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Chapter 515: 「I’m Really Sorry」

After parting ways with the girls, I went through a preparatory ritual, called the Purification Ritual, which is apparently done before the official exorcism. But that’s when the problem started. The Purification Ritual is supposed to be a ritual where you wash away sins or impurities with running water. However, I must have accumulated too many sins or impurities because the water source that was supposed to cleanse me started getting ominously polluted instead.

Then, all hell broke loose. People dressed like shrine priests and priestesses, as well as others who didn’t quite fit the traditional look, appeared out of nowhere. They all started hauling out strange, sacred-looking objects and unleashing waves of psionic power everywhere.

As for me, I was barely holding on as the water suddenly surged and almost swept me away. I was also hit by these divine-looking beams of light—though, to be honest, they didn’t hurt or sting at all—it was still a rough experience. It kind of felt like I was a giant monster getting attacked by a military force.

By the time the Purification Ritual ended, I was left soaked to the bone, along with a bunch of people collapsed all over the floor, drenched and gasping for air. I swear, all I did was try not to get swept away and get hit by beams of light from every direction. That’s it. I didn’t do anything. Really.

「On this side, it looks like Elma-san and Neve-chan had a bit of a hard time, didn’t they? Shouko-sensei and I had it rough too, but not as much.」

「I’ve used test animals in experiments before after all. Well, it makes sense that Hiro-kun would have a hard time, doesn’t it?」

「So, does that mean this impurity thing gets bigger the more folks ya kill?」

「Not just people. I think it’s any kind of killing.」

The tech-savvy girls were busy speculating about what kind of actions might increase this so-called impurity based on the people who had trouble with the Purification Ritual. Makes sense. I’ve slaughtered a ton of space pirates and wiped out a Vereverem Federation fleet using a Singing Crystal, and if just killing counts, I killed a ton of those white monsters that attacked Alein Tertius Colony, thousands of those crystal lifeforms, and dozens of Twisted in the Comatt Star System. Yeah, I guess I’ve been killing a lot.

But that’s just my job, a mercenary kills for a living. There is nothing I can do about it, and I don’t plan to stop killing pirates and monsters.

As I was chatting with the women after reuniting, the group who first guided us appeared. Their hair, ears, tails, wings, and other features seemed somewhat damp, and their clothes looked more simple. Were they also helping during my chaotic Purification Ritual?

「Thank you for waiting… It was quite the ordeal for all of us, wasn’t it?」

A man with wolf-like ears and a tail, with strikingly good looks—probably around my age or a bit older—spoke to us, though his gaze was a little distant. Yeah, he looks pretty exhausted.

「Ah, uh… sorry about that.」

「No, it wasn’t your fault, Hiro-dono… or, well, maybe you weren’t entirely without fault, but we understand there was no ill intent.」

「I’m really sorry.」

Seeing his tail drooping limply and swaying weakly from side to side made me apologize without thinking.

「Still, the fact that you’re not only completely unaffected by that level of impurity but also don’t seem to be causing harm to those around you… that’s quite remarkable.」

A priestess-looking woman with small white wings on her back said that in admiration despite her clear exhaustion.

Wait, what? Is there normally a bad side effect from accumulating too much of this impurity thing?

「What usually happens if someone is carrying that much impurity?」

「In most cases, they fall into a state of seeking continuous battle, killing without remorse, and descending into madness, or they become depraved, abandoning ethics and reason, unable to control their desires. Those around them often get caught up in it and end up the same way. However, before that happens, most people would probably break mentally.」

「Wow… that’s terrifying. Why was I unaffected, then?」

「It’s likely due to your extremely strong potential, Hiro-dono.」

「Yeah, seems like that’s the answer for everything…」

So basically, my immense psionic power has been keeping the impurities from messing with my mind. That makes sense. Now that I think about it, I’ve felt mentally stronger ever since I arrived in this universe. I didn’t bat an eye when I took out those begging space pirates, and I’ve remained calm in situations that would normally be terrifying. I thought it was because I was still treating this universe as a game unconsciously, but maybe this is the real reason.

「It seems the preparations for the Exorcism Ritual will take a little more time, so please wait a bit longer.」

「Got it.」

Probably the commotion I caused earlier threw off their schedule. Sorry about that, guys.

I felt a little guilty about it, but we had some time to kill, so I decided to pass the time looking at the girls who were dressed in matching light white robes. Mei was dressed in her usual outfit though, it seems that Mei didn’t need to go through the Purification Ritual because she is a mechanical being without a soul.

☆★☆

While the Purification Ritual used water, it seemed that the Exorcism Ritual involved fire.

A large flame blazed before us as we sat in a row, and the priests of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire chanted something resembling prayers while pouring psionic power into the fire.

The flames, infused with psionic power, changed color, becoming a deep purple.

「Do we need to do anything here?」

「No, my Lord. There’s nothing you need to do. However, at the end, the flames will reach out toward you and engulf you, so please don’t be alarmed.」

「Umm, are you sure it won’t be hot?」

「Yes, Mimi-san, it’s not real fire, so it won’t hurt.」

Kugi tried to calm Mimi who seemed a little frightened by the growing purple flames. I don’t blame her though. Even if they tell us this fire only burns away our sins and impurities, it is hard to fully grasp the concept. And, to be honest, fire is simply scary. Especially for people living in space, fire is a terrifying thing.

If a fire breaks out in a sealed environment like a colony or a spaceship, it can turn into a disaster instantly. The temperature spikes in no time, oxygen depletes quickly, and the toxic gases produced by the fire are deadly—at least, that’s what I’ve heard. I’m scared of fires too, but people who live primarily in space—unlike those on planetary settlements—fear fire even more.

「I wonder what that flame really is… I’d love to scan it.」

「Exactly. Ugh, why didn’t we bring a scanner? Seriously.」

「Everything here is so fascinating. I want to scan it all!」

「The Doctor and the twins never change, huh?」

Neve is right. These three are always the same no matter the situation. Speaking of which, Neve was still lying in her mobile pod, but the cover was open now. Dr. Shouko said her immune system had fully recovered, so maybe it was time to switch her to an open-type pod. Or, better yet, maybe she’d be able to walk on her own soon.

「It looks like it’s about to wrap up.」

「Oh, finally. Let’s hope nothing weird happens this time.」

「I’ve already given up on that.」

The moment Elma said that, streaks of flame shot out from the roaring purple flame, heading straight for us. They moved pretty fast. I remembered Kugi’s advice and stood still, watching the flames as they extended toward me. Soon enough, the purple flames reached my body.

「O-oh…」

The fire spread across the surface of my skin, tracing over me. It felt warm, but not hot at all. It was a strange sensation, like the warmth was slowly seeping inward from my skin. It’s actually kind of pleasant, like a warm massage or something.

「…Isn’t this taking a while?」

The purple flames were still burning around me. They were using me as fuel. Meanwhile, the flames around everyone else had already vanished, leaving me as the only one still engulfed. I looked like a purple torch at this point.

「Uh… my Lord, are you feeling alright?」

「I’m fine. It actually feels kind of nice, warm and cozy.」

When I said that, Kugi glanced toward the woman presiding over the ritual, the one wearing the most elaborate outfit. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, with an air of authority about her.

「Hmph… ‘Tis rare to see a ‘visitor’ with such potential. Truly, it is surprising that his form hath remained human for so long. While this situation is out of the ordinary, it doth not pose any true danger.」「Wait a minute, did you just say something I can’t ignore?」

Suddenly, the flames engulfing my body flared up. What had been a light burn along my surface was now a raging inferno, with the flames erupting like a geyser.

「Ah, it burns well now, dost thou not see? ‘Visitor’, these flames do feed upon the impurities and sins that cling to thy soul. Tell me, what hast thou slain to bring this about? Surely it was someone, or something, of innocence and significance for the flames to react so.」

「I don’t really have any—ah, wait, is it that? The Mother Crystal?」

「Mother Crystal?」

「It’s the thing that gives birth to the crystal lifeforms. It was a spiked crystal the size of a small planet.」

「Ah, I see it now… Behold! Now that thou hast recognized thy sin, the flames surge ever higher.」

The moment the elaborately dressed beauty narrowed her eyes and spoke, the purple inferno surrounding me surged even higher, exploding from my body and filling the entire ritual chamber with an intense purple glow.