episode_0102

Bertolt Schultz, Bishop of the Diocese of the Southeastern Region.

He lived a life worthy of others, but in an instant he became a fugitive and had to be kicked out.

This is because his name was reported at MacDerlin Abbey.

At first I was surprised and then scared.

I believed it was carried out without anyone knowing.

I thought I underestimated Rajri’s intelligence and execution skills.

That wasn’t it.

The fundamental cause was ‘Ian’ who participated in the public test.

He was the man who suddenly appeared one day, disrupted the sacred national plan, and was immediately given the title of ‘second apostle’.

Salome, too, had to be ‘reformed’ by Lazri because of that man.

Bertolt was mortified.

It was the same when the man first appeared.

Why on earth are you disturbing yourself like this?

What on earth is that person, given the name of an apostle?

He has served God much longer than that man.

Created more believers.

Spread the gospel further.

Heavier gold coins were offered.

But Seonghwang did not look at Bertolt.

As if he had discovered a weakness, he gave Ian the name of an apostle.

Bertolt prayed.

To God, I prayed earnestly.

I ask you to recognize me as a person who dedicates myself to a world where the right people can thrive.

Even when he ran away after his second sacred nation plan was discovered, his prayers never stopped.

Then one day.

Among those who ran away together, there was one who knew about the imperial family’s ‘plan to raise demon soldiers’.

Although he knew about the manipulation of history regarding Mine, Bertolt did not know about the training plan.

For him, who needed his own strength, this was an opportunity.

An opportunity to lead a private army made of demons and increase my power again.

In the first place, aren’t brainwashing and confessions the specialty of the Seonghwa Church, not the Empire?

Finding the hidden dungeon was also a coincidence.

It was all by chance that I learned of the plan to train Majin soldiers and found a suitable place to carry it out.

The coincidence felt like fate.

Bertolt accepted this as a revelation from God.

I believed it was a gift from God.

I was touched that the light had belatedly come down to me, who had lived so faithfully.

Mine was kidnapped, imprisoned, and experimented on.

I knew from a long time ago that they were not ‘demons’, but I didn’t feel guilty.

This was all God’s will, so it was truth and justice.

There was no reason to worry or be shaken.

In the process, we came into conflict with a group of demons called ‘Lescentimants’, but it didn’t matter.

Because his hiding place was hidden so that no one could easily find it.

Everything was perfect because it was God’s will.

For sure.

It was definitely like that.

That is, until I met Ian, the second apostle, on my hasty escape.

***

“Apostle, Ian… . Why are you here… .”

A greedy-looking old priest stopped in front of me and muttered in disbelief.

“… Bertolt?”

I also can’t believe it.

Why is he here?

I heard in the court last time that Bertolt’s whereabouts were unknown.

I wondered where he was hiding, but did he accidentally discover a hidden dungeon?

“Do you know each other?”

Rhamnus asked.

I guess he thought that me and Bertolt could be friends.

“Hmm. If we know each other, we can say that we know each other.”

At my harsh answer, Rhamnus nodded as if he had immediately corrected his mistake.

“Ian… ! because! Why on earth are you doing this to me?”

“It seems like everyone I meet blames me. I feel a little unfair.”

“Why on earth would someone like you become an apostle…? . Ah?”

Bertolt, who was muttering, fixed his gaze behind me.

Helena was there.

“Priest… That’s right, you’re a priest!”

“Berthold… Bishop… ?”

Helena seemed to know him.

Even though it was a bad relationship, he was in the same class as Salome, so it was worth having at least a face-to-face meeting.

Bertolt, on the other hand, only recognized her as a priest, but did not seem to know who she was.

“You… ! You know who I am! Hurry, hurry and betray those heretics!”

“… … .”

“Now! I will give you everything that I can give under the authority of the diocese!”

Bertolt’s eyes were frightened, but the corners of his mouth were pulled up and trembled dangerously.

He was smiling, but he had a bizarre expression that didn’t look like he was smiling.

‘You’re crazy.’

The number of Le Sentimants in front of us right now is more than dozens.

However, encouraging betrayal from only Helena means that reason has been completely blocked.

“These people must all be reformed! God surely supports you and me… !”

“Shut up.”

I cut him off.

“I wanted to hear something about him because he was being tracked by the Seonghwa Church and the Empire, but all he said was bullshit that was bad for the spirit of our warriors. It was just a waste of time.”

Rhamnus came out in front of me and repeatedly squeezed and pulled the bear’s paw.

It seemed like he had endured a lot so far.

“Is this person in need of life?”

“Yes. I hope they don’t kill me.”

“The pants I wanted.”

The next moment, the ground shook loudly and Rhamnus jumped out.

Bertolt was hit in the torso by a large paw and was thrown against the wall.

“… You didn’t kill him, right?”

“Life is attached.”

Rhamnus said, looking down at Bertholdt who had fainted.

“Yes. Let’s sort it out quickly. Since we need witnesses, I hope we can keep humans alive as much as possible.”

Rhamnus responded with a grin.

“I’ll try.”

After finishing his words, the prisoners rushed out.

My group stopped in place for a moment.

It was because of Helena, who was stiff.

I approached them as they hesitated.

“Helena.”

I bent down to be at eye level with Helena.

“Yes… . Ian… .”

“Do you want to go back?”

“… … .”

“Helena doesn’t have to be involved in this.”

Helena clenched her fists and looked down at the floor.

Her head touched Bertolt, who was lying around like discarded trash, and then came up to me.

“… I need to know.”

It was not revealed what was needed to be known.

Perhaps, there is so much implied that it cannot be contained in just one word.

It seems that the other party members also decided to respect Helena’s wishes.

“Then let’s go.”

***

Helena sees.

A crude facility made by digging into the wall of a cave.

Skinny demons trapped in rusty iron cages.

No, should I call him a beastman now?

Desks and cupboards on floors infested with bugs, and drugs emitting a dangerous glow on them.

I heard that it is an improved version of the drug used in Lazuli.

The people who managed the experimental beasts were all humans, and they were all believers of the Seonghwa Church.

Helena recalled a passage from the Bible that she had learned at Seonghwagyo.

[Fire formed the world in an explosion, so that there was no day or night in this world, and the whole day was full of light.]

[Among the apostles who preached His will, the seventh apostle rebelled and dared to worship a foreign god, but the Buddha generously forgave him, and a space for darkness was given in the world, and from then on day and night were created.]

[Humans fascinated by the night betrayed the light and permeated the darkness and lost their humanity, so they became demons and killed His children who followed the will of fire. The Buddha could not bear to see his family suffer, so he named the apostates ‘Main’ and declared them enemies.]

To her, Myne was absolute evil.

There were no particularly passionate feelings about that recognition, and there were no questions.

It was simple duty and inertia.

Just saying so.

My faith was greatly worn down by what I experienced at MacDerlin Abbey.

Still, religion was something she believed in and relied on throughout her life.

It was difficult to disappear easily.

It was like that until I met Kati.

The confusion that came with Kati did not last long.

I believed that only Kati was special.

Because it was Ian who recognized me.

If there was a demon next to Ian, that demon would be particularly rare.

Mine is unconditional evil.

Humans are absolute good.

She lived her life in such a dichotomy.

“Kill these beasts-!”

“Exterminate humanity-!”

Seeing humans and beasts tangled together, throwing themselves into the madness of murder in order to survive, I question this for the first time.

‘Who is good?’

The priests surrendered easily at first.

Surprisingly, the beastmen of Lescentimants did not massacre indiscriminately even when the target of revenge was right in front of them.

Rhamnus also properly controlled the beastmen so that they would not get excited.

Was it because Ian was there?

But human surrender was a postponement.

The beastmen took advantage of the moment when their guard was off guard and carried out a surprise attack, and chaos ensued.

Helena, Vivian, and Lucia rescued the trapped prisoners.

This is because Ian advised that it would be better not to fight if possible.

‘If you kill a human being in any way, there is no turning back.’

Ian’s expression as he gave that advice was gloomy, unlike usual, but he also seemed more nervous than usual.

The group had no choice but to follow his words.

Helena was dragging an unconscious deer beast and transporting it to a safe place.

“Die-!”

Then I heard a roar from somewhere.

A priest holding a sword was rushing toward Helena.

The moment when Helena reacted belatedly.

-thud!

A beastman with gray wings flapping flew in and kicked the priest away.

The beastman looked down at Helena and said.

“Are you hurt, cutie?”

“Yes… . it’s okay… .”

“Thank you for your help. And be careful.”

“Yes… .”

Helena even moves the prisoner.

“Hey, hey… ! You-!”

The frustrated priest called Helena.

“Believers of Seonghwa Church… ! Are you taking the side of the demons?”

“I… .”

Helena couldn’t answer.

I couldn’t think of anything.

How do we divide good and evil?

Who shares it?

Can I share it?

Justice in Seonghwagyo is God.

Because God exists, he distinguishes between good and evil.

But if you can’t distinguish between good and evil.

‘What is God…? ?’

*

The confusion was quickly resolved.

This is because Ian came forward and persuaded the humans.

At first, the humans did not come forward because they were willing to surrender, but they were surprised and the resistance was so strong that they had to come forward.

He promised to spare his life if he surrendered calmly.

Those words were persuasive.

Because I tore off the prison bars with my bare hands and folded them up one by one.

Those who were arguing had to keep their mouths shut in front of the steel being crushed like paper.

There was no one who wanted to be held in his hands.

“… Did you say Ian?”

Ramnus collected the rescued demons and stood in front of Ian.

“This plan has been blocked before.”

He was talking about saving Katy.

“Well, I didn’t mean to.”

“Still, it’s something to be thankful for.”

Rhamnus bowed his head politely.

“… Are there other people like you?”

“Well. To be honest, I don’t think it’s common.”

“I see… .”

Rhamnus raised his head, looked at Ian, and then cast his gaze behind him.

Vivian, Helena, Lucia, Mercy.

People who were human and helped them without prejudice.

And, Galatea and Marlion, whom I hated because they were traitors.

“If you are such a rare person, I guess I can trust you at least once.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Lescentimants will remember you.”

Rhamnus left those words and turned around.

The gray-blade beastman next to me lifted one of his wings and waved as he walked away.

“Hello humans~”

The beastmen slowly retreated into the darkness.

Ian thought about it and then spoke.

“Hey guys.”

“What is it?”

Rhamnus answered.

“Don’t get into accidents.”

“… What does it mean?”

“You don’t want to keep living in hiding.”

Rhamnus looked straight at Ian.

There was no wavering in his eyes.

Ian probably didn’t say this to start a fight.

“Is there another way?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Ian was thinking about the land he would receive.

‘It is a land where beasts and humans live together… . I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’ll give it a try.’

“I can’t guarantee that it will work out for sure, but I’ll try.”

“… I guess so.”

Rhamnus looked around at his group of beastmen, then looked at Ian again and smiled.

“I’ll try.”

Ian also laughed and let them go.

Galatea was about to say something to them as they walked away, but stopped.

Even if you apologize, the past cannot be erased.

The wound doesn’t heal.

Wanting to ask for forgiveness is arrogance.

Because it is not something that can be forgiven.

They just walk down different paths, leaving only guilt and hatred for each other.

There are relationships in the world that must remain as they are.

*

Bertolt and other important officials were quickly escorted from the Holy Fire Bridge.

Fortunately, there was a city with a church nearby.

Instead of going all the way to the city, Ian and his group decided to stay overnight and rest early.

However, since what he had just experienced was an incident, Ian decided to check on the group’s condition.

The first was Mercy.

“Huh? Do you really think I would be shocked by something like that?”

“Yes, I’m glad then.”

“Hmph. Was this something you were worried about? I’m more curious about the reason than anything else! Why were you worried about me? Because it’s precious?! huh? Go ahead and say it!”

“Get out.”

Even though Mercy complained that she didn’t like it, she quickly left for the next turn.

Next was Katy.

“Master. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“… I said I wasn’t hurt.”

Kati was worried about Ian beyond being fine.

I was worried that it would remind me of old times, but Katy didn’t seem to care at all.

“Confirmed.”

“… okay. Thank you.”

Kati wanted to stay here with Ian more, but she left right away to take her turn.

Vivian was unexpectedly fine.

“What… . It might be a little strange. I’ve seen warriors fight each other in dungeons a few times in the past… . Besides that… .”

She scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

It was my first time seeing so many people intertwined and showing murderous intent, and I was embarrassed and a little discouraged.

But that wasn’t new.

Compared to the abuse and exploitation of children in Arche Village, Vivian was not sure which one was more terrible.

“As expected, am I a bit strange…? ?”

Vivian seemed a bit afraid of herself.

“No, whatever. That could be the case. I don’t care.”

“… Yes, then! I don’t care either… . lol… .”

Vivian muttered a good night and left in a hurry.

One more surprising thing was that Lucia had a rather haggard complexion.

“Do we have to see things like this often in the future?”

“Hmm. To be honest, no.”

It is not common for humans and beastmen to fight together like this.

A terrible sight a warrior would often see would be other warriors or soldiers injured in battle.

“Is that so… . Ian seems quite used to this kind of situation.”

“No way. This is my first time experiencing something like today.”

That was true.

However, he has experienced too much to be surprised.

“Really? Hmm. Well, it’s nice that it’s reliable.”

Although her complexion was not good, Lucia quickly shook herself off and got up, as was her personality.

“Vivian is also more dependable than I thought. Because I’m not alone… Yes, we have to overcome it well. Thank you for your concern, Ian.”

“Nothing to say. That’s my job.”

Next was Helena.

This is the main character of today that Ian thought of.

She had often been in serious trouble for the past few days.

‘I’ve been like that since I saw Galatea, so it’s probably about Mine… .’

I don’t know the exact reason, but Ian decided to listen to all of Helena’s concerns today.

“Ian… .”

The tent was pulled back and Helena came in helplessly.

“Helen… . Billion!”

Ian had to let out a low moan rather than call her.

This is because Helena rushed at him, jumped over the desk, and hugged him.

“Suddenly what… .”

“I’m so confused… ! I just can’t figure out what to believe… !”

Helena’s arms hugging Ian trembled slightly.

“What should I do… ? Ian… .”

She was too small to fit into my arms and carefully raised her head.

The orange eyes looked as if they were about to overflow with water at any moment, and they shook dizzyingly.

As if to represent her complicated feelings.

“Give me the answer… . please… .”

Helena pleaded earnestly, as if praying to God.