77
Chapter 77
I stared blankly at the scene unfolding before my eyes.
People bowing their heads towards me.
White hair.
Old men who looked quite advanced in age were even bowing to me.
They were groveling so flatly that if they went any lower, they would be making out with the floor.
That alone was enough to make me dizzy.
But the bizarre behavior of those clergy didn't end there.
"Aah......."
One old man had been crying for a while now, muttering prayers to himself.
It was a given that he looked like he needed to be dragged to a psychiatric ward right away.
I saw something bright yellow.
At first, I thought some Divine Power was flowing out...
But Divine Power doesn't have a smell.
It's not a liquid either, so it wouldn't stain the pure white priest robes.
If so, it was way too obvious what kind of liquid that was.
I could only watch helplessly as that bright yellow river flowed towards the old man kissing the floor.
However, making my worry completely unfounded, the old man didn't even flinch when the liquid touched his mouth.
I didn't know whether to be happy about this or not.
I honestly couldn't tell.
It was a sight that made my head spin, making me seriously wonder if I had stumbled into a senior center.
The overwhelming presence of a strong person I had felt until just now.
The tension that my life could be snuffed out at the slightest mistake was long gone.
Even if Divine Power was a force specialized more in healing and exorcism than attack,
most highly trained clergy were also well-versed in mana, making them formidable foes with both incredible tenacity and martial prowess.
I knew full well that they weren't opponents to be taken lightly, but...
who on earth could maintain their tension against lunatics like them?
I deserved a medal just for holding back the urge to ask if they had all taken drugs together.
I looked at the people in front of me once more.
First of all, I needed to figure out what was going on to some extent.
Thankfully, not all of them had lost their minds.
Even in this madhouse, there was exactly one person.
There was one sane person who still had their wits about them.
A middle-aged man with brown hair.
The man who had been staring at me and asking me questions earlier. At least I could reason with this guy...
"You have always been watching over us. You have been watching over us. And yet we..."
So I thought.
My hopes were instantly shattered.
The middle-aged mister wept sorrowfully.
All sorts of emotions reflected in his eyes.
As he stared at me with a haggard face, I could see regret, affection, and obsession in his gaze.
A shameless display of bootlicking that no one would ask for, something you'd only expect in some sleazy den—at the very least, it was something I absolutely wanted nothing to do with.
A headache naturally washed over me.
'What exactly is Black Fang to these guys?'
This entire mess.
There was only one thing that could be the cause of these perfectly normal people suddenly going crazy.
The moment I declared that I would judge them in the name of the Black Fang Leader, this happened.
Despite possessing such immense power, it felt like their strength was inversely proportional to their courage.
There's a limit to having no pride.
How could they grovel so flat on the ground without even trying to fight?
"We will gladly accept whatever punishment you bestow. Even if you order us to end our lives, we will gladly comply."
The middle-aged mister from earlier prostrated himself before me.
"Please, bestow the appropriate punishment upon the sinners who have defiled the name of God."
It was a complete declaration of surrender.
At this point, I was starting to experience cognitive dissonance myself.
Something. Something was off.
That much was crystal clear.
It was only natural to think so.
No matter how powerful the Leader of Black Fang was, and no matter how terrified they were of him.
Wasn't that reaction a little strange?
I could understand them being afraid, but for that fear to be mixed with ecstasy made absolutely no sense.
It felt like I was missing something.
That thought kept circling in my head.
And then, what caught my eye was....
Light.
Light radiating from my body.
My face naturally flushed with panic. I quickly checked the anomaly occurring on my body.
'What the hell is this now?'
A string of curses rose to the back of my throat.
I desperately swallowed them back down and took a deep breath.
But there was no way that would restore my composure.
It was only natural.
Wings had suddenly sprouted from my back. What kind of lunatic would just nod and accept that?
This was definitely not a situation that could be brushed off with a simple remark about being lucky.
But.......
'This is driving me absolutely crazy.'
To make matters worse.
I didn't have the luxury to investigate where these suddenly sprouted wings came from.
The current situation.
It was obvious what was happening.
If, in front of devout believers, someone claimed to have always been watching over them and came to judge them...
And if they spread their wings and radiated a divine light while doing so...
It was as clear as day what those people would think the being before them was.
...Come to think of it, I could say my bluff worked flawlessly.
The problem was that it worked in a completely different direction.
They were now waiting for my answer.
Whether they thought I was an apostle of the God of Light, an angel, or an incarnation, they believed the entity they served had descended directly before them.
This bizarre disaster that had suddenly unfolded.
I desperately wanted to adapt to the situation and slowly come up with a plan.
But I couldn't afford to waste any more time here.
I had essentially used the name of God falsely in front of the clergy.
If this were to be discovered, they wouldn't be so friendly towards me.
A bloody battle would be inevitable.
It was doubtful if I could even survive, and even if I did, I'd have to accept taking massive damage.
In this current situation.
There was only one thing I had to do.
Since it had already come to this, it was too late to turn back.
If I wanted to walk out of here in one piece on my own two feet, I had to spout some plausible nonsense and escape without blowing my cover.
I had to impersonate a god.
......For some reason, I started missing the times I impersonated the Black Fang Leader.
*****
Dominic knelt and waited.
For the words of God.
For the judgment God would pass down.
But even after waiting for a long time, God only remained silent.
Dominic thought to himself.
Perhaps he was already dead.
Perhaps the punishment had already been dealt, and the moment he opened his eyes, he would see the landscape of Hell.
However, that was the rightful end for a sinner who had defiled the name of God.
Dominic steeled his resolve and opened his eyes.
And what appeared before his eyes was... strangely enough, neither Heaven nor Hell. Dominic was still alive.
Dominic's face filled with questions. He naturally raised his head to look at the Black Saint.
His gaze questioned why punishment hadn't been brought down upon him.
Sensing this, He soon opened His mouth.
"Are you asking me to decide your fate?"
His voice.
Feeling that merely looking at Him was blasphemous, Dominic bowed his head deeply.
"However, that is impossible. For you do not yet know the most important thing."
Words he couldn't possibly understand.
His face filled with doubt, but the Saint continued speaking.
"What sin have you committed against me?"
He asked them that.
He asked them what sin they had committed.
A sudden question. Dominic panicked but couldn't blasphemously ignore a question from God.
Thus, Dominic confessed his wrongdoings.
He confessed that he knew corruption was happening, but he had turned a blind eye, considering it unavoidable.
He confessed that he knew his subordinates prioritized accumulating wealth over saving people, pursuing their own interests rather than following God's teachings.
He confessed that he had given up on setting things right.
Hearing this, the Saint spoke once more.
"That is not the answer. You are unaware of the most blasphemous sin you have committed."
Along with those words, an even more divine light poured down.
The Saint spread His wings and commanded them.
"First, face your sins. Once you face them, you will naturally learn of the punishment I shall bestow upon you."
He told them to face their true sins.
With those final words, He turned His back.
What those words could possibly mean.
What their true sin was, and what the corresponding punishment would be.
There was absolutely no way to know.
However, there wasn't a single person here who would dare commit the blasphemy of stopping God.
His figure faded into the distance.
They could only watch Him leave, unable to say a single word.