Chapter 803

〈Chapter 803〉 Part 3, Chapter 1, 05

I thought Delpia I met was human.

Never crossed my mind she could be a doppleganger.

How could I expect that the first person I met wasn’t human but a monster?

I just assumed Delpia got kidnapped.

When the village chief’s son called me “Penis,” I thought Delpia was signaling me to notice something strange.

And when I kept getting hit on the head, I thought it was all part of some elaborate scheme to cloud my judgment within the village.

Nope.

The conclusion was surprisingly complex yet simple.

“So you’re the real Delpia, and the one I met was a doppleganger sent by the village chief, meaning I introduced myself to some servant of his?”

“Yeah. Sorry, but can you introduce yourself again? Who are you exactly?”

The real Delpia standing before me knows nothing about me.

Of course, considering during the time I was talking to her, she was actually being raped here.

Or rather, according to her, she was enjoying some hobby… so was it consensual rape?

“Introducing myself to the same person twice feels kinda weird.”

“But I’m not the same person. Doppleganger, remember? So introduce yourself again. Who are you?”

What’s the point of introducing myself as a man searching for his lost beloved wife when the doppleganger who was moved by that story got burned to ashes by me?

Kinda sad.

That I have to reintroduce myself.

“I am…”

“The blue flame that purifies the world’s darkness? What does that even mean? Is that your name?”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything.

Thinking about it, this woman witnessed every scene where I killed Delpia and the village chief.

Especially when I said “spirit,” referring to myself in Phoenix form—she must’ve understood what I meant.

So why is she asking me this now?

“So Mr. Blue Flame that Purifies the World’s Darkness, care to explain something? You know, if you weren’t around, I was planning to quietly destroy this entire village.”

“Destroy it?”

“Yeah. With this.”

Delpia raised her hand, and a massive golden mass erupted above it, taking a familiar shape.

“A spirit?”

“Exactly. I planned to make this thing go berserk and turn everything into rubble. I’m both a knight and a spirit-wielder, see? But then the spirit suddenly went out of control, and some random guy appeared, aiming something strange at it… BAM.”

Delpia mimed strangling herself.

“I died, alright? So who the heck are you? And what’s this nonsense about purifying the world’s darkness?”

“…”

Stay calm, me.

Since I’m showing my true face, it’s pretty embarrassing.

Back in the days, I didn’t feel embarrassed because I was using Shin-ra’s body, but now, saying these things with my own face makes something churn inside me.

‘No.’

Why should I feel embarrassed?

“Blue Flame that Purifies the World’s Darkness”—that’s my baptismal name given by Shin-ra. It’s another name bestowed upon me by the goddess, and I’m her proxy.

“…Kuk, kuk.”

Therefore, no need to feel ashamed!

“Wow, this situation got really twisted. I was trying to deceive a doppleganger, but instead, I revealed my identity to a rapist-inclined priestess.”

Delpia started tensing up.

I placed some fingers on my forehead and looked down at Delpia.

“Wanna know who I am? You might regret it though.”

“I need to know. I don’t know what you think of me…but I’m a knight of the Vichnia Kingdom! If you’re a threat to the kingdom, it’s my duty to investigate and handle it!”

Despite her bravado moments ago while squirting fluids…

She had been thoroughly violated just five minutes ago.

Impressive presence, admirable determination, but all I can think about is how she got devoured by the deceased village chief.

“Before we continue the conversation, let’s finish what you were doing.”

Whoosh.

I extended my hand towards the sky.

Above my palm, birds made of blue flames began blooming like flowers.

“Go fetch them all.”

The birds scattered in different directions. Each one infused with immense magic power, powerful enough to hunt down even B-Rank monsters alone—miniature Phoenixes.

“One question: Should everyone in this village be wiped out?”

“…No, not everyone. The culprits can be identified.”

Delpia pointed at herself with her thumb.

“Those who ate me are the culprits!”

“…That’s definitive evidence.”

Evidence is overflowing.

With the victim herself identifying the faces, there’s no way for the rapists to deny their actions.

-The nation of Gaechonkwang may embrace free sex, but rape is strictly prohibited by law.

Testimony from Shin-ra.

-We aim for free sex, but since we value freedom, we oppose any sex that violates it. Therefore, rape is banned in the nation of Gaechonkwang.

-So the corrupted version of Gaechonkwang, Karna, has a fetish for rape?

-Not exactly. It’s more like ‘fighting with full strength against someone who defeats you,’ which is why you earned the right to rape Karna, and Karna wanted to be raped by you.

Each voice came in shades of blue, white, and yellow.

Seongju spread the act of rape in a land where it never existed. In secluded mountain villages untouched by others, such acts occurred—clearly an issue the Vichnia Kingdom needed to address.

Though I never imagined the solution would involve getting raped to solve the problem.

“Aaaah!”

A scream echoed from afar, growing closer.

Flap, flap.

The mini-Phoenixes caught fleeing individuals by the necks and dragged them back to the square.

From the moment I torched Delpia, everyone who fled in all directions has now returned to the village without exception.

“Wh-what are you?!”

A young man asked me, holding a hoe. His eyes brimmed with fear, yet he was determined to protect those behind him.

“Myself-”

“Am the blue flame that purifies the world’s darkness.”

It wasn’t me who answered. Delpia, with a solemn expression, somehow wielding a sword, pointed it at the villagers.

“And I am Delphia Ishiria, a priestess of the Vichnia Kingdom! Hmph, foolish ones. Did you truly believe I’d fall so easily?”

Delpia glared fiercely at the villagers, especially the terrified men.

“I heard reports of rapes occurring in this village and came to investigate! As expected, rapes did occur! And since they dared to rape me, your excuses won’t hold water!”

“Guh, surely you didn’t intentionally get raped…?!”

“To uncover the crime, she even subjected herself to rape…this is the resolve of a kingdom priestess…?”

The villagers began drawing their own conclusions. My stomach churned, but I watched as Delpia shamelessly held her head high and vowed internally:

‘I need to become shameless too.’

If a woman who willingly got raped can pull off such audacity, I, the apostle of Shin-ra, have no reason to feel ashamed of myself.

“You, you, and you. Over here.”

“Keeh…!”

Terrifying indeed.

Seeing the woman they assaulted now standing as a dignified knight with a sword aimed at them, they couldn’t help but imagine the consequences of their actions.

“Crime of drugging and raping a kingdom priestess. Immediate execution.”

“Wait, wait! You enjoyed it too, damn it!”

“Excuse me? That’s absurd. If this gentleman hadn’t saved me, I’d undoubtedly have continued to be raped by you lot. My will stolen, reduced to nothing but a container for your semen in some barn.”

“Bullshit! You were grinding your hips too!”

“That’s easy to explain.”

Delpia raised her sword high—

“It’s due to the drug.”

Swoosh.

She slit a man’s throat.

As cries of terror were about to erupt, the villagers, intimidated by the mini-Phoenixes flapping above their heads, remained silent.

“You’re guilty too. You knew about the incidents in this village but failed to report them. Accomplices through omission and cover-up. Though I won’t kill you…you’ll still face justice. Those who directly committed crimes, like you, deserve death here.”

“Pl-please, not that…!”

“Be quiet.”

Chop.

The man’s head rolled off.

I flicked my finger at the fallen man.

Whoosh.

Blue flames engulfed him.

This time, it wasn’t merely burning magic power—it incinerated flesh and all.

“Omnipotent deity, great deity. Purify the beings born of chaos and grant peace to this land.”

I recited a random prayer that came to mind.

Though I wanted to rant about how beautiful Shin-ra is, I still wanted to maintain the concept of being a “man who lost his memory.”

“In the name of the blue flame.”

Whoosh.

The man disappeared without a trace.

Naturally, the Tera parasites hiding within his body also vanished with the flames.

Chop, chop.

In the meantime, Delpia cut down the men who raped her.

Since the victim herself personally recognized and executed them, there’d be no wrongful deaths.

“Thank you for your efforts, mysterious you.”

Delpia swung her sword once to clean off the blood.

“The issues in this village have been resolved thanks to…your assistance.”

“…Do you truly think so?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you sense the touch of chaos draped over this place?”

“…You’re really strange.”

She completely missed my hint.

Apparently, there were others contaminated besides the obvious victims, but she only singled out those who raped her, showing no signs of detecting any interdimensional energies.

‘Maybe it’s for the best.’

All those I burned were among those who raped Delpia. Thus, I didn’t need to burn others who merely stood by but were infected by Tera parasites under the guise of purification.

Had I burned someone who didn’t participate in the rape, Delpia would’ve protested.

Whoosh.

I burned all the corpses. Then I turned my gaze toward Delpia.

“What happens to this village now?”

“For now, I’ll summon soldiers to escort everyone here. And…you should come along too so we can understand the situation.”

Delpia still harbored suspicions about me.

“The ability to transform into others’ forms. And that blue flame…something unheard of in this world.”

“Hmm?”

“Please cooperate peacefully, alright? I don’t want to fight you.”

Though Delpia lowered her guard slightly, she didn’t fully relax.

“I wish to present you to the ‘priest.’ Will you come along?”

“Understood. But there’s something I must do first.”

I tapped the ground.

“This village needs purification.”

“Purification…?”

“Yes.”

Whoosh.

“The virus must be eradicated.”

This village.

Must be burned.

“I need to use my technique.”