Chapter 53

The Female was listening from afar as the Outsider spoke of Tisah’s story.

The babbling of the Outsider had no effect on the Female whatsoever.

Of course, the Female knew the Outsider was telling the truth. But it sounded like a monster just wanted to survive and was sucking up to the people of the Ansellus Kingdom.

So, she didn’t react at all when the Outsider mentioned freedom of religion.

To begin with, the Female had been chased by various religious groups before. In her life, God was always on the opposite side of her.

Therefore, even if someone said that humans had the freedom to choose their religion, it only made her wonder why such an obvious statement was being made.

For someone who existed outside of God, the idea of having the freedom to believe in God carried no weight.

It wasn’t like saying “Believe in me, and I’ll give you a blessing,” nor did it change anything for those who already believed in the Seongsin Church.

Sure, now that we hear the story, the Seongsin might seem a bit cowardly, but would anyone abandon their faith because of that? So, it seemed like the Outsider was just spouting nonsense to deceive people.

As the Female thought this, she sat on the terrace of some stranger’s house, gazing at the execution platform.

Just then, it started to get boring.

She used to enjoy watching the Outsider get slapped in the face or seeing them desperately suck up to others, but now she wanted something more stimulating.

Like, for example, seeing the Outsider on the execution platform crying and begging for mercy.

The Female pondered whether cursing them might work while lost in these thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Outsider on the execution platform continued speaking.

“I kept giving blessings to Tisah while he was alive, and once he passed away, our contract concluded. So, as promised, I went to him to claim his final warmth.”

A pure fact.

Knowing how crucial warmth is to a person, the Female thought the Outsider was confessing their sins before death.

People with knowledge often forget how the ignorant might perceive things.

They assume everyone knows what they know. It’s a common mistake, and the Female fell into it too.

This kind of understanding comes with experience.

Sharing your knowledge with someone who doesn’t understand and realizing how much effort it takes to make them comprehend—it’s something you have to practice.

But the Female lacked that experience.

Teaching Yasureh?

He was already an expert. With just a little knowledge unique to the Female, he could organize it into his own system due to his brilliant mind and extensive existing knowledge.

Thus, she unconsciously misunderstood how others would interpret the current story.

“But something interfered. Something prevented me from fulfilling the final promise.”

The concept of human warmth.

A term rarely used negatively. And mentioning the warmth right before death makes it sound like one is there to guard the person’s final journey.

And the Seongsin blocked it.

“So, I protested, and here we are.”

Everyone knew what “something” referred to without it being said.

The Seongsin.

Traditionally, people in the Ansellus Kingdom found it hard to think ill of the Seongsin. Being born into the faith and surrounded by it everywhere, hearing bad things about the deity would only label the speaker as a heretic, and that’s the end of it.

Maybe they’d grab clubs and rush in if provoked.

In short, a few words from the Outsider wouldn’t shake the faith of the Ansellus Kingdom.

Unless, that is, they hadn’t insulted Tisah just moments ago.

Human greed caused the trouble.

There was a tiny bit of jealousy—just enough to grow and spread—that they didn’t like the idea of someone blessed by the Seongsin being outside the church.

Of course, the Seongsin Church had its excuses.

Because God Himself had spoken.

Go forth and destroy the evil god.

It was practically divine permission to do whatever they wanted in the Ansellus Kingdom. If you find it hard to understand, imagine opening a simulation game. Once you open it, isn’t it natural to want to see how cruelly you can kill people?

God’s word became a powerful justification for doing whatever they pleased.

It melted away every ounce of human reason.

With the authority to go anywhere and punish the weak, it was far too excessive.

Perhaps it provided enough motivation to spread faith in oppressed regions, but now it was overkill for judging weaker individuals from a position of superiority.

That power led the Seongsin Church members to cross a line they shouldn’t have.

Especially since it involved criticizing a national hero whose funeral was held just yesterday.

A rift formed between the Seongsin Church and the people of the Ansellus Kingdom.

And through that crack, the Outsider’s words seeped in.

“Does humanity break contracts unilaterally without any consequences? Or does being a god mean you can ignore all contracts?”

The Outsider’s words immediately triggered a reaction from the Holy Knight.

“You dare blaspheme against the evil god! Your wicked attempt to snatch back what our Lord has saved will never succeed! Though you may tempt the weak with deceptive words, we shall follow the righteous path laid out by our Lord!”

Perfect response from someone who believes in God.

However, there was a fatal truth hidden within that should not have been revealed.

“So, the Seongsin blocked the fulfillment of the contract. Does the Seongsin never let go of those who come under its protection?”

The Outsider asked one last confirming question.

A priest sensing danger tried to interrupt, but the Holy Knight’s words came faster.

“Yes! Our omnipotent Lord is someone you cannot possibly reach! Now, I shall slay you to reaffirm His greatness!”

The Holy Knight also felt unease but pulled the sword embedded in his shoulder and raised it high above his head.

But it was already too late. By answering, he had handed the Outsider the right to strike.

“But I got Tisah back. There was interference, sure, but it easily broke. So, I wondered if rejecting him was part of your strategy?”

It looked like a question but was actually a dead-end corner.

Either lose omnipotence or compassion.

Swish.

Without another word, the Holy Knight swung his blade. Too late, but this would finish it.

If the Outsider had died…

The neck was cleanly severed.

But no blood splattered.

Instead, cracks like those on reinforced glass when a bullet hits appeared where the head should’ve been.

One of those cracks pierced through the Holy Knight who had beheaded the Outsider.

“Uh, uh, eh?”

The Outsider reached out, grabbing the white light.

About to steal the immediate warmth but exercising superhuman restraint, they stopped themselves.

Instead, they licked the light.

Instantly, upon licking, the Outsider gained the Holy Knight’s memories, and the light turned black with a purple sheen. This transformation occurred in reality too.

In the blink of an eye, the Holy Knight’s hair turned purple, and his healthy brown skin became snow-white.

Murmurs erupted around the crowd as other Holy Knights aimed their swords at the one who had just decapitated the Outsider.

Crack.

Something shattered inside the cracks.

More precisely, the edges around the hole in the middle of the cracks were breaking, widening the hole.

Anyone who’d heard the sound of glass or ice cracking under heavy weight could roughly guess what it meant.

Something extremely heavy was pressing down on the hole.

But the sound lasted only briefly.

The cracks swirling around began to be sucked into the hole. The inside and outside flipped, and the hole vanished as if it had never existed.

Standing where the hole had been was a Girl with long purple hair.

Moments ago, her head had been chopped off, yet here she stood without a scratch—the Evil God.

“If you kill me, you’ll receive a blessing. Of course, I won’t force anyone to believe in me moving forward. Believe in the Seongsin if you wish. Humanity has the freedom of religion.”

Pausing to gather her thoughts, the Outsider gave the audience time to focus on her words, unintentionally emphasizing the next sentence.

“You also have the freedom not to believe in any god. If you don’t like either me or the Seongsin who abandons you, it’s okay not to believe.”

The Outsider smiled faintly.

This was the moment when, as her head was chopped off, she thought, “Ah, am I returning to the depths again?” and quickly assessed the situation before blurting out these words.

Her improvisational skills were impeccable.

She didn’t forget to subtly poison the minds of her listeners.

Naturally implying that the Seongsin would abandon those it blessed.

Moved by the Outsider’s words, the Holy Knight Martin took a step back. The fiery zeal of his faith faded, replaced by the cold reality.

Looking around, he saw his fellow Holy Knight aiming a sword at him.

It hurt his heart.

How many years had he dedicated himself to the Seongsin Church, and now swords were pointed at him?

“The Seongsin abandoned you just like it did Tisah. How about this—I’ll make you an offer.”

At that moment, the Outsider made a proposal.

Even though Martin resolved not to leave the Outsider alone despite receiving forced blessings earlier…

The proposal wasn’t directed at him.

The Outsider rose from the execution platform, turned her body, and bowed to the Seongsin Church members.

“I will die here, so please forgive the others. Like me, I merely bestowed blessings upon humanity. Since I’ve sinned by giving explosive power to those in deep despair, I’ll vanish here.”

Still.

No one understood what these words truly meant yet.

The Female knew that the Outsider represented the phenomenon of ancient gods causing sudden explosions but, having never prayed, didn’t grasp the meaning behind the words.

She didn’t understand why the Future Hope Church resonated so deeply with people’s hearts.

The god of the lowest.

Claiming it was herself, she forgave humanity and declared the freedom to not believe in any god.

The Outsider genuinely smiled with happiness.

“It’s all been accomplished already.”

Right then, three people reading a book in a mansion on the outskirts of the capital finished the last page.

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