#200

[Nyapoleon: I have traveled through the Capital Church, collecting items obtainable from heretic slayers, securing high-level Units, and farming Sacred Relics. However, there was no trace of you anywhere.]

[Nyapoleon: In such a situation, you believe that seizing order points should take priority over farming? That is difficult to understand. You are not a foolish person.]

[Nyapoleon: Therefore, I can only assume that you have been struck by a ‘Curse’ of Order.]

[Nyapoleon: A ‘Curse’ that must be canceled before the time dilation rate expires.]

While Nyapoleon was typing, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

It felt as if my throat were burning.

[Nyapoleon: That would be… ‘Heavenly Punishment,’ wouldn’t it?]

‘Shit.’

[Nyapoleon: Well? Was my deduction correct? :)]

In a situation where I only had one card left in my hand, I felt as though he had seen exactly what it was.

It was an unfair game from the start.

Even if I held a bad hand, I’d need the numbers to align just to attempt a bluff.

[Pandemonium: Yeah, you’re right.]

[Pandemonium: I did a few things that deserved Heavenly Punishment.]

[Pandemonium: You know that if you’re struck dead by Heavenly Punishment, you get dragged down to the Hell of Order, right?]

[Pandemonium: If you want to hand over the position of Cult Leader to me, wait until this curse is canceled first. You said that’s your purpose for existing.]

[Nyapoleon: Is that really necessary?]

[Pandemonium: Shit, it was a lie after all, wasn’t it? You son of a bitch.]

[Nyapoleon: No, there is a much simpler solution. Why not just destroy your current physical body before the Heavenly Punishment strikes? Heavenly Punishment disappears if you switch Units.]

[Nyapoleon: Ah, perhaps you are unaware of what Arrangement Mother God left for you? That is possible. The moment you die, you can be reborn into a new body prepared by Mother God. A body far superior to the one you are currently using.]

[Pandemonium: I don’t need that crap.]

[Nyapoleon: If this arm is a part of you… it seems Happy God does not cherish you very much. Honestly, I am a bit saddened. :(((]

[Nyapoleon: How heartbroken Mother God must be. She gathered all sorts of wonderful things to give to you, yet you are trapped in a body as fragile as a crab that has just molted its shell.]

‘Why the hell is his analogy like that?’

[Nyapoleon: With such soft flesh, you should at least be good at hiding. Or possess some poison.]

[Nyapoleon: Ah, perhaps you wanted to be eaten? If so, I apologize. I failed to sufficiently respect your preferences.]

[Pandemonium: You crazy bastard, who the hell would lower their durability because they want to be eaten?]

[Nyapoleon: There are more people with such desires than you might think. There is no need to be ashamed.]

[Nyapoleon: And if you didn’t want to be eaten, why do you need to be this delicious?]

[Pandemonium: …Did you eat it? For real?]

[Nyapoleon: Not you specifically, but a maggot that mimicked you. Yes, I ate it.]

[Nyapoleon: I feel exactly like a baby spider crab. ::::)))]

‘…What the hell does that even feel like?’

No, I don’t want to know.

I shouldn’t ask.

[Nyapoleon: Oh dear. It seems it doesn’t extend to you. Is the arm you’re using now a separate entity? You have at least the minimum security in place.]

[Nyapoleon: What a shame.]

[Nyapoleon: I wanted to gnaw away at all of you just like this….]

I felt suffocated.

What should I do?

The number of ‘Nyapoleons’ was far too high.

There were five just in the locations he mentioned earlier. Including the ones he didn’t mention, there must be well over ten.

The moment I caught and crushed one, the exposure of our location would be inevitable, so they would either swarm us all at once or scatter in all directions.

Even if I managed to kill more than half of them, the ‘Ledeia Slugification’ plan would likely continue.

‘Then the Heavenly Punishment…’

As I was desperately racking my brain, I felt someone tugging at my sleeve.

Callister was looking up at me with an anxious expression.

“What is happening? Please tell me as well.”

‘…He doesn’t know because he can’t see the chat window.’

I explained everything to him step by step to organize my own thoughts.

“Someone who serves the God of Mutations—who seems to have swallowed the former research director—intends to create a new Ledeia.”

No matter how I tried to deal with them, their numbers were too great.

If the control of ‘Columba?’ was snatched away in the meantime, the method to remove the Heavenly Punishment would vanish.

The tutorial emergency life-saving device maximizes the time dilation rate; it does not stop time.

If I couldn’t find a new way to avoid the Heavenly Punishment within the limited time, I would lose Pandemonium.

‘It sounds even more hopeless when I summarize it out loud.’

“…Since it’s about stealing the Power of Order, can’t we just ask them to cooperate?”

“What that lunatic ultimately wants is me.”

I explained the crazy things Nyapoleon had babbled, toning them down slightly.

That he only desires for me to become the Cult Leader, and that he’s the type of guy who would do anything to achieve that.

“…Even if I die, I’ll just be reborn among them, so he won’t hesitate to attack. He’s under the delusion that I am the target of the Heavenly Punishment, so he’ll likely decide he needs to kill me even faster before I fall into the hands of Order.”

“How did someone as terrible as that become interested in Fabio?”

“…I don’t know.”

I opened ‘Columba?’s Status Window and narrowed my eyes.

His Health was being chipped away bit by bit.

He was probably being chewed on.

‘What can I do? What should I do?’

Do I even have anything left that could be called an option?

Falling into the Hell of Order VS entering Mother God’s belly. It felt like those were the only two choices left.

‘Shit, this trash game…’

If this were actually a game, I would have quit a long time ago. Seriously.

No, if it were just my own life, I would have given up early on.

But I have lives tied to me.

As for that bastard Pandemonium, whether he falls into hell or ends up calling Mother God ‘Mother,’ it’s partly his own fault, so I could live with that, but…

“Fabio, it’s okay. We’ll find a way. Take a deep breath, slowly.”

Looking at Callister trying his best to soothe me made my stomach churn.

“System… No, Dear System. Please help me.”

If you’re going to pit the 1st and 16th ranks against each other, shouldn’t you give some kind of penalty?

Shit, just save me.

As if it heard me, the System popped up a window.

[TIP: If you accept a follower with a high level of infamy, that infamy will spread to the entire cult.

In such cases, you can sever the connection through Excommunication.

Why not cut ties with a malicious follower who is of no help via ‘Excommunication’?]

“…What a load of absolute bullshit.”

A tip on how to be condemned with less pain in hell would be more useful.

I irritably closed the window.

“…What did the System say?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Did it tell you to excommunicate him?”

“What?”

“You would have explained it if it were something absurd. The fact that you’re not telling me means it wasn’t something worth hearing, and the only thing I can guess is excommunication.”

‘What’s with him all of a sudden?’

Callister, who was clinging tightly to me, glared at Pandemonium.

“If you have a conscience, shouldn’t you just leave on your own?”

“Uh, I don’t have a conscience.”

“Even if Fabio dies because of you?”

“The hyung told me. That if I fall into hell, he’s next. What happens if there are no Units capable of executing a plan when I think of one? In a strategy game, if only the King is left, it’s a loss anyway.”

“No. You know Fabio is too kind to abandon you. That’s why you’re clinging to him, begging to be saved. You’re forcing him to find a way no matter what!”

Pandemonium’s face crumpled.

“This maggot doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, does he?”

“You can’t refute it because it’s the truth, right? You piece of trash!”

I let out a loud, deliberate sigh.

“Callister. This is not the time for us to be wasting emotions on each other. I’m not excommunicating him. No, I can’t. So the conversation ends here. Got it?”

“…Fabio. Please remember what that man did to you. That lawless creature hung me in mid-air, tore my limbs apart, and trampled me until I could no longer regenerate. Fabio must have suffered something similar. Isn’t that right?”

“I told you to stop.”

“No matter where we go, it would be more beneficial to leave him behind.”

“I’ll be the one to decide that.”

“So you still won’t abandon him.”

“Yeah.”

“…Would you have made the same choice even if I were the one struck by Heavenly Punishment?”

‘Why is he asking that all of a sudden?’

Does he think this is unfair?

That I’m favoring Pandemonium too much?

‘I mean, shit, what do you want me to do?’

The biggest reason I can’t leave Pandemonium behind right now is that the bastard won’t let himself be left.

If I told him to get off the lifeboat, he’s the type to punch a hole in the boat.

I’d have to have a way to actually discard him before I could even consider the option of abandoning him.

In contrast, Callister…

“…If it were you, I would have made a different choice.”

I hugged Callister.

“Because you would have tried to leave before I could even excommunicate you, so I would have held onto you to stop you.”

“Fabio…”

‘Since I’ve gone this far, he should stay quiet for a while.’

I continued my thoughts while holding Callister.

There isn’t only one way to avoid Heavenly Punishment.

As Nyapoleon said, I could switch bodies, or it would be lifted if I moved to a place completely outside the Domain of Order.

If I rode a horse with all my might and escaped before the punishment fell, I might somehow survive.

Or…

‘…He might tell me to commit suicide before the punishment hits.’

As long as the Soul remains intact, it can be revived someday.

It’s a waste of ‘Marcello Teres’s stats, but honestly, right now, he’s a sword too sharp and heavy for me to wield.

It would be better to keep him in a vessel that cannot resist me…

“Fabio.”

Callister whispered to me in a low voice.

“When you hold me like this, you feel so big.”

“…Yeah.”

“There were many good things about being small. I liked how you became noticeably softer, and I loved how you treated me like a real child and tried to protect me. To the point where I thought I wanted to stay this way and never grow up…”

‘That’s a bit much.’

Callister loosened the arms he had wrapped around me.

“But all these joys—though they are truly immense and precious emotions—are nothing compared to the fear of not being able to protect you, Fabio.”

“…Callister?”

Suddenly, I got a bad feeling.

Why is he saying things like that?

Don’t give me lines that look like they belong in a close-up shot filling half a page.

Those are usually death flags.

“Fabio. Next time, I’ll be sure to greet you by saying it’s our tenth time meeting.”