Chapter 685: What the Hell Are You?

A cavern resembling the great sanctuary on the surface.

At the very center of the far wall ran a massive line.

At first glance, it had seemed like decoration.

But now he knew.

That was not a wall.

It was a door.

This vast underground structure itself existed solely to worship what lay beyond it.

And—

“......You’ve come, Your Holiness.”

There were people blocking the way.

Lee Haein and the small number of Church members following her.

In preparation for the worst possible scenario—

The final guardians defending the most important place within the Church.

Yet unlike the grandeur of such a role—

“......”

“Huff, huff.......”

Tremble.......

Clench.......

Cold sweat dripped from the hands gripping their weapons.

Their bodies trembled from tension.

Naturally so.

'A battle they know they cannot win.'

There was no way they could remain calm while facing such a fight.

The Church’s holy relics that once possessed overwhelming power.

Those dozens of mighty relics had all been destroyed during the battle against Ariella.

Even the last remaining one—

The [Maxim of Rothar], whose power was absolute against awakened individuals—

Had been destroyed by Lee Sanga and the beastkin.

And now even the being for whom they had sacrificed countless holy relics—

Their new Pope, Shin Youngjun himself—

Had cast aside the holy robes.

“......Please.”

There was only one thing left they could do.

“Could you not turn back even now?”

Lee Haein spoke while cold sweat ran down her face.

She was sincerely pleading with Shin and the Legion members.

“It is true that our Church committed unacceptable acts against Your Holiness. And I understand completely...... if you harbor anger toward us for it. I will apologize as many times as necessary.”

“......?”

Only after hearing those words did Shin finally understand.

The fact that he had broken free from the crown’s power and stormed all the way here—

She believed the reason was rage over what he had suffered.

And indeed—

They had forcibly implanted faith into him.

They had violated another person’s mind and dominated it at will.

It would have been natural for him to feel furious.

“Well, I’m not exactly in a position to criticize others over that.”

When it came to doing such things, he himself was hardly innocent.

That was not why he had come here.

“Then why?!”

“......”

“Your Holiness witnessed it yourself, did you not?! Even if the faith you carried was implanted by force......! We never lied to you!”

Her hands had gone ice cold.

Trembling violently, she continued speaking.

“You clearly saw it with your own eyes...... that the being truly exists here.”

Yes.

Even using the crown to dominate him—

Strictly speaking, that had merely been one method meant to persuade him.

Originally, Lee Haein had been the one opposed to using the crown at all.

Even without relying on such methods—

If they could simply prove the undeniable existence of a god, then any rational being would naturally devote themselves to the faith.

That was the kind of person she had been.

“Then why.”

And in the end—

She had done exactly that.

She had shown him the being beyond the door.

“Even after the crown’s power was removed, you should have been the one persuading the Legion and stopping their advance...... so why?!”

At that point—

She must have believed Shin had fully become one of them regardless of the crown’s influence.

That was why she now felt utterly betrayed seeing him arrive here leading soldiers.

And—

Looking at her, Shin thought:

'......Come to think of it, neither the Cardinal nor I were ever the Church’s true leader.'

Once, she had searched endlessly for a savior who could protect this world.

She speculated about its identity.

And then—

A voice reached her.

Following that voice led her here.

To the corpse beyond this door.

The Cardinal and Shin alike—

Had merely been assigned the role of leading these people after having faith forcibly implanted into them.

Neither of them could truly be called the founder.

'The real one is her.'

The true founder of this Church.

The one worthy of being called its prophet—

Was this woman.

If that was the case......

“You deserve to see it too.”

“......?”

“No. Not just you...... everyone in this Church does.”

As he spoke—

He stepped toward them.

CLANG!

“......His Holiness has lost reason! Everyone!”

The Church members drew their weapons against Shin and the Legion members.

They were unquestionably powerful individuals.

But—

CLAAANG......!

“Kgh......!”

Their weapons shattered instantly and scattered across the ground.

“Targets subdued. What are your orders?”

To begin with—

Even if Shin had come alone, they likely would not have been able to stop him.

And now he stood alongside the very Legion members who had defeated him twice already.

There had never been any possibility of this becoming a real fight.

“Restrain them so they can’t move.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee Sanga stepped forward.

Then pulled a massive rope from her pouch.

Ordinary ropes could never restrain awakened individuals.

But the ropes she created were different.

From this point onward, they would be incapable of resisting at all.

“......Traitor!”

And then—

Bound tightly in ropes, Lee Haein screamed with bloodshot eyes.

“Humanity’s final hope! The salvation of this world is right before us!”

“......”

“Why?! If this is because of anger, then we would apologize! If it is greed, then everything beneath that being would have knelt at your feet! Why?! Could you truly not tolerate even that single existence above your head?!”

Ignoring her cries—

Shin approached the door behind them.

“I hate you. I hate you......! The Cardinal was right. We never should have shown this place to a creature with an unknowable origin like you. We never should have shown mercy simply because you were human......!”

What followed afterward were insults and curses so vicious they seemed intent on denying his very existence.

Leaving those voices behind—

Creeeeeeak.......

Shin opened the temple doors.

***

The temple doors opened.

And they stepped inside.

Whoooooosh.......

At once—

Air long sealed away surged outward.

Not ordinary air.

The air of corpses that had rotted, decayed, and festered for ages.

That air touched the Legion members.

And then—

“......!”

“M-my head.”

The Legion members staggered while clutching their heads.

Shin understood immediately what was happening.

He himself had experienced it the first time he came here.

“Ah.......”

The aura emitted from the corpse ahead.

Through that aura—

They had recalled the ancient memories buried within their bodies.

“Se-Sergeant Shin?”

“What is this......?”

They looked toward him with bewildered eyes.

Ignoring their confusion, Shin continued walking.

Splash, splash.......

The blood pooled within the temple soaked his feet.

Suppressing the disgusting resistance as much as possible, he advanced through the darkness.

Then—

—......You have returned to this place once more, my child.

“......!”

A small altar beyond the darkness.

And atop it lay a corpse.

“......N-no way?”

The others flinched upon hearing the voice.

They too had awakened divine power within themselves.

The moment they awakened a power impossible without possessing a [Fragment of Divinity], they must have already guessed where its origin lay.

And now, with those memories resurfacing here—

They likely understood roughly what kind of being this was.

......Yes.

Only roughly.

—Why...... have you come here.

THOOM.......

The surrounding air suddenly sank heavily.

The already-dark surroundings became even darker as a chilling cold spread outward.

—Go....... Leave...... save your brothers who have yet to awaken...... and teach them the truth. This...... is not where you belong.

A trembling voice filled with strain.

The voice itself was unquestionably benevolent.

But the air surrounding it was far removed from warmth.

A being capable of changing the atmosphere itself through emotion alone.

“......”

Shin could feel the Legion members’ reactions.

Wariness.

Shock.

They had believed the being worshiped by the Church had no true existence.

And now they were facing it directly.

Furthermore—

'If that being truly is the owner of those memories.'

Then this Church was neither a cult nor heresy.

Rather, the opposite.

A religion possessing a legitimacy and authenticity beyond any religion that had ever existed on Earth.

“......Huh?”

But then—

“B-but.”

There was one exception.

Lee Sanga alone looked utterly confused.

Her eyes darted frantically as though she could not comprehend what she was seeing.

“These are my followers, and the leaders commanding the armies of those outside...... those who have yet to awaken.”

And—

Leaving the Legion members behind him, Shin stared at the corpse and spoke.

“Not only I, but all the leaders are gathered here. If we and they speak, then the armies outside will also follow you. The power of the lands we have conquered will return to you as well.”

—......Excellent. Then...... quickly.......

“However.”

Though the being was dead now—

It claimed that was only because its strength remained insufficient.

The System’s power grew stronger the more territory humanity reclaimed.

If enough land were restored and the being regained its strength—

Then someday, perhaps, it could overcome death itself and return.

And from that moment onward, it promised to become humanity’s true guide.

“That said.”

Yes.

That was the logic the being had given the Church.

But—

“In your current state, it’s impossible.”

—Impossible?

“If we wish to teach those outside who have yet to awaken, then we who deliver that teaching cannot possess doubts ourselves. But I currently have many doubts.”

—Doubts?

“So if you truly are our parent.”

Shin glared at the corpse.

“Tell me your name.”

***

“Tell me your name.”

The moment he asked—

—.......

The voice of the System, which had been speaking little by little—

Stopped completely.

“Ahhh...... y-you insolent......!”

Lee Haein burst into tears and screamed.

“The System is weakened! Even speaking a few words to us consumes enormous power!”

“So you said.”

“And knowing that, how can you......?! Why are you doing this?! That being, that being is no different from the parent who allowed humanity to survive on this land......!”

Tears of blood streamed down her face.

“This world truly had a great guardian left behind. Someone capable of protecting us still remained. So why, why......!”

Hearing those words—

Shin let out a bitter smile.

'......I wished for that too.'

If he had never harbored such hopes—

He would never have accepted the Church’s request for that coronation in the first place.

He too had fallen into their trap because they promised to prove the existence of a god.

In terms of longing for such a being—

He probably lost to no one, not even Lee Haein.

“What does something as trivial as a name even matter......?!”

But—

That was merely his wish.

No matter how desperately he desired it—

Reality could not be twisted to fit those desires.

“I saw memories. Memories beginning from the distant past. Memories belonging to a being that became part of my flesh.”

—.......

“At that time, the rulers of this world fought against the invaders. And...... I had seen those invaders before.”

He had seen those beings before.

Twice, in fact.

'Morzan’s memories. And Luca’s memories.'

However—

The process by which those two beings were devoured had been different.

'Morzan had its power devoured.'

[Master of Infinite Magic]

In other words—

Morzan was merely the master of that power.

Morzan itself was not infinite magic.

The invader had devoured its power.

Thus the mighty divinity named Morzan perished, leaving only remnants behind.

Even so—

'The remnants still retained a name.'

That was why—

Even after meeting Shin, Morzan was still something that could be called Morzan.

Though utterly fallen and decayed, the System still clearly declared that name.

On the other hand—

'The being in Luca’s memories had its [Name] devoured.'

Originally, it had been a being that governed healing.

But its name had been consumed.

And the result was vastly different from Morzan’s case.

Though reduced to remnants, Morzan’s lingering thoughts remained intact enough to speak with Shin.

But the being that governed Luca’s world became something entirely different.

The being that had once loved its people more than anything—

Transformed into a grotesque existence that prolonged its life by accepting human sacrifices from the very people it once cherished.

And—

If Shin had not seen incorrectly—

“The being I saw in those memories had its name devoured.”

However—

It differed slightly from Luca’s case.

The divinity in Luca’s memories lost only its name while its body remained intact.

Because that divinity perished screaming that it wanted to live, a new consciousness was born within its body.

But the being from those memories was different.

Before it could be corrupted into something else, it shattered itself apart and scattered across the world.

Not even enough of a body remained for a new consciousness to take root.

“Its name was devoured and erased.”

Morzan retained its name.

“And there are no lingering thoughts left behind to become corrupted. Nor enough flesh remaining for such corruption.”

Luca’s divinity had retained enough thoughts and flesh for a new consciousness to form.

In that case—

Could consciousness truly dwell within something that possessed neither?

'Impossible.'

In the end—

Shin reached only one conclusion.

They could not point it out because their minds were branded by faith.

And yet even while carrying that overwhelming faith, there remained one truth they could never deny.

That thing was no great divinity.

“What the hell are you?”

Something clinging to that flesh.

Nothing more—

Than a parasite attached to a corpse.