On the outskirts of Avalon, which boasts a longer, more ancient history than any other city-state, there stands a lone mansion.
Like Spada, the Avalon royal castle at the center of the city is surrounded by the mansions of the higher nobles involved in the country’s politics, or those who have amassed vast amounts of land and wealth. The fact that this mansion is on the city’s outskirts indicates that its owner is neither enormously influential or wealthy.
And as one would expect, the one living in the mansion is not a noble, but a merchant who has had moderate business success in Avalon.
He and his wife are a happy Elf couple who married out of love, currently in the prime years of their lives.
Up until this year, they were very worried because they had been unable to conceive a child, but the large swelling that can now be seen in the wife’s abdomen makes it evident that it is no longer a problem. Their heartfelt wish for the birth of their firstborn child is due to become reality before the end of this month.
A person appears before the mansion.
「I’m one of the people from the Church of the White Light. I’m here to ask for donations for needy children.」
It is a common sight in any large city, not just in Avalon.
In the modern age, countries have initiatives to aid the poor, and since ancient times, the temples that worship the Black Gods have always carried out charitable works.
However, this does not mean that all of the needy people can be saved.
Therefore, a suspicious, new religious organization that goes from door to door to introduce itself and ask for donations would be considered shady, even in old times.
「The Church of the White Light? If I recall, they’re working in the orphanage in the slums... I haven’t heard any good rumors about them. Could you please ask them to leave?」
If he had been approached by one of the traditional temples of Avalon, he might have talked further and even considered donating, but this seems like a typical shady religious organization.
The Elf merchant instructs his employed security to turn them away.
And the person from the Church of White Light left.
「I’m one of the people from the Church of the White Light. I’m here to ask for donations for needy children.」
After a while, he returns.
As expected, the merchant turns him away again.
「I’m one of the people from the Church of the White Light. I’m here to ask for donations for needy children.」
And a third visit.
This time it is in the middle of the night, past midnight, as the date changes from the 12th to the 13th of the Month of Platinum (Hakkin).
This time, the merchant does not turn him away – It has become a situation where he cannot turn him away.
「Wh-What the hell are you people... This can’t even be called a joke!」
The Elf merchant has been tied up in the living room of his mansion. Next to him, his pregnant wife is lying on the floor, also tied up.
The ones who did this are none other than the『People from the Church of White Light』, who forced their way into the mansion.
「Heretics that oppose the guidance of the White Light cannot be forgiven.」
A pale young man directs these words at the two. Though there is no particular tone in his voice, his words are full of contempt.
He has silver hair that sparkles and flows like threads of silver, and shining white skin.
Covering his short and slender body is a pure-white priest’s robe, decorated with countless gold crosses.
On first glance, it is impossible to tell whether it is a young man or a young woman, but he is indeed a rosy-cheeked young man whose appearance is immediately recognizable as beautiful.
However, his blue eyes did not have the shine that a young man’s eyes should. Instead, his eyes harbored no emotion at all.
「In other words, it’s your fault for being stingy and not giving us money!」
A high-pitched voice comes from a girl in her mid-teens next to the young priest. Her looks are charming, with red hair and eyes burning with flame-colored magical energy.
She is wearing a black blazer with golden hemming, the uniform of the Avalon Imperial Academy.
But with a skirt of bare minimum length, and the way she wears her uniform so that the piercing on her belly button is visible, it is hard to imagine that she is a very serious student.
Her breasts are mostly uncovered, and a tattoo of a white wing is visible on one of them. One could say that her uniform is more like that of a young prostitute.
TLN: This tattoo could be of a pair of white wings; it’s impossible to tell with the way it’s worded in Japanese.
「So as divine punishment, we’ll be taking everything here! Kyahaha!」
The ones who answer her laughing voice are the boys standing in the back.
「Alright! First come, first served!」
「We can thank the Holy Mother’s blessing for this one!」
Though of similar age, these boys, unlike the other two, are all poor inhabitants of the slums.
But right now, they are just despicable robbers, taking from wherever they can.
The merchant is not particularly wealthy, but his living room is far more luxurious than the average Avalon family home, and the robbers spare no time in laying waste to it.
They search for gold and silver goods, sparkling gems and other precious metals.
The robbers, ignorant and uneducated, fail to see the artistic value in the paintings and sculptures decorating the room. Instead of being taken, they are destroyed for the amusement of the thieves.
Of course, the destruction does not stop at the living room. In fact, the valuable items they are searching for are more likely to be found in the bedrooms.
This plundering storm would blow through the house from end to end, not even leaving the basement untouched.
The merchant, watching his home that he had painstakingly built through diligence and hard work being trampled into the ground, could only beg them to stop their barbaric acts.
「P-please, don’t destroy any more... I’ll donate, I’ll do anything!」
「We have no ears that can hear the words of heretics.」
The beautiful young priest, who seats himself comfortably on the sofa, denies the merchant’s request.
「And y’know, saying stuff like that is pretty pointless, since we already killed everyone outside.」
The uniformed girl laughed while leaping onto the sofa to sit next to him.
She joins her legs with his and presses her underdeveloped body closer towards him, and oddly, it seems he is used to this behavior.
「Kuh...」
At the girl’s words, the Elf puts on an expression as if to say,「I thought so.」
His wife, upon hearing that people have been murdered outside, begins trembling and her face goes pale.
「Ahaha, even though they were Rank 3, it was super easy thanks to our Guardian!」
In her hand is a red wand, presumably for casting fire magic. Even the merchant, who has little knowledge about fighting, can guess that she is of the Fire Mage Class.
He is unable to judge how her ability compares to that of a real academy student, but one would not immediately consider her to be dangerous just from her appearance.
He knows that she is telling the truth, not only because of the fact that they have broken into the mansion, but also because the one she called『Guardian』is right in front of him, radiating an aura of pressure.
The young men and the girl are not the only ones here. An enormous being, two meters tall, is here as their protector.
Wearing a white surcoat spotted with dark stains and the equipment of a soldier, he resembles the Undead that haunt ruined dungeons.
Considering that he has been silent the whole time and does not move an inch unless under the priest’s orders, he really may be an Undead.
His head is covered by a priest’s hood and his face is concealed behind a metal mask, so it is impossible to tell his race.
This large, ominous man stands near the priest as if he is really their guardian.
Though his body is paralyzed with fear, he knows that the only reason these people are able to carry out such actions is because they are accompanied by this enigmatic Guardian.
Knowing this does not help the situation. But his true fear is yet to come.
「The Holy Mother Aria does not grant her blessings to the birth of the children of heretics, who would become bearers of sin.」
「Wh-what are you...」
He does not know the exact meaning of the words that the priest suddenly mumbled. But the priest’s eyes are directed at his beloved wife, and the unborn child who has yet to receive his love, resting in her abdomen. So, unconsciously, he assumes the worst.
「You must be judged.」
With those words, the priest pulls out a shining white jewel from his pocket.
It is small enough to fit in the priest’s hand, but for a single diamond, its size is extraordinary.
As a merchant, he can immediately tell that it is not a fake jewel; it is a real gem. Not only that, but he knows it is a magical item that contains hidden magical energy.
Entranced by the gem’s gleaming white sparkling that is beyond that of any genuine diamond, the merchant forgets the current situation and gazes at it.
「Obey my command,『Diamond Heaven.』」
In response to those words, the white gem emits a single dazzling flash of light.
The flash of light breaks the merchant’s trance, and he regains his senses.
And he realizes that his life is in danger. The Guardian is approaching him with a large knife in his hand.
「U-uwaah!」
The merchant, unable to even beg for his life, simply lets out a scream. His body’s only reaction to the violent pain that would surely come in the next moment is to become completely rigid.
「Ah... Ahh?」
A few seconds later, the merchant opens his eyes to see his situation.
He looks down to see that rather than stabbing him, the knife has cut the ropes that were restraining him.
He is unable to figure out why he has been released, but finds out in the next moment.
「Hey, what are you do –」
The merchant, whose body is now free, stands up and takes a step towards his pregnant wife who is still lying on the floor.
「Wha–」
He does not know what he is doing, and tries to voice his bewilderment. But his wife’s screaming, like silk being torn, drowns out his voice.
His foot, as if he is stamping out pests in the garden, crushes his beloved wife’s abdomen with all his strength.
She is just an ordinary Elf woman, and his attack penetrates through her intestines, and without a doubt, the baby in her belly.
The shock of being attacked by her husband who she thought would never direct any violence against her, her worry for the baby’s safety, the excruciating pain that was spreading throughout her body – all of these feelings are combined to create an expression of absolute agony on his wife’s face.
「U-uwaaahh! What the fuck is this, stop! Stop, STOOOOOP!」
His foot drives into her three times, four times – his violent assault continues endlessly as he finally realizes that his body is moving completely out of his control.
But realizing this does not stop his legs from continuing the attack on his loved one. Even if he were to stop now, blood is spurting from his unconscious wife’s mouth and her eyes are rolled back, showing their whites. It is obvious that the damage is already irreversible.
「Ahaha, that was a bit too brutal!」
「The sins of heretics can be atoned for only through death.」
The priest and the girl are lying on the soft sofa, simply watching as the Elf couple experience the true meaning of hell.
The girl points and laughs, while the priest shows no emotion for what he has done; the empty look in his eyes remains unchanged.
「By the way, when’s he gonna stop doing that?」
「I haven’t made it so that he will stop.」
「Oh right, so he’s just gonna keep going til I burn down the mansion. That’s hilarious!」
But the Elf merchant would have to wait until the slum boys have taken everything from the mansion before death would finally release him from his anguish.
And the two people lying on the sofa already know from experience that this would take a considerable amount of time.
「Hey, are we gonna do it here?」
「Do as you please.」
「Eheheh, I love you!」
And so they join their bodies together, just to pass the time.
The Elves who had been bound by their true love for each other are given an excruciating death, while the young man and girl who are bound only by lust indulge in their desire for pleasure – This is truly hell.