"Father, I was wondering what exactly we're supposed to do for this Ascension Ritual... Well, what I mean is, I want to bask more fully in God's divine light beneath such a noble ritual!"
Norton spoke softly and ingratiatingly to Father Mia beside him, doing his best to make his words convey steadfast faith.
Sure enough, a gratified smile appeared on Father Mia's face when he heard Norton.
"Very good, child. Your faith is steadfast enough. I think God will like you. As for basking more fully in God's divine light, you needn't worry about that.
Once you are serving at God's side, you will naturally be able to behold His holiness every day!"
Father Mia's seemingly reassuring words made Norton feel as if he had taken off his padded coat in the dead of winter and jumped straight into a snowdrift. He was chilled from head to toe.
Norton's face turned green.
He knew it! The church in Biyang was up to no good!
What was all that about serving God at His side every day? Why not just say outright that he was the sacrifice for the Ascension Ritual?
Clinging to one last shred of hope, Norton asked in a trembling voice, "Father, could it be...?"
"That's right, child. You are the main figure in the Ascension Ritual."
"So you're going to chop me, Norton, to death?"
"No, burn you to death. The most brilliant flames will burn away the filth on your body, and the holy fire will cleanse your unclean soul, so that you may ascend to heaven and serve at God's side for eternity. That is the most glorious aspiration for us!"
Father Mia's face was full of devotion to his faith, and his words seemed imbued with pure faith.
Looking at his damnable face, Norton, who had just painfully learned that he really was going to be used as a sacrifice-and burned alive at that-felt an awful chill in his heart.
Despair took root in Norton's heart. Rising alongside it, in addition to the fear of impending death, were the anger brought on by twenty years of being shut away and tormented by the church, and a final urge to let loose before he was burned to death.
"Mia, fuck your mother!"
The shout rang out abruptly in the silent church, followed immediately by a fist filled with despair, rage, killing intent, and a desire for revenge.
Having learned that he was bound to die, Norton completely stopped holding back. He swung a punch at Father Mia's old face.
Fuck it. Even if I die, I'll beat this old man half to death first!
"Holy shit!" Father Mia turned pale with shock. He was already sixty-nine years old, and in all those years, he had never seen anyone dare to attack him.
Even those missionaries of impure mind in the past had only shown tearful regret and despair when they were executed, having been trained to obey for years.
These missionaries raised by the church had long since grown accustomed to obeying under years of obedience training, and obedience was the only thing on their minds. Even if they were unclean at heart, they had never thought of resisting. At most, they thought of running away.
So neither the priests nor the church knights, who had been mass-produced much like the missionaries, could have imagined that Norton would turn on them in an instant and attack.
His rebellious thoughts were beyond their expectations, and he caught everyone off guard.
Bang! Norton's fist, which looked small and narrow because of how thin he was, slammed into Father Mia's eye socket. Fueled by fury and years of pent-up resentment, Norton unleashed as much as one hundred and twenty percent of his strength, nearly knocking Father Mia unconscious with a single punch.
"Ah!"
A sharp pain came over Father Mia as the vision in his right eye blurred. He let out a feeble scream. Norton's punch had knocked him to the ground, and he cried out in terror, "Damn it, Norton, damn it! Unclean one, you are an unclean one!"
As Father Mia fell, the stunned church knights around them finally reacted.
Shing! Steel armor clattered as greatswords were drawn from their backs.
Pfft! Having just punched Father Mia, Norton was about to pin him down and keep beating him when he felt a chill in his chest. Only afterward did he hear the sound of a blade piercing flesh.
A blade with a blood groove plunged straight into the center of Norton's back and pierced through his chest.
Blood dripped from Norton's chest.
Blood spurted from the wound almost immediately, and a sensation that was cool yet seemed warm spread through Norton's chest.
Norton lowered his head slightly and saw the bloodied blade.
"Uh... I... fuck you..." With adrenaline pumping, Norton had yet to feel the pain. He even wanted to turn around and punch the church knight behind him.
But just as he tried to raise his right hand, he felt extraordinarily weak.
Norton shakily raised his right hand halfway, only for it to drop abruptly back down.
Darkness completely clouded Norton's eyes. Before his consciousness faded entirely, only one final thought remained in his mind.
Finally, I won't have to sell my ass to keep God company...
With the heart pierced by a greatsword bearing a blood groove, death would come very quickly.
The whole sequence seemed complicated, but in reality, it had taken only a few seconds.
All life left Norton. His feet could no longer keep him standing, and his legs went limp as noodles, losing all support. Yet the church knight used his tremendous strength to hold Norton's body up on the greatsword, keeping him from falling to the ground.
Norton's head fell back limply, making his hood slip down behind it and revealing his pretty, gaunt face.
His eyes were still slightly open, but all life had gone out of them. Just like the severed heads of the mother and child at mass the day before yesterday, they could no longer find anything to focus on.
Blood ran down the greatsword and dripped steadily onto the church's stone-tiled floor, making a trickling sound that mingled with Father Mia's furious curses, sounding even more like Norton's final lament.
"Bastard! Animal! The church gave you food and clothing, and the church gave you an honorable identity. Is this how you repay the church? Is this how you repay God?
"Norton, your sinful and unclean soul deserves only to suffer in hell. Your filthy, disgusting soul will endure endless torment!
"Carry him to the graveyard, carry him over there! Damn it, burn him to ashes!"
Father Mia's roars continued to ring out. Apart from them, there were no other sounds.
Father Mia felt wronged too. He had been quite fond of Norton before, but now all that fondness was gone.