Chapter 131
"If you have something to say, please come in." The swordsmith slowly opened his eyes, his previous feeling of fatigue subsided, and he flipped the blade in his hand, placing it flat on his knees, reflecting the sunlight.
She frowned, looked at the doorway, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
Karl had only been gone for less than three minutes, and the man had finished everything he could do as a priest. He treated everything except for the wound on the cross before leaving.
All that remained was the cross that had pierced through the waist from behind and protruded from the front.
However, the cross had also been cut in half, leaving only a long wooden splinter. The piercing wound didn't bleed or show any other unusual signs; it simply remained there. Golden patterns were wrapped around it, representing the sealed original sin, something that could only be sealed away.
Who could possibly come looking for her now? She couldn't guess, but it was always good to be prepared. She still had 30% of her holy magic power remaining, enough to deal with ordinary humans and demons.
A little girl, Lori, pushed open the door.
"Um, I heard you suffered... Ah!" Lori looked at her pierced abdomen and instinctively wanted to scream, but she instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound.
The knifesmith looked at the guy who came in, somewhat puzzled by his purpose.
Fortunately, she could still smell the food, and her expression calmed down a bit as she realized that she had overreacted.
There's no need for me to be so nervous. Although the church in this city may not be pure, it's not so stupid as to do something as foolish as attacking under the sun.
Sure enough, after she came in, she placed the food in front of her, bowed, and sat down beside him. She stared at the knifesmith with wide eyes.
"Don't you have anything more meaningful than this?" the knifesmith thought helplessly, looking at the man, then sighed as he looked at the food in front of him.
Although she really wanted to thank him, she couldn't eat anything right now. This thing had unfortunately pierced through her stomach, and she was in excruciating pain.
Like monsters, clergy can survive on holy magic alone when extremely hungry. After all, the so-called chaotic element isn't just magic or holy magic, but a strange chaos in which everything is mixed together. Therefore, she was prepared to diet.
“Well, Carl said I might be able to help,” Lori muttered softly. “I want to come and lend a hand.”
"Help? You? I appreciate your kindness." The knife maker looked at the boy and smiled helplessly. "How can I help?"
She originally planned to go back to find the Benevolent One, whose ability was to instantly heal anything within her domain.
That's an ability that ignores all natural laws; such injuries disappear the moment you enter her domain. However, the rapid healing might leave something behind in the body. So, all you need to do is remove the cross completely once inside, and then be healed. Even if this thing is theoretically incurable, with her ability, it's no different than cutting your finger.
Lori didn't speak, but simply placed her hand on it silently.
Time seemed to slow down. The swordsmith felt a crimson fire rise before his eyes, yet he felt no pain when he touched it. In an instant, it enveloped the entire cross.
It was just a moment... or maybe a little longer? The swordsmith wasn't sure; he only realized when he came to his senses that his wound was completely empty.
The cross had vanished so quickly that the wound hadn't even been noticed, and the blood hadn't even begun to seep out.
"Hey, hey, hey." The knifesmith hurriedly tried to dig away the flesh and blood nearby, because the reason that thing couldn't be cured was because it would contaminate the body.
But just before she took action, she hesitated for a moment.
Because the previously contaminated wound has become completely clean.
"It's you," the knifemaker said softly, looking at the child sitting there. The light streaming in from the window shone on her, but the shadow on the floor was empty.
Lori didn't speak, she just sat there and cried softly.
“Crimson Lotus, Flame Ash, Lava?” The swordsmith casually uttered a few words, all code names for the abilities possessed by the demons who inherited the Flame Ash Demon Flalos: “None of them seem like it.”
"Are you feeling any better?" Lori turned her head away from her. "I'm sorry if what I did caused you any trouble."
“I wouldn’t be bothered by something like that, but I am troubled by… child, you are in danger.” The swordsmith said softly, “This isn’t the first time you’ve used your ability, is it?”
Lori looked at her, seemingly wanting to explain something, but said nothing.
"Also, that guy named Karl didn't come looking for you. You came down from upstairs, so your paths didn't overlap." The swordsmith frowned. "If you accomplished that just now using your abilities, then I can only say you have excellent control. You must have figured out what you're holding, right?"
She slowly stood up and looked at the window behind her. Ripples appeared on the window. This meant it was an energy wall, a barrier.
“If an ability is left unused for too long, the magic seal will turn against the holder.” The swordsmith paused and said, “Just like Ark is currently enduring the pain of his entire body collapsing because of his ability. I suppose you are in so much pain that you can’t bear it anymore.”
She paused, then said, "Is it hellfire? The flames that can burn away sins, as recorded in the books. God used the hellfire of sulfur to imprison demons for a thousand years. It's a scorching flame that can even burn away sins."
"I'm so sorry," Lori said, her voice trembling with tears.
“You have nothing to apologize for. You helped me solve a huge problem; I should be the one thanking you. But child, I didn’t see your ability clearly just now.” The swordsmith turned to look at her. “I couldn’t recognize you. If even I can’t recognize you, only the people of the Central Church could. Never use your ability in front of anyone from the Central Church, no matter how familiar you are with them. I will make up some lies for you within the limits of my ability, and how long you live depends on how long they believe you.”
"Isn't there any other way?" Lori said softly. "Am I really... so sinful?"
“Yes, for someone like you, for whom living is a sin, only death can atone for your sins.” The swordsmith frowned. “It’s best if there’s no other choice.”
"But I don't want to die."
"Then run. Use your abilities skillfully to kill everyone who wants to kill you," the swordsmith said softly. "You only have two choices: the former is a world where you are not in it, and the latter is a world where you are the only one. Only these two are correct; anything else is absurd."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Lori tilted her head and asked curiously.
She had originally planned to cry, but suddenly felt she couldn't cry anymore, and asked blankly.
A world where only you are not present, and a world where only you exist.
Which one is more cruel?
I suppose it's because, for the person making the choice, there's no option for doing good in her so-called choice.
“You helped me, and I hate owing people things.” With that, the swordsmith prepared to leave: “You stay here, don’t stay under the sun. I need to discuss something with the Honor Keeper.”
"She's here to kill me, isn't she?"
"She's not a pervert with a penchant for child abuse, nor a serial killer, nor someone to be feared," the knifesmith said before leaving. "You should understand that you're not human, but something that causes chaos. So stay away from these righteous guys; it's better for everyone."
She walked out the door with a long sigh.
Then he looked at Carl standing next to him.
“You’ve brought something that’s going to cause a lot of trouble.” She said with a hint of anger, “You’re a priest, and a high priest at that. This is a mistake you shouldn’t have made.”
"I don't think it's just to punish a young child who hasn't done anything wrong."
“Justice is a term we define; justice does not equate to kindness.” The knifesmith frowned. “Young people are such a hassle; it always takes time to explain these differences in understanding.”
Karl frowned but said nothing.
It is indeed a cognitive error, because no one has ever taught them to be kind. Their only and sole mission is to prevent the resurrection of the demon god. Justice is defined by this alone.
But clearly, his helping the child was an act of kindness, something he did to put his mind at ease.
"So what exactly will you do? Lie to the church?" Karl said softly, his hands in his pockets.
"I'm not so selfish as to protect a demon god just to put my mind at ease." The moment the swordsmith uttered these words, his longsword slashed upwards at an angle.
Karl neither dodged nor flinched; he simply raised his hand and gripped the lower part of the blade, forcefully stopping it just before it severed the neck.
“You’re using the back of the blade.” He snatched the longsword from the man’s hand and tossed it aside. “Besides, you only have 30% of your holy power left. As fellow holy beings, you wouldn’t stand a chance even against a priest.”
"Heh, really, they're all like this." The knifesmith took a deep breath, chuckled as if mocking himself, and then leaned against the door.
“Child behind the door, I know you can hear me too,” she shouted. “If you really want this guy who’s good to you to be safe, then run away, go to a world ruled by monsters. The land of the dead or the Crimson Hell, there are plenty of places where monsters gather. You can be a king or a god there. Is it fun to stay on the human side and make things difficult for us?”
But no one answered her seemingly venting shouts.
"How disgusting, they're all monsters but they still pretend to be human." The swordsmith thought it was a bit of a joke, so he just said it casually, and then turned and left.
Carl only slowly pushed open the door after her footsteps had completely disappeared.
As expected, Lori sat on the edge of the bed, curled up in a ball.
“I warned you not to use your abilities,” Karl said softly. “You know what your abilities are, right?”
“I don’t know,” Lori said softly. “I only know how to use it…”
Carl frowned as he watched Lori looking at him and laughing.
"Perhaps I really shouldn't be here." She paused and said, "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
“If you leave now, you’ll only be causing me trouble.” Carl turned and left. “I’m going downstairs to prepare lunch. You can leave or do whatever you want.”
Lori watched him leave.
"That's great! Where are you planning to go?"
Without giving her a chance to calm down, the third visitor arrived.
Lori didn't turn around; her tears simply streamed down her face and dripped onto the ground.
"You're lying."
"I didn't."
“You said it yourself, you said that as long as I use my abilities to help her, they will accept me.”
“I didn’t say that. My exact words were that they might accept you.” Lady propped her head up and looked at the child who was huddled there crying. “But you’ve seen the reality, haven’t you? None of them have truly accepted you. You were almost considered hostile just because you revealed even a little bit of the truth.”
"It's all your fault, it's all your fault! Karl has started to hate me." Lori turned around and slapped Lady across the face.
She took the hit without flinching.
"I...I'm sorry." Lori realized she had acted impulsively and stepped back, her wrist trembling slightly.
“What’s there to apologize for?” Lady said nonchalantly. “People you can truly trust won’t genuinely blame you even if you don’t apologize, while those who want you dead will only pity you and spare your life if you scream your lungs out.”
The atmosphere gradually quieted down, and Lori slowly backed away, her footsteps making a crisp sound as she stepped on the floor.
Lady looked at the child in front of her and just found it funny.
“Hey, tell me,” she paused, “how exactly did you get chosen by the Demon God? I don’t know what criteria they use to decide their successor, but surely it wouldn’t be enough to make a child like you a Demon God, would it?”
"Please stop talking." Lori backed away step by step until she leaned against the wall, crouching in the corner with her hands covering her head: "I woke up to this, and this is how it is. I really don't know anything."
"So what was your original name?" Lady tilted her head, walked over, and squatted down in front of her. "Your name wasn't Lori before, was it?"
“My name is Lori,” she said, her eyes closed and her voice trembling.
“Good children don’t lie.” Lady turned to the boy beside her. “Then tell me, what’s this child’s real name…?”
The floorboards were crushed underfoot, and the sudden burst of air, whipping up wood chips, would make people instinctively shield their eyes.
There was no way to parry her; Karl grabbed Lady by the neck with one hand and slammed her against the wall.
The scattered pieces of wood all changed direction and shot into his body. Although they were just wood, they were as hard as metal.
“Karl?” Lori tried to ask, looking at the guy in front of her whose whole body was covered in wood chips.
“Stay away from this child,” Carl said, almost emphasizing each word. “I don’t have a good temper.”
"Oh? That's scary." Lady brushed his bangs aside and looked into his golden eyes.
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