Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 144
Roxon raised his head and stretched his arms toward the sky. But the goddess he had so fervently believed in did not respond.
The true goddess was asleep, and the false goddess merely watched, amused. No one was there to save Roxon.
“Howgh… aghhh!”
It wasn’t long before black smoke began to pour out from Roxon’s body.
The smoke grew in volume, enveloping him in place of the divine power. Soon, a bizarre, lumpy cocoon was all that remained of him.
“Do you know what that is?”
Irene withdrew her divine power and asked Allen.
“A demon’s cocoon.”
“What?”
“I’ve never encountered one myself, but during the wars with the demons, things like that appeared from time to time.”
“What does it do?”
“It turns corrupted humans into ghouls.”
“Ghouls?”
“They’re creatures that are dead but still move, craving human flesh and blood. Ghouls are known for their resilience and are difficult to kill.”
That sounded like a serious problem.
The cocoon began to swallow not just Roxon, but the other priests as well. It grew in size, and when the knights tried to pierce it with their swords, it didn’t budge.
“Step back. The paladins with blessed weapons are the most suited to deal with ghouls.”
As expected, once the paladins stepped forward and began slashing at the cocoon, marks started to appear.
After some time, the cocoon twitched and began to stir.
Suddenly, a section of it split open, and something crawled out. It was a grotesque figure, looking like bones wrapped in skin, with a hideous head.
The creature crawled on all fours, and Irene instinctively took a step back.
The ghoul sniffed the air for a moment before darting toward the nearest houses.
One of the paladins leaped forward to intercept it, but the ghoul proved to be a formidable opponent.
It moved swiftly, dodging the paladin and attempting to attack others. Meanwhile, more ghouls began emerging from the still-wriggling cocoon.
“In the name of the Goddess!”
Allen and the remaining paladins charged forward. Other knights dealt with the ghouls that managed to slip through.
“This is bad!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Monsters have appeared in other locations as well! It seems the priests were hiding all over!”
Burt and Guy exchanged glances.
“It seems we’ll need to split up.”
“Indeed. From now on, everyone will move in pairs and eliminate the ghouls! Stay as close to other pairs as possible, and support each other if you’re in danger!”
As the group prepared to scatter, Irene stopped them.
“I’ll bless your weapons!”
Normally, it would require long hours of prayer to bless weapons properly, but as the Saintess, Irene could speed up the process.
It wouldn’t be a complete blessing, but it was better than nothing.
“I will help as well!”
Grein and the other priests who had come on the journey rushed to the knights and bestowed blessings upon their weapons. The blessed knights immediately dashed into action.
The effort left the priests exhausted, many of them collapsing in fatigue, but it wasn’t in vain.
“Burt, aren’t you going to move?”
“I must stay here and protect the Saintess.”
As the ghouls were prevented from reaching the villagers, they began targeting the priests instead, proving that these monsters weren’t entirely mindless.
Guy also remained by Irene’s side.
“It’s dangerous if the ghouls get too close,”
He said, positioning himself opposite Burt.
‘Is there more I can do?’
Irene clenched her teeth. At that moment, injured paladins began to emerge from the battle.
The ghouls rampaged recklessly, swinging their poison-tipped claws wildly.
Though the paladins fought calmly, they couldn’t avoid every strike, especially as the ghouls aimed for the gaps in their armor.
“Injured, come here!”
One by one, Irene healed the wounded as they pulled back. It took more effort than usual to draw on her divine power, but she didn’t stop.
As the battle raged on, the sun slowly began to set.
“They say ghouls grow stronger when it gets dark,”
Grein said, looking anxiously at the sky.
“It’s alright. The light won’t go out,” Irene replied.
She knelt on the ground, clasped her hands, and prayed. She prayed fervently for the light to stay and for it to protect everyone.
Whether her prayer was answered, the sun set, but the sky remained bright. The paladins praised the miracle and fought with renewed vigor.
Just as they were finishing off the last of the ghouls, the cocoon finally spat out one final, larger ghoul before melting away.
“Roxon!”
Grein recognized traces of his friend in the towering ghoul.
