The Priestess Who Gives Birth to Death and Insects 4

Valet was the highest commander of the executor legion in charge of the Enchantment of the Fallen layer, but before that, he was a person, a father of a family.

As an executor, his reason for existence was to protect the peace and order of the Ark along with the Overseer, so Valet had never questioned his duties or actions.

Even on days when his hands were stained with blood, he willingly beheaded those he didn’t even know as an executor.

The Ark was a world of chaos beyond what Valet had imagined, built on someone’s sacrifice and a sea of blood, so it was no wonder that moments of destruction arrived every moment.

Of course, since he had a family, the will of the Ark was not something that could be doubted for those who had something to protect.

I must kill them to maintain the peace of the Ark.

I am a sword or spearhead executing the Ark’s orders.

Thrust without doubt.

From your spear tip, drops of blood from enemies will form and fall, and from those drops, fruits for peace will be born.

Their blood will be the cornerstone for peace.

If you give everything, it will answer with order.

Most executors do not doubt the will of the Ark.

The peace and order of the Ark are protected by the blood of enemies, impure elements and criminals who threaten peace, and the blood of calamity.

Even when he was newly assigned to the bizarre layer called Enchantment of the Fallen, Valet did not doubt the consensus of the Ark.

Valet didn’t climb to the position of highest commander for nothing.

Not only his skills and achievements but also his will and ideology for the Ark had been verified.

Of course, the Enchantment of the Fallen layer was quite grotesque and terrible even from the perspective of Valet, the highest commander, and it was not a place one could simply come to.

He had signed a complex contract that included full-body enhancement surgery, a full-body prosthetic, and the transfer of the central administration’s right to control his body in case of emergency.

The compensation was enormous, but some might think it was too much to sell one’s body for mere rewards.

But he was a father and a husband.

He was a common father of this era who would do anything for his family.

‘Do not hesitate to see blood. Maintain composure in performing your duties. Then your bag returning home will be filled with sugar, tea, and toys and books for the children.’

It was a common phrase among executors.

And it was actually true.

In the Ark, the luxury of eating natural sugar and salt, not synthetic, was something ordinary people could only dream of.

That’s why Valet accepted the transfer order to the Enchantment of the Fallen layer, fulfilling all the harsh conditions.

In the Ark’s numerous worlds and layers, similar or even worse scenes were probably unfolding somewhere.

Valet, expressionlessly slicing down the fanatics clinging to him, thought it was not a difficult mission.

‘Protect the priestess.’

It wasn’t intercepting a legion, and it wasn’t a difficult mission.

Even if it were a very difficult mission, Valet’s will would not have been broken.

But Valet’s will was shaken by a very trivial thing.

[Hello! Guest! Are you an uncle?]

A girl with a lacking impression.

At most, was she around 10 years old?

She looked about the same age as his daughter at home.

This child was the priestess.

Her name was Sira.

He had to protect her, and conversely, he had to prevent Sira’s impulsive actions and escape.

In fact, the role of the executors here, including Valet, was to prevent Sira from running away rather than external intrusion.

[Uncle! Play with me! Huh? Huh?]

[Hmph… You don’t want to play? Okay… I’ll play alone…]

Sira was innocent yet strangely mature.

Sira noticed not only Valet’s intentions but also the ice-cold atmosphere surrounding her.

However, seeing a grown adult woman acting like that, he would have thought she was uneducated or had lived like a princess.

‘Well, since she’s a priestess, she must have been cared for by the central administration and lived in isolation like a princess.’

The story changed from the moment he learned that this child was only 1 year old.

Even if her body had been forcibly grown, what on earth had happened to her that a 1-year-old child was reading adults’ faces?

And after directly witnessing Sira performing the ‘pilgrimage’ regularly, Valet found it difficult to hide his trembling despite having undergone full-body surgery.

[Cough, cough… Ugh, puke…!]

He wanted to ask if she was okay.

Sira swallowed this countless pain and fanaticism… the fanaticism and hatred of humans that were constantly flowing out from being soaked in the layer itself.

‘Is this the pilgrimage? Is this the priestess? Is this the destiny and price that a girl who is only 1 year old has to endure?’

Valet asked the senior executor who existed at the time.

Why Sira was doing that.

What on earth had she done wrong that a 1-year-old child had to forcibly grow up and carry pain and fanaticism in her stomach?

Then the senior executor replied.

-“Give up thinking. Give up pity. It is the will of the Central.”-

Through that answer, which contained a slight hint of resignation, Valet could tell.

This senior also felt sympathy and pity for Sira, but in the end, there was nothing he could do.

That’s right. It is the order of the great central administration.

A very simple order to protect, isolate, and care for the priestess.

Perhaps the senior and other executors were deceiving themselves and turning a blind eye.

Because the more they saw Sira handing out ice cream to the executors who didn’t even react properly to her innocent smile and never losing her bright smile, the more miserable they felt.

What sin did this young one commit?

How could this young one run away and desert?

And the exhausted senior was eventually transferred elsewhere, and around the time Valet became the highest commander in the Enchantment of the Fallen layer.

Only then was Valet able to take over Sira’s role and contract in detail.

Through a contract with hell, the central administration obtains enormous energy from hell through the priestess Sira, and in return, it offers the ‘death and insects’ conceived by the priestess.

What sin did this young one commit to be doing this role?

How important is that energy?

Is the world called Ark a world that relies on hell?

No.

This is purely a matter of convenience and economics.

It is a world that creates Artificial Suns and handles all sorts of bizarre magic and supernatural technologies, so would the Ark collapse without the energy provided by hell?

The Ark didn’t actually need hell.

The Central simply thought it could obtain the energy provided by hell at a ‘cheap price.’

The Central Energy Management Corporation did not want to miss the enormous energy provided without the actual consumption of resources.

Many mega corps did not want to pay the energy resource charge.

The central administration did not want to consume administrative power by creating Artificial Suns or energy establishment organizations equivalent to them.

Thus, the Enchantment of the Fallen layer was born.

One priestess.

And the energy that can be obtained just by having fanatics in the layer kill each other.

By placing a wide-ranging contract of enchantment and fanaticism on the entire layer, humans are periodically supplied, and the supplied humans inevitably fall into ‘fanaticism’ and obtain energy only from all sorts of immoral actions, hatred, and pain.

It can be called a miracle energy because it can extract physical energy from the non-existent intangible existence of fanaticism, hatred, and evil deeds.

It is the kind of thinking that those who see the world only with ledgers and numbers would do. At that point, Valet questioned his peace and order.

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【According to my calculations, the central administration does not need the contract with hell that much. The reason why this place is maintained even though it is only worth having if it exists and not having if it doesn’t is based on convenience and disregard for personality.】

Hell.

It is a word that makes you feel eerie just by hearing it, makes you hear the sound of an electric guitar, and makes you want to hold a chainsaw and a crowbar in your hand.

The general meaning of hell is a kind of afterlife where the souls of the sinful die and fall into hell to suffer until their sins are washed away.

If this goes into philosophical or religious meaning, the meaning is different, and each hell has different symbols and ecology. It is not simply a place where sinners are oppressed and demons reside, but it is more advanced, and there may be historical and academic aspects that symbolize the unique culture of the country and nation.

【In the Ark, hell is a physically existing hell rather than the religious meaning that humans think of.】

In the current world of Ark, not only magic and sorcery, but also various supernatural powers, and the existence of the soul have already been academically proven.

Since the soul exists, it is natural that the existence of the afterlife, including hell, heaven, and purgatory, has been half-established even before mankind took refuge in Ark.

【In the Ark, hell has blossomed as a law of the physical world, and hell here is presumed to be a kind of huge pit where the soul energies of the dead gather, an isolated other world, or another dimension.】

Of course, it is not a normal world for a word called another world.

All kinds of energy, mana, electricity, intelligence, and divine power were causing chaos in a disordered form, and what was born in this enormous energy flow is naturally not a normal living thing.

In fact, it is not entirely wrong to call the creatures here demons or something.

Things born in disordered energy may seem to have intelligence, but they are swayed by human’s intense will and emotions.

Roughly, the enormous entropy that humans derive from sin, hatred, murder, and fanaticism was enough to give evil will to the creatures of hell.

It was similar to how a spirit that was born not long ago had no ego or will and moved according to the sorcerer’s will.

“So, will you join me?”

“…”

Valet’s eyes shook violently at my words.

It’s no wonder that a level 2 Overseer, a person who wears a blue armband and is a direct Overseer of the administrator, is urging a rebellion.

“-If-you-heard-these-words, the-stage-of-testing-is-long-gone. How-did-you-know-that-I have-impure-thoughts-about-the-Central?”

“No matter how much full-body surgery you get, the gaze of a father looking at his daughter can’t be hidden.”

“You-know-well-do you-have-a-family?”

“Hmm? I wonder?”

I really don’t know about this.

Whether I had a family or not… If it was such an important memory, it should have remained in my soul, but it’s a pity that nothing comes to mind.

“-I-said to-Sira.”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t-you-run-away from-here?”

Wow, this is real treason?

As I looked at Valet with a smile, he continued to speak calmly with the expressionless face unique to full-body surgeons.

“Aren’t-you-in-pain? Aren’t-you-suffering? I-know-it’s-hard. So-let’s-run-away-together. We-can-protect-you.”

“What about your family?”

“Some-stayed behind-and tried to-hand over-fabricated evidence-and records-to the central-authority, saying-the-priestess-and the calamity-had-run wild-and-disappeared. In that case-even if-it cannot completely-make-the-central-believe-it will at least-serve to buy time.”

No, the Central will believe it even if it’s like that.

Because even if the remaining fabricated evidence is not true, it doesn’t matter.

Whether hell exists or not.

Whether that energy exists or not.

It would be more convenient and economical if it existed, but even if it didn’t, dozens of layers wouldn’t collapse.

It’s just that someone will be more annoyed, work more, and spend more money.

“-But-that child-said. If-I-just-endure a little-bit, will-everyone-be okay? Can-other-worlds-people-be-saved?”

“So what did you answer?”

“I-couldn’t-say-no. From-the-Central’s-point-of-view, hell-energy-is-good-to-have-or-not-but… Those-who-see-the world-with-numbers-ledgers, figures-records-and-our individual-human-views-are different.”

That’s not wrong either.

The hell energy that Sira gets is not just a trickle enough to run a few generators.

Sira’s sacrifice is not entirely meaningless.

Someone will definitely use it to light a light bulb and get light to live in a layer that is only darkness.

From a utilitarian point of view, well… the sacrifice of the priestess Sira was rational.

“-Then-Sira-said-that-she-would-willingly-take-on-that-role. She-said-it-was-okay.”

“…She’s much kinder than people like us.”

“That’s-right. More-than-us. More-than-things-like-me. Much…”

In fact, Sira made that choice because she was thinking about the lives of many people in this layer itself.

The Enchantment of the Fallen layer has an estimated population of 30 million.

There are ordinary people, but they were mostly sent by the Central with the meaning of ‘Go to this layer and become a sacrifice for the priestess.’

Without Sira, these people would just die meaninglessly.

“Then, if our branch’s other executors say they’ll join us, how many do you think will join?”

“-Everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“No-one-here-does-not-feel pity-for Sira.”

Well, Sira must be pretty and cute.

The executors can’t help but feel disillusioned when that cute and pretty child says that she will volunteer to sacrifice herself.

Okay.

Then, since everyone said they would join.

“Before we get rid of hell, there’s something we need to get rid of first.”

“What-is it?”

“The false gods.”

The Central sent forgotten gods, ghosts or false gods without names to this layer, and supplied them with humans who would become fanatics.

When the layer residents are dyed with fanaticism and accumulate evil deeds with each other’s blood, Sira appears and eats all the evil deeds.

When the evil deeds are eaten, all the evil deeds, murders, orgies, and inhuman acts that the fanatics have committed so far ‘disappear.’ The objects of faith who have lost their fanatics spread madness and faith again to gather believers.

This is how the Enchantment of the Fallen layer works.

“We should fuse all those false gods, shouldn’t we?”