7

It should come as no surprise that the cult members screamed out in terror and ran away from the scene in a desperate attempt to save their lives. However, before they were able to make their escape, the flames grew larger and brighter until they finally engulfed the entire area, leaving nothing behind but charred corpses floating on top of the ashes. Before they were able to flee, however, the flames had already engulfed the entire area. After that, the boss came up to me and handed me the figurine he had been holding.

"There you go," he greeted me with a cheery smile. "Now you can take a break and relax until the smoke clears."

My grateful response was, "Thank you," and then I asked, "How does it feel to know that you just burned hundreds of innocent souls to death?"

The manager cracked up in good humor. "Relax! Don't you realize that's exactly what they desired in the first place?"

"Well well," the boss chuckled to himself in a smug manner. "It would appear that I am the genuine article after all."

To tell you the truth, I did not agree with his evaluation in the least. In the end, he was responsible for the murder of a large number of defenseless civilians. Even though they were guilty of committing crimes themselves, the fact that they were not responsible for anyone getting hurt was not affected by this fact. Not to mention that he had exploited their purity in order to satisfy his need for bloodlust, which was a terrible thing to do. In addition to this, he made the conscious decision to put an end to their lives without showing any pity or providing any assistance. In essence, he put an end to their lives because he took pleasure in seeing them in pain. Worst of all, he had not demonstrated the slightest bit of contrition for his actions. In point of fact, he was a heartless killer who took great pleasure in bringing misery and anguish to the lives of other people. In the end, he was an offender who deserved whatever punishment was in store for him after being apprehended. On the other hand, I was of the opinion that he had overstepped his bounds. His actions were so cruel that they were beyond comprehension, and they contradicted everything that the church taught its members to preach to their congregation. Having said that, I was aware more than anyone else that punishing the perpetrator of the wrongdoing would not be productive. In addition, there was always the possibility that he might change for the better if given sufficient opportunities for redemption. Or perhaps he was in need of a jolt of reality to remind him of the moral obligations that come with being a human being. Whatever the outcome, I prayed that someday his soul would be at rest.

"Come on," the manager yelled at me in an impatient tone. Let's get out of this place before any more cult members show up, shall we?

Before leaving the room, I gave him a quick nod to indicate that I was in agreement with his suggestion. We had plenty of time to make our getaway thanks to the fact that the cult members hadn't been able to flee the building yet. Despite this, we had no idea where we were going or how many members of the cult were standing outside waiting for us. We had no choice but to keep moving forward until we reached a place where we would be safe. We were extremely fortunate in that we did not face any opposition on the way, which allowed us to avoid being ambushed by hostile forces. As a result, we were able to leave the sanctum in a secure manner, despite the fact that our efforts left us exhausted. As a direct result of this, I became completely exhausted and collapsed onto the floor. My entire body hurt from head to toe, and my mind was having a hard time making sense of what had just taken place. Despite this, I made an effort to push the thoughts out of my mind so that I could continue living. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have lasted very long.

After some time, I was able to regain consciousness, and when I did, the first thing that met my attention when I opened my eyes was that I was lying on the ground. It would appear that the boss had brought me back to my house on his back. After that, he helped me back onto my bed with great care while he applied soothing ointments to my wounds. After he had finished taking care of me, I experienced a sense of renewal and was once more prepared to take action. To the point where I leapt off the mattress and dashed downstairs to meet him, I couldn't contain my excitement.

I greeted him with a smile and said, "Hey buddy, I didn't think we'd meet up like this."

The manager shook his head mournfully before giving a weary chuckle and saying, "You're not the only one." "This is one of the primary reasons why I have never had any interest in pursuing a career in the clergy. You do realize how difficult it is to control the urge to cause suffering to those who have earned it, don't you? And considering that I've already begun, there's no going back now."

"What if we decided to switch careers together?" I expressed optimism and suggested "Instead, you should become bounty hunters. When you are not hampered in your efforts to combat evil by a group of cowards at every turn, you will have an easier time winning the battle. Additionally, there will be no need for us to be concerned about losing our humanity."

He exhaled deeply as he muttered, "If only it were that simple." "Unfortunately, people have been subjected to centuries of church-sponsored brainwashing, during which they have been coerced into unquestioningly adhering to the teachings of the church. Even worse, they begin indoctrinating children from the moment they are born, rendering them incapable of critical thinking or acting on their own initiative. Should they ever become aware of the truth, it's possible that they will completely reject reality. Therefore, it is imperative that we keep our location a secret at any cost. When I think about it now, the best solution would be to move to a place that is very isolated from other people and their culture. Ideally, a location where no one recognizes either of our faces."

"Yeah..." I consented with some reluctance "Perhaps we should try something different, like moving to the countryside or the mountains. There are no cities or towns, just vast wilderness areas populated by various kinds of wild animals."

"The manager pondered for a moment before responding, "Hm. Sounds promising." However, we might want to think about going to one of the nearby villages. Maybe we can ask the people around us for directions to the closest settlement."

"Okay!" I clapped and cheered in elation "Just give me a moment to gather my belongings, and I'll go wherever it is that you end up going. Hey there, did you remember to bring your weapons with you?"

The manager gave me assurance by telling me, "Of course," adding, "Why else would I carry them around everywhere if it weren't for the purposes of self-defense?"

After that, he removed two daggers from underneath his cloak and handed them to me. These knives had the appearance of standard hunting knives, but their edges were so razor sharp that they could easily cut through steel without much effort. Because they were so thin and light, they had an impressive cutting power, but they weren't particularly cumbersome or heavy. This was due to the fact that they were constructed from lightweight and thin materials. With them, he planned to use them to cut the throats of his victims, putting an end to their lives in a manner that was expedient and effective. Obviously, he wouldn't actually be the one to kill them; rather, he'd assign that task to another individual. In light of the fact that he was lacking in the expertise required for beheading, he intended to seek the services of an experienced executioner. After that, this person would carefully slit their throats, ensuring that they would die as quickly as possible. At the very least, he conveyed to me that information during our conversation. Despite this, I couldn't help but wonder whether he was merely trying to convince himself that he was serious or whether he actually meant what he said.

In any case, not long after that, we made our exit from the mansion and headed north in the direction of the closest town. As it turned out, our destination was a tiny hamlet that consisted of approximately fifty buildings spread out across several acres of land. The majority of these buildings were homes for farmers who grew crops in exchange for food and lived in the area because of its close proximity to the forest. They did farming, but they also hunted animals for their meat and furs in addition to that. When we arrived in the village, just as we had anticipated, the residents greeted us with a friendly greeting. In addition to that, because they believed that we were traveling merchants, they provided us with a complimentary place to stay in one of their homes. As a result, we decided to spend the next three days there, discussing our plans for future endeavors while enjoying the delectable meals that were prepared by the locals. After some time, the boss made the decision to move to the city of Sanc Alden, which is located further to the east, and he left me in charge of supervising the farm. In retrospect, I deeply regret taking him up on his offer because doing so prevented me from venturing into the unknown alongside him. However, I do not feel any regret for staying because I was determined to ensure that his plan was carried out without a hitch. Aside from that, I was skeptical about my ability to cope with the strain of traveling with a seasoned killer.

After that, I went back to the village where I'd been staying so that I could start growing vegetables alongside the other residents. It goes without saying that life settled down and became more relaxing during those first few weeks, but then a mysterious newcomer showed up looking for work. To my utter consternation, it turned out that he was an experienced hunter who possessed impeccable combat prowess as well as exceptional tracking abilities. Nonetheless, I should count myself fortunate that he was there because I was able to pick up new skills, such as hunting and animal husbandry, as a result of his presence. As a result, I invested a significant amount of time and effort into acquiring various useful skills, such as how to raise livestock, track prey, identify edible plants, and trap game. During this time, the leader of the company maintained his role as a priest by continuing to provide services for the neighborhood. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to produce significant results from his efforts because there wasn't enough money or manpower.