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The Paper User: Exiled for a ‘Trash Skill,’ Awakens True Power and Rises with Two Unique Skills ,Volume 2 - Chapter 42

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Chapter: Battle at the Hidden Village II

The dim passage suddenly opened up into a vast chamber.

Rows of stone pillars stretched upward, supporting a lofty ceiling. At the far end loomed a colossal statue of the evil god Dolls.

The statue towered over ten meters high, its head writhing with countless serpents.

“So this… was the temple of the Dolls cult,” I muttered, my voice hoarse.

Dropping my gaze from the grotesque idol, I spotted Bishop Rugal standing before the altar. At his side were three dark elves—and an old man.

The man was unusually tall, with two crimson horns jutting from his brow. He wore deep violet robes, his limbs long and thin. Embedded into the backs of his hands were crimson gemstones that gleamed ominously.

So that’s Zeldia.

“You…”

Rugal finally noticed us, his eyes narrowing.

“Why are you here?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Kinako cut in, stepping forward and fixing his glare on Zeldia.

“At last… we meet, Sixth Demon Star—Zeldia.”

“Hm?”

Zeldia’s cloudy eyes met his, his voice rasping like dry wind.

“And who might you be?”

“I am Kinako, from Jarego Village.”

“Jarego Village?”

“The beastman village you destroyed!” Kinako’s voice cracked with fury.

“You slaughtered nearly every catfolk there—old and young alike—just to harvest their corpses for your experiments!”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Zeldia tilted his head, almost curious.

“This world belongs to the strong. The weak—like your kind—exist only to be culled. It is the natural order.”

“The natural order…?”

“Yes. If you despise it, then fight. Kill your enemies and take what is theirs. That is how this world works.”

“I see…” Kinako’s body trembled violently.

“Then if I kill you here, you’ve no right to complain, do you?”

“…Heh. An amusing notion.”

The corners of Zeldia’s bluish-purple lips curled into a sneer.

“A lowly catfolk, daring to challenge me?”

“I’ve lived for nothing else.”

Kinako stepped forward, each movement heavy with resolve.

“For my fallen kin, I’ll claim vengeance here and now!”

“You won’t lay a finger on Lord Zeldia.”

One of the dark elves, tall and broad-shouldered, stepped up with a cold grin.

“Because I’ll kill you first.”

“You must be the captain of his guard.”

“Correct. I am Zamd. Any enemy of Lord Zeldia will fall to my blade.”

The dark elf—Zamd—raised a violet short sword that shimmered with killing intent.

“Zamd.”

Zeldia placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Leave those four to you. I’ll deal with the Hero of Twelve, Aslom.”

“Aslom…?” Kinako cocked his head.

“So the Divine Tree’s band really did come to the Eknis Plateau. That explains why the cultists headed out of the village earlier.”

“You didn’t know?” Rugal chuckled darkly.

“It seems you four are acting alone. How foolish.”

“What’s so funny?” Kinako growled.

“Only that you’re idiots. To come here with just four people.”

Rugal bowed deeply toward Zeldia.

“Lord Zeldia, leave them to us. Only one of them is an A-rank adventurer. The rest are weaklings. We’ll crush them quickly.”

“Very well. Follow after me when you’re done.”

With that, Zeldia began chanting a spell.

“You’re running, Zeldia?!” Kinako roared.

But in the blink of an eye, the old man vanished.

“Damn it… teleportation magic!” Kinako ground his teeth, lips curled back in frustration.

“Then let’s end this,” Zamd muttered as he advanced, slow and deliberate.

“This catfolk is mine. You three—kill the others.”

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