I cast a curse upon you," declared the priest, "for you are a disgrace. We were right to observe you and your family. You've earned the gods' favor and exceeded the bounds of human capability. Thank the heavens we ensured there were limits on your foolish power, but before your demise, I must reveal the truth: we all turned against you. The town turned against you.
You squandered your efforts trying to do good for people who have no desire to acknowledge your worth. Your wife also betrayed you; she betrayed you completely. Love is pointless. As you pass away, we will incinerate your remains and scatter your ashes to the most remote areas of the earth. Your spirit will drift, and it will require the lives of a thousand to reclaim what has been forsaken. Your soul will experience hatred and resentment. Darkness, grief, and animosity will claw at your essence. With every reincarnation, this town will cause your demise repeatedly… With wicked grins on their faces, they took turns stabbing him while they laughed and drank. Helpless, he glanced at his wife, who was hiding behind a veil, watching him. "What did I do wrong?" he asked himself silently. "Am I going to die like this?"
He had fought against paralysis caused by poison and blood loss, and he felt a faint heartbeat coming from behind the veil. As he focused, his X-ray magic eyes (Tōshi no Me) activated, revealing a baby in his wife's womb.
"Ohhh..." he gasped.
Then they called his wife forward to finish the job. "Take the knife," they urged. "Stab his heart, and we can seal our deal. Your family will be spared; only he will be killed.
She gazed coldly into his eyes and whispered in his ear, "You deserve worse; go to hell." Then she plunged her dagger into him, and he gasped as his body made a squishing sound. He turned pale instantly. The priest and others quickly began decapitating him. One of them pointed at his wife, taunting her, "How does it feel to betray the one you love? Feels good, right? Everything we said about him was a lie. We know you have Montrose tendencies; when given the right information, you sold out your husband out of jealousy and envy. You didn't trust him enough or listen to his side of the story, you fool." They all laughed, saying, "Now get out of this place, you vile creature."
Jean lost her balance, her heart sank not from fear, but from the memory of how her husband had looked at her with love when she uttered those last words. He was the man she had promised to stand by through the darkest times, the one who had tamed her madness and her past as a prostitute, selling her body to support her family. He was her ashura, her God, the man who had ventured into the forest to battle the hundred-foot-long black serpent of hell
My King is gone. She shivered in terror, looking at her blood-stained hand and covering her face.
"You know she is a former slut," one of the priests whispered. "Let the two of you take her; at least she can satisfy us, and we will take care of her family."
"Two?" said another priest in reply. "Why can't we four have her? We can take turns or go at once."
Her heart sank as she realized the snare she had caught herself in…
"Help! Help! Help me!" she tried to whisper, but it was too late. One of the priests was already on her, dragging her by the hair while another pulled her by her clothes. And a third tore at her clothes. She froze in terror as the one who held her tore her clothing, revealing her delicate breast. He took out a knife, laughing loudly to himself, "You crazy bitch!" as he cut off her nipples. She screamed in terror, "Ashura… one of the priests shushed her.
"He is gone; you killed him. Time to die."
As he was about to stab her, the High Priest suggested, "Why not let us sacrifice her to the gods? All we need are all her vital organs; at least we can appease the gods and seek protection from any darkness." The rest nodded in agreement. "Let it be," they all said in unison.
They were dragged off by the hair, forcefully carried, and placed on the altar of thorns, with little spikes entering their flesh from the altar.
She knew it was the end.
They wanted to start the ritual, first by cutting her open and second by removing all her internal organs while she was still alive.
"Begin," the high priest ordered his subordinate. One of them came forth, bringing out his cutting knife, ready to do justice to her living body.
In an instant, an aura emanated from her.
They all felt their spines freeze; they could feel bloodlust and hunger to devour coming from inside her.
They looked at her and saw something glowing on her stomach…
Call the shaman, the high priest ordered in terror.
Time stood still
She was lost in a trance. She saw her husband once again and knelt down before him, saying, "I'm sorry I betrayed you. Please come back." But as he appeared to draw nearer, the man she saw wasn't her husband; he was soulless, empty, and void. She could hear all around, "I'll kill them, I'll kill them; they betrayed." His eyes were pale, his skin dry, and blood dripped from his nose and ears. His soul was suffering from an evil curse and the heat of betrayal.
Had she reached out her hand to hold him? He was already in front of her, his hand on her neck gripping tightly as she kept screaming, "ASHURA! It's me! Forgive me!" No no no no no stop
Again there was that heartbeat. His pale eyes stared at her stomach, and he could hear it again. In the blink of an eye, he touched her stomach only to disappear immediately into it. She let out a heavy scream: "Nooooooo!"