The Priest of Complete Dispel ~ Every Time I Save a Cursed Beautiful Girl with My Status Abnormal Cure Skill, For Some Reason Her Dependence on Me Maxes Out ~ - Chapter 22: Uglification

Chapter 22: Uglification

“Iris!”

“Y-Yes!”

The scene before us was undeniably abnormal.

People can look alike. It’s even more common among relatives, and there’s a saying that everyone has three look-alikes in the world. But the reality in front of us was different from all of that.

Standing there were women, all with the exact same face, like mirror images.

“—<Appraisal>”

Iris chanted quietly, and a light glowed in her eyes.

We held our breath in silence, waiting for her results.

“…It’s a curse. ‘Uglification’—it seems to be a curse that changes faces into what the caster thinks is ugly. And ‘disease’ and ‘weakness’ too…”

“That’s…”

Erina’s face darkened at Iris’s report.

Forced to live here, their minds and bodies violated, and even their faces taken away. Could there be a crueler fate?

But—I could cure it. I could do it.

Not now, though. First, we had to defeat the source and end it all.

“Iris.”

“Yes…”

“We’re going to kill it.”

“Yes…!”

Her second response carried her own anger.

We had to head deeper into the cave. But before that—I wanted to at least restore their health.

“I’ll save you later, I promise. For now, just wait—<Heal>.”

“Please trust Shu-sama. From me too—<Purification>.”

My healing magic and Iris’s purification magic overlapped, cleansing the women’s bodies.

The healing light enveloped them, and I saw soft color return to their stained skin.

“…The power of <Heal>… The wounds are healing so fast. And it’s affecting multiple people at once, without even using <Saint Heal>…?”

Erina was the one who gasped in awe.

“Shu-san, just who are you…?”

“You said your name’s Erina, right? Don’t worry about the details. We’ll get out of here alive… and we’ll save that Glen guy too.”

“! Yes!”

A spark returned to Erina’s dim eyes.

Leaving them behind, I moved deeper with my companions.

◇◇◇

*Thud, thud.*

A sound like an earthquake approached. It wasn’t a quake. It was the footsteps of a giant monster.

“So, the time has finally come…”

Glen, trapped in the cell, hung his head weakly.

The last thing he thought of was his companions’ faces.

Risia, Garo, Erina.

They were bound by ties thicker than blood.

Five years ago, when they were teens, they met and began their adventure together. They crossed countless life-or-death moments and reached B-rank. They were like family.

The sound of iron bars creaking echoed. They were forcibly pried open, and a tree-like arm reached in, grabbing Glen’s body.

“…Damn it.”

He knew there was no escape.

The Goblin Queen bared her sharp fangs, grinning stickily.

But behind her stood a small figure—a girl who looked like a child, trembling with fear.

Glen mustered his last strength to throw out words.

“Live long… Maybe something good will happen.”

“—!”

He didn’t know if his words reached the girl.

The Goblin Queen reached out with her other hand to rip off Glen’s pants—

“GuGYAA!?”

A scream. The arm holding him was sliced off.

Glen fell to the ground, instinctively rolling and somehow landing.

“—<Heal>.”

“What!?”

A dazzling healing light enveloped him.

Then, a longsword flew through the air and stabbed into the ground.

“Use it. It’s the sword that raised me. Don’t break it.”

A boy in a black clerical robe appeared. His gray hair and sharp gaze changed the air in the prison.

◇◇◇

Cutting down goblins one after another, we reached the deepest part—a massive dome-like chamber.

There stood a presence unlike any other monster.

But—

“Not just the Goblin Queen, but other goblins too…!”

There were hobgoblins and multiple goblin mages, judging by their size and appearance.

And a massive figure, incomparable to smaller goblins. Four generals, as they were called, surrounded the Queen protectively.

Moreover, every goblin wore a black collar around its neck.

“Glen!”

“Still alive!”

Garo reacted, and Erina’s eyes sparkled.

“Glen…!”

Risia’s eyes trembled.

“Shu-sama!!”

There was no time to hesitate.

The Queen’s hand reached for Glen.

“<Air Boost>.”

Clad in wind, I closed the distance instantly.

“<Air Slash>.”

I drew my longsword, coated it with wind, and unleashed a slash.

I severed the Queen’s left arm that held Glen, saving him in the nick of time.

Glen’s fallen figure was battered.

I quickly cast <Heal> and tossed him the longsword, since I heard he was a swordsman.

“You are…”

Besides the Queen, there were four generals and over fifty other goblins.

The odds were bad. Normally, they would be.

“Your wounds are healed, right? Help out—take the generals. I’ll handle this one.”

“But you’re a priest—”

“—<Perfect Clear・Reverse>.”

In that instant, every goblin except the Queen, including the generals, froze and collapsed to the ground.

“W-What—!”

A girl’s voice came from afar.

It was a human girl wearing a hood.

“…”

She was an odd presence in this space.

But for now, she was secondary.

“Take out the fallen small fry!!”

“Got it!” “Understood!” “Got it!”

“You guys…!”

Glen realized his companions had come to save him.

Something hot welled up in his chest, filling him with strength. He gripped his fist tightly and pulled the longsword from the ground.

“Now…”

A one-sided slaughter began, cutting off the heads of the fallen goblins.

But there was one opponent I didn’t use <Perfect Clear・Reverse> on.

The Goblin Queen.

Iris and Risia had said this Queen was an especially dangerous individual.

So, for my own sake, I wanted to gauge my true strength.

I needed to hurry and save the women, but this was for me too.

“Gu, gigigi…”

“Huh… Your arm’s growing back?”

As expected of a Queen, her arm regenerated rapidly.

It was a type of monster we hadn’t seen in the village forest.

“You! Are you okay without a weapon!?”

I gave a faint smile at Glen’s shout.

“—<Holy Crafted Sword>.”

A bluish-white light poured from the cross-shaped hilt, forming a holy sword.

The Queen swung her fist down. But her arm was sliced off like tofu.

“What are we even seeing?”

“I don’t know. Is this the Goddess’s blessing…?”

Risia and Erina gasped.

The Queen charged forward, blood spraying, undeterred.

But I sliced off her left arm just as easily.

“…Hey, are you serious? Are you even trying?”

The Queen seemed to flinch under my gaze.

“Gu, gaga…”

“Yeah, yeah…”

The corpses lay in the prison behind us.

Glen might have been destined to be used up and die like them.

And so many others before him—

“This was a boring fight.”

I sheathed the <Holy Crafted Sword>.

“See ya—<Perfect Clear・Reverse>.”

The Goblin Queen, unable to do anything, collapsed with a loud thud.

“No way…”

“Is this a dream or reality…?”

Glen and Garo muttered in disbelief.

The Queen was still breathing. But her body couldn’t move, and she foamed at the mouth.

Soon after, the massive wolf’s <Venom> that had wounded Keryneia killed the Goblin Queen—