WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 122: Malevolent Site - 6

──────

The mercenaries cocked their heads at Father Gabriel's firm refusal.

"Is it really such a big deal? We just have to prostrate ourselves once."

"We are Christians. We can never bow before an idol, especially at a demon's altar."

"What are you even...!"

Rumble!!

Then it happened.

The stone wall behind the throne opened, and countless hoofbeats rang out from beyond it.

"It's them!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Legion's demons.

Their charge forcibly ended the argument between the Templar Order and the mercenaries.

"Tiger! Go trample them!"

【Where do you get off giving me orders?!】

Mountain Lord rushed to the front and struck the approaching demons.

She crushed them beneath her forepaws, clawed them apart, and bit them to death.

It was simple, but a beast's combat strength came from physical power and size far beyond anything humans could possess.

As the house-sized tiger rampaged, the demons' formation fell apart.

"Mountain Lord! Fall back!"

As Mountain Lord retreated, silver bullets rained down on the demons who had lost their momentum.

Kieek!

Kyaak!

The incoming demons were quickly dealt with.

Mountain Lord had played a major role, but there had not been that many of them.

"Whew, they suddenly came charging in. They're nothing special, so what was that about?"

"What about the stone wall? Isn't it opening?"

"It won't budge. Think holy water would melt it?"

At that, Kohaku hurried over and sprayed it with holy water.

But nothing changed.

The stone wall was literally just a door.

"Look over here! There are more doors!"

"What? You're right."

And there was not just one or two.

There were ten similar stone walls.

"Are there forks in the road now?"

"Do we have to find the right entrance?"

As everyone offered their own guesses, someone considered another possibility.

"Surely not..."

"Father! If we want to get past this room, let's just do what it says!"

"Absolutely not. You expect us to worship a demon's idol? That is impossible."

"Why is doing it once so difficult?!"

The Templar Order insisted that idol worship was impossible, while the mercenaries wanted to bow once and get it over with.

Caught between the two groups, Mountain Lord and Kohaku exchanged opinions.

"Little fox, what do you think?"

"I do not know."

Kohaku recalled the words carved into the stone tablet.

Worship the King of Darkness.

All of you, prostrate yourselves.

Then the path shall open.

The King of Darkness referred to the statue on the altar.

A beautiful queen riding a camel. Yet it was undoubtedly a demon.

Bowing to it would be no different from idol worship.

It was not something the clergy could accept.

"The problem is the phrase, 'All of you, prostrate yourselves.' Unlike the adaptable mercenaries, the clergy cannot bend. In other words, getting everyone to bow is nearly impossible."

"...Is that so?"

"What do you mean?"

Kohaku looked up at her. Mountain Lord put her pipe between her lips and grinned.

"Humans are a race easily driven to extremes."

Not long after, the stone walls opened.

This time, two of them did.

* * *

Five doors opened at once.

An enormous Legion force poured out, five times the size of the first wave.

At least there was time between one wave ending and the next beginning.

During that time, the group was able to investigate many things.

"Damn it! The way out has been cut off!"

"They trapped us here from the beginning!"

Naturally, it was not good news.

It was mostly desperate news. All they had confirmed was that Legion's demons would keep pouring in with each wave.

"Get down!"

Driven into a corner, the mercenaries bowed before the demon idols among themselves.

But the inscription required all of them.

No matter how much they bowed and worshipped, they could not stop the stone doors from opening.

"We're all going to die at this rate! Are you really going to let us die?"

"It's only once! We only have to bow once, and you're going to use us as sacrifices because you can't do that?"

The mercenaries' protests grew fiercer.

Their comrades were being killed and injured, while Legion's demons kept increasing.

They could still fight.

The rest periods had grown longer, giving them ample time to prepare.

They could spread holy oil to create a temporary defensive line, then kill the demons that erased that line with their corpses.

The problem was that the growing number of demons kept causing casualties.

More and more people were also being consumed by the demons' malice, unable to make rational judgments.

The time granted between waves had instead become time for conflict and hostility.

"You bastards! Why are we the only ones bowing?!"

One mercenary threw his bloodstained gun onto the floor.

He pointed at Father Gabriel and the exorcists.

"Is that what Jesus taught you? That you'd let innocent people die because you don't want to bow once?!"

"Watch your words."

One of the Templar Order members warned him in a low voice.

"We are fighting alongside our brothers as well."

"Fighting?"

The mercenary twisted his mouth at the Templar's words.

"While twenty of us were dying, how many of you died?"

Two members of the Templar Order had been killed. Several more were seriously wounded, but it was nothing compared to the mercenaries' losses.

"They died because of you!"

"They were killed by demons."

"No!"

The mercenary shouted.

"You killed them!"

The atmosphere froze.

"Nikolai wasn't supposed to die in a place like this! Jackson and Bertman too! They just died! They died while you lofty clergymen protected your precious pride!"

"..."

Some people wavered at those words.

One compromise. If they had just made that one compromise, perhaps those people would not have died.

Perhaps the dead Templar members would still be alive too.

Amid that guilt, the mercenary shouted.

"Once! Just once! All you had to do was bow with us once!"

"We cannot worship an idol, much less a demon. This is not something we can compromise on."

Father Gabriel remained resolute.

Even now, he did not waver in the slightest.

That provoked the mercenaries.

"Compromise?"

The mercenaries let out hollow laughs.

One of them pointed at the stone tablet.

[All of you, prostrate yourselves.]

"The answer is right there, and you can't even do that?"

"That's right."

The mercenaries began joining in, one by one.

"We only have to do it once."

"We cannot."

"Why the fuck not?!"

"I have answered you repeatedly. Idol worship is a sin..."

"A sin, my ass!"

One mercenary shoved a Templar Order member in the chest.

Just as it was about to turn into a violent scuffle, the next wave began.

This time, six stone walls opened at once.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Faced with Legion's pouring forces, the mercenaries turned their attention back to the battle for the moment.

"Damn it! Fight first!"

"We were too late setting up the holy oil bottles!"

They had spent so long arguing that their preparations were delayed.

Fortunately, they had not failed to prepare entirely.

Even as they fought, Kohaku had sprayed fresh holy oil before the stone walls, forming a barrier.

"Ugh... There are too many corpses piled up at the entrance. I couldn't seal it properly with the barrier."

【You did well enough. Leave the rest to me.】

Mountain Lord roared and charged the demons.

The battle began. Guns and blades clashed, and screams erupted.

More people died.

One.

Two.

Seven.

When the sixth wave ended, they had suffered their greatest losses yet.

The survivors' faces were smeared with blood and sweat.

For a while, no one spoke.

"...There will be more next time."

"..."

No one could deny it.

If the pattern continued, the forces would keep growing.

Once the death toll surpassed thirty, the mercenaries looked at the Templar Order differently.

Resentment, betrayal... and hatred.

"We are dying because of their precious pride."

Voices soon agreed with those words.

"That's right."

"How many of us have died already?"

"It would be over if those bastards just bowed."

"But they won't."

"Why?"

"Because of their precious faith."

The dissatisfaction spread quickly.

Hatred and conviction.

And among them...

"You're saying you won't bow because of that precious faith? Fine."

Someone put a finger on their trigger.

"If we have to die because of your faith..."

"If all of them die and only we remain..."

"Then only we will be left in 'all of us.'"

More and more fingers settled onto triggers.

The Templar Order members also raised their weapons, albeit hesitantly.

Giggle.

Giggle.

The idol seemed to be smiling in the darkness.

Gabriele Santoro let out a sigh as he realized the truth.

It had not been a test to open a door.

It was a test meant to divide people.

Some would preserve their faith.

Others would submit to survive.

And in the end, they would be made to kill each other.

Murderous intent flashed in the mercenaries' eyes.

"Kill them."

"If we want to live, we have to kill them."

In that near-explosive situation, Kohaku could not sit still.

"Th-this is really going to turn into infighting!"

"Be still. You are making a fuss."

Even in this situation, Mountain Lord remained calm.

Instead, she asked,

"What will you do?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"If infighting breaks out, which side will you take?"

"W-why are you asking me that?"

"You call yourself my lord's right hand. How can you put off making a decision in a situation like this?"

"Ugh..."

Kohaku thought it over.

Coldly speaking, it was right to side with the Templar Order.

Because idol worship was wrong? No.

"If they fight, the mercenaries are certain to lose."

"Oh? Is victory or defeat your standard?"

"Mountain Lord, even if you side with the mercenaries, can you win?"

"Well..."

Mountain Lord looked at Father Gabriele Santoro, who stood facing the mercenaries.

He was strong.

A properly trained warrior, unlike Yohan in many ways.

He surely had a few methods hidden away for exorcising great yokai.

The animal blood scent ingrained in him made him an unpleasant opponent to face.

"Fifty-fifty."

"Then all the more reason to side with the Order. But..."

Kohaku's iron rule was to side with whoever would win.

But what would her lord think?

"I cannot say I do not understand the mercenaries' argument. They are dying and being injured. They are not angry because they are evil. They are acting that way because they are ordinary people who want to live."

Would killing people like that truly be what her lord wanted?

Kohaku did not know.

She had spent too long by Yohan's side to simply live by the principle that the winning side was her side.

In the end, as everyone wavered and the time bomb seemed ready to explode...

"Father... what if we bow?"

"Sister Maria."

Someone from the Order had expressed a different opinion.

"The Lord would not demand innocent sacrifices, either. If this continues... we will have to harm our brothers with our own hands. Rather than letting that happen..."

Once.

Just once.

Only this once.

"..."

Father Gabriel looked at the Templar Order members.

Bloodied faces.

Trembling hands.

There had been casualties among them, but the people they watched were the dead mercenaries.

For a long time, Gabriel read regret and sorrow in their expressions.

Perhaps they too believed that one bow was the way to save everyone.

The howls of demons beyond the stone walls.

The idol of the queen riding a camel.

Looking back and forth between them, Gabriel sighed and knelt.

"...!"

"...May the Lord forgive us."

The mercenaries rejoiced as they watched Father Gabriel kneel.

They hurriedly began kneeling too.

"Y-you made the right decision, Father!"

"That's right! People have to survive first!"

The Templar Order members prostrated themselves one by one.

Gabriel lowered his head and pressed his forehead to the ground.

Thud.

At that moment, silence descended.

The demons' cries vanished, as did the tremors of the stone walls that should have opened.

And then...

Hummmmmm...!

A low vibration echoed from somewhere.

"...Did it open?"

Someone muttered.

Then the black idol opened its eyes.

Red light spread as the ground beneath them began to open.

"It worked!"

"We did it!"

"The real door was below us!"

Gabriel backed sharply away from the opening in the ground.

He was not the only one who noticed something was wrong.

Mountain Lord and Kohaku's fur stood on end at the scent stinging their noses.

"Father?"

The color had drained from Gabriel's face.

The air in the space changed.

It was red and heavy enough to suffocate.

Soon, a red pillar surged upward.

Rooooar!!

In an instant, it pierced the cavern ceiling and painted the night sky.

Working together with the other two Ill-Omened Sites, it formed an inverted triangle.

"The path we opened... was not meant for us."

"Worship and submission... were the conditions for completing the Malevolent Site!"

Something was coming up from the path that had opened below.

The path... had not been for them.

The king was coming up.

From that pit of hell, the king had risen.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried