The originally frail judge, within a mere few seconds, directly tore apart the shell known as "humanity."
It was not, as Suke had previously anticipated, that a demon was hiding in this residence acting as Hopkins' bodyguard, but rather that it was he—Matthew Hopkins himself.
Under the intertwining of the Singularity's bizarre erosion and his own extreme emotions, he had degenerated into a demon that could be called a demigod!
This was the deepest despair of Salem: the most devout believers often hatched the most terrifying monsters.
"Boom!"
The roof of the study was instantly punctured.
A hideous demon, fully three meters tall and sporting huge, winding goat horns, stood before Suke and Sanson. Reason had long vanished from its scarlet eyes, leaving only endless killing intent toward the "heretics" before it.
"Well that's great. He doesn't need to go around catching heretics for trial anymore; he's transformed into a heretic himself."
Suke looked at this monster before him, which emitted a terrifying aura, and the corners of his mouth twitched as he couldn't help but retort.
However, his movements did not idle; at the same time, he pulled Neptune's Glaive from his backpack, its blue light shimmering as he grasped it in his hand.
"Roar!"
The demon that Hopkins had become let out a roar. Its mutated, expanded giant claw, wrapped in fearsome power, smashed down toward his head!
"Watch out!"
"Bang!"
Sanson blocked with his sword, but it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. He was blasted away directly, crashing into and collapsing a bookshelf; it looked like he was in bad shape.
"Quite strong, aren't you!"
Suke swung his greatsword upward, clashing hard against the demon's claws.
The immense impact force caused his feet to sink into the floorboards, and his health bar instantly dropped by a large chunk.
Shit, no wonder this thing could one-shot him on the first night. This damage was equivalent to a Slime in the Secret Woods ramming him dozens of times.
The demon opened its maw. It wasn't fire inside, but waves of sonic screeches that seemed almost tangible. Although they carried no magical energy, they were deafening.
"For... our purity!!"
The screech bombarded Suke's ears, causing a spell of dizziness. The digitized damage caused his health to hit rock bottom.
However, this also confirmed one thing for Suke: even with such an occurrence, Salem's rule of magic prohibition had not been broken.
Having played FGO, he knew that the strength of this kind of demon lay in utilizing magical energy attacks. Now that it was relying solely on its physical body, he could spar with it for a bit.
"That damage actually hurts, but since you've turned into such a big hulk, that makes things easier."
Fighting back the tinnitus, Suke pulled two pieces of [Pizza] from his backpack and stuffed them whole into his mouth.
"Gulp."
[Pizza]
[+150 Energy]
[+67 Health]
With two pieces of pizza down, his health bar instantly filled up.
Suke wiped his mouth. Looking at this sorrowful monster before him, transformed from a fanatic who believed in order, a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, subsequently turning into resolve.
"Who can you blame for this? The path was wrong. The harder you tried, the worse things became. Why torture yourself like this?"
"Sanson, dematerialize and hide further away!"
Hearing Suke's shout, Sanson, who had just propped himself up in the distance, gritted his teeth and dissipated into spirit particles despite his heavy injuries.
After confirming his teammate was safe, Suke faced the demon pouncing at him again and opened his backpack.
"Your God once used sulfur and fire to purge the sins of the human world. Letting you die by such means can be considered a blessing for you to go to Heaven."
[Bomb * 50]
With a thought from Suke.
Dozens of round bombs, already ignited and flashing with red light, suddenly poured out from the void, rolling to the demon's feet. A few even fell directly into its large mouth, which was open for a roar.
The demon's sole remaining shred of instinct felt fear, but its massive body left it nowhere to run.
"Goodbye, Lord Judge."
"When you get to your Lord, remember to tell Him that I've taken a liking to this area of Salem. Leave it for me to farm on later, okay!"
Suke smoothly took out the Return Scepter he had purchased for two million gold coins at the sewer shop from his backpack and pointed it toward the sky.
Boom—rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!
Accompanied by an earth-shattering loud noise, a cloud of smoke and dust that illuminated the night sky of Salem rose up in the darkness.
Light and heat swallowed the twisted demon, also covering that residence which symbolized power and judgment.
In the distance, illuminated by the sky-filling firelight.
In the darkness where no one could see.
Randolph Carter—or rather, the Demon God Pillar, Count Raum.
Leaning on his cane, he watched the judge's residence in the center of the small town burning fiercely after the explosion.
A ripple appeared in those dead, silent eyes.
...
[Congratulations Farmer on obtaining the hidden achievement: Otherworldly Explorer (Defeated the first monster not from Stardew Valley)]
[The peace of the town is occasionally disturbed by someone; why not go look outside the town?]
[Achievement Reward: Iridium Mystery Box 1, Golden Mystery Box 10, sent to backpack]
[Monster Loot: Fallen Heart of the Foreign God * 1, automatically picked up]
[Special Item: Fallen Heart of the Foreign God]
[When Heaven becomes Hell, the more devout the faith, the more one becomes a claw and fang of the devil.]
[Effect: Unknown]
[Donate it to the Museum; perhaps you will learn more information about it.]
Stardew Valley, Farm.
Accompanying the series of reminders popping up on the information panel before him, Suke couldn't help but sigh with emotion that the harvest from this trip was quite bountiful.
However, he still had one thing he wanted to retort about: this Stardew Valley Museum really wasn't picky. How come it didn't even refuse items from other worldviews?
As for this Iridium Mystery Box, Suke didn't remember such a thing existing in the original Stardew Valley, but the design wasn't hard to understand—an upgraded version of the Golden Mystery Box.
"Elysia, come do me a favor!"
A task like opening boxes definitely had to be handed over to a certain Miss Pink Elf. Suke didn't think his luck was better than hers.
"Darling... let me rest a while~ I'm dying of exhaustion..."
Facing the Farmer who rushed directly into a maiden's boudoir without even knocking, Miss Pink Elf—who had just finished watering a pumpkin patch spanning several acres and was so tired she couldn't straighten her back—was full of resentment.
Where in the world was there someone who really treated a beautiful girl like a farm tool!
This heartless Farmer was actually willing to do it!
And the most hateful thing was, Elysia discovered she really couldn't disobey Suke's orders regarding work!
To think that when she first arrived, she thought she could live a romantic and leisurely rural pastoral life. The result...
"I'm doing this for your own good. Look, it's only been three days, and Elysia, you're already a size bigger compared to when you first arrived."
"Also, when on the farm, please use my title. Call me Mr. Farmer."
"Eh, eh, eh?? Is that so???"
Stimulated by Suke's words, Elysia, who had been lying face down like a corpse with her head buried in a soft, fluffy pillow, did a carp kip-up from the bed.
Without worrying that Suke was still in the room, she subconsciously lifted the hem of her clothes, revealing a waist outlined with fair curves and a looming, teardrop-shaped lower abdomen, pinching it.
After discovering there wasn't such an exaggerated change as Suke had claimed, Elysia revealed an angry expression and glared at Suke.
"Miss Pink Elf is really going to get angry! Darling, this kind of joke is too excessive for a girl!"
"I said use the title... Alright, alright, don't be angry. I really have urgent business with you."
Taking out a few Fairy Roses from his backpack that would never wither under Stardew Valley rules and placing them into the vase at her bedside right in front of Elysia, her expression finally improved a bit.
"I had a big haul in Salem tonight. Elysia, help me crack open these boxes. At worst, I won't make you do work like watering in the future."
"You won't make me water anymore? Seriously?"
Rubbing her back which was still somewhat sore, Elysia cast her gaze upon the question-mark boxes Suke had lined up in front of her.
"It's a deal!"
_____
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