"What brings you here, brother?"
"We came to talk."
I said to the old priest in an emotionless voice. I thought that if I was rejected outright, I would push harder.
But what I feared didn't happen.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but this is a house dedicated to the goddess. You are welcome here."
With that, the elderly priest welcomed us with a particularly unassuming smile. I squint at the naturalness of his appearance, wondering if I've come to the right place.
At least, his appearance seemed far removed from the criminal organization that trafficked people.
Still, I knew.
Nothing in this world is what it seems, no matter where you go.
So we followed him wordlessly into the church. It was a shabby-looking but spacious place, and even at this time, there were quite a few people gathered in the chapel praying.
It was a bit too open to be a hideout for a human trafficking organization.
"...It's weird."
Aria, whose eyes were covered by a black bandage, whispered meaningfully.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if it was just a human trafficking organization, they'd have a more fittingly evil glow to them."
"You mean they're not."
"We'll have to wait and see."
Aria's voice is cautious as always, her eyes taking in the world around her, unaffected by the bandages covering her pupils. Glimpsing horizons beyond what a mere mortal could see.
It was then.
"You said you came to talk...."
The old priest asked, his back to us and I nodded wordlessly.
"Petro, could you serve these guests some tea?"
"Yes, Father Salvador."
The old priest then spoke in a soothing tone to what appeared to be a small child. I studied the child's complexion; there was nothing particularly frightening about him, just an ordinary child taken in by the church.
"As you can see, this is a shabby church, so you'll have to forgive us for not having a table to serve you."
"...."
I didn't answer.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Comprachikos."
After a silence, I spoke up and the priest's expression stiffened slightly at the name. Perhaps I hadn't picked the wrong place.
"I heard they were responsible for kidnapping children and raising them as an 'army of the revolution'."
"Uh, who, who would that...."
"Do you even need to answer that?"
I said in a cold voice. Then the old priest replied in a slightly trembling voice.
"Hua, it's certainly true that this place used to be the abode of a human trafficking group in the past."
"Hic, hic, hic."
Then the smiling man beside him, who had been silent, started laughing again. Bending and twisting his immaculate suit-clad body into bizarre angles.
Unperturbed by the laughter, I continued.
"So now you're saying no?"
"No, but such ethically immoral behavior has long since been eradicated by 'He' who laid his hands on it."
"Then what of the children raised to be the army of the revolution?"
"Since you came here knowing the name of...Comprachikos, you must know about them."
"They?"
"...The vampire hunters."
I nodded.
"Basically, we're like them, except we have freedom of choice."
"Freedom of choice. You mean you don't kidnap children by force?"
"No, we don't. On the contrary, we despise such evil above all else, and those who were once called 'Comprachikos' here are no exception."
The old priest replied.
"They are all dead. I have taken over their place, and am transforming it into something more upright."
"...."
"Because He never abhors coercion, pressure, or unjust systems and authorities."
I was mildly intrigued by the repeated mention of His name. At the same time, I understood to some extent what Aria meant by the absence of the light of the wicked.
"Who is He?"
"He is the One who abhors all the evils...perpetrated by the old and unjust systems and customs of this kingdom."
The old gentleman smiled, and there was not the slightest wavering or hesitation in his voice as he spoke.
"He is also the master of all this revolution."
"Master of revolution."
I snorted at the words.
"Master."
"Rain."
It was then.
Aria and Scarlett whispered lightly to me, neither of them speaking first. I understood the meaning as well as they did.
So I motioned for them to wait.
"I don't know why you have come all the way here to doubt the revolution, but I can tell you one thing for sure."
The old gentleman sitting there said.
"This is justice, without any wavering or doubt."
"...."
"If you are on the side of the righteous, you can rest assured."
As the old priest says this, a group of boys and girls with expressionless faces approach us. The people who were praying in the chapel were also looking at us with emotionless eyes.
"What do you want to reassure us of?"
"That there is no injustice here as you perceive it, and that your sacrifice here is but a small part of the inevitable justice of the revolution."
The old gentleman still speaks with a soft, gentle smile. But behind that smile is a blind pursuit of justice that borders on faith.
"These children chose to be the horsemen of the revolution of their own volition, without any coercion or pressure from any system."
The old priest turns to the emotionally castrated boys and girls at his side.
"Before you die, please know that there is no evil or injustice in this, and that is the salvation we can offer you."
And with that, without warning, the blades glowed in the children's hands.
The way they gripped the hilts of their blades showed that they were no ordinary boys or girls.
"I have no interest in your justice or your revolution."
But that didn't make any difference, not in his mind.
"I only care about the chaos your actions will bring to this country."
"...."
"That's the end of the story."
It was I, and no one else, who sparked the revolution in this country, who brought them out of the shadows and into the light of day.
Whether they realize it or not, I need to be the black hand of this, holding the whole thing in the palm of my hand to save this irrevocably chaotic mess-until a hero emerges.
"If you don't want to see useless blood, get out of the way."
"...aah. Aah. Aah. Aah...."
The old priest's eyes narrowed at the words.
"I should have known when I heard that 'Jinzo' had returned to Count Bathory's territory-."
As if putting together a puzzle piece based on their own information.
"The Black Snake."
The old priest mouths the name. For the first time, the seemingly emotionless people around him show signs of emotion.
"He praised this whole revolution as a task that was only possible because of you."
The old priest shakes his head in awe.
"And you were just about to kill us to shut us up."
"Oh, I suppose that's not possible."
The old priest laughs at my mockery.
"Who in the entire world would dare to stand in the way of the great Black Snake?"
"Now you think you can catch spilled water with that excuse."
"What do you mean, catch the spilled water?"
I asked him as one of the children grabbed his sword and lunged.
-Aaaah!
Even as I realize that the action is the most meaningless of all.
As he realized it, Aria's black sword glowed in the darkness, having not been seen in a long time.
She clutched the hilt and lunged, slicing the boy in half.
"Hic, hic, hic...!"
The laughing man, Gwyn, began to laugh again, his body twisting spasmodically.
The one who said he had to protect the children, the one who said he had to keep them laughing. The one who left behind a boy whose life was cut in two before his eyes.
"Gwyn."
But Aria's voice doesn't waver.
"I, for one, respect the compassion you show."
With as much respect as she can muster.
"But no one, no matter what the reason, no matter who they are, can point a sword at us and survive, you understand."
"Hick, hick, hick."
At those words, the laughing man burst into laughter once more. But suddenly, the laughter sounded more like sobs.
"Apart from the tribute he pays to your exploits... we all know."
The old priest said through his sobs.
"The undoubted 'evil' that is before us now."
His benevolent face is taken off like a mask, his old, decrepit body like a shroud, revealing another hidden within.
-Kwazik, kwazik!
"We know, of course, that we cannot stand against you and survive."
The old man's dwarf body twists and swells in grotesque ways, transforming into an absurdly alien, muscular behemoth. Muscular isn't even the right word. It was a grotesque form, a slime-like mass of muscle.
"But true justice is...."
Amidst all the contortions, his voice was still calm and gentle.
"It comes from an unwavering uprightness that never weakens or succumbs in the face of any evil."
The words sounded eerily familiar, and I had already heard them before.
"To turn a blind eye to the greatest evil in the world is to deny all the justice our revolution seeks."
It was also a staggering foolishness.
"Remember, children, that we are willing to fight and die for the justice of the Revolution."
"Yes, Father."
"A death for the Revolution is nobler than any other."
"I'm willing to die for the revolution!"
"Me too, me too!"
It sounds like the conversation of innocent children, but it's not. There's not even a hint of emotion in their voices.
I scowl at the bizarre sight and Gwyn's sobs grow louder.
"You know, Master."
Alice, who had been silent at the sight, asks innocently.
"Can I eat?"
"...."
I don't answer right away, but remain silent for a moment.
At least he was right about one thing.
We, the people in front of him now, are the greatest evil in the world.