Chapter 209: Brainwashing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: Brainwashing
I merely watched the situation unfold in silence, but the chilling quiet that settled over the interrogation room was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat. The sudden, frigid atmosphere was enough to silence even the man who had just cursed. Looking at Baek Ahyeon's eyes, I could see she was glaring at him as if she wanted to devour him whole.
He probably would have been in for a very painful time if I hadn't been here, but Baek Ahyeon forced a smile, her face trembling.
“As I thought, the demon is still inside him. Inquisitor Park Jihye, please take him to the Punishment Room.”
“Yes.”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
I didn't know what the Punishment Room was, but seeing the man thrash about wildly, it was clearly a terrifying place. Honestly, I had no desire to see it, but my curiosity got the better of me. Park Jihye dragged the tattered man deeper inside. When he kept trying to back away, she simply broke his ankle.
I felt no need to go down with them, so I quietly turned to Baek Ahyeon and spoke.
“What kind of place is the Punishment Room?”
“Yes. It is a place where we send those judged to be completely beyond rehabilitation. They are too deeply corrupted by the demon, you see. It is equipped with the medieval torture devices that Inquisitor Park Jihye used at her former temple. The most representative examples are the brazen bull, the iron maiden, or boxes filled with rats. Occasionally, some do come to accept the Savior in the Punishment Room, but a man like the one just now will likely be very difficult to purify.”
“Hmm…”
They were all things I had heard of at least once. Personally, I thought the worst was the box of rats. A person is completely immobilized on the floor, and a glass tube is attached to their torso. The problem is, this tube is filled with rats.
When heat is slowly applied to the top of the tube, the rats, feeling the heat, begin to search for an escape route. Ultimately, they try to flee the heat by burrowing through the person's stomach.
There are no animals on this continent exactly like rats, but there are similar magical beasts. They aren't threatening to humans, but it's naturally terrifying to watch them actually eat their way into your own body.
“A-Are you displeased?”
Baek Ahyeon asked anxiously when she saw my expression harden for a moment, but I paid it no mind.
“Where did the people brought here come from?”
“Yes. They are all survivors from the corrupt city of Somorah or members of the Hunting Dog Clan. It also includes the depraved humans sent by the Queen of the East.”
“Well… this place is fine, then.”
They were mostly human trash anyway. They were just reaping what they had sown. I imagine that before they committed their own sins, they never would have dreamed there were people even crazier than they were.
It really drove home why religion can be so dangerous. These so-called Inquisitors were definitely more insane than the members of the Hunting Dog Clan.
In fact, I had also been to the place where the Hunting Dog Clan gathered. What they did to the people from the eastern city or the ones they kidnapped after going on expeditions was obvious without even needing to check.
“By the way, where are the humans we captured back then?”
“Yes. The members of the Hunting Dog Clan captured at that time have become the Savior's faithful servants. Some are even fulfilling their calling as Inquisitors.”
The situation was quite amusing. They were now suffering at the hands of the very people they had once tormented. I still didn't know the details of how this place operated, but considering the suffering Baek Ahyeon had once endured, I even started to wonder if she might actually possess the ability to see demons in people.
“Ugh.”
Alisha, who was walking beside me, was constantly gagging. Unlike when we had left the chapel, she now looked extremely anxious, her eyes darting around constantly. The way she was now looking at me with fear in her eyes, her expression seemed to say she never realized what a madman I was.
Baek Ahyeon observed Alisha’s expression with great interest.
I spoke to Baek Ahyeon jokingly.
“Do you see a demon?”
Naturally, the elf flinched. But Baek Ahyeon shook her head.
“Unfortunately, I do not.”
It seemed Baek Ahyeon had her own criteria. Alisha was now completely terrified, grabbing onto my arm as we walked. I couldn't tell if it was because of the elves' characteristically gentle nature or if she was simply raised in luxury, but she seemed to be having a very hard time adapting.
“What about the second stage?”
“Yes. Those who pass the first stage undergo the second ritual, which is a little easier to pass than the first.”
As we moved to the area Baek Ahyeon guided us to, the screams certainly faded away. I couldn't even smell blood anymore, and the atmosphere was bright rather than dark.
There were quite a few rooms, each just large enough for one person to sit in. The only sound was the voice of someone reciting something.
“The Savior proclaimed, ‘Leap, my beloved disciple…’”
“…and said that you shall achieve what you desire.”
“The Savior shed the body of an Orc and was reborn in the body of a Demon…”
The voices endlessly reciting the new scripture could be heard.
When I looked at Baek Ahyeon with a curious expression, she nodded, this time with satisfaction.
“Those who pass the first stage spend all their time, except for meals and brief moments of sleep, reciting the Savior's new scripture. They have all undergone the purification ritual to some extent, so no one sleeps or does anything else during prayer time. However, if anyone commits such an irreverent act, they must undergo the purification ritual once more.”
In other words, a single mistake here meant being dragged back to that hell from before. I peeked through a doorway and saw a person I thought I recognized, endlessly reciting from a book.
“Hmm…”
Racking my memory, I realized she seemed to be the female executive from the Hunting Dog Clan.
But perhaps the problem was that she continued to recite the scripture even though I had arrived. Baek Ahyeon suddenly erupted in fury.
“How dare you! The Savior has graced you with his gaze, and yet you do not greet him!”
Only then did the startled executive woman’s eyes meet mine, and she began to stare at me, her face pale.
“S-Savior. My irreverence… f-forgive me…”
“You will have to undergo the purification ritual again.”
Inquisitors appeared from somewhere and began to drag the Hunting Dog Clan executive away.
“Savior… please forgive my sin.”
This woman must have been here for quite a while, because she called out to me with a look of utter desperation. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to give her one chance, so I spoke.
“I forgive you.”
At my voice, Baek Ahyeon and the Inquisitors instantly fell silent. The woman from the Hunting Dog Clan suddenly burst into tears. She clutched her chest as if she were about to break down sobbing and began to speak.
“Thank you. Thank you, Savior.”
And then, to my surprise, the woman’s clothes began to change. She had succeeded in a class change without even going through the third stage.
“S-Savior.”
Even the Inquisitors were looking at the woman with some surprise. Baek Ahyeon’s furious glare was gone, replaced by a benevolent smile as she slowly looked at the reborn woman.
“Excellent, Disciple Jeong Miri.”
“Th-Thank you. Thank you!”
It seemed she had earned the right to finally escape this underground facility. I didn't remember her well, but she was a woman who had rampaged so fiercely you could have called her a rabid dog. For a moment, I felt I had glimpsed the secret of how she could achieve such results in such a short time.
“I will live as a servant only for you, Savior. Sob…”
I nodded and patted her on the shoulder in place of a greeting.
I was a little dumbfounded to see the disciple collapse, apparently overwhelmed with gratitude. Baek Ahyeon turned to the Inquisitors and spoke again.
“Have Disciple Jeong Miri washed and fed a good meal. She is a newborn sister.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Despite this incident, the others continued their recitation without stopping. Their concentration seemed remarkable.
“What about the third stage?”
“Yes. In the third stage, the candidates talk amongst themselves and engage in proper discussion. If the first stage is to erase and purify their corruption, and the second is to fill them completely with knowledge of the Savior, then the third stage is where they truly begin to study their own achievements.”
“I see.”
As we continued walking, I saw people gathered in groups in a large room. Prospective disciples, so to speak. In case they tried to greet me, I silently gestured for them to continue what they were doing. The prospective disciples who had started to rise upon seeing me sat back down and resumed their inscrutable discussion.
“‘When you reach the end, you will be able to achieve what you desire.’ This seems to hold a dual meaning. It signifies both saving the Savior and liberating the world from suffering.”
“Prospective Disciple Kim Cheolsu is correct.”
“Correct.”
“Disciple Hwang Taesan, you don’t look so bright. Do you perhaps have a different opinion?”
“Ah! No. I agree as well.”
Naturally, it wasn't a heated debate. It was so subdued that even I was quite surprised. Then, a loud voice suddenly rang out from one side.
“Heretic!”
“Heretic! That is different from the Savior’s words!”
As I tilted my head, wondering what was happening, Baek Ahyeon spoke again.
“Here, the prospective disciples also work to identify any among them who are still corrupted. The discussions continue for a very long time, which tends to reveal a person’s inner self. In that process, it's inevitable that those who are not yet ready will be revealed.”
“I see. And the disciples who fail?”
“They undergo the purification ritual again, from the very beginning.”
In other words, you were absolutely forbidden from expressing a dissenting opinion. Baek Ahyeon’s face was radiant, clearly pleased that I had visited her temple, but I had never imagined she would have established such a system.
I wondered if it would work on people with strong mental fortitude, but I figured that anyone with an ordinary level of it would become a faithful disciple long before completing this process.
“Only those who pass the third stage can finally stand on the same starting line as the other prospective disciples who were not possessed by demons. They are people who have committed heinous sins, so it would be right to kill them immediately, but I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to give them one chance to repent.”
“Excellent. Is there anything else to see?”
“Yes. There is.”
Blushing slightly, she led me back up to the surface, to a room where a large bed was placed. Baek Ahyeon spoke, looking extremely shy.
“Ahem… ahem… This is the room for serving the Savior.”