The abused merchant’s daughter – 86 | Sousaku – 創作

Chapter 2, Episode 40: Darsha worshippers

Once upon a time.
There was a sect called the New Holy Tree Religion (Darsha Religion).
They began to question the world in which they could not live without the holy tree.
Despite the existence of green lands created by holy trees, they questioned why some holy trees did not accept humans.

They attempted to return the power of the holy tree to themselves and absorb it into their own bodies.
They tried to use a secret technique called “Forbidden Spells” to bring the holy tree under their control.
That's when they set their sights on Faralina, which at the time had the largest green space on the continent of Lambaudia. They tricked a family of priests who had been persecuted in another land and brought them close to Faralina, then challenged her to battle in what was essentially an ambush.

They used the forbidden spell to turn Faralina's beloved sacred beasts into ghouls.
Then, the Darsha religion killed the saint Klau and succeeded in capturing the power of the holy tree Faralina―― At one point, it seemed like it was going to work out.

However, the power of the holy tree was too great.

The holy tree used the very same technique that had been used to absorb her power against them.
By forcibly injecting enormous amounts of power into them, she caused the minds of the human spellcasters to collapse from the strain, bringing them under her control and turning them into slaves of the holy tree.

Then, in place of the deceased Klau, she made Libelle, who was a baby at the time, a saint, transferred herself into Saint Libelle, and began to move to exterminate the cultists.

By devouring the memories of the enslaved Darsha worshipers, she turned humans into ghouls and made them fight each other until they were all destroyed.

And then, she mercilessly killed all those who remembered the forbidden spell, burned down the building, and erased all traces of it. Of course, she didn't care if they were women or children. Everyone and everything involved in the forbidden spell met the same fate.

The practitioners of the Darsha religion who were involved in developing the spell were terrified.
If the holy tree really wanted to destroy humanity, it could do so at any time.
This technique must not be lost.
So, in their final moments, they sealed the forbidden spell in the blood of those who were unrelated to them.
Those who inherited that blood also inherited the forbidden spell.
Without letting Faralina find out. Cleverly designed not to be remembered. They sealed the memory of the forbidden spell in that blood. And so, they took their own lives before their memories could be extracted.

And the trigger to release that spell was……

The great “despair” of those who had the forbidden spell sealed in their blood.
And someone who had engraved a magic circle for the forbidden spell nearby.
When the holy tree was destroyed and despair descended upon the people. That's when this technique will be revived.
And―― now, that very power. It was activated.
Along with Claire's despair.

■□■

"W-What is this……?"

Loteccia, her bodyguards, and Viola were shocked to see Sasha and the man, who had turned into monsters with pale skin, bloodshot eyes, and fangs.

"Ah, I cast a spell on them beforehand. They were chosen to become apostles.
The apostles sent to destroy humanity from this earth."

Alberto smiled ecstatically.

"A-Alberto-sama! ! What's going on here! ? You were supposed to kill Claire and marry me, right! ? "

When Loteccia said that, her head was pierced by something, and she collapsed, bleeding profusely.

"Ah, you said that. You can just get married in the afterlife if you want to."

Alberto smiled and looked down coldly at the lifeless Loteccia.

"Alberto-sama……? "

Viola called his name, but Alberto just smiled and kept staring at her.

"Alberto……Ah, are you talking about the original owner of this body? If this body belongs to that person, I've devoured his soul."

"Devoured it? " Claire asked Alberto.

"Right. Right. You were supposed to be condemned in front of your lover, attacked by scorpions, and unleash your power in despair, but something got in the way and it didn't work out. I tried a different approach."

He said that with a malicious smile.

"W-What are you saying……"

"It's in your blood. The memory and power of the forbidden spell were sealed away.
There were two conditions for unleashing the power within your blood.
The despair of one who possesses the bloodline of the forbidden spell, and the presence of a practitioner of the forbidden spell.
This should be clear enough, right? "

There was a slight smile on Alberto's face……
Claire didn't understand what he meant.
It was true that in the past, she had been ridiculed as a descendant of a blood-stained clan.

But——I didn't really believe it was true.

In other words, this man made Loteccia and the others do those things to make Claire despair, and when that failed, he took Alberto's life and took over his body?

Was Alberto killed because of Claire?

Unable to accept reality, Claire froze, while that something inside Alberto's body stared happily at Sasha and the others, who had turned into ghouls.

"Now, let the revenge begin. Those who persecuted the Darsha religion and sided with the holy trees."

That something inside Alberto's body laughed, the sound echoing all around him.

■□■

Before I knew it, I found myself sealed away.
A long, long time. I don't even remember why I was sealed.
However, there is something I remember.

It was the betrayal of humans.

The people who had joyfully worshipped the Darsha religion after bringing the Holy Tree under their control turned on them as soon as the Darsha religion was defeated by Faralina.

Before Faralina could release the ghouls she had dispatched to various locations, the humans took it upon themselves to execute the Darsha worshipers. Parents and siblings were brutally murdered as an example, leaving them with only deep hatred for humanity.

With that grudge still in their hearts, the Darsha worshipers sealed themselves away so that they would never forget their hatred before they were destroyed by Faralina.
And they awoke because the excavation team touched the sealed stone monument.
The reason was unclear. However, when they regained consciousness, the cultists had only their souls inside the bodies of the expedition team. One of the members of the expedition was Alberto, who was studying abroad on the continent of Tornelia. They gradually eroded their souls without them noticing, and took over their bodies when they were unconscious.

All for the sake of revenge against humans.

How happy Alberto must have been when he learned that his lover was a descendant of a clan that had sealed their memories in blood.

It was destiny, he thought.

The plan to have Claire condemned by Loteccia, brutally beheaded, and left in despair went awry.
He tried to make her fall into despair by having her attacked by a scorpion, which would cut open her stomach and eat her from the inside, but this also failed.
In the end, he had no choice but to let Loteccia and Viola escape and perform this ridiculous skit, which was not part of the plan, but it worked out well, so he had to accept it.

By now, the temple with the annoying saint must be busy dealing with the ghouls brought on by the man I encouraged, and they probably don't have time to stop us. While Kardiana is meditating, I'll destroy the humans.
The cultist who had entered Alberto's body smiled maliciously.