Ch.223Report on the Collapse of Patience (16)

“You are the chosen one. You died because others took what should have been yours. Righteous one, take your revenge. Gather their souls and resurrect the soul of your beloved.”

How furious he became at those words. Truly, if I hadn’t possessed a fragment of the Demon King, I would have been pulverized in that wasteland.

The entire wasteland responded to his anger. Darkness that would never extinguish became his armor, and infinite hatred lent him strength.

Now he is the proxy for all hatred in the wasteland.

But contrary to expectations, even his hatred couldn’t draw the sword.

So what could be done? I had to provide him with an army, prepare mounts, and procure ships.

Above all, he needed to be awakened to his new powers.

So Arius offered himself. He performed dark rituals on a pleasure boat at Pearl Dock and sacrificed innocent people.

When their resentment reached the wasteland, Laios appeared and gathered them. I heard that Arius became the ship itself.

What happened afterward is known to all of you. Laios recovered the Demon King’s souls one by one and reclaimed the sins scattered by those who called themselves heroes.

The priests of the Black Phoenix Faith, unknowingly and faithfully gathered the black sheep of the world, and Laios took them all back to the wasteland, leaving only good sheep in the world.

Laios is a hero. He willingly became darkness to gather the world’s sins. He is truly a child of light and the foremost knight of His Holiness.”

“You people.”

Unable to breathe properly, Kain had to force himself to inhale as if squeezing his chest.

If the person before him hadn’t been Günther, he would have dismissed it all as nonsense, despite everything he had seen and heard.

Knowing there was no way to break the wasteland’s curse, past Popes chose to hide the truth.

But as the world grew increasingly turbid and the wasteland’s hatred grew so large it threatened the world, the Pope chose to distort the truth instead.

They deliberately strengthened the wasteland’s forces before crushing them.

But hatred is invisible. Being invisible and intangible, it cannot be cut down, killed, or severed.

So they “created” a being who could.

The Demon King.

With a Demon King, there was now an evil that everyone could see needed defeating, so people could take up arms against it. And no matter how much its reputation had fallen, the Pope was still the Pope.

Who wouldn’t be stirred by the words “holy war”?

The Order had meticulously prepared everything. They even prepared a mixture of asas grass and fruit as a means to counter the powerful hatred and fear of the wasteland, and spread it everywhere.

What they did to Ismene was, in fact, a kind of ritual.

Just as an innocent lamb is stabbed to death on an altar for sins it never committed, just as a powerless straw doll is infused with human sins before being thrown into fire, they transferred the curse to her, then “shattered” her to “shatter” the curse as well.

But the ritual failed. The heroes who received the fragments revealed their true nature.

And the sword? Was there any guarantee that putting it back into the split rock would solve everything?

Would that calm the wasteland? Would it reduce the hatred flowing into the wasteland?

Kain asked, “If the sword in the scabbard is placed in the Demon King’s heart, will salvation come?”

“It’s uncertain.”

“Then what’s the point of Laios gathering the fallen heroes and taking those who offer their lives to the wasteland?”

“Because it’s controllable.”

Günther didn’t hesitate for a moment.

“Didn’t I tell you at the beginning? Laios is a controllable figure. We know what he wants to do and where he wants to go.

We plan to summon Laios and seal him for a while. We’ll let the Black Phoenix priests scattered throughout the world operate freely until they lure in those weak to temptation.

And when the fruit of evil is ripe enough, he will be released and save the world again as the hero who defeats the Demon King.

When finally only the pure remain in the world, when only those without hateful hearts remain, the wasteland, cut off from its source, will naturally disappear.”

Kain lowered his hand to the side of his chair. His fingertips were trembling uncontrollably. Maria didn’t hide her anger, and Lily kept twitching her hand toward her waist. It was as if she was crying out to cut down Günther.

“So instead of eliminating evil…”

Kain asked.

“Instead of eliminating evil, you let it grow? To determine who truly is a child of God and who isn’t?

Laios wanders the world collecting those who have fallen to evil, and when they are finally piled high in the wasteland…”

“When the trash is full, the trash can must be emptied. We will do the emptying. You just need to faithfully perform your assigned duties.

Look even now. See how well Laios is doing his job.

Though he didn’t take Arianne, he gathered the Samaritans who crossed over to evil’s side.

William and his corrupted subordinates, Hans who chuckles alone in gloomy places, Leonardo blinded by power, Roberta who went mad with greed. He gathered them all.

But now the container is full, so it’s time to empty it. There are already sightings of beasts at the borders of the wasteland.

But our knightly order is strong. Above all, I, who have already conquered the Demon King once, will lead the front.

And if we seal Laios as well, the wasteland’s hatred that gave him unlimited power will lose its strength.”

Günther rose from his seat. Like someone facing a great task, he was filled with pride.

“But what I feared most was the three of you. You were variables in our plan. There was no clue as to what purpose you were moving for, why, or where you were going.

But watching your activities, I became convinced. Talents like you, capable people like you, could have intervened if you wanted to.

But you didn’t. You only ensured that innocent people weren’t harmed, and you also prevented sacrifices from growing beyond what was necessary.

I know your hearts are good. I know your mission is investigation, and I know that only the Emperor’s people could display this level of capability and power.

There are no impatient people in the imperial family. Not His Majesty the Emperor, nor His Majesty’s sister who has no eye for men, nor Niki Brien, the Imperial Commander-in-Chief who is now the Chancellor!

They are all people who move rationally and reasonably. People who test the stone bridge before crossing it, you might say. Those people wouldn’t have ordered you to move rashly.

So, investigators, the Order will take care of the bloody work. Just tell them how bravely we fought. That is your duty and order, isn’t it?”

Unable to contain herself any longer, Maria stood up, striking the desk with her fist. Lily also jumped up. Her chair fell backward and shattered. But only Kain remained seated, looking at Günther.

“Then what about you? You also have a fragment of the Demon King.”

Leaning against the window frame, Günther looked down at Kain with curiosity.

His earlier anger had disappeared, and he was remarkably calm with an extremely cold gaze. It seemed the judgment that he was a reasonable person who could be reasoned with wasn’t wrong.

“As long as I live, Laios cannot fully restore the Demon King. And I have the power and influence to protect myself, and before I die, I will pass that fragment to someone wise, persistent, and patient. For I am ‘Günther the Patience.'”

“So… the Order has fixed Laios and Ismene as hero and Demon King, and after letting those full of hatred offer themselves to the wasteland, they will let the world ‘purify itself’ until only ‘good people without hatred’ remain. And you are the final seal.”

“Precisely.”

“It’s true that the sword is the key, but since you don’t know how to draw it or how to solve the curse, you’re just going to let things be managed as they are and use it to ‘purify the world.'”

“That is also correct.”

“Letting those who will fall to corruption do so in advance.”

“Yes. Because God knows how to recognize His children.”

“I understand. I see clearly.”

Kain nodded with a smile.

“But how do you plan to capture such an immensely powerful being…?”

“Just a moment.” Günther leaned out the window and waved his hand. Shortly after, the Grand Marshal of the Mercy Knights, Alegieri, entered after knocking on the door.

Unlike the ornate armor of his subordinates, the Grand Marshal’s armor was extremely rugged. With his already large build making his armor big and heavy, adding decorations would have been excessive.

Of course, his gloomy expression wasn’t simply due to the weight of his armor. However, his dark expression changed to one of surprise. He hadn’t expected the guests to still be in Günther’s room.

“It’s fine. They know everything. Treat them as you would treat me.”

The Grand Marshal’s beard seemed to stiffen even more. Without the beard, his expression would have been quite displeased. But his voice was gentle.

“All preparations are complete. The priests have taken their positions, and as a precaution, the archers, crossbowmen, and ballistas are also ready. They await your orders.”

“The infantry?”

“As you instructed, we’ve organized them primarily with heavily armored infantry and net throwers. If caught in nets blessed with holy consecration, the Knight of the Scabbard won’t even be able to struggle properly. After all, he can’t cut the nets with the scabbard, and if we bind him with prayer, he won’t be able to escape by turning into a shadow.”

“You see?”

Günther smiled brightly.

“There’s nothing to worry about. But just as I have my duty, you also have your obligations to fulfill. So I’ll show you the arrest process directly. Come, let’s go. Hurry along.”

Only then did Kain rise from his seat. Lily and Maria seemed about to say something to Kain, but they moved with hardened faces.

“I’ll guide you.”

Alegieri, leading the way, didn’t see Kain rubbing his fingers intensely on Lily and Maria’s arms. He didn’t know it was the Imperial Security Bureau’s sign language for communicating when speech wasn’t possible, nor that it was quite complex and lengthy.