The Berserker’s Second Playthrough Novel - Chapter 87

Chapter 87
## Chapter 87: Disciples of the Lost Deity (9)

Kadim moved forward into the murky tunnel without pausing.

Thump, thump—

The Atalain combatants trailed behind him with obvious hesitation. They had come to the sobering realization that the martial skills they had spent a lifetime refining were insignificant compared to his power. It was an undeniable truth.

Still, Perun was determined not to be left out, maintaining a position right at Kadim’s back.

“Friend, that display of skill was truly something else… I am certain the Father of the Wilderness is smiling down upon you. I didn’t notice that tool during our previous mission—is it a recent acquisition?”

“……”

“Please, don’t take it the wrong way. I have no desire for it. Such a magnificent blade is only suited for a master of your caliber.”

Kadim’s intense expression relaxed slightly. He had been prepared to crack the man’s skull if he had brazenly demanded the weapon like that previous mission leader. This warrior, at least, possessed some modicum of intelligence.

Since Kadim offered no verbal response, Perun continued his one-sided chatter—musing about why these cultists were hiding in such a place, admitting his surprise at their mastery of dark arts, and rambling on.

Eventually, he dropped his tone to a whisper and spoke again.

“Kadim, my friend, there is something I must ask.”

“……?”

“Tell me… have you ever traveled to the wastes beyond the mountain range?”

“……What brings that up so suddenly?”

Perun paused. He was haunted by a premonition he’d had of Kadim standing tall amidst a desolate wasteland. He wondered if he should ask if the memory felt familiar.

However, that vision had concluded in tragedy. The sight of Kadim’s skin ripping apart as something crimson and violent erupted from within was still burned into his mind. It seemed unwise to bring up such a dark omen right before a confrontation.

Instead, Perun shook his head and pivoted the conversation.

“……Kadim, the instructions we got from the administrator weren’t limited to just suppressing the rogue fighters. You must realize that your reputation as the ‘Demon Slayer’ has traveled far in these parts?”

Kadim glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Perun proceeded with care.

Stories of your brutal efficiency against demons on the Golden Highway have circulated. They reached our partner, the councilor of the Agon faction. We have been told to bring you to their presence. They are undoubtedly planning to draft you into Atala’s military ranks…

“Truly, it would be a privilege for us to serve alongside a warrior of your status. However… judging by your nature, I cannot see you bowing to the whims of a place like this. That is what concerns me. The councilors aren’t purely villainous, but… they are masters of manipulation who will do anything to reach their ends. I just wanted to tell you to watch your back.”

It was a heartfelt warning, but Kadim barely processed it. He knew a confrontation with those bureaucrats was inevitable regardless. As he’d decided before, his goal was to eliminate ‘Agon’s Furious Horn,’ the commander of the Atalain legion.

‘When the meeting happens, I’ll take the payment for the mission and discard the rest…’

With that thought, Kadim shifted the topic.

“How is that severed limb faring? You should get rid of that metal hook unless you want the rot to take you.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright. I’ve seen to it.”

Perun detached the prosthetic and revealed his arm. Though the bone was set at a strange angle, the wound had closed with unnatural perfection.

Kadim studied it with doubt. No matter how robust a man’s constitution, such healing was impossible in a mere month. It required either the tinctures of a wilderness mystic or the divine intervention of an Elga priest.

Perun seemed reluctant before answering.

“I-I apologize. I cannot disclose the method of my recovery… I am bound by an oath of silence. But should you ever find yourself gravely wounded, seek me out. I can offer aid at least once…”

Kadim dismissed the offer with a wave. He was simply curious about the recovery. With the life-stealing properties of the Blood Ghost and his hydra markings, he had little use for minor mending.

The corridor finally reached its end. A heavy stone portal blocked the path where the wall should have been. Though he couldn’t grasp the exact nature of the energy, Kadim felt a profound sense of malice radiating from behind it.

He turned to the warriors and commanded,

“The rest of you stay back.”

“……”

Their expressions fell as if they had been struck.

If he told them they were useless, they would likely start a scene, shouting about sacrificing their lives for Atala’s glory. Kadim ran a hand through his hair and added in a tired voice,

“Instead, form a tight perimeter from this point back to the entrance. Don’t let a single one escape. If they break through, I might lose track of them. That would be a massive help to me.”

“……!”

As he anticipated, the fighters gripped their polearms and scimitars, shouting, ‘We hear and obey, great brother,’ and ‘Praise to the lord of the feast and the fray,’ before retreating in an orderly fashion. Kadim felt a pang of regret for not using that tactic earlier, letting out a soft sigh.

“Use caution, Kadim. May Atala guide your strikes.”

With Perun’s parting words, the group vanished. Left in silence, Kadim centered himself and shoved the stone door open.

Rumble, groooan…

On the other side lay a void.

A heavy, oily, suffocating, and pulsing darkness.

The transition past the door was jarring. Instead of masonry, the chamber was coated in a layer of obsidian muck. The sounds of bubbling and wet sliding made it feel as though he had entered the stomach of a decomposing titan.

Gurgle, squish, gurgle…

Despite the absence of light, Kadim’s vision sliced through the murk.

Partial torsos grew from the walls and ground like fungi in the shade, packed tightly together. Dark visors obscured their features, making them indistinguishable. However, the silhouettes were clearly replicas of Ilenia. This was evidently their birthing chamber.

In the center sat a black, pulsating altar. Standing before it was a single figure, their body fully visible.

A man wearing a corvid mask and a dark cowl.

“I bid you welcome, Demon Slayer. You have reached the temple that will serve as the new foundation for the cult of the Forgotten God.”

The puppet master of the high-ranking members, the prelate of the ‘Nightcrow Sect.’

A pulse throbbed in Kadim’s temple. The bishop joined his fingers calmly and spoke.

“To be honest, I was taken aback… When you declared you would ‘execute every soul in this metropolis to locate us,’ I assumed it was merely a hollow threat. But to think you actually slaughtered without mercy to find our trail… Your fixation and spite are truly remarkable.”

“……”

“Regardless, your actions have confirmed my beliefs. You… are destined to bring a greater ruin to this land than any creature of hell. I am relieved we can end you before the true catastrophe begins…”

“What makes you so certain of that?”

Kadim finally voiced the thought that had been bothering him. The bishop slowly placed his hands over the eyes of his mask, forming a pattern like a silver coin, and spoke with gravity,

“‘The Oracle.'”

“……”

“Two decades ago, the Forgotten God granted us an ‘oracle.’ However, the other sect leaders failed to grasp its meaning. Only I, who can perceive the shadows of truth within the blinding light! Only I understood the deity’s intent. The Forgotten God named you the ‘Root of Ruin’ who would bring about the end!”

“……”

A cold fury settled in Kadim’s gaze.

So that was it. Just another fanatic with a broken mind. He was being hounded because of a madman’s hallucinations. The High Paladin from before had rambled similar nonsense—why did every zealot treat him like this?

Luckily, Kadim knew the exact remedy for religious mania.

*Slash-slash-slash-slash—crack—thud!*

The jagged axe bit through hand and mask, cleaving the face in two. Black ooze erupted as the bishop’s split tongue flopped out before the body dissolved into a puddle of grime.

*Whoosh, swing, swing, swing—thunk!*

As he suspected, it was a replica. Being prepared, Kadim wasn’t fazed. As he pulled his weapon back, another clone of the bishop rose from the sludge. At the same time, a figure was tossed onto the altar.

It was the commander of the ninth gate who had been seized that morning.

“Stay your hand, Demon Slayer! The lives of your allies are still within our grasp! If you wish for his head to stay on his shoulders, relinquish your blade and hand over the silver coins of the fallen kingdom…”

“Didn’t I tell you to butcher him and throw the remains to the scavengers? Why is he still breathing?”

“……”

A flicker of genuine shock passed behind the clone’s mask.

“……Did you not come to save your friends? Was that all a lie? Then why bother coming here at all…”

*Slash-slash-slash-slash—crack—thud!*

“For this.”

The axe shattered another replica’s mask and skull. He had plenty of experience showing thugs that cheap hostage tactics didn’t work on him.

Gurgle, glurk…

The fleshy altar pulsed, pulling the commander’s body back into the muck. The clones embedded in the environment tore themselves free from the slime in a mass, screaming.

“”Death to him! Protect the relic, take his soul! We must execute this arrogant Root of Ruin!””

It was a strange sight to see a man command himself. Kadim smirked and raised his steel.

*Swoosh—crack, crunch!*

A crimson arc flashed, hitting the lead clone. The blade shattered its arm, tore through its ribs, and proceeded to mince its upper half. The replica sprayed black ichor and collapsed in a heap of ruin.

“”Aaaargh!””

*Thrust—! Whoosh, smash—crack!*

He drove his sword through one eye with his right hand while using his left to reclaim the axe and crush a skull. The ruptured socket leaked dark fluids like rotten fruit, and the shattered head sprayed thick, black residue. The two broken forms dissolved into the floor.

“”Sentence the Demon Slayer!””

The Ilenia replicas gripped their daggers and rushed him. Kadim shifted his weight, gathering strength in his core. Just as the blades reached his face, he exploded outward, sweeping his sword in a massive arc.

*Creeeak—slash!*

“”GRRRRAAAHHH!!””

The bodies were sliced like layers of parchment, falling in unison. Black blood sprayed through the air as chests and midsections were opened. Without pausing, Kadim continued his grim work, carving through the next wave.

Regardless of their numbers, they were nothing more than straw targets for a master combatant. Blood, organs, and severed limbs piled up before being reclaimed by the slime. They were like waves breaking against a cliff.

Kadim narrowed his eyes. The bishop knew this wasn’t working. He was clearly stalling. He needed to find the original body and end it before a trap was sprung…

Suddenly, a void opened in the ceiling above.

*Hummmm…*

A colossal silhouette dropped from the high darkness.

——**Boom!**

“Grrraaah!!”

The impact cratered the floor, crushing several clones beneath it. The fallen beast ignored them and raised its jagged talons.

—*Kaaaak! Kaaaaak!*

It was shaped like a crow, but far more monstrous. Its beak shone like a black spearhead. Its wings reached from wall to wall. Its body was made of living sludge, its feathers like shards of obsidian. Rows of ‘fallen kingdom silver coins’ were pressed into its flesh like armor from neck to chest.

The most jarring detail: a man’s torso emerged from the back of the neck, still wearing the crow mask.

Kadim’s instincts flared: that was the bishop’s actual form.

“At last… the faithful servant of the Forgotten God, the ‘Beast of Shadow,’ has arrived. Fall before its might and accept your end, Demon Slayer!”

The bishop gave the signal, and the crow beast lunged.

*Thud! Hummmm…*

A massive pit opened in the floor, and the entire room began to fall into the depths.

*Rumblerumble…*

A cascade of sludge and replicas poured downward. The bottom of the pit was nowhere to be seen. The room had transformed into a falling abyss.

The slime drained away, leaving only the cold stone walls. Kadim buried his sword into the wall to halt his fall. Suddenly, Ilenia’s earlier words came back to him.

*’…If a priest of the Forgotten God obtains those coins, they can perform dark miracles. …They can summon terrible beasts and distort the very fabric of space…’ *

…This was it.

The power of the ritual was far beyond what he had expected. This was a summoning on par with high-level ‘mystical’ demons. It was clear why the coins were considered holy artifacts.

Then a thought occurred to him—one ironically similar to the bishop’s own boast.

‘It’s a good thing I can kill him now before he finds more coins and causes a real disaster…’

—*Kak! Kaaaaak!*

The crow monster extended its claws and dived. The obsidian talons looked sharp enough to rend any armor. He couldn’t fight this beast while hanging onto a wall.

Kadim narrowed his focus.

*Woooom—*

In the pitch-black descent, a brilliant crimson light erupted.

Fire blazed in his dark eyes.

Blood energy burst from his chest marking, saturating his entire being. The warrior let out a thunderous roar and threw himself from the wall.

“**HRRAAAAAHHH!!**”

—*Kak! Kak!*

————**Cra—sh!**

The crimson shadow of the warrior and the black silhouette of the beast collided violently in the middle of the void.