Cobwebs filled the corners of the temple.
The beautiful yet terrifying designs covered entire pillars that supported the temple.
The old, blackish stone made it hard to understand most of the patterns.
The old lady sat down on the floor while I looked around the place.
A part of didn't want to be here, but another part wanted to know everything about this place.
"You asked whose temple this is?" The lady's voice made glance at her.
"Yes."
"...Have you heard of the primordial demoness?" The old lady asked with a smile on her face.
"Azariah?" Nella, who stood beside , whispered, her voice concerned as I nodded my head.
"Aren't they bold to have her temple?" I asked, getting a grip on my emotions. "The church will annihilate this place if they find out about it."
She let out a hearty laugh, her old and ragged robe moving along with every movent.
"...Do you know how old this is?" she asked, her voice deep, looking at with those blurry eyes, "...Two hundred years and it's still intact even after so long."
"Because nobody has found this place," I replied but quickly dismissed my own words.
The temple is within the town, and there's no way people haven't seen this place.
"Then why?" Nella, who seed to catch up to the conversation, asked, "...Why is this place here even though people know whose temple this is?"
The old lady glanced up at her, her cracked lips grinning widely. "...Because no one wants to upset a goddess for a re temple."
"A goddess who doesn't exist," I added, looking at her.
And I wasn't even trying to get on her nerves.
It's the truth—she is long dead.
Buried by her own pawn.
Her nose wrinkled as she glared at . "W-what do you know, arrogant being! A goddess can't die!"
"Sure, if you say so," I replied, turning to look around the place. "...So, are you going to tell about her? The goddess and her relation with this town?"
The old lady seed hesitant, her blurry eyes moving around the place.
"...Four hundred years ago, when this town was just established," her deep voice echoed within the temple,
"a drought swept through the entire town. It was hard for people to live. Many died with no food or water to sustain them."
"...Tough luck," Nella mumbled, earning a glare from , which she shrugged off.
"But one day, a man ca ho with grains, even though it hadn't rained for years," the old lady continued. "...People asked him about it, how he got it and from where."
The old lady looked at as if waiting for my answer.
"The goddess," I replied, and she smiled, showing her blackened teeth.
"...He told everyone in the town about the beloved goddess who helped him," she whispered, standing up with the help of the staff.
"...People didn't believe him at first, but those who were dying did, and they lived because of it."
"At what cost?" Nella asked, making the old lady glance at her. "...She wasn't doing it for free, was she?"
"...People soon noticed one more thing," the lady continued as she moved towards the end of the temple, "...How low the number of children had beco."
...So, in exchange for the souls of children, she blessed them with food?
"It went on until..."
The old lady's voice trailed off as she stood face-first in front of a wall, frozen.
"Hmm?"
Confused, I stepped forward to look at her.
Bam!
But I imdiately stepped back as she hit her head against the wall, hard.
"Hey!"
I yelled to snap her out of it, but she didn't listen.
Bam!
She hit the wall again, blood gushing out, dripping onto the ground.
Bam!
The dripping blood soon covered the portion of the ground around her.
"Azariah!"
I turned to look at Nella, who stood at the edge of the temple.
But the strands of hair on my neck stood up as I instinctively turned back.
I sucked in a deep breath as the old lady now stood in front of , a smile on her wrinkled face.
Blood dripped down her open skull, slowly sliding into her open mouth.
"...You will die," she creepily whispered, looking at , "...You all will die."
A grueso and hollowing roar echoed in my ear.
She turned around, returning to her previous place, and banged her head against the wall once again.
"Azariah, we need to move!" Nella's voice echoed from behind.
I took steps back while keeping my eyes on her, and just as I walked out of the temple, Nella grabbed my wrist.
"Look!" she yelled, pointing towards the center of the town.
The desperate shouts of people filled my ears.
I squinted as my gaze landed on antlers big enough to peek above the houses.
"...The monster," I whispered, abruptly looking at Nella.
She moved, and so did I, running towards the town.
...
"RUN!!!"
The desperate voices of people shook the entire town.
People ran back to their houses, their fearful eyes trying not to look back.
...To not look back.
...To not.
Soone did.
A child no more than ten.
His body froze in place as he did.
...A monster looked down at him.
Its body was larger than the houses that surrounded it.
An elk-like body that oozed a terrifying aura.
She brought her skeletal head, which resembled a human torso topped with antlers in place of legs, closer to the child.
Gigantic spikes protruded along her spine as she bent down.
The pair of human-like hands reached out to touch the child, and a pair of bright yellow eyes where the crotch should be looked at him.
She touched the boy's face with her tiny human-like hands.
The boy tried to move, but his body remained frozen in place.
His eyes moved around, only to find nothing—not a single person was in his sight.
The monster seed to finish what seed like recognizing him as the tiny hands moved around its waist.
It slowly tightened the grip—.
Sothing moved towards it, his tiny hands tightening up, holding nothing but air.
Her head turned to the side, glaring at the girl with her bright yellow eyes.
Nella jumped, leaping up while using the walls to reach the rooftop of a house.
The monster screeched in anger, its voice echoing through the silent town.
Turning around, it started to run towards the girl, each step breaking the ground.
Chi and mana rushed around Nella's body as a large whitish exoskeleton slowly ford around her.
She raised her hand, extending it forward, stopping the monster from breaking the house.
A low booming sound echoed as they collided before the monster stepped back.
"Hey! Deal with this thing!" Nella yelled, glaring behind the monster.
The monster stopped as a chilly wind hit its back.
Turning around, it looked at the white-haired boy who stood behind her on the rooftop of a house.
Azariah tilted his head, looking at the beast, his lips parting as he mumbled, "...A Redom?"
He recognized the monster, sothing he had learned about when he was a child.
The monster's grueso voice echoed as it rushed towards Azariah.
Azariah moved as well, leaping towards the monster.
Its mouth opened to bite off his leg, but Azariah skillfully landed at the center of the head before he jumped again.
He landed beside Nella, who stood inside the exoskeleton, protecting the child.
"I also want sothing cool like this," he mumbled softly, looking at her enviously, "...I also want to beco bigger."
"...Poor Christi—."
"Don't make your stupid jokes," he cut in, glaring at her.
The monster turned around, moving again, running towards him.
Neplh.
Azariah sighed as an icy mist escaped his mouth.
He raised his hand, hundreds of ice spikes erging from thin air around the monster.
He lowered his hand, the spikes moving forward, lodging themselves deep within the monster.
The monster scread in pain, but soon its body started to freeze in place.
Ice slowly started to form around its body before completely freezing it, giving it a slow death.
Azariah jumped once again, gently landing at the top of the monster before sitting with his leg crossed.
Silence lingered in the town for a while before people slowly walked out of their houses.
So imdiately kneeled in front of the frozen monster, praying in front of it.
Azariah looked down at them from where he stood.
His lips parted, words cutting through the praying crowd.
"...Don't pray; your God is dead."
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