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Chapter 55 Part 6 – The secret of the Blue Diamond. The story of how the Witch of Doom was born. In order to get those children back one day ……

Dwayne’s blood slowly spread in the sacrificial table. It was in the shape of a crest of Wiskum, a single vine intricately intertwined. There was a rumbling sound coming from the ground and the entire temple began to shake eerily. In no time at all, the rumbling became so intense that everyone in the place could not stay standing as screams and shouts erupted. A flurry of dust fell from the ceiling. The stone pillars in the hallway shifted and began to collapse one after another. From the Blue Diamond on top of the altar, a horrifying blue light overflowed like filthy water and rushed toward those who were unable to escape due to the tremors.

「Gyaaa!?」

「Hiiii!!」

The people enveloped by the light convulsed as they tried to claw at the air and died.

「W – What is that!? What is happening!? …… Guahhh ……!?」

The dismayed high priest shuddered.

「…… Gaahh!? …… Aahhh!?」

Her hands began to shrivel. Her body shrank, her hips bent, and her whole body wrinkled. It was like a fresh fruit being drained of its water and dried in an instant. One hundred years worth of aging rushed at the high priest and she had been mercilessly robbed of her temporary youth.

「My …… my beauty ……!! Why!? You promised that as long as I continued to offer sacrifices …… you would give me eternal beauty and youth ……!! Didn’t you promise that!?」

With labored breath, Dwayne looked down to see the decrepit, ugly, old appearance of the high priest as she was screaming.

「…… Because it no longer has the need to manipulate you with bait anymore. You are no longer of any use to it. All of you have given too much life to this monstrous diamond. It’s gotten more power than it needs and now it can absorb life by itself. It probably won’t stop until it destroys all the people of the forest ……」

As if to affirm Dwaye’s words, the mountain behind the temple began to undulate. The horrifying sight of the forest slithering out and closing in on them was beyond human understanding and snapped the willpower of those who saw it. Black water spurted out from the floor here and there all at once. This was due to the underground water veins being compressed by the ground that had begun to move. A landslide large enough to swallow the entire town was about to happen. The vibrations were a harbinger of what was to come. The Blue Diamond was not going to let anyone in the town escape.

「My life is being sucked away!! No!! I don’t want to die!! Save me ……!!」

In a disgraceful state of writhing and crying with a runny nose, the high priest let out her last breath and died.

「…… I’m sure the children must have felt the same way. But they were magnificent. Even though they were so small, they tried to protect each other. On the other hand, you …… are pathetic. You died while struggling miserably in despair of old age after having been manipulated by the temporary youth and beauty you had just gained. You took away the lives of those children just for something like this ……!!」

After witnessing the whole thing, Dwayne clenched both fists and staggered back to his feet.

「The main source of the problem still remains. You must be very happy. Everything turned out the way you wanted it to ……」

Dwayne saw the light emitted by the Blue Diamond on the altar take the shape of a skull. He knew immediately that it was not human. Because that skull had two horns. And sharp canine teeth. That must surely be the appearance of a demon itself. The demon skull contorted its face and laughed mockingly at the foolish humans. A serpentine body with sharply pointed scales slithered out of the skull’s gaping eye socket and then slithered into the opposite eye socket. The serpent had neither head nor the tip of a tail, only a body, then it intertwined its body inside the sneering skull and slithered around endlessly. It may have been an illusion created by his brain to relieve the intense pain. But Dwayne knew that this was the true nature of the diamond.

「…… That must be what you really are ……!! You monster!! But I won’t let you do whatever you want any longer. If I let you go, you’ll do the same thing all over again. The children have experienced enough tragedy. With my scarce remaining life force, I will seal you. …… Anyone please, lend me your strength ……!!」

However, all of the priests were so stunned by the high priest’s tragic death that none of them were willing to help Dwayne. They either rushed around in confusion or rushed to the exit to escape, their feet tangled and fell on top of each other, and they screamed as they were trampled. Meanwhile, many people were entangled in the light emitted by the Blue Diamond and died in agony one after another. The people panicked like domesticated rats that had been stirred up inside a box. Even those who were lucky enough to get out fell down on the floor when they saw the oncoming landslide. It was a pandemonium scene with nowhere to run to that came out straight from hell

「…… Hey!! Don’t run away!! Are you not ashamed of those children you have sacrificed!! Are you still a Wiskum, the proud people of the forest!? This monster is planning to devour us all anyway!! If you guys don’t do something about it, your families and loved ones will be killed!!」

No one had the courage to respond to his indignation and rebuke.

Dwayne gritted his teeth and approached the Blue Diamond all by himself while wobbling.

「…… Seriously …… All of you are not manly at all!! Don’t let one dying queer guy with a gaping hole in his gut take on a monster all by himself! It’s an extremely heavy load to carry ……!!」

He was talking nonsense, but his complexion has gone beyond white and become deathly pale.
The Blue Diamond was rapidly devouring the life around it.
Dwayne was at the center of it all.

Duane had been pierced from his back to the belly with a staff by the high priest and stabbed by countless arrows. In reality, he can’t even manage to walk properly. A normal person would have died long ago. In the midst of the collapsing temple, Dwayne was supported only by his superior willpower and was slowly approaching the Blue Diamond. The intense pain that ran through his body with each step was good because it was like a stimulant. Fatigue was his worst enemy. He felt as if he was wading through a sea of lead while dragging a weight ten times of his own weight behind him. Energy was being drained out of his body. It would have been far better to die than to experience this struggle. But he still continued to struggle to muster up even a drop of life force in order to take a step forward.

「…… For the sake of the children …… I can’t die until I …… at least land a single blow on it …… just a little bit more ……!!」

With his tenacity, he somehow managed to reach the top level of the altar, right beside the Blue Diamond.
His feet wobbled.
The temple would not last much longer.
Blood came out from Dwayne’s nostrils and ears.
No longer able to walk on two legs, Dwayne propped himself up on his elbows and crawled up the stairs on all four limbs.

「…… With this …… it will all end ……!! …… Please reach it ……!!」

Dwayne put all his power into his fingertips and reached for the Blue Diamond.

But then, his vision blurred.
The floor was pushed up and he lost his balance.
Dwayne experienced a fear that froze his whole body.
It was a tragic mistake.
He was so focused on his fingertips that he failed to notice the collapse around him.
His body drifted with the motion of falling.
He knew himself well enough to know that once he fell down, he would never be able to move a finger again.
Dwayne’s exhausted body will soon die.

The glow of the blue demon skull that encased the diamond sneered at Dwayne.

‘…… It’s so frustrating ……!! I’ve been toyed around by this monster and I can’t even avenge the children ……!! …… Everyone, I’m sorry for being such a useless teacher ……’

Dwayne’s fingertips moved away from the Blue Diamond.

‘…… Teacher …… Don’t give up ……!!’

A small hand was placed in his hand and pushed Dwayne back.
A familiar tone of voice encouraged him.
Dwayne’s eyes opened wide. He gasped.
Tears welled up in his eyes as his anguished expression collapsed.

「…… Kele …… chan …… why ……」