"...Oh shit, he's waking up!"

"Put the ward up, and get ready to Purify the hell out of him."

"...Tell me if I can do anything."

"Your presence can only make things worse here, Ms. Milena, but it's your freedom. Just shut up and let us work."

"...Of course."

Glenn grimaced, the light blinding him.

'The fuck...? So fucking bright...'

He tried to move his hand to block the light, but it was stuck in place. Glenn blinked a few times, the light not dimming the slightest.

"Shit..."

Voices suddenly began shouting in the room, ringing in his ears unpleasantly. There were quite a few of them, and they all sounded like something horrible was going to happen.

"He spoke! Prepare for an outburst, and make sure the ward doesn't break!"

"Yes, Sister!"

Glenn grunted and shook his head. Something cold was wrapped around his wrists and ankles, restraining him. He frowned and tried to pull on the chains, but they were tightly pinned to whatever he was laying on. A cold surface that stuck to his bare skin.

Oh, he was also naked, for some reason.

He didn't remember getting naked, though.

"Ah! Diamanes, this idiot is awake!" Nelg suddenly shouted, shocked.

'Oh shit! Fuck, uh, Glenn don't move!' Diamanes hurriedly said, trying to remain calm. Glenn's eyebrows creased deeper and he couldn't stop himself from speaking aloud.

"...What the hell are you guys on? Why am I naked?" He blurted out, pulling on his chains a little more frantically. They rattled unpleasantly, grating against a metal surface.

Ah, that probably was what he was lying on. Some kind of metal bed/table? He couldn't tell, the bright light was still aimed at his eyes and blinding him.

"...What? Hey, you, go fetch me the Scripture, please," An older, female voice suddenly said, confused.

"Ah! Of course, give me a second..." A second female voice, younger, replied with an equally surprised tone. Glenn sighed and closed his eyes, before moistening his lips. He didn't like these chains, but it didn't make him panic like it used to after his Thorn's Cult Prison problem. Could he just take them off? Maybe with some magic—

'Damn it, Glenn, I told you not to move!' Diamanes shouted in his mind, forcing him still. Glenn pressed his lips together and leaned back on the metal table patiently.

'...Can one of you explain to me what's going on? Where the hell am I?' He asked the two entities living inside his mind. Diamanes and Nelg hesitated until the one living in his left hand decided to speak up.

'So, uh, you collapsed after getting out of the isolated space. Thanks to Nelg, we still had a way to watch the outside world after your loss of consciousness.'

'The mage holding the isolated space didn't waste a second, thank the Gods, and took you to the medical tent. There, the Head Priestess of Onnea recognized traces of...'

Diamanes struggled and paused, leaving Nelg to complete what he couldn't say.

"Corruption. They found Corruption in your wound, and many hints that you were going to follow in Josh's footsteps. And since you're a tad stronger than the once Pale Son, they were quite worried, and we were too!"

Glenn frowned. Traces of Corruption? What did it mean? Wasn't Corruption something that happened after a Mage or Knight lost control over their minds and power? But it could be seen physically? This was quite confusing.

'Just explain to me what it means. What..."traces" did they find?' Glenn questioned, struggling to understand.

"Well, uh, your left arm began squirming and shining with purple light, but I'm pretty sure it's Diamanes' fault—"

'No, that's not my fault!' Diamanes protested, interrupting Nelg. He groaned, struggling to find his words. Glenn almost wanted to laugh at the sight; it wasn't often that he could see Diamanes speechless.

'Rah, this is just a bad reaction! Incompatibility! You can't mix up Windows with Apple, damn it! Oil and water!' Diamanes hurriedly explained, trying to find the best way to express what he meant. This time, Glenn couldn't hold it in and chuckled aloud.

"Uh, Sister, I don't think he—" The young female voice spoke up hesitantly, before being silenced by the older one.

"Shut it! It's unusual, sure, but keep your guard up! We need to make sure to hit him right in the transformation phase, or he'll just grow stronger!"

Glenn smacked his lips together and tried to turn his head to the side, where the voices came from, but something held him in place and made the motion impossible.

"Alright, this joke has lasted long enough," He muttered, before raising his voice, "...but I am not comfortable on this thing. Who wants to hit on me while I'm naked? I didn't consent to anything!" yelled the young man, earning a few surprised gasps.

"You fool!" The older voice hissed, "We're trying to check if you're Corrupted or not! Don't make it harder on yourself!"

Glenn sighed and tried to adjust his position to be more comfortable.

"Can I at least get a pillow or something? And something to cover my groin? I'd like to conserve whatever dignity I have left—" A female voice he hadn't recognized earlier suddenly spoke up.

"Damn it, Glenn, this isn't a game!"

Glenn frowned, before smiling.

"Milena? What are you doing here? I never thought you were into these kinds of stuff. I mean, I'm not against some nice little bondage, but still, this is all..." he grimaced, "...all too bright for me. What even is this light?"

Milena choked on her saliva, coughing in embarrassment. The older voice sighed while the younger one laughed softly. Glenn's smile grew wider and he suddenly made a surprised expression.

"Wait, does that mean three women are watching me naked right now? But I was pretty sure this story was against harems—" Something was shoved in his mouth, stopping him from talking.

"Just be silent for now." The older woman's voice groaned, right until a piece of fabric was placed over his family jewels, hiding them from plain sight. Glenn would have thanked them, but with the...thing in his mouth, hopefully, a gag and not something weird, he couldn't.

'I am pretty sure I could just get out of here with magic—'

"Get this idea out of your head, Glenn!" Nelg suddenly interrupted him, frantic. Why was everyone interrupting him today? And why did it feel so at peace despite the horrible dream, and the thing with Josh?

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

'Yeah, why do I feel so good? Wait, no, Nelg, resume what you were explaining earlier. Any clue what they're doing?' He asked, starting to get a little impatient. After all, he had managed to get something to cover his groin, but no pillow to make the wait less annoying...Hmm, perhaps he could use Gravity Manipulation to float above the metal table, just so he didn't need to touch this idiotic metal table?

Diamanes sighed.

'Are you just so eager to die? Just...please wait a bit, your brain is still a little scrambled from the Corruption. It should get better in a few minutes...'

Glenn wanted to shake his head in confusion, but couldn't. He was about to reply when Nelg resumed his explanations, as he had asked of him.

"So, uh, to come back to what I was saying, the Head Priestess saw that you were Corrupted. There were other traces, besides your left arm going sicko mode. Your shoulder was getting eaten in real-time by that shadow you saw before collapsing. When the Head Priestess saw that she asked the Magi Brotherhood to put a magical ward, which they blessed with divine magic I think, and now has been waiting with Milena and another priestess for you to wake up. The Corrupted Ones are at their weakest when they're about to transform into their Corrupted forms, so she couldn't attack you before, in fear of destabilizing you. Did I get everything right, Diamanes?" Nelg gasped, short of breath. Diamanes grunted, probably agreeing with everything that Nelg just said.

Glenn chewed on the gag pensively. So he almost became a monster like Josh?

That was close.

Wait.

Why wasn't he more affected than that? It just all felt so...normal. Did he become jaded from almost dying so many times?

At some point, you do get used to it. No, you probably don't, and he probably was just weird. Yeah, that explanation made more sense. Anyway.

'So I almost died. But hey, I think I fought off my traumas and won!'

Diamanes groaned in incomprehension.

'What do you mean?' He paused, and suddenly gasped in realization, 'Wait, I think I get it. That's why you didn't transform into a Corrupted in the end!'

Glenn rolled his eyes in their sockets.

'Explain, please...'

Diamanes rattled his throat and explained excitedly.

'When you're facing Corruption, you have to fight against your fears and traumas. Generally, you don't win. Shit, I think in Earth's cultivation novels, they called it fighting the inner demons?'

Glenn chuckled through the rag, causing a few grunts of confusion around him. There seemed to be more and more people agitated around his metal table. But for now, he was simply going to stay patient and wait, exactly like the Head Priestess demanded.

'So, uhm, did I transcend or something? Did I get something else than a nice catharsis?'

Diamanes didn't reply, and neither did Nelg. Glenn breathed out from his nose loudly and almost laughed when he heard the sound of swords unsheathing. Haha, that was fun to mock them this way. He wasn't going to transform anyway, why would they bother him with all this stuff?

Safety seemed like a pretty reasonable explanation. Oh, things started to make more sense, indeed. Shit, did he flirt with three women who were watching him in all his naked glory?

...Well, what was done was done. He really shouldn't be moving right now.

'My thoughts are all jumbled up, it's a little confusing, I'll be honest,' admitted Glenn, struggling to come up with logical thoughts.

'I told you, your brain has been affected by the Corruption. Also, I think this wasn't a natural one. This shadow that ate your shoulder previously is gone, but I'm pretty sure that's what caused your Corruption,' Diamanes guessed. Glenn nodded slowly, as much as his restraints allowed him to anyway. That did make a little sense, for he didn't even have the time to get sad that he lost consciousness and fell into the hell hole of his traumas and bad memories. Strangely, when he thought back to them, it didn't do anything to him. He just felt disgust and sadness, but no fear, no worry, nothing like that.

The gag stopping him from talking was suddenly pulled out, letting Glenn take a deep breath of fresh air. It wasn't very fresh, actually, with a thick scent of blood and filth.

"Ah, thank you, kind sir...lady? I don't know, I'm still blind, for some reason," He laughed, relaxed. No one replied to him, and the blinding light suddenly disappeared. Glenn blinked a few times, readjusting to be able to see once again. At the same time, someone unlocked the restraints on his forehead, his wrists, and his ankles, completely freeing him.

Glenn grunted and pushed himself up, rubbing off the blindness in his eyes. He felt sore all over, but besides that, he felt okay. He looked at his shoulder and found it completely healed. That made sense; a priest or priestess of Onnea had probably healed that.

"Each day is another crazy day, I swear..." he muttered, suddenly feeling a pang of pain in his heart. He grimaced and closed his eyes, thinking back to Josh. The friendly Pale Son had also been affected by the shadow-thingy. Perhaps it was also the cause of Josh's Corruption? He'll have to look into that more closely. He tried to summon his Soulbound suit, but nothing appeared. Glenn felt a shiver down his back and tried to summon it again, searching for the familiar link that made him able to literally suit up in a second.

"Hey, what happened to my suit?" He asked softly, more intended for Diamanes and Nelg than for anyone else. Nonetheless, someone else answered.

"I'd like to apologize, but I can't, for it was my duty to burn off all Corrupted matter," The older woman's voice spoke dryly, annoyed. Glenn blinked and looked up, finding an...an armored grandma? Giselle but with pale skin and armor? The young man rubbed his eyes and the illusion wore off. The only thing the grandma shared with Giselle was her massive, muscular build, which was hidden under a thick paladin armor. Wasn't she a Head Priestess though?

...Well, nothing stopped her from being a Paladin and a Priestess, right? She had a few wrinkles and white short hair, but besides that, Glenn would give her maybe...sixty? Anyway, the Head Priestess seemed pissed. Very much so.

Nonetheless, Glenn was also a little annoyed. What—what did she mean by "burn off all Corrupted matter"?

"Did you burn my super-expensive-soulbounded-combat suit?" Glenn asked in slight disbelief. The Head Priestess flinched and gritted her teeth, before nodding.

"This was protocol. The responsibility is on you for failing to avoid contagion," she paused, before adding spitefully, "...kid."

Glenn's eyelids trembled and he smiled slowly. Ah, so respect was also off the table, then? No problem.

"Alright grandma, so, you checked me out naked for free, which, well, considering the circumstances, is fine," He paused and drew a deep breath, ignoring the Head Priestess opening her mouth to reply, "...But, I have no interest in fossils who don't respect the younger generations when they just avoided death or a fate worse than death."

The Head Priestess's face flushed red in anger and she went for her sword sheathed at her waist when a few people Glenn hadn't noticed came to stop her. Two young women that he did recognize, surprisingly, grabbed each of her arms, stopping her. The first was Milena, who seemed very worried and also very embarrassed, for all the good reasons, and the second was Astrid! The priestess he had met some time ago, and who should have remained behind in Palancar to help with the reconstruction efforts.

"Oh, hello Miss Di Forte? How are you doing?" He smiled widely, ignoring the fuming old woman. Astrid Di Forte forced a smile out as she struggled to keep her Head Priestess from trying to behead him.

"Well, same old, same old. As you can see, I'm—hmf!" She grunted and looked to the side for help, a paladin stepping up and sighing as he took her place to restrain the angry Head Priestess.

"Thank you, Alabaster. As I was saying, I'm busy, as always. Thanks to you, again," Astrid sighed tiredly. Glenn laughed and stretched, getting rid of the last sore patches in his back.

"Well, at least you got to take some enjoyment out of it," he blinked at her with a knowing smile before looking down at his naked body, except for the loincloth now covering his groin. She smiled back at him and replied without a second of hesitation.

"Sadly, I couldn't see anything."

Glenn's heart missed a beat and he paled, beaten. Nelg gasped, shocked.

"That's a critical hit right there. Holy crap."

Diamanes laughed loudly, stunned.

'She's a savage! A savage!'

The young man struggled to catch his breath and shook the embarrassment off.

"Well, too bad, I'm sure you would have found something to your liking, even though I doubt you're much of a connoisseur," Glenn countered, grinning back once again. This time, it was Astrid's turn to blush and look away. Milena looked between the two of them, disconcerted, before shaking her head.

"Glenn, could you just help with—ah!" The grandma suddenly managed to escape from Milena's hold and tried to punch Glenn's head out. The young man hurriedly ducked under the hit and rolled down the steel table. He slipped under the massive, armored legs of the Head Priestess, and grinned as he grabbed her cape and hurriedly ripped it off to use as a makeshift loincloth. He turned back toward an even more shocked Old Head Priestess and bowed slightly, grinning.

"Anyway, thank you, old lady! If you're finished threatening me, I shall be on my way to drink all of my problems away. Astrid, Alabaster," He nodded respectfully to the both of them, Alabaster being Astrid's guard paladin, and ran away, the cape wrapped around his waist. Milena sighed and ran after him as he laughed his way out, ignoring the roar of rage from the old lady. He didn't even get her name, but why should he care?

Josh was dead, and he killed him. This realization, once again, punched him right in the gut. This was a terrible feeling. He could only hope this wouldn't happen again to anyone he knew. He wasn't that close with Josh, but what if it happened to Sahro? To Redan? He'll have to talk to Milena at some point about that. Javier too. Even though that discussion was probably going to be a bit weird, with just him talking and all that.

This felt horrible.

But—! Alcohol would certainly solve this problem for today!

An exception wasn't going to hurt, was it?

Too bad Sahro wasn't here.

Oh well.