"Wait, hold on a moment. Please hear me out."
After witnessing Laila—my one and only lifeline—get taken down without even putting up a fight, I desperately racked my brain for some way to survive.
Unlike how he'd looked at Laila with some favor, almost like he was recruiting her, this man had been staring at me like roadside dirt both before and now.
'I'm dead...!!'
Forget recruitment or whatever. My gut was screaming that I'd die a dog's death at this rate, so I flattened myself to the ground just as my instincts demanded.
"Truth be told, I want to devote myself to the one you serve too! Oh, great King of All Sins!"
"Hm?"
I'd pieced together the name of the god he served from the conversation between Laila and him earlier, and recalling the mad fervor in his faith, I bowed my head obsequiously.
Was it some deep-seated desire to live surging up from the bottom of my heart? Even though my grand prostration had failed when Laila paid me before, it came off more perfectly than ever this time.
"Ho. Such a pristine posture of submission..."
Sure enough, as he eyed my flawless grand prostration, the man's gaze—which had treated me like roadside dirt—shifted a little.
If it had truly been like looking at dust before, now it was more like staring at a monkey in a zoo.
"Those words just now. Were they sincere?"
"Yes! Yes, absolutely sincere! After seeing the power of that Igor fellow and how you took down that arrogant mage in an instant—something an E-rank like me could never even dream of..."
"Ricarda."
"R-right. After witnessing your power, Ricarda, I've yearned to receive strength from the King of All Sins too!!"
A tone dripping with desperation. And it wasn't a complete lie, not even 100%.
For someone like me, scraping the bottom for two years straight, the power Igor and this man had shown was incredibly enticing.
Sure, the source being some entity called an evil god on the continent was a bit off-putting, but...
'I'm about to die right here—what do I care about that crap.'
If I didn't play to this guy's tune right now, my head was coming off. Evil god, good god—who gives a damn? Survive first.
"Hmmm..."
The man watched me with an intrigued expression, like a zoo monkey again, and stayed silent.
And as the silence dragged on, I broke out in cold sweat and swallowed dryly.
"...Very well."
"...!!"
Finally, the silent man cracked a smile like he'd thought of something amusing, giving a positive response.
"I can't very well ignore a lamb seeking to serve Him as a servant of the King of All Sins myself. And conveniently, there's an open spot."
An open spot.
I didn't get it at first, but when I followed his gaze, I fought hard to keep my face from freezing up.
'No camaraderie, huh?'
Looking at Igor's massive corpse—head blown clean off moments ago—he spoke like it was all for the best.
'Even if my desperate flailing somehow works out...'
Even if my hasty scrambling miraculously let me become this guy's underling or comrade, my instincts told me the future wouldn't be bright.
Still, I had no other choices.
All I could do was stay flattened out as best I could.
"You said you want to serve the King of All Sins. Then do you know what manner of being He is?"
"I... I don't know!"
I nearly spat out a lie on instinct, but my gut screamed I'd die the instant I did, so I answered honestly that I didn't.
I knew they were publicly treated as evil god cultists on the continent, but I had no clue what those gods actually were.
"Fine enough. Even if you did, it'd just be lies spread by unbelievers. Had you tried pretending to know with that fake drivel, I'd have ripped your tongue out..."
"...."
Casually dropping words that chilled the listener to the bone, the man grabbed Laila's hair as she writhed in agony, barely able to breathe from the pain.
Then he dragged her across the cold stone floor straight toward me.
"Our god, the King of All Sins, is truly the great divine being who embodies every concept worthy of being called 'sin' in this land."
He was clearly insane no matter how you sliced it, but his eyes sparkled with genuine faith as he began explaining.
"And He is a most merciful god who accepts the sins we commit."
"Accepts sins...?"
"Indeed. The fools of this land decry sins as wicked and impure, but He does not deny them—instead, He mercifully embraces them."
The deeper the sins one committed, the more He favored and embraced them, the man prattled on, calling Him great for accepting humanity's filthiest parts.
To my ears, of course, it was nothing but madness.
'In other words, the more crimes you rack up, the more He likes you?'
An explanation that made it instantly clear why this god was called an evil one.
After droning on about the King of All Sins, the man dragged the nearly unconscious Laila right in front of me and dropped her with a thud.
"Understand? To be accepted by Him, we too must embrace sin."
"You mean..."
"You want to serve Him? Then prove it. By embracing sin, you'll draw one step closer to Him."
With that, the man dropped a dagger right in front of me.
A filthy dagger crusted with blood and flesh.
Yet sharp enough to cut flesh, it reeked of thick blood.
'Commit a sin... he means...'
"You want me to kill her?"
The man's words demanding I prove my sincerity through sin.
And from dragging Laila right to me, handing me the dagger—I tried to predict his intent.
"Kill her? No. That's not enough. A simple swing of the blade won't get you closer to Him."
But as if my guess was wrong, he shook his head.
Something as trivial as casual murder wasn't enough, he said with a tearing grin, pointing alternately at the dagger in my hand and Laila.
"Simple. Eat her."
"...Pardon?"
My resolve to control my expression went to waste as I blurted it out with a dumbfounded look.
But confirming I'd heard right, he repeated the word.
"Cannibalism. Kin-eating. The most effective, swiftest path—and sin—to reach Him."
The most horrific sin passed down since ancient times.
"That's the initiation rite to join our Church of All Sins."
The dagger handed to me wasn't for mere murder.
"With that dagger, tear her flesh, rip out her entrails, pluck out her heart. Then chew it all up with your own mouth."
It was closer to a butcher's tool for prepping prey.
The moment I heard that, I recalled Igor's mad charge—shouting 'meat' with hunger over killing intent.
"Pass the trial. Show your sincerity. Then you'll be one of us and receive His grace."
"B-but..."
"What's wrong? You couldn't ask for better conditions. Haven't I even prepped her so nicely for an easy meal?"
He nudged the fully incapacitated Laila toward me with his foot, pressuring me to choose.
"Count yourself lucky. Young women tend to taste a bit better anyway."
"...!!"
My clenched teeth nearly drew blood.
My hands trembled, nausea rising.
But watching my reaction with amusement, the man awaited my choice.
'Cannibalism... cannibalism?'
I glanced at Laila. Skin pure white and smooth, untouched by hardship.
I imagined slicing that skin with the dagger, tearing into it with my teeth.
'Urk...!!'
Nausea surged instantly; I nearly dropped the dagger.
But at the same time, I met the man's mad eyes watching my choice.
And from his words calling this mere 'initiation,' I realized anew he'd already committed cannibalism—and embraced other sins.
Terror hit: if I didn't eat Laila, he'd eat me.
'Eat... or be eaten.'
My survival instinct forced my arm to move.
To shove away ugly thoughts, I recalled everything from meeting Laila to now.
'Her personality rubbed me wrong from the start.'
'Not like we're close. Met her yesterday.'
'And earlier? Nearly got buried alive because of her.'
'She tried to burn me for touching that sacred thing.'
'This whole mess is her fault anyway.'
Devilish whispers echoed in my head.
As they grew louder, other thoughts faded, and my hand gripping the dagger slowly rose.
"Ugh..."
Bleeding Laila weakly opened her eyes, looking at me.
Staring into those violet irises, I swung the dagger in a frenzy.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!"
💥 IMPACT! 💥
-SCHLUK!!!
The filthy dagger sank into flesh with a sickening sound, the repulsive sensation of ripping skin transmitting through my hand.
And the man watching me flashed a tearing grin.
"As expected."
But unlike before, that smile mixed scorn with fury.
"You were an unbeliever after all."
"Hahk...! Hahk...!!"
My dagger wasn't aimed at Laila—it was at the man goading me.
He'd raised his arm like he'd seen it coming, blocking. The blade lodged in his forearm, blood flowing, but he casually yanked it out like nothing.
-Clang!!
The bloody dagger hit the floor, and the wound closed in an instant.
Regeneration surpassing even Igor's inhuman recovery from earlier.
Then, wiping the blood, he swung his foot into my face.
-Crunch!!
"Gahk...!!"
My nose bone shattered, a few teeth breaking free from my mouth.
He stomped me like venting rage, then clicked his tongue in contempt.
"Foolish wretch. I gave a bug like you a special chance, and you kicked it away?"
"Guh... Ah..."
Pain crashed in. But greater than pain was the terror of dying like this.
A stray thought bubbled up: maybe if I'd just eaten her like he said, I'd live.
'No...'.
But no matter how I thought it over, I didn't want to survive by doing that.
Two years in this otherworld had worn down my humanity plenty, but I still had lines I wouldn't cross.
"Fine. Then you'll be offered up first."
After beating me to the brink of death, he grabbed my hair and dragged me somewhere.
Where he headed was the spot with that red longsword I'd brushed against because of Laila earlier.
Even amid the chaos of Igor and Laila clashing, that sword's resting place remained eerily pristine.
'Fuck... shit...'
Cursing inwardly, I scrambled for a way out.
But my sole hope, Laila, was completely down, and no sign of anyone else at the stairwell entrance.
Not that I could counterattack even if I wanted— I had no weapons left.
'Goddamn Hammer Uncle...'
If that hand axe hadn't shattered so easily, I'd at least have a weapon... Never replicated so much I didn't check the original's durability... Wait.
'Replication...!'
In my desperation for survival, I remembered my last card.
The one power given to me upon transfer to this world. The one I'd trained every night.
'Right now... maybe I don't even need the original...'.
The hand axe original was shattered, but for the one I'd replicated over and over, my gut said I could still 'replicate' it now.
The instant that hit me, I tried replicating a hand axe to attack, but...
'...What's the point?'
Recalling his monstrous healing—even from the dagger stab earlier—I despaired that one hand axe wouldn't change a thing.
Regardless, ignoring me completely, the man gazed at the red longsword and began praying.
"Oh... great King of All Sins. Return this magnificent sacred object You forged to the bosom of our church..."
"[Grrr...!!!]"
As if understanding his prayer, the red longsword glowed demonically.
Earlier, part of my hand had been torn off touching it, yet its blade gleamed spotless—no trace of my flesh or blood.
"...."
And the moment I laid eyes on that sacred object, I realized the one way to turn this around.
In this extreme crisis, my brain accelerated to its limit. Focus peaked—I could make out every speck of flying dust—as I stared at the red longsword.
'Hilt about 25cm. Blade roughly 90cm, and that eerie red glow...'.
My mind rapidly memorized its form, features, boosting my 'understanding' of the target.
Then I recalled the sensation when I'd touched it.
'More beast than sword.'
Recalling what might have been its true essence, I etched the sword—this 'sacred object'—into my mind.
"Here goes...!"
The man finished praying and reached for me.
Utterly defenseless, no guard up.
And I reached toward him.
In my heart, more desperately than ever, I shouted the word I'd ingrained over two years.
'Replication.'
My sole given ability.
The power I'd never properly used in real combat, I invoked now with unprecedented desperation.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Replication-Tzzzzzzt!!!
In that instant, a dizzying vertigo hit as intangible energy surged from within me at blinding speed, draining me dry.
A faint glow gathered in my hand.
The formless power, based on my understanding of the imprinted target, took shape—solidifying clearly.
The form it made...
"[Grrrruk...!!!]"
A saw-like blade near the edge, a demonic red sword's form.
"Wha...!!!!"
The man's leisurely expression twisted completely.
In shock, he sensed the sacred sword's form in my hand—and the aura pouring from it.
Undeniably the sacred object's aura.
The aura that should be unique in the world now felt in two places at once; he panicked too hard to react,
💥 PIERCE! 💥
-SCHLUK!!!!
and the sword of gluttony that devoured all pierced straight through the man's gut.