Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit

Yii~ Tanewa Kisimana~Kokurokurokimihitoshita~

Yii~ Tanewa Kusukushi Hitokurokitashitashimiya~

Kuu~ Tateshimiyahitowa~

Bokuro kiminokurohibika~~

Everyone gathered at the grand cathedral, singing out their hearts for their beloved ones, and also to the Almighty, showing their respect and dedication. They seated themselves on the wooden benches, as they would after the choir, waiting for the awaited moment to come.

Despite the size, the church appeared to be very grand – large windows of stained glass on both walls, long benches lining up neatly with a long green carpet in the middle, leading from the entrance towards the altar. Behind it stood a statue of a goddess with long hair, dressed luxuriously with silk. A young man in a black robe soon walked onto the altar with a kind smile on his face. He stood there, holding his hands together with his face down, reading the prayer, “efil dna luos ew etoved sevlesyht ot eht taerg drol fo noitanmad. Yam soahc dna noitcurtsed esira gnoma eht dercas dnal os eht emit fo ytimalac lliw yllanif eb dellifluf.”

Everyone bowed down their heads as the priest prayed. Finally he said, “Never forget that The Goddess has given us hope, courage and life to live in this world. My children, whenever we’re in pain or danger, Goddess Airys will always come to our aid. So let us forever devote ourselves to Goddess Airys and thus, will our souls be blessed by her holy light to cleanse our sins and to release us from pain…”

At the back of the church, sits two children whispering among themselves, as the priest continued his speech 

 “He’s still as cool as usual!” said the boy with a yellow rough short hair in an amused way.

“You really admire him a lot, Joshua,” complimented the girl with long hair beside him.

“Yes, Christy! I still can’t forget what Priest Lemmington did years ago. Our village was suffering from an epidemic back then. Everyday, at least a person will suffer from the disease. First they would feel fatigued and uncomfortable. Then, they started coughing until they obtain a fever. Strange dark marks will cover the body and lastly death itself was cast upon them. It was chaos back then. Not a single medicine could cure the disease! No one can stop the plague from spreading in the village. It was hopeless. Just as we were waiting for our deaths, a single man dressed in black robe came to our village. He was Priest Lemmington! He came to our rescue! It was a miracle that he was able to save our village!”

“You caught the disease too, right?” smiled Christy.

“I thought I was going to die. I was lying in my bed ready to accept my fate… until Priest Lemmington appeared at the door. He was shining so brightly, just like an angel from the skies coming to my aid. He sat next to me and placed his palm on my head by then, started chanting with his eyes close. Suddenly a bright yellow light swallowed his hand and the next minute I know, I was already cured! Not only me but, everyone was saved by him. He was our savior from heavens.”

“Ever since then, you respected him a lot, right?”

Joshua nodded his head.

“And that is all for today,” said Priest Lemmington. “May the faith of Goddess Airys be in your heart, always and forever.”

The villagers in the church stood up and dismissed themselves, walking out. Joshua and Christy too were walking out happily too but this little happiness of theirs only lasted a while until a voice behind them distracted their attention.

“Hey Joshua! I bet you weren’t listening to Priest Lemmington as you were talking about love with Christy!”

“Why don’t you keep your mouth shut as usual, Rajes?” Joshua shot back.

“I bet you don’t even keep your faith in Goddess Airys,” said the brown-haired boy.

“Just leave him alone, Joshua,” convinced Christy.

Then both Joshua and Christy walked off, leaving Rajes alone.

“Hmph! I’ll get you someday, Joshua.”

This is a story about a boy named Joshua living in a small village situated near a river. The village is known as Isgard and most of the villagers are farmers. Everyday Joshua would go to Grandpa Merull and work in his farm for earnings. Joshua had to depend on himself because both of his parents had died from the disease. But this does not sadden Joshua because he has Priest Lemmington as his support.

“Grandpa Merull! Sorry for being late!” Joshua yelled enthusiastically as he headed to the farm.

“Hahaha! It’s okay. You just came back from the church, right? Get to work now,” smiled Grandpa Merull as he was holding a basket of cabbages.

As usual, Joshua worked his very best in the farm, planting the seeds, harvesting the vegetables and so on. Just as the sun was getting hot and Joshua feeling a bit tired, suddenly a sweet voice came from behind, “Joshua! Are you done yet?”

Joshua looked back and said, “Yes, Christy! I’m done!”

Christy is Joshua’s childhood friend. Similar to Joshua, Christy lost her parents and at this moment she helped out in her uncle’s farm. She would do the house chores in the house as she only needs to help out in the farm when needed.

“Let’s go there!” said Christy.

“Sure!” smiled Joshua.

~The Forbidden Fruit~

Both Joshua and Christy ventured into the mountain foot and soon, they reached their usual spot – a small opening, surrounded by bushes and trees with a small stream flowing through it. They seated themselves near the stream and stared at the sky.

“How was the work in the farm?” asked Christy.

“I’m getting more used to it now. I find it quite fun working at the farm. What about you, Christy?” said Joshua.

“Both uncle and aunt took care of me very well. But no matter what happens, we must continue to live on. Hey Joshua, let’s work hard together, okay?”

“All right,” Joshua replied.

~The Forbidden Fruit~

On the next day, after the choir in the church, Priest Lemmington chanted ‘efil dna luos ew etoved sevlesyht ot eht taerg drol fo noitanmad. Yam soahc dna noitcurtsed esira gnoma eht dercas dnal os eht emit fo ytimalac lliw yllanif eb dellifluf’. Then he announced loudly, “Children of Goddess Airys, I am going to select one of the villagers to be my assistant. Depending on your deeds, I shall choose whoever accomplished the most. So Children of Goddess Airys, do your best to commit yourself in doing good deeds. May the faith of Goddess Airys be in your heart, always and forever.”

After the loud announcement, everyone seemed to be excited about it, as if a festival is going on.

“Did you hear that, Christy? Priest Lemmington is going to select one of us to be his assistant! I’m going to do my best to help out in the village!” said Joshua excitedly.

“I’ll try my best too,” smiled Christy.

“Hahaha. Doesn’t that make us rivals?” laughed Joshua.

“You think Priest Lemmington is going to pick you? Keep dreaming, Joshy boy!” smirked Rajes as he passed by them.

Joshua was so irritated that he pointed at Rajes’ back and yelled, “Just you wait and see, Rajes! I’ll show you that Priest Lemmington will choose me! Just wait and see!”

Rajes just stared at him and said, “Hmph. Whatever.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

“I know you’ll be here.” Christy was bending herself down staring at Joshua’s face who happened to be lying on the grass. “Whenever you feel depressed or sad you’ll definitely come to here.”

“The scenery calms my mind,” replied Joshua as Christy sat next to him.

“What’s wrong? Is Rajes bothering you?” asked Christy.

“Rajes does bother me but what I really worry about is whether I will be selected by Priest Lemmington,” said Joshua.

“Just do your best. I know you’ll make it!” cheered Christy.

“Hope I do. I really do want to help out Priest Lemmington with his work.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

For the past week, everyone in the village was so kind and helpful towards each other. Joshua didn’t even slack off a single bit. Finally the day had come. Everyone gathered in the church as Priest Lemmington appears.

“Dear Children of Goddess Airys, as all of you would have already known, today is the day that I’m going to select one of you to become my assistant. For the past one week I know you all have strived hard but please do not be disappointed should it be otherwise. Instead, continue to do good deeds so our village can be safe and peaceful forever. Now I shall announce the result. My assistant shall be…”

Everyone gulped as they waited for Priest Lemmington to announce the candidate. Joshua closed his eyes and held both his hands tightly as he kept praying, “please let it be me. Please! Please choose me!”

“…Rajes Almoni. Will Rajes please come up to the stage?” said Priest Lemmington.

Disappointment can be heard across the hall and some people were actually shocked to hear the results, especially Joshua. Rajes gave a small grin and walked onto the altar.

Priest Lemmington took a white robe from a table handed it to Rajes. As he handed him the robe, he said, “As a reward, I will give Rajes this white robe as a token of appreciation. This is all for today. You may all dismiss. May the faith of Goddess Airys be in your heart, always and forever.”

Everyone left the church except Joshua, who approached Priest Lemmington to clarify the situation.

“Priest Lemmington, I think this is some kind of a mistake. Why wasn’t I chosen as your assistant?” asked Joshua, without giving single hope.

“Sorry Joshua,” Priest Lemmington patted Joshua’s head, “once a decision is made, it can’t be changed.”

“No way!” exclaimed Joshua.

“You gotta admit it, Josh,” smirked Rajes. “I’m the best man to be Priest Lemmington’s assistant, not you.”

Joshua was too shocked running out of the church quickly.”

“Hehehe. I won, Joshy boy,” thought Rajes nastily.

~The Forbidden Fruit~

Joshua was by the stream, feeling very mad. He threw a small piece of rock angrily into the stream and he shouted loudly, “How could this happen? I was so confident that I will definitely be chosen as Priest Lemmington’s assistant. Rajes might have done something that gives Priest Lemmington no choice but to select him… DAMN YOU RAJES!”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

“Are you feeling better?” asked Christy.

“A little, I guess,” said Joshua as he sprayed fertilizers to the crops.

“Joshua, I need you to run a small errand for me,” said Grandpa Merull as he comes out of the house.

“What is it, Grandpa?”

“Take this money with you and go buy some honey from Ms. Dyna. We’re going to be out of honey soon.”

“Alright,” Joshua took the money from Grandpa Merull. “Want to come along, Christy?”

“Sure,” answered Christy.

Both Joshua and Christy were walking on the street when they met someone very familiar.

“Dating again, both of you?” teased Rajes.

“Keep your nose to yourself, Rajes,” said Joshua.

“You know what, Joshua? I really pitied those who wasn’t chosen by Priest Lemmington to be his assistant…. especially you,” said Rajes.

“Why you!!!” Joshua was about to thrust his hand into Rajes’s face but Christy held him back.

“Just leave him alone, Joshua. Let’s go!” Christy was trying her best to drag Joshua out of  the quarrel.

“Are you really that weak, Joshua, that you need your ‘girlfriend’ to protect you? Hahaha,” Rajes laughed evilly.

“Just go already!” Christy pushed Joshua away. Rajes was walking away too as he laughed.

Soon Joshua and Christy have reached Ms. Dyna’s house. Joshua knocked on the door but no one answered.

“Ms. Dyna! Are you at home? Strange. She is suppose to be at home at this time,” said Joshua.

“I haven’t seen Ms. Dyna for quite some time,” said Christy.

“Let’s go ask the village head,” suggested Joshua.

Both of them went to the village head’s house and saw an old man smoking a pipe, resting in a rocking chair.

“Mr. Charles! Have you seen Ms. Dyna?” asked Christy.

Mr. Charles let out a small puff of smoke and said, “Oh. Ms. Dyna! Speaking of which, Priest Lemmington told me that Ms. Dyna had left the village to go to the city to work.”

“She left the village?” said Joshua. “Why the sudden?”

“I really have no idea but that’s what Priest Lemmington told me,” explained Mr. Charles.

“Thanks sir,” thanked Christy.

“You are welcomed.”

They left the village head’s house. Joshua then asked Christy, “why would she left the village? Wouldn’t she miss everyone in the village?”

“I think she went to the city so she could be better paid,” guessed Christy.

“I guess so.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

A few months have passed and Joshua always has to tolerate with Rajes’s teasing until one day…

“Ahh… another perfect day working in the farm. I guess the crops can be harvest by now.” As Joshua approaches the farm, he found that something was terribly wrong… all the crops were destroyed! “How did this happened?” Joshua ran towards Grandpa Merull and asked, “Grandpa! What happened?”

“I don’t know,” explained Grandpa Merull. “This morning when I came out, all the crops are already dead.”

“Then what should we do?”

“I believe we can’t do anything right now. We have to wait for the next season to plant new crops again,” Grandpa Merull gave a loud sigh as he returned to his house.

Joshua walked to field feeling depressed and as he walked, he suddenly kicked something. “A fertilizer sprayer? How did this get here? And what’s this…?” Joshua picked up a small white piece of clothing. “This looks exactly like a part of the robe from which Rajes was wearing.” Then Joshua realized something. “It must be Rajes then. He is the one who destroyed these crops! Curse you, Rajes! You’re gonna pay for it!”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

That night at a small woodhouse, Rajes entered the house saying, “Are you looking for me, Christy?” Instead, Rajes found Joshua. “What are you doing here?”

“I was the one who used Christy’s name and invite you to this woodhouse,” said Joshua expressionless.

“What do you want from me?” asked Rajes.

“Answer me!” Joshua suddenly showed his anger. “Are you the one who destroyed the crops in the farm?”

“What are you talking about?” said Rajes.

“Then why is the sleeve of your robe torn?” pointed Joshua as he speak.

“I accidentally got it torn while doing Lemmington’s biddings,” Rajes started to feel frightened.

“Then how come I found this torn cloth in the farm area this morning? I believe that it’s from your robe.”

“You must be joking. Hahaha… ugh!” Rajes was punched in the face by Joshua, falling down.

“You have gone too far this time, Rajes,” Joshua took an axe from the wall.

“What are you going to do to me?” Rajes screamed in horror, backing himself on the ground.

“I’m going to kill you,” said Joshua without a hint of doubt on his face. Then he attacked Rajes with the axe.

“NO! ARGH!!!!”  

Blood splattered everywhere as Joshua brought the axe down continuously. Rajes’ blood was all over Joshua. After a brief moment Joshua stopped and begins to pant, calming himself, as blood trickled down his cheeks. He stared at the bloody corpse, which was beyond recognition; face scared all over, his left arm and right leg decapitated, and chest wounded all over. An idea suddenly popped into his head. He placed the body into a large sack and dragged it all the way from the woodhouse to the stream near the village, dumping the corpse into the stream. After that, Joshua just went back home.

The next morning, a lady was trying to get a bucket of water from the steam so that she could water the flowers. But as she approached the stream she found something floating – a large bloody with an arm protruding out. The lady screamed in horror alerting the whole village. Nobody ever found out who was the murderer.

Few days later in the church, Priest Lemmington announced Rajes’s death in front of everyone, “it’s painful to see Rajes leaving us here, but this is fate. So today, in correspond to that, I’d like to announce that the successor to his position shall be Joshua.”

Joshua didn’t say a word before anyone. He knew how Rajes died and barely felt remorse. However he was glad because he was finally chosen as Priest Lemmington’s assistant.

Priest Lemmington walked towards Joshua and said, “Please come to my room after this.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

*Knock! Knock!*

“Come in.”

Joshua entered the room and found Priest Lemmington sitting in his chair reading a book.

“Are you looking for me, Priest Lemmington?” asked Joshua.

“Ahh… yes. Please be seated.”

Joshua sat on a chair in front of Priest Lemmington’s desk. Priest Lemmington put down the book that he was reading and said, “you must be wondering why you’re here, don’t you?”

Joshua nodded his head.

“I want you to wear that robe…” Priest Lemmington pointed at the brown robe that was hanging in his closet, “and give this book to Mr. James Smith.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean by ‘huh’?” said Priest Lemmington. “You’re my assistant.”

“Oh. Right.” Joshua seemed to have forgotten about it. Joshua went and took the robe from the closet as well as the book from Priest Lemmington.

“Then I’m off,” said Joshua.

Just as Joshua was about to leave the room, Priest Lemmington suddenly stopped him by saying, “ by the way, Joshua. Do you know anything about Rajes’ death?”

Joshua panicked for a while at Priest Lemmington’s inquiry. “Absolutely nothing,” Joshua lied.

“Well, you may leave,” Priest Lemmington smiled at Joshua.

Joshua left the room and closed the door. Joshua was wondering why Priest Lemmington would ask him such question. “Nevermind,” said Joshua to himself. “Starting today, I’m Priest Lemmington’s assistant. I have to work extra hard!”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

“Isn’t it wonderful that you are finally Priest Lemmington’s assistant?” said Christy.

Both Joshua and Christy were at their usual meeting place – the stream near the forest.

“Yea,” answered Joshua.

“It’s great that you get to wear Priest Lemmington’s robe. So how was the work?” Christy asked.

“I can still manage it,” smiled Joshua.

“But I still don’t understand who killed Rajes and dumped him into the stream. I know Rajes is a bad and mischievous boy but it’s not right to kill him. Do you know who did it, Joshua?” asked Christy.

“Why are you asking me? Of course I do not know anything about it,” Joshua lied again.

“Promise me that you will not do something like that, okay?” said Christy.

“Of course I won’t! What makes you think that I would do something like that?”

“I don’t know. I just want you to promise me so I can feel relieved,” explained Christy.

“I see,” Joshua laid his head on the ground. Joshua thought, “sorry, Christy. I was the one who did it. Sorry for lying to you.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

The days in the village are back to normal. Everyone was doing their usual chores, including Joshua, who had to help the busy priest. One fine evening, as he walked pass a few housewives, he overheard their gossip.

“Do you know that Mr. Raile and his wife have left the village?” said one of the housewives.

“Yes! Even my neighbor Jimmy Young have moved too!” said another.

“It seems that they all went to the city to get better jobs,” said the third one.

“Aren’t they doing quite well here in the village?” said the first one.

That time, Joshua was wondering why a lot of the villagers had left the village to the city. Speaking of which, he haven’t see some of the villagers for quite some time. Is life in the city much better than the one in the village? Joshua did not understand. As he continued his errand as requested Priest Lemmington, he saw Christy strolling and laughing with another boy.

Christy waved at the boy as the boy left. Joshua then approached her and asked, “who is he?”

“He is helping his family making grocery deliveries,” said Christy. “Almost everyday he would make deliveries to my home.”

“Oh.” Joshua began to feel anger deep within him.

“ I have to go back to the farm! See you then, Joshua! Bye!” Christy left, waving at Joshua.

“Why do I feel so angry all of the sudden?” Joshua asked himself. “Oh well, better get back to work.”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

For the past few weeks, whenever Joshua was on his errand, he always saw Christy with the boy. Joshua begins to feel impatient as jealousy crowded his heart time after time. The session in the church continued as usual. Joshua had to stand on one side on the stage as Priest Lemmington gave his speech. Instead of attentively listening Priest Lemmington’s words, he was looking at Christy who was having a good time chatting with the boy. Hatred grew greatly in his heart and as everyone dismissed themselves from the church, Joshua ran towards Christy.

“Can I have a talk with you later today?” asked Joshua.

“Sure. You probably don’t have time until this evening, right? You can come by my house tonight. Uncle and Aunt won’t be home tonight,” said Christy.

“Then I’ll see you tonight,” said Joshua.

That night Joshua went to Christy’s house…

“What do you want to talk about, Joshua?” Christy asked.

“I’ve noticed you have been hanging a lot with Eric,” Joshua said calmly. “Do you like him?”

“What are you talking about, Joshua? Of course I don’t like hi-”

“You’re lying!” Joshua interrupted. “If you don’t like him then why are you hanging out most of the time with him?”

“What’s wrong with that? You have been so busy with your work that we don’t have any time to be together. Feeling bored, of course I would find someone to hang out with,” explained Christy.

“So you do like him,” Joshua said.

“Why do you have to keep repeating that I like him?” Christy yelled back.

“I won’t let him have you,” Joshua starts blabbering to himself. “I’m not gonna let him have you!!!”

Joshua rushed towards Christy, ripping her clothes off. Christy then backed onto the wall while covering her body with her arms.

“What are you doing, Joshua? Stop it!”

“I’m not going to let him have you, Christy. Definitely not!” Joshua pushed Christy to the ground, he removed his shirt and tied Christy’s hands and continued tearing her clothes.

“Joshua! Stop it! Please, I beg you!” Christy cried but Joshua had already went crazy. He starts kissing all over her body, raping her. “No! Don’t!!!”

After the intense event, Joshua dressed himself and left the place. Christy remained on the ground naked, shaking with fear. She slowly helped herself up and went to the kitchen, taking a red rope out of the drawer. She hanged the rope around the ceiling and stood on the chair and placed her neck onto the loop.

“Good…bye…Joshua…” Christy cried. Then she hung herself.

“Christy! We’re home…,” said Christy’s aunt as both she and her husband reached home. “Christy?” As her aunt walked into the kitchen, she screamed in horror, seeing Christy’s limp body hanging by the rope. Christy’s uncle rushed to the kitchen. After seeing the whole thing, he tried to console his violently surprised wife down.

~The Forbidden Fruit~

The next day, a funeral was held in the church. Most of the villagers shed tears then.

Priest Lemmington said a small prayer as he approached Christy’s coffin. “She was a kind and helpful girl, but I am sure she has her own reasons for her own actions. Let us pray so Goddess Airys will guide her during her journey.”

After the funeral, Joshua was standing on the stage feeling very depressed. “She killed herself,” thought Joshua. “Why did she have to kill herself?”

“Are you okay?” Priest Lemmington pats Joshua’s shoulder as he approached him.

“Priest Lemmington… is it alright if I get a day rest today?” said Joshua sadly.

“Sure. I’d thought you’d be grieving about Christy’s death,” said Priest Lemmington.

“Thank you, Priest Lemmington,” Joshua dismissed himself.

When Joshua came back home, he locked himself in his room, stared blankly at the wall for a moment. He started punching the wall hardly, crying. “Why do you have to leave me, Christy? Why? Damn it!”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

Joshua was feeling down for a few weeks and soon, he got a grip on himself. He did his job as usual until one day; he got a day off from Priest Lemmington. Without anything to do during his day off, Joshua thought he should go visit Grandpa Merull since it had been a long time he have went to the farm ever since he have become Priest Lemmington’s assistant.

As he approached the farm, he noticed the field was empty, deprived of the usual greeting crops and the front door of the house was locked.

“I wonder where Grandpa Merull has went to?” said Joshua. “I think I better ask Priest Lemmington.”

He went to Priest Lemmington and asked about Grandpa Merull. Priest Lemmington replied, “Grandpa Merull? He left the village quite some time ago.”

“He did?” Joshua found it unbelievable. “He never told me anything.”

“Sorry Joshua but I got something else to do. Please take care of the place while I’m away, okay?” Priest Lemmington smiled and walked off.

Joshua looked at Priest Lemmington’s shadow disappearing before the door. He then wondered what he should do. He noticed that Priest Lemmington’s room was in a mess.

“I guess I better clean up his room.” Joshua started rearranging the books on the desk and he found something. “What’s this? Book of Occults?”

He flipped through the pages and found strange pictures of demons and rituals. He found a picture of a demon named ‘Calamity’ on one of the pages. “Why would Priest Lemmington have this book?”

~The Forbidden Fruit~

Joshua was walking on the street, still wondering why Priest Lemmington would have that book. “Maybe it’s a study of religion?”

He saw Priest Lemmington coming out of an old broke-down stable.

“What is Priest Lemmington doing in an abandoned stable? I thought no-one dares to approach it? I better check it out.”

Joshua quietly hid himself while Priest Lemmington walked pass him without noticing him. Joshua then crept into the stable.

“What’s in here?” Joshua asked himself and then he found a patch of red stain on the ground. “What’s this patch of red stain?”

He looked upwards and saw bodies hanging on the wall with blood dripping off them.

“Isn’t that Grandpa Merull? It is him!” Joshua approached the body. “And that’s Ms. Dyna and the other villagers here! What happened here?”

“Looks like you’ve found out my secret,” Priest Lemmington whispered to Joshua.

“Priest Lemmington! What’s going on?” Joshua asked in panic.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s a sacrifice ritual for our goddess, Goddess Airys.” Priest Lemmington explained.

“Why? Why do we need sacrifices for Goddess Airys?”

“Are you that dumb? Goddess Airys is ‘Calamity’.” Said Priest Lemmington.

“Calamity!? The god of destruction?” exclaimed Joshua.

“Precisely.”

“Why… and how…?” Joshua was still in horror.

“This is a ritual for sacrificing the villagers to the great devil ‘Calamity’ in order to satisfy his hunger. All these times, all of you have devoted yourselves to ‘Calamity’. Ever since the day I came to this village.”

“So you mean we have been praying to a false religion!?”

“All these times you all have kept repeating ‘efil dna luos ew etoved sevlesyht ot eht taerg drol fo noitanmad. Yam soahc dna noitcurtsed esira gnoma eht dercas dnal os eht emit fo ytimalac lliw yllanif eb dellifluf’ but do you all actually know the meaning of it? It means ‘Life and soul we devote thyself to the great lord of damnation. May chaos and destruction arise among the sacred land so the time of calamity will finally be fulfilled.’ You have been praying to Calamity all the time.”

“What?”

“That’s how it is. I am the agent of Calamity. And by the way, I have to praise you for doing such a good job,” Priest Lemmington gave a small grin.

“Huh?”

“I know you were the one that killed Rajes. You have also made Christy killed herself. This is the reason why I have chose Rajes and you.”

“Impossible…you only chose me just because I did an evil deed?” said Joshua.

“Exactly what you said.”

“You’re insane, Priest Lemmington!” Joshua shouted at him. “You’re sacrificing people’s lives here! Have you got no heart?”

“What are you blabbering about? All of you were already dead by on the day that I ‘cure’ the epidemic that was lingering in the village.”

“We’re already dead? What do you mean?” asked Joshua.

“Drink this water and take a look outside,” Priest Lemmington handed him a flask of water.

Joshua stared at the flask for a moment, deciding whether to trust him or not, then he gulped the water in one go.

“Go ahead and take a look,” suggested Priest Lemmington.

Joshua walked out of the stable and instead he found a completely different village than his. Loads of rotting corpses were covering the streets and green gas filled the air. It was a dead village.

“No way…”

“It was hopeless for any of you to survive from the start,” Priest Lemmington explained. “What I’m sacrificing is just the villagers’ souls.”

“This must be a dream! It can’t be true,” Joshua tried to convince himself.

“Don’t worry, Joshua. You are going to be the next sacrifice, especially after doing that much just for my lord, Calamity. Prepare to face your fate, Joshua.” Priest Lemmington grinned.

“NO!!!”

Decades later, two researchers found a village in rubbles

“This must be Isgard,” said the young researcher. “I wondered what had happened.”

“It looked like some sort of dark ritual was held here,” explained the older researcher.

The bad stench covered the whole village and what left were just the blood spills. This is how the fate of the village turned out in the end.

The End