Interlude 1
A girl ran through the forest—
Her breathing ragged, she dodged the trees in her path through the gaps between them. Her silk dress caught on the branches as she ran, tearing it off in pieces. She had already thrown away her high-heels, since they made it harder to run, but her face twisted in pain as she stepped on a jagged rock with her bare feet, drawing blood.
Just ahead of the girl was Tria, a female Paladin.
“This way, Lady Lumachina! If we can make it out of the forest, we will arrive in town!”
“A-All right!”
“Ngh!? Look out!”
The ground burst open; Tria embraced Lumachina, saving her from the danger.
“Haugh!?”
“Ngh... So, they have already caught up to us...” Tria muttered as she drew her sword.
Lumachina screamed as a gigantic worm appeared from the earth, blocking their path. It had slimy, green skin, and a mouth large enough to swallow a person whole. It didn’t appear to have any eyes or a nose, but it had a precise understanding of both their locations.
“Don’t stray far from me, Lady Lumachina!”
“I-I can fight as well!” she said, clutching the holy symbol she carried.
With a smile, Tria nodded. “All right... Then I am counting on you for healing, though I have no intention of losing to an enemy like this...!”
Brandishing her sword, she stepped forward, but the ground in front of her suddenly caved in.
“Wha—!?”
What looked like an opening of a pitfall in the ground was actually an enormous mouth.
—A gigantic worm!?
It seemed this worm had been placed there as a trap, separate from the first.
“Tria!” Lumachina cried out.
The female Paladin struck out at the second worm, her silver sword tearing through the mouth of the monster. However, in the face of this damage, the enormous mouth closed on her.
“Wah!?”
The lower half of Tria’s body was forcefully taken into the worm’s mouth. Her armor was crushed, her flesh was torn, and her bones were broken.
“GuAaAhhhAargh!?”
The worm began dragging Tria into the earth with it as Lumachina desperately reached out with her hand.
“Tria, grab on!”
But the Paladin made no attempt to do so. If she had, they would both most likely be devoured by the worm.
“R-Run, Lady Lumachina!” These were the parting words of the devoted female Paladin as she disappeared into the dark depths of the hole.
“...Tria...”
Shoulders trembling, Lumachina stared at the gaping hole in the ground. She could no longer hear the female Paladin’s voice; the only thing that reached her were the tremors of the earth.
—And then, footsteps. Slowly, steadily, they approached her from behind.
“Oh my, my, my... Done with your little game of tag, Lady Lumachina?”
“Mgh...”
Standing up, she turned around. From the depths of the forest appeared a “man,” a Summoner, wearing the armor of the Paladins—Gewalt. He was of tall stature and rippling muscles, carrying a longsword at his waist that was left it in its sheath.
“Oh? I wonder what happened with little Miss Tria? Ohh, did she get eaten by one of my cute little ?Trap Worms?? Mm-hm-hm... She was just a girl, after all. My lineage isn’t the only thing wonderful about me, let me tell you.”
He was a man with a strange way of speaking.
Lumachina thrust forward her sacred symbol as she questioned him.
“Can you swear to God that your actions are moral and correct!?”
“Who knooows. But those big-wigs at the Church are paying me handsomely for this; makeup and dresses cost money, too, you know.”
“You wicked, nondevout man...!!”
“Mm-hm-hm, oh trust me, I’m very much a believer, darling. I just believe in gods who give me money! That silly little God you are oh-so-devoted to is useless, so I’m not afraid of him.”
“You dare call God incompetent!?”
“The miraculous healings and answering prayers for a bountiful harvest are amazing, of course... But in a fight, power is everything.”
Paladins were instruments of the Church, and usually held deep conviction in their faith. However, it was painfully obvious that this man did not have a shred of piety in his entire body.
Lumachina clutched the holy symbol she held as she knelt down. “...Oh, God...”
“Mmm? Ahaha! Praying at a time like this? Hoping for some ‘divine punishment’ to make me disappear, is that it? Kuhaha, you are just too much! Oh, God, you religious types! Ahyahah—*cough* *cough*! ...Phew, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death!?”
“O great Lord in heaven, hear my voice: bring destruction to the wicked. Purge the land in cleansing fire, and save those who believe in you...”
Lumachina’s body was wrapped in light—but nothing happened to Gewalt.
“How worthless. Vishos was the one who ordered me to end you, and he prayed, too, you know. Said something like, ‘This will be a holy battle...’ In the end, that’s what ‘God’ is. It simply means there are as many gods as there are people.”
Vishos—the name of someone Lumachina knew. Suppressing her feeling of shock over learning this truth, she continued to pray.
“O great Lord, there is one here who cannot hear your voice. Please, reveal your power and shine your righteous light upon this land. Just as the flowers bloom in the fields, as the fish swim in the streams...”
Gewalt looked down upon Lumachina as she knelt in prayer, his eyes dripping with impurity. “Mm-hm-hm, such beautiful skin you have... It’s making me jealous—jealous enough to tear it right off your body!”
He took out a crystal, dropping it at his feet. Then, a noise like shattering glass—it was a Summon, and a plant-type one at that. Once it settled into the ground, it transformed into a mushroom several times the size of Lumachina, squirming tendrils growing from where its roots would be.
Light enveloped Lumachina’s body as Gewalt’s mouth twisted into an unpleasant grimace.
“Th-This is...”
—So, this is a bona fide miracle, is it? Well, isn’t she something special.
As far as Gewalt knew, there weren’t any others who could cause an actual, visible phenomenon simply by praying. There could be no doubt that Lumachina excelled when it came to the power of miracles. Many people of faith even believed her to be a “child of God.” It was not as if he couldn’t understand why Tria had betrayed her superiors in the Church and tried to help her escape.
“But, orders are orders. I’ve already been paid, you see.”
Gewalt licked his lips. Being able to break a girl called a child of God... He was ecstatic at the thought of being able to fulfill this dark desire of his.
“Go and finish this, my ?Beast Mushroom?!”
The Summon stretched out the tentacles growing from its roots.
“Eeeeek!?”
The thin tendrils wrapped around Lumachina’s arms and legs, suspending her midair. Gewalt’s breathing grew wild with excitement.
“Gufufu... Oh, yes! Just like that! Tear off all that nasty clothing in the way!”
“Wh-What are you doing!?”
“If gods do exist in this world, they’re nothing more than little pieces of shit that like to play favorites, that’s for sure. You were born beautiful, while I’m stuck in the body of a burly man... Truly an injustice. That’s why I’m going to defile that body of yours and send it straight back to the heavens!”
“Huh? Defile!?”
“Ahaha! And by using a Summon, of course! I hear it’s better than you’d think!!”
“Eek!? S-Stop this folly at once!”
“Oh my, now that’s a nice reaction. You’re getting me all hot and bothered here!”
The tentacles found their way underneath Lumachina’s dress. Her body stiffened up as they rubbed against the sensitive parts of her body normally covered by clothes.
“Hyagh!?” Lumachina’s back quivered with disgust. Her hands and feet were bound, and she couldn’t use offensive magic. There was nothing she could do.
At last, the Beast Mushroom’s tentacles began tearing her dress to pieces.
“Noooooooo!!”
“Mm-hm-hm... We’re only getting started, honey. I’m going to have these tentacles pierce riiight inside you. A holy woman losing her precious virginity to a Summon—oh, it’s just too much!!” Gewalt let out a vulgar laugh.
Having received the first shaming of her entire life, Lumachina’s head went blank, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
“S-St... Stop...it...”
“Looks like you have what it takes to be a prostitute as well. Oh my, yes... Make that face at them, and any guy would want to get it on with you.”
“That’s not my inte—!?”
“Well, your first—and last—partner is going to be a Summon! Now, go and get her, my Beast Mushroom!”
“N... No... God, please... God...!!”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login