When James heard the news of the attack on the Videno family's carriages, he responded quickly and set out with his elite knight squad. As he was about to leave, Laurene and Lucas asked to come along though he was hesitant and worried, he ultimately relented, since he knew the extent of his children's magical abilities, which were strong enough for them to defend themselves.
Melissa warned her husband not to be reckless and to take care of their children first, to which James wholeheartedly agreed. Another thing was that he couldn't find Eric anywhere, he was annoyed with his son, who was so self-centered and didn't care about anyone else.
Throughout the journey, he hoped the Videno knights—and perhaps Dianne as well—could withstand the attackers' assault, because as far as he knew, the only one from the current Videno family capable of direct combat was Dianne. Jonathan and Dorothea were non-combatants, as was Connor.
"If only Connor could still move…"
James shook his head, trying to momentarily push aside the events involving his first son, Eric, and Connor. Upon arriving at the battlefield, he was relieved to see the Videno family was still alive, but his face hardened when he discovered that the worshippers had taken Connor.
After discussing the situation with the knights from his household and the Videno household, he decided to pursue the worshippers. When he caught up to them, the worshippers created a distraction by splitting into two groups. Naturally, James chased after the fleeing group.
"Watch out, stay sharp!" James barked loudly whenever their pursuit was blocked by those people in red robes. Occasionally, the worshippers fired arrows and cast spells.
"Uwaah!?"
"Damn it!!"
Many of the attacks struck people on James's side. Some even hit the horses they were riding, causing the riders to fall. But James's men weren't just standing by—they retaliated by firing spells and arrows, striking several worshippers.
The deadly chase continued as they went up and down several hills, until they finally reached a lowland surrounded by high hills.
James's group saw the worshippers enter a village surrounded by a very tall, sturdy wooden fence. Just as they were about to give chase, the village's main gate suddenly slammed shut.
"Open the gate! In the name of your lord, James Ostheno, I command you!" James's loud voice could not even get the village gate to open.
James furrowed his brow, he knew this small village. Although he hadn't visited it in person for several years, he still received reports that the village chief always faithfully paid and reported the local taxes.
"Lord James! Let's just destroy the gate!" Dianne shouted impatiently. Lucas and Laurene nodded in agreement, James dismounted his horse and drew his sword from its sheath.
Then the man with the braided hair felt a chill and shouted to his group. "Take cover!!"
***
Throughout the battle, Eric quietly transformed the unsuspecting worshippers into tiny forms and stashed them in his pockets. The lunatics who witnessed the transformation firsthand were initially startled and screamed, but before their screams could draw attention from those around them, he silenced or killed the followers outright.
The adventurers fighting nearby were too focused on their own battles to notice that horrifying process. When they looked at Eric, all they saw was an ordinary adventurer with blood-stained hands.
Not only that, but for some reason, ever since he changed his powers, his mind became clearer and his concentration improved every time he fought. He knew this because, previously, this body had been utterly weak and helpless regarding both of those aspects.
"A side effect of changing powers? Might be the case..."
The last worshipper fell, and victory went to the adventurers. Shouts of triumph rang out from the adventurers still standing, while those who were severely wounded or in need of medical attention could only pump their fists in the air.
"Yeahhhh!! We won!"
"You guys! Let's head over to Lord James's side!"
"You guys… go ahead… Ugh…lemme tends to my wounds…"
"Fuck yeah! But which way are they going? I hope it's not too far!"
A light flickered in the eastern sky, the adventurers recognized the spell.
"That might be our signal!"
"Awesome! C'mon! C'mon!"
The adventurers bid farewell to their fellow comrades who were still wounded and set off following the light. Eric approached those who couldn't continue fighting and scolded them a bit.
"Stop being so dramatic, and get your ass up. You guys are getting paid in full to follow my old geezer wherever he goes!"
"Huh? What the fuck—argh!?"
"What is it—kuuuughh!?"
"Whatever the hell you did, you'd better sto—uuurgghhhkk!?"
One by one, Eric healed the adventurers who had fallen victim to their injuries—some with severe stab wounds, others with badly burned hands, deep lacerations, and many more. Of course, the adventurers were in excruciating pain, but they fell silent as their bodies returned to their original, unharmed state.
"It can't be..."
"Wh-what are you...?"
They all stared at Eric in confusion, he only replied briefly. "Go. Make yourself useful." Eric walked back to his horse and rode off quickly. The road in that area was hilly, so it often went up and down.
Eventually, Eric found a village, and in front of it was his father's group. It seemed they had managed to catch up to the group riding horses earlier, but they couldn't enter.
He saw his father ordering several adventurers and knights to find vantage points on the hills and in the trees so they could see the village clearly. Eric had an idea, he told his horse to gallop to his team, who were at the very back of the group.
Then he looked for a hill that was high enough, and climbed the one that seemed the highest among the others. Arriving at a small open area overlooking the village, Eric produced a long, thin, transformed human form. He turned that repulsive thing into a strange, flesh-like paraglider that stretched quite wide, just like the ones he'd seen in his previous life.
"If I fall, I'll look like a total idiot… here goes nothing."
He took a running start, then leaped into the air with his strange paraglider. He hadn't expected that his foolish plan would carry him across the sky above the lowlands.
Before he could enjoy the view, he saw several worshippers stretching their hands toward the gate. Eric sensed a massive pool of Mana, and he knew what those lunatics were planning.
"They intend to blow up that gate with a giant fire spell!" Without a second thought, Eric steered his glider downward and pulled two transfigured humans from his pocket.
With the worshippers' Mana already at their fingertips and ready to be unleashed, Eric, hovering directly above the village, dropped the two transfigured humans.
"May your soul return to Lord Firnekh!"
"May your soul return to Lord Firnekh!"
A colossal column of flames formed and shot rapidly toward the gate, but before it struck the front gate, suddenly a smooth, two-layered wall of mixed red and pink material grew out of nowhere, blocking the spell.
The worshippers were utterly shocked, but their cries were drowned out by the explosion caused by the collision of the fire magic and the flesh wall.
Boooom!
The explosion was massive, even the air around them grew hot. Not only that, though the flesh wall managed to withstand the exploding fire, it eventually collapsed and crumbled due to the immense shockwave—so powerful it also brought down the village gate.
Thankfully, James reacted just in time before the fire magic could strike, ordering his group to take cover so they were only hit by the shockwave and a few were knocked backward.
"My hunch was right. If I hadn't thrown those two transfigured humans earlier, many would have died."
Seeing the wide-open gate, James raised his sword and led the charge into the village. Chaos ensued: Dianne, her face clearly bloodthirsty, swung her spear brutally. Lucas skillfully froze the worshippers' legs and Laurene used her water magic to finish off the frozen worshippers.
Eric landed on a rooftop, transforming his glider into a sharp spear and throwing it randomly at the worshippers, striking the chest of one unlucky worshipper and piercing through to the back.
"Wait a minute… where are the villagers…? Don't tell me this village has been taken over by these freaks?"
After muttering that, he saw several adventurers—archers—climbing onto the roof, one of whom was Emilia. As always, the young half-elf was a truly skilled archer, she was the one who took down the most worshippers with her arrows and wind magic.
A yellow streak was seen near the gate. Ferguson quickly dispatched two worshippers who emerged from inside a house, followed by Millie, who helped her father temporarily blind the approaching worshippers with her light magic.
Rudy fought alongside Lucas and Laurene. It seemed he had decided to protect Eric's two siblings by shielding the twins from interference so they could cast their spells smoothly.
After jumping down from the roof, Eric ran between the houses in the western section, finding that they were all empty. Just as he was about to reach the largest house—which he assumed was the village chief's—he stopped in his tracks as his instincts sounded a loud alarm.
A fist shot out from behind the wall, forcing Eric to stop and step back.
"Hoh? I'm impressed a sinner like you could dodge that." A bald worshipper appeared, though strangely, he wasn't wearing a mask. What caught Eric's attention was the gauntlet the bald man was wearing. The gauntlet had a unique red pattern, as if it contained life, but what surprised him most was that Eric's own self seemed to be urging him to stay away from the gauntlet.
"That's neat. Can I buy it from you?" Eric pointed at the gauntlet. The bald man snorted and mocked him, "Watch your tongue, sinner. This gauntlet is a gift from my esteemed brother! Now get lost and die!"
The bald man blurred past him, and Eric instinctively tensed his arms. He exchanged blows with the bald man, who turned out to be quite skilled in close-quarters combat. He laced his hand with Idle Transfiguration, but before he could, the gauntlet brightened, and the bald man smiled.
Whenever Eric was about to pick his stored transfigured humans, the bald man always faster and obstructed him.
The bald man's flurry of punches grew faster, forcing Eric to devise a reckless plan. Hardening his entire torso, Eric planned to let the bald man' punch land on him.
"I'll let him hit me, then catch him with my palm—"
But the bald man's punches turned out to be multiple times more painful than Eric had expected, sending him flying backward and causing him to cough violently. Holding his aching stomach, Eric realized the effect of the gauntlet.
"No fucking way... that gauntlet... it has an effect that can directly strike an opponent's soul..."
"Huh? How do you know? You shouldn't know that. Whatever. You already know too much."
That was bad... Eric hadn't expected these freaks to have a method like this. An attack capable of directly targeting his soul was deadly, especially since Eric's body was human—a living being—so the effect was doubled.
The bald man was about to continue his attack, but a worshipper appeared. "Brother, the ceremony is about to begin." The bald man stopped, and his face immediately lit up upon hearing that.
"At last! Lord Firnekh will descend to guide us! In that case, I'll go to the Esteemed Brother's side. You deal with this sinner." The bald man left, leaving Eric still crouched, clutching his aching stomach.
"Be thankful for his generosity, sinner. I'll make your death quick..." The man wearing the weeping mask gathered Mana in his hand. Eric didn't stand down, he seized the man's hand and activated the innate technique, transforming him into a palm-sized ball.
Breathing heavily, he slowly stood up and took in the new information. "The ceremony? Connor must be there, ugh…" Creeping along, he made his way past all the fighting until he entered the village chief's house.
"Who are you!?"
Eric silenced every worshipper, turning them into his unique collection. The worshippers standing guard inside the village chief's house met their end at Eric's touch. He continued to follow the bald man undetected and watched him descend a staircase leading to the basement.
The basement was dark, lit only by a single candle burning at the far end. He saw the bald man fiddling with something, and a secret passage opened. Before the passage closed, Eric darted through quickly, barely fitting into the space. He didn't run out of ideas and forced himself to become thinner, even if it meant enduring excruciating pain.
"I swear... I hate this technique!"
A row of candles guided Eric down the secret passage, which was wide enough for several people to enter at once. It turned out that beneath the village chief's basement lay a deep underground cave system.
He descended a path that appeared to have been carved by human hands, and finally reached an open area. The open space was vast and circular, with stalagmites adorning the cave ceiling. Although there was no sunlight, the candles embedded around the cave were enough to illuminate the place.
And there, Eric finally found Connor. The young man was bound to a stone bed situated on a high altar. The worshippers, wearing their weeping masks, were bowing down to Connor, surrounding him.
In the open area, there were many worshippers standing guard. It was impossible for Eric to rescue Connor without being detected. He also noticed several worshippers who resembled the bald man—those who were not wearing weeping masks.
"Two women and two men, including the bald man… I guess that's the 'esteemed brother'…" Eric muttered, watching the four of them bow deeply as if paying their respects. Before Eric could do anything, the 'esteemed brother'—a middle-aged man with a thin beard—turned to look at him.
"We have a sinner here, my brethren." The voice of the man with the thin beard echoed through the room, and all eyes turned to Eric. He cursed himself for not thinking quickly, but he kept walking slowly, planting his feet firmly on the ground.
"You! You are that sinner! Forgive me, esteemed brother. I will kill him as soon as possible!"
"No need. Let him witness the resurrection of our god!" said the man with the thin beard to the bald man.
"Blah, blah, blah. Anyway, could you return that brat to his family?"
"Hmmhhm!! Mmmhh!!"
Connor struggled, trying to free himself from the cloth gagging his mouth and the chains binding him after hearing Eric's voice. The man with the thin beard calmly explained to Eric.
"Allow me to enlighten you, young man. What you are about to witness is the resurrection of the Lord of Primordial Fire in this world! Enough with the illusions in the goddess's name misleading the innocent people of this world! Lord Firnekh will bless this world with his warm fire and guide humanity toward prosperity!"
"Lord Firnekh!"
"Lord of Primordial Fire!"
The other worshippers repeated their prayers, invoking that being's name. The man with the thin beard continued, "When Lord Firnekh descends, those of impure blood will be purified and cleansed! And humanity will once again become the most dominant race in this world, as it should be!!"
The man's eyes widened, his arms spreading wide as he delivered his sermon. Eric raised an eyebrow and asked, "So… other races besides humans will be exterminated? Wow, that's racist as fuck, you know. And also, why bring the brat into this?"
"That boy is Lord Firanekh's chosen one!" the man with the thin beard replied, "Lord Firanekh will enter those who possess tremendous talent in fire magic! That boy should be grateful because he will become one with Lord Firanekh!!"
Eric slowly tensed up. "I take it you don't want to resolve this peacefully, then? Good... neither do I, you sons of bitches!" He darted forward and transformed the nearest worshippers into boar-like creatures. Three boars with sharp tusks charged toward their comrades.
"A demonic cultist!"
"Disgusting! Grace him with our fire!"
"Don't let him disrupt our sacred ceremony!!"
True to their name, The Red Descendant used only fire magic. A few explosive flames stopped the transfigured boars and burned them to crisp. Eric dodged the various fire spells hurled at him, and while they were casting their spells, he would attack them with his own techniques.
Eric grabbed three transfigured humans and forcibly combined them. "Soul Multiplicity!" A second later, he expelled the combined transfigured humans into multiple snake heads with human teeth.
"Body Repel!" The massive attack struck many worshippers who didn't understand how the technique worked. Many worshippers had their limbs dismembered, they screamed in pain and fell helplessly to the ground, staining it with their spilled blood.
Amid the chaos, he touched and transformed the worshippers who were still standing. A worshipper with a dagger tried to stab him, but Eric deftly hardened both his arms, then proceeded to punch the worshipper hard enough to feel the worshipper's jaw breaking.
Then a worshipper with a flaming spear stabbed from behind Eric. He made a small sidestepping movement, letting the spear pass through empty air and pulling the worshipper toward him. He violently tore off both of the worshipper's arms, blood pouring onto the ground, and he thrust the flaming spear he had seized back into its original owner.
He saw the worshippers surrounding Connor now standing and praying as if about to begin something. Even the man with the thin beard began to move away and was about to climb onto the altar.
"I trust you, my brothers and sisters, to deal with this insignificant sinner. Be careful, do not let him touch you with his hands."
""Your will is our command!""
Now Eric was facing four people who appeared to be high-ranking worshippers, judging by their weapons and clothing, including the bald man. They were slowly circling Eric like predators ready to pounce on their prey. Without saying a word, a short-haired woman unsheathed her twin daggers and attacked Eric.
Eric successfully dodged the incoming slashes, but an unexpected attack came from his left side—a man with a short sword lunged at him with a lightning-fast strike, hitting his shoulder.
He felt excruciating pain. Before he could process it, a woman with a long barbed whip appeared from his right, lashing his ear. Once again, Eric was assaulted by an indescribable pain.
"Fuck me… all of your weapons…" Eric muttered, clutching his bleeding shoulder and ear. The bald man decided to join his companions, attacking Eric from a blind spot.
Eric silently flicked a coin-sized transfigured human he'd taken from his pocket and detonated the 'coin' to create some distance.
The bald man saw the strange object explode into a spray of blood, managed to shield his head and stepped back a few paces.
Although he managed to dodge the bald man's attack, he was now facing four people whose weapons, for some reason, had effects that directly affected his soul—the worst possible matchup for him.
"These freaks... they're also high Silver-rank, almost fucking Gold-rank! This is really bad—four Silver-rank assholes with soul-hitting weapons..."
Eric's recovery process was slightly hindered by the attacks from those strange weapons. Although he wasn't bleeding anymore, the pain still tingled throughout his body.
"Impressive. You've stopped the bleeding." praised the woman with the barbed whip. "But this is where your life ends...!"
Simultaneously, the four of them attacked Eric from all directions. Eric leaped into the air as the woman with the barbed whip tried to wrap it around his leg, but the bald man anticipated his move faster and unleashed a punch coated in fire. Eric clutched two transfigured humans, attempting to reduce the impact of the incoming fiery punch, but the blow was so powerful it pierced through the two transfigured humans Eric had transformed into mini-armor to protect his back.
Eric fell to the ground, rolled, and immediately stood up trying to regain his footing, but the man with the short sword deftly launched a thrust that struck his waist.
"Damn it—" he hadn't finished speaking when the woman with the twin daggers threw one of her blades, striking Eric's leg. The dagger seemed to become a powerful ground spike, pinning him in place so he couldn't take another step, causing him to fall face-first.
The four of them grinned widely, closing in on the boy they'd finally managed to take down. Eric squirmed around, frantically hurling objects at his attackers.
Dozens of the transfigured humans he'd stored earlier transformed into sharp objects—serrated balls, knives, long needles, and spears.
"Ugh!"
"This sinner—!"
The man with the short sword was too late to dodge, his right eye was pierced by a long needle. The woman with the dagger had her neck slashed, the bald man was struck by a spiked ball on his temple and the woman with the barbed whip found a knife lodged in her stomach.
Although Eric managed to hit them, unfortunately it wasn't enough to kill them.
"Fucking sinner!" The woman with the barbed whip savagely pulled the knife embedded in her stomach and lashed out at Eric with her barbed whip. Eric roared in pain, but it didn't stop there—the bald man struck him hard on the head.
Eric felt dazed for a split second. The man with the short sword pulled the needle out of his eye, gasping for breath, "My eyes…!"
Pressing her wounded neck, the dagger woman drove her final dagger into Eric's hand, preventing him from moving it freely. Excruciating pain surged through his entire body, and for the first time, he thought he was going to die.
"Is this… it…?" Eric was a few steps away from the altar. All he had to do was climb up, kill all the worshippers there, and then save Connor… but…
A loud explosion rang out from behind him. James's group had finally caught up to Eric. The knights and adventurers who entered the place were shocked by the many corpses and pools of blood—signs of a battle.
"…! Sir Eric!" Millie screamed upon finding her employer lying on the ground, surrounded by four people. James, Laurene, Lucas, and Dianne's eyes widened upon confirming the truth.
"Eric!? What are you doing!?"
"Big Brother!"
"Why...?"
It wasn't just James's group that was taken by surprise, but the Red Descendant as well. "Good! The more witnesses, the better!"
The man with a thin beard began the final phase of the sacrifice ceremony. "The time has come! For countless ages, we have longed for your presence! We endured the humiliation! We survived the annihilation!"
A worshipper presented a ceremonial dagger with a unique flame pattern, which looked very ancient and was imbued with a great amount of Mana. "During restless nights, we continue to pray for the moment of judgment to arrive!"
The man with the thin beard gripped the dagger tightly, walking slowly toward the struggling Connor. "But finally! Finally! Finally! Our moment of victory has arrived! This world, along with us within it, will be enveloped by the warmth of Lord Firnekh's blessings!"
The adventurers and knights did not stand still and tried to stop the ceremony, but the surviving worshippers grew even more frenzied and blocked their path.
Ferguson and Rudy ran to help Eric, but were suddenly blocked by a man with a short sword and a bald man wearing gauntlets. Neither of them bothered to tend to the wounds they'd received from Eric's last frantic attack. "Witness the true glory of the divine being, you sinners!" the bald man exclaimed gleefully.
Millie and Emilia also tried to help their employer but were kept busy by the worshippers who kept attacking them one after another, as were Laurene, Lucas, and Dianne.
Only James skillfully killed the worshippers, he ran to help his son.
"Help the brat, James!!" but Eric, in his hoarse voice, instead ordered James to help Connor first. In that brief moment, James saw absolutely no hesitation or fear in his son's eyes.
He remembered Melissa's message about putting his family's safety first… but seeing Eric this brave… was the first time in his entire life.
The dagger lodged in Eric's hand was forcibly pulled out by the dagger woman, "Your life ends here, sinner!"
The woman with the barbed whip moved forward as she saw Lucas and Laurene successfully breaking through to rescue Eric. As for Eric, his hair was violently grabbed and yanked, exposing his bare neck.
Ferguson finally managed to kill the man with the short sword and, with lightning speed, ran toward Eric. Through his slightly blurred vision, he saw one by one the people coming to his rescue. And he saw the gleaming dagger held by the woman heading toward his exposed neck.
"This feeling…death….it's been a while... Is it really this peaceful back then…? My mind... it's all clear..."
At the same time, Eric saw the man with the thin beard hovering the ceremonial dagger over Connor's chest. He could hear Connor sobbing uncontrollably. Dianne desperately tried to close the distance after seeing the dagger getting closer to her younger brother's chest. "Connor! No!! Nooo!!"
"Should I do it? Should I do it? Should I do it? But what about the consequences?"
Eric saw his father's eyes widen in shock, his face contorted in pain. Ice magic began to gather thickly all over the man's sword. Apparently, James couldn't bear to see Eric treated that way and chose to save Eric instead of Connor.
"What a fool..."
"But... I bet I can do it right now..."
"Fuck the consequences!"
Eric opened his mouth wide, startling the woman with the dagger who halted her attempt to slit his throat... and that was a fatal mistake.
A pair of tiny hands emerged from inside Eric's mouth, forming an eerie hand sign. Massive energy surged from him, to the point that everyone on the battlefield paused for a moment, overcome by an intense chill. Even the worshippers and the man with the thin beard on the altar stopped mid-incantation.
James, Lucas, Laurene, Millie, Dianne, Emilia, Rudy, Ferguson... everyone shuddered at the sight of those small hands, as if they symbolized a nightmare for anyone in this place.
And indeed, it was a sign of disaster and carnage.
"Domain Expansion"
The air around him instantly grew heavy and distorted.
"Self-Embodiment of Perfection"
The black void manifested in that place, engulfing everyone trapped within its radius, friend or foe alike. Eric calmly declared his full intent to fight... with all his soul... even if it killed him.
"It's all or nothing!"