12 O'Clock Marionette-Chapter 68

I stared at the faint mana traces left behind, then turned my body around.

Now is not the time for reflection.

Still, as I moved quickly, my mind inevitably drifted to past memories.

[One: Do not turn away from those who ask for help. If you do, the chains of the devil will drape over your neck, and Pebula will provide you with a second head.]

That was the third of Pebula's eight commandments.

Anyway, priests must live at a loss.

I had always complained about this command every time I read it, yet strangely, it felt a bit relieving this time.

Perhaps I'm losing my mind.

I soon reached the end of the passage.

Once again, it was a dead-end, but I trusted the investigator's words and charged toward the wall.

After a brief moment of floating in the air, I felt the hard floor under my feet.

My ankles tingled a bit.

Looking up, I saw a warehouse-like space.

The only light came from a mana stone lamp hanging on the wall, and right in front of me was the person I had been searching for.

"Gavotte!"

A young man tightly bound to a large chair.

Seeing him in person made my chest tighten, and I quickly ran toward him.

I first removed the blindfold from Gavotte's eyes.

He stared at me blankly.

I expected him to ask why I was here in a dazed voice, but he didn’t react at all.

Could it be some sort of mental magic?

"No."

What had happened could be figured out later.

I decided to start untying his wrists first.

However, the moment my hand touched the knot, the rope smoothly slid off.

"Eh...?"

Gavotte’s hands were gone.

I fumbled around in confusion, and something fell onto my thigh.

"A straw... doll?"

Why was this here?

I looked up in surprise, but the silver-haired young man who had been there a moment ago was gone.

Instead, there was a straw doll sitting on the chair.

The same shape I had seen before.

The pale white face brought back memories.

"Gavotte, what happened to your ears?"

"A new servant touched my head, but they were clumsy, so it was a mistake."

Hair, and blood.

Materials for a dummy that mimics its master’s actions for hours.

"Ha."

I pulled out the communication orb and the hourglass from my pocket.

The reflection in the orb showed my back.

And the last bit of sand in the hourglass had just fallen.

Now I understand.

It wasn’t a clock meant to give me more time from the start.

It was simply there to tell me when the dummy magic would wear off.

I had completely fallen for it.

But there was no time to dwell on the sense of betrayal.

As soon as I realized, mana surged into the lamp hanging behind the chair.

A loud, shrieking noise and a burst of red light spread explosively.

This was the signal to call all the congregants, and it made me recall past events.

"This is the signal magic. There's a loud noise, and red light spreads everywhere..."

Yes, this was the trap set to capture me.

I hadn’t even thought that they would easily take Gavotte.

So the only thing that changed was that the hostage was fake from the start.

The fact that Gavotte was safe was, in fact, a positive signal.

"But why..."

It felt like black mud had settled in my heart.

No, I can't.

Calm down. Don’t get angry.

Getting worked up in this situation would only cloud my mind.

So, I decided to cool my head and respond calmly...

By the time I reached this thought, an entire wall on one side opened.

Beyond it, there was a mass of black.

Dark robes, priestly attire, and ram's masks in an ominous yellowish hue.

The space was filled with an unnerving number of identical outfits.

"The rats these days are bold. They just get caught in the traps themselves."

I turned my head at the mocking voice, but I couldn’t figure out who had spoken.

Well, it could have been anyone thinking the same thing.

Normally, this would have been an amusing third-rate provocation.

But today, now...

Ah.

"I've never been this angry before."

My frustration soared, and I couldn’t hold it in.

I reached into the pocket of the priest’s robe.

Then...

"Heh heh, our cute little rat—"

"Brilliance."

A pure white light exploded outward.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

As I saw it, I absentmindedly recalled the senior who had once been as white as that light.

"Junior, how do you think one should handle anger?"

"Well... I think it would feel better to hit the person who caused the anger, right?"

"Why are you so violent, considering you serve the gods?"

"Are you saying I have to forgive like a sucker just because I serve the gods?"

"No, I’m not saying you should forgive. Keep your heart balanced, okay? Either stay happy or let things go cheerfully."

"Isn’t that more annoying?"

"Heh! I’m saying this for your own good. The more you’re swept up by emotions, the more miserable it gets, you know?"

"Ebebebe, I can’t hear you, Ebebe!"

"Even if it's fine now, it'll hurt when... there’s no one by your side to comfort you when you're suffering..."

Back then, I had ignored these words, but after all the senior believers had died, I found myself recalling such conversations several times.

Following those words really did lead to some improvements.

I learned to lighten my heart, try not to think too seriously, and to let go.

It was good advice.

So, when I'm alone...!

"Forgiveness? Forgiveness can freeze over."

There are times when anger can only be released by punishing the other person.

If you want to argue, come back from hell first, senior!

Even when I heard the screams ringing out, I didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity.

Instead, the black magic that was fired at me only added to my anger.

"Die, you puppet of the priest!"

Who are you calling a puppet?!

─6th Spell. Protection.

Three massive shields appeared in the air.

The shields moved alternately, blocking the incoming dark magic.

Blocking just one wouldn't be enough to eliminate all these pests.

"Damn it, what are those shields?"

"Attack the main body! Attack the main body!"

─4th Spell. Restriction.

Pure white chains gathered together, lengthening like a massive anaconda.

The shape slithered through the air, extending and wrapping around the congregants in large groups, binding them.

Right in that spot...

"Ugh! I can't breathe!"

─6th Spell. Brilliance.

A brilliant burst of divine power erupted.

Pebula, many go now.

These weren’t particularly high-level spells, but the sheer force of my divine energy doubled their power.

I wasn’t thinking about holding back.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

After all, if I didn’t unleash these spells, I would die in this situation, and I had plenty of support tools.

I had to let go of a bit of my morality, but as long as I saved the world, it was all worth it.

"What the hell is going on? Has the deputy priest arrived?"

"Stop spouting nonsense! Why would the deputy priest come here?"

"Damn, then why are all the high-ranking ones helpless?"

High-ranking, my foot.

Earlier, I had given them a taste of my power, but in this situation, even if the Elders came in a group, I was confident.

Take that, the taste of retribution!

"Elders, or even J. come here!"

And just as I screamed, Julian appeared.

The vines he launched severed my chains.

"What is going on here!"

Had he been dealing with something elsewhere? His appearance was rather late.

I looked directly at Julian Minerva.

But it wasn’t the same gaze as before.

"I was killed immediately after I escaped the secret prison by Jeran."

He had said he killed Dylan.

I didn’t care whether Dylan was dead or not.

He had only helped me out of cowardice, and his position in the church made it clear he was guilty of numerous sins.

But now, hearing that he killed Dylan made an impact—especially since it was Julian who had done it.

"I let him go because he was just a kid."

Since he and Gavotte were academy classmates, he had seemed unusually young, and the tasks he did seemed trivial, so I didn’t think much of him.

But if he was already so tainted by evil that he could kill someone, age didn't matter.

Julian, frowning, scattered countless vines to aid the congregants.

Seeing that, I quickly began casting a spell.

─7th Spell. Punishment.

White flames, capable of burning anything, began to sprout.

In an instant, the temperature around me shot up, and Julian's plants burned up without having a chance to resist.

But the flames didn’t stop there; they chased after the many evil ones.

It was pure chaos.

"I’m serious. Back then, and now, I want to erase the power-hungry unbelievers."

"Yeah, erase them all. Clean up everything."

But it’s pointless to just get rid of the underlings.

After all, hasn’t it been said that a clean stream starts from the top?

If the church has turned into something I can’t stand, then Nigellia is also at fault.

So, I’ll clean up, including the 2nd Elder.

Cleaning up was my specialty in my past life.

I moved my hand inside my pocket.

I estimated how much of the chunked-up Beatum was left behind the plastic.

It was the Beatum I had found in Dylan’s office.

Knowing how Beatum is made, I knew that using it alone would be a crime.

Yet, I had no regrets about not turning back when it came to an irreversible life.

What mattered more was clear, and I had to make the best outcome from my choice.

No regrets.

Julian Minerva bit his lip in disbelief.

"How is such output possible?"

Even while watching, he couldn’t believe it.

Priests are supposed to be those who perform miracles.

But since they don’t control the power they cultivate themselves, priests struggled when handling divine spells.

It wasn’t something that could be continuously unleashed like that.

Even if it was the deputy priest, it would be impossible... How could this be?

As he thought, Julian suddenly noticed something strange about his opponent.