I Became a Fake Priest the Saintess Is Obsessed With

17 – Filthy and Horrifying Monster

It had an extremely horrifying form.

Unlike any fusion I had encountered so far, it was indescribably grotesque, evoking a deep sense of horror just by facing its existence.

Countless tentacles behind the humanoid figure pulsated like the beating of a heart.

As if ready to spring out at any moment and harm me.

It slowly began to open its eyes.

Its pupils moved aimlessly, as if lost, before fixing on me.

With the eye contact, I realized.

If those tentacles swing a few times, I’ll have to die without a chance to resist.

“Save me!!!”

Slowly backing away, I turned around and ran.

My goal was always a lure from the beginning, so I had to somehow take that guy to Pobby.

Since Pobby was confident, he would find a way to deal with him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The guy started chasing me, destroying the surroundings.

Due to his tentacles, despite his large size, it seemed like he would catch up to me soon and give me a solid hug.

There’s an old saying, “Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger; if you only know yourself and not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat; if you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Now that I knew that guy was very fast, let’s see if I can escape from him.

“Status Window!!!”

[Name: Ivan Ayla]

Strength: 2, Magic Power: 8, Agility: 7

Divinity: 10, Mind: ?, Luck: 1

Skill: Absolute Healing

As I called out the status window like a scream, a faint tattered cloth showed my physical abilities.

After rolling around in this otherworld for 12 years, I had grown a lot except for strength and luck.

Thud!

While looking at the status window, the monster guy tried to whip me down with his tentacle.

I narrowly leaped, avoiding the attack, but the ground where I stood was shattered by his tentacle.

This is crazy.

Absolutely, insanely crazy.

If I allow such an attack even once, my fragile body will be flattened like a piece of paper or shattered into pieces of flesh.

In other words, if I stop, I die!!!

“Shop!!!”

I shouted loudly without stopping my legs and opened the shop.

Originally, I saved up PP as much as possible for the unpredictable PP gambling, but if I don’t use it now, I feel like I’ll be torn apart by that monster, so I put all my PP into agility.

[Agility increased by 2. (7→9)]

As an insincere message came to mind, my footwork became lighter.

I feel much lighter than before, and now I feel like I could step on clouds and fly in the sky.

Thud!

That’s an exaggeration, but I narrowly dodged his attack again.

‘It’s still risky, but it’s definitely more avoidable!’

Still, at this rate, I can probably drag him to Pobi.

Keeek!!!!

The monster screamed from its long, torn mouth from under its nose to its belly button.

It seems like it’s attacking me more fiercely, as if I’m not avoiding its attacks.

“Up! Left! Down! Right! A!”

I dodged them with movements close to acrobatics.

[The Goddess is impressed by your acrobatics and gives you a perfect score of 10]

“Don’t tease me!”

Just a little further, and Pobi would be waiting beyond that corner.

“Urgh!”

While energetically running and attempting to turn the corner, I stumbled due to the slime blocking the way.

Trying to get up quickly, but the slime’s mucus made the floor too slippery to easily stand up.

Krrr…!

Whether realizing my helplessness or regaining its appetite, the monster approached slowly.

‘Wow… this is really the worst. If I get caught and eaten, it’s obviously going to hurt, right?’

Though my mind screamed to escape calmly, my tensed body, driven to the extreme, wouldn’t move easily.

If I’ve survived about 12 years in this otherworldly place with nothing, I guess I’ve done pretty well.

A life toyed with by the short and wicked schemes of a goddess, but satisfying in its own way.

“Don’t make a face of giving up, young one!”

Just when I thought it was over, Pobi suddenly appeared, pushing me back and aiming a gun at the monster.

Bang!

Bullets shot, flames flickered, and they precisely hit the monster’s head.

Keeek!!!!

The creature screamed in agony, clutching its head hit by the bullet, and rolled on the ground.

“Pobi, you came!”

“Yeah! Shout for help from afar, and I’ll come!”

Crazy guy, but in times like these, he’s a reliable person.

The skin must be thick; the recent attack probably didn’t have much effect! Step back and watch me finish him off!”

Pobi began firing wildly at the guy rolling on the floor.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The monster didn’t just take it lying down.

Gathering tentacles like a tail, it blocked the bullets.

“Huh, thicker than I thought. Looks like I’ll have to use up all my bullets!”

Pobi spat out a curse, tossed the revolver on the ground, and pulled out a knife.

Kieeek!!!

When the attack ceased, the monster quickly tried to strike back with its tentacles.

“Ha! If I’d taken that hit, I would’ve retired long ago!”

Pobi deftly avoided it and, instead, countered the attacking tentacle, timing it right to thrust the knife in.

Kkieeek!!!

The guy hit by Pobi went crazy, jumping around.

The attacks intensified, getting faster.

However, Pobi easily dodged them with grace.

As all attacks unfolded, the monster realized it couldn’t beat Pobi and attempted to flee.

“If we let it go, won’t we miss out on the bounty?!”

“Don’t worry! Since the last time we missed one, I’ve prepared a tool to restrain him!”

Pobi took out a long snare from his pocket.

It was the same snare Pobi had used to trap us in a trap before.

“That’s just a lasso!”

“It’s not just any lasso; it’s a magical lasso! Its strength increases with the target’s power, and the knots become stronger!”

He rolled the lasso in the air like a cowboy in a movie and swiftly threw it.

Unfolding in mid-air, the lasso captured the monster’s body, binding it securely after weaving here and there.

It was an eerie binding… reminiscent of the restraint the saint suffered in a previous encounter.

“Where did you get something like this?”

“I got it from the black mage at the occult market.”

“…Isn’t that illegal?”

“You’re a priest, too. Haven’t you wandered into some back alleys? Since we won’t report each other, let’s consider it a mutual understanding.”

Surprised by his cunning, I slapped my forehead.

Did this gentleman bring me here, pretending not to know my identity?

Is he a complete fraud?

Even though I, a seasoned con artist, thought about saying it, I couldn’t bring myself to vocalize it, fearing a pricking of my conscience.

“But what about killing him after tying him up? My bullets ran out, and how do I kill that guy?”

“Well… you can just stab him with a knife until he dies, right?”

Picking up the fallen revolver from the ground, Pobi used the knife and the lasso to attach it to the gun barrel, assembling a gun-sword.

“Troublesome and annoying, but this method is probably the best. Just wait a little longer, and with this, I’ll have his neck…”

As he proudly showed me the gun-sword, something tongue-like shot out from the bound monster’s mouth, piercing Pobi’s abdomen.

“Cough… Argh…”

Pobi looked at the hole in his stomach, spewing blood, and collapsed.

“Poppis!”

I supported him as he fell and immediately recited the incantation.

“My deity, I offer this flesh and soul to the mother of the earth. Please raise the lamb once again.”

Following this, pain surged.

It precisely crushed the 7th rib, then the 8th, piercing through like creating a hole in canvas… the agony.

It came, but to avoid the subsequent attack, I rolled on the ground.

“aaargh!!!”

Due to the pressure created while rolling on the ground, the pain intensified.

Unable to endure the rising dry cough, I spewed it out uncontrollably.

“Krrgh… I let my guard down! Thank you for the healing, esteemed priest!”

Poppis raised the gunblade to block the monster’s uvula.

But it seemed challenging for him.

“Is the uvula the main body?! What’s with this stubbornness?!”

Poppis gradually stepped back.

Occasionally, a twitch in the abdomen suggested there might be phantom pain in the healed area.

“This won’t do!”

He made a decision, changing his stance and wielding the gunblade like a dagger with one hand.

“Come at me!”

With a firm stance, he used his empty left hand to seize the approaching uvula.

Then, he forcefully stabbed the monster’s tongue with the gunblade, anchoring it to the ground.

During the process, Poppy’s left hand was severed and flew through the air.

“Ouch!!! It hurts like hell!”

“Are you insane?! Take care of your own body…”

“Isn’t that something the priest can handle anyway?”

“What? How do you know that…”

“I may be old, but my ears are sharp… Squeak… I’ve heard rumors. I know that as long as you don’t die, they can treat anything…”

He’s completely crazy.

To believe in such rumors and willingly throw away his left arm…

“Cough! It’s really unpleasant, but it couldn’t be helped, so let me treat you… But how do I kill this bastard now…?”

“Don’t worry. Everything is calculated… I knew that none of my attacks would affect him anyway…”

“What? Then how…?”

“I wasn’t only observing you in your fight with Alex…”

“…Then who else? Is there anyone else?”

“That girl, her strength is incredibly powerful, right? Her movements are clumsy and she has no technique, but she can knock out two adults with just a flick…”

“Wait, you don’t mean…!”

As if to catch a person, a green glimmer flashed from beyond the sewer.

The owner of the glimmer was none other than the Saint Amellia.

She ran with her platinum blonde hair fluttering.

“Hey!”

She struck the monster’s head with a pipe. And…

Bang!

With a sound like that, the monster’s head exploded.

“…I didn’t expect it to be that powerful.”

“Originally, the disciples of the gods were said to be remarkably strong…”

Fragments of the monster splattered on my and Poppi’s bewildered faces.

Ah, I really want to go home.