Chapter 11: Passion

My son, why do you hide your face in fear?

My son, it is but the mist.

Father, do you not see the Demon King?

The Demon King with his crown and tail.

— Schubert, The play "Der Erlkönig" (The Erlking)

Despite its dilapidated exterior, the interior of the building was meticulously maintained.

Candelabras were lit here and there, their dim light faintly illuminating the premises. A statue of the Virgin Mary gazed down with sorrowful eyes at the lifeless Christ in her arms.

A large group of armed soldiers exchanged swift gestures before filing into the door at the back of the cathedral. The last soldier brought up the rear, checking their six. Deeming the area clear, he slipped through the doors.

Then, from the pews, a young girl draped in a tattered cloak cautiously poked her head out. Even with half her face wrapped and hidden by cloth, it was clear she was an adorable girl. She glanced around before darting swiftly toward the doors, slipping inside to follow the soldiers.

The back of the cathedral had been expanded into a complex, labyrinthine structure designed to repel intruders.

I slipped in without telling Werner. But right now, I felt like a certain snake-like agent on a sneaking mission.

"This is Bell, the snake. I have successfully infiltrated the target location."

I hummed to myself, playing spy. If only I had a cardboard box, it would have been a perfect mission. Hmm? Lately, I feel like my thought processes have gotten childish. Is it just my imagination? Yeah, probably.

Even so, the warning bells in my head wouldn't stop ringing.

Go back, go back, they urged constantly, but my heartbeat drowned them out. My chest throbbed violently. My blood was boiling. I was excited.

This was the exact same feeling I get when I'm fighting.

Furthermore, a sweet scent had been wafting from deep inside for a while now. Mixed with a choking, medicinal incense, my senses picked up on it sharply.

The smell of blood.

The thick, overpowering stench of human lifeblood.

As if lured in, I wandered unsteadily deeper into the cathedral. Right, then left... I lost track of the path. Yet, the scent grew stronger and stronger.

"！?"

Someone's coming. Multiple footsteps. Humans. I quickly ducked into the shadows to hide.

"Intruders? How many of the apostates are there?"

"Armed soldiers. Grab your weapons!"

"Foolish heathens. Curses. We'll make them sacrifices for our God."

Several people in black robes passed by, armed with swords and guns. The killing intent pricked my skin. It was the prelude to battle. I barely managed to suppress my racing heart and the raging urges inside me, waiting until the humans had passed before heading down the inner corridor.

"Ah... this place..."

The room I reached was lined with grated doors. No, it was a dungeon.

Inside the cells were a number of young boys and girls, held captive. Armlets on both arms. They were AGE children.

Thump. A scene flashed back in my mind.

"Ghk! My head hurts..."

I felt dizzy. Shaking my head, I stepped closer to the AGEs through the iron bars.

"Whash wrong? Why are you in a place like dis?"

But the children were out of it. Something was wrong. They stared blankly into space, drooling. Half-eaten, meager meals lay on abandoned trays, already rotting and swarming with insects.

A sickly sweet smell of medicine emanated from their bodies.

Are they... being drugged with something? I caught the same awful scent from the leftover food. They might have been stripped of their senses so they couldn't resist.

Thump.

My head throbbed again. I knew this. It overlapped with my own past of being imprisoned.

…………■■■■■…………

There it is again.

■■■■…………■■■…………■■■…………

The voice echoing in my head again.

…………■■■！　…………■■■！

It grew louder, forming a distinct shape. From the darkness, possessing sharp fangs and claws—

Gunfire rang out.

"！?"

Overlapping gunshots echoed throughout the building. And then, the smell of blood. Someone was fighting. They might come this way.

"Everyone, get out of here! You can't stay!"

I grabbed the bars, but of course, they were locked.

"Mmm, stupid thing, take this!"

I twisted them with all my might. I used my curled tail, extending it to bend the bars on the other side completely out of shape to force them open.

But even with the bars open, the children just stared blankly at me, making no move to leave the cell. They had absolutely no will of their own. What do I do, what do I do?

"There are cells over here! The targets for protection are here! Secure them!!"

Someone's coming! I frantically bolted from the dungeon area.

Several soldiers armed with guns appeared and began leading the captive children away. For some reason, they looked puzzled by the twisted, open grates. It seemed those soldiers were here to rescue the kids.

I was relieved for a brief moment, but then I noticed a separate squad heading my way. I quickly ducked low and fled further down the corridor.

I passed by armed black-robed figures approaching from the front, weaving through the gaps to break past them in one go.

"Whoa! W-What was that!? Something just—!?"

"Look ahead! Enemies! Apostates!"

"Ohhh!! Offer their flesh and blood to our God!!"

The black robes caused an uproar, rapidly readying their weapons.

"Enemy contact! Targets for extermination! Commence the attack!!"

"Drop dead, you fanatics!"

"This is for our fallen comrades! We'll send you back to hell!!"

A brutal melee broke out as they clashed with the soldiers, plunging the area into chaos. Ignoring the countless bullets flying around, I just ran down the corridor to get away from the scene.

The thick stench of blood closed in from both behind and ahead. It was too stimulating. No good. I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

Besides, an overpowering stench that wasn't human was coming from even deeper ahead.

This scent... an Aragami? It seemed this place was that Aragami's territory. Light spilled from the end of the dark corridor. I dashed toward it and leaped out.

It was an open, expansive hall, much like the arena of a colosseum.

Spread out across that hall was a gruesome sight.

The choking stench of blood, the foul smell of lust, the burning incense. Men and women, young and old, entirely naked, tangling their bodies together, giving themselves over to base desires in an orgy of absolute madness.

Among them, the vacant-eyed AGE children, regardless of gender, were having their naked bodies violated.

A crucible of carnal desire.

Atop a circular pyramid towering in the center of the hall sat a massive Aragami. A Vajra, possessing limbs of shining gold.

Boasting a physique several times larger than normal, it opened its massive jaws and Devoured an offered AGE child—covered in filth and barely clinging to life—biting them completely in half starting from the head.

Splattering flesh and blood.

"Great Aragami! Grant me salvation as well!"

"Have mercy upon me!!" "Guide us!!!"

"Great Aragami!" "Great Aragami!"

The naked men and women swarmed the golden Vajra, pushing each other aside to be next, as the Vajra methodically Devoured and slaughtered them one by one.

A mist of blood drifted through the air.

Thump.

What is this. This is what.

Thump, thump.

The AGE children, pinned down with vacant stares, were brutally assaulted. The defiled AGEs were once again offered up before the golden Vajra and Devoured. Every time it happened, grand cries of jubilation erupted from the frenzied crowd.

Thump, thump, thump.

A repeating tragedy. The overlapping phantoms of the past. Myself being tormented. Comrades taking their last breath. The male guards swarming. The approaching Ash Storm. The fleeing guards. Myself burying them one after another. Myself stained with splattered blood.

Anger. Grief. Sorrow. The wail of negative emotions.

The flow of time that had stopped since that day.

…………■ES■■■Y…………■■■…………■E■■■R

I can hear it.

…………■EST■O■…………E■E■■…………■E■O■R

I had forgotten.

…………■ESTROY…………EVE■Y…………■EVOUR

I left it behind on that day.

…………DESTROY…………EVERYTHING…………DEVOUR IT ALL!!!

My true "self."

In that instant, my world flipped upside down.

Right. That's right. What was I misunderstanding? Me. I am an Aragami. Got it? These humans are our food. Nothing wrong with that.

A God? Exactly. I am truly a great Lord Aragami.

Ahh, my head is finally starting to feel nice and clear. It's like the hazy, gloomy fog that's been hanging over me has lifted.

But, what's this? A party? Looks pretty damn fun, doesn't it? I'll crash it and join right in.

I casually grab the heads of the humans swarming around me and crush them in my grip. Squelch, their pudding-like brains pop out. Hilarious. Cracking open a soft-boiled egg, pop~♪ I relentlessly tear through the bodies lined up before me with my claws, skewering them, dragging and gouging out every last bit of their cheap little hearts and guts. Take that♪ And that♪ I smash and break the spines of the lined-up humans, turning them into percussion instruments with a rhythmic step. Hahahah!! Snap♪ Snap♪ Snap♪ Snap♪ Such great sounding instruments you are, a full combo, BOOM!! Hahahah! I can't get enough of this!! I thoroughly enjoy and savor the screams, the blood spray, and the thick, dripping lifeblood.

Even as they die, they look ecstatic, flocking to me and offering themselves up as I grant them "salvation" (lol). There, there, line up nicely, humans. I'll make sure to kill you all properly.

Breaking Aragami is fun, but breaking humans is fun too. They break so easily with just a nudge, so I hold back a bit while I smash them to pieces and devour them dead one by one.

Aragami are tasty, but humans are tasty too. Why haven't I predated on such delicious food until now? These AGE children in particular are sweet, soft, and absolutely the best. Every time I bite into them, they twitch and violently convulse, scattering fragrant blood. It's a bit boring that they don't give much of a reaction, but I'll Devour them leaving nothing behind, not even a single hair. I don't leave leftovers, after all. Ahem! Aah, chomp, munch munch.

The Golden Vajra seems incredibly displeased with the sudden appearance of a foreign Aragami—namely, me—and rises to its feet with a low growl.

Making no effort to hide its irritation at having its feeding ground intruded upon, it crushes an enraptured follower waiting beside it into a lump of meat with its foreleg, as if they were just in the way.

Obvious hostility and killing intent are directed right at yours truly.

Oh? What's the matter? You wanna go, punk?