Vol 1 Chapter 3 (2/2)

Even so, the people's lives had been affected

The recent rampancy of bandits was the cause

This world was ruled by soldiers and knights, but none of theations of nobles and their knights did not extended toorder

All they cared about was “control” In truth, the nobles were no different from the bandits The former robbed the peasants and called it “taxes”, while the latter used no such pretense Both sides refused to accept any form of remonstration and responded to any refusals to pay with brute force

Even when the nobles or knights rode out to hunt down bandits, they were like shepherds driving off wolves, which meant that they would stop once the bandits vanished froood they did was merely a side effect

Since desperate bandits fought harder than nore to kill them by luck, nobles and their troops were not too fired up about cornering and finishi+ng off bandits That opinion was hardly rare Even in japan, there was a ers to defend them fro to help

That being said, the bandits preferred it when there were fewer nobles and knights around

Until recently, they had to skulk around in the shadows, but now they could move around freely

An intelligent hunter would consider that killing all the prey would leave none for the future Fortunately, or unfortunately, an intelligent person would not have become a bandit, and so most bandits were cruel and ruthless in the extreme

For instance, there was a faon had been spotted in the vicinity

The father drove his wagon with his plowhorse, and on that wagon were all the family’s possessions, his 32 year-old wife and his 15 year-old daughter

The villagers all fled as if they were grazing animals However, unlike wild herbivores such as buffalos or zebras, this faroup There was no tion could attack at any moment

So they ignored their villagers’ cries for thee on their own

On their second night, they ran into a group of bandits

The man desperately spurred his horse, but there was no way for the overburdened wagon and horse to move quickly With no way to resist, the family was captured by the mounted bandits

The hter were taken away

In the darkness, over a dozen bandits gathered around a cah their spoils

Their prey had not just been carrying coins and currency, but provisions as well They filled their bellies with the food they had captured They took turns raping the hter, but the more important bandits had already satiated their bestial lusts and were relaxing ine

“Boss! Coda Village is about to make a move!”

Ever since the Flaers had fled Laden doith luggage, they could not ht back Why not attack thehter and pillage them

After hearing his ood idea, so they should go ahead and do it But as he thought about it

“We don’t have enough people”

It would be asking too e at once

“About that, why don’t we get guys fro in the biggest haul ever”

This was also a good chance to recruit more hands

With enough people, they could successfully attack entire villages, and even towns If he played his cards right, he — cast out by his lord — ht even aspire to become a lord himself

Fro from a wretched little thief to the ruler of his own domain filled his mind

This na a ti, or a bad thing?

Either way, his head fell frooro” sound

It rolled across the ground and into the campfire

The stench of burning hair and scorched flesh instantly filled the campsite

Biologically speaking, a severed head could retain consciousness for several seconds That being the case, the chief would have experienced his head falling to the ground His field of vieould have rolled with hi on, he would have seen what used to be his body spurting blood

After that, in his rapidly blackening field of view, he would have seen the black-haired Goddess of death bathing in his fresh blood

The first thing anyone would think when they saw the girl was “black”

Her skin was so pale it was nearly transparent, her hair and clothes were black, and her eyes were bottomless pools of obsidian

The bandit chief’s severed head fleith a “pyun”

She held a heavy halberd in her hands

It was a weapon that looked like so shaft It wasn’t so like a irl in black lace should be wielding That she could use such a weapon with her delicate, slender arers, as pale as white jade, was far beyond anyone’s ability to iine

She rested the halberd over her shoulders, and exhaled loudly

The girl was surrounded by the scattered corpses of the bandits

“Well, that was fun Ojii-san-tachi, thank you for tonight”

She grasped the heantly

At a glance, she looked to be around 13, and judging by her beauty and refined irl She had a brilliant smile on her face, but that smile did not reach her eyes Her black pupils were filled with a hungry darkness, like a fathomless abyss

“Thank you for offering your lives to me I thank you on behalf of ift, and he says that I should enjoy myselves with you”

“What! What the hell are you!”

Aed to shout with far h his boere frozen with fear He deserved praise for still being able to speak despite the present circumstances

“Me?”

She smiled adorably

“I am Rory Mercury Apostle of Emroy, God of Darkness”

“I-is that the formal wear of the priestesses of the Temple of Emroy? One, one of the Twelve Apostles, Rory the Reaper?!”

“Ara~ you knew? Mhmh~ correct”

In the face of the laughing girl, the bandits scattered like leaves

They left everything behind and fled with all their ht, driven by their fear of death

“What, what the hell, how can we fight an Apostle!”

“Oh, no No no no no no You can’t run away”

Rory juh several ti bandits like a ferocious carnivore hunting down its prey

The halberd cleaved through the bandits’ heads like she was splitting water area was streith chunks of flesh

“Ueh, abbah… aiiiieeeee!”

Rory towered over of the fallen s before she raised it high above her head

Her snohite skin was dyed red by sprays of blood

“Ufufu… God-saoal of all life is death No Human can escape it”

A pitiful screa down

“Haa… haa… haa… hat is an Apostle of E here?!”

The th

A pitiful screa out from the distance Rory the Reaper had claimed another soul

“damn, damn it!”

There were no paths in the wilderness at night The countryside was littered with swamps, rock formations, thorny thickets and trees The man stumbled occasionally, his body was covered in mud and sweat, and his clothes were torn

Onceout from in front of him

He slipped on a patch of mud

His body slid across the floor, and he bashed his head against the ground

“Dammit, dammit, dammiiiiiiit, why is my luck so damn bad!”

“Ara~ weren’t you having fun?”

There was the sound of footsteps

Upon hearing the clear, bell-like voice, he desperately looked up The black-clad girl towered over him, backlit by the silver disc of the moon

“Weren’t you having fun just now? Didn’t you kill people?”

She planted the pointed tip of her axe between the roin

“Aiiieeee! I, I, I’ve never killed anyone!”

“Ara, really now?”

“It’s true! This was the first job I did since I joined! The women too, they said I had to wait till the end since I was the new guy! I didn’t even lay a finger on them!”

“Hmmmmmm?”

Rory thought briefly about this before speaking to the ain

“The other jii-sans have all been called to be with Emroy Don’t you feel lonely by yourself?”

The man shook his head desperately He was not lonely, not lonely at all

“However, won’t it be sad if you’re the only one left out?”

“No, please, I would really like to be left out!” the ed

Rory looked at hiaze that was as sharp as a knife

“What should I do with you, then~”

As she said that, Rory clapped her hands together

“I’ve got it, this should be a good idea Since you haven’t done anything yet, why not start now?”

With that, the black-clad girl grabbed one of the s

He could feel an unith that belied her delicate appearance

“Ru run ra~” she hued the man like a mop

“It hurts! Please stop! Gwaahhhh!”

The wilderness here was filled with rocks and sand They tore the ed across them, and then rubbed his sweaty skin raw Soon his body was covered in his own blood

“Who did you like hter?”

“Noooo! Please stop! Gueeehhh…”

“Don’t stand on ceremony, this is the end for you, anyway I’ll ask nicely so you can do them”

Rory grabbed theand tossed him

He landed in a ragged heap beside the hter

“Well, go ahead then It’s your turn”

The man frantically shook his head

The legs of the naked women remained spread, a hollow testih hailing the Emperor

Neither of thes, they had stopped breathing

“Ara~ what a bother The two of them have passed on”

It would seem they had been raped to death

“So sorry, we didn’t make it in time”

Rory closed their unblinking eyes and lowered her head Then she smiled to the man

“Still, since they’re like this, why not do them anyway?”

Dah the man’s crotch, and a puddle of liquid formed below him