Chapter 1614: Violence and Love
"Grk?!"
Donovan realized that he had more or less barked up the wrong tree when he tried to challenge Abbot Ferroxa, the moment he saw the severed heads.
As a mercenary, he made it a point to keep track of notable warriors; that way, he could avoid them if he could help it.
Needless to say, the former leaders of the Sun Wolves and Blaster Caps were on his list of people to not fuck with in the slightest...and Abbot Ferroxa just killed them like they were nothing more than a common nuisance.
"Well?" Abbot Ferroxa asked while taking a step forward and causing Donovan to step backward out of caution and fear. "Don’t you want to earn full payment?"
"Nngh!"
If this were under normal circumstances, Donovan would’ve simply bolted, as he understood that apologizing did nothing when the other party had a killing intent that was denser than a three-inch steel wall.
Speaking of walls, Donovan was starting to act more and more like a cornered rat than an honorable warrior the longer that Abbot Ferroxa kept putting pressure on him.
Eventually, it got to the point that Donovan couldn’t handle it anymore.
"You think I’m afraid of you, holy man?!" Donovan shrieked, unable to believe that these words were actually coming out of his mouth. "I’m going to rip your head off first!"
Instead of meekly agreeing to Abbot Ferroxa’s deal and most likely dying as a result, Donovan instead chose to get the jump on Ferroxa instead.
In an instant, Donovan summoned an [Astra] and aimed it at Ferroxa’s neck.
Donovan understood that going for a body blow or simple crippling blow definitely wasn’t going to cut it, especially against someone with so much killing intent radiating off of their body.
In other words, if he was going to go die anyways, he might as well go for broke!
[Rat King’s-!]
But before Donovan could land a blow and possibly change the trajectory of a lot of people’s lives with a single death, Ferroxa struck first.
With a sound akin to a sword being drawn in a quick slash maneuver, Ferroxa swung his hand upwards in Donovan’s direction.
The attack didn’t decapitate the man, as it was a decidedly too merciful of an action.
It didn’t even sever the arm, as it wouldn’t inflict as much pain as he felt was needed for the mercenary to understand the folly of his actions.
What Ferroxa ended up doing was taking an aether-coated hand and slashing at the interdigital folds, the point between Donovan’s fingers, right down the middle and essentially splitting the mercenary’s arm down to the elbow, causing two flailing extremities that gushed blood and tore at nerves due to the man’s inability to move them.
A powerful scream ripped through the air as Donovan did his best to hold his divided arm together.
"I see you decided against taking my deal. What a pity," Ferroxa said with disdain as he withdrew his hand.
The Dragon Rats looked on in shock and disbelief as they saw their leader, the most powerful among them, was defeated in a single exchange of blows.
"B-boss!"
That said, once they saw that Ferroxa was done getting his point across, they moved to pick up their injured leader.
"Now, what was that about wages?" Ferroxa asked.
At this point, no one was talking about money.
...
[Did...did that guy just use Chaos to goad the rat man into attacking him like a psychopath?] Screamira asked her fellow kaijin.
[I think he did...but I don’t think he’s aware of it,] Springerdermain pointed out. [It’s like that Bishop Olma guy all over again.]
[Okay, so Ferroxa is every bit as intense as we thought he was going to be,] Razorstella concluded after that entire altercation had ended in a rather brutal manner. [Blazejudicator, how are things going over at Abbott Hulna’s domicile? Is he all about that free love in a sex-filled sort of way, or is he all about that free love in a spiritual sort of way, like a hippie?]
[...]
[Guys?]
[I don’t know how else to say this...it’s kind of both....at the same time.]
[How the hell does that—is the man acting like a support at an orgy or something?]
[Yes, actually.]
[What the fuck?]
...Free love, Free use, same thing...maybe...
The thing about war is that while it does have a tendency to increase violent and militaristic behavior, it also causes the populace to indulge in more of their...baser vices.
Cheap pleasure is cheap for a reason, and in a situation where one may not be able to indulge in such things due to one bad day or one bad battle, these pleasures are highly sought out.
And in these cases, there are many individuals that are more than happy to make a quick buck or two off of these pleasure seekers.
Or in the case of the Peaceful Hearth Church, they were more than willing to facilitate such activities within their hallowed halls.
Granted, the clean up for such activities were less than pleasant.
The conversations afterwards were nice, though.
"Thanks for hosting this again, Father. It’s always a great stress reliever."
"I am always happy to serve. Do tell Margaret that I hope she recovers soon."
"Of course!"
"Matilda, did you happen to find Mister Right this time around?"
"Actually, I found Missus Right! I think you’re familiar with Miss Florina?"
"Hello..."
"Ah! The flower shop owner! I hope you two have a wonderful life together."
"Has anyone seen my keys? I need it to get back into my office..."
"Over here! You kind of jammed it up there..."
"Ah."
From the halls of the Peaceful Hearth Church exited a parade of people in various states of redress and undress.
Wishing these people well, and making sure that they were able to make it to their intended destination in good health, was a man who was far too fucking pretty to be a member of the church, let alone the leader of a congregation.
Abbott Hulna was androgynously good looking, to the point that if he was dressed in a proper gown, he would be considered the most beautiful woman in the area. Alternatively, putting him in a nobleman’s suit would make him the most handsome man in the immediate area.
Either way, perhaps it was a good thing that this world-ending beauty was a man of the cloth instead of a bandit of bedsheets.
Then again, the fact that his church was dedicated to such things may have been a weird workaround...if he actively participated that is.
"Are you sure you don’t need help, Abbott?" An acolyte of the church asked Hulna. "I’m fairly certain that the Harlen family went a little too hard on the altar."
"It is quite alright," Hulna assured the young acolyte. "This duty is something I must undertake."
"As you wish," the acolyte nodded before leaving as well.
"Alright, time to clean up..."
Once a week, the Peaceful Hearth Church hosted a...gathering of love...where people could come and indulge in the pleasures of the flesh in order to renew their spirits.
While they weren’t the most unique church to do so, they were the most popular.
However, there was a secondary reason why they hosted these sessions. A reason that was known only to Abbott Hulna himself.
The aforementioned holy man looked around his disturbed church, and took in all of the damage and debauchery that had turned the place upside down.
"Ah...the air is really thick this time around..." Hulna muttered to himself as he breathed in the lingering scent of the hours of carnality that had just occured. "It’s so...potent."
Ages ago, Hulna had learned that certain activities produced an energy that wasn’t quite aether, yet was something that he could still use to enhance his own cultivation.
Well, to be more precise, it was an energy that seemed much more compatible with the [Sacred Flame] inside of him than the aether he had been feeding it before.
"Time to clean up the mess," Hulna repeated as he released the [Sacred Flame] and began to cleanse the space.
The fires engulfed the entire room, but didn’t burn anything other than the evidence of the orgy that had occurred inside it.
As the fluids that stained stone and pew alike were burnt by the [Sacred Flame], the [Desire] locked inside them turned into a vapor that Abbott Hulna absorbed through his mouth.
The taste was...heavy, to say the least, but Hulna kept breathing, kept absorbing all that he could because he could feel that this power, whatever it was, was more potent than even the rarest of Aether medicines.
"Ah..."
By the time he was done, the entire room was now clean and pristine, while Hulna himself looked as if...well, let’s just say that he looked as if he had actually chosen to participate in the orgy himself.
As the star, no less.
"Ah...I wonder if more powerful warriors can produce denser energies..." Hulna mused, imagining all of these topless warriors indulged in ecstasy.
