Chapter 51

The royal castle of the Ansellus Kingdom, with its long history.

Among all its rooms, this one was the grandest.

The floor was a geometric pattern made by fitting colorful stones together. Ivory pillars rose up, and an arched ceiling held a chandelier made of glass.

Though normally unused, this was the space where the king displayed his majesty—and today, it was packed with people.

The relationship between the Ansellus Kingdom and the Seongsin Church was akin to that of a medieval European kingdom and the Vatican.

Considering the entire region east of Scard Rock Desert followed the Seongsin faith, it wasn’t far off to compare it to Europe.

There were differences, though—like the existence of magic users and warriors who could unleash sword qi—but there was one standout distinction:

Here, gods directly influenced the world.

God-recognized warriors and priests existed, and miracles descended from the heavens.

In such a world, the Seongsin Church wielded power so formidable not even a king could mess with them.

So when they accused the Ansellus Kingdom of harboring an Evil God, there was no choice but to bring said god forward.

After all, if a god decreed it, it was as good as the rules of the universe speaking.

No being could escape those rules.

What happens if they try?

They stop being a being.

And so, led by soldiers, something that wasn’t quite a being appeared.

At first glance, it just looked like a small girl with purple hair. She seemed more child than adult, though her large chest raised doubts about that.

Other than that, she just looked like a really pale kid.

No majesty. No menace.

Just a little girl.

That’s what anyone seeing her for the first time thought.

And most of the people in this room *were* seeing her for the first time—probably over 80% of them.

Most here were nobles or clerics.

The exceptions were servants moving around, but even they held near-noble status.

Not everyone present was from the Ansellus Kingdom, though.

Many hailed from neighboring kingdoms surrounding Ansellus.

Why so many foreign nobles and royalty?

Because just yesterday, Tisah, a legendary figure, had his funeral.

As a state event, many foreigners had attended out of respect.

They originally planned to attend the all-night banquet after the funeral, sleep overnight, and then head home.

But then, suddenly, a huge scandal involving the Seongsin Church erupted!

So here they all were.

Not only that, but local lords who came for the funeral were also present.

It was a gathering of nearly everyone who could be gathered.

Then the Outsider entered.

“Ah, so you’ve come to argue. Go ahead.”

In the brief moment everyone’s gaze focused on the Outsider entering, a heavy silence fell over the room.

The first to speak? The Outsider themselves.

“What argument? You blasphemous thing! How dare you address Lord Seongsin!”

Immediately, a paladin drew their sword and shouted. They then proceeded to quote scriptures from the Seongsin Church, condemning the Outsider.

To those who based their religion on the Seongsin Church, scripture carried immense persuasive weight.

This meant most in the room began to unquestioningly view the small girl before them as the Evil God—a pure embodiment of evil.

Which she actually was.

Taking warmth from others turned people into monsters. Not just any monsters, but ones that hunted for warmth and killed living beings.

How is that different from murder?

And it wasn’t just brute hunting.

She could implant herself within others and steal their warmth.

Already disgusting enough, but she also controlled the descendants of those she’d implanted herself in.

When she split herself and died, she took everything they had.

The Outsider mistakenly believed their contract was blood-based, but it was truly rooted in her own agreements.

Interpreted another way, this agreement could potentially tear apart the entire Ansellus Kingdom.

But the Outsider didn’t know that yet.

Without specialized knowledge, understanding how digestion works when eating food is similar to how someone might misunderstand this situation.

However, the Outsider never intended to fully grasp it—not because they were good, but because doing so would yield greater profit.

Thus, for more profit, they wore a mask of hypocrisy, taking only what was necessary and strictly adhering to contracts.

In fact, for the first contractor Yasle, one could argue revenge was completed. The Ansellus royal family Yasle despised had essentially fallen once already.

It wasn’t a blessing contract per se, but rather a wish-granting one.

Who would think the Ansellus Kingdom still stood? Instead, those blessed by the Outsider now ruled the royal family.

Aware of this, the Outsider confidently declared,

“If you say all contracts are meaningless before your god, feel free to declare that openly. Humanity will surely agree, if you truly can.”

A provocation.

If you’re right, everyone should accept it, right?

The paladin quickly assessed the situation. Though their tone might seem rough and unthinking, they were seasoned.

Specializing in what was called “heresy trials”—essentially political maneuvers—this kind of wordplay wouldn’t faze them.

There was one mistake, though: assuming the Outsider was struggling to survive.

They glanced at the priest.

Truthfully, the priest and paladin worked together using the “good cop, bad cop” method.

The armored paladin took aggressive actions while the priest played mediator, aiming to extract information or manipulate confessions through fear and camaraderie.

Such tactics were common here too.

Anyway, the priest assumed the Outsider would squirm to survive—as most evil spawns did.

So they decided to use this opportunity to showcase the Seongsin Church defeating an evil god.

A fatal error.

With the priest’s approval, the paladin loudly proclaimed,

“If you insist, we’ll judge your sins before all! With Lord Seongsin’s protection, every sin will be exposed, and proper punishment meted out!”

“Come now, calm down. If you’re so eager, you shouldn’t act rashly. Give them a chance to repay their ancestors’ sins.”

Decoded: Set up the stage yourselves, and we won’t punish your kingdom.

Suddenly, a hero once blessed by the divine became a sinner.

Some in the Seongsin Church viewed Tisah as merely a believer, not part of their clergy, and disliked the idea of him being divinely chosen.

So they planned to use this chance to diminish his holiness and elevate the church further.

While not outright wrong, it was certainly unpleasant.

An insult to the pride of Ansellus and its founder caused a subtle grudge among its people.

The Outsider, skilled at reading expressions, inwardly laughed at the scene.

More accurately, the memory of the Outsider being called the Faded Man rolled on the ground laughing.

The priest’s words were akin to telling a Korean person, “King Sejong? He’s just some king.”

But openly contradicting that was impossible due to the Seongsin Church’s authority. So resentment simmered deep within.

Meanwhile, the king approached the Outsider with a stern expression.

“So be it.”

He ordered soldiers to prepare an execution platform in the plaza. Hearing this, the paladin and priest nodded approvingly, while the Ansellus citizens, though uneasy, watched, believing they were eliminating an evil deity.

“Yes, humans have the freedom to choose their gods. I don’t get upset about that.”

The venomous blade moved.

“I get upset when someone takes away humanity’s freedom.”

In that instant, the god became the suppressor of human freedom.

But few pondered this deeply.

Because it wasn’t shocking enough. It could easily be interpreted as, “I’m fine with whatever the holy Seongsin does, just please spare me.”

From afar, Tungkeshuni giggled as the terrifying Outsider pleaded for mercy.

Almost eighty years ago.

For half a year, the monster sat silently like a doll, thinking only of eating people. Now, it trembled in fear again.

Claiming it would die moments ago, it now begged pitifully.

Tungkeshuni projected her own fears onto the situation. People often see things through their own experiences—it couldn’t be helped.

For someone always fleeing death in terror, such behavior was easy to notice.

Watching a monstrous entity quiver before a god, especially one that tormented her, brought a moist satisfaction.

Curious to see the Outsider’s final moments, Tungkeshuni decided to stay till the end.

Surely, this show would be worth it.

This perspective was deeply ingrained in the worldview of worldly beings—so much so that Tungkeshuni accepted it as fact.

When punished by a god, the Outsider would die.

Of course.

During their brief time together, the Outsider seemed immature despite claiming otherwise and insisted they were human.

A mere human daring to approach a god.

Thus, Tungkeshuni let her guard down.

Smiling smugly at the Outsider’s impending doom, she waited while preparations for the massive execution platform commenced in front of the castle.

During this time, someone with purple hair visited the Outsider.

Upon meeting, they asked,

“If you leave like this, what happens to my blessings?”

A selfish reason indeed.

Their youth and health obtained now—they feared it might vanish in an instant.

But the Outsider didn’t scold them.

Instead, they replied,

“My disappearance won’t erase your blessings. They weren’t tied to me personally. I gave them freely because I wanted to. Blessings are inherently bad.”

Hearing this, the purple-haired individuals felt their hearts sink, while eavesdroppers mocked the blessed.

Surprised, the blessed questioned,

“Bad?”

But the Outsider didn’t give the answer many hoped for. Instead, they carefully dismantled the concept of divinity.

“When children leave their parents’ embrace, so too must humanity someday stand alone without their god. Blessings are excessive gifts, but I wanted to give them anyway.”

They didn’t deny the divine.

They suggested humanity could one day rise to greatness akin to the gods.

Their words sounded neutral, devoid of malice.

The Outsider had no intention of replacing the Seongsin Church.

Instead, they aimed to plant a seed—an enlightenment leading humanity beyond the shadow of gods.

Few understood this fully yet.

But still…

Something lingered in those who heard.

Seeding hope for future growth, the Outsider walked toward their place of death.

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