That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Chapter 137 A Traitor Among Us

His body plummeted from the sky into hell. Matou Shinji surveyed the horrific scene of the village with a blank expression. The witch cultists ignored Matou Shinji's presence and slaughtered indiscriminately.

Among the corpses lying on the ground and the fleeing villagers were many faces familiar to Shinji Matou.

The spice shop merchant, the old man who liked to pretend to be the village chief, the villagers who had answered the questionnaire before—with each person he recognized, Shinji Matou's anger intensified.

"Help...help me..." In the ruins, a villager who had lost his right leg clung to life, desperately pleading for help from Shinji Matou, who was not far away. He recognized Shinji Matou as a frequent visitor to the village from the border town of Boroswa, a mage who had once helped the village.

Shinji Matou remained unmoved, merely observing his surroundings, until a scream rang out as a villager was stabbed through the neck with a dagger by a member of the Witch Cult.

shuh~

The Witch Cult member drew his dagger, the splattered blood soaking his black robe. He stood up, looked at Matou Shinji with a puzzled expression, bowed, and continued his rampage.

The undulating screams gradually subsided, leaving only the sounds of burning flames and dragging corpses.

Shinji Matou stood in the center of the crowd of witch cultists and slowly spoke: "Where is the Archbishop of Sin? Tell him to come out and see me."

The witch cultist bowed silently, his body transforming into a strange shadow and disappearing.

Shortly after, Shinji Matou's demonic eyes flickered, sensing a strong witch's aura approaching. Illuminated by the towering flames, Shinji Matou saw a giant black arm flying towards them from the distant horizon, with a figure standing on its palm.

That is the power of authority.

Shinji Matou became even more cautious as he watched the figure leap down from the massive shadowy arm and land a short distance away, quickly walking towards him.

Shinji Matou got a clear look at the Archbishop of Sin. He was wearing a purplish-black robe that was almost identical to that of a Witch Cultist. He had lowered his hood, and his skin was deathly pale, like a corpse. His face was thin as skin and bones, and his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, filled with unparalleled fanaticism.

Compared to the witch cultists who were like puppets on strings, he was full of excessive energy.

"Welcome! A warm welcome! To my like-minded followers, my beloved believers, I am the Archbishop of Sin of the Witch Cult, in charge of Sloth, Petruccius Romani-Conti!" the Archbishop of Sin proclaimed excitedly.

He walked over to Shinji Matou, sniffed him, and his eyes lit up: "It's wonderful! It's wonderful! To be loved! To be loved! To be loved! To be loved! To be loved! To be loved! This incomparably pure affection! Could it be... you are [Arrogance]?"

Pride? Does it refer to the Pride of the Archbishops of Sins?

Shinji Matou pondered how to respond to the question posed by the Archbishop of Sin, who appeared to be a madman. The Archbishop of Sin corresponds to the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Archbishop of Sin before him was Sloth. However, due to the overwhelmingly strong witch aura emanating from him, the Archbishop of Sin mistook him for the Archbishop of Pride.

Leaving aside the reasons for misunderstanding identities, is the action itself a form of testing? For example, the Archbishop of Sin in front of us knows the Archbishop of Arrogance and deliberately uses this question to test him.

No, this archbishop of sin is behaving like a madman; going too far just to probe his identity is absurd.

I'll play along with this identity for now, but I can't admit it directly.

Having reached a conclusion, Shinji Matou coldly scrutinized the Archbishop of Sin before him, his demonic eyes gleaming with murderous intent: "Are you questioning me?"

At the same time, Shinji Matou's consciousness connected with Satella, the jealous witch who had bestowed upon him what he considered a favor from the unseen world, and the witch's aura on his body suddenly increased dozens of times.

"!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"what!"

The Archbishop of Sloth was stunned by the witch-like aura emanating from Shinji Matou. He scratched his face until it bled, muttering frantically, "What! What... what profound affection!"

"No! No! No! No! Please don't misunderstand! This overwhelming aura of affection undoubtedly proves your identity. I, ah, have been so lazy! Please forgive my laziness! Please forgive me!" The Archbishop of Sloth knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically, not kowtowing to apologize, but punishing himself by striking his forehead against the ground.

Another lunatic.

Shinji Matou asked with a contemptuous tone, "What are you doing here? Why are you attacking this village?"

"What am I doing? Yes, I am now following the guidance of the Gospels. I must begin a trial, to test her, to see if the half-demon here is qualified to be the vessel. If she is qualified, the witch will once again lead when the day of destiny comes."

"The words recorded in the Gospels speak of love! Love! They guide us!" The Archbishop of Sin pulled a notebook from his pocket, his pupils trembling as he read quickly until he turned to a blank page and stopped abruptly.

The Archbishop of Sloth stared intently at Shinji Matou, tilting his head, his manic voice revealing a hint of hesitation: "But why is there no record of you in my Gospels?"

Shinji Matou looked at him with disdain, as if he were looking at a worthless insect: "That shows your love isn't deep enough."

"So that's how it is! So that's how it is! My love isn't deep enough! My love for the witch is far less than yours! So that's how it is! So that's how it is! I'm so...slothful! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!" The Archbishop of Sloth was suddenly stunned, provoked by Shinji Matou's words, and bit his own fingers, making a sound that made one's teeth ache.

His tone changed, and he leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "So, do you have a Gospel? The Gospel that every devoted believer would possess! A testament to our devotion that guides us."

"You are truly lazy. You deserve to be called the great sinner bishop of sloth. What I hate most is being questioned by others. Gospels? I don't need such things. Every year, every month, every day, when I fall asleep, I will listen to the whispers of the witch."

Shinji Matou feigned a fanatical expression and murmured, "She said that every little bit of my fingertip, every piece of my skin, every piece of my skin, every hair, every drop of sweat, every drop of saliva, every word I say, every breath I exhale, every fragment of my emotions, all of it! All of it! All of it belongs to her."

Hearing Shinji Matou's low murmur, the Archbishop of Sloth fell into a daze, clutching his head and shouting in unbearable pain and jealousy, "No... impossible! How can someone have such a close relationship with a witch! Envy! Jealousy! I can't believe it! It's true! A witch's aura doesn't lie, I've lost! Compared to you, my love for the witch is not enough! Far from enough!"

"Sloth, I understand your purpose. I want you to stop the trial. That half-demon is a very good vessel, but it is not mature enough. So I will nurture it until it grows to the point where it is qualified to become a vessel. Then I will personally slay the dragon and break the seal."

"I see. So your goal is also that half-demon. However, this is here, and that is there. Although I acknowledge that you are a favored believer, everything is for the guidance of the Gospel. This trial must be presided over and completed by me!"

Shinji Matou said casually, "Oh, the trial involves destroying the village and then killing that half-demon?"

"Exactly, destroy everything related to half-demons, kill all humans connected to half-demons—that is the greatest test I'm giving her!"

"no way."

"what?"

"Your trial conflicts with my plan, so I have no choice but to ask you... to die."

FA estimates that eight Servants, including the male protagonist, will be replaced, including two of the four main female characters from outside the shield.

It shouldn't be hard to guess which two they are.

The power of the chef is unleashed EX!

Then come the much-anticipated father-son games and close friend games.

In terms of Holy Grail specifications, and considering the quality of the Servants that appear, it's roughly the same as Fake.

Chapter 138 The Power of Sloth

呲味~

The alchemy was activated with magic, causing blue arcs of electricity to leap across the ground. Dozens of stone spears pierced the ground, tearing the unsuspecting Archbishop of Sin apart and killing him instantly.

The transmutation circle continuously extracted metal from the earth to forge a metal rapier. The moment Matou Shinji grasped the hilt, light patterns spread across his face, and his body vanished from its original spot, reappearing in front of a witch cultist.

shuh~

A flash of sword light, and a head shot into the sky.

Shinji Matou unleashed a terrifying killing intent, surveying the Witch Cult members as he coldly pronounced, "You will all die."

Boom!

The witch cultists on the other side tried to retaliate, but the raging fire next to them, under the control of alchemy, suddenly erupted, engulfing more than a dozen witch cultists nearby.

Shinji Matou transforms into a Grim Reaper, reaping the lives of the witch cultists in the village. Faced with absolute power, the witch cultists have no ability to resist, nor do they choose to run away.

In less than a minute, more than half of the witch cultists were either killed by Shinji Matou's rapier or by strange alchemical attacks.

Just as the rapier was about to sever the neck of a witch cultist, Shinji Matou suddenly sensed something amiss, deftly swiftly severing a black arm while simultaneously retreating.

This is···

Shinji Matou's demonic eyes focused, recognizing the power used by the Archbishop of Sloth when he arrived here.

More and more black arms emerged from behind the witch cultist, who should have been nothing more than a puppet on strings, and whispered, "Proof of favor, power of sloth, invisible hand, you have seen my power."

The voice was different. Shinji Matou recognized him from his tone of voice and sneered, "You're not dead yet."

"Discontent, resentment, unwillingness, unhappiness, unreasonableness—but that's proof enough of your status as a Bishop of Pride! Come, let's see who loves the witch more, who is more favored!"

A swarm of dark hands swept towards Matou Shinji, but no matter how many there were, they all stopped under the light of Matou Shinji's sword.

"You're really lazy. Is this all the strength you have?" Shinji Matou sneered disdainfully, but in reality, he remained vigilant, wary of the Archbishop of Sin's other abilities.

If there were no way to observe these invisible hands, Matou Shinji would find them troublesome. In fact, not only could they be clearly seen, but the threat posed by these invisible hands to Matou Shinji was not even as strong as the swordsmanship of Crusch's old butler Wilhelm.

It's chaotic, irregular, and slow.

Ultimately, in combat, the Archbishops of Sloth rely too much on their powers and thus become novices.

If Shinji Matou possessed the abilities of the Archbishop of Sloth, and could manipulate the Black Hands through mind-splitting, each Black Hand could unleash combat skills no less than Shinji Matou's own.

Shinji Matou stepped forward, his alchemy ready to defend against any unknown attacks, and with just his rapier, he cut down all the black hands that came at him.

"Powerless, incompetent, helpless..." the Archbishop of Sin muttered frantically, covering his face.

Hiss~!

Dozens of black hands devoured the air and attacked, destroying anything they touched, similar to the concept of decomposition in alchemy.

The harder the substance, the more complex the magic, and the more powerful the magic, the longer it takes for the Black Hand to destroy it.

However, Shinji Matou's rapier was incredibly fast, precise and swift; every flash of sword light destroyed a black hand.

If the forces behind this attack want to touch Shinji Matou's body, both the number and intensity of their attacks must at least double.

"Impossible! My power! Favor is not enough! Far from enough!" The witch cultist roared in despair, watching helplessly as Matou Shinji came before him and was killed by Matou Shinji's sword.

Shinji Matou crouched down, lifted the hood of the witch cultist, and saw that inside was just an ordinary-looking orange-haired boy.

"The body is another person, so the Archbishop of Sloth has the ability to transfer consciousness." Shinji Matou frowned, but he wasn't surprised. After all, magic could achieve similar effects. Not to mention, Shinji Matou's adoptive grandfather, Zouken Matou, had similar magic.

The problem is the conditions for the transfer. Just now, Matou Shinji was certain that he had ambushed and killed the Archbishop of Sloth when he was completely unprepared, yet he still successfully transferred his body.

"The spare body is a cultist of witches, and it is very likely that the Archbishop of Sloth set some kind of spell on the cultist in advance."

"Fine, we're going to kill them all anyway."

The remaining few witch cultists surrounded them again. Just as Shinji Matou had expected, when they were about to kill the last few, the Archbishop of Sloth possessed one of the witch cultists.

"Useless! Boring! My 'finger' has found the half-demon, and I'll go give her the trial right now!" The witch cultist possessed by the Archbishop of Sloth laughed maniacally.

Buzz~ Buzz~

The surging air converged into wind blades, which, under Shinji Matou's skillful control, dodged all the sinister forces and slashed off his head.

At this point, all the witch cultists in the village were wiped out.

"Hey."

Shinji Matou sighed softly. Destroying the Witch Cult wouldn't be a waste of time. He clasped his hands together and activated his alchemy, searching for life signs in the village.

Several villagers survived, but their vital signs were weak and they were on the verge of death, with only one place showing a stronger reaction.

Following the vital signs, Shinji Matou arrived at a ruin. Using alchemy, he moved the collapsed rocks and found the unconscious little girl inside.

Shinji Matou knew her; she was the lively girl who had surrounded Rem and was the first to thank him.