Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

59 – Absorption

The identity of the solution the status window spoke of

was unknown, but I didn’t care.

If it could free my limbs in this situation, allowing me to leave even

the smallest scratch on that b*stard’s face, then so be it.

With that resolve, I gave my consent,

and the status window instantly began to change with each passing moment.

≪User’s consent acquired.≫

≪Proceeding with absorption of ?@!#.≫

Absorption?

What did it mean to absorb?

Even if it absorbed the unknown things writhing inside me,

that b*stard could just put them back in.

Just as I thought it was a pointless act,

another bout of incredible pain erupted within my body.

It was different from the pain of being gouged from the inside.

This time, the pain was focused solely on my heart.

≪User’s heart is unable to endure.≫

≪Reviewing User’s Mana Reserves…≫

My heart wouldn’t endure it?

At this point, I had lost all sense of what they were doing to my heart.

A choking sensation instantly seized me.

Within my chest, a searing agony bloomed, as if thin slices were being carved with a tiny knife.

And as if to echo that pain, my skin writhed even more.

≪Suitable Mana Among User’s Reserves Found.≫

≪Imbuing Mana Activated. Target: User’s Heart.≫

≪Imbuing Mana: Durability Enhancement Activated.≫

The palpitations of my heart, which felt as though they would cease any moment,

subsided, and with it, the pain diminished.

Wrestling with the pain, I gasped for breath,

and managed to raise my gaze to the status window once more.

The final lines displayed there

were enough to send me reeling.

≪User’s Heart Enhancement Successful.≫

≪Continuing the Absorption of ?@!#.≫

≪”Sun” consumes Causality to rapidly increase the Absorption Rate.≫

≪Status Window proposes ??? to “Sun”.≫

≪”Sun” accepts the proposal of the Status Window.≫

≪”Sun” greatly consumes Causality to rapidly adapt the result to the user.≫

≪Temporarily, the user…≫

*

‘..Is there still impurity remaining?’

That was the thought that crossed Grid’s mind

as he observed Jenison’s still-writhing body.

This was the body that would become the vessel for the goddess he served.

Naturally, not a speck of impurity could be tolerated.

Therefore, he intended to eradicate all uncleanness from this body, now that he had encountered it.

He sought to peel away the clinging remnants of a life lived.

He wished to erase any emotion that would not serve the divine’s purpose.

He labored to create a vessel fit to house Her spirit.

But something was amiss.

By now, the entities he had implanted within should have

erased everything clean.

This man should bear the vacant gaze of a simpleton,

not those defiant eyes.

That worm, swiftly called “Spencer,”

parasitized the human form, devouring all.

Even if it were formless, that is.

These fellows, being the very extremities of “appetite,”

possess a rather exceptional speed when it comes to devouring things.

Why is there still something left to gnaw on?

Why does it still writhe and roam within his body?

The unease didn’t stop there.

From some point, I felt as though the tendrils I’d embedded in him

were disappearing.

I could feel empty space at the tips of the tendrils

that I had surely shoved in without a gap.

Something was wrong.

It was a distinct intuition.

I didn’t want to lay a hand on His Eminence’s body,

but this time, I felt like I couldn’t avoid it.

Ordinarily, I would have preferred to reduce him to a simpleton and let him walk on his own,

but I changed the plan to knock him unconscious and carry him away.

If the brain’s oxygen supply is cut off, a human will certainly faint.

Suffocating someone whose limbs are restrained

is something even an infant could do.

Thinking that, I brought the tendrils to his face.

Hoping for the imminent return of Our Lady.

Then, an attack from behind,

an attack of divine power that was too strong and too familiar.

“Hah… hah… what do you intend to do…”

The Pope, who had fainted from the pain, had somehow gotten up.

His knees were still trembling.

It was certainly a threatening attack, but Grid wasn’t a fool.

He knew there was a price to pay for drawing out too much divine power.

The Pope’s body was probably already broken beyond repair,

and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the attack just now was his last chance.

There was no offering more appealing than a Pope who couldn’t use his own power,

Grid thought, still appearing relaxed.

“Already awake? You should have rested a little longer.”

“..Release that child!!”

“You’re still being bothersome, I see.”

He sent a few tendrils flying, as though fed up with him continuing to rush in.

As expected, he couldn’t muster a decent counterattack

and was only frantically trying to block them.

“What is the reason for you to go this far?

“You could have lived if you’d just stayed lying down.”

“..You wouldn’t understand, not in a lifetime, you monster behind a mask of flesh.”

“..My actions are for the sake of humanity, and nothing more.

To not understand my intentions… you are a pitiful person indeed..”

The pontiff’s face, for a fleeting instant, contorted at the Grid’s tone, so heavy with what felt like genuine pity.

Yet, unperturbed by any surge of emotion, his relentless advance continued.

For a brief moment, he allowed Jennison to slip his mind.

After all, his limbs were bound.

To break free, one would require magic power surpassing his own, at the very least.

Or the ability to wield an energy akin to his.

In other words, to receive “the Goddess’ blessing.”

But that was impossible for him.

A mage’s body, upon channeling any energy beyond magic,

would immediately suffer a fatal overload in their circles.

This was precisely why priests could not wield magic.

The simultaneous manipulation of divine power and magic was impossible.

Besides, he had done some reconnaissance on him.

The one who had accompanied the Saintess.

According to his investigations, while his skill was mediocre,

he was undeniably a mage.

A mage, with magic power undeniably dwelling within his body.

For Grid, that alone was enough to quell any lingering unease.

The instant that thought solidified, the air behind him cracked with a sharp rupture,

followed by the distinct snap of something breaking.

A sharp edge hurtling, unerringly, toward his neck.

He didn’t know *how* he’d done it, but

he had freed himself from his restraints.

Predictable, though.

It would be a dagger, nothing more.

He’d simply knock him unconscious this time. He launched a tendril towards the pontiff,

and moved his hand to intercept the incoming object

But what met his grasp was not a blade.

The fingers he’d so confidently extended, expecting steel,

passed instead through something far smaller, mocking his certainty: a minuscule needle.

And attached to its end, a tiny slip of paper.

The needle’s tip pierced Grid’s carotid artery with pinpoint accuracy,

an injury that would have resulted in instant death from exsanguination for a normal human.

For a normal human, that is.

As if amused by the needle lodged in his neck, Grid…

With a thrust, the needle sank deeper into the flesh.

Before long, the tiny needle vanished completely.

All that remained was the small scrap of paper dangling from its end.

“I’m not sure how you managed to unravel that little trick,

but it seems your attack was ineffective once again?”

“..Never in my life have I seen someone fall for the same thing twice, you simpleton.”

“….?”

The words were barely out when a flash erupted anew.

Light blossomed within his throat,

followed by a devastating surge of heat and illumination.

『 Scroll: Annihilation Blast 』

The scroll, half-swallowed into his gullet,

responded to Jennison’s gesture.

It exploded.

Light poured from Grid’s body.

A radiance and heat that would char an ordinary person merely by proximity.

Yet, Grid stood unscathed.

The same situation as before.

As if mocking Jennison’s perpetually blank expression,

the burning, sooty skull gnashed its teeth.

The clicking of teeth produced a voice that scraped like fingernails on bone.

“I’d also like to say, never have I encountered a simpleton like you, who falls for the same trick twice. Haha… ha..”

His chilling laughter abruptly ceased.

And as if having waited for this, Jennison smiled.

“Why, not laughing anymore?”

“You… what did you do…”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Your heart!! Why is my power residing there?!”

His words were true.

Near Jennison’s heart, Grid’s dark energy swirled.

And with remarkable stability, no less.

This couldn’t be.

He should be dead, the circle exploding at any moment.

It was impossible without transcending the laws of physics.

Impossible unless a divine miracle had occurred.

Yet, it undeniably existed.

Something that should not exist, existed.

Grid, sensing something amiss, hastily unleashed his tendrils.

Not merely a pair, but dozens.

A multitude of tendrils surged toward him.

Each tipped with a blade-like edge, chillingly sharp.

Their speed, like the wind itself, was keen.

Yet, the tendrils failed to reach Jennison.

They halted before his very eyes.

“…So this is how it’s done, perhaps?”

“Wh…what…”

The tendrils didn’t just stop in front of him.

Their very tips were moving as his hand directed them.

Black tendrils and a black-clad man.

A dissonance rippled through Grid, raising gooseflesh.

“Th…this cannot be!

How…how could you wield her power?!”

“Don’t speak of her power.

It almost makes me want to retch.”

“You…you blasphemous fiend—”

“Silence, and die.”

The scores of tendrils he had launched now surged anew.

The difference this time, they targeted Grid, not Jennison.

He struggled to defend himself,

But the tendrils were already beyond his control.

His mind was ensnared by the miracle unfolding before him, and

A skeleton devoid of flesh and muscle could not evade them.

Cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, ribs, sternum, femurs, and more,

Dozens of tendrils hammered the bone.

A grinding, splintering sound filled the cathedral.

“Kuh…ugh…”

“…Perhaps it’s because it’s her power, but even your form is repulsive.”

Grid winced at the blasphemous words,

But quickly a smile reformed on his face.

“Heh heh… No matter what you do…

You cannot kill me.”

“….?”

“A moment ago I was caught off guard, and could not react properly, but

This body is but a trifle, I can simply reassemble it—”

“Be my guest.”

At that very instant, Jennison drew something forth and hurled it at Grid’s arm.

What Jennison had thrown was none other than a vial of potion.

It was a bottle filled with a liquid of a color strikingly similar to a potion.

But the moment that liquid touched Grid’s bones,

he knew for certain it wasn’t a potion.

Because that liquid was dissolving his bones without a trace.

“Gh… uhuh…”

“Sulfuric acid. A very strong one, at that.”

“Grrr… uhh…”

“Your ability, it seems it isn’t regeneration or creation.”

“….”

“You simply covet.

Merely trying to reclaim what was originally yours.”

“….”

“That heart which steals everything from others, yet refuses to be stolen from,

I hope you cherish it until the very end.”

“..Grrr…”

“Because today, I will take what is yours, no matter what.”

In that instant, what Grid saw

must surely have been a vision of an unending hell.