Chapter 183: Origin of the Curse(3) (1/2)
Snap!
The rope wrapped around the woman's neck had snapped as a dull sound rang out the moment her body struck the ground.
Then, she stood up...the vibe surrounding her made everyone feel as if she was a majestic Goddess that had just descended from her heavenly abode to the mortal realm.
However, she was most definitely not a Goddess.
The aura surrounding her was too sinister and undivine that no one would possibly think of her as a Goddess.
If she was to be described, then it would be deserved for her to be called as the Saintess of Death!
As if on cue and true to her nature, a change occurred at that moment.
The pungent smell of rotting flesh washed over through the entire village as Heisenberg and Ricardo did everything that they could to stop themselves from vomiting. They had to pretend that they were dead, and how could the dead still vomit? In fact, it was questionable if the dead had a sense of smell!
”Shit...” Ricardo's teeth were chattering from fear and his throat continuously swallowed mouthfuls of saliva as it forced the bile that was about to burst from his throat.
Heisenberg was doing pretty well considering his age.
Although he was stricken with fear, he managed to hold fast on his wits and his teeth weren't chattering like Ricardo.
Calvin tapped the shoulders of the two and said, ”Calm down... Hold your wits... Act as if you belong here...”
”I know... I know...”
Heisenberg mumbled a reply.
Ricardo didn't say anything but Calvin's words made him remember their current mission.
They had to act low-key until it was time for them to act.
Calvin glanced at Heisenberg and Ricardo.
He couldn't help but sigh.
To be honest, he couldn't really blame the two of them for being so scared in front of such a monster. Even he—wasn't an exception to the fear, although he managed to recover faster than these two, he was still afraid. After all, every human out there had this innate fear of monsters, especially monsters whose strengths were incomprehensible.
”Hey, bro... What do we do next?” Calvin decided to scratch the ankles of the deformed man to attract his attention.
”We will stay here until the ceremony ends. Don't worry, this ceremony will end shortly. This is a common ceremony that happens at the darkest hour of the night. The true nightmare is once the ceremony that only happens every full moon occurs. That is when all hell will break loose...”
”Just what is this ceremony, anyway?” Calvin asked.
”This is a ceremony of conversion... The villagers had kidnapped outsiders a few days ago. They've already converted quite a few of them, but there are still about a dozen survivors remaining.”
'The passengers!' Calvin was alarmed hearing the deformed man's words, ”Conversion? What do you mean?”
A crazed smile once again appeared on the deformed man's lips, ”It's simple... They will either be turned into an eternal devotee of the Saintess of Death, or they will turn into meat that the villagers will consume! A person's conversion depends on their faith. If their devotion is stronger than their will to submit to the Saintess, they'll be turned into meat for consumption...”
”If not, then you should be able to guess their fate.” The deformed man mysteriously smirked.
But his words weren't much for a mystery since the implications hidden behind it were too clear for anyone to miss.
Heisenberg and Ricardo were shaken.
”Are those passengers already dead?”
Ricardo still had this hope in his heart.
Heisenberg also had the same thought, but his experience enabled him to think into this matter even deeper than Ricardo.
What would they do if those passengers were still alive?
Save them?
What a joke!
Their teeth were already chattering from fear upon seeing that monster, and they would obviously need to fight her to save those passengers.
If they fought her, could they really survive and succeed?
Let alone succeeding, even escaping from this village was now a difficult endeavor.
”Hahaha...” The deformed man merely chuckled in the face of the question.
Ricardo's expression changed.
He clenched his fists out of frustration and he started to blame himself that despite being a public servant, he was ultimately unable to save those passengers from their terrifying ends.
Calvin glanced at Ricardo.
He could catch a glimpse of his past self upon seeing how frustrated Ricardo was knowing the fates of the passengers.
Back then, he had also become like this when the trench he was holding with his comrades in the front lines were subdued by those monsters.
Since he had the weakest class, the others forced him to escape.
In the end, he was the only survivor from that batch of soldiers loyal to the Joselian Kingdom.
His friends and even his best friend back then had died under the claws and jaws of those monsters.
Calvin had blamed himself a lot at that time and he almost committed suicide due to Survivor's Guilt.
”Sigh...”
Calvin let out a sigh and shook his head.
This wasn't the time to reminisce about the past.
He stretched his arm out and placed his hand on Ricardo's shoulder.
”Calvin...” Ricardo glanced at him.
But Calvin refused to say anything and after a good while, he eventually retracted his hand.
”Focus on the task at hand.”
”A-All right...” Ricardo didn't know what to say.
Was this guy trying to encourage me?
He had no idea what the answer was, but Calvin's encouragement sure did bring a smile to his face.
What an awkward bastard.
He doesn't even know how to console someone!
Sniggering to himself, Ricardo soon recovered from his trance.
The terrifying woman was now wrapped in a dress made out of darkness itself.
She walked down the wooden platform and one of the villagers wheeled in a cart full of corpses.
The corpses wore clothes similar to what the three could remember. Furthermore, their faces were also familiar.
Heisenberg even saw the body of the woman he shagged in that passenger wagon!
”They're dead...”
Calvin declared.
Heisenberg immediately calmed down.
There was no use acting so wronged for the sake of a dead person.
”Calvin... Since we've already confirmed that the passengers are dead. Shouldn't we plan on how we can make our escape by now?”
Calvin didn't even turn to look at Heisenberg for he raised his head and stared at the vast expanse of the skies above them.