The First Return (1)
Fortunately or unfortunately, no one came sneaking around to steal the items while we finished collecting everything from the altar. Knowing it was an Evil God Altar, it made sense that no one would risk keeping any of it. Safe to assume there were no opportunists with sticky fingers here.
“Just looking at that Evil God Altar is giving me nightmares already.”
The final step in dealing with an Evil God Altar was cleanly erasing the symbol that represented the Evil God. We sprinkled salt in a perfect circle around it, then doused the remains with every last drop of holy water we had left.
“You may smash it now.”
“I had no idea the procedure would be this involved.”
Some people recoiled at the mere mention of an Evil God Altar and refused to come near it, but others openly displayed their curiosity and wanted to watch the destruction process. Since we had already secured all the offerings that had been dedicated to the Evil God, I told them it was fine to observe. More people gathered than I expected.
If you’d lived an ordinary life, you would never have seen an Evil God Altar—and that was how it should be. Stumbling across one would be unpleasant, but watching it be destroyed carried no such taboo.
“Beginning now. Hup!”
BOOM—!!!!
With Princess Rasiel’s monstrous strength, destroying the altar would have been effortless. But no one with royal blood in their veins had the nerve to handle such a task. Even if she had volunteered, we would have stopped her with everything we had.
“It needs to be broken into smaller pieces.”
“Understood. Hup!”
BOOM!!!!!
“Very refreshing.”
“What’s that black smoke?”
“What smoke? You mean the dust?”
“No, that can’t possibly be dust. It’s obviously pitch black.”
It seemed a few members of the party could see what had previously been visible only to me. I decided to explain to those who were growing frustrated that others couldn’t tell the difference.
“It’s because you are particularly devout believers that you can see such special phenomena. It isn’t that the others are unable to distinguish it—they simply cannot see it at all.”
“You’re saying I can see something they can’t?”
“Ahem!”
Those who couldn’t see it looked embarrassed, while those who could lifted their chins with pride, delighted that their piety had finally been proven.
“See? I told you to attend church properly.”
“I never missed a single service!”
“You weren’t going there to pray—you were chasing girls!”
They even started bickering. I was wondering whether I should intervene when questions flew my way.
“So what exactly is that black smoke, Priest?”
“I’m terribly curious.”
“It is the remnant of lingering power. It is also the Evil God’s eye.”
“I-its eye? Does that mean the Evil God is watching us right now? What if it gets angry that we destroyed its altar and takes revenge on us?”
They feared the Evil God as much as they loathed it. The sheer number of people who had died because of its followers was staggering.
“That is precisely why we encircled it with salt. The line prevents anything outside from being seen. The Evil God cannot see us.”
That was also why I had made sure the person smashing the altar didn’t step over the salt line.
“Ah~! So that’s why we sprinkled the salt!”
“How fascinating. To think ordinary salt could divert the Evil God’s gaze.”
“Is that why people say you should sprinkle salt after attending a funeral?”
“I’m definitely sprinkling salt from now on. Doesn’t spreading it in front of your house stop ghosts from coming in?”
“Are you afraid of ghosts?”
The conversation about the Evil God had somehow veered straight into ghost stories in the blink of an eye.
“No, I’m just worried that if a ghost latches onto me, it might bring harm to my family.”
“With the Sun God watching over us, ghosts have no chance of attaching themselves. Still, if you remain concerned, attend church regularly. You won’t need to worry then.”
“Wow, I really must start going to church.”
“Also, do not remove the salt until the black energy has completely vanished. If the line is broken, the Evil God will sense our presence and we will suffer constant interference.”
The moment its attention finally severed would be when it had finished venting its fury over the destroyed altar. And once marked by the Evil God, death was usually the only escape—unless you were a priest.
“How can you tell the Evil God’s eye has disappeared if you can’t even see it?”
“I will remain here and stand guard.”
Who else could I possibly trust to handle an Evil God Altar? I had been taught that while you could borrow the hands of outsiders, you must never entrust everything to them.
“I’ll do it! I can see it, after all.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I will guard this place myself. All matters concerning the Evil God must be handled personally by a priest.”
Waiting for the Evil God’s eye to disappear wouldn’t take long. The Evil God would understand exactly what it meant that nothing remained visible—that a formal priest had destroyed the altar according to proper procedure.
“We have to melt all of that down and destroy it?”
“Apparently so.”
News about the Evil God Altar spread quickly among the team members. They marveled at the effect of the salt, went to check whether they could see the black energy as proof of their own piety, and gradually shed some of their fear of the Evil God’s existence.
But the thing that drew the most attention was the “gold, silver, and treasures” that had been offered as sacrifices.
They said that if these items were brought back to the temple, they would be thrown into lava and melted down so they could never be used again.
“How much must all that be worth….”
“Did a demon possess you or something?”
“No, but honestly, it’s a shame, isn’t it? How much would we get if we sold it?”
It was a mystery how the followers of the Evil God had come into possession of such expensive jewels, but even at a glance their value was staggering. Any human being would feel temptation.
Yet once they emerged from an Evil God Altar, their worth was no different from ordinary stones.
“Who would even buy that? At best they’d say, ‘What a pretty rock,’ and move on. Hey, this guy looks suspicious—should we drag him to the priest?”
“I was just saying it’s a shame! What are you doing?! Let go!!”
“How about we start by spraying him with holy water? No need to bother the priest.”
“Good idea. Anyone with holy water, splash this guy.”
“Ack! It’s cold! Argh!”
Holy water flew at him from every direction. The man who received a full shower of it finally shook off his greed only after being drenched from head to toe.
“Feeling clearer now? Still tempted by that stuff?”
“…No. I’m sane again, so you can let go. Right now it just looks like rocks to me.”
“Good. He’s been purified!”
“Haha! You can thank us for saving you.”
Everyone here was skilled enough to earn a comfortable living, so it didn’t make sense for them to covet treasures offered to the Evil God.
“I’d heard those items contained a power that tempts people, but I didn’t realize it was real.”
“Seeing it happen right in front of me is chilling. Ugh, I’ve got goosebumps.”
“He didn’t even touch it—just looked at it—and that happened? How do subjugation teams without a priest even survive?”
All of this commotion had taken place while we kept watch over the Evil God Altar that had been smashed to powder. I found myself thinking that even if the missing people had managed to kill every monster, they probably wouldn’t have survived because of the altar’s existence. It seemed far better to die at a monster’s hands than to touch an Evil God Altar and receive its curse.
“We may move now.”
I confirmed that the Evil God’s eye had completely vanished and informed the leader that it was safe.
“Is the altar truly safe now?”
“Yes. Even if others come to inspect it later, there will be no problems.”
When I was still a student, I had learned what to do if I ever encountered an Evil God Altar. But this was the first time I had actually destroyed one myself. I checked and double-checked everything thoroughly. A single mistake could cause someone else harm, and that would be disastrous.
“That baggage….”
“These are items I must manage personally.”
Carrying heavy luggage the entire way was certainly cumbersome, but nothing was more likely to cause trouble than these objects. I decided to carry the bundle against my chest.
The silver lining was that we weren’t heading deeper into the labyrinth—we were retracing our steps back the way we had come.
“Is the purification complete?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You’ve worked hard, Priest. I didn’t bring you along intending to make you handle such matters.”
You can say that again. I had come to treat the injured. Who could have guessed I would end up dealing with an Evil God Altar?
What worried me now was the possibility that this wouldn’t be the last time. These things were like cockroaches—one didn’t mean there weren’t more. They had likely planted countless offspring in hidden places and scattered many more altars throughout the labyrinth.
It was fortunate I acted cautiously and didn’t touch the altar recklessly. People who know nothing would have touched it without hesitation.
If items from an Evil God Altar began circulating in the market, it would only be a matter of time before problems arose. It might already be too late.
“We should return as quickly as possible.”
The Holy Empire’s subjugation force had already entered and exited the labyrinth once. I wondered whether they had noticed the existence of the Evil God Altars.
From now on, every item that emerges from the labyrinth must undergo inspection by the Church.
If someone reported an Evil God Altar, the Church would need to offer sufficient compensation so they wouldn’t regret surrendering the sacrificial treasures. I had to inform them of this as quickly as possible so the new policy could be implemented immediately. Only then could we prevent society from falling into chaos because of these items.
The labyrinth is easy to hide in away from prying eyes. Is that why the heretics have taken refuge there?
It had happened three hundred years ago, so I couldn’t be certain, but nothing else explained the current situation so neatly.
If it was like that before, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be the same now.
After all, the bishop who had been coming to the Labyrinth Temple had already been martyred by heretics. We needed to stop the heretics from entering the labyrinth.