101. Did You Get Permission?

It was a kind of madness.

“I offer myself.”
“I sacrifice myself.”

There weren’t just one or two people trying to kill themselves.

Hundreds had gathered before the Altar of Offering prepared in the submerged land, each desperately wishing to die first.

“Move aside! Wait your turn!”
“This is my first time! Me first. Let me die first!”

The sight of them shoving and trampling over each other in their frenzy to throw themselves to death was something no sane person could bear to watch.

‘These fucking lunatics.’

They could throw their lives away so easily because they thought they’d be resurrected. Would they still be so eager if they knew this death was permanent? Of course not.

Worthless vermin who don’t value their lives. Cursing the heretics in my mind, I stuffed the corpses into my inventory.

“Over here…”

Soon, Paramelle arrived pulling a cart and dumped a pile of corpses in front of me.

Another round of repetitive work began. For the past five hours, I’d been cramming hundreds of heretics into my inventory.

‘The smell of blood is making my nose hurt.’

My nose was starting to go numb.

After five straight hours of nonstop corpse duty without a break, nausea was rising in my throat.

I guess I was hitting my mental limit. The deaths of the heretics didn’t bother me anymore, but the stench of blood and decay they emitted was making me dizzy.

This must have been the trigger.

Amidst the pervasive death, my Spirit Eye activated on its own.

–Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

What the Spirit Eye showed me was a blind swordsman.

He was rampaging among the heretics, swinging his sword wildly.

Of course, as a spirit, he couldn’t harm the heretics at all, but he kept slashing away furiously. As if venting his rage. As if pouring out his grievances.

‘A dead adventurer, huh.’

I subtly called out to him.

The swordsman, noticing my gaze, staggered over and shoved his face close to mine.

–You… can see me…? You damned heretic…

He swung his sword at me.

Naturally, his attack, lacking any physical force, passed through me harmlessly.

The swordsman’s blade cut futilely through the air. Undeterred, he kept trying to attack me.

His movements revealed an unyielding determination.

This guy might actually be useful. As I stuffed corpses into my inventory, I whispered to the swordsman’s soul.

“You. Don’t you want to get out of here?”

I asked him.

Don’t you want to leave?

–I can… leave?

“Make a contract with me. Do as I say, and I’ll grant you ascension. Or if you prefer… you can even be resurrected.”

If I expel the heretic’s soul and hand the body over to him, wouldn’t that be practically the same as resurrection?

It would be impossible without a Soul Chain. But I have one.

Using my Soul Chain to evict the original owner of a body and then giving that body to those willing to become slaves-

‘It’s basically resurrection. A second chance at life.’

The warrior’s soul trembled at my offer.

“I’ll let you take over one of these bodies. In return, you’ll obey my orders for the next ten years. Do we have a deal?”

–Really… really? I can… live again? But my body… it’s already destroyed…

“I’m not bringing your original body back. If you’re willing to steal someone else’s body and serve under me for ten years, then we have a deal.”

The blind swordsman grinned widely.

He laughed like a man who’d found extreme happiness, then clutched his face and began to rave.

–Yes. Yes! YES!!! I’ll take your deal! Ten years. I can endure that. If I can just live again… Mother. I can see my mother again…!!! YES!!! Let’s do it!!!

I swung my Soul Chain and bound the warrior’s spirit.

My chain coiled around his soul. Now he was my slave. The contract was sealed.

All that remained was finding a body for the swordsman.

I’d prefer to use one of the heretics’ bodies. Why? Because they’re free. Considering slave prices, repurposing heretics is the best option.

But for that, I needed the Saintess’s permission.

I approached the Saintess, who was happily beheading heretics with a smile.

“Excuse me. Executioner-nim.”

“Hmm? What is it, Sub-priest?”

“Could you come over here for a moment? There’s something urgent I need to discuss.”

“Hmmm. Alright.”

After handing off her duties to Rozie, the Saintess followed me to the back of the altar.

“Listen, can I take one more for our side?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I just made contact with an adventurer wandering the Nine Heavens. If we give him a heretic’s body, he’ll work for us. He’ll be a great asset.”

“You want to pick one of them and give him a body?”

“Yes. I plan to have him guard the Central Section. Since we can’t use monster bodies because of the Vine Beans planted there, a heretic’s body would be perfect.”

“Oho. Are you sure about this? Sparing a heretic… I already feel guilty enough with just one Apostle. The thought of sparing another heretic makes my hands tremble. Look! They’re shaking!”

“No, Saintess-nim. I’ll be extracting the soul anyway, so it’s fine. I can even torture the extracted soul separately. Since we’re extracting the soul to inflict suffering and using the leftover body for public good, wouldn’t the Goddess consider this another method of saving lives? A measure to minimize harm to innocent people.”

“Ohh. Salvation, you say.”

“If you let me keep one with a good physique, I’ll put it to good use for the public.”

“Wait. What exactly happens to the extracted soul?”

“It’ll go to the Goddess, of course. Why even ask?”

“…Hmm. The tainted soul goes to the Goddess, and the leftover body goes to a virtuous adventurer. That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Right? We can make the most of them. Call it ‘heretic recycling.’ It’ll be a great boon for the city’s development and the labyrinth’s stability.”

“Hold on, what if this keeps growing, one by one…”

“If needed, we’ll expand. No, Saintess-nim. This is a major public works project. Make the labyrinth more accessible to increase adventurer traffic. Then, when clueless adventurers die, hand them over to the Church for resurrection. Spread the Goddess’s teachings. Two birds with one stone, see? And if you just give me permission for this, I’ll even erect a statue of the Goddess in the Central Section.”

“A statue of the Goddess? That’s… possible?”

“Why not? I have a Spatial Pouch. I can transport all the materials. We can have the laborers-made from heretic bodies-build it. The virtuous adventurers I’ve contracted with my ability are, amazingly, ready to serve the public as per our agreement. They’ll stay in the labyrinth 24/7 to manage things.”

“That’s… basically slavery, isn’t it?”

“Slavery? It’s fundamentally different from slaves who can’t escape their masters. They’ll be freed once they fulfill their contract.”

“How long is the contract period?”

“Ten years. Ten years of service, at minimum.”

“That’s… slavery…”

“Ah, Saintess-nim. Must you be so nitpicky? This is a subterranean city development project. If I include your name, you might even get a book written about you later. ‘The Great Saintess Fria, Who Made the Underground City a Safe Zone.’ Something like that.”

“…You. You’re quite the merchant, aren’t you?”

“It’s for the public good. Use your Lie Detection if you want. See if I’m lying.”

“Hoh. I’ve been using it since earlier.”

“I knew you were. Well? Am I lying? I’m working tirelessly for the public good. Are you really going to keep objecting? This is the best solution for the greater good.”

“…You’re a madman. A madman using the shield of public good to execute demonic ideas.”

“So what? You’re insane too. You were laughing while killing people, weren’t you? How are you any different from me? We’re both working for the public good. Don’t act like you’re the sane one here.”

“Amusing. You’ve changed so much since I first met you. Your eyes are full of venom. Have you gone mad? The labyrinth is the perfect place for it.”

“Watching you people would drive even a saint to madness.”

The way they took such joy in slaughtering people.

My mind was utterly exhausted now.

It’s all your fault. I’ve been corrupted by that insane Inquisitor and this madwoman.

“Watching you change like this… gives me an indescribable satisfaction. It’s like watching a child grow. Hehehe. Is this maternal love? A very… intriguing emotion.”

“Please don’t feel maternal love for me. It’s creepy.”

“Hahahaha! Fine. I like you. No one can stop you from taking a few heretics for your use. Permission granted. Take as many as you want. For the public good.”

“Really? No take-backs.”

“Yes, yes. Do as you please. Though I’m not sure how many you plan to take.”

Hell yeah! Permission granted.

This is it. Time to go wild.

I pulled out a Spirit Summoning Scroll from my Spatial Pouch.

Let’s recruit some slaves in style.