Chapter 544: The Nun's Secret Tastes
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 544: The Nun's Secret Tastes
Damn it. To think I'd fall for the "we're almost there" lie.
I finally understood why people tell that lie. Even I, feeling that faint glimmer of hope, had unknowingly pushed myself too hard. But the monastery was farther than it appeared in the Regressor's Indigo Eyes, and I collapsed midway, my stamina and energy completely depleted.
From the Regressor's perspective, it wasn't exactly a lie. Having roamed the entire world, she considered any place within sight to be close.
Ah, I'll never fall for that again.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
"Baaaaa…! You all, stop that wolf! Don't let it bite me!" Remme cried, hiding within his own wool. Seeing Remme's terror, the children scurried about in confusion. Then, a beastkin boy with ears and a tail shot to his feet and stood protectively in front of Remme.
"We'll protect the Apostle of the Lamb!"
Inspired by his courage, the other children rose one by one to defend Remme.
"Don't bully the fluffy one!"
"The Apostle of the Lamb is our friend!"
"Woof? Friend!"
But Azzy was a dog who loved humans even more than sheep. Seeing the children, she began to circle them, wagging her tail.
"Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"
"Huh? Nice to meet you, too!"
"Let's play! Let's play!"
"Play? Play what?"
"Sheep herding!"
"Baaaaaaa!"
Remme let out a pitiful cry and fled from Azzy. The sheep chewed on grass, placidly watching their king run away. The King of Sheep had protected his people through his sacred sacrifice.
"Doubt the guest who arrives with good news. However, if a guest arrives with a good companion, treat them with the utmost hospitality. These were the words of the Saintess of Origin when she welcomed the guest from the East."
While Azzy was playing with the children, the Regressor and I faced a more difficult opponent.
A nun's habit is typically black. Hers, however, was as dark as pitch, making it seem as if she served darkness rather than light. Not only that, but she also covered her face with a black veil, as if to block even a single speck of light.
"You who have come with the Dog King must surely be good guests. Welcome, strangers. I am Yegcheria, a servant of the Sky God, responsible for this monastery."
She blasphemed against God. Though she had been a nun more devout and pure than any other, she had forsaken her chance to be by the Sky God's side and drunk the Progenitor's blood. She became a vampire who neither died nor aged, casting herself down from beneath the brightest stained-glass window to the floor of the darkest catacomb.
"Elder, Sister Yegcheria."
"Yes. I have served the Progenitor and was granted a fragment of her power. Thanks to that, I am able to spread the will of the Sky God for eternity, without fail."
She insulted the Progenitor. Though she became an Elder and fell under the Progenitor's dominion, she never abandoned her faith in the Sky God. No, she displayed it even more openly, as if to prove that faith would not tarnish even under the Progenitor's rule.
"Are you looking for the nun, or the Elder? I am both, but I will treat you in the manner you desire."
The Sanctum turned a blind eye to her for one reason and one reason only.
Because she was the only one who could carry on the faith of the Sky God in a land steeped in sin.
The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka kept her alive for one reason and one reason only.
Because her existence was a blasphemy against the Sky God.
Of course, the true reason she was alive after defiling both God and devil was because neither God nor devil could kill her easily.
The Fallen Nun, Sister Yegcheria.
A blasphemer who had defiled both God and devil.
A gray nun, more devout than any other, yet more depraved.
The Regressor spoke to her.
"We came for the nun."
Instantly, the aura emanating from Yegcheria softened. Clasping her hands primly like a strict nun, Yegcheria spoke from beneath her veil.
"Welcome, my brothers and sisters. The Sky God has protected you and guided you here. For what do you pray?"
"I want to use the Great White Wall of Rakion."
"That is not possible."
Yegcheria's tone was strict and firm.
"The Great White Wall of Rakion is a grand notice board relayed to all the world's monasteries. It is a mark upon the earth that the Sky God himself watches over. No matter how urgent your news, it cannot be used for personal matters. If we were to fill the White Wall with a traveler's diary, it would become the Black-and-White Wall of Rakion. It is pure white because it is unwritten, and because of that, it can one day be used to write something more precious. It is regrettable, but I cannot grant your request."
"This isn't a personal matter. It's about a new saint."
"A new saint?"
"Yes."
"My knowledge is narrow and my eyes are dim, so I cannot recognize a saint. Would you show this foolish servant a revelation?"
I muttered a useless thought to myself, wondering if she might see better if she lifted her veil. The Regressor nodded and called to Azzy.
"Azzy. Show her your halo of holy light."
"Woof?"
"That white ring that floats above your head."
The halo of holy light was the surest proof of sainthood. A nun would be able to judge its authenticity immediately.
But Azzy, who was busy playing with the children, just tilted her head before bounding off to pounce on Remme again. The King of Sheep, tears welling in his eyes, fled from her.
Beast that she was, she rarely did as she was told, but the Regressor was used to it by now.
"Hughes. Show Yegcheria the ring on Azzy's head. Then she'll open the Great White Wall."
"You always give me the annoying jobs."
"You're the one who's good with Azzy. Go on."
'Let's leave persuading people to Hughes. Yegcheria might be crazy in a good way, but she's still crazy. Hughes will be better at this than me. They're kind of similar, anyway.'
Similar? Does that mean I'm crazy? I wasn't sure if I should thank her for saying I was crazy in a good way or get angry.
Still, I was grateful. I was interested in this person, too.
"I could show her, but we don't have to insist on that, do we? We just need to borrow the Great White Wall."
"That's true. What's your plan? Nuns are stubborn."
Right. Nuns are those who serve the will of God. Priestesses armed with strict discipline who wield holy power.
If she were an ordinary nun, that is.
The Fallen Nun, Sister Yegcheria. She is a gray blasphemer. She stands so primly now, but she is a being of chaos, neither good nor evil, who stands on the sidelines and scoffs at both.
She's my kind of person.
"Hello. I'm the King of Humans, and this person is the hero trying to save the world. We are trying to save the world from the King of Sins."
"What? Are you sure you can reveal that?"
It's not that big of a secret. Besides, they'd find out anyway if they contacted the Sanctum.
"Last week, we defeated the Wolf King with the Dog King and learned a secret of the world. To confirm it, we need an answer from the Sanctum. And south of the Enger Plains, the only way to contact them is through the Great White Wall in the Monastery of Blood. So we came to use it. Please connect us to the Sanctum."
I briefly explained everything that had happened recently to Yegcheria. As an Elder who had lived for hundreds of years, Sister Yegcheria wouldn't bat an eye at most things, but the information I gave her was almost too much for even her to process.
"This is all very sudden. And there are many parts of your explanation that are lacking."
Yegcheria answered mechanically.
"And it is too vague. It is difficult to believe, and even if it were true, I cannot grasp your intentions, brother. How am I to trust you?"
"Don't trust me. Were you ever one to trust?"
If she were someone who needed faith, she wouldn't have accepted a vampire's blood while being a nun.
She was acting like a strict, ordinary nun now, but her essence was close to mine. A gray that leaned toward neither side. That's why neither pure white nor pitch black could visit her monastery.
"I believe my proposal has piqued your interest. And I know you're not one to give up on something interesting for the sake of mere rules."
"That is not something you should say to a humble nun."
Of course not. What kind of nun would respond to words that disregard rules? But…
"You're not just any nun, are you?"
Beneath her veil, Yegcheria smiled.
At that moment, the monastery moved. It writhed as if alive, then lunged like a bolt of lightning and swallowed us whole.
It happened in an instant. One moment we were in the middle of a sun-drenched field, the next we were standing in the center of a dark chapel.
Sunlight filtered through red stained-glass windows. The crimson light was surely a part of the sunlight from the heavens high above, but for some reason, it felt eerie and ominous. At the same time, the dominion of blood that filled the space could be felt throughout the entire monastery.
The Monastery of Blood was the domain of the vampire Yegcheria. Inside, she was a nun, an abbess, and a god. That was why the monastery had 'Blood' in its name.
"That you intend to save the world… you are truly sincere, are you not?"
Yegcheria's Bloodcraft was not ordinary. Her standard Bloodcraft couldn't match that of the other Elders, but in some aspects, it touched upon the Arcane.
A ring of blood formed. A red thread, spiraling in a double helix, wrapped around my right arm. The thread, woven from blood, didn't pull or tighten, but extended a red feeler to read the minute tremors in my own blood.
"Confess. Your truth."
Bloodcraft, the Confessional Blood Thread.
A power that achieved the miracle of the confessional through blood. Yegcheria, the fallen nun, performed the holy sacraments with blood. As long as this red feeler was touching me, I could not tell a lie. Yegcheria would instantly read the slightest tremor in my blood.
It might be a different story if I could weave a lie so grand that it deceived even myself, but there was no need for that now. I extended my arm and confessed proudly.
"That's right. I sincerely intend to save the world. Because that is the path to saving not only the world, but myself as well."
It was my sincere feeling. Therefore, it was the truth. Having confirmed its veracity, the Confessional Blood Thread vanished as if melting into the air.
Confirming the truth of my words, Yegcheria walked toward one of the chapel walls.
"I have one question. Do you truly intend to do good? Do you believe that even if a man is the most wicked and violent villain in the world, the good he performs is noble in and of itself?"
Yegcheria tore off her veil. At the same time, a section of the wall ripped away like a sheet of paper.
What appeared after peeling back a layer of the dark wall was a massive white wall that glowed faintly even in the darkness. Its shape was irregular, as if it had been torn from something destroyed by a siege weapon, but the wall itself was as smooth and white as paper.
In front of it, Yegcheria tossed her veil aside as if it were a nuisance. Revealing her bare face, she placed a hand on the Great White Wall of Rakion and asked me.
"Even a filthy beastkin, a lowly vampire, or a cruel murderer. Do you believe the good deeds they perform should be respected for the deeds themselves? If a murderer who has killed tens of thousands saves a single child, do you believe there is no problem in that child revering him as their savior?"
The fallen nun, Sister Yegcheria. A twisted nun who performed acts of sacrifice and service in the name of a vampire. A demon who drank human blood, yet a saint who cared for and healed the lost orphans of the Fallen Dominion.
Her very existence was heresy, a blasphemer who dared to test the Sky God with her own sense of good and evil. Hypocrisy may be a form of good, and feigned evil is still evil, but she, who tested and shook the very foundations of faith, stood on the opposite side of order.
The enemy of order is not evil, but chaos. If order is judgment, chaos is the being that walks the tightrope on its border.
In that sense, Yegcheria was both the Sky God's faithful servant and, at the same time, his most deadly ideological criminal.
"To treat sin as sin, and a person as a person… what are your thoughts on that?"
Well, she wasn't wrong. There's the saying, "Hate the sin, not the sinner." Humans are capable of anything; even a villain can perform a good deed or two.
But I couldn't say that. Because that wasn't my true feeling. The Confessional Blood Thread wasn't finished yet. If I tried to get through this with some hastily concocted lie, I would fall out of favor with this ideological terrorist.
"Good? Evil? Sin? Virtue? What are those? A beast like me has no interest in things I can't eat."
So I answered honestly. In a way that would satisfy Yegcheria.
As I expected, Yegcheria was ecstatic. To a degree that was a bit vulgar for a nun.
"Kh, kh-kh. Hehehehe. Yes. Excellent. Good, evil, sin, and virtue. Just names attached to the actions of beasts! Ahaha! A savage beast choosing to do good—what a beautiful sentiment! What contradictions and questions this will present to those saintesses! I am so, so looking forward to it!"
'…Ugh. Even if she's crazy in a good way, she's still crazy. I have a feeling this is about to escalate in a way I didn't intend.'
Too late for regrets, Regressor.
Yegcheria spread her arms as if overcome with emotion. The grand piano in the chapel began to play on its own, a magnificent melody echoing through the hall.
An instrument conducted by blood, playing a holy hymn. What a horrific blasphemy. I could feel her determination to trample on every one of the Sanctum's most sacred taboos.
"Excellent! I, Yegcheria, will accept your prayers! Even if the cowardly nuns hold their breath, cover their ears, and turn away from this taboo, I will proudly recite the question you have presented! Hear it, see it, feel it! The truth, like the light of the sun in the sky, will find you, and you will not be able to look away!"
With a powerful cry, Yegcheria instantly dyed the Great White Wall of Rakion crimson.
At that moment, every Great White Wall of Rakion across the world underwent the exact same change.