The Second Authority.
A mirror far too opaque to use for reflecting a face. I tried adjusting the angle this way and that, but still, it reflected nothing.
They say the sword lodged in the demon's head in the distance is used to subdue it, so this mirror must be a relic meant to reveal the demon's true form.
Honestly, I didn't care about the mirror's purpose at all.
"Kill!"
"I was just about to absorb it anyway, Mother."
As I stared into the mirror and quietly offered a prayer to the Mother of Decay, a dark green light slowly began to seep out from the mirror, flowing into my body and into Mother's hand. Once the energy from the mirror ceased, I closed my eyes and sank into myself.
[Divinity: 11,723]
So, one sealed relic grants roughly 10,000 units of Divinity—the cost of a single Authority.
I pulled myself back to reality from my settled mind.
Carefully, I took Mother's hand from inside my robe.
"Mother, another seal has been broken. Could you tell me if there's been any change in you?"
"Kill!"
She responded that she was still processing it, so I waited patiently for her reply. After all, I couldn't do much else right now—both my legs had been shattered during the fall, and I was just waiting for them to regenerate.
After a brief silence, Mother slowly conveyed her will.
"Kill!"
"What? Is that true?"
"Kill!"
Mother's hand slipped from my grasp, her fingers twitching as it crawled away to gain some distance. Then, as if exhausted, it collapsed on the ground and sent me another message.
"Kill!"
I crawled over to retrieve her hand and gently tucked it back into my robe.
"Being able to communicate from a greater distance than before is certainly an improvement… but don't you think the result is a little underwhelming for unsealing a relic? No, it's definitely underwhelming. I mean, I'm very disappointed—"
"Kill (殺)!"
Mother's stern scolding made me chuckle.
"Oh? You've expanded your vocabulary a little. That's quite the achievement. You can even break your words into syllables now. This son is truly moved by your growth."
"Kill!!!"
Mother's hand flailed furiously, telling me to stop mocking her.
"Alright, alright. Given the circumstances, I suppose now's a good time to stop teasing you."
I closed my eyes and prayed once more.
"Oh Mother of Decay, I offer you ten thousand Divinity. Please bestow upon me a new Authority."
As my internal Divinity count dropped rapidly, a new Authority took root in my body.
The moment the power flowed in, information about its effects engraved itself into my mind.
"Kill…?"
"Hmm. Not bad at all, Mother. It'll be quite useful in our current situation too."
The Authority I gained by offering ten thousand Divinity this time was "Glyph of Decay."
Its power was simple yet overwhelming. The moment I activated it, intricate metaphysical tattoos in a deep green hue would cover my entire body, massively enhancing my already inhuman physical abilities.
However, unlike "Giant of Decay," this Authority wasn't purely beneficial.
Its cost was just as straightforward: while this Authority was active and my body was empowered, my internal organs would gradually begin to rot.
And by the time that internal decay began surfacing outward… I'd be in no condition to continue fighting.
I smiled faintly.
"Using this even once means I'll be stuck with burning guts until my organs regenerate. Mother."
"Kill…"
I gently patted the pocket holding Mother to soothe her.
"Mother, you don't need to feel sorry for me in the slightest. I'm using this Authority because I want to. And besides, it's always good to have more options."
Just then, my mangled legs finished regenerating.
— GRAAAAAHHHH!
I slowly rose to my feet and looked toward the demon still rampaging in the distance.
"Now that I think about it… this is really strange."
"Kill?"
Even though all the priests from the Cult of Harmony who provoked the demon's wrath were now dead, it was still raging like a wild beast.
That in itself was more than just odd.
The demon wasn't some beast that simply surrendered to instinct.
Up until now, the situation had been moving too quickly for me to think clearly, but the brief pause I had while regenerating my legs gave me time to analyze what was happening.
Eventually, I reached one conclusion.
"Mother."
"Kill?"
"We might get tossed around a bit. Hold on tight in there."
"Kill?!"
A man in pristine white priest's robes sprinted across the shattered ruins.
From the deep green tattoos that densely covered his skin, the divinity of decay streamed forth without end.
Each time Marnak struck the ground with leg strength that far surpassed any human's, he became a streak of motion closing the gap between him and the demon.
— GRAAAAAHHHH!
The massive black crocodile instinctively sensed something approaching. Its large eyes rolled around as it scanned its surroundings—and found the source of the ominous feeling.
A tiny creature was rushing toward it.
The demon responded in the simplest way. It poured strength into its massive, heavy tail and swung it at the bothersome little thing.
The monstrous tail tore through everything in its path, aiming straight for the small lifeform without mercy.
Marnak reacted calmly. His leg muscles surged with power, and as if he had been waiting for this moment, he exploded off the ground. His body soared into the air effortlessly, just narrowly avoiding the massive tail.
The jet-black tail rushed past him, grazing the air. Marnak reached out, grabbing hold of the demon's tail. Then, springing upright, he charged up the demon's body, heading straight for its head.
The demon extended its front limb to swipe the crawling pest from its back—only to realize a fatal truth.
Crocodiles… can't scratch their own backs.
Faced with the limitations of its body, the demon chose another tactic. It decided to roll its massive form once again.
It figured this nimble little creature, just like the metallic one that had hurt it earlier, would be crushed under its weight.
The demon's black body, which Marnak was running across, began to tilt.
But Marnak had anticipated this too. Without hesitation, he leapt from the creature's back and landed on the ground. A sharp pain shot up from his knees, but his divinely enhanced body managed to withstand the impact.
"Kuhak."
A coughing fit brought up fragments of his rotting organs.
"This is progressing faster than I expected. Looks like this Authority isn't one I can use for long, Mother."
There was no time to rest. A massive black shadow loomed over the ground.
Marnak darted between the wreckage once more, evading the rolling demon behind him.
The demon's massive body crushed the remnants of the Guis district without a trace.
Marnak ran and ran. Then, with a graceful roll, he avoided the chaos. Just as the demon began to rise again, Marnak had already made it to its front leg. He kicked off the ground and launched himself upward.
The airborne priest's hand reached the demon's leg. Like a monkey climbing a tree, he clambered up its rough hide without hesitation.
— GRAAAAAHHHH!
The demon let out a furious scream.
No matter how hard it tried, the tiny pest just wouldn't fall off, and that filled it with rage. The demon once again leaned its massive body over.
If once wasn't enough, it would roll over again and again until it crushed the insect clinging to it.
Its body tilted once more.
But this time, Marnak didn't leap off.
He had already reached the demon's neck, and in his eyes, gleaming in the distance, he could see the white sword embedded in its crown.
"Haaah!"
The Priest of Decay sprinted across the slanted surface, gliding as if skating, then leapt up and reached out his hand. Marnak's hand seized the white sword with a rough grip.
Just one more push—just an inch deeper—and the demon would undoubtedly be dragged back to its own world.
But Marnak didn't push the sword in.
Instead, he yanked the sword out from the demon's crown with a sharp pull.
"Wake up!"
— GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!
The massive black crocodile collapsed. The chunks of black flesh that fell alongside Marnak served as a soft cushion, absorbing the impact of his fall.
Marnak sprang to his feet again and began digging through the heap of dark flesh.
At last, he found the demon and gave it a gentle smile.
"Are you back to your senses?"
The demon slightly furrowed the empty socket where one of its eyes used to be—then laughed cheerfully.
"Meeting you, dear priest, may well be the greatest blessing of my life!"
---
Demons loved conversation and delighted in the exchange of words they spoke.
No matter the cause of its rage, for a demon to roar and rampage without saying a single word—it was utterly unnatural.
After carefully observing the demon's condition, I came to one conclusion:
Something was forcibly suppressing the demon's intellect.
And the only foreign object on that massive body… was the white sword embedded in its crown.
So the answer was simple: that pure white sword was the shackle suppressing the demon's intelligence.
That's why, instead of driving it in deeper, I pulled it free—to awaken the demon's consciousness.
Now missing one eye, both legs, and its left arm, the demon shed tears and lamented.
"This is too much. Far, far too cruel. Guis is a city I've nurtured with care for the past forty years… and to think I've destroyed it with my own hands."
I sat down beside the demon to respond. The aftereffects of the Scripture of Decay had my insides twisted, and standing was no longer an option.
"What's broken can be rebuilt. This could be a good chance to reorganize the urban layout—doesn't that sound nice? And if you look closely, the outer buildings are actually in pretty good shape."
The demon let out a snorting chuckle.
"You speak the truth, Priest. And grief—grief is such a thrilling emotion. It shakes my very core! Hahaha! But may I ask you just one thing?"
"You may."
The demon's empty eye socket—just a bloody pit of flesh now—turned to face me.
"Why did you help me?"
"You gave me two gold coins, didn't you? When someone receives something, they should at least give back the equivalent in return."
I smiled faintly.
"So? How was my help? Worth two gold coins?"
The demon grinned as well.
"It was worth far more than that."