Chapter 82
Bishop Mark didn’t bother dodging the incoming fire magic. Even when blazing fireballs grazed past his head or sharp shards of ice passed through his body….
Boom!
Ka-boom!
As his robe fluttered like black mist, everything passed right through him. His face and body rippled grotesquely for a moment, then returned to normal.
And he simply ran on, smiling.
Patter-patter!
A black-robed monster drew near.
Mark called cheerfully to the cadets.
“Hahaha! It’s no use! No matter how hard you try to keep me from meeting Grand Duchess Carla! My lord grants ‘blessings’ to those who stake their lives on love!”
“?!”
The cadets were aghast.
Up close, it was even clearer. Bishop Mark hadn’t been hurt in the slightest. They’d poured so many spells and arrows at him, and yet…
“W-what the hell is that guy?!”
“His body’s dispersing like mist…?”
“Is he a demon?!”
“You damned demon worshipper…!”
Along with someone’s muttering,
the cadets all began shouting ‘demon.’
His presence was that sinister and bizarre.
“….”
Even as Mark continued running, he wore a sorrowful expression. He looked as if he were watching a troop of ignorant monkeys.
Not anger or hatred,
but a smile tinged with a trace of pity.
“I never imagined the Sun’s curse ran so deep…. Even after seeing the power of the transcendents who departed for the Dark Realm, that’s all you can say? So this is how frightening prejudice is. Unable to accept anything that exists, save for a single law.”
He nodded.
“Hahaha! Then I have no choice but to ‘preach’!”
“Aagh?! He’s coming!”
“Swordsmanship Department! Everyone to the front!”
“No! Those who scattered earlier might come back! Magic Department! Keep firing attack spells! Don’t let him get any closer—!”
Shouts and screams,
amid endless chaos.
Mark grinned.
The Black Temple
grew in chaos.
Mark’s face was bizarre.
His face was so ordinary he was sure he wouldn’t recognize him if they met again somewhere in town. His height, build, and even his voice were all ordinary. Even his smile looked warm and kind.
That was what made him all the more bizarre.
Clear eyes,
eyes far too clear.
His words were as transparent as spring water.
And just as cold.
“Hahaha! Do not fear! I am Bishop Mark, here to guide you along the path of love! Do not succumb to the folly of losing true pleasure by sinking into the swamp of ignorance!”
“Attack!”
“Oh dear….”
Countless fireballs and shards of ice were launched once more at Mark, who was talking so enthusiastically. They ranged from the size of an adult’s fist to that of a boulder. The spells raining down from every direction were filled with killing intent.
Boom!
KABOOM!
“….”
Mark gazed at Carla with pity. She was only a few dozen meters away, protected by cadets brimming with murderous intent. Her haughty gaze was fixed coldly on him.
“!”
‘Good heavens, even her glare is beautiful.’
When their eyes met,
Mark spoke earnestly.
“Ah, Grand Duchess. You’re even more beautiful up close. Would you spend your life with me? Come with me, free yourself from the Sun’s curse, and discover the love of a wider world!”
“….”
There was no answer.
Carla merely stood there, her haggard face frozen cold as ice.
“Oh, what a cold young lady.”
An even fiercer barrage was aimed at Mark than before. Sharp shards of ice shot toward his black robe, with enough force to grind him into mincemeat in an instant.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
But…
It had no effect at all.
Mark’s black robe rippled like mist in midair. The ordinary-looking man simply stood there, taking the rain of spells.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With every step he took,
he staggered beneath the countless spells raining down on him.
“Ah, love.”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
“Is love truly so futile!”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
“Then answer me! Great Duke of Love!”
He reached a hand toward the sky.
Behind him stretched a lake, dark as a void, its eerie moonlight glittering. Beneath the moonlight, his fingers slowly grew like branches.
Mark cried out.
“Grant me the strength to endure the attacks of those without love, and to love that beautiful woman! Grant me the power to spread love throughout the world—!”
The being hidden beyond the moonlight answered.
[I… grant it.]
The cadets were aghast.
“Where did that voice just come from?!”
“H-his fingers are growing like tentacles?!”
“There are tentacles under his robe, too!”
“What the hell is that creepy bastard…?!”
“A demon. That’s what a demon looks like….”
Mark shook his head.
“No, that’s not it.”
“What…?”
“This isn’t a demon.”
“What…?!”
He laughed uproariously.
“Hahaha! It’s love!”
“What the hell are you talking about…?”
Just as the cadets began attacking again,
black tentacles slowly crawled out from beneath Mark’s robe, trembling. One, two… More and more emerged, shaped like the pistils of flowers.
Beneath the moonlight,
the tentacles squirmed lewdly.
From hundreds of branching tentacles,
pink mist poured out.
Hiss—!
As if exploding,
it billowed on the night breeze from the lake.
In an instant, the area for hundreds of meters around was filled with pink mist. It was so dense it stood out vividly even in the darkness.
‘W-what is this mist…?’
The cadets held their breath.
They’d inhaled a little of the mist. A sweet scent rushed violently into their nostrils. Countless tentacles writhed, making them feel as if something were rummaging through their minds.
“?!”
And with that breath,
in minds heated by the excitement of battle,
a thought arose.
Something the great one had told them.
-Ah, love.
“….”
-Love is everything.
“Love….”
-Follow love….
“….”
The cadets murmured blankly.
All reason had been erased from their minds.
“Follow love….”
“Follow love….”
“Follow love….”
They let their weapons fall from their hands.
Clunk!
Clang!
They also set down the Sun’s emblems.
Clatter—!
“Love….”
“Follow….”
The cadets stood dazed, breathing in feverish gasps. Then they began stumbling off somewhere.
“Follow love….”
Only a very few—those who protected themselves with divine spells or had strong mental fortitude—were horrified by the sight. The people who had been fighting bravely just moments ago had been disarmed in an instant.
“H-hey?! What’s gotten into everyone?!”
“Love….”
“Damn it! Snap out of it—!”
“Follow….”
In the midst of that,
Carla looked ahead.
Mark was right in front of her.
“….”
“Haha, Grand Duchess.”
He slowly reached out to Carla with one hand transformed into tentacles. Countless tentacles writhed, spewing pink mist. The sweet scent of despair came bearing down on her.
“Found you.”
“….”
Carla spoke.
“So this is as far as you go.”
“Are you giving up already?”
“No. It was my job to figure out what kind of power you had. It took me a little while, but…”
“?”
At that moment,
the sound of a staff striking the ground rang out.
Tap—!
A clear sound, wood striking stone.
Along with that sound,
the pink mist spreading around them stopped. It was as if someone had held it back with their hand, preventing it from spreading any farther.
Bishop Mark widened his eyes and looked toward the sound. But through the dense pink mist, all he could make out was the silhouette of a small person.
It was a little girl.
She raised the wooden staff in her hand high.
And the clear sound rang out once more.
Tap—!
Then the pink mist slowly faded.
The mist born from the bishop’s body,
the curse that turned people into slaves to lust…
It had been erased by someone.
Mark murmured.
“How unreasonable…. The great one granted this blessing to me, a devout worshipper of love. And you dispel someone else’s blessing as you please with some branch from who-knows-where. Still, I think I could love even you.”
“….”
The girl who had been in the mist.
Morgan said in disbelief,
“Is he insane? That’s obviously a curse from the Dark Realm. A vicious curse that makes anyone horny and turns them into monkeys.”
“Hehe, goodness. You’re so caught up in the Sun’s curse. Do you need to be taught the doctrines of love, too?”
“Hmph. Forget it.”
She looked at Mark and said,
“This guy protects his body with a curse. It’s some strange curse that makes it impossible for anyone to touch him unless they’re aroused. So as long as I have even a little bit of a curse in me, I can attack him without a problem.”
“!”
The revelation came in an instant.
Mark was flustered.
“H-how did you…?”
“I wasn’t talking to you, you lunatic.”
“?”
Then another voice came from behind Mark. It was clear and confident, from someone who had been there for who knew how long.
“I see. Put a curse on me.”
“?!”
“Hmph.”
Mark tried to look behind him.
‘W-when did she get behind me…?!’
But…
Stab—!
He couldn’t turn around in time. All he could do was look at the sword protruding from his abdomen and writhe in pain.
“G-guh…!?”
“Physical attacks ineffective. Elemental attacks ineffective. A gimmick-type mid-boss that allows conditional attacks.”
“W-what does that mean…?”
“Nothing.”
Lydia said impassively, her sword thrust forward.
“I just realized you were an easy mid-boss to deal with. So you can die nice and easy.”