Chapter 236: The Sin Archbishop!
'The Witch Cult???'
The sudden name made Shiro freeze.
He had deliberately been gathering information about the Witch Cult ever since arriving in this world.
Even so, he never expected to encounter the mysterious organization this quickly.
'What is this supposed to be?'
'Searching everywhere only to find it without any effort?'
While Shiro was momentarily distracted, he took in the scene around them.
The dragon carriage had not stopped because of Rem.
The Earth Dragon pulling it was already dead.
Half of its severed head lay on the ground, silently telling everyone just how miserable its final moments had been.
Farther ahead—A circular membrane of magical energy descended from above like a barrier, isolating this section of road from the surrounding forest.
Meanwhile, figures continuously emerged from the trees and surrounded their carriage.
Judging by their clothing, Shiro confirmed that they really were members of the Witch Cult.
Pitch-black robes covered their bodies from head to toe.
Pure-white gloves, symbols of supposed holiness, covered their hands.
Even the only two openings in their hoods, meant for their eyes, were filled with unmistakable madness.
No normal person would dress like this in broad daylight.
And judging by their current expressions—They did not exactly seem willing to communicate.
'No choice.'
'I'll capture all of them first and see whether there's at least one normal person among them who can talk.'
However—Before Shiro could move, someone else acted first.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
With a roar overflowing with hatred, the blue-haired maid charged straight into the crowd.
Her morning star spun through the air two and a half times before crashing directly into the face of a Witch Cultist.
BOOM—!
Blood and flesh exploded alongside the sickening sound of shattered bone.
When Rem pulled her morning star away—The cultist's corpse had already been reduced to something that would require heavy censoring even in a horror movie.
Calling it a human body was generous.
It was little more than a puddle of red flesh.
Yet Rem did not spare the remains even half a second of attention.
She immediately swung her morning star again and charged toward her next target.
Facing the people responsible for her past tragedy—Rem had absolutely no interest in reminiscing.
She attacked with everything she had, determined to personally send every last one of them to hell.
To ordinary eyes—Only a blurry blue shadow could be seen flashing through the crowd.
Everywhere it passed, another cultist erupted into a blossom of blood.
"Ram."
"Take Emilia back to Roswaal Mansion first."
Watching Rem chase the fleeing Witch Cultists into the forest, Shiro jumped down from the carriage and spoke to Ram.
"Ram is currently busy."
"If Shiro-sama wishes to talk in his sleep, please wait until nighttime."
Ram casually leaned aside as a cultist slashed at her.
"Or are you expecting Ram's stamina to be enough to escort Lady Emilia through this entire encirclement alone?"
"Fura!"
Her wand swept outward.
A blade of wind sliced horizontally through the attacker and split him cleanly in two.
"You saw the barrier overhead too, right?"
Shiro looked upward.
"They predicted our route and placed magical stones here in advance to construct it."
"Do you really think these lunatics who only have murder in their eyes are capable of that?"
"Are you suggesting..."
"Besides these Witch Cultists, there's definitely a magic user with considerable skill hiding somewhere nearby and watching us."
Shiro stared at the magical canopy above.
He did not move his hands at all.
Yet every Witch Cultist who rushed within five meters of him suddenly collapsed as if struck by a massive invisible weight.
One after another, they fell unconscious at his feet.
Compared to these cannon fodder who had already lost themselves to slaughter—The magic user capable of constructing this barrier was obviously far more valuable.
Predicting their route and arranging the necessary magical stones ahead of time also meant the person possessed at least a minimum level of rational thought.
Perhaps Shiro could even extract some useful information from them.
"Honestly, admitting this annoys Ram..."
"But under normal circumstances, when facing an enemy of this level, wouldn't our chances be better if we stayed together?"
"Hmm?"
Shiro glanced at her.
"Wait."
"Did you misunderstand something on your own?"
He looked down with satisfaction at the prisoners he had "worked so hard" to capture.
"I never told you to leave because the enemy is too strong for me."
"Before I see what they really are, I simply can't guarantee I can fight them while protecting all of you at the same time."
"So before the real battle begins, I'm sending you out of the barrier first."
"That includes Rem."
"Once I find her, I'll have her catch up with you."
His utterly undisguised declaration that they were burdens made Ram's expression stiffen.
"Hmph."
"Ram only needs to be cute."
"If Ram became competent as well, this world would no longer be able to endure her perfection."
"Yes, yes."
Shiro casually brushed off her declaration.
"By the way, adorable Ram only needs to run in this direction to leave the barrier without encountering a single Witch Cultist."
Using his ability, Shiro pointed out an absolutely safe route for her.
Then he glanced back toward the direction they had come from.
Afterward—He turned and chased after Rem.
...
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
[Oni Transformation] was an innate ability unique to the Oni race.
It could dramatically increase their combat strength—But it also carried the risk of losing reason.
And Rem was currently in precisely that state.
She had not completely lost consciousness.
However, her mind could now focus on only one thought.
'Kill them all!'
BOOM—!
Dense branches were completely incapable of stopping the Oni girl's monstrous strength.
Rem swung her right arm.
Her morning star instantly tore through layer after layer of vegetation, ripped apart the air, and smashed the back of a fleeing Witch Cultist into pulp.
The strength of the Oni race was undeniable.
Even though the Witch Cultists possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage—Against Rem, all they could do was scatter and flee.
Before her attacks, they were as fragile as spiderwebs.
The slightest force was enough to tear them apart.
But the girl, consumed by endless slaughter, failed to notice something strange.
Why would members of the Witch Cult—An organization infamous for madness—Be fleeing deeper into the forest?
Driven forward by the killing intent filling her mind, Rem pursued them until she reached the entrance of a cave.
"This smell...!"
Anything related to a Witch would inevitably carry traces of a unique, unpleasant scent.
With the Oni race's extraordinary physical senses, Rem could usually detect that hated presence from several meters away.
So she immediately noticed—The Witch's scent coming from inside the cave was several times stronger than anything carried by the cultists she had been chasing.
It was so dense that it made her nauseous.
Whoever was inside—Was no ordinary Witch Cultist.
Realizing this, Rem roared and swung her morning star toward the cave entrance.
She intended to collapse the entire cliff and bury whoever was hiding inside forever.
However—
Clatter, clatter—!
The chain stretched to its absolute limit and rang sharply.
The morning star, carrying the full monstrous strength of an Oni, suddenly stopped in midair.
It hung there unnaturally—As though glued in place.
No matter how hard Rem pulled, it refused to move even slightly.
"Aaaaahhh!"
"You killed them!"
"You killed every one of those slothful members right in front of me!"
"Aaah, aaah, but it cannot be helped!"
"Your diligence surpassed their sloth!"
"Wait... diligence?!"
"Aaah~ Could this also be love?!"
A deranged male voice echoed from within the cave.
His pitch rose and fell unpredictably, as though he were constantly conversing with another person inside his own mind.
Combined with the cave's echoes—It sounded like a voice crawling straight out of hell.
Rem tightened her grip around the handle of her morning star and stared gravely toward the cave entrance.
"Yes! Of course!"
"It is love!"
"Love, love, love!"
"Sloth cannot be forgiven!"
"That is why diligent me was granted this favor!"
"I must repay this favor with all of my heart!"
"I must become even more diligent!"
The voice drew closer.
Only once its owner reached the cave entrance did Rem finally see him clearly beneath the sunlight.
He was painfully thin.
His skin was so pale that not even the slightest trace of blood seemed to remain beneath it.
Dark-green hair hung across his head like withered grass.
His face looked like little more than skin stretched over bone.
Deeply sunken eye sockets contained pitch-black eyes overflowing with insanity.
Those eyes stared directly at Rem.
"Hah."
"You lunatics from the Witch Cult actually dare talk about love in front of Rem?"
"Don't flatter yourselves!"
"Witch Cultist!"
Seeing a man without a hood who was clearly of higher status than the ordinary cultists, Rem immediately mocked him.
"Hmm?"
The man appeared unable to understand her words.
His neck suddenly tilted sideways by a full ninety degrees—Like a vengeful ghost from a horror film.
Then he reached into his robes and pulled out a book with a pitch-black cover.
Right in front of Rem—He began flipping through its pages.
"Not loved?"
"Not loved, not loved, not loved, not loved, not loved?"
He repeated the phrase endlessly.
Then—
Snap!
The book slammed shut.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"I understand!"
"You're saying that despite receiving so much love, I remain this slothful, aren't you?!"
"Aah, sloth truly cannot be allowed!"
"I should repay love with even greater diligence!"
"Please forgive the sloth of this body that has failed to live up to the favor bestowed upon me!"
"Now witness it!"
"The proof that my diligence has earned me love!"
"The Authority of Sloth!"
[Unseen Hand]!!!
The instant he finished—
Rem felt an enormous impact slam into her abdomen.
Her grip on the morning star immediately failed.
Her body folded around the blow and flew backward.
BOOM—!
She crashed directly into a tree before sliding helplessly to the ground.
In a manner Rem could not comprehend—The man had severely injured her with a single attack.
Seeing this, he stretched his mouth into a grin so wide it looked as though his face might tear apart.
"This is the love bestowed upon me!"
"This love cannot be denied by anyone!"
"To deny it is to betray love!"
"It is sloth!!!"
"You're... a Sin Archbishop..."
Rem's breathing became ragged from her injuries.
With trembling hands, she tried to support herself and stand.
But every part of her body was screaming pain into her mind.
That single attack had already told Rem roughly who this man was.
Even within the Witch Cult—An organization composed almost entirely of lunatics—There still existed a hierarchy.
Roswaal had once explained it to Shiro.
The so-called Sin Archbishops were effectively the leaders of the Witch Cult.
They took the six remaining Deadly Sins, excluding Envy, as their titles.
For centuries, they had led the Witch Cult across the world while pursuing the resurrection of the Witch of Envy.
And the man standing before Rem—Was one of them.
That completely unreasonable attack—Neither magic nor Divine Protection—Was the clearest proof of his identity.
In this world, no one unrelated to the Witches could unleash an attack accompanied by such an overwhelming Witch's scent.
"Oh my."
"Come to think of it, I have yet to introduce myself."
"How terribly, terribly, terribly, terribly rude of me!"
The man bent forward politely like a gentleman.
"I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult."
"The one who presides over [Sloth]—"
"Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti."
He stared at the heavily injured girl who was still desperately struggling to rise.
An excitement and insanity incomprehensible to ordinary people spread across his face.
"How beautiful!"
"A young girl desperately trying to prove her diligence!"
"But why aren't you standing?!"
"If you don't stand, you cannot repay love!"
"Failing to repay love is unacceptable, isn't it?!"
"Love without repayment can never be saved, just like clouds drifting aimlessly through the sky!"
"Or perhaps..."
"You merely wish to enjoy this favor without diligently repaying her?"
"Aah."
"Aah..."
"Aah..."
"As expected."
"You are still slothful..."
As Petelgeuse spoke—Rem suddenly sensed something appearing in the air.
"Aaaah!"
"Diligence truly is the most valuable thing!"
"If one remains excessively slothful, then being killed simply cannot be helped!"
Petelgeuse advanced toward Rem one step at a time, his voice overflowing with fanatical conviction.
The Sin Archbishop who represented Sloth intended to prove his own diligence—By killing Rem.
However—
"If Ram sees you reduced to this state, she'll definitely curse me out right alongside you."
A third voice suddenly appeared in the air.
Between Petelgeuse and Rem—A silver-white figure silently materialized.
Before that moment—Neither Petelgeuse nor Rem had noticed when he arrived.
"But before that..."
Shiro glanced toward the distance.
"It seems more than one troublesome person is chasing after us."
"So before they get here..."
"Could the man who hurt my maid hurry up, spit out everything he knows—"
"And then die?"
As he spoke—Shiro stood before Rem with his Device gripped in his hand.
…
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