Chapter 564 – 564. Corrupted Priest (5)
“In the end, the incident was only managed after me and the high priests and paladins of the central temple were dispatched.”
Anies, who felt bad just thinking about the situation at that time, continued with an expression as if he had bitten an insect.
“It was terrible. Because an entire city has been occupied by a necromancer.”
The number of corpses of people who had turned into undead was well within 20,000 to 30,000.
In the overwhelmingly disadvantaged situation, the forces of the central temple, including Agnes, were able to purify all the undead spread around the center of the city after fighting against the undead for ten days without a break.
The fatigue accumulated day and night, without eating properly, not sleeping, and not even taking a short break, settled in their memories as a terrible incident that devastated their minds.
“And it was only after the undead of Coloras was completely cleansed that the central temple was able to start an investigation of the incident, albeit belatedly.”
Why was the Coloras branch attacked by the undead?
The Heretic Judges of the Central Temple started an investigation in order to trace back past events through the already created results and clearly grasp the foreshadowing and cause.
The most suspicious incident occurred during the training period for educating many apprentice priests at the central temple at the time.
A case in which someone suspected of being a ‘cult’ had infiltrated the central temple as an apprentice priest.
The reason the Heretic Inquisitor paid attention was that it was Venter, the bishop of the Coloras branch temple, who had written the letter of recommendation to the apprentice priest.
Afterwards, it was possible to secure various secret documents from the bishop’s classroom used by Venter of the Coloras Temple branch, which was safe after the purification was completed, and the details of the corruption committed so far could be confirmed.
Sure enough, people with this kind of backbiting tend to create evidence that can strike the back of the head by tying together those who committed corruption with them in case they go wrong.
As Bishop Venter was already found as a disfigured body, the evidence that had lost its use was used as investigative data by heresy judges, providing an opportunity to eradicate various corruptions that had been going on inside the temple.
“This is all the stories I know.”
“… That’s what happened.”
Eleanor nodded her head with a heavy expression.
I hesitated because I did not know what to say about the story of a young man from a rural village called Marius, whom I met once, who turned into a madman and turned into the worst disaster.
When the story was over, the heavy silence between the two goddesses and the three of them made it even more difficult to talk.
“… Sorry. You said you’d encountered that necromancer once?”
“I see… I did.”
Eleanor gave a small affirmation and turned her head to look at Eunhyun’s eyes next to her.
The memory of meeting her necromancer named Marius and even meeting a witch who had a strange obsession with Eun-hyeon was also the worst experience she had recently experienced for Eun-hyeon.
“Really… You have no face.”
Agnes obediently acknowledged the mistakes made by herself, the temple, and the Holy Nation of Erenia.
If the sacred nation of Erenia correctly identified and punished the corruption in the border city of Coloras, which belongs to its territory, then the human named Marius Holton was not a necromancer who was the worst disaster, but just doing his duty. He would have become an ordinary apprentice priest.
Agnes, as a member of the Holy Kingdom of Erenia and the Archbishop of the Temple of Vesta, the state religion, felt responsible for the lives of many who were sacrificed in this incident, and furthermore, for all the damage Marius caused.
All I could do afterwards was to recheck the system and prevent a recurrence so that this would not happen again.
The only action Agies and the central temple could do was to eradicate all the people inside the temple who had committed corruption belatedly, and the damage suffered by doing so would not bring the dead back to life.
It was a serious fact that would require a great deal of responsibility diplomatically if it went wrong, but it was because Eun-hyeon and Eleanor were the ones who revealed and acknowledged this without hesitation.
Knowing that the new disaster caused by their fault had caused considerable damage to the Kingdom of Pernias, Agies smiled bitterly as if he was genuinely sorry and lowered his eyes.
“Are you okay. We did not set this place up to investigate past wrongdoings.”
“… Okay.”
Looking at Vesta behind Anies, who immediately smiled bitterly, Eunhyeon asked the goddess.
“I have a question for you.”
[… Okay. Tell me.]
It looked like she was being questioned for a mistake, but Vesta only smiled bitterly and didn’t show any reaction, waiting for Eunhyeon’s question.
“Doesn’t Vesta have a means to independently deal with those who do not use divine power for wrong things like this case?”
“Ah.”
Eleanor gave a small sigh.
That was her question mark, which she also has as her.
The goddess Vesta bestowed her grace on this underworld, using her goddess powers to defend herself against external threats such as demons and beasts.
The power manifested through her grace is divine power.
But Eleanor knows full well that her goddess powers aren’t purely for the right thing.
The most representative examples were the evil deeds of Bishop Venter, who was mentioned this time, and the evil deeds of Bishop Harkan, who was the bishop of the Pernin Temple branch of the Pernias Kingdom.
Among those who can use the divine power manifested by the grace of the goddess, there are not only good people who help and save humans unconditionally.
Eun-hyeon had pointed out that.
Is it impossible to take the divine power from a specific individual as opposed to giving a huge divine blessing to a specific individual like Agnes or Eleanor?
[That’s a pretty painful question…]
Vesta smiled bitterly at Eun-hyeon’s question and answered her.
[It’s possible, if you put it bluntly.]
Eun-hyeon had expected that answer as well.
Because Agnes had already shown such an example once.
Through the ‘pleasure’ that only she could raise her voice to her goddess, there was a case in which Agies succeeded in exposing Bishop Harkan and turning her into an ordinary human who could not use her divine power.
“I know what you mean. However, that is only possible, but the conditions and restrictions that must be met in order to use ‘request’ are not easy.”
The biggest thing is that Agnes, the subject of the petition, must be in one place with the object.
And as much as it is to perform miracles in the underworld through prayers to gods, it requires enormous divinity.
Although he bestowed the grace of divine power, he did not express it directly to the majority he specified.
She bestowed the favor of a miracle, but Vesta could not choose the beneficiary of the miracle.
The rules of this underworld were fair in strange places, and the result of applying his own rules that were unreasonable in strange places.
[The reason why I gave my child the ‘request’ and the authority is because I also knew that I would use my power in the underworld for the wrong purpose.]
Vesta also expected that there would be people in the underworld who used divine powers like Agnes and Eleanor for good purposes to save people, while there would also be people who didn’t.
The power of divine power itself is not bad, but a problem that arises because the ideology and nature of the person who uses it is bad.
It wasn’t just Vesta who didn’t think about that problem and simply bestowed the grace of divine power on the underworld.
[So, to prevent those children of the lower world from abusing my grace and having other thoughts, I have given them roles and oracles so that my children can keep them in check.]
That was the beginning of Agnes and the heresy judges who were given the role of inspectors.
“But that part just didn’t work.”
The number of himself and the Heretic Inquisitor is limited, and the territory of the Holy Nation of Erenia is too wide.
In particular, it was a realistic problem that there were too few manpower to carry out the investigation, including even in a small provincial town, such as Coloras.
“It’s just an excuse, but… Maybe this was our limit.”
Agies candidly confessed that the roles and responsibilities assigned to him were too heavy.
“I felt that you were really great.”
“… I?”
Eunhyeon put on a bewildered expression as she looked at Agnes, who was suddenly looking at him with respect.
“I know how messed up the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Pernias were in the past because I heard about it.”
At the time of dismissal of Bishop Harkan, a number of key figures in the kingdom of Pernias were intertwined between the issues he dealt with and the details of the corruption, so Agies was well aware of the issues.
“But now Fernias is different. Because you made it.”
The corrupt nobles were wiped out like squeezing rotten pus, and a new queen was installed, and a system as solid as a fortress was created so that no one could have other thoughts.
Even the ruthless and ruthless system to collect all the information of the shadows through Heilangdan, and to deal with it immediately if anyone still harbors the wrong idea appears.
The current Pernias, which has squeezed out all the rotten pus, is like the country closest to the ideal of ‘everyone moving forward in unison’ that Agnes had.
It was none other than Eunhyeon who created the beginning and frame.
“If you, not me, had been in the Holy Land of Erenia, in the Temple of Vesta, would the result have been different?”
“I don’t know.”
Eunhyeon smiled bitterly and accepted Agnes’ gaze.
Even if you assume the situation, regret about what has already passed is a lot of wasted and useless.
What matters is now and in the future.
Eunhyeon resumed her story.
“The real reason you were staying in Pernias Kingdom was because of Marius?”
“That’s right.”
Anyes honestly nodded at Eunhyun’s question.
“I heard about the incident with the necromancer in Fernias Kingdom, and I immediately realized that that man had done it. I could hear the man’s name in the story of his one engagement.”
I realized that this was the reason why Agnes, the best force of the Temple of Vesta, was staying here in the Armitas Territory, but there was no request from the main school of the Temple.
The most important problem of the Temple of Vesta right now was to deal with the cataclysm created in their territory, Necromancer Marius.
“I thought that if I stayed by your side, I would meet him again someday. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now.”
“Are you okay. I could have heard the story even now.”
Eunhyeon looked at Agies and Vesta again and asked.
“Are you okay now?”
It was a question with multiple meanings.
The state of her mind in which she feels responsible and blames herself for the birth of the disaster called necromancer.
And again, it is to ask whether there is a possibility of a recurrence of this problem, and whether the internal affairs of the Holy Kingdom of Erenia and the Temple of Vesta are still intact.
“It should be fine.”
Agnes did not confirm that it was okay.
It is a future that she herself cannot predict.
She just promised herself that she had to be okay, that she had to try.
“Now, our Pope, on my behalf, is reorganizing the system so that such incidents do not recur and increasing various personnel, including the Inquisitor. An incident like that should never happen again.”
“Okay. That’s it. Thanks for talking.”
“… No. I felt a little lighter because I was able to tell you this story too. Rather, I am grateful. And… If you ever meet him, I want you to help me.”
Eun-hyeon, who had already engaged in a battle with Marius once, is a very reliable support for Agnes.
She could have the upper hand in a fight with Marius, as she handles divine power due to her nature, but since she didn’t know what to do later, she needed to be fully prepared.
And Eun-hyun is making the preparations step by step.
[Really… It’s a disaster caused by the fault of me and the child, but I’m sorry to burden Belldandy’s child.]
Following Agnes, Vesta also showed an apologetic expression to Eunhyeon because she had no face.
“It’s okay. Vesta-sama has not forgotten the grace of caring for Eleanor.”
[Whoops. How… It’s not even weird to say. How could I be so wrong with my child.]
Vesta slowly flew towards Eunhyeon and gave a small smile.
[Will you accept my power too?]
“Yes… ? Vesta-sama’s power?”
Eunhyeon asked back, unable to understand for a moment what he was talking about.
[Okay. My strength. Then the child can become stronger.]
It was a proposal and invitation that could not be given to ordinary people.
Directly accepting Vesta’s divine power, not the divine power of the underworld, is an area that is impossible for ordinary humans.
This is absolutely impossible for Agies.
It was a proposal that was only possible because Eunhyeon, a half-god with divine status.
[But for that… It means that I have to do what Belldandi does with Ai, what does Ai think?]
“Yes… ? That…”
Eun-hyun, who was late in understanding what Vesta’s proposal meant in her head, was belatedly embarrassed for a while.
Vesta’s hand caressed Eunhyun’s cheek, giving her a kind smile.
[There is nothing to worry about. The child just needs to be still. I’ll make you feel completely different from that Sukmaek Goddess…]
However, the two, who couldn’t stand to watch it, immediately took action.
[Absolutely not!]
“Vesta. Please stop joking around here.”
[Oh my goodness.]
No matter how much she was the goddess she worshiped, Eleanor’s confident behavior of drawing a line between public and private affairs resolutely made Vesta slightly step back from her and smile with an amusing smile.
I expected Verdandi’s intrusion, but I didn’t expect Eleanor’s intrusion, so it’s more fun.
[Wasn’t that a joke?]
[Where! Don’t try to teach my child strange things!]
[Isn’t it wrapping around too much? He’s no longer a human, he’s a demigod. You should give your child the right to taste and choose various things.]
[Go, don’t come close!]
“Berdandy… If you let me go…”
Seeing Belldandi and Eleanor hugging Eunhyeon’s upper body tightly and pushing her breasts, and Eunhyeon making a troubled expression while being caught between Vesta’s scuffle, Aies erased the disrespectful expression she had made earlier and looked at her. Frowned.
“X feet. Really fucking envious bastard.”
She felt annoyed that he was feeling Belldandy’s breasts in such a way that she had never touched them.
