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Chapter 15
The moment I finished speaking, heavy footsteps echoed from above.
“F-Footsteps?”
“Brother Captain! Rope No. 3 has been cut!”
“They’ve found us—we must flee!”
How fortunate. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.
‘Well, I was hoping Dad would show up about now.’
He probably knew I couldn’t summon him, so he must’ve come rushing in through another entrance. And if I had to guess, he brought backup with him after hearing what was going on.
‘Though… there’s more footsteps than I expected.’
The cultist captain looked tense, but he kept his composure.
“…Then, Chosen One—what do you believe this summoning circle requires?”
The pounding steps grew louder and closer.
If the cultists didn’t move, they’d come face-to-face with the Holy Knights.
‘But there’s only one path out of here. They can’t run.’
If they stayed, destruction was inevitable.
“O noble being, then how will you prove you are not the one who led the knights here?”
The cult leader took a step closer, now visibly unsettled.
Those bulging white eyes, glossy with corruption.
Traces of contamination.
“That too… will be proven when the purest sacrifice is offered.”
Crack.
The cultist captain gritted his teeth—and then, slowly, broke into a grin that stretched too wide.
He turned and walked toward the other cultists.
“Gather here!”
As the ceiling above shook ominously, the cultists hurried to the summoning circle.
“We will begin the ritual!”
“…Yes, Brother!”
Absolute obedience. Without hesitation, the cultists drew ritual daggers from their robes.
“Shall I retrieve one of the children?”
“No.”
The cultist captain also unsheathed a dagger.
And then—
Shlkk!
“C-Captain Brother…?! Kuhk!”
The stabbed cultist’s eyes bulged in shock.
While the others were still frozen in confusion, the captain acted swiftly.
“Gahk!”
“Aaagh! For the Evil One—return to the origin!”
Three—then four. He didn’t stop until only one cultist remained.
The rest collapsed inside the circle, either dead or dying.
Bwoooom—!
Black liquid oozed from the blood-soaked runes on the floor.
The cultist captain, standing before the summoning circle, looked to me.
“…Was this correct?”
The purest and most faithful sacrifice.
In the Evil God’s doctrine, that meant a cultist.
That’s why this plan worked—I knew their twisted beliefs.
‘They were all guilty monsters anyway. Far better than sacrificing innocent children.’
The summoning circle, now drenched in the blood of the faithful, would soon vomit something horrific.
And sure enough—
Splush.
From the black liquid, something began to rise.
Where there had been formless slime, now a shape took form.
‘Ugh. Of course it’s this thing.’
A massive caterpillar-like creature, now sprouting legs.
A Keter-class monster: the Nightmare-Eating Bug.
“Aaah, such a grand and perfect creation of His will!”
This is one of the cult’s most dangerous methods of attacking the Church.
They summon paranormal beings to slaughter Holy Knights and priests.
In short: They use monsters to fight for them.
“You were right all along!”
The cultist captain’s wide, glossy eyes cleared of all doubt.
He smiled radiantly at me.
“O Chosen One—our future is—!”
KLANG!
He dropped before he could finish his sentence.
“Haa… haa…!”
Behind his collapsed body stood Bennett, panting hard.
Somehow, he had untied himself. In his hand, a bloodied rock.
Looked like he’d also taken out the last cultist.
“Y-You…!”
The other cultists had already been devoured in the ritual.
The bug writhed, crawling slowly toward Bennett.
Without hesitation, I dashed forward.
“Who even are you—?!”
“We can talk later!”
I shoved Bennett with all my strength.
Déjà vu.
It felt just like when I first woke up in this world and saved a child.
KUEEEEK!
The bug lunged—and swallowed me whole.
‘God, it’s even grosser in real life…!’
I screamed internally.
‘Well… I did have it summoned. I’ll take responsibility.’
The creature engulfed me entirely.
I took a deep breath as I was pulled into the black ooze.
This spatial distortion…
That happens when you’re attacked by an Evil God’s monster.
Think of it as being summoned into another realm.
‘This damn bug…’
Game Category [Post][Strategy]
Monster Encyclopedia #05
“Nightmare-Eating Bug”
Class: Keter
A paranormal entity born from human nightmares and fear.
Closed-type anomaly.
If it devours a human, it materializes the victim’s worst imagined horror—killing them trapped in terror.
Strategy:
Simple.
Do you… like gambling? lol
There’s a reason I stayed calm before this monster.
Fighting monsters of the Evil God is hellishly hard—but the protagonist gets one edge.
[You are the Divine Descendant, the Pope.]
A massive perk: 90% resistance to all status effects caused by these monsters.
In other words, nine times out of ten, I’ll be totally fine against horrors that would drive any normal person insane.
‘The only downside? It’s a probability thing.’
The bug, made of shadows, squirmed toward me.
From this point on—it’s a gamble.
The monster’s ability? Inflicting “Fear” and “Nightmare” status effects.
Ninety percent chance it won’t work on me.
But the other 10%?
‘I’d die. Horribly.’
Still, as a true K-gamer of the gambling nation, I took the 90% bet.
Though let’s be honest—90% barely counts as gambling.
Then, the bug’s legs came right up to my face—
Screech.
And stopped. Like it hit the brakes.
I grinned.
“You… can’t do anything to me, huh?”
KIEEEEK!
It shrieked in rage, but those razor-sharp legs didn’t tear into me—nor did it cast a nightmare.
I made the sign of the cross.
Just like the protagonist would.
“In the name of the Lord—return to the light.”
A monster born to instill fear—before someone who cannot feel fear—
It silently unraveled.
Its pocket dimension collapsed with it.
I slowly opened my eyes.
‘The space… it’s smaller now?’
The real world I returned to looked very different.
The ceiling had collapsed, and chunks of stone blocked the path ahead.
“Gasp! Y-You’re alive?!”
Bennett’s face had gone pale as he looked at me.
I tilted my head.
“Huh? Why’re you the only one here? Where’re the kids?”
My slurred words betrayed how drained I was.
“After you were swallowed by the monster, an earthquake hit—the ceiling caved in!”
“…What?! The kids!”
I shouted so forcefully that Bennett flinched.
His gentle eyes now darted nervously.
‘Oh? Look at that.’
He was still suspicious after seeing my cult act—but I did save him, so he responded honestly.
Good. I didn’t want to argue here anyway.
“…They’re probably okay. I could hear the rescue team on the other side of the rock wall.”
But since clearing the rubble might collapse more of the ceiling, he’d gone looking for a better way.
He kept glancing at me, confused.
“If you happen to see the candidate… p-please tell him.”
“Who?”
“M-Mr. Derek…!”
I nodded.
‘So Dad really did come all this way.’
