Chapter 101: You've Given Your Permission, Then?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: You've Given Your Permission, Then?
It was a form of madness.
"I offer myself."
"I offer my life to you."
It wasn't just one or two people trying to kill themselves.
Hundreds had gathered before the Offering Altar prepared in the submerged land, each vying to be the first to die.
"Move! Wait your turn!"
"This is my first time. Me first. Please, let me be the first to die!"
The sight of them pushing, shoving, and trampling over one another to volunteer for death was something no sane person could witness.
Crazy bastards.
They only threw their lives away so easily because they believed they could be resurrected. Would they be so eager to discard their lives if they knew this death was permanent? Likely not.
Vermin who don't know the value of life. I cursed the heretics under my breath as I shoved a corpse into my inventory.
"Here..."
Soon, Paramel arrived, pulling a cart and dumping a pile of corpses before me.
The repetitive labor began once again. I had been stuffing hundreds of heretics into my inventory for five hours straight.
The smell of blood is making my nose ache.
I felt like my sense of smell was about to go numb.
Staring at nothing but corpses for five hours without a single break made a wave of nausea surge within me.
I was reaching my mental limit. I didn't care about the deaths of the heretics anymore, but the overwhelming scent of blood and the stench of death made my head spin.
Perhaps that was the trigger.
Amidst the pervasive death, my Spiritual Eye activated on its own.
—Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
What the Spiritual Eye revealed was the Blind Swordsman.
He was rampaging among the heretics, swinging his sword wildly.
Of course, being a spirit, his strikes did nothing to the living heretics, yet he continued to swing his blade with fervor. It was as if he were venting his rage, pouring out his resentment.
An adventurer who died here, I see.
I called out to him tentatively.
Noticing my gaze, the swordsman staggered toward me and thrust his face close to mine.
—You... you can see me...? You filthy heretic...
He swung his sword at me.
Naturally, his attack possessed no physical force and passed harmlessly through me.
The swordsman's blade cut through empty air. He didn't give up, attempting to attack me again and again.
I could see a fierce tenacity in his movements.
This fellow might actually be useful. I whispered to the swordsman's soul even as I continued packing corpses into my inventory.
"Hey. Don't you want to get out of here?"
I asked him.
Did he want to leave?
—I can leave...?
"You just have to make a contract with me. Do exactly as I say, and I'll grant you peace. If you want... you could even be resurrected."
If I took a heretic's body and gave it to him, wouldn't that essentially be resurrection?
It would be impossible without the Spirit Chain. But I had it.
What if I used my Spirit Chain to pull the original owner's soul out of their body and then handed that body over to those who would become my slaves?
It's basically resurrection. A second chance at life.
The warrior's soul flinched at my proposal.
"I'll give you one of the bodies here. In exchange, you must follow my orders for the next ten years. Will you contract with me?"
—Is it... is it true...? Can I really live again...? My body... it was already destroyed...
"I told you, I'm not bringing your original body back. If you're willing to take someone else's body and toil under me for ten years, then sign the contract."
The Blind Swordsman broke into a wide grin.
He smiled like a man who had encountered ultimate bliss, then began to thrash about, clawing at his own face in a frenzy.
—Fine. Good! Great!!! I'll contract with you. Ten years. I can toil. If only I can live again... Mother. If I can see my mother again...!!!! Fine!!! Let's contract!!!!
I lashed out with the Spirit Chain, binding the warrior's soul.
One of my chains entwined with his spirit. He was now my slave. The contract was sealed.
All that remained was to find a body for the swordsman to inhabit.
I wanted to use one of the heretics' bodies. Why? Because they were free. Considering the price of slaves, using heretics was the most cost-effective option.
But for that, I needed the Saintess's permission.
I approached Saintess Freya, who was currently grinning as she busily decapitated heretics.
"Excuse me, Inquisitor."
"Hm? What is it, Deacon?"
"Could you come over here for a moment? I have something important to discuss."
"Hmm. Very well."
The Saintess swapped places with Rosier and followed me behind the altar.
"Listen, would it be alright if I brought one more person over to our side?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"I just made contact with an adventurer's spirit wandering the afterlife. If I give him a heretic's body, he'll work for us. He'll definitely be a great help."
"Is it necessary to pick one of them and give them a body?"
"Yes. I plan to have him guard the Central Section, but because of the Vine Beans I planted there, I can't give him a monster's body. Giving him a heretic's body to guard the Central Section is the perfect solution."
"Hooo. I wonder if this is right. Saving a heretic... I already feel enough guilt with just one Apostle. The thought of saving another heretic makes my hands and feet tremble. Look! See how they shake!"
"No, Saintess. It'll be fine since I'll be extracting the soul anyway. I can even torture the extracted soul separately. Essentially, we're extracting the soul to inflict pain and using the leftover husk for the public good. From the Goddess's perspective, isn't this just another way to save the people? It's a measure to minimize harm to innocent people."
"Hoh. Salvation, you say."
"Just leave one with a decent physique alive, and I'll put it to good use for the public interest."
"Wait a moment. What exactly happens to the extracted soul?"
"It will go to the Goddess's side, of course. Why ask the obvious?"
"....Hmm. The defiled soul goes to the Goddess, and the remaining flesh is given to a virtuous adventurer. That might not be so bad."
"Right? We'll be using them as efficiently as possible. Let's call it 'Heretic Recycling.' It will be a great contribution to the city's development and the stability of the labyrinth."
"Wait, is this going to keep increasing one by one...?"
"If necessary, we should increase the numbers. No, Saintess, this is a massive public works project. We make the labyrinth more comfortable and accessible to increase the influx of adventurers. And for those who die unknowingly, we hand them over to the Church for resurrection. We spread the Goddess's will far and wide. It's killing two birds with one stone. And if you give your proper permission for this, I'll even erect a statue of the Goddess in the Central Section."
"A statue of the Goddess? Is that... possible?"
"Why wouldn't it be? I have a Subspace Pocket. I can move all the materials. As for the construction, I'll just have the workers made from those heretic bodies do it. The souls of the virtuous adventurers I've contracted with are, surprisingly, ready to serve the public interest according to our agreement. They will stay in the labyrinth twenty-four hours a day to manage it."
"Isn't that... essentially slavery?"
"Slavery? It's fundamentally different from a slave who can never escape their master. I'll release them once they fulfill their contract, after all."
"How long is the contract period?"
"Ten years. I have to make them work for at least ten years."
"That... that's a slave..."
"Oh, Saintess. Are you going to keep being so difficult? This is a project to develop the Underground City. If we put your name on it, you'll probably be written about in history books as a great figure. 'The Great Saintess Freya, Turning the Underground City into a Safety Zone.' Something like that."
"...You. You're a merchant, aren't you?"
"It's for the public good. Use Lie Detection if you want. You can check if I'm lying or not."
"Hoh. I've been using Lie Detection this whole time."
"I knew you were. Well? Is there any lie in my words? I am working tirelessly for the public good. Are you going to keep nitpicking? This is the best method for the collective benefit."
"....You are a madman. A madman trying to execute a demonic idea while holding up the shield of 'public interest'."
"So? You're crazy too. Weren't you just smiling while killing people? Is there any fundamental difference between you and me, Saintess? We're both working for the public good. Don't act like you're the only normal one here."
"How interesting. You've changed significantly since I first saw you. Your eyes are full of venom. Have you gone mad? The labyrinth is indeed a perfect place to lose one's mind."
"Watching what you people do would drive even a saint insane."
They were slaughtering people with such joy.
My mental state was currently extremely depleted.
It was all their fault. I had been tainted by the mad Interrogator and the crazy woman.
"Watching your transformation gives me... a strange sense of satisfaction. It's like watching a child grow. Fufu. Is this what they call maternal love? It's a very intriguing emotion."
"Please don't feel maternal love for me. It's creepy."
"Hahahaha! Fine. I like it. No one can criticize me for siphoning off a few heretics. I'll allow it. Take as many as you want. For the public good."
"You mean it? No taking it back."
"Yes, yes. Do as you please. Though I'm not sure how many you intend to take."
Yes! I got permission.
Well then, I might as well go all out.
I pulled a Spirit Summon Scroll from my Subspace Pocket.
Time to see how many slaves I can pull in one go.