Chapter 86: This Blasphemous Man!!! |
“Do you have business with our order? Why are you all gathered like this?”
“Ah, just in time.”
At that moment, the knights, who were about to enter the cathedral, focused their attention on Ja-seong.
Soon, a man in elaborate attire, appearing to represent the group, crossed through the knights and started facing Ja-seong with a stern expression.
“Hero of the Meter Order. Have you been well, comfortably stretching your legs?”
“…I wondered who it was, turns out it’s His Eminence Helix, the Archbishop.”
“Yes, I am Helix, the Inquisitor, and Archbishop of the Friga Order, the state religion of the empire. A lofty status far different from those who serve trivial gods like you!”
Archbishop Helix displayed an authoritative attitude right from the start.
It wasn’t unusual for those in power to be rude, but his position heightened the unease I was feeling.
Wasn’t the reason for his visit quite apparent?
“And the reason I came here is clearly to fulfill my duty as an inquisitor. Look, do you see the royal seal on this warrant?”
As if to confirm the obvious situation turning into reality, he soon took out a warrant with the empire’s seal and shouted toward Ja-seong.
“Hero Nam Ja-seong! I will arrest you and the entire Meter Order under the suspicion of colluding with the Demon King’s army! Follow me quietly and prepare for the heresy trial!”
“…Heresy trial?”
Despite the oppressive words that would normally instill fear, Ja-seong let out a resigned laugh.
Although he openly admitted to provoking them, he wasn’t frightened but shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant.
“You’re talking nonsense. Our order only prepares meals from donations and lends labor for reconstruction work.”
“Do you plan to feign ignorance even in the face of an official warrant?”
“Even if you have a warrant, if the other party doesn’t understand, you need to explain properly. Should we just crawl on our knees because you came to arrest us without explanation?”
“Ha, this is why those who serve trivial gods are so barbaric…”
Perhaps Ja-seong’s words infuriated him?
Soon, Helix began to shout at Ja-seong with a menacing voice.
“Listen well, you uncivilized heathen. The only reason humanity has thrived is solely due to the protection of Friga, who has embraced humanity with infinite love since the beginning of time!!!”
“The fact that foolish humans who do not hold faith in Friga can live on this land and that we don’t immediately execute heathens like you but instead show leniency is also possible due to Friga’s mercy!”
His lengthy speech revealed a strong sense of the chosen people’s superiority.
Ja-seong let those words go in one ear and out the other, but through them, I could guess why someone as high-ranking as the Archbishop had come here in person.
“I don’t care which gods you served in other countries, but since every nation apart from the empire failed to function properly, they essentially lost the protection of the gods. Meaning, those of you who have crawled into the empire owe gratitude and devotion to Friga!”
Indeed, ranking religions had always been somewhat common in the original world, too.
But in this world, since all nations except the empire failed in their roles, the power and status of religious orders other than Friga, the state religion, were considered inferior.
The best they could do was preserve traditions and history, unite a certain number of followers, and show a spirit of voluntary service, which the Friga Order tolerated only for ‘political convenience’.
However, some of these tolerated orders had gradually increased their influence, and this expansion of power could feel like a threat to the Friga Order.
An increase in the size of other orders also meant a reduction in the number of followers of their own order.
“On top of not showing gratitude to Friga, daring to compare yourselves to us, and now this insane act of venerating a demon as a saint. Isn’t that like repaying Friga’s kindness with enmity?”
For Friga, the growth in size of other orders, led by a prominent hero, must feel like a considerable threat.
If it was discovered that the newly venerated saint was actually a demon, they would naturally seize the opportunity to exploit this revelation.
Whether true or false, just by inciting and branding it as heresy, the situation could be easily resolved.
“…The Saint is a demon.”
And Ja-seong had already told me that the demon girl we saw two years ago had become a saint.
They must have concrete evidence, targeting that very point, but Ja-seong just shrugged his shoulders as if evading the current accusation.
“It’s strange. The only time our order showed the Saint to other orders was at the recent religious assembly. Did you suspect her to be a demon just from that one sighting?”
“Of course, you’re asking the obvious. You might deceive others, but thinking you can deceive my eyes is a grave mistake!”
Helix shouted with conviction in his voice.
Overwhelmed with emotion, he moved away from the knights guarding him and started approaching Ja-seong.
“When I encountered the girl you brought as a saint, I could definitely feel it. That cunning girl was not an ordinary demon, but a succubus with even a slight power to bewitch people!”
Crunch.
At that moment, he applied force to the shovel on his shoulder.
Seemingly unaware, Helix started shouting at Ja-seong again with glaring eyes.
“Those at the scene might not have noticed, but you can’t fool my eyes! The dizziness and ecstasy I felt just by looking at that damned woman were faint, but it was the same as when seduced by a succubus!”
“Heh, right. Everyone else was still, but you noticed the aphrodisiac spread by a child who doesn’t even know how to drain vital energy…?”
A low murmur flowed from beneath his helmet.
Along with that, he raised his empty hand and began to grip the shovel he had slung over his shoulder.
“I’ve heard your answer well, Archbishop.”
The moment he gripped the shovel with both hands with all his might…
A chill of terror was felt, but Helix, oblivious to what would happen next, was too preoccupied with denouncing him.
“So, in essence, you, a supposed pure believer, felt arousal towards a ‘girl and demon,’ an entity you should never feel lust for, and you want to use that as evidence to conduct a heresy trial as a ‘pedophile.’”
“Of course– What?”
“This blasphemous pedo bastard!!”
Boom!!!!
The shovel swung with his shout.
The Archbishop, hit squarely in the face by the attack, had his head slammed into the ground, and from that point, cracks spread throughout the road, eventually flipping the ground.
“Oh, uh?”
At that moment, the inquisitors of the Friga Order, watching the situation, all opened their mouths in shock.
In the ensuing silence, Ja-seong soon lifted the shovel he had plunged into the ground and slung it over his shoulder.
“You, a pedo bastard, are not worth living. Don’t live any longer making a mess; just disappear into the flames of hell.”
This was none other than the state religion of the empire.
And that was the moment when the Archbishop, whose status was considered above that of nobility, and the Inquisitor, tasked with subjugating heretics, was turned into minced meat.
“Aaaaah!”
When they realized that such an absurd situation had occurred in the middle of the city, the knights soon started screaming and drawing their swords.
“Th-this crazy hero! What is he doing in the middle of the road?!”
“Archbishop! Archbishooop!!!!”
“That damned heretic must be executed immediately…”
Bang!!
A loud noise suppressed the commotion.
As soon as the shovel in his hand pressed down on the ground where the corpse lay, earth and debris shot up from that point, showering dirt around like rain.
“Everyone be quiet and pay attention.”
The clatter of road debris, along with blood and flesh.
The realization that an empire’s authority had vanished without a trace was enough to silence the haughty believers.
“Anyone who unnecessarily steps forward will get their head smashed, so from now on, keep your mouth shut and only answer when asked.”
Of course, they might charge again soon, having clearly defined the enemy as evil, but Ja-seong showed no particular hostility towards the other knights, except Helix.
Soon, he kept his stance with the shovel’s tip planted in the ground and asked them.
“Raise your hands if you were among those who followed this guy to the assembly recently.”
“…What?”
“Those who followed, raise your hands. Like this, see?”
He was so calm, it was hard to believe he had killed the Archbishop.
The knights exchanged glances for a moment, then, seeming to think it was better to comply with the situation, some of them began to raise their hands.
“Did you guys get excited too?”
Ja-seong then looked at them and asked.
“What?”
“Did you get excited when you saw our Saint back then?”
Whether they had been sexually excited upon seeing the young succubus he had taken in two years ago.
“Th-that’s impossible!”
Startled by such absurd words, the knights all screamed in unison.
“Yeah! We are clergymen! How could we, who serve God, feel lust upon seeing a girl?!”
“Especially if that girl is a demon…”
“But this guy here got aroused, he said.”
In an instant, the outcry from the knights ceased abruptly.
Soon, Ja-seong, with the blood-stained shovel on his shoulder, explained to the bewildered knights the reason for his actions.
“If you also couldn’t pick up on the demon’s aura sensitively, it means it would be impossible unless you felt attraction to that child. A girl and demon, a target that pure-hearted clergymen should never feel anything towards.”
…This crazy old man.
And to think he venerated a demon as a saint, for a reason even more bizarre than imagined.
“So, I judged him to be trash that shouldn’t exist in this world and killed him without a trial. Is there a problem with that?”
Yet he confidently presented such an absurd conviction in front of the knights.
Naturally, such an execution without proper logic or procedure could never be accepted as normal.
“That… you call that an explanation…?”
“Oh! Hero! You’ve arrived at the right time!”
The planned backlash was halted momentarily.
Soon, followers of the Meter Order, having heard the commotion inside the cathedral, appeared as if they had been waiting and showed him what they held in their hands.
“Hero, Helix came, and I was hiding for a while. Should I show this here?”
“Yeah! No need to drag it out; just reveal it right here!”
Thud, thump.
The followers from the cathedral repeatedly dropped what they held onto the battle-torn ground.
Ja-seong, unfolding the enormous number of documents one by one, conspicuously presented their contents to the knights.
“Alright, guys, before you charge in, read this first.”
“…What’s this?”
“The Archbishop has been involved in embezzlement of donations, gambling, illegal prostitution… Wow, there’s even a record of him taking bribes from a human trafficking group targeting orphans under the guise of confession.”
Evidence of all sorts of corruption and malpractice committed by the Archbishop, a candidate for the papacy, and an inquisitor tasked with purging heresy…
It seemed too detailed and consistent with real events to be merely fabricated.
“Hey, Hero Nam Ja-seong. Where on earth did you get all this…?”
“The more one has done, the easier it is to find. It’s remained hidden because attempts to publicize it were shut down as heresy.”
His eyes under the helmet shone coldly, and his gaze slowly moved down to the scattered pieces of the Archbishop’s body across the overturned street.
“So I was wondering when to reveal it, and lo and behold, he crawled right up to me. Why delay when dealing with it right away is better? The dead can’t talk, so there won’t be any obstruction in making it public.”
“No, but if punishment is to be dealt with, it should be after a thorough trial…”
“That damn trial talk… If you wait and drag it out, and evidence gets destroyed, will you take responsibility? You must have had an idea about what this guy was up to and what kind of person he was.”
“……”
“…After all, what power do mere subordinates who just do as they’re told have?”
Ja-seong knocked the documents on the ground with his shovel and gestured to the followers who had come out of the cathedral.
Even though he had killed an Archbishop, he showed no signs of guilt and was poised to resolve the situation.
“I’ll assign one of our people to you. If you’re not in cahoots, take all these documents to the judiciary. After that, whether I return my hero badge or get branded as a heretic, if a warrant comes, I’ll take care of it myself.”
“…Yes, yes. Understood.”
“Alright, work’s done. Hyo-sung, let’s go~!”
Ja-seong beckoned me to follow him into the cathedral.
His blood-stained appearance was a bit shocking, but I decided to follow him without hesitation.
It was bewildering in many ways, but it felt natural for him to act this way.
My only concern was whether he could bear the consequences of his actions.
“Sorry, Hyo-sung. I had to deal with this in your absence. I surprised you with such a dirty sight, didn’t I?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”
Having seen death before, there was nothing left to be surprised about.
But it was the first time seeing someone who could be called a power figure in the empire, where the rule of law was respected, killed, and not by a hero roaming a lawless land.
“But, Ja-seong, even if the Archbishop was trash, is it really okay to do this?”
“I made her a saint for this reason. A pig who feels lust for a little girl who can’t even handle vital energy extraction or aphrodisiacs can’t be a decent human. Digging into such guys’ backgrounds often reveals various things.”
“But still, the responsibility…”
“Hey, come to think of it, Hyo-sung. I’m late in asking this.”
While I was about to express my concerns, Ja-seong turned to me and asked.
“When you saw her, did you perhaps…?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’ve mentioned my preference several times over meals. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
I liked older women who were good listeners.
No matter how alluring the succubus might be, I wouldn’t lose my mind over a child, would I?
“Forget it. I might be eccentric, but I’m not that forgetful, you rascal.”
Ja-seong patted my back and moved ahead.
Feeling the reliability emanating from his back, I felt my worries about him gradually dissipate.
No matter how reckless he might seem, only a ‘true hero’ could act so boldly, striking down a corrupt authority figure without regard for law or status.