Chapter 433: Old Memories
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 433: Old Memories
“It was a truly difficult time. Back then, I didn’t know there was any light in the world.”
“Ah… ugh…”
A groan, its owner unclear, escaped from somewhere. Jane, pulling together her half-slipping clothes, slowly began to look at Baek Ahyeon. Her face was utterly impassive. Her eyes weren’t filled with madness, nor was a smirk playing on her lips.
‘Expressionless.’
She was, quite literally, expressionless. Her eyes were empty. The cute face she had seen before was gone, as was the terrifying face from the past. But without realizing it, Jane’s body began to tremble. It wasn’t because she could predict what was about to happen, nor was it a reaction born from the trauma she had suffered at her hands.
It was because she could feel a pure killing intent, devoid of any other emotion.
“I, too, suffered greatly. With my Unni… I spent an incredibly painful time under those bastards whose names I can barely even remember now, those sons of bitches who deserve to be chewed up and spat out. I always crawled on the floor, and I endured things that cannot be described with words. Before I met the Savior, I would think about taking my own life several times a day.”
“Forg… forgive us…”
“We were, we were wrong.”
“We were truly wrong. If you could just forgive us once, just once…”
“We begged earnestly, too. ‘We were wrong. Please forgive us.’ Just like that. We didn’t even know what we had done wrong or what we were supposed to be asking forgiveness for. Of course, they didn’t even pretend to listen. I always used to think about mercy, deep inside. Perhaps as a result, I thought I had become a very merciful person… But.”
“…”
“But those are not words the perpetrators get to say. You trash.”
Feeling a sudden chill, Jane unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.
“I believe you have no idea what you did wrong or what you’re asking forgiveness for. They are merely words you spit out instinctively to escape this situation. Humans are truly amusing. Whenever they form a group, they inevitably divide themselves into the weak and the strong, the victims and the perpetrators.”
“Ah…”
“For trash like you, even this brief moment of rest is a luxury. No matter how diligently you perform the purification ritual, trash never changes. Who would have known it would be this difficult to turn beasts into people? The Savior was right.”
“We… we have been purified. It was a, a mistake.”
“A lie.”
“It’s, it’s true.”
“It’s a lie. I can tell by looking at your eyes. I can still see it in them. You don’t change. When your bodies are comfortable, other thoughts are bound to arise. You find the weak in the group and constantly create excuses to torment them. You don’t need rest. You don’t need the purification ritual either. The only thing you need is pain, filled with malice.”
“Ah…”
“Inquisitors.”
As Baek Ahyeon murmured, the closed door behind her began to open slowly.
“The trash here do not require the purification ritual. Please prepare a place for the five in front. As for those who looked away and did not get involved in this incident, their sin is heavy, but I believe they deserve one more chance. They will undergo the Ritual of Repentance immediately, followed by the Ritual of Purification.”
“Ah… ugh…”
“For the Savior.”
“For the Savior.”
After she finished speaking, a creaking sound began to fill the air. Jane swallowed without realizing it. It was because she now understood that the acts they had until now called ‘torture’ were, in fact, the ‘purification ritual.’
She couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen to those who didn’t need purification. What caught her eye was something made of bronze…
‘A bull.’
It was a giant bull that appeared to be made of bronze. Of course, she knew what that device was. A torture device first created in ancient Greece, one that had been used intermittently ever since.
“You… you fucking… you fucking demonic bastards!”
“Are you… even human?!”
Those who didn’t know what the bull signified trembled in anxiety, but those who had heard of or seen it before were screaming at Baek Ahyeon. Watching them, the small woman began to murmur slowly.
“We are not human. How could those who have willingly placed themselves beneath a god think of themselves as human? It seems you still haven’t come to your senses. You will suffer for eternity. For all eternity. Put them in.”
“Let go! L-let go of me! Where are you touching?! Where are you touching me?!”
“Let go, you demonic bastards! I won’t go in! I said I won’t go in!!!”
The Inquisitors began to restrain them. The entrance to the bull’s interior began to open slowly, revealing tiny demonic beasts—insects that looked like centipedes.
“These are Lava Centipedes from the southern lava zones of the Central Continent. They are incredibly resistant to heat. They’re demonic beasts that won’t even flinch at ordinary heat. And they are very fond of human flesh. Truly, truly fond.”
“Aaaaaaaargh!!!”
“Aaaaaaaah!!”
“Kki… kki… kki…”
Seeing the swarming centipedes, the faces of the others turned pale. As if sensing that a feast would soon be provided for them, the small, bizarre, and grotesque demonic beasts began to make strange noises.
“Please bring the undying flame. I will heat it myself. If you have faith, perhaps it will not feel hot. It’s a shame, but I suppose we’ll have to be satisfied with the centipedes.”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Those trying to avoid going inside the bronze bull struggled desperately, but the difference in strength was immense. Those who began to resist had their limbs cut off and restored before being slowly pushed into the bull’s belly. It was a rather large bull. Nevertheless, when five people were forcibly crammed inside, the interior began to look incredibly cramped.
“Don’t… don’t close it! Don’t! Don’t close it!!”
“You are not worthy of speaking human words.”
“Please don’t close it. Please… Don’t clo—Aaaaaaaargh!”
A sudden scream rang out. The centipedes inside had begun to slowly burrow into their bodies and gnaw on their flesh.
And so, the tangled mass of five humans and demonic beasts vanished completely from Jane’s sight.
With a slam, the bronze bull’s door was shut, and the flame they called the ‘undying fire’ was placed beneath the bull’s belly.
“The holy flame…”
Jane muttered to herself. For some reason, she felt that its transparent appearance was no illusion.
The bronze bull began to heat up, slowly, very slowly.
“Beasts should cry with the voices of beasts.”
The reason for this peculiar torture device’s bull-like appearance. She had heard of it, but she never thought she would actually hear the sound coming from inside.
She had heard that a wind instrument was installed inside the bull, designed to transform human screams into the sounds of a beast. She had heard that the screams of those inside would sound like the bellowing of a bull.
The first thing that came was a foul stench. The smell of burning human skin.
Someone retched as if they couldn’t hold it in, but some just stared at the small woman before them with eyes full of terror.
And then,
The cries began.
“Moooooooooooooooooo!!!!”
“Moooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”
“Moooooooooooooooooooo!!!”
The sounds of beasts, pouring from the mouths of the five villains inside. The agonizing howls of the beasts who had tried to violate her.
“Finally, the beasts are crying with the voices of beasts. I am so glad. So very glad. It seems they feel the heat. It seems they find this warm and holy flame to be hot. Hehe. Truthfully, letting them die like this would be a service to this rotten world, but I cannot gift them such an easy rest. Believers, make sure the flow of holy power is not interrupted.”
“Yes, Reverend.”
“Yes.”
Those inside could not even die. It had to be hot and agonizing in there, difficult even to breathe. The only place air could enter was through the passage where the sound escaped. Not only was there no proper supply of air, but the demonic beasts called Lava Centipedes continuously ate away at their flesh. They also experienced the pain of being burned to death, which some say is the greatest pain a human can feel.
But they would not die. Thanks to the holy power poured out ceaselessly by the believers here, they would go on living inside that bronze bull.
“Moooooooooooo!!”
“Moooooooooooooooo!!”
Rather than feeling cathartic, she felt a discomfort deep in her heart. She never thought of herself as a kind person, but seeing them in such a state made something begin to rise up from within her.
“Ah… ugh…”
“Now then, the rest of you shall have your time of purification. While listening to the sounds of those beasts. The time for rest is over. Now is the time for you to take responsibility for your own actions. It is time to repent for being bystanders, for ignoring it, for enjoying the torment.”
The one slowly approaching was the small woman. Jane shivered uncontrollably. It was because she remembered the time she had spent with Baek Ahyeon before.
‘Can I go back to that life again?’
To have a painful time, just like before. To spend the time of purification with Baek Ahyeon. To be precise, to spend five hours in purification.
“Ah…”
‘Maybe…’
Maybe if that happened, I might be able to meet him again. The reason that man wouldn’t meet me must be because he thinks I’m not suffering. If I go through the time of purification once more, I might be able to obtain a brief moment of peace.
I might be able to receive salvation.
However, Jane’s expectations slowly began to shatter.
“You are without sin. Jane, you may rise. Join us. You are still lacking, but you are qualified enough to be with us.”
“Ah…”
“I will arrange a meeting with the Savior soon. You wish to be saved as well, don’t you?”
“Yes… Yes… That’s right.”
“However. That is, if Jane passes the test.”
“A… test…”
“Yes. A test. A very simple and pleasant test. Through this test, Jane can complete the purification ritual and be forgiven for all her past sins. You can cast aside your former self and be reborn as a child of the Savior.”
“What kind of test…”
“It’s very simple. Please conduct the purification ritual on them yourself. Carve onto their bodies the same thing I carved onto yours.”