Chapter 189: God of Generation Massacre (3)

The head of the soldier who charged in first flew into the sky. Eve wiped the blood that splattered on her face with her bare hand and kicked the corpse away. Some of the soldiers who had been charging in a wide formation were struck by the corpse and rolled on the floor. Eve swung the broken greatsword in a wide arc, forcing the soldiers trying to surround her to back away.

The soldiers were trembling. Eve met their fearful eyes, which flickered between her and the lord. The floor was soaked in blood. The smell of wine, blood, and all sorts of spices mixed together to create a vile stench. She chuckled and spoke.

“What the fuck are you doing? Not attacking?”

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

One of the soldiers shut his eyes tight and charged. The blade he held up toward the empty air glinted. Eve dodged the randomly swung sword by moving only the tips of her toes. Following the clumsy trajectory with her eyes, she grabbed the soldier’s collar with one hand.

“Huh? Wh-What?”

The soldier’s panicked scream was heard. Eve lifted the soldier with one hand and then slammed him into the floor with all her might.

“Quack!”

A scream like a duck’s cry spread out. At Eve’s hand, an unseasonal Christmas tree was made in the middle of the ballroom. The soldier, whose entire body was trembling like an aspen tree, had pierced the ballroom floor and become a plant. He was originally a soldier with no presence whatsoever, but by planting him, Eve had turned him into a seedling.

“One vegetable, complete!”

Eve raised her greatsword and, in a single strike, severed the legs of the upside-down soldier. The soldiers trembled at Eve’s cruel act. The severed legs tumbled to the floor, spouting a constant stream of blood. Eve prodded the pillar of flesh that was once a corpse. The soldiers had lost their will to fight. It was clear they no longer wanted to fight.

“What are you all doing! Kill that madwoman at once!”

“Oh, My Lord! How are we supposed to defeat a monster who tore the Knight Commander in two!”

“You ungrateful bastards! I gave you a place to sleep and food to eat, and you can’t even offer one life for me!”

“Shut up. You filthy bastard who only touches children!”

“W-What!”

At the lord’s rebuke, the soldiers exploded. The lord, surprised by the soldiers pointing their sword tips at him, began to stutter.

“I hear if you get on the wrong side of the Royal Knight Order, you become a cripple that even your family won’t recognize. We’d better save ourselves before we’re roped in as accomplices! Fucking stay put!”

The soldiers chose the path of betraying their own lord over facing Eve and the Royal Knight Order. The lord looked around with a face contorted in anger, but there was no escape for him. Eve dominated the center of the ballroom, a beastfolk was sitting at the entrance, wagging her tail, and his own soldiers stood before him with their swords drawn.

His eyes darted around, looking for any way out, but he finally gave up.

“Right. Fuck. Just keep guarding so well. Hey. You there.”

Eve singled out one of the soldiers and called to him.

“Yes? M-Me?”

“Yes, you. Are all of the lord’s family members here?”

The soldier began to look around at the lord’s family. From the local notables of various ranks whom the lord had invited to the lord’s own family, the number was over ten. The soldier carefully counted them and nodded his head.

“Yes. They are all here!”

“You traitorous bastard!”

“Shut up, you bastard.”

When the lord spat a curse, Eve reacted sharply. The lord seemed to shrink back from Eve’s murderous insult, but he did not give up easily. For him, it was a matter of survival.

“I’d rather die here than be caught by the Knight Order and left in a state between life and death!”

The lord picked up a candlestick that had fallen to the floor. He then smashed it on the floor, breaking the end into a sharp point. With a usable weapon in hand, the lord smirked and began to advance, swinging it wildly. The soldiers had drawn their swords to betray him, but they couldn’t bring themselves to point them at their lord, so they began to back away stealthily.

“Come on! Fish prostitute! Kill me! Quickly! Quiiickly!”

The expression on the lord’s face was one of utter desperation. What was it that made him so afraid? Eve, who had never seen the Royal Knight Order properly torture someone, saw his fear as something akin to baseless superstition. She caught the candlestick lunging at her with one hand and twisted it back.

“Uwaaaaaak!”

The charging lord had the candlestick snatched away and fell to the floor, clutching his wrist. It seemed his hand was damaged from being bent back too far. Eve had no interest in whether the lord’s hand was crippled or fine. She looked over the dangerously broken candlestick for a moment before losing interest and tossing it far away.

“K-Kill me! Kill me, I say!”

The lord screamed. Eve looked down at the lord with an indifferent face. Eve had no intention of killing the lord now. Seeing him so terrified, it seemed that only death would bring him peace. Since he had called her a fish, she had no intention of showing him mercy.

“Hm?”

Elsi’s ears perked up as she stood. From somewhere, the faint sound of clashing weapons could be heard. She stopped wagging her tail and stealthily moved away from the entrance. The sound grew louder, becoming clearly audible to Eve, the lord, and the soldiers.

“Block them! Block them! Protect the Lord!”

“Why do you defend sin? As knights of a noble house, you should know right from wrong. If you step aside now, your sins will not be questioned. But if you block us, you too will pay the price for your sins as accomplices.”

Eve knew whose calm tone that was. Bellix Karin. She was now beyond the ballroom doors. She had clearly finished her investigation of the mansion and come to arrest the lord. From the front of the door came the brutal sound of clashing swords. It sounded less like swords meeting and more like a blade hacking at a steel plate.

“It’s a monster! Uwaaaaaaaak!”

“Save me! Save me! My Lord! You must escape! You must esca— Uwaaaaaaaak!”

“Just cut the tendons of the subdued knights. They will all walk the path of penance with the lord as accomplices.”

The knights’ sorrowful cries echoed out.

“My Looord…! Run… away… gurgle…!”

“Uwaaaaaak! My Lord! We’ll buy time… gurgle!”

Eve shrugged her shoulders. The lord, trembling, tightly grabbed Eve’s legs.

“Kill me! Please, kill me! I can’t be caught by that knight order! Please! Please kill me! Mermaid! Fish prostitute! You wench not even fit for sashimi! Kill me, I say!”

Eve chuckled and shook her head. Now that he was begging to be killed like this, she wanted to kill him even less. Instead, Eve took measures to prevent the lord from committing suicide and bound him. She twisted his arms behind his back and pressed his face firmly into the floor.

“Urrggghhhk! Kill me! Kill me, I say! Soldiers, is anyone there! Kill me! Quickly kill me and gain wealth and honor! I am a man who deserves to die! Kill me, hang me in the market square, and spit on me! Uwaaaaaaaah!”

Thud. Thud, thud.

A knocking sound came from the door. Eve glanced at Elsi.

“Hey, open the door.”

“I tried, but it won’t open. They’re pounding on it from the other side, so it’s dangerous to go now.”

Beneath Eve’s foot, the lord began to have a seizure. To him, the sound of the knocking on the door had the same tone as a death sentence in a courtroom.

“Uwaaaaaak! Uwaaaaaaaah! Please kill me! I am a vile and wicked man! I harassed children, and I used my power as lord to prey on orphans! Soldiers, kill me, I say! James! Is James there!”

“Yes! I am James!”

A soldier raised his hand. The lord shouted in a desperate voice.

“Your daughter, who died in an accident while serving as a maid, actually fell to her death while resisting me! I killed your daughter!”

“W-What?”

“That’s how evil I am! James, kill me quickly! I’m giving you a chance to avenge your enemy!”

“Fuck. I’ve seen some crazy bastards in my time.”

Eve clicked her tongue. The way he was struggling to die was just absurd. The door shook again.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Uwaaaaaak! Charles! Royer! Evan! I touched all your daughters too! Weren’t there days when your daughters came home with an unusual amount of money?! That’s the kind of man I am! Kill me quickly!”

“Th-Thiiiis…! Ugh…! Aeuk…! Grrrk!!!”

Several of the soldiers’ eyes rolled back as they began to tremble violently. They looked like shamans possessed by a spirit, and the lord began to tremble in fear.

“You son of a bitch, I’ll tear you to pieces!”

One soldier, gripping his sword tightly, finally swung it at the lord. Eve casually kicked the blade that descended with lightning speed, changing its trajectory. The blade embedded itself in the floor, narrowly missing the lord’s nose.

The soldier lost his balance and fell to the floor. The other soldiers, who were about to rush forward, paused when they saw what happened. Eve stepped on the fallen soldier’s neck to subdue him and spoke.

“Let go! I’m going to kill that bastard! I’m going to kill that scoundrel worse than a beast!”

“Mister. Think about it. Who will kill him more painfully? You? Or the Knight Order?”

“I…! I…! Uwaaaaaaaah!!!”

Leaving the soldier who couldn’t get up no matter how much he struggled, Eve looked around again. The soldiers, who had been worked into a frenzy and were about to kill the lord, had now lowered their weapons and were looking at the lord with calm faces. The lord’s face turned deathly pale.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Y-You bastards! I told you to kill me, didn’t I? Kill me, I say! Please kill me quickly! Please, I beg you! Marlon! Didn’t you say you were glad I came? Edgar! Didn’t you say it wouldn’t be easy to find a lord as good as me!”

Thud! Crack! Craaack!

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!! The door! That door!! The door is breaking! Quickly! Somebody, kill me! Uwaaaaaaaah!!”

But no one moved. The door, which had been battered by vibrations for a long time, finally collapsed with a deafening roar.

In the lord’s eyes, the scene of the door breaking played in slow motion. Fragments floated gracefully in the empty air, and the bright light from outside seeped through the opening in the door. With that light at her back, Bellix Karin walked in.

Armed knights swarmed in behind her. He could see severed limbs scattered to their left and right.

The lord, whose eyes met Karin’s, began to have an even more violent seizure.

“Uwaaaaaah! It’s a witch! The witch of the Royal Knight Order has come! Uwaaaaaah! I beg you, please! Lady Peta! As a noble of a neighboring territory, I beg you for mercy! I am a man like a worm! Please, grant this trash mercy with that sword of yours!”

“My Lord.”

A resolute voice, as sharp as a single stroke cutting a radish, severed the lord’s scream. Karin, except for a few drops of blood splattered on her face, looked at the lord with a perfectly placid expression. She spoke.

“My Lord. What is it that you fear? The sword tip of the Royal Knight Order is not pointed at the innocent. There are already numerous criminals in the backyard who have resolved to follow you, so accept your sins and receive your punishment.”

“I, I am…!”

“We have already searched the mansion and know for a fact that you are guilty of illegal prostitution and the indecent assault and battery of numerous children. Your brother is under suspicion of facilitating human trafficking through loan sharking.”

The lord’s brother, who had been pretending to be an innocent man from afar, was also dragged out. Bellix Karin pulled a document from her breast and began to call out a list of names, one by one. The soldiers of the territory, who had already become Eve and Karin’s faithful papers, captured the local notables as their names were called and forced them to kneel before Karin.

Their number amounted to half of the esteemed guests gathered at the ball. Even Eve was left speechless at the number. Elsi asked Eve.

“Are all those people bad guys?”

“Eung.”

“Like the mermaid?”

“Eung.”

Eve nodded absently and answered, "eung," before looking at Elsi with a bewildered expression.

“Am I wrong?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Thinking about it, there wasn't much of a difference, so she just nodded to herself and let it go.

Karin spoke.

“Then we will proceed with the arrests under the authority of the Royal Knight Order.”

****

Giant wooden wheels were lined up in a row in front of the territory. Eve unconsciously flinched at the threatening and brutal sight. It was proof that although she was called a mad murderer on the seas, she was nothing compared to the Knight Order. Following Karin’s instructions, the knights began to tie the criminals to the wheels, one by one.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

“Mmmph! Mmmph!”

As if lying on roller coaster tracks, people were tied to the wheels with their bodies bent like bows. When space ran out, the knights would roll the wheels a little to make more room. The finished product was truly a human wheel, a grotesque form with countless legs and human heads.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

People screamed from within the wheels. Karin smiled with a goofy grin and encouraged the knights.

“Good work. You have finally completed my long-held dream, the Wheel of Penance.”

“The Wheel of Penance?”

Eve asked. Karin nodded and began to explain.

“We tie dozens of criminals to a wagon wheel and roll it to the trial venue. The criminals, tied to the wheel, are crushed by the earth and trees, and they come to realize the weight of their sins.”

“...The fuck, can they even survive until the trial?”

“If they are innocent, the weight of the wheel will be light, and they will survive.”

“Crazy.”

“Personally, I really wanted to try it on Lady Peta, the Mermaid Murderer of Esta, but it’s a shame you’ve washed away your sins.”

“...Yeah. Fuck.”

Eve decided not to talk to Karin anymore. Talking to Karin felt like it would drive her mad, and she herself had too much to feel guilty about. She and the extreme punishment enthusiast were just not a good match. After seeing Eve off on her way back to the territory, Karin focused on her original duties.

“Now then! It is 15 days to the capital! Criminals, the accompanying priest will treat you, so do not worry and receive your torture!”

“Aaaaaaaah-ub! Ubb-bub! A-ub! Fuhaaaaaaaaah-ub! Uub! Aaa-ub!”

As the wheels began to roll, the screams erupted. As if someone was covering and then releasing the mouths of screaming people, the screams were cut off and then resumed, over and over again.

“Mermaid. That looks fun.”

“Cover your ears and close your eyes. You’re not supposed to watch things like that. It’s dirty, dirty.”

“Dirty?”

“Yeah.”

In the returning carriage, Eve thought. If Karin believed in a god, wouldn’t that god be a mad war god who loves slaughter and torture?