Duke Vanus writhed in agony like a dying insect inside the Mysophobodemon's amoebic body. He screamed, but as he did, the slime just entered his mouth and nose and then his insides.
And as it did, his dread had reached its peak.
His eyes rolled back, and his heart stopped. His corpse grew many holes in which the slimy fluids filled it.
Then...
He was transformed.
The body of the Mysophobodemon became his own, and his movements were mirrored by the creature he was inside of.
"Aurrrrrr….." He groaned as an undead master of disease.
Davien frowned. "He lost his humanity."
"Yes." Pavor's smile grew wider. "What a shame. Now he was only a hollow shell of the man he once was. What remained was his desire to extinguish the source of his fear— The true source. And it's not the disease itself."
"AUURRRRRRRRR!!!!!" Duke Vanus' howled as he summoned even more slime larvae, at least a dozen of them.
They spread outside of the castle, heading straight for the villages. Strangely, when they passed by nobles and wealthy people, they did not attack.
They only went after commoners.
The priest of love, Davien, looked pensive. Like he could see what was happening despite being blind.
"I suppose there really was no hope of healing his condition, then."
"I suppose." Pavor grinned. "The only thing we can do now is save the people, am I right?"
Davien didn't say anything. Instead, he took out something from his shawl….
And it was a flute.
He played the flute, and soon a flock of doves came. They flew closely together like a school of fish.
Pavor grimaced as soon as the white birds appeared. To him, they were nothing more than overrated rat-birds. In fact, rats were more pleasant because they were adorable little disease bringers that hide in the dark.
"They will help us travel and follow the Mysophobodemon, my Lord." Davien easily stepped on into this flying carpet made of doves, offering his hand.
Pavor's left eye twitched. "Is that so?"
Sensing his hesitation, Davien reassured him. "Come, I assure you that the birds would not be hurt when carrying our weight for they are enchanted."
Pavor was not worried about that at all. It's just that doves among all the other animals created by Amore dislike him.
What if they will not grant him passage and just let him free-fall a thousand feet off the ground?
But he had no choice, so he just took the priest's hand and stepped on the heads of a couple of doves.
They really did not react, though their eyeballs did pop out of their sockets for a bit under the weight of his shoe then returned back as if nothing happened.
"That's… Rather disturbing for birds owned by the Goddess of Love." He muttered.
Davien didn't hear what he said, or perhaps he was feigning to be deaf as well. He just played his flute to have the birds tail the large Mysophobodemon that was destroying everything on its path.
Pavor spotted Tudo and Lynx once more, too busy fighting the small slime larvae that had reached the town square of Baileif to notice the goliath of a monster approaching them.
"Hahahaha! Finally, you slimy slugs have perished!" Lynx cackled with her long nails covered in green goo.
Tudo scoffed as he flicked a chunk of the larva on his shoulder. "I cannot wait to return to the castle and have Davien de-contaminate me off this mess. This suit is my favorite after all, and now it's covered in gunk!"
"Aww, don't be such a prissy!" Lynx elbowed him. "Aren't you supposed to be from a family of fishermen? Surely you know a little goo wouldn't hurt."
Tudo rolled his eyes. "That was all in the past now, I have come to be a refined member of the Bulwark household— Wait, is there an earthquake?"
They turned around almost too late, as the Mysophobodemon aimed one of its legs to main Tudo straight in the head!
The prissy spellcaster was luckily pushed away by the swift and agile Lynx. His reaction time may not be the best, comparable to that of a turtle, but he knew immediately what to do once he came to his senses.
He casted a spell to form a great wall so the Mysophobodemon could not progress any farther, which also protected the townspeople that were running away from its attack.
"Gods, help us!!!!! Ahhhhh!" A woman carrying her child screamed as she reached the protection of the wall, narrowly avoiding the Mysophobodemon's sharp teeth.
"Aurrr!" The Phobodemon groaned as its head hit the wall.
It used its sharp legs to try and pierce the magical defense that Tudo had created. The spellcaster put all his focus on this, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Even Lynx was momentarily stunned by the sheer massiveness of this creature. "Holy Violentia….. That's one big pile of goo, alright."
But her eyes soon narrowed, and she wore an thrilled expression as she wiped the slime off her claws on her armor. "Hahahaha, the bigger the better! Time to slaughter this giant snot!"
She rushed out of Tudo's defensive wall, and the spellcaster called out worriedly. "Wait for other Retaliators, Lynx! This might be too much for you to handle!"
But Lynx was blessed by the Goddess Violentia, who was the Goddess of War and Violence. She was impulsive and only sought rampage. She scaled the walls just by running really fast, and jumped gracefully like a cat on top of the Mysophobodemon.
She clawed off the slime that connected one of its eight spindly arms from its body. The monster wailed along with the corpse inside it, their voices combined in an unsettling harmony.
Tudo recognized the voice. "Duke Vanus?"
But Lynx was too busy attacking the monster to notice. She doesn't realize…..
That her father was inside the beast, puppeteering its movements.
Or perhaps, it was the Mysophobodemon puppeteering him. The lines were blurred now, as the monster and the man had become one and the same.
"PERISH! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" She kept on cackling, completely blinded by her rage.
Her whole body glowed in deep blood-red, the power of Violentia surging through her. She continued to jump around in the air and slash through the monster….
Who strangely was not attacking her back.
"Can you explain what is happening to me, my Lord?" Davien suddenly asked him. "What do you see?"
Pavor told him what was happening, to which the priest wore a calm smile.
"Is that so?" Davien said. "Perhaps there is hope to reverse the merging of the Phobodemon and Duke Vanus. Perhaps he still holds love for his daughter, that is why he does not harm her."
Pavor knew that was not the reason. She was a noble, and her father only cared to slaughter those without noble blood like Tudo.
It was not out of love, but simply because she was not his target.
Still, he didn't bother saying that to this overly optimistic, naive priest of Amore that truly believes that love conquers all.
Lynx continued to slice and dice this large 'pile of goo', dealing damage surprisingly well even with just claws as long as knives. However...
From the chunks she had taken off the Mysophobodemon came whiffs of green smoke.
The smoke had a sickly sweet smell, like the potpourris and incense in Duke Vanus' room. It spread to cover the town of Baileif in a green mist that made everyone cough and sputter out.
"Urk….. What is that foul scent ...." Tudo coughed on his sleeve, still focused on holding out the defensive wall.
Then…..
He saw black holes in his hand, as if worms had dug their way inside his flesh.
He screamed like a girl, and dropped his spellbook for a moment. The defensive wall had fallen, and one of the remaining legs of the went straight to impale him on his chest—
"Amor Vincit Omnia."
SLASH!
Pavor expressionlessly slash the arm off as he dropped from their dove carpet ride. The doves caught him as he fell, bringing a whirlwind of feathers with him as he reached the ground.
Tudo and the other villagers who have watched the scene gasped in amazement. It was truly something magnificent, like a scene from a painting of a legendary hero.
They erupted into cheers and shouts. "It's the Prince!"
"Our champion! The Goddess has blessed us!"
"Save us Your Highness!"
Tudo quickly picked up his spellbook and immediately composed himself, fixing his glasses. "Y-Your Highness... you saved my life. I owe you greatly for this."
Pavor didn't care for the praise he was receiving, or the immense gratitude from the Retaliator's teary eyes. He looked at the Mysophobodemon and the whiff of smoke it was emitting.
'Wonderful..... He had feared disease, and now he became the bringer of disease. The same plague that had traumatized him. How poetic.'
But much as he admired this poetic irony, he had to slay this beautiful monster to gain points. In order to unlock that 'Secret of the World'.
And though Pavor cared about the creatures of fear he had made, they were second only to his personal gain and interest. He bowed his head at the monster. before aiming his sword towards the man inside it.
"But first...."
He turned to Lynx, who landed behind him as he was about to slay the beast.
"Your Highness! Go ahead and make that monster perish into the depths of the Void!" She exclaimed, practically telling him to send the monster into hell, the endless damnation that awaits those not favored by the gods.
Pavor smirked, turning around slowly. Anticipating the dread that would soon come into this hot-headed girl's face.
"Do you really want your own father to perish?"