Chapter 434: Old Memories
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 434: Old Memories
“It is very simple. Please, perform the ritual of purification on them yourself. Engrave upon them the same thing I engraved upon your body, Jane.”
Jane slowly began to look around. She wasn’t the only one who had heard that voice. Though the sounds of beasts continued to echo throughout the room, Baek Ahyeon’s voice had undoubtedly resonated softly through the entire space.
“I… I…”
“Yes. That’s right. This time, you will be the one to do it. You will grant them rest and purification with your own hands. It is a glorious task. Ordinary believers must go through various processes to perform the purification ritual. But in your case…”
“Yes…”
“Your case is special. The Savior himself said it. He asked me to take good care of you, Jane.”
“He… He… really…”
“Yes. That’s right. He truly wished to welcome you into his embrace. It is a rare opportunity.”
As Baek Ahyeon slowly raised her hand, screams began to erupt from all sides.
“Aaaahhhhhhhk!!”
“Save me. Please, save me!”
“Jane! Jane!! We were wrong. Please… please make them stop. Please…”
“There’s… there’s no way I can…”
Jane muttered to herself. There was no way she could do such a thing. Having lived as a priestess on the continent, she was accustomed to wounds and death. But she had never, not once, inflicted a wound herself or brought someone to the brink of death.
And yet… yet Baek Ahyeon’s words began to sound incredibly sweet.
“Jane, even if you give the wrong answer to this question, I will not persecute you. Please answer my question just as you feel.”
“Yes…”
“Which god do you serve?”
Should I answer? Is it okay to tell this woman which god I serve? She agonized over it, but the answer was obvious. She had no choice but to answer. These people, at the very least, were not liars. They were people who took responsibility for their words and kept their promises to the end.
“The Goddess of Mercy.”
“The Goddess of Mercy… So, the Goddess of Mercy.”
“Has that goddess ever done anything for you?”
“She… she gave me divine power…”
“Has that goddess ever answered your prayers?”
“…”
“When you were in pain, when you were struggling, who was it that came for you?”
“What?”
“When you wanted to rest, when you longed for peace, who was it that saved you? When you were about to be raped by these people, when you were tormented by them, when you had fallen to the absolute bottom of this group as the weak one, who was it that saved you?”
“…”
“From this hell… who was it that pulled you out?”
“That… that was…”
“Was it not our Savior? When you were betrayed by your own comrades, when those who came with you turned their backs, when those you believed were your allies branded you an enemy, it was our Savior who was always by your side.”
“Yes… Yes…”
“Have you ever seen this god, this Goddess of Mercy? Have you ever actually seen any of the gods here? The God of War, the Goddess of Plenty, the Goddess of Love, the God of Wealth. Have you ever seen the true form of any of the gods in this place?”
“I have… not… seen them.”
“Perhaps the god you believed in was the Savior all along. The one who granted you divine power, the one you thought was the Goddess of Mercy, the one everyone thought was a god—perhaps it was, in fact, the Savior. It’s not that you’ve been believing in a false god. It’s just that you had not yet witnessed his true form with your own eyes.”
Baek Ahyeon slowly approached, carrying a torch lit with a sacred flame. At the sight of the flickering fire, Jane swallowed dryly. When Baek Ahyeon brought the flame to the person next to her, a scream immediately erupted.
“Aaaahhhhhhhk!!!”
“It seems hot. It still seems hot. Jane, what about you? How… does it feel to you?”
When Baek Ahyeon took her hand and moved it toward the sacred flame, Jane closed her eyes, bracing for the pain to come. But it wasn’t painful. Unlike the person now burning, who she thought must be in agony, this flame was not hot.
Rather, it was warm. Incredibly warm.
“Is it warm?”
“Yes…”
“You are ready. You are ready to be with us.”
Things began to proceed, regardless of her own intentions. The inquisitors surrounded one person and began to bind a woman to a grotesque chair. As Jane swallowed again, Baek Ahyeon slowly pushed the woman tied to the chair toward her.
“Ah…”
“Jane… No, S-Saintess. Saintess, please save me. We were wrong. We were truly wrong.”
“C-Catherine…”
It was Catherine. A friend who had come here with her. A colleague who had been with her since their time at the temple, a companion she had always been with.
“Saintess… Saintess… Please forgive me.”
But Jane didn’t say anything in response to Catherine’s words. She had believed she was a friend, someone she could count on, but since coming here, that thought had slowly faded. When she was alone, when she was surrounded by the others, Catherine had clearly done nothing.
“Catherine…”
When she was about to be raped by them. When she was being tormented by them, when everyone ignored her, condemned her, and cursed her as a traitor, a filthy bitch—Catherine had been a bystander. No, she had smiled. As if she’d known it would happen, as if to say that’s your true nature, as if she’d never liked her. Jane had just watched her.
She hadn’t asked for help, hadn’t cursed her for being a bystander; she had simply stared at Catherine, impassive. She believed that nothing would change no matter what she said.
“Open it.”
“What?”
“Just as I did to you. Open up the black heart of that fiend who stood by and watched, and see for yourself. You won’t kill her. You would never kill her.”
“Saintess. Please… please…”
“Catherine…”
Jane bit her lip hard.
“Why… Why did you do this to me…?”
“Saintess… I-I couldn’t help it.”
“Why were you a bystander? When I was going through that, why did you just stand there and watch?”
“I-I’m sorry, Saintess… I… I couldn’t help it either.”
“What… what couldn’t you help? One word, just one word was all I needed. ‘Stop.’ ‘She’s not that kind of person.’ That one word was all I needed. But no one helped me. Isn’t it funny? In this place… during all the time I was here! Not a single person helped me. While I was here! Except for him, there was no one who understood me.”
“Saintess…”
“I did so much for all of you. I endured being called a whore so that you could all live comfortably, and yet…”
“We… we are grateful… Saintess. Of course, we… we are grateful. We knew you were sacrificing yourself for us inside.”
“Sacrifice? What… what do you think I sacrificed…?”
Jane slowly looked at the bound Catherine. Catherine’s lips were sealed shut. You didn’t have to be a fool to know. Jane knew exactly what Catherine was thinking right now, what she imagined had happened in there, what she thought he, the Savior, had done to her. Unconsciously, Jane’s voice erupted.
“Do not insult him!”
Her hand, gripping the dagger, moved against her will and plunged into Catherine’s shoulder.
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhk!!!!!!”
“Do not insult him! Do not insult him!!! He did nothing to me… I’m not the filthy one—it’s your minds that are filthy! Yours! It’s your minds!”
“Saintess! Saintess, please… ugh! Ack! Kyaaak! Stop! Aaaahhhk!”
“What do you know about him to run your mouth like that?! You!!! You filthy bitch!!! You, with your mind full of disgusting thoughts!! What do you know about him to talk like that?!”
Her hand kept moving. Soon, her clothes and hands were smeared with blood. The former colleague before her eyes had gone limp. She was dying.
“Kuh… ugh… Saintess… stop… please…”
“Aaaaaahhhhh…”
Jane raised her hands. She realized what she had done.
“She is not dead, Jane.”
“What?”
“I said, she is not dead. You can save her, Jane. Given what you’ve been through, I won’t tell you not to release your anger. Sometimes, relieving stress this way is necessary. However, I hope you will always keep in mind that this is a ritual of purification.”
“Now… since we have drawn out the bad blood once… it would be right to give her another chance, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes… Yes. That’s right. One more… chance…”
Jane slowly summoned her divine power. She couldn’t comprehend who she was praying to, but the divine power still remained in her body. The wounds on Catherine’s body began to close, and Catherine’s horrified face came into view.
“As expected, you are exceptional. There is a reason the Savior wanted you so badly.”
“The Savior…”
“Yes. The Savior.”
“Will I… be able to meet the Savior again?”
“Yes. Of course. You will be able to receive salvation once more. He said he would spend a little more time with you after this is properly finished.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Jane once again looked down at Catherine, who was trembling in terror. Her lips were quivering, as if she knew she had just come back from the dead. Just moments ago, Jane had been utterly powerless. Before the woman named Baek Ahyeon had arrived, she had been at the absolute bottom of this group. But now was different. The others around her were also looking at her with horrified eyes. They were not looking at her with contempt or disdain, but with fear.
“A fiend…”
“You… can see it too, can’t you? There is a fiend in her eyes.”
Things she couldn’t see before now came into view. Only now did she understand what Baek Ahyeon had always meant by a “fiend.” As she stared blankly at Catherine, another thing entered her vision: an emotion. The identity of that emotion was hostility.
Fear and hostility were mixed together.
‘Traitor.’
‘The bitch who sided with a monster.’
‘Filthy bitch.’
‘You can pretend to be pure, but you’re the same as us.’
‘Don’t get so high and mighty just because you have a little power, you nobody.’
‘Helping those in need? You?’
‘I knew it.’
Various voices echoed in her mind. Staring into those eyes, Jane muttered unconsciously.
“She… she cannot be purified.”
“Then what?”
“I… I need the bull. I need a smaller bull, one this woman can fit inside. I need that bull that makes them cry out with the voice of a beast.”
“Of course… I have a few more. But are you really sure? Is it… all right to give up on purification?”
“Yes… This one cannot be purified. I can tell.”
The small woman was smiling. She was definitely smiling, as if she knew exactly what Jane was saying.
“I expected as much.”
“What?”
“Because…”
“…”
“When we put those who could not be forgiven into that bull…”
“…”
“You… were definitely smiling.”
The words were spoken calmly. But upon hearing them, Jane slowly, very slowly, let the corners of her mouth lift into a smile.
[You have advanced to the class: Pagan Saintess.]
And then, a voice she had longed for even in her dreams whispered in her ear.