18 - Whispers of the Devil

— Don’t you…..Don’t you crave for that woman’s tender body?

When he heard that voice which didn’t sound like a voice whispering in his ears, his heart pulsated with a thump.
He turned his head around in a crude, albeit mechanical manner to look towards the girl who was standing a bit further away from him.

She was the girl who was always with him ever since the first time he was assigned a exorcising mission from the temple.

She’s the girl who was always, always, in his heart.

And right now she was right there. If he extended his hands, he could reach her.

—That’s right. Make that woman your’s. Come on, take a go~od look at her. Her breasts are almost about to spill out from her torn clothes. That’s her way of showing those to you. She’s inviting you. Now then, accept that woman’s invite. Because that’s what she truly wants—-

The voice continued to whisper in his ears. And he — Morganeich nodded. He left is sword drawn as he took on step towards the <<Holy Maiden>>.

But he only took that one step.

Something that was whispering in his ears, He should obviously be aware of that something’s true identity, but for some reason his head felt hazy as he couldn’t remember it.

But still, somewhere in his heart an alarm was ringing.

As Morganeich let go of his sword, he grabbed his head with his hands.

— I must not listen! No good will come if I lend my ears to this voice.

Even though he could judge that in his head, the voice was very comfortable to listen to. It was slowly eating away Morganeich’s consciousness.

—What’s wrong? Don’t you want to make that woman your’s? Haven’t you always been thinking about her? Right now you can make her yours you know? You don’t need to hesitate. Make all of her yours.

The whispering voice calmly continued.

And as if guided by the voice, Morganeich looked towards Calcedonia.

Towards the girl he had always been yearning for. His feelings for her might have sprouted since the very moment he first met her.

So he wanted to make her his. Not yielding her to any man, always embracing her in his chest.

He wanted to cherish her. Secretly vowing to God, that he would protect her from all danger.

These two contrary thoughts clashed violently inside Morganeich.

They clashed and clashed, and finally the scales tilted to the side where he wanted to Cherish her alone.

In the corner of his eyes, he spotted something moving suddenly.

It was a boy.

He recently came to this temple, and became very intimate with Calcedonia. Honestly, Morganeich didn’t like that.

His heart rippled slightly. And that ‘Something’ noticed the ripple, so ‘it’ stimulated it more.

— Do you dislike that man? Then…. Just deal with him, right? Or is it okay to let your precious woman follow around a weakling like him?

There’s no way that was okay! There’s no way he could allow an unidentified man such as him to stay by her side.

—Then hurry up and crush that noisy weakling. I’m sure that your precious girl is also feeling annoyed always being followed by a weakling like him.

–That’s right. Just like all those nobles, I’m sure Calcedonia is feeling annoyed always tagging along that man.

—That’s right. That’s absolutely right. Cleaning up a bug like him is the same as protecting your dear woman. And if you do that, I’m sure that woman will be grateful, and even let you in her heart.

–I’ll remove that man. I’m sure Calcedonia will also be delighted.

Happily, yet with a bashful expression, Morganeich picked up his beloved sword while imagining Calcedonia’s delighted face.

And that ‘Something’ secretly let out a chuckle.

The new human it chose as it’s prey. The one before also concealed a huge desire, but this one wouldn’t lose to him.

And ‘desires’ were ‘Its’ food.

All living things have desires more or less. Even wild animals had desires to eat and breed, along with other forms of desires. But those were all closer to their instincts to live rather than desires, so as desires, they weren’t much powerful.

Amongst all of living beings, one species definitely had the most complex desires. They were humans.

Inside a human being, various desires always swirled about.

Appetite, wealth, lust, fame etc.

A huge amount of complex and negative desires all muddled together, for things like ‘It’, they were without a doubt the most delicious ones. That’s why, to find a chance to take over them,‘They’ have always been observing people with malicious intentions.

The desires of the person before were delicious, but it seems like this one’s desires would be even more tastier.
A pure longing for a single woman. But even pure longing can turn into a dark thought if it went too far.

‘It’ stimulated the pure desires of a human, amplifying it, turning it into a mushy dark desire. Then it devoured those dark desires.

Even now, ‘It’ just turned the pure love this human had towards that woman into an unsightly desire to make her his.
However.

This human’s spirit was far stronger than what ‘It’ had imagined.

He almost succeeded in turning back the amplified dark desires into the pure longing it was before.

That’s why, ‘It’ changed it approach.

Rather than converting the love the human had for the woman, ‘It’ stimulated the feelings of envy he had for the boy who always loitered around the woman’s side.

Because envy and jealousy were also part of someone’s desires to monopolize their beloved. The dark feelings of jealousy ‘It’ managed to amplify within that man was much more tastier than any desire ‘It’ had tasted before.

—”Now then, kill that man. After that, violate that woman.”

Slowly but surely, if ‘It’ could possess this human, then this man would definitely turn into a demon faithful to his desires and without a shred of conscious.

‘It’ sipped a bit of the desires boiling up inside the man while grinning widely.

“Morga…..?”

Morganeich’s expression turned blank, different from what it was before.

After firmly turning around his head, he was motionlessly staring at Calcedonia.

Then his eyes which were blank, slowly began to show hints of light..

But that light wasn’t the usual stern yet kind he had, but an ominous red.

“M-Morga…? I-It can’t be….Not only Lord Baldeo but you too….”

That light was proof that he got taken over by a <Devil>.

Till now Morganeich was one of the strongest knights who battled Demons. But even that Knight himself was turned into one.

Calcedonia stood there stock still, as she couldn’t quite cope with the fact that even Moragneich was possessed.

Morganeich’s line of sight shifted from Calcedonia to Tatsumi who was standing in the rear.

The moment he saw Tatsumi’s figure, Morganeich’s expression turned into one of intense anger. As he raised the sword he picked up overhead, he dashed towards Tatsumi with overwhelming speed.

He looked like an angry evil spirit rushing forward. And Tatsumi, who saw that evil spirit like figure rushing towards him, couldn’t help but feel afraid as his fears turned into chains that rooted him to that spot.

Morganeich, who reached Tatsumi in but a moment, slashed at his head downwards with the sword he raised overhead.

But before his sword reached Tatsumi, a violet coloured lightning bolt hit his body.

Morganeich’s body was blown away because of the shock that hit his flank.

Tatsumi, who finally shook off his fears, looked towards the direction the lightning came from, and saw Calcedonia with her right hand extended.

“Even if it’s Morga, I will not forgive anyone who even tries to hurt my Master!!”

After declaring that calmly, she once again started to recite, standing between Morganeich and Tatsumi.

She was aghast just now, but after seeing her beloved fall in danger, she immediately regained her calm.

After the chant ended, lightning once again released from her hand and it hit Morga who collapsed on the ground.

Morganeich, who was repeatedly hit by lightning bolts, was twitching and flipping on the ground like a fish on dry land.

“H-Hey, Chiiko… That’s an overkill… Is Morga okay….?”

“He’s alright!! I’m making sure to hold back! And Morga isn’t so weak to die from something like this!! Furthermore, for him to even dare to try and hurt Master, letting him off with this much is too lukewarm!!”

Calcedonia bluntly stated. Her eyes were completely tranquil.

Holy Smokes! Tatsumi put on a bewildered expression. But he didn’t speak anymore than that and just simply prayed for Morganeich’s well-being.

As he was doing that, the collapsed Morganeich was hit by lightning bolts numerous times and already started groaning.

No matter how well built he was, this was overkill right? His life is definitely in danger right? Tatsumi started to become worried at this point. Calcedonia stopped her chanting and finally ended her serial lightning bolt attacks.

“……Right now he’s weakened, so his resistance to the cleansing should also be down. I’ll be purifying the <Devil> possessing him now.”

Calcedonia started the <<Exorcise>> spell for the third time.

It seems like hurting Morganeich wasn’t her only objective, as she was trying to wear him down.

But Tatsumi was questioning in his heart “Is that really the truth?”; before long the spell was completed and Moraganeich, who was lying down on the ground, was engulfed in light.

It was the purifying light of <<Exorcise>>. A <Devil> who was bathed in this light would have it’s movements sealed and then annihilated.

A few would be able to resist the purifying light from time to time, but that was in the end, ‘Resisting’. If it was locked in the light once, then it would have no means of escaping.

But right now. From inside the radiance of Calcedonia’s <<Exorcise>> spell, something vigorously jumped out.

The ‘something’— Morganeich, raised a beastlike roar as he attacked Calcedonia.

Morganeich, who completely lost his sense of self because of the pain the <Devil> felt in the purifying light, the anguish of the spirit, and most of all because of intense rage, he raised his sword towards the woman he loved.

It was a perfect surprise attack. Because this, a <Devil> escaping after it had been locked into the light had never happened before, Calcedonia let her guard down for a moment.

It should be because of Morganeich’s well forged body that this could happen.

Calcedonia saw her close friend dashing towards her with a demonic expression. Furthermore, in his hand was a dangerously sharp gleaming sword.

Calcedonia opened her eyes wide in shock. Her body was completely still as if something was binding it.

Before her very eyes, Morganeich who was holding a sword slashed out. The horizontal slash he let out in godspeed had enough force to cleave Calcedonia’s slender body in two.

The blade came at her from the flank.

And the <<Holy Maiden>> who was standing still didn’t have enough time to dodge.

The blade gradually sped up even more as it turned into a flash just like the lightning bolts Calcedonia was releasing a while ago.

And then, the blade of the <<Freedom Knight>> who was possessed by the <Devil> assaulted the body of the <<Holy Maiden>>.

The blade was well executed.

And a flower of blood bloomed in the surrounding.

*Splash* Without even wiping off the blood from her face, Calcedonia who now lay on the ground dumbfounded looked at the scene before her.

Because even before Morganeich’s sword reached her, her body was suddenly pushed aside, and she fell down.

A lukewarm stream of red liquid was falling on to her face from the side.

At the same time, a smell of iron spread in the surrounding. Calcedonia who battled demons and monsters numerous times till now realized it was none other than the smell of blood.

And, as she looked up from the ground, what she saw was,
the figure of the boy she loved falling down onto the ground, spilling a fountain of blood after having his chest split open by the sword of the <<Freedom Knight>>.