Chapter 180
This man is the root of all evil.
Take him down, and it's over.
Simon stepped on the Darkness and charged at Aloken.
"...!"
Just as Simon was about to throw a punch, he caught sight of a shimmering red blood droplet flying toward him.
"Ugh!"
He twisted his body with such force that it strained his ankle and leapt to the side.
Boom!
The droplet, like a grain of sand, transformed into a massive blood explosion, and Simon broke into a cold sweat as he saw it.
Aloken cackled and spoke.
"You're not a pro yet, are you?"
Aloken swung his right arm, and three blood droplets flew out.
"Every move gives you away."
Explosions burst in succession. The reason this compartment was so wrecked was because of Aloken's magic.
'If Metin hadn't warned me, I would've been done for.'
Simon activated the Bone Armor Handgun mounted on his right arm. He dodged the blood droplets flying through the confined space and aimed the muzzle at Aloken's head.
The sound of gunfire followed.
But Aloken sent only one droplet in front of him, which exploded.
"...!"
Blood explosion magic doesn't end with a single burst. The condensed blood remains in the air for a while after it detonates.
A kind of wall is formed. All the bullets were blocked by the explosion and either bounced off or fell weakly to the floor.
'Tsk, he's tricky. Is this a case of someone who just obsessively trained a single specialty magic?'
While Keyzen taught a variety of disciplines to foster elite necromancers, in the field, it was quite common for necromancers to specialize in just one type of black magic.
As Simon dodged the chain explosions of blood, a red whip grazed his shoulder from behind, hidden by the blasts.
"Guh!"
It was a deep cut. Blood splattered.
"As your senior in this industry, let me tell you something."
Aloken clicked his tongue. In the blink of an eye, a magic circle was drawn on Simon's shoulder.
"To a bloodline major, even the tiniest scratch means defeat."
He pressed his index and middle fingers together, and a fountain of blood gushed from Simon's shoulder.
'Bloodletting magic!'
Simon quickly clutched the wound on his shoulder with his left hand, but the blood kept flowing.
"It's useless. Dry out and die."
"Heal."
"...What?"
Vwooom!
Holiness flowed from Simon's left hand, and the wound rapidly healed. Aloken's expression twisted oddly.
"You bastard! You were definitely a necromancer...!"
Without a word, Simon raised his index finger.
In that moment of Aloken's fluster, four blades shot up from the floor, grabbing him and blasting him upward through the train's ceiling.
"Hup!"
Simon stepped on Overlord rising from the floor and shot up after him.
Clunk! Clunk!
Wind howled outside the train. The two men now stood atop the train's roof, facing each other. Aloken glanced around.
"Interesting. Did you think you'd stand a chance just because we're not in a cramped compartment?"
"...."
He opened his palm, and four blood droplets formed between his fingers with a chime.
"Let's see if your theory holds up."
Simon calmly assessed the situation.
Magical combat is off the table.
Overlord, it landed well earlier, but it barely left a scratch.
Skeletons and zombies, summoned undead are vulnerable to area attacks.
Simon acknowledged it. The enemy was far stronger, and in his current state, he couldn't win.
Time wasn't on his side either. Even now, countless passengers aboard the train were being injured or killed.
If this train reached their destination, it would lead to another catastrophe.
'I've decided.'
Simon pulled a golden crown from subspace. He grasped it with both hands and raised it above his head.
'I'm using it now.'
With his legs slightly apart and in a low stance, Simon slowly placed the crown upon his head.
Sensing something ominous from the crown, Aloken braced for maximum defense, but after Simon put it on, nothing seemed to change.
'What the...? Just a bluff?'
Thinking he had tensed up over nothing, Aloken switched to offense and summoned blood droplets to his hand.
[──────────!!!]
At that moment, an inhuman roar erupted from Simon's throat.
The sound reached every passenger aboard the train, the Blood Heaven Cultists, and even the zombies running toward the train.
Aloken felt a tingling sensation. Every hair on his body stood on end.
'What the hell is about to happen...?'
Just then, Blood Zombies began climbing onto the roof around Simon. It looked like they were surrounding him, but that wasn't it.
—Kreeeeee!
The zombies began to change. Their eyes turned golden, and dark blue-black smoke poured from their bodies like mist.
Darkened zombies suddenly charged at Aloken.
'!'
Aloken hurriedly swung his arm and sent blood droplets flying. Explosions burst around him, blowing apart the zombies, but more came rushing in.
'I've lost control of the zombies!'
Aloken looked up. He saw Simon, eyes now golden as well, extending his arm.
'Is that the power of the crown...?'
Simon exhaled lightly, grabbed the crown with his right hand, and spoke.
[Follow me.]
Rumbleeeeeee!
Every zombie in every compartment of the train responded to Simon's call. The train was quickly being blacked out by swarming undead, an utterly horrifying sight for Aloken.
The zombies gathered behind Simon, clumping together and forming a mound, lifting the crowned Simon upward.
'Damn it! What the hell is going on!?'
* * *
Lete blinked in confusion.
Just moments ago, the zombies were fighting alongside the Blood Heaven Cultists. But in response to a strange cry, not a single one remained, they all ran outside and climbed onto the roof. The same was happening everywhere.
'Well, it's easier for me if I only have to deal with the cultists, but what's going on?'
Tatadat.
Just then, urgent footsteps approached from the forward compartment. Lete tensed, preparing herself.
Moments later, a woman appeared—wearing the Inquisitor's uniform, glasses on her face. It was the female inquisitor who had inspected Lete earlier.
"Gosh, you startled me."
Lete relaxed and lowered her stance in relief. The inquisitor recognized her and shouted.
"Priestess! You're safe!"
"Of course I am. But with things this bad, what are the Inquisitors even doing?"
The woman lowered her head.
"M-my apologies. We're doing everything we can inside."
"I already cleared out that direction. Let's head to the front car together. We need to find and kill the mastermind."
"Yes, this way."
Following her lead, Lete strode forward.
But then, the inquisitor's eyes glinted coldly just as Lete passed her. She swung a knife-hand strike toward the back of Lete's neck.
Thud.
As if expecting it, Lete blocked with an outstretched arm, twisted her waist, and kicked. The inquisitor raised her arms to guard.
Clang!
Just the impact of the kick sent a gust of wind roaring through the compartment. Curtains fluttered, glass cups fell and shattered on the floor, and the inquisitor was pushed back, sliding across the floor.
"Knew it."
Lete smirked.
"Logically, there's no way the Blood Heaven Cult could've pulled off a terror attack of this scale on their own. Are you the collaborator?"
At that moment, holiness surged from the Inquisitor's body like a booster and shot straight into Lete's.
Her palm slammed into Lete's abdomen.
'?!'
BOOOOOOOM!
Lete's body bent like a hook and was hurled across the compartment, crashing into the opposite wall.
The impact was so immense that her mind went completely white.
'Gah! Shit! This woman is insanely strong!'
The Inquisitor's arm swung in a continuous motion.
On the wall where Lete crashed, a holy magic circle that the Inquisitor had pre-drawn lit up.
Clang!
Clatter!
The wall rippled and morphed into shackles, instantly locking down Lete's arms and legs like a binding device.
"W-what?"
Lete wriggled and tried to break free, but it didn't budge at all.
"Hey, what the hell! Let me out of this, nowwwww!"
"Heheh."
Only then did the Inquisitor drop her act, crossing her arms and casually walking toward Lete.
"You said you were a first-year at Efnelle? How cute."
She stroked Lete's cheek and licked her lips with her tongue.
A murderous glint flashed in Lete's eyes for a moment, but she barely held back her rage and muttered,
"What's your reason for doing this?"
"?"
"How does someone who's a Heretical Inquisitor end up betraying the Goddess to side with a baseless cult like the Blood Heaven Cult?"
She smirked seductively and tugged up Lete's uniform top just a little, exposing her pale belly and navel.
"Remember the physical exam?"
"What?"
Lete frowned like she was hearing utter nonsense.
"The way you blushed and got all shy while stripping in front of me... you were so adorable."
"Ahahaha. Oh wow."
Lete gave a hollow laugh, then nodded as if she understood.
"So, you're into girls?"
"Correct."
In the Dark Alliance, where the atmosphere was relatively liberal about sexuality, there were at least minimal protections for sexual minorities.
But the Holy Federation, founded on religion, had none of that. In fact, such things were strictly forbidden and ruthlessly suppressed by doctrine.
Lete clicked her tongue.
"You're honestly kind of pitiful. Having to hide that while living a devout life must be hell."
"Yeah, a lot has happened."
If you were just a regular farmer in the countryside, you could keep quiet and hide it.
But for a priest who passed the holy trials, even a whisper of rumor could ruin your career. If proven true, execution was inevitable.
The same applied to the Inquisitor. She had grown up under priest parents and walked an elite path, if not for missing out on Efnelle, she could've gone far. Becoming a Heretical Inquisitor doing dirty work had actually been a demotion.
Recently, things escalated to the point where a trial was scheduled.
The witness was the female believer she had tried to assault. If she lost the case and was officially declared a homosexual, the death penalty would be unavoidable.
"So you joined forces with heretics and staged this mess?"
"I'm just trying to survive."
The Inquisitor said, lifting Lete's chin. Lete spoke coldly.
"Even so, this time you've gone too far. Aren't you afraid of the Goddess' wrath?"
"I am. But isn't it strange?"
She opened her opposite palm. Holiness surged up.
"The Pontifex and Efnelle suppress homosexuality based on scripture. They call it an unforgivable sin. But look, my power hasn't weakened at all. In fact, it grew stronger when I became honest with myself. What do you think that means?"
"...."
"Right! It means the Goddess hasn't abandoned me! She's still with me! So then, doesn't it make more sense to think this way?"
The Inquisitor's expression twisted strangely.
"The ones distorting and manipulating the Goddess' will are the Pontifex and Efnelle."
"...."
"I'll destroy Efnelle by any means necessary—heresy, whatever. And then, I'll create my own paradise!"
Lete sighed heavily, as if disappointed. She didn't seem surprised by the Inquisitor's words at all.
'There's someone really close to me who doesn't even believe in the Goddess, yet still uses holiness. So whatever.'
Lete slowly raised her head.
"Not losing your holiness doesn't make everything you believe automatically correct. That's just delusional trash."
"What?"
"You're just using God to justify yourself. Why do you assume retaining holiness means divine approval? By that logic, why haven't those who oppose homosexuality lost their holiness? That's such a disgustingly narrow-minded and self-centered way of thinking."
Trying to interpret the will of God from a human perspective without any theological basis is, at its core, an act of blasphemy.
"But you."
The Inquisitor's tongue flicked.
"You still act all composed even after hearing who I really am?"
Her hand grabbed the hem of Lete's skirt.
"...."
Lete remained expressionless. The Inquisitor giggled as she began unbuttoning Lete's shirt, one by one.
Her cheeks flushed red with excitement at the thought of ruining the cold expression on this girl's face.
"Still mouthing off, even though you've been captured. Aren't you scared?"
"Ha, why would I be scared?"
Lete sneered.
"I got the info I needed."
"!"
Fwooooosh!
A brilliant white flame shot in from outside the window, aiming at the Inquisitor.
"Guh!"
She just barely managed to raise a holy shield, but the impact still blasted her back dozens of meters. From the window poked a familiar head, Lete's divine beast, Ran.
'A divine beast?! When did that get here!?'
FWWWWOOOOOOOSH!
Lete's body, which everyone thought was firmly bound, was enveloped in divine blessings. As she moved, the restraints on the wall were torn apart like paper.
"Play along a little, and you start acting like you rule the damn world."
Ran flew over and coiled around Lete's right arm. The baby white dragon spat out a prism-colored divine sword from its mouth.
"And stop derailing the point. I don't care about your sexual orientation. What matters is that you're a monstrous criminal responsible for countless casualties."
The Inquisitor broke into a cold sweat in the presence of holiness purer than she had ever known.
Lete raised her sword with a crooked smile.
"Ready to die, heretic?"