Chereads / Mob's Remuneration / Chapter 4 - A Saint's Stroll (1)

Chapter 4 - A Saint's Stroll (1)

A desolate expanse of rocky terrain stretched all across. An inhabitable land. Any regular human could realize their mistake the moment they stepped foot into this place. There was literally nothing. No bodies of water, flora, or fauna to speak of. The weather remained exactly the same all year round. It was just a vast sea of rocks that occupied way too much of the world. Nothing could ever grow. Nor could any semblance of life flourish. The only thing that would change about this place was the night's embrace and the sun's rise. A desert was hundred times more palatable to the living when compared to this barren wasteland. 

That is precisely why only one thing could consider settling here. 

Demons. 

Today was an unusual one. An outsider has invaded this space of emptiness. It was a beautiful woman. She had made no preparations. Humming silently like she was taking a brisk walk in the park. At first glance, one might believe that the woman was courting certain death by exploring this desolate stretch of nothingness. However, any human in this world could recognize the platinum cross on her neck.

The Church. This cross indicated a more particular branch of the holy faith, the Predelict Chapel. Its singular purpose being the complete eradication of demons. Again, it was quite a strange day. The woman wasn't here to exterminate demons. 

Instead, she was trying to find a missing person in a place that housed nothing but rampaging demons.

It was a mere whim. She knew that the person she was searching for was most likely bits of flesh at this point. But there was a slim chance. That there was still a life out clinging onto survival desperate for any glimmer of salvation. She understood those feelings of desperation more than anyone else. In this hopeless world, it can be said that only she truly knew what it was like to have a life-

That was nothing more than a dead end.

The woman finds herself surrounded by giant canines. Known as beowulf. They are remarkably intelligent for lower-ranking demons. Able to coordinate amongst themselves and sate their desire to kill unlike their fellow counterparts such as the ogre. 

An army of beowulfs had been stalking the silver-clad woman for quite some time. Usually they would have pounced by now especially, since such unprepared prey had shown up on their doorstep. But their instincts were jumbled. They had the upper hand. The thin fibers that represented the demons' barbaric will told them that the delicate woman in front of them was simply harmless. That they could gorge on her soft body and rejoice in the pleasure of murder without exerting much effort. Yet, there was a faint, prickly itch hidden in their lacking cognition that told the canines-

Not to touch her.

Like she had wanted, the woman had drawn all the demons in the area to her. 

By some superhuman sense, she determined the exact number of beowulfs in a fraction of a second. 

While a pack of beowulfs would normally pose a challenge even for experienced warriors, an army like this could easily storm a fortified castle. But their quantity meant nothing to her, she simply viewed them as rabid puppies that needed to be put down. 

Like she has done countless times throughout all her fleeting life, the woman becomes a ruthless terminator. An agent of absolute annihilation.

She clears her mind. Like she had plugged off a computer. All sense of self is removed. 

Her heart slows down to a terrifying halt. She can no longer tell if she is breathing.

Nor does she remember why she has come here. 

She has lost herself. Drowning in her own mind.

Only one thought remains. Kill anything that moves.

Her eyes become hyper-focused. They are now cameras. Machines perfect for memorizing and capturing all that is in her view.

Her senses are refined and polished to a god-like degree. 

The wild breathing of the canines alongside the frantic beating of their hearts can be felt. As if they were a part of her own body. 

She smells the vivid stench of death dripping from their bodies. The distinct trademark of any demon.

The tough and brittle ground is no longer a burden. It feels like a trampoline meant just for her. 

No longer restrained by her mortal body, she readies herself to obliterate anything that stands in her way.

For a brief millisecond, she recalls a warning that every member of the Church had been indoctrinated with even in her robotic-like state. How the thirst for power is life's most harrowing trial that the gods gave them. A gateway to insanity and ruin. A sin that all life shares and is greater than the rest combined. 

The very sin that brought down the gods.

But that warning is disregarded just as quickly as it appeared. All rationale ends there. The beautiful woman can no longer be called human.

She is now a walking force of nature.