◈Episode 64: If there is a God (7)
The purification of the priest, who even had the title of warrior, was straightforward. The black liquid evaporated like a fire in the pouring golden waves.
It was an unpleasant yet sacred sight.
“Wow, this is my second time seeing that, and it’s still spectacular. But somehow it came at just the right time.”
Aside from what Dev said, I don’t know how they got here.
No, whatever. There may be funds to buy a boat, but it is not a route that requires special talent like Yongulmun. It’s not a place we can’t come to, but…
to find out where we are, we have to go to Jakrati and investigate. Additionally, the Yabad region seems to hate religious denominations very much.
This is where my doubts originated. How did they overcome all that hostility to find out our location and find us?
“….”
As I was robbing the pirates’ residence, I secretly looked for signs of the Wind Hand near me. The expression on his face was extremely distraught as he had just grabbed a priest by the collar and was finally pulled away. More precisely, it came and went.
It felt like he was going to strangle the priests at any moment, but at the same time, I felt the patience to endure it because he received help.
“It’s terrible.”
On the other hand, adventurers who had no affiliation with the church focused on other things. These were the corpses of pirates who had died after being swept away by the black liquid before the Inquisitor arrived.
“This… what kind of curse is this?”
“A curse that turns your body black?”
“Even if I apply charcoal powder, it won’t look like this.”
They talked about it as they stabbed the pitch-black corpse with their weapons. From a perspective that knew what it was—it looked like the Black Death, right?—it was a somewhat creepy act.
It’s just as dangerous for me to be on this street, but isn’t it even more dangerous to come into contact like that…?
Do you think it’s okay because the wizards say they have research materials and are collecting this and that?
“It’s the curse of the plague. “Based on the symptoms, it looks like the Black Death.”
Fortunately, the Archmage slowly approached us and spread his knowledge to the adventurers. The adventurers jumped up and down in shock at the mention of the Black Death.
“Yes?!”
“Luckily it doesn’t seem to be a curse that causes people to be sacrificed alive… but it’s a problem. “I broke the bottle and the curse spread.”
“What about sacrificing people alive…”
“If it was the Black Death in the first place, shouldn’t it be here?”
“That’s okay. “Aren’t the priests here?”
The Archmage shrugged his shoulders. What follows is something that makes me slightly furrow my eyebrows.
“Since the Inquisitor has purged it on a large scale, there is little chance of infection. Even if you get infected, all you have to do is get baptized for purification.”
I’ve thought about it before… but it was a very convenient world.
In one world, 20 million people died because they had to deal with hygiene and pure medicine alone. The same goes for witch hunts, which just randomly killed people without clear standards.
“Still, it’s scary…”
But that doesn’t mean I’m jealous of this place.
Even if there were alternatives such as magic and divine power, the technology was too low. Awareness of human rights is at a low level, so there are many parts that are frowned upon by modern sensibilities.
I also like my original world. Not here.
“well. I’m more afraid of the very existence of this thing. For now, it’s a shame that it’s being used in a pirate’s castle, but what would happen if it were used in a big city? “What about the zombie infection that spread so quickly?”
“…I see.”
“I’ve never heard of curses and things like this existing… so maybe they were developed in this land. It’s a deplorable day. “Does that guy know what he did?”
Meanwhile, the Archmage continued to click his tongue. It was worth it just to hear the content.
“Well, if I had known that, I wouldn’t have helped corrupt the dragon.”
“yes?!?!?”
“Ah, you don’t know. It turns out that the dragon’s corruption was the work of devil worshippers. After tracking it, we also found out that it started in the Yabad region.”
That makes sense, but was the reason the dragon became corrupted a chain reaction of what was happening here?? For some reason, the scale was too big for a side quest like the dragon or Yabad region. Was this actually a story?
“Considering that the entire island of Montata was taken over by someone who joined hands with a devil worshiper… I think that the ritual of injustice was carried out by using the people of this island as sacrifices. Of course, it’s still just speculation.”
At that point, it is not considered a guess but rather a confirmation. Even my old gamer, Jjambap, was shouting that that was right.
Everyone present was distraught.
“hey.”
Meanwhile, the wind hand opened its mouth. It was the first sentence without swear words since the emergence of the magic tower wizards led by the Archmage and the priesthood of the church led by the Inquisitor.
Ah, now that I think about it, isn’t it the first time? Even when I gave the order to catch the pirates who were running away earlier, there was no swearing.
Among the people I captured, except for those who seemed to be of high rank, none of them were even told to be rude.
“I think it’s time to talk. I understand very well that the incident has become so big. But how and by what qualifications did you guys come here?”
You’ve gone too far into editorial.
Back on track, I looked at the letters and plans in the pirate’s abode and focused on the conversation between Windhand and the Archmage.
Even though I couldn’t intervene, the atmosphere wasn’t unusual. If you’re not careful, you might see Wind Hand stabbing the Archmage in the stomach.
“It’s not good…”
Look, isn’t even Dev doing that?
“Somehow, the Inquisitor helped me with that part.”
“…!”
“And the qualifications part….”
“No way, you bastard—!”
“Did you call me?”
Even the Archmage’s remarks were so ambiguous that the Inquisitor even intervened at the worst possible time.
Baramson’s eyes widened as he guessed the situation.
Well done.
It was in the next moment that the cloth decoration on the Inquisitor’s chainmail was firmly grasped in Windhand’s hand and he was grabbed by the collar.
“…?”
“What did you do when you came to this land?”
“yes?”
“What have you done to my city!”
“City… Are you a horse person? “Nothing was done except conversation.”
Meanwhile, the Inquisitor answered absentmindedly. Regardless of the back and forth between speaking informally and being polite, Dev didn’t exactly notice the carefree tone of his speech, so he ‘snapped’ and pointed at my face.
Surprisingly, the priests just looked in this direction and did not seem to want to step forward. The wizards are excited to see something good to see.
“lie! “There’s no way they would have just talked to you!”
“I said it was definitely like that. “Most of them stubbornly refused to talk.”
Ah, the hearty kimchi dumplings. I firmly agree with that.
“Then really—!”
“now! Calm down, Baramson!”
Was the Wind Hand about to explode due to the Inquisitor’s poor speech? Dev rushed out and stopped Baramson.
“Let go of this! “Get that bastard out now!”
“Oh my gosh, hold your head properly. “How could you have done something like that!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Your mouth is…!”
Haha, this is shit.
Even though I was thinking that, I didn’t stop looking for something. After some searching, I found something that could be called a map.
「❖ Fang aimed at Jakrati
∎ Find the new base of Vipurit’s gang
∎ Move to the living quarters marked on the map
∎ Bonus: Kill Vipurit」
Destroying the base and eliminating pirates were updated and disappeared a long time ago, and missions that appeared after that were also erased by discovering the map. lost. Instead, what was newly established was the movement mission.
I turned around holding the map. The situation that I had only known through sound finally became visible. It was more of a mess than it sounded.
“Calm down.”
“I look real now—!”
“The situation you think did not happen. “I can swear.”
“…!”
Fortunately, the Archmage’s strong words stopped the Wind Hand from raging. The same was true for the sailors who were uncertain about whether to go out or not.
“None of Jakrati’s citizens were injured. The same goes for material damage.”
“…Then how did you get here?”
“We just had a conversation.”
“lie. “There is no one to talk to the Church of Jacratier!”
“That is true. Everyone avoided talking to us. “This applies to ships that came to see us at sea and to cities that we had difficulty arriving at.”
“Then how on earth—!”
“But we still talked. “It just happened that way.”
The Archmage stroked her staff carefully.
“If we take up arms because dialogue is not working, isn’t it just a repetition of the past?”
Windson’s body shook.
“What right do you guys have to say something like that!”
It’s not that I can’t sense the sound at all, but since I don’t know the exact situation, I can’t really feel the anger of the wind hand.
In fact, even if it touches you, there is a higher chance of turning away because of the concept, but anyway.
I moved my hand holding the map and pulled out my sword.
If only the Archmage and the Windhand could solve the problem, there was nothing they could do as the sailors also raised their swords. To make matters worse, they were even blocking the direction I needed to go!
Quang!
So I cut the floor with the sword I had dug out. The stone floor right in front of the wind hand that Dev was holding on to was torn apart.
“…!”
Silence fell in the hall.
“Whether I settle my grudges or what I do is none of my business. But if you interfere with me, I will cut down everything.”
In the midst of it all, I was the only one who spoke dryly. Wherever my gaze landed, expressions became disheveled. This was mainly done by people from Jakrati.
The temple is closer to gritting one’s teeth rather than becoming disheveled.
“They! “They massacred the people of this land 40 years ago!”
And finally, the wind hand shouted as if struggling.
“Those who have become zombies, those who have not yet become zombies, and those who will never become zombies, all! “They are crazy murderers who burned the whole thing down!”
The voice, scratched by the bitter sea breeze, tasted crumbly and salty.
“But how can you tolerate them!”
Ha fuck.
As soon as I understood Windson’s words, I cursed in my mind. That was all that came out. It was such a shitty situation.
“It’s okay if it’s on the mainland. But not this land! What right do they have to step on this land? Now the wounds they inflicted have finally disappeared and new sprouts have sprouted, and the smell of ash from that day has finally been erased! “By what qualifications!”
No, I expected it to some extent when the word massacre came out and the hostility towards the religious denomination was unusual… but it felt really good to hear it confirmed with my own ears…
And 40 years ago means a little over a generation ago. . This is this….
Ugh. I don’t know. I can’t take sides here. It is true that it is good to have help from priests, but how can we tell the victims to tolerate the group that committed massacres?
I can’t do it! I am the most unqualified here!! I’m number 3!!
“So what?”
I asked the concept out loud, tears streaming down my face.
I thought I was glad that the answer was determined by concept, but I felt like I was doing something so bad that I just wanted to pass out.
It was even more so because we had a similar history as Koreans. If I were in Baramson’s position, I would have already filed a complaint.
“what?”
“If you want to kill, kill. “I never asked you to tolerate it.”
“…!”
No, no, thank goodness for the concept! The answer is complete rubbish! Ugh.
“Or do you not know the form of revenge?”
Even so, the concept had to continue….
“If you don’t know, tear their flesh, break their bones, and rip out their hearts. “Find all those involved, cut off their heads, and trample on their heads.”
I cried and approached Baramson one step at a time, feeling like I was eating mustard.
I had to lower my head slightly to make eye contact with him who was shorter than me at close range.
“That is revenge.”
The bright red madness I was pretending to be was vomited out as if I was possessed.
“But if you don’t have the courage, don’t interfere with my revenge.”
Ahhh. sorry. I’m sorry that I took the concept as a character breakdown.
But even if it wasn’t for my personality breakdown, I don’t think I would have had anything to say. How can you carelessly talk about such a sensitive issue?
Even now the situation is like this!! People are dying at such an alarming rate that it’s too much for the perpetrators to go away!!
“….”
I left the silent wind hand and walked away. It really broke my heart, but I couldn’t pick up what I had already said.
The sailors on my way quietly moved aside.
“Hey devil knight.”
It’s been a while. When my steps left the mountain village and reached the top cliff of the hill, the hand of the wind left my lips.
The voice was small, but I could hear it to some extent because my son-in-law was very quiet and my hearing was excellent.
“What did you lose to the devil?”
Above all, because of the content.
“You have at least left your hometown.”
I put my hand on my conscience and gave this answer properly.
If you ask me if this is correct, it’s not true…but it’s still better than ‘I don’t know’.
If it was original, it should have been done that way. Still, out of the utmost kindness, they increased it to 11 characters.
Instead, I will now have to watch my back in return, but that will work out somehow.
Even if it isn’t, I believe it will be so. Otherwise, it’s just a back-and-forth ending. Hehehe.
* * *
“You at least left your hometown.”
The wind hand lowered its head to the sound of dry rain. A feeling of kinship that seemed heavy and unpleasant, but was truly clear, sizzled in my throat.
Or something like pity or pity that I dare to bring up.
“Captain…”
“Damn it…”
Just like the devil knight said, I want to tear their flesh, break their bones, and rip out their hearts. I want to kick out of this land the people who killed his father, burned his neighbors, and ruined his entire childhood.
But but….
“Fuck it!”
What the demon knight said is correct.
He had at least his hometown left. He at least had a hometown. I had a hometown.
There is still his hometown, his city, and the world he loves.
If things continue like this, his love may become dangerous…
“…Answer me.”
iced coffee. How great it would be if we could say that it’s okay because there’s a demon knight, and even if there’s no religious order, his sword strike will bring down Vipurit’s gang.
But Baramson was not foolish.
Demon Knights can be the force that will lead the war to victory, but they cannot be the protagonists of all battles taking place simultaneously.
“Did you really come here just to talk?”
So it was. That’s why…
he swallowed his anger and ended up asking.
“That’s right.”
“They really gave permission?”
“You mean this?”
“how? “How did you get permission?”
“…I worked hard to persuade them with arguments and opinions.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“It’s never a joke.”
Windson looked at the religious person who was talking damn things.
Even like a dog, his eyes were so straight. The eyes resembled someone he loved.
“There is no basis for the church to take action in this matter. So these are claims and opinions.”
The woman who saved the children and people of that city, who had lost everything, had those eyes.
“And the people at Zakrati listened to my stubbornness.”
Ah, mother.
I still can’t escape those days. Even now that you saved me, took me in, and raised me, I can’t let go of that past.
“You decided to give us one chance.”
But there is no need to escape. yes?
“So please, please.”
Even if you don’t forgive, you can still give it a chance, right?
“Give us one chance.”
Because I can’t possibly lose you either.
“Please give me a chance not to commit a crime this time.”
Is that why you gave permission too…?
“We will not forgive you.”
He swallowed back tears. The feeling of wanting to tear them to death right away cried out in my heart.
“I will never forgive you.”
but.
“…So this is the last time.”
Because Jakrati is more important than revenge. The 40 years of life I have built since then are more precious than the 13 years of resentment that were completely blown away.
The land where his brothers and his mother raised him…is so precious to him.
“Kill those bastards with that damn strength.”
He eventually decided to give it a chance.
“Kill me and please save this land….”
It was the nature of all pirates to do anything to protect their treasure.