Chapter 18: The Second Sin (1)

Five sins.

The worst villains who, in the future, would either destroy or rule the kingdom.

Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Sloth.

These five Sins would contribute to the world’s destruction, serving as enemies the player must defeat.

Key figures closely tied to the game’s ending.

As such, meeting them under normal circumstances was nearly impossible.

Unless the main episode began or the encounter was framed as a “coincidence,” it was practically unattainable.

Unless one was born with exceptional luck—or misfortune.

So.

Why do I keep running into them?

Is my luck that bad?

Should I have asked the Assassin King to read my fortune or something?

No, fine, let’s say meeting them is one thing.

But why, of all places, is he with that band of thieves?

Evan stared at the Sin among the thieves with a troubled expression.

Pride.

Compared to his regal demeanor in the game, he looked utterly pathetic now.

Whether a prisoner or a slave, his body was tightly bound with ropes.

If he were leading the group, it might make some sense.

This was even more dramatic than his first encounter with Lapis.

“Hey! You there! Want your carriage smashed to bits?”

“Come out right now!”

Thud, thud.

Evan couldn’t focus on Pride for long.

The band of thieves was threatening him, clashing their weapons and gear.

Perhaps because of Number Five pulling the carriage, they didn’t approach easily, but how long would that last?

Meanwhile, they muttered prayers, clutching necklaces with excessive piety.

As if they were devotees serving a god.

…These guys don’t seem like ordinary thieves. Are they heretics?

Why did they look like a band of thieves?

Simple.

They were half-right.

Fallen devotees.

Forced to hide from the Empire’s watchful eyes, how would such people behave?

Beggars, bandits, thieves, pirates.

They had no choice but to resort to illegal activities.

Not being seafaring types, most lingered in the mountains.

Robbing passing travelers or nobles, seizing villages.

That was their best option.

Thus, heretics and thieves were almost synonymous.

In fact, in areas where bishops resided, they were called the leaders of green mountain strongholds.

The problem was, Evan had never heard of them being active in this region.

In the game, that was the case… but things seemed different in this earlier timeline.

My luck is seriously rotten.

Why did he have to encounter these people, of all things?

Evan sighed inwardly.

“Evan, Evan.”

Crunch, crunch.

Lapis, munching on a piece of cabbage, tugged at Evan’s sleeve.

“Should we kill them?”

“Kill? Don’t say such brutal things.”

“Okayyy.”

Ugh, that’s chilling.

Evan patted Lapis’s head to calm her down.

Lapis, looking annoyed, narrowed her eyes as she stared outside.

Hmm.

At this rate, the heretics might all be wiped out.

It’d be troublesome if they all died.

Heretics were surprisingly important.

Not to the player.

But to Arthur, a key ally, as valuable experience points.

Arthur was a holy knight who followed the will of the Moon.

There was a reason he adhered to the Moon’s will.

His only kin.

His younger sister was the Saintess of the Full Moon Church.

She suffered from divine illness until she was saved by receiving a divine revelation from the Moon God.

To repay the grace shown to his kin, Arthur wielded his sword solely for the Moon.

Knight of the Full Moon, Arthur Modriter.

However, it was said that the Saintess continued to suffer even after receiving the divine revelation.

Perhaps her vessel was too great, or other gods kept coveting her.

Thus, Arthur had to kill all heretics.

For his sister’s salvation.

Just leaving isn’t an option, is it?

Thump, thump!

“Hey!”

“No good. Maybe we need to burn the carriage to get that heavy butt moving?”

No way.

The Sin of Pride was among the heretics.

Was there a way to extract just him?

“Hmm.”

There was an easy way.

Wipe them all out.

Send a few golems and Lapis, and it’d be over in a snap.

If a bishop-level figure were present, they’d have overturned the carriage by now.

But.

I don’t want to see that.

Watching them get slaughtered up close? How terrifying.

It’s not because he was a coward—it was just an upset stomach that day. Really.

“Evan, if you’re not up for it, I can quietly take care of it.”

Lapis made swish, swish sounds, swinging her tiny fists cutely.

“I can handle it in a snap!”

“Calm down, Lapis.”

No matter how you looked at it, Lapis wasn’t the answer.

She’d go straight for killing, not subduing.

This was valuable experience for the main ally meant to drive the story forward.

Let’s just subdue them for now.

Swish.

“I’ll handle it.”

More precisely, his golems would.

Evan swallowed the latter part and tapped the floor with his staff.

He felt Number Five begin to move upon receiving the signal.

Then, the golems forming the staff split apart.

Small golems.

Not just for carrying items, but capable of targeting an opponent’s weaknesses.

At that moment.

ROOOOAR!

A monstrous roar froze his body in place.

Fear.

Looking out the window, Evan saw an otherworldly creature that shouldn’t exist.

“No choice. We’re short on time.”

“By the grace of God.”

“Grant us abundant bread and sustenance.”

Heretics offering prayers.

Among them stood a towering, blood-red creature.

Uh-oh.

It was larger than an average adult, several times thicker.

What the hell?

An organ monster?

Ugh!

Disgusting!

Bones layered over its entrails.

Like an orc with its skin peeled off.

Man, that’s freaking terrifying.

If he wasn’t careful, his golems might get dirty.

Evan quietly sat back down.

That thing couldn’t be handled by golems.

Well, it could, but it’d get messy.

Consumables were probably the best bet.

Like grenades or Mana Thread.

“Lapis.”

Evan touched his face nervously and spoke.

“Could you help me out?”

“Sure.”

Lapis grinned widely.

Her eyes gleamed redder than the blood-red monster outside.

Did he make a mistake asking her?

“I was waiting for you to say that.”

Swish!

As Lapis spread her hands, Mana Thread shot out in all directions.

Silver threads spread like a spider’s web.

At the same time, the door opened smoothly, and Lapis stepped out of the carriage.

“What, what’s that?”

“Just a kid! Kill her!”

“Repent in the embrace of God, little one!”

ROOOOAR!

The heretics and the blood-red monster charged.

Evan silently offered his condolences.

To go after a Sin when they’d already captured one.

Wasn’t that practically suicide?

***

Fallen heretics.

They were somewhat infamous in the Empire.

In a bad way, of course.

“Believing in a nonexistent god? Believing in real ones is laughable enough.”

“Might as well believe in superstitions.”

As generations passed, they didn’t grow stronger but became more pathetic, losing their divine power.

That was the state of the heretics.

Still, they had hope.

Bishop Blake.

Known as the leader of the green mountain stronghold, a bandit who had conquered a region and one of the few remaining leaders of the heretics.

They believed he could revive their history.

But that reputation crumbled.

Just a few days ago.

The Knight of the Full Moon, Arthur.

That blood-crazed holy knight had razed their stronghold.

“Son, flee. You… you are our only hope.”

The bishop perished spectacularly while facing him.

Barely clinging to life with just a heart remaining.

The remaining forces scattered.

Some to other kingdoms,

Some to the Empire,

Others to the “apostates” who began worshipping other gods.

Bishop Blake’s son, Drake, chose to stay on the continent, dreaming of revival.

So, he sought cooperation from Count Blue Beard and the Alchemist’s Tower.

He handed over several precious relics.

A skull emitting “Eternal Night’s Smoke,” which only those with strong curse resistance could withstand,

“Greedy Vermin” that devoured remaining flesh and grew rapidly,

And “Fragments of an Unrotting Corpse” that maintained a skeletal state and emitted a constant stench.

Waiting for an opportunity, they confirmed an outsider’s visit.

They didn’t know the identity, but seeing a bizarre creature pulling the carriage, they assumed wealth.

So, they decided to attack.

The plan was to rob quickly and flee.

If needed, they’d kill the slave they’d captured.

“AAAGH!”

“God, why have you forsaken us?!”

Until the brutal scene unfolded, it was a perfect plan.

As the little girl swung her hand, claw-like strikes tore through them.

Their bodies, enhanced by their power and capable of magic, were sliced apart indiscriminately.

“AAAAH!”

One heretic, blood-soaked, stepped forward.

His eyes gleamed red.

The price of consuming a drug imbued with the power of the Sin of Wrath.

His lifespan was drastically shortened, but his strength grew with his anger.

It might work against ordinary foes.

But the enemy was a girl born with the fate of the Sin of Wrath.

Swish.

Thud!

His charging momentum was rendered futile as one leg was severed.

He collapsed like a puddle.

No way…

Drake looked down at them with despair.

His comrades, who had survived Arthur’s onslaught, were dying in vain.

By just one person!

“Why doesn’t your god save you?”

The bound slave spoke up.

“Didn’t you say your god would save you?”

“…Yes. God will save us.”

“Really? Why?”

“Shut up, Schuper!”

Schuper ignored Drake’s outburst.

“To your god, you’re just pawns, right? Does he care about pawns?”

If he did, wouldn’t you have escaped this fate already? Or grown stronger?

“That’s what happens when you believe in something intangible.”

“You little—”

“Your usual tricks are just magic with a different name, aren’t they?”

“Gah!!!”

Drake shook his head in confusion.

Schuper’s whispered words pierced like thorns, planting seeds of “doubt” in him.

Oh, God!

Why do you send me such trials?

“I don’t believe in intangible gods like you do. Instead, I can become tangible and give you power.”

…What nonsense is that?

“Untie my ropes. I’ll show you. The power to defeat that demon who came for you.”

The Sin of Pride.

A child who hadn’t yet awakened his power.

But his potential was far from rotten.

Ready to bloom at any moment, craving nourishment.

Drake’s expression wavered at Schuper’s sweet tone.

At that moment.

“Shut up.”

Whip! Thud!

“Urk!”

Mana Thread wrapped around Drake’s neck, yanking him upward.

Like caught prey, Drake dangled.

Though his neck was gripped, it was tied with care to lift his body, preventing suffocation.

“Oh? What’s that?”

Schuper’s eyes widened.

“That’s some incredible power…”

“Shut up.”

Whack!

“Ow!”

Schuper clutched his forehead.

A flick from Lapis.

It hurt like hell.

“That hurts!”

“I hit you to hurt.”

Lapis shrugged.

Schuper glared at her.

The moment their eyes met.

They instantly realized.

…Ah.

…Ah?

They were both born with “fate.”

One with the Sin of Wrath.

The other with the Sin of Pride.

Both destined to destroy the world.

What? There’s someone like me?

As Schuper’s eyes widened,

Lapis had a different thought.

This is… coincidence?

No way.

Just as Evan had found her (unintentionally), had he found Schuper the same way?

Once could be a coincidence, but twice?

This was inevitable.

Perhaps even fate.

Did he plan all this?

Coming to this far-off territory?

Chills!

A shiver ran through her body.

Not fear, but something closer to ecstasy.

Evan, you’re amazing!

A burst of joy, the answer, exploded in Lapis’s mind.

He planned all of this!

As expected of Evan.

The only savior who stopped the endless wheel of fate for Lapis alone.

She glanced at the carriage.

The gaze watching her from within.

Like a god bestowing will upon a devotee.

Yes, I understand. Your will, Evan.

Lapis strode toward Schuper.

She knew what to do.

I need to show this kid the true meaning of fate.

Evan’s grand plan, playing atop a fate to destroy the world.

A fate so grand even Lapis couldn’t fully grasp.

She would grant him the honor of joining it.