Chương 43: Your Ignorance, Your Folly, Your Cowardliness
As Arthur had told her, Ami stayed in her room for a long while. She heard the screams from outside and that made her fearful, so much so that she blocked her ears and hid under the blanket. Alas, that was but a poor attempt and did not make her feel safe.
Nevertheless, when she heard nothing but silence, the girl picked her bag and exited her room only to be welcomed by the sight of lifeless and eviscerated corpses scattered all over the main road.
Shocked, Ami covered her mouth and clung her back to the door, contemplating going back to the room and waiting even more time. Eventually, however, she mustered her courage and, while steering away from the corpses and splattered blood, made her way out of the village.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
A voice came from behind and before she knew it, someone grabbed her from behind and immobilized her. The muscular arm tightened around her waist rendered her incapable of even moving her arms.
Dominus looked at the golden glowing eyes of the girl, his face hideously distorted. Although Ami struggled to break free, it was of no use as she got dragged back amidst the gore and blood.
"You caused all of this! Your kind has doomed all of us!"
Dominus, unlike his usual self, was hysterical and frantic as he kept talking to her. Not even a minute later, however, there was a deafening roar followed by the appearance of the black-scaled reptilian beast.
It literally jumped out of the hole opened by the lever and landed right in front of the Tavern of the Gods, in the middle of the road.
There were a handful of villagers that lurked there, either mourning the loss of their loved ones or dragging the corpses elsewhere.
Unfortunately, they were unlucky and the unexpected appearance of the beast freaked them out.
"Don't stand there! Respect our Lord! Show your devotion!"
Dominus' loud voice reverberated across the road, snapping them out of their senses and making them religiously kowtow. Their bodies were trembling yet they followed his words and banged their heads on the ground, not daring to look at the beast again.
Surprisingly, by doing this, they escaped death; The beast's long lizard-like head lowered and its golden eyes went across the prostrating humans.
Time slowly crept by, thus allowing Dominus to get closer and face the bound Ami right in front of the beast.
It reacted differently when its eyes met Ami's, the two of them emitting a resplendent golden brilliance. It opened and closed its ridiculously large but severely wounded move, its shredded tongue flapping about as it tried to say something.
Ami, on the other hand, was pale-faced and fear-stricken. She had difficulty breathing and the horrific sight of the dreadful beast and its gaping maw robbed her of any courage and strength she had managed to muster.
The beast's eyes shifted to focus on Dominus as if it comprehended the situation. A deep growl came out, followed by a violent swing of its bleeding tail; That single swing, though done haphazardly, actually struck a foolish villager that was kneeling in the back.
The poor man was crushed to death, his head and torso became minced meat. Yet, even after witnessing that, the rest of the villagers kept prostrating and whispering prayers over and over again as if to appease the beast.
"Dominus!"
The beast was busy in its own unknown thoughts as it stared at Ami and Dominus. Around that time, Arthur, Evelyn, and Mort returned to the village and immediately saw the massive figure blocking the road.
Although Arthur shouted with a particularly loud voice, the reptilian beast's attention wasn't distracted. It seemed unconcerned by anything else as it repeatedly opened and closed its mouth.
"It's over. Let the girl go."
Arthur and the other two stopped a distance away and stared at the Village Chief. The maid was ready to rush and slice him but her master signaled for her to stand still.
"You… you people caused this."
With a slightly shaky tone, the old man half-turned his head and glared at the parasite, hatred and rage erupting from his reddened eyes.
"We? Are you so blind to the truth that you fail to realize what stands before you? This is your so-called 'Lord'..."
Arthur looked at the remaining villagers, kowtowing around the beast, "But I don't need to say that, right? After all, you seem to be aware of that already."
"..."
"Don't make this any harder. For now, the beast is calm… let Ami go and spare the rest of your people."
"The witch by your side slaughtered them all yet you dare speak of mercy to me? You ruined everything we built! What did we ever do to you?!"
Upon hearing these words, the parasite creased his brows, seemingly confused. "Ruined? It's not me who ganged up on a woman while baselessly accusing her of witchcraft. The way I see it… you started to believe in your own lies. You fabricated a religion and fooled everyone."
"No! It's wrong! The Lord will deliver us to salvation! It doesn't matter what he looks like!"
Dominus was getting riled up as he slowly pushed Ami toward the beast.
"Don't do it." Warned Arthur again as the yellow-ish barrier appeared, ready to strike.
"We were living in bliss! Who are you to deny us our happiness? To deny us our fate?!"
Just as he said that, Dominus grabbed a knife and edged it dangerously close to Ami's exposed neck. The old man no longer cared about Arthur as he stubbornly looked at the beast
"Our mighty lord! I offer you a sacrifice! The blood of a witch! Plea-"
His words were cut-off by an ear-piercing screech that almost made him lose his balance. His arm let go of Ami and the left side of his waist was bitten by Arthur's familiar, the red-eyes white rabbit.
The savage beast drilled its pointy teeth into the man's body and disregarded the knife that stabbed its back. Evelyn and Arthur also acted at the same time, the former shooting at Ami while the latter moving his barrier at the unsuspecting Dominus.
The unfolding chaos, which worked in their favor, had also snapped the beast's from its reverie. The sight of blood awakened its prior rage and made it lash out as violently as before. It raised its short but massive claw-shaped right limb and slashed straightforwardly.
It was too disoriented and angry to aim properly, thus its sharp black claws slice directly at Ami, who had fallen on her knees and was still too frightened to move.
All the young girl could do was turn her head, which was when her teary eyes met with Arthur. Alas, neither his magic nor Evelyn were fast enough, he couldn't reassure her or say anything, just watch as the beast's claws cut her in pieces.
A fountain of blood as her body was cut into pieces; Evelyn's mad rush came to a sudden stop as she looked at the blood on the ground and what little unscathed parts remained of Ami's body.
The beast, once it realized what it had done in its fit of rage, became more agitated and let out a louder roar as it moved its limbs and charged at the maid, trying to devour her whole.
Evelyn successfully evaded to the side then unleashed a flurry of attacks using her blades, which broke the beast's scales and made it bleed profusely.
As for Arthur, his barrier had struck Dominus and blew him to the back, all the way into the hole in front of the Tavern of the Gods.
He wanted to finish the job but, instead, focused on taking down the roaring beast.
"Mort, its tail!"
"On it!"
The zombie was like a monkey as he performed high and agile jumps, reaching the tail within three breaths. The barrier expanded in size, rose in the air then descended upon the beast like a mountain.
There was a minor shock wave as the massive body was bound to the ground; Mort grabbed the tail and pulled with all his strength, the rabbit dove into the beast's mouth, and Evelyn was still slashing from the side.
The battle wasn't easy and the casualties increased drastically. The villagers were immovable, either due to fear or devotion. Each time the beast thrashed around or used its claws, one or two unfortunate souls would be swept by them and die on the spot, very much like Ami.
A blood pool formed under the beast as its movement slowed down and its roars turned into whimpers of pain. However, Arthur kept banging his barrier non-stop and only stopped when Evelyn signaled for him to remove it.
When the target's back was no longer continuously hit, Evelyn used the momentum from kicking the beast and leapt in the air. Her blades glowed with a dark purple light, then, she crisscrossed them and, like a lightning bolt, descended upon the beast, drilling into the scales, bones, and skin.
There was one last rumbling before everything quietened down. For the first couple of breaths, Evelyn couldn't be seen, but before long, she exited from the gaping bloody hole she inflicted upon the now dead beast. From head to toe, she was soaked in blood, though her expression remained cold and unperturbed.
Mort stood next to the corpse, wobbling his head while looking at the still-gushing blood. The rabbit, like the maid, jumped from inside the hole and nestled on the ground, breathing rapidly and convulsing inexplicably.
Last but not least was Arthur, who unhesitantly chased after Dominus. He jumped into the hole but wasn't stupid enough to let himself fall.
Although it was exhausting, he was able to split the barrier in two rectangular shapes that he used to perform small and harmless jumps.
When he landed on solid ground, Dominus had his back against the artificial black and golden wall. The old man had a savage expression as he held onto a syringe, which he stabbed into his neck almost immediately.
"Power-up at the last second? That's so cliché." The parasite sighed and pushed his hand forward.
The old man's skin turned scarlet red and his body slightly grew in size. He looked no different than a beast as he jumped on Arthur only to be hit by the barrier and consequently getting pinned against the wall.
Arthur approached him and, with the barrier separating the two of them, he stared back at Dominus.
"Their blood is on your hands, not mine. The only exception is… Ami."
The barrier abruptly vanished and, at the selfsame instant, Arthur arm stretched forward and held Dominus' neck, suspending him mid-air.
"Wait for me in Hell, will you?"
With a crisp sound, the old man's neck snapped to the side, thus declaring his death, at last.
Arthur dropped the corpse and dazedly looked at the wall. He remained like that for a couple of minutes and only snapped out of it when a figure landed right next to him.
"Master?"
Evelyn noticed the lifeless body of Dominus but did not pay it much heed. Still drenched in the blood of the villagers and the beast, she looked at the parasite.
"I'm fine."
His voice was quieter than usual, lacking the usual cheerfulness or confidence. He grabbed Dominus' body and, just like he came down, he used the barrier to return to the surface.
The Witch Hunt has officially come to a brutal end and there were still a couple of survivors, though most either stayed in their homes or a fair distance from the dead beast. The sight of the talking zombie and the writhing strange rabbit made them fearful and unwilling to take any chances.
Soon, Arthur and Evelyn were back, the two standing in front of the Tavern of the Gods. While the maid kept her silence, as is her wont, he did not.
While looking at the cowering villagers looking from behind the windows or from corners, he said,
"Your Lord, no… your God is dead. What are you going to do?"
The only response he got was a long and eerie silence, which made him chuckle.
"Keep cowering in fear. It will not be by my hands, but I assure you that your ignorance, your folly, your cowardliness will be the end of you."
After saying what he wanted to say, the parasite instructed Evelyn and Mort to gather the corpses near the beast's and did the same. The task wasn't particularly difficult and took no more than five minutes since most casualties were dismembered or crushed to death.
Evelyn put the last intact corpse near the rest and looked at Arthur. He was crouching near the spot in which Ami was killed, his eyes glued on the splatters of blood.
"Master, I found this…"
She showed him a half-shredded notebook, the same one which Ami always kept hidden.
The parasite accepted it and, with a faint and sad smile, nodded at the maid.
"Would you mind checking if any of the troublesome ones survived?"
Not used to hearing him talk like this nor display such an expression, the maid held back any questions and did as he was told.
When she was gone, Arthur looked at the notebook then at the pile of corpses.
"It's fine… anyone can fail." He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the notebook,
"I'll show you the wonders of this world, Ami."
With those final words, he sat down and started possessing the intact and possessable corpses. However, when it was finally the beast's turn, he was surprised to see that it wasn't actually a living being.
The System did not show him any notification and though the beast sustained many wounds, it was still at a state in which it could become a host. Therefore, the only plausible explanation for the inability to possess it was that it wasn't a living being to begin with.
"All that effort for this? It's almost funny…"
Arthur beckoned the nearby Mort, snatched the torch from his hand, then threw it at the corpses. In a matter of seconds, flames rose high-up as the dead were slowly turning into ash.
In the end, Arthur possessed a total of seven corpses and gained a decent amount of stats. However, he still felt bitter everytime he remembered Ami.
Instead of leaving the village, the two returned to their inn room. After all, it's not like there was anyone brave enough to chase them out or confront them. They were both tired and Evelyn needed to wash herself and her clothes.
Unlike the previous nights, the master and his maid did not talk for a while.
"Are you injured?"
Evelyn's body twitched then turned around to face the parasite.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Go wash up and then rest."
As he said that, he stood up and walked to the door only to be stopped. She blocked his path while frowning,
"Where are you going, Master?"
He raised his hand and gently patted her shoulder, "Rest, Evelyn. We will talk tomorrow morning."
With that said, he bypassed her and left the inn room. At first, she felt the need to give chase, suspecting that he might disappear once more, but, upon remembering his promise, she sighed and decided to trust his words.
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