Chereads / Serial Killer's Devil Hunt / Chapter 39 - H…elp…

Chapter 39 - H…elp…

Affixed like a statue, partly immersed within the stem of the wheat stalk was the Sickle Deity, Merku Garobu. The wheat stalk was something he created and experimented upon to better the powers of the Garobu Faith.

It was something the Sickle Deities have been doing for generations, from one Sickle Deity to the next. Theoretically, it was subjected to the Sickle Deity's power and was an extension of his authority. So, it was supposed to be where he was the safest.

That was unless one considered the sheep head that had peaked out of the ground and had partway gobbled up the wheat stalk.

Keyn focused on the sheep head and observed it move up ever so slightly, barely inching forth a bit more than a centimetre every hour. And the greater it swallowed up the wheat stalk, the weaker Merku Garobu's presence got.

The wheat stalk was the final layer of defence protecting him from being devoured by the sheep head.

A dense quantity of Fear circulated through the sheep's head, the product of a Devil. Obviously, it was Keyn's handiwork, having used that to trap the Sickle Deity.

"You…you're making a big mistake!" A weak voice resounded in the silence of the room, bringing Keyn's attention to the source.

"Oh, I forgot that you were here too." Keyn smiled wryly as he stared at one corner of the room where a wizened old man had been trapped in the walls itself. Except for a portion of his face, everything else had been immersed deep within the walls.

Moreover, dangling from his nose was a sheep head, akin to a toy. But it was constantly absorbing any Faith generated in the wizened old man's body, maintaining his state of helplessness.

Keyn approached the wizened old man and laughed in mockery, "There is no mistake here."

"You…TRAITOR!" The wizened old man bellowed in rage as he glared at Keyn, "Why did you do it? If you waited a few decades, you would have succeeded as the next Sickle Deity. Aren't you ashamed to fall to the side of a Devil?"

"Ashamed…?" Keyn gawked as if he heard the funniest of jokes before cringing hard as he knocked the wizened old man on the head, hard enough until it bled, "Do you seriously expect me to wait a few decades? No, that's too long. And, father doesn't have any injuries that would force him to retire in advance. So, it might take fifty, sixty, or even more years. There's a greater chance I'll be dead before father dies."

"So, I have to do something about it, right?"

"If it's just power you wanted, you should have schemed to obtain the seat of the Sickle Deity for yourself. But why did you betray our Faith?" The wizened old man coughed intermittently as he gasped in exhaustion. The more he talked, the faster his skin began to transform, resembling a tree's bark more and more.

"Old man, you are the sole Accolade Priest of our Faith. Having lived for more than a century and served two Sickle Deities, aren't you aware of this?" Keyn laughed in mockery, "The combat powers of the Sickle Deity is just…laughable when compared to other Deities of similar calibre. Even Deities with a follower count a tenth of us are stronger."

He stated indignantly, "I possess a tenth of the Sickle Deity's strength. So, I know clearly how weak we are. So, even if I were to become the Sickle Deity, my strength will only increase by ten times. That means nothing."

"In the face of any threat, we have to beg other cities for assistance. The war with the Fisherman Devil of the past is the best example of our incompetence. The people think the Sickle Deity killed the Fisherman Devil, but we received all sorts of assistance and had to pay a crippling sum as compensation. It almost collapsed our economy. Only I know the shit we had to do to keep our Faith afloat."

"…Still, if you feel we are weak, you should try to raise our combat strength after becoming the Sickle Deity instead of betraying the Faith." The wizened old man's eyes were bloodshot, lacking moisture as they began to form faint cracks.

"An old coot imprisoned in this palace for more than a century knows shit about the world." Keyn snorted and turned around, no longer bothering with him, "I'll become a Spirit of a Devil after this and rule Garobu City with Fear. But even as a Spirit, the power I'll wield surpasses the Sickle Deity."

"No…that's not…possible…" The wizened old man muttered incoherently as Keyn ignored him after that.

"Did you seriously have to waste so much time conversing with that old coot?" Vhiny complained, waving her hands around in irritation, "We can't be here for long. It'll make the others suspicious."

"Fear not, more than ten Spirits are on our side." Keyn smirked, "Besides, I've sent away most of our stationed Priests in search of Dullip. He's like a cockroach, so he won't be captured so easily. That should keep the Priests busy for a while. So, nothing will interrupt our plan."

"Are you hearing all this, father?" Keyn slowly condensed his sickle and planted it on the floor a couple of metres before the wheat stalk, "If you wish to survive, your only choice is to reveal the location of the Fisherman Devil's corpse. I know it's in your custody."

He stared at his sickle intently, failing to detect any changes in the Faith streaming into it, snorting as he exited the dome, "I'll come tomorrow. If you change your mind, tell me. And,"

He glared at the wheat stalk, "Forget escaping from this trap on your own. It's a Familiar of a Devil whose power exceeds yours by an unimaginable level. You'll remain stuck here to act as a battery for the Garobu Faith until it's time for your disposal."

'Father's being stubborn. It's just futile stubbornness on his part.' Stunra thought for a moment as she followed Keyn and exited the dome.

Keyn locked the double door and pocketed the key, calling forth a Laurel Priest, "I'm done with my task. Father's still in deep meditation, so ensure nothing disturbs him."

"Yes, I'll ensure that." The Laurel Priest stated, unaware of the truth.

Within the dome, the sheep head moved upward a bit more, finally reaching Merku Garobu's feet as a chaotic flame burned within, devouring his feet.

Merku Garobu's face remained unchanged, but for some reason, the expression turned desperate as a droplet of blood seeped out through the left eye in the form of tears, vaporising instantly.

In the cave situated within a hill, three kilometres from Garobu City, Dullip had just placed down the figures of the three Shamans and Iota on the floor when a faint voice resounded in his mind, sent by a subtly weak pulse of Faith.

"…H…elp…"