episode_0136

“Ri, An-nim?”

“Surely the god that Eunin believes in…?”

Before they knew it, Pia had transformed from a witch into an Eunin. The two children spoke with slightly excited voices.

“The blood just kept flowing from Tente’s belly… It wouldn’t stop. And his body was getting colder and colder…”

“Yeah, it was so painful. But suddenly, the pain stopped, and I thought it was a relief… but then…”

At the words that tore at their parents’ hearts, not to mention the villagers, shock was evident on everyone’s faces. The scenes the children had experienced were depicted vividly to the point of being surreal, all thanks to the comedy filter.

“I thought it was good that the pain was gone… but then An-nim suddenly approached me, grabbed me, and pulled me up to the surface!”

“Oh! That’s when you were brought back! And then he drew out the sword, but the wound disappeared instantly! Look!”

As Anie lifted Tente’s shirt, only faint traces of blood remained on his smooth belly. It felt like a lie that a sword had been thrust here… but due to the vivid scene etched in their minds, the children’s words could only be seen as the truth.

“Such a miracle…”

“Could it really be that the god -…”

Bubble bubble.

In that moment when the atmosphere became tense.

Creak.

The door behind the stairs leading to the old man’s room slowly opened. The villagers, who had been captivated by the unbelievable stories of the children, immediately snapped back to reality.

“Could it be that the damn bastard who kidnapped the children has returned?”

“But he was supposed to be dead…”

“Maybe it’s a ghost come back for revenge!”

With faces full of vigilance, not only towards the children but also towards Pia, Nest organization’s children, the villagers stepped forward, raising farming tools as if they were weapons.

Amidst a tense atmosphere where even the sound of a falling needle could be heard.

Tap tap.

The familiar sound of wooden clogs echoed. It was the sound coming from the shoes worn mainly by the priests who worshiped the gods. As the villagers’ wariness surged, the white moonlight pouring in through the temple window illuminated the figure crossing over the threshold.

“Ugh…”

*Sigh…!*

Under the brightly shining moonlight, strands of hair whiter than snow gently swayed. Like the eyes of a beast, there was a subtle, mesmerizing power emanating from the golden eyes that shone faintly even in the darkness.

Beneath that, the elaborate priestly robe embroidered with golden threads on pure white fabric looked as if it belonged in a painting.

Wouldn’t a messenger of the gods in a myth look like this?

Without missing a beat, every single villager gazed spellbound at Lian.

“Pia.”

“Ah…”

When Lian called Pia in a soft voice, someone let out a groan-like sound. Beneath the seemingly grateful demeanor towards the benevolent being, there brewed intense jealousy and envy. It was jealousy directed towards the human chosen by the great entity.

Contrary to this atmosphere, Lian was sweating profusely inwardly.

“It’s… fine, right?”

Surveying the atmosphere around him, Lian recalled the events that had just taken place.

The child stabbed with a knife, the fallen maiden, the man fleeing with a sinister dark sword.

Just by looking at the unfolded information, it was clear -… if he ran away now, he could be falsely accused of being the criminal who stabbed the child with a knife.

In the world of comedy, when a crime occurs, the last fool left at the scene or the first one to flee is often pinned as the culprit. If there are no witnesses, the fool becomes the criminal; if there are witnesses, the fugitive becomes the criminal.

The situation Lian found himself in right now was clearly the latter.

“At times like this, to avoid being mistaken for the culprit… one must not run away.”

Lian’s reason for not fleeing and instead starting to search through the rooms inside the temple to find a change of clothes was precisely for this purpose. If he quickly found some clothes to wear and then explained, ‘I just went to the restroom for a moment, I didn’t run away!’ he could avoid unjust suspicion.

“To do that, first I need to find some clothes… Oh! Found a wardrobe!”

He swung open the wardrobe occupying one side of the old man’s room. Inside, there was a sacred robe embroidered with golden threads on pure white fabric. It looked so splendid at first glance that he tried to find other clothes, but…

[Hm, it’s an ordinary sacred robe.]

“This is considered ordinary?”

[Yes, usually priests often wear that robe.]

“But the priest I saw before was wearing a darker-toned robe, wasn’t he?”

[Well, I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know. Most of the priests I’ve seen wore robes like that.]

“Is that so?”

Magam was not lying. The robe he had seen was a relic from the past that only a dragon remembered, and the sacred robe embroidered with gold threads was a traditional garment worn only on special occasions.

“No matter what, it’s too flashy.”

Lian rummaged through the wardrobe to find different clothes. Since the old man had planned to change his clothes after slaughtering the children, he had taken his usual sacred robe with him. As a result, he couldn’t find any other sacred robes.

“Ugh… I give up!”

Realizing that if he continued to delay, he wouldn’t have a chance to explain, Lian summoned Magam and put on the pure white sacred robe.

“This… is more splendid than I thought?”

With the added uniqueness of being worn only on special occasions, it was much more dazzling than the previous sacred robe. Unable to take off the clothes immediately, he headed towards the prayer room in that state.

“Ah… seems like I’m misunderstood after all!”

Lian briefly wondered if he should be wary of the villagers’ suspicious looks, but after seeing Pia and the children, he gathered courage.

“I can’t run away just because they find me scary without committing any crime!”

Summoning non-existent courage, he confidently moved forward step by step. Carefully calling out to Pia visible among the villagers, conveying the message, “I am not a bad person.”

The atmosphere surprisingly softened.

“It seems… okay, right?”

As if dismissing unnecessary worries, the villagers warmly welcomed Lian. Words of gratitude poured out like waves, and there were even people shedding tears.

Lian couldn’t be sure how things were unfolding, but it didn’t seem negative, so he simply observed and responded cautiously.

“Ah…♥”

Pia, standing behind Lian with her hands clasped, shivered and let out a soft moan, feeling a thrill.

“That’s right… This is it. This is the right path.”

She felt exhilarated watching Lian being revered as a true deity, reaffirming her purpose.

“I must spread the greatness of Lian to more and more people. And thus, guide more people onto the path of light!”

From that day on, Pia actively began promoting the teachings of Lian. The terrifying miracle called the ‘Gag Filter’ started producing thousands of believers – but that was a story for another time.

***

Going back in time a little, around the time Lian was frantically searching for Pia.

“Oppa…?”

Iris was lost. She had set out to find Pia following Lian but lost track of him midway.

“Where am I?”

She quickly looked around. She stood alone in a dreary corridor made of gray stone walls. Iris stood still, lost in thought.

‘When my brother gets lost… he said to stay still…’

Clearly, the situation wouldn’t be resolved by just standing still. Iris wanted to return to her brother as soon as possible, so she began to move.

In that moment, Iris noticed someone quietly watching her.

“Hehehe… caught you.”

A middle-aged woman with heavy makeup. She was the priestess who had warned Iris after scolding Lian. Sitting on the edge of the bed in a white gown, she crossed her legs.

On the bed where she sat, a handsome man lay asleep, unaware of the world. She eyed him up and down with a lecherous gaze.

‘After I’ve drunk every drop of that girl’s blood, it’ll be perfect to finish the job.’

The man lying in bed was the son of a lumberjack who had recently married a beautiful maiden in the village. She took pleasure in destroying newlywed homes.

Especially when the wife was beautiful, her desire burned even brighter. By using curses to break the man’s spirit and ultimately make him cling to her, she felt more beautiful and charming than the young and beautiful man’s wife, repeating her actions.

Today, she planned to destroy a childhood friend who had been in unrequited love with her since childhood and eventually succeeded in marriage, creating a perfect couple.

‘Tonight will be the best night.’

Thinking that tonight would be the best night to satisfy her shattered pride, the woman exhaled heavily at the thought of ensnaring the man who used to call her ‘Madam.’

And so, the worst night began.