[45.2] Alora's POV: Cursed Flesh

I approached the temple made of bricks bearing the white sword at the steeple.

A priest standing outside paused and looked at me in surprise, "Can I help you?"

A slow grin spread across my face, "You can help me by giving the blood that is owed."

He immediately knew there was trouble and shouted for help.

I indifferently stared ahead as several people rushed outside to face me.

I hummed as I stared at the lone woman with a white sword, "Only one Holy light user? Hm. Guess the others couldn't make it past the training."

They charged at me clearly wanting to kill me.

In a flash, I jumped forward slaughtering them all.

As the last priest fell, I stood upright covered in blood.

But I didn't give it any attention.

I raised my hand and snapped my fingers.

A bright light appeared from the sky and split the temple apart.

Flames danced on the remainders of the building while I watched from a safe distance.

Only when I ensured all of the trash had been taken care of and the temple destroyed, that's when I finally left and started walking to the next one.

One after another.

I slaughtered and destroyed.

I wasn't going to stop until every last bit of that cursed faith was obliterated.

However, it became harder the closer I went to the stronghold. Even if I was the strongest Holy Light user, I wasn't the only one.

The competition was fierce from the moment we were blessed and it turned us all into monsters.

I huffed as I stared at the three in front of me. The women all wore that ugly white cloak.

As I faced off against them, I could feel my body getting soaked with blood belonging to myself.

I didn't care how many injuries I sustained.

I lost the ability to care the day I lost Zephyr.

I slowly raised my sword at the three, "My revenge doesn't lie with you. If you leave the temple, I won't seek your death."

One snickered, "How kind of you, but do you realize your situation? There are three of us against one of you… You should be begging us to have mercy on your child's life."

I felt a shock of rage shoot through my feet and to my palms.

My stomach was now swelling from all the time I spent on my spree after leaving the mountain.

I growled, "I never ask for mercy."

I lunged forward, attacking the center priestess first.

She immediately blocked and the two beside her launched an attack.

Each sword attack was aimed at my stomach.

My irritation spiked further.

Scum.

Although I can't blame them.

We were taught to target weaknesses.

I jumped back and landed on the roof of the temple.

As I stared at the three on the ground staring up at me with a smirk, I silently put away my blade.

One mocked me, "Finally giving up?"

The corner of my lips curled up ominously, "A vendetta as strong as mine cannot be abandoned."

I raised my hand up and focused all of my energy on my palm.

A bright orb started forming as the wind whipped around me.

In the sky, hundreds of swords appeared and pointed down at the three.

Their faces paled at the sight.

One whispered in disbelief, "A-Alora."

"That's right. Now you'll understand the complete power of the one belonging to the title of Alora: The Golden Warrior." I sneered, "You should consider yourselves lucky. Very few have experienced my Divine Intervention."

I pointed my finger down and the swords followed suit.

There was no chance of evading.

The ground shattered into pieces, leaving behind a hideous scar.

I felt a pain in my stomach and winced. I rubbed my stomach with a sigh, "I know. I hate this magic too."

I felt exhaustion slowly creeping into my body, but I tried my best to ignore it.

I hopped off the temple's roof and stealthily landed on the scarred earth. I calmly stepped inside the building and was met with the sight of two priests and three little girls wearing the robes of priestesses in training.

The lead priest shouted, "Go! Attack her this instance! That's an order!"

I looked at the children undisturbed.

They were visibly shaking and most of them didn't even have the capacity to create swords from Holy magic. Instead, they held daggers embedded with the Holy Light.

They aren't even close to being my rival.

I snickered, "Using children? Do you really think that would deter me?"

I appeared behind the head priest before he could even blink.

I hissed, "Or did you forget how many children you made me kill?"

I swung my blade and killed the two priests without remorse.

The children scrambled away and faced me with shivering bodies.

I looked at them indifferently as I flicked the blood off of my blade, "I am not above killing you. However, if you do not attack me, I have no reason to attack you. Take my advice and leave."

One of the children shook and gnashed her teeth, "There's nowhere for us to go!"

She charged forward, stabbing the small blade into my thigh.

Instinctually, I kicked her in the chest and she flew back into the arms of her two comrades.

The three glared at me as if I was their enemy.

How dare they!?

How dare they attack when I've shown them kindness!

I will kill-

I forced my eyes to close as my body trembled with rage.

I took a deep breath to soothe myself.

A silent whisper escaped my lips, "I am not that person anymore."

The Great Fairy told me not to kill.

Zephyr begged me to live with compassion.

I opened my eyes and strolled over to the offering bench. I stared at the tapestry with the Goddess of Holy Light painted on it.

My hand smoothly reached out to grab a candle. I held it under the tapestry and watched as the fire started to spread.

My eyes reflected the flames dancing in front of me. As smoke filled the temple, the fire rose to the ceiling to consume everything.

Only when I heard a child's scream did I finally turn away.

"Give up your identity. Kill your emotions and never use your Holy Light again." I looked at them with a gaze that revealed no emotions, "If you don't, I will hunt you down and slaughter you like the animals you are."

The children didn't hesitate and turned to run out of the burning temple. I stood in the doorway watching as they rushed into the forest to escape. I felt the surging heat on my back and forced myself to stumble forward until I finally collapsed.

Exhaustion slowly crawled through my body making each limb limp. I forced my eyes to stay open as I stared into the distance.

A small figure slowly crept closer.

As it got to my side, I could barely make out the twitching fox ears on top of his head.

I felt my cheeks wet from tears, "Zephyr… You came back for me…"

A sudden burning sensation pulsed on the skin of my chest.

I bit my lip as I felt the curse permeate further into my body.

My voice croaked, "I'm sorry… Please forgive me… I didn't mean to… I didn't…"

The pain grew too enormous and I fell unconscious before I heard any response.