## Chapter 212 – For Elise
The sorrow of losing family.
I couldn’t possibly comprehend the weight of it.
If I had to compare, perhaps the closest thing was the anguish I felt back when I was first stuck in this world. I leaned against the wall with Elise, waiting for Lina’s sobs to subside.
“…It’s a tragic event. But having set foot in the cult, this was as good as a predetermined demise. That’s why we need to eradicate these wicked beings. They are the villains who cause humanity’s ruin and sorrow.”
Unlike me, who was saddened by the tragedy, Elise was utterly composed.
Unwavering faith and unshakeable belief. To Elise, this wasn’t just the tragedy of a poor slum girl, but a righteous execution of justice.
I felt similarly.
But I couldn’t help but feel sorrow.
“…I see.”
“Indeed. They prey on people’s weak hearts, leading them to true destruction. It’s a very typical tactic, and all the more wicked for it. Saint. Time is of the essence. We must eliminate all the cultists entrenched here to break the chain of tragedy.”
“…Right.”
Those damn cultist bastards.
Now, simply seizing their assets isn’t enough. For the sake of love and justice, we must kill them all. My teeth chattered at their ruthlessness, and a burning hatred surged within me.
“That’s right.”
Cultists who make children cry.
They all deserve to die.
We must not forgive those heartless bastards.
“We must… break this chain of tragedy.”
What suits a child is laughter, not tears.
My fist trembled.
Even though Lina had not only stolen my money but also summoned thugs to kill me, my resentment had already been completely cleared away by the ridiculously huge compensation of 10 silver.
Though a slightly shitty feeling remained, Lina was still a child. As an adult, I forgave her sins entirely by accepting the compensation. 10 silver was worth it.
Thus, my relationship with Lina was simply that of an adult and a child.
A plus-minus-zero situation.
That’s why I could empathize with Lina’s sorrow.
Even if this world is utter garbage, it doesn’t mean the children who live here have to live like garbage too. I can’t forgive the cultists who caused Lina’s sorrow.
Macho Kim Kat.
Never overlooks such beings.
I am a protector of children.
“Hic… Hooo… Hiccup!”
How long had it been?
Sobbing, Lina rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she came out of the room. The sorrow emanating from the girl’s small body felt like it filled the world.
When I asked if she had gathered her belongings, she replied that there was nothing to take. Now, Lina couldn’t even cherish the memory of her grandmother. I met Lina’s gaze, as she looked endlessly small and kept trying to shed tears, and said,
“…The love your grandmother showed you. That is your keepsake.”
Even a clumsy consolation would be crucial to Lina right now.
“…”
“The last thing I heard was that your grandmother loved you. So… live strong. Go forth alone, like a rhinoceros horn. No matter how shitty and messed up the world is. We must survive and live that life.”
Lina bit her lip tightly and wiped away the endless tears. Did my heart reach her even a little? I added a few words to comfort Lina.
“There is a Purgatory in this world.”
This world and the afterlife.
And Purgatory.
“Humans who lived their lives die and go to the afterlife.”
Elise stared intently at my face, but this much should be okay. For the sake of a girl in sorrow, I could offer a personal belief.
“But the hearts of those left alone in this world after sending off the dead… yes. That is Purgatory. It’s painful, terribly sad, so that living is not really living.”
The place where a person trapped in sorrow lives is Purgatory. There’s no way out. They can’t overcome their sorrow. So they live because they can’t die.
That’s why it’s Purgatory.
“Living in such a Purgatory… must be really hard. But.”
I grabbed Lina’s shoulders.
“ㅡLive.”
You must live.
You must distinguish yourself from the dead.
The dead are dead, and the living are living. The living must never be dragged away by the dead.
“Because humans.”
Lina looked into my eyes.
“Can’t live in Purgatory.”
“Hic…!”
A face stained with tears.
It’s so heartbreaking to see a child’s face distorted like this. I superimposed the faces of children dying from famine and waterborne diseases in the Third World onto Lina’s face.
“So, you still live on.”
Children who couldn’t be saved with UNICEF’s support alone.
Children who died from harsh environments and grueling labor.
There was nothing I could do.
“You may not be able to overcome your sorrow. You will never forget the image of the person you miss. That’s natural. But. If you despair because of that. If you never get up again.”
But, at least for Lina in front of me.
I can convey my heart and words.
“Is that really what the person who left first would want?”
“…Hic! Hicc!”
Lina, bursting into tears again, hugged me.
Cry.
Cry, soothe your sorrow,
And console the soul of the dead.
For now, you are my younger sister. Good. You can overcome this. Haven’t I overcome my life in this world? If you are my younger sister, you will surely overcome it and have plenty left over.
Ah, Requiem.
Tears that console the deadㅡ.
Lina, who had soaked my shoulder pads, pulled away from me, seemingly calmed down.
I said to her.
“Revenge.”
“Revenge…?”
“Yes. You must take revenge on those wicked cultist bastards who made your grandmother like that.”
Revenge will be the driving force of life.
If it were me, I would never forgive those who turned my grandmother into a ghoul. I would chase them to the ends of hell and kill them all to take revenge. If it’s hard to overcome sorrow, you can inject other emotions as a substitute.
Children are weak.
If a parent-like grandmother dies, the probability of collapsing will be higher.
In that case, it’s necessary to plant the flame of revenge in their hearts to help them regain their collapsing minds.
“Steel your heart. We’re going deeper from now on.”
Deeper.
To the abyss-like depths where the cultists are exhaling their wicked breath and committing their wickedness. We are going there.
All for the sake of breaking the chain of sorrow.
All for the sake of punishing Lina’s enemies, the cultists.
“To prevent more children from experiencing this sorrow, we need to eradicate those wicked bastards. So follow me. Follow me and witness their deaths. That would surely make your grandmother happy too.”
When I spoke in a strong tone, Lina’s eyes changed.
Wiping away her tears again, Lina nodded resolutely.
“…I understand.”
“Elise, let’s go. I can’t bear this anger any longer. Right now… we must let them know that even the gods hate them!”
I conveyed that to Elise with anger.
“We must erase wickedness and evil from this land where humans live. Let’s go, deeper. Let’s begin the holy war to be offered to God. We must show those bastards the wrath of God…! The wrath of justice!”
Kuaaaaaa!!! As I roared, Elise also began to roar. The fighting spirit resonated, and a global emotion overflowed.
“Of course, of course! Ah, Saint! How can you be such a devout person…! With you, Saint, it feels like there is no trial we cannot overcome! Good! We are going, to the depths of the underground!”
“ㅡDivine.”
I reached out my arm.
“ㅡFriend.”
Elise also stretched out her arm and made a cross.
The Divine Cross that destroys evil.
Today, I am Holy Avenger Kim Kat.
“Let’s depart…!”
With unwavering faith, we will set the justice of this land right.
I strode forward without hesitation, raising my sword.
“I offer this holy war to the God of Order.”
“Ah, long live Confucius, long live Hwanung. In the name of King David and Buddha, I will purify the heretical groups hiding in the darkness.”
“The hammer of God to the cultists.”
“The truth that justice lives.”
ㅡGueeeeeee…!
ㅡQueiiiiiiik!!!
ㅡKuuuuk…!
“The secular world will be protected under the name of the Chakravarti.”
“Behold the grace bestowed by God, wicked one.”
From beyond, a horde of twisted ghouls crawled.
I stepped forward with Elise in front of Lina. Those hideous undead crawling on the walls and ceiling must be monsters cursed by God.
We will never lose to such beings.
ㅡPatsut.
As the prayer was recited, the surroundings brightened with a brilliant radiance, and a divine light soared from the blade. As that light drove away the purple darkness, the basement was enveloped in sacred light.
Blades and maces burning with divinity.
With blades forged by human power, we will punish the wicked beings.
ㅡQueeeeek!!!
ㅡJwyaaaaaaa!!
“Revenge.”
“Punishment.”
The ghouls flew in.
They were smaller and significantly slower than the ghoul grandma from before. No matter how extraordinary these monsters are, they were ultimately just savage monsters charging in with their bare bodies.
My range with the weapon called ‘sword’ is absolutely superior.
I watched the incoming ghoul and calmly thrust my sword. My sword is longer than its arm. No matter what it does, I will strike first.
“Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.”
Ghouls are quite strong monsters. But with my enhanced strength and the power of the holy enchant combined, they were just bugs.
ㅡPuk!
I thrust the sword between the ghoul’s collarbones, twisted it, and tore off about half of its neck. ㅡQuek! Elise swung her mace, instantly severing its breath. I pulled out the sword and attacked the next one again.
“Come on, undead.”
With Elise, there is nothing to fear.
ㅡQueeeeek!!
Ghouls, appearing from who knows where, relentlessly attacked, and I became one with Elise to slaughter all the incoming ones. The burning anger and the hatred suffocated by revenge were not something these undead could handle.
Extremely honed swordsmanship and enhanced physique.
And Elise’s buffs.
With these three combined in one place, I was truly a demon king. Ten ghouls fell, and I trampled over their corpses as I advanced. The overgrown desire for plunder stirred my brain. I will kill them all and take everything they have achieved.
Not a single trace of heresy will remain.
And when I slaughtered the eleventh ghoul, no more appeared. The fiercely raging impulse excited us.
“Saint. Let’s continue onward.”
“The path we take will soon become a pilgrimage.”
The lair of the bastards was long.
At first, it was a basement that seemed to have been made with considerable care, but as we went on, it turned into something like a dugout. Was this part an extension? It felt like an abandoned mine… Finally, when the passage ended.
The truth of the underground was revealed.
“What the fuck.”
“This is…”
ㅡDown there.
Far below, cultists and ghouls were digging some kind of tunnel. Priests in robes supervised the ghouls, who looked like they had lost their souls, and the ghouls dug tunnels according to their orders.
The purple light that illuminated the underground was emanating intensely from somewhere here.
We watched the scene while lying down.
“Those, those commie bastards! Where are they digging tunnels…!”
As a patriot, I felt intense anger at the word ‘tunnel’ and writhed in agony as if my internal organs were twisting. Those commie bastards! How dare they dig tunnels!
I have to kill them all!
But the number of enemies seems quite large.
“…Saint?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Look, look over there.”
Elise pointed her mace towards the other side. Did she find something? Following the mace, what was there wasㅡ
ㅡAn altar.
ㅡA trophy.
On top of the wicked altar, there was a trophy of a black color, like a stain. A cup-shaped trophy. The purple light was emanating from there.
“So, fucking…”
Looks expensive?
