Chapter 81. Kin, Personality (3)
CRAAAAACK!
A tremendous shock wave erupted when Jungon's aura collided with Personality's threads.
The shock wave created a violent gale far stronger than the gentle breeze that had been blowing between them. Soon, a cloud of dust rose and blocked their surroundings from view.
A glove?
Although he couldn't see what was happening in front of him, Personality wasn't affected by the dust cloud and could sense the flow of Jungon's aura.
The aura gathering around Jungon's hand appeared to be taking the shape of a glove.
CRRRRRRUNCH!
The glove of aura covering Jungon's hand gradually gained the upper hand in its struggle against the threads, beginning to devour them from their tips.
Can something like this really happen...?
Jungon's aura was far more abundant than Personality had expected, and it shone with a holiness that surpassed ordinary aura.
It was as though something that had remained trapped for a very long time had finally been released.
"Haaah. Haaah."
Just as Personality suspected, the aura Jungon had been unable to release properly until now was flowing out of him like a fish returning to water.
However, he was releasing so much energy that exhaustion rapidly overwhelmed him.
Despite that, Jungon's fist broke through every thread and finally reached Personality's true body.
BAAAAAANG!!
A thunderous noise erupted as Jungon's fist struck Personality's true body.
However,
"Even that wasn't enough?"
Personality was merely pushed backward, leaving a long mark on the ground. He hadn't fallen.
THUD!
Having consumed an enormous amount of energy in a single attack, Jungon dropped to his right knee. However, the fight wasn't over yet, so he couldn't allow himself to collapse here.
BANG!
Jungon punched his own cheek to keep himself conscious, then fixed his gaze on Personality.
"So that's how you're built."
He had been confused because he hadn't felt his fist strike flesh when he attacked. Looking more closely, however, he saw that the threads had wrapped around Personality's true body like a cocoon.
Rustle.
As the threads loosened, Personality's true body came into view once again.
However, it had become considerably thinner than before. The trembling body resembled an old man who might die at any moment.
"I have to... I have to return quickly."
Personality, clearly exhausted, began wandering as though he were possessed by something.
At the same time, the eyes of the outer body containing his true form regained their focus.
"I have to return. I must carry out Lord Marbas's orders."
Now the same languid voice could be heard from both the outer body and the true body inside.
SHHHHHLIIICK!
Suddenly, the thread that had pierced Jungon's shoulder began withdrawing.
Since the opened chest was also beginning to close, it seemed Personality intended to escape.
GRAB!
"Who said I'd let you leave?!"
Jungon held the thread tightly to prevent Personality from escaping and forced himself to stand.
Now Jungon was looking down at Personality from above.
"I have to return! I HAVE TO RETURN!! Don't get in my way!!"
A strange scream, filled with demonic energy and resembling the sound of metal being scraped, struck Jungon's ears.
"Haaah. Haaah... You're shouting quite loudly. You must be in a hurry."
Believing this was his chance to finish Personality, Jungon refused to release the thread, even as blood began flowing from his ears.
Rustle, rustle.
Using his free hand, Jungon searched through his pocket and pulled out a bottle sealed with a cork.
Pop!
The moment he removed the cork, a strong smell spread through the air and reached Personality's nose.
"The smell of oil?"
Both Personality's outer body and his true body instinctively identified the scent.
"Cough. More precisely, it's holy oil."
Despite the blood running from his mouth, Jungon corrected Personality's guess as though he were teaching a student, then began pouring the holy oil onto the thread.
Drip, drip.
The holy oil traveled down the thread, gradually approaching Personality's true body.
Still overwhelmed by his agitation, Personality failed to notice Jungon's intentions.
Taking advantage of that, Jungon continued his explanation.
"Besides holy water, there are many kinds of sacred objects, such as incense burners, stoles, and holy salt mixed with iron. This holy oil is another one of them."
By then, the holy oil flowing along the thread had reached Personality's true body.
"Cough. Ordinary holy oil is usually made from olives, so it doesn't catch fire particularly easily. However..."
Click.
A small clicking sound came from Jungon's hand.
"This is modified holy oil, specially made for exorcisms. It catches fire much more easily and has excellent purification properties."
"Ghk, ptoo! Ahem. And a priest always carries something he can use to light a fire."
In Jungon's hand, from which he had just wiped away the blood he had spat out, was a lighter capable of bringing everything to an end.
"Cough. In your current condition, I suspect the holy oil alone will be enough to finish you. What do you think?"
"...SHUT UP!!"
Personality desperately shot out his threads in an attempt to stop Jungon, but,
FWOOOOOSH!
Jungon was faster. He set the oil-soaked thread on fire, and the flames rapidly grew, spreading all the way to Personality's true body.
"Ghk!"
Jungon's hand, which was still holding the thread, was also burned by the fire. Nevertheless, he refused to let go.
HISSSSS!
"AAAAAAAAARGH!!"
As Personality's entire body caught fire, the sound of purification could be heard, and he screamed in agony.
Even the stitches sealing the eyes of his true body burned away, allowing his eyes to open fully.
Then Personality began trembling, as though he had seen something he should never have seen.
"No! No! Don't look at me like that! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!!"
"What? Don't look at you like that? What are you talking about...?"
Jungon frowned at Personality's sudden outburst.
However, he soon understood when he saw what the tree did next.
RUMBLE!!
One of the roots that had emerged from the ground began hovering near Personality as though observing him.
STAB!
Then it suddenly lunged forward, piercing both Personality's true body and his outer body at once.
"GUEEEEEGH!!"
Gurgle, gurgle!
The tree paid no attention to the flames of the holy oil as it began sucking something out of Personality.
Personality grew increasingly withered, eventually becoming nourishment for the tree without even managing a final scream. Unable to withstand the flames of the holy oil, his remaining body turned to ash.
"He kept calling everyone insignificant, only to become an insignificant creature himself in the end..."
To be eaten by the very tree they had summoned was such a miserable and meaningless end that Jungon was left with a bitter feeling.
"Haaah. I could really use a cigarette. When is that fellow I sent for supplies coming back? I was hoping to get one from him. Heh."
Thud.
"Is he being delayed because of Sia? I hope nothing's happened to her. I think I'll rest for a little while."
Jungon no longer had the strength to move even a single finger. He closed his eyes and lay flat on his back, spreading his arms and legs.
RUMBLE!!
Having devoured Personality, the tree seemed to have developed an even greater appetite and began moving in earnest.
To the tree, the weakened Jungon looked like another delicious meal, just like Personality had been.
A massive root slowly crept out of the ground toward Jungon.
"Heh. Well, isn't this something... I can't even get a moment's rest."
Watching the root gradually approach, Jungon tried to force himself to stand. However, his body, which had already exhausted all its strength, refused to move.
At that moment,
"Father Jungon!"
A voice that sounded like an impossible hallucination reached his ears.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE!!
The only surviving child among Radiation's creatures, the goat, was racing toward Namsan Tower.
Its four soft, wriggling legs gained speed each time they pushed against the ground.
Because of its enormous size, it crushed or knocked aside the demons stationed along the route. Ordinary demons found it difficult to stop.
"R, run! If you get caught in its path, you'll die!"
"Why is Lord Radiation's child attacking us?!"
The demons were thrown into confusion by the goat, which suddenly seemed unable to distinguish between friend and foe.
Some demons hurriedly fled, afraid of being crushed beneath its thick, powerful legs.
"Calm down! It's heading toward Lord Marbas! Stop it!"
Others regained their composure and tried to fulfill their duties.
Of course, things didn't end well for those demons.
BAAANG!
"GUEGH!"
A demon who rushed forward to stop the goat was struck by one of its swinging legs and sent flying.
After letting out a short scream, the demon crashed through three or four trees and stopped moving.
"H, how are we supposed to stop that thing?!"
"Don't try to stop it! The officers will take care of it! Lord Insect and Lord Infection are still here!"
The reckless attempt of the demon who had tried to fulfill his duty spread fear through the defenders like a contagious disease.
"But what's wrong with its face?"
One of the fleeing demons noticed something strange about the goat's face. A large lump had formed on its head.
Looking more closely, both of the goat's eyes were swollen, and one of the two long horns it had once displayed so proudly had somehow been bent out of shape.
However, before the demon could think any further about it, a long shadow came down over his head.
CRUNCH!
"MEEEEEEEEH!!"
Having trampled another demon, the goat let out a terrified cry.
And with good reason. A certain person was resting on top of its head, right between its two horns.
If the goat moved too slowly or caused its passenger the slightest discomfort, another lump would be added to its head.
It therefore moved as carefully as possible without slowing down.
"Haaah. This is fucking awful."
Twitch!
The goat, already battered and bruised from being beaten so many times, flinched at the man's sigh.
It had thought it was providing reasonably comfortable and safe transportation, but the man had seemed to be in a terrible mood for quite some time.
Worried that it might be the cause, the goat remembered how it had struggled against being ridden earlier, only to receive a merciless beating.
Its only stroke of luck was that the man had decided to use it as a mount and had therefore allowed it to live.
The goat had no idea how long that would last, so it resolved to fulfill its role as faithfully as possible.
Meanwhile, the man enjoying a comfortable trip up the mountain with the goat's assistance, Michael, was in a very bad mood.
"The fish trap seems to have already activated, and that flower... I've never seen anything like it before. Haaah. What a fucking world."
Looking at the roots that had broken through the earth and risen above the ground, Michael realized that the situation had become considerably more serious.
However, something else was troubling him even more.
A survivor of the Black Death...
Remembering his interrogation of Radiation, Michael sank into thought.
"No one knows about Infection except Lord Marbas."
"Then I don't need you anymore, do I?"
When Michael prepared to strike Radiation with Durandal, the demon began sweating profusely and desperately searched his memory.
"I, I did happen to hear that he's a survivor of the Black Death."
"There was a knight who survived that?"
The Black Death, also known as the plague, had been a disease of unknown origin with an extremely rapid rate of transmission and an overwhelming mortality rate.
It had spread across almost all of Europe, causing more than twenty million casualties and even bringing about the collapse of society in many places.
Michael's Twelve Knight Orders had also been horribly destroyed by that disease.
A knight who had survived the plague and had now become one of Marbas's kin?
If a knight who had sworn before God to oppose demons had wanted something badly enough to become a demon's subordinate...
"Does he have a grudge against me?"
Radiation flinched at Michael's quiet question. Then, eager not to upset him, he nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Th, that seems to be the case. Infection always wanted to kill someone. That's why the rest of us suspected that his loyalty to Lord Marbas wasn't genuine."
"A purpose so strong that even the other kin questioned his loyalty..."
However, something was missing from the idea that Infection had become a Great Demon's kin solely to take revenge on Michael.
He wasn't even a demon back then. There's no explanation for what grudge he developed against me or why he came to hate me in the first place.
As Michael finished recalling the conversation, two enormous objects came into view.
He had already drawn close enough that Namsan Tower and the tree appeared incredibly large.
Michael glared at the tree and lightly tapped one of the lumps on the goat's head.
"Goat, let's put in a little more effort."
"M, MEEEEEEH!!"
Perhaps because its lump hurt, or perhaps because of Michael's words of encouragement, the goat let out a powerful cry and increased its speed.
"That bastard. He just can't stop staring. Well, we'll be meeting soon enough."
And from the tree Michael was glaring at, Marbas was looking back at him.
