Chapter 179: The Secret of the Village of Tulog(2) (2/2)
”The village celebrated, one of us went down to visit the village at the base of the mountain. In fact, the Village Chief even wanted to convert those people to our religion, but they vehemently refused. The Village Chief branded them as ungrateful before he ordered that they would not seek anymore help from those heretics.”
”A huge banquet was held at the village center.”
”But this was the moment when everyone discovered the ugly and horrifying truth.”
”The reason why they weren't suffering under the curse anymore...”
”Wasn't because they managed to get rid of the curse.”
”It was because they were already dead.”
”They died the moment the Our Lady of Holy Death laid 'Her' eyes on them.”
”But why would I say that they were dead when they were still walking?”
”It was because they had turned into the living dead.”
”This was discovered when the Village Chief found out that the food he made for the banquet didn't taste right.
”The chicken meat, boar meat, and even the vegetables tasted fishy, pungent, and astringent.”
”No matter how much seasoning the Village Chief added... even dumping an entire jar of salt onto the food. It tasted the same.”
”Fishy and disgusting.”
”Then, hunger came over the Village Chief.”
”His eyes turned bloodshot and he rushed at one of the villagers who hadn't praised the Our Lady of Holy Death yet and took a bite of his neck.”
”Delicious... He said.”
”When the other villagers who had become the followers of the Our Lady of Holy Death saw and smelled the fresh blood that spurted out of that villager's neck. They went crazy... just like the Village Chief.”
”They became monsters... and I am not an exception.”
The deformed man stared right at Calvin causing the latter to take a step backwards out of instinct.
”Are you like them?” Calvin explicitly asked. His eyes wandered at the wound on the man's arm.
The deformed man replied, ”I am like them, but at the same time I am not... I haven't consumed the flesh of another human being. To survive, I used myself as sustenance. I sealed myself up in my own house. Years have passed since then and the village had only grown worse. This is the first time that I came out of the village since that fateful night.”
”You've been in that house for more than half a decade?” Calvin couldn't believe what he was hearing.
The deformed man simply nodded his head.
'What a man of focus, commitment, and sheer fucking will...' Calvin inwardly praised.
Then, he turned to look at the man and said, ”I still have some friends outside. Can I fetch them before we listen to your plan?”
”Ah? You have friends outside?” The deformed man asked in doubt. He could only see Calvin in the entire street.
And what did he mean outside?
Calvin lightly chuckled, ”What's there for me to lie?”
”All right...” The deformed man nodded, ”I'm convinced but I want you to return as fast as possible. I think we only have about eight hours until daybreak.”
”I understand.” Calvin nodded and then turned around to walk towards the direction where he came from.
When Calvin walked away, the deformed man also returned to his house.
'This is the worst... If what the man said was true, then we would be fighting against the Saintess of Death. Fortunately, the man said that the religion, 'Our Lady of Holy Death' was only made after the young lass's death. Could it be that there's a possibility that this Saintess of Death is that young lass? If that's true, then I might be able to do something else other than fighting...' Calvin's eyes gleamed.
'But I need to confirm the identity of that so-called crying voice first and see if she's really the Saintess of Death. If she is, then I need to find out what kind of a monster she is so I can ascertain if there's a possibility for negotiations or only a battle to death can save this village from hell...'
'Speaking of saving, if everyone in this village had already turned into monsters... How am I supposed to save them when they're already impossible to save given that they are dead?'
'Fucking hell, Grace... just what do you want me to do?' Calvin glanced at the skies above and he couldn't help but inwardly curse.
In the end, he could only shake his head and continue his jog towards the boundary of the veil where a fierce fight between Heisenberg, Ricardo, and the Sabbath was ongoing.
'Please be safe, you two...' Calvin silently prayed.