I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 40. Distortion

Albeka felt a strange sense of joy as he looked at the monster before his eyes.

It was a bona fide heretic.

The great Hayat had bestowed upon him the opportunity to personally execute a heretic that deserved to be eradicated from this world.

“Grr… Ugh… Ugh…”

“Eek… Eh… Eeheehee…”

Meanwhile, the other weak Stigmatas couldn’t endure even with this honorable opportunity before them.

“Aaaargh!”

They scratched their heads and slammed their faces into the ground. One moment they wept like babies, the next they laughed like madmen.

“Tsk, what a disgrace.”

The sight of a bizarre Outer God descending as a monster, and a human transforming into that monster, shocked their minds to the core.

‘They are unworthy.’

In contrast, although blood trickled from Albeka’s nose and his hands trembled slightly, he easily managed to pull himself together.

‘This is entirely an opportunity given to me. A glory to seize and a blessing bestowed upon me.’

In a normal situation, this would call for reinforcements.

No matter how formidable Albeka was, such a complete monster, as opposed to a mere mutant, was a daunting opponent.

“I am Stigmata. I am the butcher of the great bringer of Light, a sinner who delivers punishment alongside shadows. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity my master Hayat has given me to eradicate this heretic.”

Instead of retreating, he offered a prayer, filled with joy.

‘Master Hayat has always granted me such opportunities. Unlike those half-baked and false Gods!’

Even when he was merely a humble devotee of a heretical faith.

‘How much did I wander under the foolishness of my father and mother?’

They were followers of an Ancient God, ‘Tyr’, who had already abandoned this world.

—Even though he left after the Holy War, his blessings flow through our blood. Thanks to that, we are born with excellent senses and strong bodies for combat.

Back then, he accepted it without question.

It was a harmonious family that lacked nothing in daily life. However, he was too young to realize that there was a severe deficiency within.

‘It wasn’t until I met a friend who believed in Hayat that I realized. How foolish it is to worship an abandoned God who does not respond to prayers or look after his worshippers.’

A faith without a God.

What meaning could that possibly have?

The world mocked those like Albeka’s family who served a God that had forsaken them, calling them the abandoned.

Did they have to remain in such a pitiful state?

—Even heretics are accepted as followers by Master Hayat. All you need to do is prove your faith.

To truly serve a God, he chose to listen to the words of the true God, Hayat.

Reading the scriptures, praying daily, and seeking opportunities to prove his faith, he realized later that the opportunity had already been given.

“Offering the head of a heretic is the highest glory bestowed upon me, and an opportunity given by Master Hayat to prove my faith.”

That’s how Albeka’s faith began.

By offering the heads of his heretic mother, father, and the sibling he once called family.

*Shlick.*

On that day, he was reborn as the sword of Stigmata.

“Grant me the strength to punish evil with your light. 〈Blinding Light of Annihilation〉.”

His sword gleamed with Hayat’s brilliant white light.

‘Under that abandoned Heretical God, I could not properly achieve Awakening. Merely a second-order awakening as a warrior.’

But with Hayat’s light, he succeeded in reaching the third-order awakening.

Perhaps he could gain another qualification through this campaign. That would indeed be Hayat’s guidance.

“The honor of using this Divine Relic has been bestowed upon me. I considered it excessive, but ultimately Hayat watched over me and led me with his own will!”

He raised a small glass vial.

It contained a colorless oil.

“…’Alberto’s Sacred Oil’.”

Alberto, who succeeded in realizing the ‘Sanctuary’, one of the three pinnacle miracles handled by a priest, was known as ‘the Great Alberto.’

It was said that when he approached death, oil was poured into the coffin in which he lay, and he was engulfed by the oil, transformed into light, and returned to the side of God.

Now, from the carefully guarded coffin that held the sacred oil, a rare permission had been granted to use a portion.

“Hayat! Grant me that great power!”

Albeka opened the glass bottle and poured the oil over himself.

Then, light descended upon him.

Despite it being a dark night with the sun hidden, the area was filled with a blinding light that seemed capable of blinding anyone.

“So this is the 〈Sanctuary of Immaculate Light〉.”

If you’re not a believer of Hayat, you wouldn’t be able to see anything due to the dazzling light. Additionally, the caster and their allies would not be hindered by any negative factors, and their resistance to magic would greatly increase. Lastly, there was the transcendent healing. Any severe injury would be fully healed instantly, with monstrous recovery.

“But it isn’t perfect for someone like you.”

Though it was a powerful Divine Relic, the sanctuary created using the sacred oil was not a true sanctuary. Originally, it should cover an area as large as a village, but now it was much smaller and would last for at most an hour. The effect of blinding light was also imperfect and did not affect those like me who had transformed.

“Hahaha! To say something like that even after seeing this great sanctuary.”

Albeka burst into laughter with an intoxicated look on his face.

“In this sanctuary, heretical miracles cannot be used. Magic and enchanted items are also ineffective. Only the miracles of Lord Hayat are permitted here!”

『Ethnos!』

Eldritch urgently spoke from a bag inside the cloak’s subspace.

『This is bad. It is true that most magic cannot be used. Even miracles would be impossible, you must retreat!』

“Don’t worry. Just keep watching.”

“Now, offer your neck-”

*Crunch!*

Before Albeka could finish his declaration, his arm was severed.

“What?”

A look of perplexity crossed his face.

“It seems you’re severely mistaken.”

Although his arm had healed by now, it didn’t matter.

“I already knew you would bring Alberto’s sacred oil.”

Granting only a small amount, the use and conditions weren’t difficult.

‘Being a consumable, there’s no risk of it being stolen by the enemy.’

For Albeka, who was only a leader of mere knights, the Divine Relic he could obtain was, in essence, limited to Alberto’s sacred oil.

“How do you know about the sacred oil!”

“This sanctuary is indeed annoying, but it’s not something we can’t deal with.”

With Gluttony’s tendrils, I extended the tendrils of my transformed body.

“Until this light goes out… I’ll kill and kill again.”

When I went through my transformation, I wished for a body with high physical combat power considering close-quarters combat. Although it may not look like it, this body was more than sufficient to fight against Albeka without miracles or forbidden arts.

“You bastard!”

Albeka adjusted his stance and charged with 〈Mountain Boar Rush〉.

“This kind of attack won’t work on me.”

When I struck his abdomen, a sound of bones breaking echoed as he was pushed back.

“Damn! You trash!”

However, recovery was instantaneous. After briefly stepping back, he immediately leaped forward, cutting many of my tendrils with 〈Lion’s Heavenly Strike〉.

‘He even uses Luminaries’s technique. It’s clumsy compared to Arian, but… well, whatever.’

*Crack!*

I ignored his attack and wrapped my tendrils around his arm, tearing it off.

“It’s futile!”

Despite the recovery, the pain would still remain. Albeka gritted his teeth and brought his sword down on my head. A technique with excessive destructive power that momentarily destroyed all the muscles in the body, 〈Mountain Goat’s Red Wrath〉. Simply using the technique was enough to burst all the capillaries in the body, staining it red—a combat technique that permanently marked his body with unhealing wounds. The power it held…

*Boom!*

… It was truly exceptional.

My body was almost torn in half, but despite the excruciating pain that threatened to steal my sanity, I extended Gluttony’s tendrils and pierced through his body.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Neither of us backed down an inch.

Albeka effectively utilized the sanctuary’s effects. The recoil from the catastrophe burst through his entire body, but before he could even feel the pain, he was healed.

“You worthless piece of trash! Just die already!”

Because of the “Blinding Light of Annihilation”, my recovery was slower, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t happening. Even with my body almost split in half, I continued to fight, relying on my tenacious vitality. I had no superior combat skills. I simply swung my tendrils, which were both my body and weapon, in a rage.

“Ugh!”

However, Albeka possessed superior combat skills and sense.

“A mere heretic!”

He didn’t bother to fend off every attack. Some were deflected, some dodged. He aimed to land a fatal blow on me with the “Annihilation Slash”, but I reacted quickly this time. I swiftly smashed his arms, disrupting the concentration of his mana and strength. Albeka’s face twisted in a grimace, but he quickly changed his stance to a horizontal slash and severed my tendrils again.

‘If we exchange blows, I’ll lose.’

Lacking both experience and skill, I was at a disadvantage.

‘Then, I just won’t exchange blows.’

I abandoned defense. Combining Gluttony’s tendrils with my own, I relentlessly attacked him. Whether he dodged, blocked, or deflected, it didn’t matter. I continued the crude barrage until his flesh flew off and his bones shattered.

“You monster!”

Albeka was equally unyielding.

Relying on the sanctuary’s healing power, he attacked me with sword swings even as his whole body tore apart. The entire floor was soaked in blood, and the air was filled with the sound of ripping flesh.

“You disgusting beast! Die! Die already!”

Albeka spat curses as he unleashed multiple techniques in quick succession. However, his mana was not infinite. Thus, he grew anxious.

“Your neck… I’ll take your neck! I’ll prove I’m not like you wretches! I’ll cleanse this filthy blood with the true God’s favor!”

“You repulsive fanatic! Did you commit those atrocities driven by such delusions?”

I wrapped my tendrils around his legs, lifted him into the air, and slammed him to the ground. As his entire skeleton shattered and healed simultaneously, he slashed through my tendrils to escape.

“Heretics are evil! Weak or strong, human form or not! All of you are beasts and monsters like you! You deserve to die! Every breath you take is a grave sin!”

With steadfast resolve and madness, he cut my body to pieces numerous times.

“No, you’re the problem here.”

Even the monstrous regenerative ability of my mutated body had its limits. Nevertheless, I didn’t stop my assault.

“You label people as criminals at your whim and subject them to discrimination.”

I pierced, entwined, slashed, and bit him. Albeka’s armor was already in tatters, revealing bones and organs with each attack. Even if he healed instantly, there was always a split second of vulnerability when he felt the pain.

“You tried to sacrifice orphans and the elderly for money.”

“Ugh!”

In a frenzy, he inflicted another mortal wound on my body. I no longer cared about my deteriorating body; I was consumed entirely by rage.

“You killed them whimsically and even defiled their corpses. It’s time for you to be swallowed by your sins, Albeka!”

As Albeka swung his sword again, I unleashed all my fury at once, striking with my tendrils.

And in the next moment, darkness fell.