telling Leandros to discard his weapon, how stupid.

He was faster at creating swords than destroying them.

Leandros, who had instantly generated a sword enveloped in cold air, swung it.

The believers who had been in a standoff screamed, and Arenheit took advantage of the female believer's distraction by Aphoom-Zhah to pull Amelia away from her grasp.

By the time the female believer finally managed to shake off Aphoom-Zhah, the believers had already been trapped by cold air and frost, unable to move their bodies.

As the female believer staggered to her feet, Leandros immediately blocked in front of Arenheit and Amelia.

"You...... how did you get here? ......You're not an ordinary human."

Leandros did not respond to the words spat through gritted teeth.

The woman mumbled something, then suddenly started laughing wildly.

"This is what Mother has arranged! I see, I knew she wouldn't be satisfied with such a body. To think she would dwell in the womb of a human man with nothing to commend him but his appearance. I was so stupid. Not to have fathomed Mother's intentions!"

Laughing madly, she reached out toward Leandros.

Her face, suffused with madness, instantly became calm, replaced by a precarious and irresistible seductive color.

Her tongue, as light as a snake's, spoke suggestively.

"Sir Knight. Please calm your anger and lower your sword. If you do, I will give you things you have never experienced. Aren't you curious about what they might be?"

A pitiful, gentle, and affectionate voice.

Despite the clear memory of her vicious behavior just moments ago,

Even knowing that it was an act, he felt an impulse to approach her.

Was this the power of a deity?

Arenheit covered his ears, and Leandros said firmly.

"No."

"Sir Knight, I can see the desire you hold. I will give you pleasure that can make you forget even that cleanly. I'll present you with an experience that no one else in the world has ever had."

"Not interested."

"Really? If not now, you won't be able to experience it ever again?"

"People who make me repeat myself aren't my type."

"......Then I have no choice but to take it by force!"

The moist voice became sharp again.

She raised the dagger high, then stabbed her own stomach.

The flimsy fabric began to turn black.

The dying female believer knelt in place and prayed.

"Mother, your daughter calls you! Give me strength, let me offer you a womb to dwell in! Bestow your blessing on your pitiful daughter, punish those who have insulted Mother!"

The prayer was closer to a desperate scream.

The pool of blood at her feet began to throb.

The blood ascended her ankles against gravity and began to dye her clothes red.

The blood, which climbed up her legs, clothes, and skin, covered her to the tips of her hair.

For a moment, the blood scattered as if being washed away.

The female believer clothed in blood was no longer the female believer they had known.

The blood-red garment was long enough to cover the woman's feet.

The numerous gold, pearls, and rubies decorating her neck and arms dazzled the eyes.

On her head were seven hideous horns with a veil hanging from them.

An old black veil covered her face.

In her hand with long red nails, she held a golden cup.

As soon as he saw this appearance, one name immediately sprang to mind.

"The Great Whore of Babylon......"

One of Shub-Niggurath's incarnations.

But could a deity's incarnation be created so easily?

While he was confused, Aphoom-Zhah, who had rolled to his side, warned.

"Worshipper, is that deity's incarnation? No."

"But that's."

"Not incarnation. Ordinary human body? Not incarnation. Not bound to flesh. Imitating appearance. Doll!"

Was that true? Just imitating the appearance?

The female believer, now Shub-Niggurath's incarnation, slowly tilted the golden cup in her hand.

As soon as the purple impurity contained in the cup flowed out and touched the carpet, the bedroom floor shattered into pieces, and a black shadow surged.

Countless animals, including goats, and monsters with bizarre appearances screamed and took shape within the black shadow.

The shadow shattered the ceiling, and the sky was instantly revealed.

Damn! What was this!

"Aaaaagh! You stupid snowman! You said it wasn't an incarnation! Wasn't it!"

"...S-strong! Not incarnation! But strong!"

"You fraud!"

Getting out of this mansion was the first priority.

He needed to buy time to devise a strategy on how to handle this fake incarnation.

At that moment, Leandros, who had been looking at the black tentacles reaching to the edge of the sky, said to him.

"Your Grace, please leave the mansion first. I will handle this one."

"Alone?"

It seemed his body would be too strained to invoke Aphoom-Zhah now.

As he was about to open the grimoire Pnakotic, Leandros respectfully stopped his hand.

"It's all right. This is something I can handle alone."

"But-"

"Instead, please bless me with Your Grace's blood."

Not Aphoom-Zhah, but him?

Looking down at the snowman, he saw it waving its short arms.

"Give it. My worshipper, or anemia? Blood precious? Stingy. Both blessed by Aphoom-Zhah. Great me's avatar. Bless."

"Why are you talking like that... never mind."

Even if he were to give blood, he wasn't sure how much to give.

He unwrapped the bandage on his hand and thoughtlessly bit his palm.

Along with the burning pain of flesh being torn, there was a strong taste of iron.

He could feel someone's gaze judging his crude method, but what could he do?

Leandros reverently took his hand, which had instantly filled with blood, and pressed his lips to the palm.

His Adam's apple moved exactly twice.

Leandros, who had been lowering his gaze as if savoring the taste, whispered in a slightly deeper voice.

"Victory, I will surely bring it back."