Beyond the dense forest, a mountain cave appeared. Torches cut through the darkness, illuminating the only path.
"Hiiiik!"
The farmer struggled with his head still restrained. Despite his efforts, his head, being held by such a firm grip, felt like it would explode. However, the pure and clear aura that was flowing into his mind was even more painful.
"S-stop… please… S-stop…!"
The farmer began to beg with tear-filled eyes as he gradually became sober. The euphoria and joy that he was feeling were being extinguished. As his mind began to acknowledge that the blessings and miracles were all lies, the clear-headed farmer fell into despair.
Once his body was purified by the Holy Power, all the strength in his body gave out and he simply sat on the ground. He looked dumbly at Tom, as though his mind was broken. He had been so happy moments ago. Through the hallucinations, he had met his family that was long gone and conversed with them as he floated through a carefree world.
Once that illusion was shattered, reality crashed down on him… His family was killed by a cult, and he had dragged away others in his village with his own hands to suffer the same fate. Emptiness crept into his mind until shame and despair filled the void, making him fall into a deeper hell. He grabbed at his hair as he looked at Tom as he wept.
"Why…! Why have you taken my hope…!?"
"That isn't hope. It's just endless despair."
"Just kill me instead…! Just kill me… Shit-!"
The farmer screamed in despair. All the followers that saw him hesitated. There were other villagers, adventurers, and even mercenaries, but they trembled at the power Tom had shown them. Since they were still under the drug's influence, they could feel it instinctively. If they were caught by him, they would be forced to face 'reality'.
"K-kill him!"
"Kill that bastard-!"
They rushed in with weapons in hand, but their resistance was futile. As soon as his hands touched them, they screamed in anguish, crying and wailing. Tom ignored their pitiful state and entered the cave after having touched each and every one of them with purification magic.
"This Holy Knight… must be more skilled than I thought."
Tom's eyes turned forward. Within the cave, a Necromancer stood in between some torches with a staff in hand. Behind him were just some zombies; he had brought no living followers. This was because the Necromancer had realized that things would only get messier if they all regained their sanity.
"…Dear God! You cured all the addicts? With just a stretch of your hand?" The Necromancer complimented him. "I have lived in isolation on this continent for a while… but for such magic to exist! The Holy Empire has made something extraordinary!"
The Necromance believed that Tom was affiliated with the Holy Knights, as it would be strange for someone to have such a skill otherwise.
"… Are you the one that made them into defective toys?"
"Toys? Aah, those people outside? Haha! It's so fitting to call them toys! Aren't they so pitiful? They fled and only managed to get their minds, bodies, and souls stolen by us. Humans are so simple! People in despair believe even the simplest of magic to be a miracle! Thanks to them—"
The Necromancer stopped talking midway. He could feel the air pressing down on him, and all the torches blew out, even though there was no wind. All he could see in the darkness were a pair of golden eyes.
"They must have fled out of hope. They sought after a new home, a new life, and the hope of a better tomorrow. Yet, you would steal even that slight glimmer of hope from them?"
The eyes drew close. Within the pitch-black darkness, they glowed like will-o-wisps approaching him rapidly. The Necromancer could do nothing against the figure that was now standing right in front of him. He trembled as his terror-filled pupils stared into Tom's eyes, mesmerized.
"Then it's my turn to give you despair."
He slowly extended his hand and grabbed the Necromancer's head.
***
"Oho… This is truly…! An interesting subject! You did well! To capture such a rare species of demon! This must be one of those infamous Moon Rabbits of legend, right? Haha! For me to have seen a Moon Rabbit in my lifetime! To be able to meet such a rare creature! It's weak, but it can cast wide-area illusions, right? Truly amazing!"
The master of the Necromancers, Belve, scanned Lulu with an astonished gaze. His wrinkled brows were stretched over his eyes, and he had a large nose with a long beard. His hunched back lowered as he went down to Lulu's line of sight.
"If I extract your Magic Power, would I be able to get my hands on that unique power…? I want to experiment soon!"
Lulu frowned at the stench emanating from Belve's mouth. The stink of rotten meat, no, of a rotting corpse. The scent of death lingered on his person, as though he himself was a corpse. Lulu stared back at him.
Belve met his gaze curiously before looking up. Suddenly, a gigantic monster appeared in the cave; a golem made of stone covered the entirety of the available space. When it extended its hands, the Necromancers stumbled back in surprise.
At the same time, Belve simply looked at the Golem in amusement before hitting it with his staff. It pierced straight through the stone. He laughed at the sight of Golem's rippling body.
"Haha! Amazing! It's truly a realistic illusion! It's such a small amount of magic that even I can barely feel it! To be able to cast such a wide area-of-effect spell with so little power Good! As expected of the legendary Moon Rabbits…!"
Lulu clenched his teeth. Belve had easily figured out that the Golem was an illusion. His opponent seemed to be more aware of him than he thought.
"Just who are you? Were you the one who made the humans in the village strange? What did you do to them!?"
Belve's eyes narrowed at Lulu's words.
"Mmm… Me? Who am I? Good! The followers here know full well who I am!" Belve laughed as he stuck his staff onto the ground and stretched out his arms. "Now, say it! Who I am!"
As Belve's eyes turned to the followers, they lowered their heads and responded.
"The Lion of God!"
"The one who has toppled the perverted Holy Empire and set the ideology of the new faith!"
"The Prophet who will lead us to the Heavenly Garden!"
"The noble and great…"
His followers sang praises in unison before raising their hands in a show of respect,
"…The Devil of Lania-!"
— Ω —