< 90. The Hell of Distrust (18) >
Elder Dragon Kallieter frowned as she watched the back of the giant, bloated dragon flying across the night sky. It was not surprising that someone mistook it for a flying elephant. She lamented.
"It's so difficult to watch with my eyes open."
Putting a vulgar human soul into the body of a great dragon resulted in such a state. If it were the soul of a noble dragon kin, it would never have been left to become so obese. In reality, there were no dragons like that.
"Such a lowly race."
Even when given a body stronger than most ancient races, they still managed to ruin it. She grumbled before changing her train of thought.
She recalled the terms of her transaction with Min-jun.
He had requested two things through his subordinates to the ancient dragon. One was to drive away the prisoners who were "unreasonably" persecuting some unfortunate dragon, and the other was...
I would like to know the details of the sponsorship contract you have with the Dreamland Church.
Of course, there was no obligation to inform Min-jun. But what he proposed in exchange had caught her attention.
You leaked information about Christoph to the church, didn't you?
When Min-jun arrived in this country, all the other prisoners were summoned by the ancient dragon. So how was Christoph able to escape and move separately?
It was because the ancient dragon had allowed it.
And why did the church realize so quickly, less than 24 hours after he received a special mission?
Because of the informant who leaked the information.
So, how could the informant track the movements of a prisoner under the dragon's control so closely?
The answer was that the informant was none other than the dragon.
"Whether you have concrete evidence or are just insisting with circumstantial evidence, I don't know..."
A strange light appeared in Kallieter's eyes as she reviewed the rest of Min-jun's message.
When prisoners suddenly want to leave the scene of the incident, the reason is obvious. They must have noticed that the committee had set a large reward and given an urgent mission. So they allowed only the most foolish and inept one among the prisoners to leave and then chased after him.
Christoph had found Joachim's whereabouts through several channels before contacting the information merchant in Frankfurt. In the process, Kallieter had noticed that he was tracking the Dreamland priest.
And she had informed the Frankfurt church of this.
But was the reason for leaking the information really because of the sponsorship contract? To save Joachim? It seems strange to reduce it to that. If it were such a powerful contract that required supporting the bishop even in this situation, you would have personally intervened instead of leaking information.
Min-jun had come to this conclusion.
In the end, you just wanted to shake things up, didn't you? If Joachim were captured too quickly, the committee would never know why they were targeting him. But it seems you thought that by allowing him to escape first and then observing the situation, you might find some clue.
It was the correct answer.
If the committee finds out about this, you will be in quite a bit of trouble. It will amount to obstructing their work. However, if you accept my terms, I will erase all traces of this incident from my memory. And I will also clear the debt from the Oslo School eradication operation.
If an ordinary human or prisoner had made such a deal with her, she would have laughed or gotten furious. Moreover, Min-jun's words were based on speculation and mentioned no evidence.
But the opponent was not an ordinary prisoner.
"There's no need to gamble unnecessarily."
She knew that this agent was someone who the Dragon Lord of Earth treated with unusual favor. Sending invitations for all sorts of events. As everyone said, the old dragon did many strange things, but none of them were without reason.
Moreover, although he (in her opinion) did not reach the authority and power of the ancient dragon, he was quite useful. So it was a good opportunity to clear the small debt from the Oslo School eradication operation.
That was why the ancient dragon accepted the deal.
"In the end, the bishop will fall into the hands of the committee."
Through her investigation, she had found the clues to why the committee was pursuing him.
Kallieter turned her head to look at the city of Bremenhaven. It was engulfed in flames, spewing thick smoke.
Although there was chaos right in front of the lair, she had no intention of intervening.
It was not a war; a few lowly races dying was inconsequential. It was a matter of land, not the sea, and anyway, it would be sorted out by Min-jun in due course.
Moreover...
"A widespread mental attack that drives the lowly races insane."
This was her thought on why the committee was targeting the bishop.
Although she was tempted, the results of her investigation so far indicated that it was not worth the power to antagonize the committee.
"Still, I should at least mention it at the next dragon meeting. When will the Lord come back to work?"
Haeun-seong was horrified as he looked down at the city from the sky.
"What... what on earth is happening?"
The dragon's vision, clear as daylight in the dark, captured the horrific scene below.
Everywhere there was brutal slaughter. Those leading the chaos ran around with weapons in hand, injuring and killing anyone they saw. People screamed and fled. Of course, the police intervened, but the problem was that among them were also those who had gone mad, including some superhumans.
Haeun-seong hadn't realized yet, but those engulfed in madness had one commonality. They were all people who had gone to bed and then awakened from nightmares.
"Why are they acting like this? Why are they suddenly going mad?"
In the midst of it, fires had broken out, and flames and smoke were rising everywhere.
Haeun-seong, bewildered, continued flying and soon spotted Min-jun. Their eyes met.
=Agent! This neighborhood is a complete mess... ack!=
The most horrific scene he had ever witnessed lay before him. The dragon looked at Min-jun, who was covered in blood from head to toe. And at his feet lay...
=Ugh... ugh!=
In addition to learning that dragons could shed tears when yawning, Haeun-seong learned another fact: dragons could vomit for reasons other than overeating.
Min-jun was heaving and, with tears in his eyes, said,
=These people...=
Min-jun replied bluntly.
"Don't worry. They're alive."
The shadows that grew below the severed arms absorbed the blood splattered on clothes and skin. Most of them were the prisoners who had attacked him.
And they all lay sprawled on the floor, twisted in a grotesque manner. Contrary to appearances, none of them were dead, just as Min-jun had assured.
Unless their tools were completely destroyed or rendered permanently nonfunctional, it was rare for the committee to prosecute for property damage.
Moreover, Min-jun had limited the curses to a maximum of a week. If the state of incapacity lasted too long, it would be considered obstructing the payment of survival fees. Although no prisoner had been prosecuted for the latter reason yet, caution was never a bad thing.
"Ugh... ugh...!"
Haeun-seong looked at Asif-1,319,552 with fear. He was moaning while a cluster of reddish-brown mushrooms grew in the gaps between his eyes and eye sockets, nostrils, mouth, and ears. He couldn't even imagine what was happening inside that body.
"Let's go. Show me the place where the alien's head was."
=...Yes.=
The prisoner and dragon flew directly to the house where Joachim had been hiding.
However,
"!"
The agent's eyes sharpened as he looked at the outside of the house.
'Traces of breaking and then restoring the barrier!'
The incantation he muttered worked its way through the loose barrier. It seemed those who had broken it hadn't had time to meticulously reconstruct it.
The scene inside came into focus, and he saw unwelcome guests who had arrived before him.
"Damn, I'm a step too late!"
Three of the same race as the grand archbishop he had killed were inside the house.
"Heretic judges!"
It was a close call.
While feeling dismayed, he realized something strange as he observed without being noticed by those inside.
"What? They're not immediately capturing them but having a peaceful conversation?"
Min-jun, who had been considering storming in right away, changed his mind and recited the incantation once more. He then began to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.
And soon, his eyes widened.
=Please, don't do this, Bishop Joachim.=
Joachim glared at the intruders, clutching the head of his unconscious stepfather.
The intruders, who had breached the barrier he had created, were easily identifiable by their appearance. They were heretic judges sent from the dimension where the grand archbishop's homeland and the church's main body were located.
The bishop also noticed the scars on their necks, almost identical to the one under his stepfather's chin. Scars from being stabbed. They didn't seem congenital. Perhaps those also carried some religious significance—something not revealed to the Earthlings.
He proclaimed in a sharp voice,
"If you come any closer, I don't know what I might do."
Divine light flickered around his hand holding the severed head, a gesture as if he might crush the head if the situation went wrong.
Despite his panic, he cursed himself internally.
Would such a petty threat work? Would anyone believe that someone who had desperately fled with his head held high would kill his stepfather again?
But the response was unexpected.
=Please calm down. Let's talk without holding that head.=
A struggle had been ongoing ever since.
Joachim continuously searched for an escape route but found it difficult. Moreover, those individuals...
"Such immense divine power!"
They possessed abilities surpassing even those displayed by the grand archbishop. Moreover, the divine grace flowing from the sheaths at their waists was overwhelming. It was undoubtedly a significant sacred artifact.
But the fact that Joachim couldn't even guess the nature of that artifact made him even angrier. How many secrets do Earth's believers not know? With such a powerful sacred object, they should at least know of its existence. Even if it was not on Earth!
=Priest, please hand over the head to us.=
Joachim shook his head.
"I can no longer trust you."
As he listed the facts that the main body had deceived Earthlings about, the aliens' faces showed signs of confusion.
=...=
A heavy silence followed.
Struggling, one of the heretic judges finally spoke.
=I see. 'That person' has revealed everything.=
"Yes! Everything has been spilled!"
=If you've heard that much, we cannot remain silent. Listen. The reason we hid some doctrines from Earthlings was... to protect you.=
Joachim felt a twist of disgust.
Is this the kind of baseless lie they're going to tell now?!
"Stop the nonsense!"
=Even if it's hard to understand, listen to the end. Some of our secrets, if known to the committee, would put the entire church in danger. Thus, missionaries sent to such worlds are instructed to spread doctrines selectively. It's unavoidable.=
Joachim was perplexed by the unusual terminology in the opponent's mental wave.
The committee? Why are they suddenly mentioned here?
=The reason some content in the manuscript of 'The Book of Asif' you received was deleted is because of that! It's a confidential document that cannot be handled recklessly unless a strict defensive posture, like ours in the multi-dimensional realm, is established. The moment it falls into the hands of the committee, it's the end for all of us!=
"Nonsense that has been going on for too long…"
=I say again, the choice we made was to protect you and the people of this dimension. Our visit today is also to eliminate the danger that awaits you!=
"What do you mean?"
=The head! We must recover it quickly. The soul within has absorbed far too much! It's out of control and continuing to rampage. After his resurrection, the scale and speed of the madness caused by the murderers are increasing, right? Even in this city, there are screams and smoke everywhere. As long as the head remains on Earth, the situation will only worsen. So we will recover and handle it.=
Joachim could not believe it. With a stern expression, he shook his head again.
=Priest, please!=
He sneered.
"You're trying to deceive me with sweet words. Is it part of your plan to attach the title of priest to someone branded as a heretic, as if to get through this moment somehow?"
At that moment, the heretic judges' faces showed a strange expression. The emotion contained in their mental wave bewildered Joachim.
Guilt.
=I'm sorry. We lied to you once more.=
It was no longer amusing. Joachim spat out words filled with venom.
"Go ahead and spew out all the absurd excuses you have."
The alien race laments. The other party is already unwilling to listen no matter what is said.
=The seed of distrust towards us has ultimately turned your heart into hell. It's all our fault. The sins committed in falsehood can only be cleansed with the truth.=
Then, with a determined expression, they said,
=Until the heretic judge pronounces a verdict, no one is considered a heretic. And we have not yet pronounced a verdict on you. Furthermore, we will not be doing so in the future.=
"What does that even mean?"
It was incomprehensible.
=Our request to the committee for the leap authorization came after you had already disappeared. Therefore, the committee assumed that the target of excommunication was you. That was merely an intended misunderstanding on our part, and fortunately, rumors spread that way. Most Earthlings likely believe that you have already become a heretical priest. The request for the German government to hand over your whereabouts also contributed to this. Despite there being no extradition treaty, they wouldn't have complied.=
But there's a fact unknown to other Earthlings.
Even so, he has never officially received a notice of excommunication.
The Frankfurt church had thought this was because the heretic judge had not yet arrived on the scene. It was only a matter of time before Joachim would be excommunicated.
"If a heresy trial is unnecessary, then why are you, of all organizations, here…"
=No, the trial will proceed. And a verdict of excommunication will be pronounced.=
As Joachim was about to shout that their words didn't make sense, the alien raised a finger and pointed. Following the direction, Joachim's face turned pale.
"No way?!"
The heretic judge was pointing to the head of the unconscious grand archbishop.
=Indeed. We came to judge the grand archbishop of the Earth church, not you, Joachim. He is the one under suspicion of heresy.=
"But you said you would canonize my father as a saint?!"
=We needed an excuse to justify our visit to Earth to the committee. So we fabricated a lie that the grand archbishop was a prestigious noble and now canonized as a saint, and thus must be brought to our dimension. In truth, neither of these was accurate. We did not want to explain why he was suspected of heresy or even to make assumptions about it.=
Joachim could no longer distinguish what was true and what was false among the words being spun.
"Do you think I would believe such nonsense? What is the charge against my father? That he went mad and killed clergy?!"
=That is included. But he committed a greater sin in death than in life.=
Hesitating, the heretic judge finally spoke again.
He had concluded that without revealing the truth, there was no way to persuade the other party.
=You've heard of the currency called Talent, haven't you?=
"?!"
=The committee has faced the same issue every year. The amount of Talents they held was always just slightly below the estimated total amount mined. However, it was within the margin of error, so they overlooked it. It has always been that way.=
The direction of the story was going in an entirely unexpected way, making the Earthling bishop feel dizzy.
"What are you talking about?"
=Listen until the end. Why did they perceive it this way? Because over such a long time, it became naturally accepted as such. But what if you had doubts that this might not be natural? The moment the assumption that someone could tamper with unmanned Talents becomes possible, everything becomes dangerous.=
And the heretic judge said,
=Yes, we know how they mine Talents. And we know how to enter deep inside the mining site, beyond the boundaries that even ancient races feared to tread.=
"A mining site?"
=I used the term "mining site" to aid your understanding, but in truth, it's a blasphemous term. You already know the true name of that place which the committee does not.=
The alien said,
=Elahu-Praga.=
< 90. Seed of Distrust (18) > End