“They always tell the truth.
That is why the foolish lambs fall prey to their temptation and become corrupted.
Ye believers, the servants of the God.
Please do not listen to what they say.
Those who listen to the devil’s words will always face destruction.”
-Excerpt from Chapter 3 of Telmere’s Word.
***
Cecil Lionelta.
A lovely woman who was born and raised in the central church of Darkana, the capital of Lyriam.
She had waving long, light brown hair reminiscent of a rich wheat field. When you look at her bright eyes and sharp nose, you feel your world fill up with joy.
Her very existence evoked the protective nature of everyone around her.
At first, Julius was not much different from other people. But as her lovely courtship continued, he gradually began to accept her love for him.
On that day eight years ago, he disobeyed the word of the God and ended up committing an accident.
They couldn’t receive everyone’s blessing, but they did have a small wedding.
A year later, they also had a lovely daughter. She inherited the bright eyes similar to Cecil and the gorgeous blonde hair of Julius.
Was it too much happiness?
Maybe that was why God gave Julius such a great ordeal.
On that day five years ago, Julius’ world shattered.
The nightmare of that day settled on his heart like a curse. He eventually couldn’t bear it anymore and ran away. He just considered it to be the will of the God.
***
“Haa…haa…it’s fall and it’s already this cold. I really thought I was going to freeze to death.”
‘She’ come into the house on her own and joked around.
Julius felt his mind turn blank. He certainly didn’t want to remember the day ‘she’ had left this world. But now, what kind of absurdity was this?
‘Could it be that the God took pity on me and performed such a miracle’
Julius, who was holding on to such hope in his heart, finally looked straight into her face.
Then he realized his own foolishness.
Cecil used to be bright and lovely. The light that illuminated her soul did not fade despite all the darkness of this world.
He looked at the eyes of the woman in front of him. She had the same blue eyes as Cecile, but he couldn’t feel that brightness of her soul.
Feeling she currently gave him was quite foreign.
Julius eventually suppressed his anger and opened his mouth.
“…What kind of ridiculous thing is this? You damn devil.”
With that, a pure energy bloomed on his tightly clenched fist.
The devil glances at the sight and opened her mouth.
“Is there any need to be so serious, Julius? Don’t be like that, just enjoy this moment. Look, this is the living wife you have always dreamed of.”
Julius looked at the devil as if it were disgusting.
She on the other hand, covered her mouth and smiled in response.
Julius was so angry that he tried to use divine power, but he had no choice but to stop due to the devil’s next words.
“Don’t you know? ‘The devil does not lie.’ Isn’t that a saying that also appears in your favorite Scripture? This body is really your wife. Just touch these hands once. Can’t you feel it?”
At the devil’s words, the energy that had been blooming in his grasp suddenly dissipated without a trace.
The devil gently grabbed Julius’ hand and placed it on her cheek.
“Close your eyes and feel this warmth, this scent, the body of your beloved Cecil.”
Julius no longer listened to the devil’s words. He would never be able to forget that feeling even if you tore him to death. He felt the woman he had missed so much from the warmth coming from her hands.
And, his faith was shaken.
‘My God, the giver of trials. Please inflict pain on me so that I do not swallow this sweet poisonous vessel placed in front of me.’
Julius bit his lower lip so hard that b1ood started to flow out. It helped him come to his senses, and he roughly shook off the devil’s hand and glared at her.
“…Her resting place is strictly managed by the Church of Telmere, so how did you come to posses her body?”
“Ah..ah..poor child, humans are originally an untrustworthy race. You trusted them too much. It’s quite cute, hehehehe.”
“What on earth do you mean!”
The devil, seeing his face slowly turning red, whispered.
“I was asked a favor. From someone in the church, someone who really hates you.”
Julius felt a chill slowly spreading through his heart.
Then, the poisonous snake flicks its tongue at the God’s servant who was confused.
“Let’s make a bet, oh child of Rom. Do you want her precious body back?”
“…what do you want?”
“It’s simple. It is the devil’s traditional method that has been passed down since the light of creation illuminated this earth.”
“….”
The devil licked her lips, and her hand kept stroking Julius’s cheek as if it were an appetizing fruit.
“It’s a very simple game: I seduce and you resist. If you last a year, I’ll count it as your victory, hehehehe.”
Those who commit heresy usually say, I thought I could win.
The lambs abandon the embrace of the God and throw themselves into the serpent’s mouth, saying they will be different.
Julius, who killed numerous heretics and demons, also threw himself.
Even though he knew that he would also collapse.
***
A small room at the end of the first floor hallway.
It was a room he used to sneak into with his neighborhood friends as a child.
Currently, a tall man with loose blond hair was looking at the light coming through the cracks in the wooden-paneled window. He was lost in thought.
The heretical act he had committed last night would never be forgiven by the God.
Julius had accepted the devil’s wager, and saw the pure divine power still blooming from his hands. He tried to guess the will of the God.
Heresy inquisitors who purify heretics and demons in the name of the God. They burn evil with the holy flame they received from God Rom in their hearts.
If you are a heretic inquisitor, even if your family is possessed by the devil, you must show the majesty of God by burning their body without hesitation.
Worse yet, failing to burn the body of a woman who has already died was even more of a heresy.
How would the people that called him the Terror of Lyriam react if they found out about this?
Julius slowly stood up with a dry smile on his lips. He could hear some commotion from outside for some time now. Except for Julius, the only one living in this house was that damn devil b*tch.
‘Is she preparing an evil spell in the morning?’
What greeted Julius, who opened the door was completely different than he had expected.
It was a sight filled with pure white foam. In the middle of the living room, the devil with her sleeves rolled up and soot on her cheek was diligently mopping the floor.
“…what are you doing?”
Julius, who saw a scene so absurd that he even forgot his anger towards the devil for a moment, spoke to the devil as if he were dumbfounded.
“Hehehehe, can’t you tell? I’m seducing you right now.”
The devil looked back at Julius, straightened her back, placed her hands on her waist, and opened her mouth with a triumphant expression.
“I’ve never heard of a devil seducing someone with foam and rags.”
“Eh…? You are such a fool.”
Julius fell into even more confusion when he saw the devil smiling leisurely as if she was treating him like a fool.
“Then why on earth are you making such a fuss this morning?”
“Don’t human men feel love for their wives who diligently do housework in the morning? In order to tempt you, I decided to become the so-called wise mother and good wife. Do you like it?”
Goblin: The chapters are riddiculously long, about 2700 words per chapter. Anyways, enjoy~