GalaxyTL
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“Tch……”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance at Burning who didn’t respond even when called by name, Ambitious nevertheless switched his thoughts filled with impatience and looked around.
In the room dimly illuminated by candles, there were long benches lined up in a row and long tables.
This large room, which he had heard was a break room, was undoubtedly some kind of chapel.
And the smell of incense filling the surroundings……
Ambitious’s keen sense of smell quickly determined.
It was masking the smell of blood.
These two facts convinced Ambitious of who was behind this situation……
“Hey…… What’s the meaning of this, Old Man!!”
Ding, ding, ding……
Ambitious roared in a loud voice that drowned out the incessant sound of the bell.
Then, without a sound, a large shadow appeared in front of Ambitious, illuminated by the unreliable flames of the candles.
The identity of that shadow, even the fairly tall Ambitious had to look up at, was a large man with a height easily exceeding 2 meters.
A muscular physique.
Thick, luxurious white beard reaching down to his waist.
But his head was completely shaved, so he was bald.
And what he was dressed in was a pitch-black priest’s robe of the Holy Goddess Church.
The stench of death emanating from that robe indicated that it had been dyed that color using an outrageous and unorthodox method.
If one were to name that dyeing technique, it would be something like “blood and flesh dyeing”.
“Long time no see, Mr. Ambitious……”
Ding, ding, ding……
As the sound of the bell continued to ring, that large man, Old Man, bowed deeply and politely.
The deeply etched wrinkles on his face undoubtedly proved that this man was elderly, but his voice was lively and youthful.
It was a thick voice that was quiet but strangely resonant.
Ambitious was momentarily overwhelmed by the gaze of Old Man’s eerily glowing eyes, but he was the representative of the assassin organization “Purple Dual Rings”.
Suppressing his fear with that pride, he glared sharply at Old Man and accused him.
“This chapel! And that tasteless robe of yours! You bastard I’m sure I prohibited you from the Death God faith!”
“Ho ho ho, is that so……? Oh my, when you get old, it becomes a bit difficult to remember things from the past……”
“Don’t play dumb!”
Ambitious became enraged and tried to take out a knife hidden in his pocket and point it at Old Man…… but he stopped that movement.
The ones in this room were Ambitious, Old Man, and Burning.
It wasn’t…… just them, he realized.
Ding, ding, ding……
As the sound of the bell rang, Ambitious glanced around.
First, in front, Old Man.
And now he noticed, next to him was a small shadow.
This guy had been ringing the bell the whole time.
One person on the right side.
Two people on the left side.
And judging from the presence, two more behind.
He was surrounded.
Cold sweat ran down Ambitious’s cheek.
“Ho ho ho, I’m glad you correctly understood your position…… And there’s one thing I want to tell you here.”
Old Man calmly held out his right hand and pointed his index finger towards the sky, saying.
“I have now changed my name to ‘Death Pope’…… Please make no mistake from now on……”
“What did you say?”
“By the way, I’m Fire Pastor. Given to me by Death Pope-sama.”
Before Ambitious could complain, a voice came from behind him.
Reflexively turning around, there stood Burning.
He had also changed into a pitch-black robe at some point.
“And my baptismal name is Hell Savior! If you get it wrong again, I’ll kill you, glasses bastard.”
Furthermore, the one standing next to him was the woman Ambitious had once named Knife Hand.
She was also completely dressed in a pitch-black robe.
And she was no longer hiding her hostility towards Ambitious at all.
“You bastards…… betrayed me!?”
“Ho ho ho, I have no idea what you’re talking about…… The original purpose of ‘Purple Dual Rings’ is to revere the noble god Alogoros-sama, kill, kill, kill, and offer souls to him. We have merely returned to our roots…… That’s all.”
“Fuck……”
Now, at this point.
Ambitious had no intention of arguing any further.
The choice he should make was to flee, and only that.
It was fair to say that aiming to annihilate Death Pope, Fire Pastor, Hell Savior, and the remaining four unidentified individuals was a bad bet.
The large door behind him was locked, but with his trump card, it wouldn’t be impossible to break through.
In other words, the course of action he should take now was.
【Battle Beast Transformation】!
But…… however!
“Wha…… impossible!?”
He couldn’t!
He couldn’t transform!
“Ho ho ho, oh? Were you trying to do something?”
Seeing Ambitious suddenly start to panic, Death Pope gave a kind smile.
“I knew it…… Knowing you, I thought you were hiding an ability you hadn’t told us about, and I was right.”
The next one to speak was Fire Pastor.
“This bell, its name is ‘Ability Sealing Bell’…… a relic from a dungeon.”
Ding, ding, ding……
Here, the short man who had been ringing the bell next to Death Pope stepped forward and announced in a hoarse voice.
“As the name suggests, while the sound is ringing, it seals abilities…… no, even the use of magic, a terrifying relic. You probably can’t even use 【Body Strengthening】 satisfactorily anymore.”
The one saying that was the man standing on Ambitious’s right side.
He didn’t know his name.
He was probably one of the newly joined members.
“We, who have ‘Amulets’, are a different story.”
This time, such a voice echoed from the left side.
That man said that in a belittling tone while showing off the necklace that everyone except Ambitious was wearing.
This was also a face he was seeing for the first time.
“Well, in other words, glasses bastard…… don’t put up any unnecessary resistance.”
Finally, Hell Savior said that and snapped her fingers.
The next moment, the “Purple Dual Rings” members surrounding Ambitious all pounced on him at once, sealing his movements.
Ambitious desperately resisted, but fighting against multiple people in a state where even 【Body Strengthening】 was sealed was impossible, no matter how skilled he was……
Having some kind of liquid poured into his mouth, Ambitious lost consciousness…… and lay powerlessly on the floor of the chapel.
“Now then, what shall we do with this man, Death Pope-sama? Shall we make him an offering to god right away?”
It was probably some kind of religious ritual.
Fire Pastor hit his chest four times with his hand, bowed once to Death Pope, and asked that question.
As evident from this remark, Ambitious was not dead yet.
He had only lost consciousness due to drugs.
“No, let’s not waste this opportunity…… Like the other sacrifices, let’s capture him. We’ll use him for the ritual before the ‘Dawn Day’……”
“Ooh……”
“The soul of a strong person…… The noble god Alogoros-sama will surely be pleased!”
“Chain him in the dungeon.”
Following Death Pope’s words, the members dragged Ambitious, unlocked the door, and left the chapel.
The only ones remaining in the room were Death Pope, Fire Pastor, Hell Savior, and the short man holding the bell, the four of them.
“Geez, when I noticed I was being followed, I panicked thinking it was the soldiers investigating the kidnapping cases, but to think it was that glasses bastard.”
Saying that, Hell Savior looked at Ambitious being dragged along the corridor and laughed through her nose.
“Indeed, it’s not something to be taken lightly…… Although he himself was an unbeliever who did not have faith in god…… there were many points to learn from his way of thinking……”
“Meaning?”
“For example, baptismal names didn’t exist in the time of the founder Dahachie, and it’s a system introduced based on his naming.”
“What……!”
“Unlike the founder Dahachie who was connected to the noble god, we are incompetent…… How can we be of more use to the noble god…… We think about that every day, learn new things from any matter, and incorporate them. That is essential……”
“Haha!”
Hell Savior deeply bowed her head towards Death Pope.
“Now then, let us also get back to the preparations. The day of the ritual is near. The night we should offer many lives is the eve of the ‘Dawn Day’ two days from now. We don’t have much time, right?”
“””Haha!”””
Seeing the three bowing their heads, Death Pope nodded satisfactorily.
“The location is the Second Plaza on the main street…… We will perform the ritual of slaughter here and offer souls to the noble god…… By doing so, the ‘Dawn Day’ will truly be the dawn for our faith, and the gospel will resound to all of humanity around the world……!”
And while in a trance, Death Pope said something incomprehensible and shouted!
“Oh, noble god Alogoros-sama…… We offer you new sacrifices. Please accept them……!!”
“””Please accept them……!!”””
They bent their waists, made a sign with their hands on their chests, and then offered a prayer for several minutes.
——
【Death God Alogoros】
The god worshipped by the “Purple Dual Rings”.
In reality, he has a gentle personality and neither desires slaughter nor is pleased to be offered souls, and he is very troubled by the activities of the “Purple Dual Rings”.
Currently taking an unfaithful nap.
【Founder Dahachie】
A man who was a disciple of Alogoros and the founder of the “Purple Dual Rings”.
Although he is deceased, he casually makes his presence known just by having his name mentioned, an early-stage boss.