Ch.373Feared Outcome (3)

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*****

I delegated the issue of innocent victims to Kate, and what remains is the recently discovered underground temple.

The statue in the temple resembled the appearance of Diabols, the fake final boss and great demon whose soul was contained in a vessel.

It had an octopus head like something borrowed from Cthulhu mythology and was crafted with such detail that it looked like it could come alive at any moment.

The underground temple itself was also filled with traps to prevent intruders, and there were even monsters never seen before.

All of the above is testimony from a “survivor.” Five people formed a team to chase after an escaping demon worshipper, but this was the result.

The location was, naturally, the Empire of Minerva, where demon worshippers are most numerous. The empire, recognizing the severity of the situation, formed an investigation team with help from neighboring countries.

This isn’t the first time an underground temple has been discovered. When the “Why-Jin” incident first broke out, even altars presumed to be for demon summoning rituals were found.

Information about demon worshippers being connected to a specific religion has been spreading for a long time. Most people speculate that the object of worship for demon worshippers is a demon.

However, I know that the entity they worship is the “Father of All Things.” When I was almost attacked, a demon worshipper shouted that, so I couldn’t forget it even if I wanted to.

‘So is an outer god trying to devour this world?’

It’s a fairly convincing story, but I still don’t understand why demon worshippers would call it the Father of All Things.

If they wanted to take control of this world, they would have called it by a different title.

Though this case is becoming increasingly puzzling, what matters more to me is that the Why-Jin incident has broken out.

Fortunately, it happened before my book was even published. This is quite different from Kate’s spoiler situation.

Even now, I could change the appearance and feign ignorance…

[Xenon, who predicted even the vessel for the soul. Now there’s truly no way out.]

[Then who created the vessel? And is that statue really the vessel?]

[Evidence of sacrifices for demon summoning has been found occasionally in the past. Yet why haven’t demons been successfully summoned?]

…No, let’s just give up. They’re already talking among themselves, and they won’t listen to anything I say anyway.

I just smiled wryly and watched as the news poured in like a flood.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that innocent victims were involved, giving me a headache, now the Why-Jin incident has broken out, making me feel like I’m losing my mind.

I’d like to find the survivor and hear a detailed explanation directly, but that’s not possible.

In Kate’s case, I could trust and delegate to her because there was a high probability that demon worshippers were behind the mischief, but this is a slightly different situation.

I’ll ask Rina about it later, but until then, I’m somewhat at a loss for what to do.

‘By the way, I’m really curious. Why have all demon summonings failed? You’d think at least one would succeed.’

As I mentioned earlier, summoning circles and altars have been discovered from time to time. This is true even recently.

As the large-scale subjugation progressed due to the event, hideouts of demon worshippers were discovered one after another, revealing hidden altars.

The condition of the altars is particularly horrific—human skulls scattered around, and even traces of human sacrifice.

Not only that, but public opinion is increasingly inflamed because demon worshippers have even used necromancy to resurrect the dead.

‘I’ll set aside the Why-Jin incident for now… I should first check on the innocent victims.’

I tried my best to organize my tangled thoughts. One way or another, only time will solve this.

I plan to stick with the appearance of the vessel as described in the Biography of Xenon. Since it came out first, I can just say they copied it from me.

‘When Kate returns, I should visit the laboratory first.’

Elena would know the most about the Why-Jin incident. She’s not just a scholar but also an archaeologist who has explored the world.

She probably knows something about the temple too. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit her.

They must have their own work to do, and I’d feel bad calling them to the dormitory. Plus, Ariel is here.

On the other hand, if I go there, I might end up in danger like last time, so it’s better to be extremely cautious for now.

‘It’s frustrating.’

I looked around the spacious dormitory interior. It has everything I need, and books and newspapers are delivered from outside, so I’m not bored.

But it still feels like being trapped in a cage. As long as demon worshippers aren’t completely eradicated, I’ll have to live under constant threat.

This applies not just to me but to everyone else too. Luminus and Mora said such incidents wouldn’t happen for a while, but I still feel uneasy.

Knock- Knock-

“Huh?”

“Dad. Are you feeling stuffy?”

While I was staring blankly out the window, Ariel tugged at my arm.

Whether she read my mind or not, her golden eyes, shining brightly, were filled with concern.

I thought reading minds and reading emotions were separate things, but maybe not.

Looking at her face, which seemed to dispel my stuffy feelings just by gazing at it, I smiled slightly.

“No. I’m not stuffy. Seeing our Ariel has completely cleared away those feelings.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Hehe.”

Ariel spread her arms wide, smiling brightly at my words. It’s a sign that she wants to be hugged.

Following her request, I picked her up and we faced each other. She seems happy just looking at my face, grinning from ear to ear.

So this is why fathers are so smitten. Having a son would be nice too, but having such an adorable daughter doubles the joy.

“Ariel.”

“Yeees?”

“What kind of person will Ariel become when she grows up?”

I’m genuinely curious. Ariel may be called an angel, but she’s a “demigod” with Hirt’s blood flowing through her.

So I’m quite curious about what influence this child will have on the world when she grows up.

I’ll raise her like an ordinary child, but no one knows how things will turn out in this world.

Moreover, as the saying goes, “a dagger hidden in a sack will eventually reveal itself”—no matter how much we hide it, someday her true value will be revealed.

Matching my expectations, Ariel blinked her eyes after hearing the question and then answered cheerfully.

“A grown-up!”

“…”

“Ariel will become a grown-up!”

“Yes. You’ll become a grown-up.”

I smiled helplessly and stroked her head.

It was a peaceful daily life, considering that the Why-Jin incident and the concerning situation had broken out.

*****

After Isaac’s event announcement, the busiest organizations are adventurers and mercenaries.

Most of them have read the Biography of Xenon, and some even dream of the path of adventure because of it.

Although various incidents occurred because of this, the situation has somewhat eased by now.

Moreover, as supply increased rapidly, quality naturally improved, and their power has strengthened to the point where it can be said to be at its peak.

So if adventurers are the group that benefited the most, then the Empire of Minerva is the one that took the biggest hit.

Since the event began, most incidents related to demon worshippers have occurred within the Empire of Minerva.

Despite having the largest territory, there were far more undeveloped areas than developed ones, allowing demon worshippers to operate easily.

The Empire of Minerva was in such a serious situation that it almost earned the infamous title of “haven for demon worshippers.”

Fortunately, they had enough military power to cover that territory, so they could manage whenever incidents occurred. Otherwise, international public opinion would have hit rock bottom.

“Sigh… I shouldn’t have criticized the Kingdom of Teres. At least we know about it now, which is fortunate.”

“You look very tired, brother.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

Crown Prince Leort let out a hollow laugh at Rina, who was sitting across from him, expressing concern.

His current state could hardly be described as good—despite being in a position to receive care, he looked half-dead.

Even before the event, but especially since it began, he’s been working overtime almost every day due to the explosive workload.

If he tries to catch a brief nap, an attendant immediately appears to report on an incident, and when he tries to take some free time, another incident occurs.

Because of this, Duke Reckyless has also been going back and forth to the imperial palace, working hard, and Rina is no different.

“How many nobles have been confirmed to have colluded with demon worshippers?”

“Five so far. We’re also investigating the Carryson Count’s family, but nothing’s confirmed yet.”

“Since the empire’s money flows essentially through the Carryson Count’s family, could there be suspicions?”

“Well, the Count’s family is in quite an unfair situation. It’s almost impossible to manage such a vast money flow alone. We’re investigating anyway.”

The nobles of the Empire of Minerva, in particular, are under extensive investigation. If anyone is found to have even the slightest connection to demon worshippers, they’re out.

The atrocities of demon worshippers are beyond forgivable, and they were vicious enough to brainwash entire villages, so execution is the only answer.

Especially for the empire, they had no choice but to impose severe punishment—they almost got branded as a haven for demon worshippers, so they had to take a hard line.

They’re already receiving all kinds of criticism from neighboring countries, and if they were to protect their own people, they would suffer great diplomatic losses.

The one fortunate thing is that their archrival, the Kingdom of Teres, is also busy managing internal affairs.

The empire, which had gained many benefits thanks to Isaac, now finds that blade pointing at their own necks.

“We might as well clean out all the corrupt nobles while we’re at it. Time will solve the rest. The problem is that underground temple discovered a few days ago.”

“Was something found there?”

Rina showed interest when Leort mentioned the “underground temple.”

He usually wouldn’t call for her, but today he summoned her for some reason. And to his own office, no less.

This must be information that only royalty or high-ranking officials should know.

When Rina showed interest, Leort took out a small orb from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

A magic item that prevents eavesdropping. With this, any potential eavesdropping magic can be prevented.

“Rather than something being found, there’s circumstantial evidence. That temple wasn’t just a temple. It was an altar for a summoning ritual.”

“An altar? Then…”

“Just like in the Biography of Xenon, there’s a very high probability that the statue was a vessel. This is just speculation, though.”

“…”

Rina’s brow furrowed at Leort’s explanation. This is another moment where Isaac’s prophecy(?) is coming true.

He would vehemently deny it, but Rina already thinks of him as someone on par with a prophet. It would be strange to deny it at this point.

For now, she’s just not showing it because she wants to get close to him.

Especially if she gets closer to Isaac and gains knowledge of the future, there would be no greater achievement. Look no further than the magic engine.

But right now, the recently discovered temple is most important. So Rina asked in a careful voice.

“…Surely there isn’t a soul contained in that vessel or anything like that, right?”

“No. Besides various ritual items including human bones around the temple, there’s nothing. Plus, there were rusted weapons as if a battle had occurred right before the summoning.”

“So there were people or groups who noticed the existence of demon worshippers even before the Biography of Xenon was published?”

“That’s right. But that’s not what’s important.”

Then Leort exhaled deeply and spoke in a troubled voice, delivering shocking news.

“The summoning was successful.”

“…What?”

“According to the mages who examined it, the summoning itself was successful. It was distorted due to someone’s intrusion, but that was just a late interference—the summoning circle itself was activated.”

“N-No way…”

Rina’s expression turned pale. If those words are true, it’s obvious that a crisis is approaching this world.

Of course, if it were a living disaster like Diabols from the Biography of Xenon, there would have been chaos already.

But given that there have been no signs so far, that doesn’t seem to be the case. However, that’s a problem in itself.

“Yes. As you think, the summoning was executed, but we can’t even guess what was summoned. However, demons are beings that live in dimensions completely different from here. Since it connected dimension to dimension, surely a being from another dimension was summoned.”

“Sh-Shouldn’t we inform the church immediately? If only we know about this…”

“What if, upon checking, it turns out that a frog living in another dimension was summoned? Wouldn’t that be too anticlimactic compared to the chaos that would ensue?”

“…”

Rina closed her mouth. That’s a valid point too.

If a truly evil entity comparable to a demon had been summoned, that would be one thing, but if its identity turned out to be insignificant, it would be utterly deflating.

Especially the mere fact that a summoning ritual was successful would bring chaos to the Empire of Minerva, no, the entire world.

It would be nice to bury this, but the question is whether this fact can be completely buried.

“…So what should we do? This doesn’t seem like an issue we can discuss just among ourselves.”

“Let’s watch the situation for now. The mages are checking multiple times in case they made a mistake in their investigation. Maybe we can even find out what that entity is.”

“I understand.”

“Good. But I think it would be good to tell Isaac. That man probably knows something.”

Yes, he does know.

“Hmm… Why are my ears so itchy?”

“Dad. Want me to pick your ears?”

“No, it’s okay.”

The problem is that I know too well.