I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 59. Comedia Dell’arte (2)

“Ridiculous words.”

With my gesture, Eldritch fired several 〈Blue Lances〉 at the place where Charlotte was. A simple yet swift and penetrating spell.

“What do you mean?”

However, Charlotte didn’t even look back and used blood to form a wall, blocking the magic.

“You’re a crazy woman who kills people mercilessly and meddles in the rituals of an Outer God. And now you claim Lilybell’s death, which was by your hand, makes you sad? Spare me the nonsense.”

“Oh, was that what really bothered you, Professor? It’s a simple story… It’s interesting that your way of speaking has even changed. It really must have bothered you.”

Charlotte gathered the blood she had used and crafted it into a staff.

“I am a mage, Professor. I can feel affection and attachment, but pursuing knowledge takes precedence over all that, isn’t it natural?”

“What?”

“Mages are explorers, captivated by the vast knowledge of magic and endlessly pursuing research. I am no different.”

Charlotte twirled the staff playfully, grinning with mischief.

“Hunger, lust, the desire to sleep, greed, love—compared to the thirst for knowledge, all of these are things I can set aside. And an Outer God, a mystery among mysteries, provokes my curiosity beyond measure!”

Watching Charlotte’s exaggerated, theatrical gestures, I felt only disgust.

“The more I listen to you, the less I want to understand what kind of person you are.”

“That’s not a very professorial attitude, is it? But it doesn’t matter. Although I shared everything of interest, there are still many ways I can demand a special lecture from you, Professor!”

Charlotte pulled out a mask from her pocket. The item Sevika spoke about—’The Child’s Lament’.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

Charlotte put on the mask with a mocking smile. The mask seemed to come alive, writhing. The cracks widened, revealing unsettling mouths with teeth and tongues. Then, it began to emit an eerie, shiver-inducing wail.

“Ah… Ahh!”

The first to react to the lament were the undead Pale Guards, puppets of Charlotte. They suddenly began to twitch as if having spasms, causing everyone warding them off to retreat warily.

*Creak…* The bones pushed through the skin as if forcibly growing, and the skulls twisted into bizarre shapes resembling many horns. They transformed into larger, more monstrous, almost beastly forms.

“Think about it, Professor. Could I have made such a pointless offer to reveal everything before dying?”

Reflecting Charlotte’s expression, the mask seemed to wear a sinister smile.

“You should realize by now~.”

“Is that what you call a negotiation?”

I bit my lip at Charlotte’s words. I had a hunch about her intentions, and it infuriated me.

“Professor! Did you catch on? As expected, you are quick on the uptake!”

“You openly said it yourself. You were killing everyone due to a contract with the Baron. In return, you received three things.”

Money, noble etiquette, and Caelo’s status.

“The Baron can no longer provide Caelo’s status. Since Caelo confessed everything. You’re saying you can nullify the contract by using that as leverage?”

“Exactly! Now I don’t need to kill anyone here! The contract is null!”

The Baron, listening to her words, exploded in anger.

“Charlotte! What nonsense is this? Do you have any idea the amount of money I’ve poured into you? We taught you noble etiquette step by step, and provided Caelo’s status!”

Caelo, still unable to shake off the mental shock, was muttering nonsense while staring at the floor. His despicable behavior reached a new peak.

Even worse, with the Baron, he stayed on the house’s upper floors, protected by Charlotte’s controlled Pale Guards in a safe area.

‘We need to grab them and figure out how to open the doors, but that’s impossible right now.’

Charlotte let out a sigh while still protecting the Baron.

“We’re still in the process of fulfilling your contract with each other, Baron. Don’t you think that’s a bit much from the start? The second son doesn’t even bother to use his head, just spills everything right out…”

The masked figure sighed with a gloomy expression.

“Engaging in unnecessary rituals as rehearsals… and none of them even count within the three requests.”

‘A rehearsal?’

So, the murder at Academia was just a rehearsal? My gaze shifted to Elrave who lay on the ground. Even after losing an arm, Elrave glared at Charlotte with eyes of pure hatred and spat out blood, consumed with fury.

“For such a pathetic reason, my students!”

Elrave tried to wield magic with labored breaths, but it seemed challenging due to the massive blood loss.

‘In a sense, it might be fortunate. Even if he tries to use magic in desperation, it’ll just be intercepted.’

Charlotte didn’t even dignify Elrave with a glance.

“Even earlier, as soon as things went south, he brazenly revealed himself to me and told me to kill everyone. It’s too much, too much. I couldn’t even prepare properly, and now here I am.”

“If you just kill them all, it wouldn’t be a problem! As long as you stick to the contract…”

Charlotte shook her head playfully.

“While you might avert a crisis that way, you can’t avoid the disappointment I have in you, Baron. Even if the ritual succeeds, it’s questionable whether you’ll become a great mage…”

Charlotte tilted her mask slightly and, with a glitter in her eye, smiled at me.

“Before you stand a truly fascinating gentleman with mysterious knowledge, isn’t it natural for a woman to be drawn this way?”

I couldn’t bear to listen any longer. Sensing my anger, Charlotte placed a finger on her lips, gesturing for silence before I could speak.

Around Charlotte, the Pale Guards, transformed into massive skeletal creatures, made threatening sounds as they warned me.

“Professor, I currently have the upper hand. You must be very angry about the students’ deaths, but I did it only because of the contract, you see? So let’s not hate each other too much…”

Charlotte lowered the mask and beamed a wide smile.

“Let’s be friends!”

I responded with an icy sneer.

“You think you have the upper hand? You might want to reconsider.”

*Boom!*

Arian grasped one of the skeletal creatures and swung it, smashing another beside Charlotte into pieces.

“You! I’ve dealt with many villains as a military officer, but none as twisted as you!”

Arian smashed another approaching skeletal creature to bits with her bare fists. The terrifying sound resonated through the space, causing Charlotte to flinch slightly before donning her mask once more.

“Really… looks do deceive sometimes. How can you smash that with just your bare hands?”

Arian ignored her entirely, lunging forward quickly to swing a mace at Charlotte. Instead of retreating, Charlotte’s mask opened wide, emitting a horrific sound.

“Ugh!”

It wasn’t just a simple sound wave; several aristocrats in the vicinity started foaming at the mouth and convulsing. Higher-ranking professors and guards managed to withstand it, though a few were caught by the skeletal creatures during the chaos.

*Boom!*

Nonetheless, Arian broke through and swung her mace at Charlotte. Though the attack was precise, a nearby skeletal creature took the hit instead of Charlotte.

“The impact was redirected. It must be the forbidden spell, ‘Sacrifice of the Dead Slave’.”

Unperturbed, Arian launched another attack, but another skeletal creature blocked it, allowing Charlotte to retreat. I signaled to Eldritch again.

“I’ve grown even more unfavorable to Luminaries lately…”

Charlotte grumbled, sensing the shift and quickly casting a spell. Eldritch’s magic made droplets fall like bullets, but Charlotte shielded herself with a shield of crimson blood outstretched like an umbrella.

“This kind of situation has developed, yet you’re still sticking to simple magic? Don’t you have a rank, professor?”

“!”

Eldritch reacted to those words.

I, too, couldn’t help but be taken aback.

‘Eldritch has no rank……?’

“It’s fascinating. Considering your mana amount and casting speed, you should have been able to awaken easily. You’re truly piquing my curiosity, professor!”

*Crash!*

Arian swung her flail at Charlotte once more, causing another skeletal monster to shatter with the power of 〈Sacrifice of the Dead Slaves〉.

‘Her physical abilities are ordinary. Arian can defeat her if she closes in and attacks continuously. The number of skeletal monsters has also significantly decreased.’

There was still a need to be cautious of the remaining forbidden magic. However, while Arian successfully launched two attacks without a scratch, Charlotte had yet to land an effective strike against her.

“It can’t be helped, then…”

Charlotte stirred the air without chanting to move her body. Seeing that, an ominous feeling washed over me.

‘Is she trying to use the forbidden magic Ferdinand intended to……?’

With corpses scattered about, it was the perfect situation for its use. Fortunately, Arian seemed to remember the battle against Ferdinand and sensed what was happening, taking immediate action.

“〈Snow of Peace〉!”

A soft glow that calmed the mind and restored fatigue.

It aided allies whose spirits had been gradually waning and also affected Charlotte’s forbidden magic…

“〈Legion of Malevolent Plagues〉!”

Charlotte tilted her head slightly.

“… Huh? It’s not working?”

Then the mouths on the mask burst into a wide grin.

“So that’s it! Blessing the corpses prevents the conditions from being met?”

Realizing something new, Charlotte’s voice dropped with pleasure. “But… how do you know about that?”

“……”

Arian adjusted her stance instead of answering.

“This is a very special magic written in the Necronomicon, taught to me by my master. But how did you instantly notice and countered it?”

The atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The mask let out cries of agony and lament; the few bone monsters left contorted painfully due to excessive mutation, convulsing uncontrollably.

Thanks to the 〈Radiant Snow of Peace〉, our side suffered less psychological damage, but the nobles, who were mentally weaker, were…

“Ugh… urrgh…”

They foamed at the mouth, convulsed, then abruptly slumped down, lifeless.

‘This is on a different level compared to before!’

Even the Baron’s contingent, who still retained their contract, writhed on the ground in pain.

“It’s you.”

Charlotte spoke coldly.

“It was you. I heard the news late that my master had passed. They said some mercenary killed my master, who was from the Luminaries Wave Reach Branch.”

*Crack.*

A grinding sound emerged from beyond the mask.

“It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who took my precious master away. I can’t forgive you.”

“I’m not fond of using harsh words…”

Arian frowned and glared at her opponent.

“Seriously, I’ve seen some deranged lunatics.”