Even Though I Defeated the Demon Lord, My Wife and Daughter Treat Me Like Trash ~ I Found Out My Wife's Child Isn't Mine, and When I Confronted Her, She Got Mad and I Was Exiled. The Country's in Trouble Because the Demon Lord Came Back? Sorry, I'm Getting Remarried to a Princess, So I Can't Help. - Chapter 31: Gluttony

Chapter 31: Gluttony

Note: Changed the name of the spell.

The Balance Ward spell falls under the category of enhancement magic. It’s typically used on special magical equipment, like enchanted swords or holy blades.

Such spells can repair nicks, maintain sharpness, and, in the case of a sword with powerful Balance Ward, even a broken blade can return to its original form. However, applying this magic to a human being? That was unheard of.

“You monster…”

Robert muttered, and Camilla, looking slightly offended, responded in a casual tone.

“Oh, come now. I just fought harder to survive than you did. When I was starving to death, I told myself I was full until I tricked my body into believing it. Eventually, I learned this magic.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”

While Camilla chatted nonchalantly with Robert, one of his men circled behind her, sword in hand, and drove it into her heart from behind.

“Even if you can heal from a slash… if we keep the blade in, it won’t close!”

Robert was impressed by his subordinate’s quick thinking. 

If the sword remained lodged, the wound couldn’t heal.

Robert considered stabbing another area just to be sure, but then… the blade that had been sticking out from her chest began to shrink.

“What’s happening!? Don’t pull it out!”

“I-I’m not! She’s… pushing it out!”

The soldier struggled to keep the sword lodged in Camilla’s body, pushing with all his might, but he was slowly forced back. 

While he grimaced in pain and frustration, Camilla remained completely calm. 

Then, with a sudden force, the soldier was flung backward, and the sword slipped out of her body.

She didn’t even flinch from the pain. 

It was as if her sense of feeling had been completely blocked. 

The bizarre nature of what was happening made it impossible to guess the cause, and just as Robert was at a loss, Camilla’s voice reached him.

“Too bad, huh? So, is it my turn now? I can’t use many types of attack magic, so… don’t expect any mercy.”

Camilla brought her hands together in an odd prayer gesture, with her left hand pointing forward and her right hand facing upward. She smiled wickedly as she spoke.

“Let me teach you something. God… is terribly cruel.”

She then began chanting a spell.

“—The offering is on the altar. The tribute echoes, and the feast begins. Before Him, restraint is a sin. Let us indulge freely. His name is Halgormoz, He who presides over gluttony, He who devours the sacred cycle of life, returning all to nothing, granting equal mercilessness… Manifest, and grant me your power…”

Crack…

The sound was like space itself fracturing.

Robert, who had spent years in this line of work and lived on the edge of death, knew immediately. If they didn’t stop this, everyone here would die.

“Stop that spell, now!”

At Robert’s command, the soldiers charged at Camilla. 

But as they rushed toward her, she simply opened her mouth… and closed it.

In that instant, about ten of the soldiers froze mid-action. Not only did they stop moving, but they also appeared to be suspended in midair, locked in strange, contorted positions.

“W-What is this?!”

“I-I can’t move!”

They flailed their limbs in panic, but their bodies refused to respond. Then, as Camilla began to move her mouth in a chewing motion…

“Gah!”

“Ack…”

“Nngh…”

The soldiers’ bodies started to crush and tear apart. 

Some were crushed, others were ripped to pieces. Bones shattered, flesh split, and alongside the gruesome sounds, there was an eerie chewing noise, as if something invisible were devouring them.

It was as if…

“We… we’re being eaten…”

The soldiers, suspended in the air, appeared to be chewed by something unseen. Their bodies distorted and deformed, and their blood—rather than spilling—vanished into the air, disappearing like mist.

Camilla continued to mimic chewing for a while longer before making a motion as if spitting something out. 

At the same time, the soldiers’ equipment, no longer attached to their bodies, fell to the ground with a sickening splat.

“This god is rather picky. It only consumes… life itself.”

Camilla said as she opened and closed her mouth once again.

At that moment, Robert leaped to the side, barely escaping the range of the spell. 

He found himself standing, feet firmly on the ground, while the rest of his men were suspended in the air, trapped.

Among them was Mia—the girl he had carefully trained like a daughter.  

Her terrified eyes locked onto his, her face twisted in fear as she screamed.

“No! No, no, nooooo! Captain, help me! Not like this, please, I don’t want to die like this—at least…”

Crack.

Squelch.

Crunch.

Mia’s head was crushed, her entire body consumed by the unseen force.

Her remains mingled with the others, their bodies merging into indistinguishable masses. 

Once more, Camilla made a gesture as if spitting something out, and all that remained were their scattered weapons and armor.

The loudest sound was the clatter of Mia’s dagger. 

It bounced off the ground, landing at Robert’s feet—the very dagger he had gifted her when she officially joined the team.

Camilla turned toward him, opening her mouth again.

Robert bent down, picked up Mia’s dagger, and thrust it into his own throat. 

He couldn’t bear to die the same gruesome death as his men. 

As the burning pain seared through his neck, Camilla approached him. 

His vision blurred, and he could feel death closing in when suddenly—the dagger was pulled out with a light clink.

The pain in his throat faded. 

He looked up and saw Camilla standing over him, her hand hovering above him.

“You… healed me?”

“Yes. I’ll be performing the Demon Lord’s resurrection ritual soon… and it’s better to have more sacrifices.”

Camilla smiled—and then opened her mouth once again.