Chapter 101 Noble? No, Fanatics!!!
Chapter 101 Noble? No, Fanatics!!!
"Stop it! Nooo! Don't say it! Don't say anything!"
The old woman shrieked in a high-pitched voice and collapsed to the ground.
"I see."
I let out a sigh.
I don't understand the value of something like family at all. I can't comprehend anything beyond the joy I'd feel at their demise.
But even without understanding, I do possess imagination.
I look up at the fruit swaying on the tree.
It's surely not tasty—just a withered fruit.
I'm not a clever person.
For someone like me, freedom is synonymous with danger. That's why I leave every decision up to God.
However, God once said to me:
"You may live as you wish. I grant you my permission."
That's right.
I am—
"I am Liora, an apostle of the Evil God and an A-rank adventurer."
The old woman looked up, her tear-streaked face locking onto me. I swung my blade with a Shining Slash, cutting the fruit from the tree. Running to catch it, I bit into it.
Crimson juice spattered in all directions. It didn't taste particularly good, but it was the kind of flavour that soothed the heart.
"A bed, food, and bad fruit. That's enough payment to hire an A-rank adventurer."
"What are you talking about…?"
"I'll take care of everything."
Certainly, going against a noble is no trivial matter.
The powerful—be they aristocrats or merchants—are enemies one must never make. It might even trouble God.
But God has given me permission.
I'm not clever, I'm weak without God, and I'm nothing but a sad existence if left alone.
Even so, God will take care of everything.
Because God is omnipotent. While nobles and merchants may have the power to crush a young girl, they can't so much as touch God.
I steeled myself.
Killing a lord is very different from killing a bandit. An A-rank adventurer cannot arbitrarily decide to eliminate a noble.
I might end up being branded a rogue.
Until now, I didn't see any purpose in becoming an outlaw, even if it meant opposing the lord. I wanted to avoid relying solely on God's power.
But now, I want to help this old woman.
For my own freedom, I wouldn't kill a lord "just because I felt like it."
But now I have a reason.
"God has spoken…"
I drew my scythe and raised it high to the heavens.
"The enemy must be slaughtered… entirely."
Corrupted Lord's POV:
I woke up to the sound of a massive explosion.
Springing out of bed, I looked to both sides. The women lying naked beside me were trembling in fear. They clung to me desperately, but I struck their faces to shake them off.
The life of a lord was at stake, and there was no room for such dead weight.
I called for my guards and tried to grasp the situation. However, my awakened senses wouldn't allow me to think clearly, as my entire body was flooded with a tension that felt like needles piercing my skin.
The sheets were sullied in the chaos.
With the guards escorting me, I managed to step outside the mansion. I had only a single robe on—a pitifully inadequate defence.
"What happened? What's going on?" I barked.
"We don't know! There was just an explosion! It might have been one of the unused sheds on the estate."
"Nonsense! There's no explosives in those sheds!"
"I'm telling you; we don't know, Lord!"
"Watch your tone, you insolent whelp!"
Stepping outside with about ten guards, I saw one of the storage sheds destroyed. Could it be the villagers? Had those peasants decided to rise against me?
But such an action was meaningless. The guards would simply slaughter them all. And I had my protective magical tools, my enchanted earrings. Killing me would be impossible for mere villagers.
I had grown bored of them anyway.
Perhaps it was time to massacre the lot of them and bring in a new workforce. As a great merchant, I held absolute control over human lives.
And so, to eradicate these foolish peasants, I prepared to give the command—
"I demand your surrender."
Just as I was about to issue the order, I saw her.
That little girl from yesterday. The halo-like light around her head, the unusual wings, the massive scythe—all exuding an otherworldly beauty and mystery.
There was no forgetting her.
Before me stood Liora, the A-rank adventurer.
Raising her enormous scythe high into the air, she seemed to proclaim her dominance, like a priestess delivering a divine oracle.
"Surrender your lives immediately. Do so, and I will not kill you."
"Th-That's absurd…"
I muttered in disbelief and shook my head.
Pushing the guards in front of me, I shouted at Liora.
"Don't mock me! Do you even understand what you're saying!?"
"You're all going to die now. I'm giving you a choice in how you meet your end."
"Why should I have to die!? Yesterday, I paid you, didn't I?!"
"I took your money. So what?"
Her words sent chills through me.
A cold pain gripped my heart, as if a spear had been thrust through it.
No. This couldn't be happening.
When money is exchanged, the deal is sealed.
And that contract must be upheld. That is what makes humanity human. Breaking such a rule reduces one to a beast.
A chaotic world where anything goes.
But more than that—
"You're an A-rank adventurer! An adventurer breaking a contract they've been paid for—taking the money—!"
"So what?"
Terrifying.
Horrifying.
She was just a little girl, yet her eyes reflected nothing. A chilling emptiness, as though she existed solely to dispense death indiscriminately, like a plague.
My heart pounded like an alarm bell.
I instinctively took a step back, consumed by the ominous atmosphere emanating from her. The peaceful morning of this village… had been blackened into an abyssal night by the presence of one little girl.
One of my guards fainted. My body trembled uncontrollably.
"D-Do you realize the consequences of attacking me!? I am a great merchant! A noble of this nation! Harm me, and all the trade routes will turn against you! You won't be able to buy a thing. You'll lose your position, your honour, and revert to being a filthy, penniless brat—a wanted criminal!"
"What's there to be afraid of?"
"That's… that's impossible! Of course you're afraid! Ah, I see now!"
I understood.
This girl was monstrously strong.
But she was also stupid. Surely, she misunderstood the situation. Smiling at the realization, I steadied my shaky knees and let out a laugh.
"You think you can get away with it, don't you? Killing the lord of a city in such a blatant way? Even if you kill us all, there are countless ways this crime will come to light! That's how nations, organizations, and noble society work! In this world, even corpses can…Huh! Argh-"
"aaaHHHHHHHHHHHH"
My arm was blown off.
"No-oo, bloos arghhhhh!!"
Agonizing pain. Blood spurted uncontrollably from my severed shoulder, and I collapsed, screaming in agony.
"Damn you! I'm a lord! A noble! A great merchant!"
"This is my battlefield now. Your titles and money won't stop my scythe."
I understood.
Looking at the blood-dripping scythe in her hands, I understood.
She hadn't grasped the essence of yesterday's exchange.
Ordinary humans fear deviating from societal constructs like rank, honour, power, and wealth—the cultural chains that safeguard humanity.
Thus, by showcasing the ability to strip those away, I gained an absolute defence.
I should have been untouchable.
But this girl, Liora… she only saw me as a "nuisance."
Yesterday, I thought I'd won.
But in truth, she'd only "let me off because it wasn't worth her time."
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To her, our negotiations were merely humouring a desperate plea for life.
I had made a grave mistake. This girl didn't adhere to societal norms.
She wasn't human.
I should have fled this place.
This little girl wasn't simply rampaging. If she were, she wouldn't be so terrifying.
Liora's true horror lay in her acting according to some twisted internal logic.
She wasn't just a deranged lunatic. She was rationally, systematically insane.
'She was a monster.'
The girl, with the poise of a saint delivering a sermon, began to speak. Villagers gathered, drawn by the suffocating atmosphere.
The very villagers I had tormented for so long now came to witness my execution. This wasn't my paradise anymore. This little girl was turning it into hell—a hell for all of us.
"God Zephyr commands the darkness, lies, evil, weakness, suffering, regret, pain, hatred, and death—every form of wickedness!"
Why?
Why, after all my efforts, everything I built…
"A world without darkness offers no solace. In human life, evil is ever-present. And God Zephyr forgives all wickedness through death, embracing it completely!"
She raised her scythe, now enveloped in shadow.
"But! For those acts of malice beyond human capacity… betrayal of God's mercy and spitting upon divine compassion… the blade of His messenger brings death to close the chapter!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?! My accomplishments, my strength—my value—!"
"Your malice has been defeated by the pain and weakness of an old woman."
Her words didn't make sense.
We spoke the same language, yet her meaning was alien.
A deranged little girl.
A deluded cultist of an imaginary god. A grim reaper in the form of a child.
Her red eyes bore into me without wavering, piercing straight to my soul.
I wept and screamed.
"I don't want to die! Please don't kill me! I'll pay anything! I'll atone for what I've done to this village! I'll change my ways!"
"So be it," the girl nodded.
Her face, radiant and serene, seemed almost devil's face in divine aura.