Chapter 43

Look around one more time.

The corpse of Tisah, reduced to just his lower half.

The broken window.

People with indigo-purple spheres on their heads.

And in the middle of them all, a silver-haired girl being held captive.

Also, a purple-haired girl.

This is clearly the scene of a disaster.

If someone comes in, they’ll probably grab me and Thungkesuni and torture us.

What if I point at Thungkesuni and accuse her of being a witch?

Hmm…

They’d probably try to kill me instead, introducing themselves as they do so. The only intruder here is obviously Thungkesuni, but there’s no way anyone would be stupid enough to believe that *I’m* not the bad guy.

Even though my neck was severed earlier, I’m still alive—so dying easily isn’t an option. But living forever can sometimes be excruciatingly painful too.

Besides, I have this uneasy feeling that moving recklessly could be dangerous.

Every time I exert strength, it sounds like cracks are widening. Am I really that heavy?

I’m one of those people with an indigo-purple sphere on their head—or rather, let’s call them Sphere Humans. I used that ability to place barriers at the entrance. Someone has to stop whoever tries to come in.

Still, these people are weird too. When I took Tisah’s warmth, I also absorbed their life force.

And I gained all their memories too.

But no serious mutations occurred. The light is black—it’s a dark color faintly tinged with purple.

Huh?

That’s strange. This isn’t how offerings usually look.

When an offering turns dark, its light shrivels up like dried fruit. But this faint purple hue means it’s the light of someone who received a blessing.

Anyone I bless, I can watch through their perspective.

But I couldn’t see Tisah’s descendants or even his direct children.

Honestly, because of that, I never thought I’d be able to directly affect Tisah’s lineage.

It wasn’t until I impulsively grabbed everyone in sight that I realized I could touch his descendants.

Now that I’ve consumed these people, I can control them.

But…aren’t those spheres slowly shrinking?

It feels oddly like a candle burning down.

I don’t know what will happen if they completely disappear. In the worst case, I might get banished from this world again.

No way.

I need to convince Thungkesuni now.

By any means necessary, I need to leave behind a book.

I locked eyes with Thungkesuni. Ever since she fiercely rejected me earlier, she’s been glaring at me silently.

First things first, we need to talk.

Normally, I wouldn’t think I could easily manipulate Thungkesuni, but right now, I have the upper hand. She’s scared stiff because she’s trapped.

If we were on equal footing, my chances of winning would’ve been slim, but now, I can influence her. I need to give it my best shot before I lose this advantage.

“Thungkesuni. Why won’t you help?”

She doesn’t answer my question.

I need to find a way to get her talking.

Beating her would only fuel her defiance. If I pressure her into doing something out of anger, she might refuse altogether. Even if she does comply, refusing to write down the summoning method would ultimately harm me.

So, I need another approach.

If I had some incredible technique, I’d use it—but I don’t. At most, I can skim through the knowledge of the gray-haired man whose light has faded. There are a few methods listed there.

However, while I understand the theory behind tactics like “foot-in-the-door,” I don’t know how to apply them. So, I’ll stick with something I’ve used before.

Yes.

I’m going to provoke her.

When you blatantly lie and insult someone by calling them foolish, they get angry.

Like when you hear pseudo-science theories about flat earth, you feel compelled to correct them.

Thungkesuni, the Witch of Ecstasy.

She originally had nothing to do with the Future Hope Church. She’s an older witch—one that the Yeongyang Church Nation targeted for extermination long before Yaseul became their leader. An ancient witch who lived for centuries.

After the Yeongyang Church Nation fell to the invasion of the Ansellus Kingdom, driven by vengeance, they sought out Thungkesuni.

Amused by the situation, Thungkesuni decided to help Yaseul.

She taught Yaseul a few secret techniques, but those weren’t central to Yaseul’s grand plans.

Actually, the reason I was summoned was because Yaseul performed a ritual to bring forth powerful monsters to use as weapons. Initially, I was quite disappointing.

But after I demonstrated my blessings, and Yaseul saw the power they carried, things changed.

It’s hard to resist the allure of randomly selecting three exceptionally powerful soldiers every day.

In the first three months, Yaseul rejoiced on days when many of my blessed individuals gained special abilities and mourned on days when fewer did.

Looking back on those memories now, I regret not understanding their significance sooner.

Anyway, Thungkesuni merely allied herself with the Future Hope Church. Strictly speaking, she was more like an advisor to Yaseul.

And when Yaseul stopped listening to her completely, Thungkesuni promptly left.

Regardless of whether she’s guilty or not, let’s examine Thungkesuni’s sense of guilt.

“Why do you refuse? Thungkesuni has killed far more people than I have. She brutally murdered them, stacking their bodies on altars. She tore out the heart of the innocent Rebecca Rolfe to use as ingredients for summoning evil entities. A mere outsider who granted power, yet exploited people into becoming slave laborers for her cult religion before sacrificing them as offerings. Who’s truly evil here?”

To pile on the pressure, I brought over a few idle Sphere Humans and had them point at Thungkesuni with their fingers, like a witch hunt. Isolating her further.

Though logically, the only sane people here are Thungkesuni and myself, having more humanoid figures around likely increases her unease, right?

I want to corner Thungkesuni as much as possible.

She gritted her teeth.

“Who’s evil, huh? Just granting power? How many people have died because of your blessings? How many more will die in the future? You claimed you wanted warmth, and you said the offerings were Yaseul’s choices. But if you can gain warmth through your blessings, why resort to killing?”

Wow.

This is why smart people are scary. From a single statement about offerings being Yaseul’s preferences, she deduced all this?

But she snapped. Clearly, something about my words struck a nerve. What could it be? Let me probe each point carefully.

“Did I kill them? Those were their own choices. Did I force them to commit evil deeds? No. For a counterexample, take Tisah. He didn’t respond to violence with more violence; he responded with mercy. Integrity and kindness personified. Unlike you, who traps people and forces them into a cult religion where they meet gruesome deaths.”

My words left Thungkesuni silent. No rebuttal.

Hmm…

Mmm…

She’s not criticizing me for consuming human warmth. Based on this part alone, she agrees with me. She’s not objecting to my consumption of humans, nor denying the fact that she herself has killed countless people.

Then why was she so terrified of me?

I didn’t commit any particularly cruel acts.

I was simply a well-behaved animal following orders.

Even if I was considered god-like in power, I was still a restrained beast under contract. According to Yaseul, I was a controllable monster.

There must be another reason.

What is it?

Let’s examine this from another angle.

The Witch of Ecstasy, Thungkesuni.

Witch of Ecstasy. The term “ecstasy” probably stems from her expression—she laughs when frightened.

Laughter equals fear.

Can we assume that whenever danger arises, she discards everything and flees? In Yaseul’s memories, when Thungkesuni bid farewell, Yaseul muttered that she had run away again.

Running away?

Fear. Panic.

Sounds familiar.

Cowards are ferocious. Weak and cornered, they cross lines they shouldn’t. It’s the same principle: “Since I got hit once, the other person must die.” Hammurabi’s Code acknowledged only one-for-one exchanges, emphasizing how easy it is to cross boundaries.

Because I’m the victim, I represent justice, and the other side represents evil.

Therefore, all my actions are justified.

Everyone makes such mistakes. That’s why Tisah’s value in forgiving others stands out so much.

No, sorry, I digressed. Anyway, Thungkesuni is a coward. What do cowards fear most?

Losing something valuable to themselves. No matter how they sugarcoat it with words, the fundamental reason is likely this.

Hmm…

Then which is it? Normally, people like her desire power, but she seems uneasy about my blessings.

Shall I offer her a deal?

“Thungkesuni, let me propose something. I won’t take your warmth no matter what happens. In return, please write down the method to summon me in a book. How does that sound?”

Thungkesuni looks at me with wavering eyes.

Ah-ha.

Got it.

This was it. She was scared of what might happen to herself.

She lowered her gaze. She probably wanted to bow her head, but a Sphere Human’s hand was gripping her left cheek, forcing her to face me directly.

So, I released her.

As I expected, her head drooped immediately.

Heehee.

I approached her. Gently lifting her cheeks, I tilted her head upward. I could feel the goosebumps on her skin from sheer terror.

She’s deep in thought.

Maybe I should strip away her sense of guilt.

“Thungkesuni, if I were to kill you now, I could take your warmth along with your memories. But since I’m not evil, I’m asking nicely.”

I phrased it to imply that her death wouldn’t change anything. While everything I said is true, I can’t actually compile the memories into a book.

Of course, I’m not evil—I’m an outsider.

By definition, outsiders generally carry a negative connotation, right?

Right? The one who coined that term.

I smiled faintly.

“Will you grant my request?”

For a long time, Thungkesuni remained silent.

Then, in a tiny voice, she replied.

“I understand.”

Success.

She agreed.