Yuriel was enraged to the point of boiling over.
However, contrary to his fury, his whole body grew cold, as if signaling that he needed to maintain his composure at a time like this.
Yuriel quickly began assisting the people.
“P-please, come this way! I-I’ll set up a temporary tent for now…!”
“Who the hell do you think you are? Get lost!”
However, the people’s reactions were frigid.
“After running away the moment things went wrong, how dare this priest show his face again? Unbelievable! Get out of here! We don’t need to see you again!”
Since Yuriel had never experienced such coldness while living as a priest, he was taken aback. Barely managing to steady his trembling voice, he responded.
“N-no… I’m not from the Central Temple. I-I’m from the Northern Temple.”
At his words, the people grew even angrier.
“Northern, Central, who cares! Monsters are pouring out of the temple, and all the priests have fled! And now you want us to trust you? To follow you? We’d rather follow a dog!”
“Yeah! What are you even doing here? Get lost!”
“N-no… I…”
Yuriel was drenched in cold sweat. The hostility and coldness were so unfamiliar to him, but more than that, the claim that ‘all the priests had fled’ was a shock to him.
If the priests had no choice but to escape because of the monsters, he might have been able to understand, even just a little.
But listening to the villagers, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
The priests had ‘all fled,’ without any thought of protecting the villagers.
Even though they had the name of the gods behind them…
Yuriel fully understood the villagers’ anger, and because of that, he judged that he should back down. It was clear that staying here would only provoke them further and wouldn’t help at all.
“T-then… I’ll send a healer. You all need treatment…”
“We don’t need your help!”
A woman who had rushed from the back shouted.
“The Daimon family already said they would send a healer! So just leave us alone! We can’t stand the sight of priests!”
“H-huh? The Daimon family?”
Yuriel’s eyes widened as he glanced around. No, he had just been with them moments ago, so what did they mean? He momentarily suspected the villagers of lying, but then, recalling someone, he let out a faint laugh.
“…Sir Arthur.”
Who else could it be but that strange individual? Yuriel adjusted his distorted expression and raised his head. As soon as he did, a familiar figure came into view.
“Hello, priest?”
Of course, it was Arthur. Yuriel let out a small sigh, barely noticeable, before approaching him.
“Wh-what brings you here?”
His voice was somewhat sharp. Arthur noticed this and smiled broadly.
“What brings me here? Of course, I’m here to help the people. These poor folks didn’t know what to do because all the priests ran off.”
“T-that’s….”
“How could the so-called messengers of the gods do something so cowardly? How pitiful. If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have lived near the temple. I would have just gone to some place without a temple and worked in the fields.”
If there was a sarcasm competition, Arthur would win it hands down. In all his life, Yuriel had never met someone as good at mocking others as Arthur.
Yuriel wiped his face and lifted his head.
“Sir Arthur, no matter the circumstances…! Th-that’s too much.”
“Why? Is it disrespectful?”
Arthur smirked.
“The real disrespect is from the other temples in the region that don’t even come to help despite seeing this situation, isn’t it?”
“…..….”
As much as Arthur’s words stung, they were also true, and that made it even more painful.
“I’ve called the healers, and temporary tents have been set up. Those with serious injuries have already been moved to the clinic. There’s nothing for you to do, priest.”
What could Yuriel possibly say to Arthur, who had taken care of everything that the other priests should have done?
Yuriel closed his eyes tightly.
Seeing this, Arthur tilted his head.
“Are you angry?”
Are you going to cry?
Arthur’s playful tone did little to ease Yuriel’s growing seriousness.
“No.”
Yuriel clenched his fists tightly and muttered under his breath.
“…I’m ashamed. Truly, deeply ashamed.”
Arthur let out a short laugh at Yuriel’s response.
Well.
There need to be people who know shame for the world to run smoothly.
But it’s a pity.
There aren’t many people with such moral integrity.
So,
“You’ll experience much more shame from now on. This is nothing.”
Yuriel would continue to suffer, endlessly.
He would keep encountering his own helplessness and the pettiness of people.
“Good luck.”
Not that it’s my concern.
Arthur smiled and patted Yuriel on the back.
***
“Aaaaaargh!”
Lucifer screamed, pulling at his cheeks with both hands.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
His long nails tore at his face, blood dripping down. But Lucifer didn’t stop.
“What were you all doing? How did none of you notice that cursed woman was setting up a summoning circle?”
Virtus, who was kneeling beside him, collapsed to the ground. He bit his lips, unable to find the words to respond, his expression one of despair.
They had taken refuge in a small temple in the western desert.
They had no choice.
Though they had expended much energy dealing with the monsters, the real reason was that Lucifer had not been in his right mind.
Lucifer was furious, and his rage destabilized his already fragile state, causing his body to nearly collapse.
“Lord Lucifer, please, take care of your health. If you continue to strain yourself, we won’t be able to recover.”
Gabriel said this as he approached.
He had been scouting the northern regions on Lucifer’s orders, but had rushed back upon hearing of the crisis at the Central Temple.
“Take care of my health? Do you really think that’s what matters right now?”
Lucifer’s eyes widened with rage, and he ground his teeth.
“What’s more important—my health, or the fact that everything we’ve worked on for decades is falling apart? Huh? Tell me! How do you plan to fix this situation?”
Gabriel sighed deeply and furrowed his brow.
“Lord Lucifer.”
He then gently grasped Lucifer’s wrist and locked eyes with him.
“I have a plan.”
He whispered his secret plan into Lucifer’s ear, and as Lucifer listened, his expression slowly calmed, as if the rage had never been there.
“Yes… If we do it like that, it will work. That’s quite a good idea.”
“You flatter me.”
“But first, we need to handle the capital. The humans there must be in chaos by now, right?”
“Leave it to me!”
Virtus, who had been feeling sidelined by Gabriel, shouted as he interjected into the conversation.
“I will do it. I will!”
Of course, this was Virtus’s chance to prove himself after feeling inferior to Gabriel for so long. His urgency was evident, and Lucifer appreciated this.
“Very well… In that case,”
The long claw marks that had marred Lucifer’s face had long since disappeared.
Now fully restored to his original form, Lucifer extended his pale fingers and lifted Virtus’s chin, who was still kneeling before him.
“You’ll bring back its corpse on your way, won’t you?”
By ‘it,’ Lucifer was referring to the demonic child he had encountered earlier—Shekina Daimon.
Virtus nodded with a confident expression.
“As you command.”
