"Mo... monster!"
In the Square of Forty Heroes, worshippers began fleeing in all directions. The enormous Spider Demon sprayed webs from its tail, going to great lengths to defile the holy water distributed by Otons Church.
"Quick! Quick! Everyone, run!" Aislanna directed the choir children and elderly nuns toward the safer interior of Mira Cathedral.
"Your Eminence—" Aislanna shouted. "Your Eminence, come back! It's too dangerous outside! The cathedral is safe!"
"May the gods watch over us—" Cardinal Labrador sang the praises of the gods as he walked alone toward the center of the square. The entire Hero Square was empty, as though it had been cleared specifically for Latmimi's battle.
The statues of the forty heroes were majestic and lifelike, their exquisite craftsmanship unmatched. Unfortunately, these structures would turn to ashes in the next moment.
"Your Eminence—Your Eminence—" the choir children cried in unison. "It's dangerous over there, Your Eminence—"
"The gods watch over me—I fear nothing—" Labrador shouted.
Boom— With a thunderous crash, the statues of the forty heroes in Hero Square collapsed. Even the serpent head in hero Okasht's hand fell to the ground and shattered.
"Evil monster, in the name of the gods, we shall surely slay you!" Pure white divine light radiated from Sister Latmimi's body. It was a miracle only the gods' most devout believers could summon.
"Mere humans... h-how dare you plot against me!"
The ugly Spider Demon trembled atop the ruins of the forty hero statues. As Latmimi drew closer step by step, its mental defenses had already collapsed. As a monster, she had never imagined she would be beaten into such a state by a mere church nun.
The monster let out a roar and attempted one final struggle, spewing blackish-yellow venom from its mouth. The statues on the ground turned into gelatinous sludge moments after being tainted by the poison.
Latmimi smiled faintly and flicked the venom aside with one hand. The power of her faith drove the battle nun to cleave the Spider Demon in two with her bare hands.
"I... I refuse to accept this—" The not-yet-dead Spider Demon drove its severed body forward, lunging at Cardinal Labrador and the choir hiding inside the cathedral.
"May the gods protect us..." Cardinal Labrador dropped to his knees as divine light enveloped him. The Spider Demon's remains instantly crumbled to ash upon touching the light, but Mira Cathedral, where high-ranking clergy such as Aislanna had taken shelter, was not so fortunate.
The Spider Demon's remains smashed through the cathedral doors. Priests and nuns praying deep inside were crushed by the collapsing dome, while the choir hiding beneath the portico was disfigured by venom splashed out after the Spider Demon's death.
Aislanna was the luckiest among them. Aside from minor injuries, she remained completely intact.
"Oh, heavens..." The crowd that had scattered earlier gradually returned. Seeing the collapsed Mira Cathedral and the disfigured children, they wept, cursed, and raged.
"That damned monster... why would it commit such an atrocity? They were only children..."
"May the gods protect us..."
"May the gods protect us..."
"May the gods protect us..."
Sister Latmimi, who had fought the Spider Demon, slowly approached while supporting Cardinal Labrador. The crowd consciously made way for them.
"May the gods protect us—" Cardinal Labrador shouted. "Those evil fiends cannot destroy our faith. What cannot kill us will only make us stronger. Let everyone here pray for these innocent dead. May there be no more monsters in the gods' kingdom, and may the merciful gods treat our brothers and sisters kindly—"
"May the merciful gods treat our brothers and sisters kindly..." Centered around Cardinal Labrador, the crowd sank to their knees.
"May our devout faith guide Canfor's souls onto the righteous path shown by the gods..." Cardinal Labrador shouted once more.
Voices rose one after another, joining the bishop's cry.
What exactly am I now... human or monster... Why did I submit to the evil god... After I submitted to the evil god, would you appear again... Dad... Mom... Sister Fanafuna...
The screams of undead monsters echoed through the slum streets. Civilians and merchants fled this black market as though escaping a plague. Decaying evil power corroded the clay-tile roofs, and entire buildings began to collapse.
"What's going on—"
Tiadam stood atop his fortress and gazed toward the source of the disturbance. Yellow-green sludge surged from nowhere, covering nearly half the street in moments, while countless lesser undead crawled out from within it.
Zombies, skeletons, and ghouls chased the slum residents.
"Are those... zombies?" Abelato looked down from above. In the center of the sludge knelt a fourteen-year-old boy, and from that boy, Abelato saw an endless stream of decaying evil power polluting the southern lands of Canfor.
"That boy must be the source of this chaos..." Abelato shouted to the martyrs accompanying him. "Everyone! Grip your Sacred Artifacts tightly, and bring the holy water and gospel books! We may be facing an ancient evil, but do not be afraid! Remember, the gods will protect us!"
"The gods protect us—" the martyrs shouted in unison.
"What are these strange things doing in my territory—" Tiadam swung his longsword and slaughtered the surging evil creatures. These rotting things ran about like headless flies, attacking every living thing they could see.
"Brothers, these dead men are trying to take our territory—" Tiadam shouted from above. "How should we welcome them?"
"Hack them to pieces—" the lackeys shouted back. The bandits, who had once been a disorganized rabble, became exceptionally brave under Tiadam's encouragement. These men who usually bullied the weak did not think of fleeing. Instead, they grabbed their swords and charged at the monsters.
"A sleeping hero... an interesting fellow..." Eliyi stood in midair, looking down at everything. "But don't get too proud... this is only the beginning, my dear friend..."
Leichina's long-dead body made a nauseating sound. His utterly rotten form slowly rose from the ground as wails and terror rang ceaselessly in his ears.
"Monster—"
"Monster—"
"Monster—"
Leichina fell to his knees, yellow-green fluid flowing from his eyes. He looked helplessly at his hands. His long-rotted limbs could no longer feel any pain. When he raised his head again, the ruined streets, the skeletons crawling endlessly from the sludge, and the innocent passersby whose bellies had been torn open... all of it proclaimed his atrocities.
"This... this wasn't my doing..." Leichina tried to flee the nightmare like a child. "I really didn't... want to hurt anyone... This wasn't my doing!"
Leichina's wails became screams. The passersby killed earlier by the undead monsters also began to rise. Their bodies transformed into new monsters, and a plague-like disaster began.
"What a pain—" Tiadam swung his longsword. "Why are these bastards standing back up?"
One lackey stood back-to-back with Tiadam. "Boss, there are more and more of them. The brothers can't hold on much longer!"
"Then grab the valuables and get the brothers out of here, quickly!"
"What about you, Boss?" the lackey asked.
"I'll cover your retreat. These things are hard to deal with..." Before Tiadam could finish, he heard a drip... drip... sound coming from his body.
"You..." Tiadam turned around and saw a traitor grinning viciously.
"Boss, you can't blame me..." the lackey said quietly. "Your head is worth too much..."
"You bastard—" Tiadam was about to strike back when undead creatures drawn by the blood seized him tightly. "You... damned bastard!"
The traitor ran toward the crowd and shouted, "The boss has been caught by the monsters! Run—everyone, run—"
"B-Bastard..." The last thing Tiadam saw was the brothers who had depended on one another with him for years scattering in all directions, while the longsword that fell from his hand was picked up by someone else.
The sun gradually sank, like a hero in his twilight years, and the decay of Canfor, this city of old, seemed destined...
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