Chapter 566: Cinder-Covered Sin and the God Stitched from Skin - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 566: Cinder-Covered Sin and the God Stitched from Skin - 1
The fighting spirit of the Undying was growing. This wasn't for the sake of following their god's command, but a will to fight to protect themselves from the village's crisis. A very primal and instinctual desire.
Faced with the sharp, hostile atmosphere, I fell into thought for a moment.
Even if that fighting spirit was instinctual now, its spark had been ignited by their faith. With the shallow conviction of serving that pathetic god, the entire village was about to risk their lives to fight a powerful foe like me.
…Truthfully, I'm not that powerful of a foe, but that's just what they think.
So it made me a little more curious. If they were truly faced with a crisis that could wipe out their tribe, would they still cling to their faith and traditions? Would they sacrifice their lives for a tool meant to aid their lives?
I didn't know. Honestly, it would probably depend on the situation. No one could say for sure.
Not unless I tested it myself.
“‘You're prepared to die,’ huh? You really mean it. So, would it be alright if I actually killed you?”
“You'll be the one to die. We are blessed by the Sacrificial Vessel. As long as the Sacrificial Vessel exists, we will never die!”
“The same goes for me. I have no intention of dying. I have to fight back rather than just die meekly.”
I have the Divine on my side, so while it might be difficult, it's possible. And if it's possible, it's worth a try. I might as well see just how resilient their will is.
Alright, shall I give it a go…? Just as I steeled my resolve and gathered my strength…
Thump. My heart suddenly beat strangely.
Against the backdrop of a dim cathedral, a nun prayed alone. Sunlight, filtered through red stained glass, fell upon her as she gently folded her slender hands.
Fallen Nun Sister Yegcheria had blessed someone in the Monastery of Blood.
-My blessing is endlessly shabby and powerless compared to that of the Saintess of the Sky. Nevertheless, I shall bless you.
The vampire nun had forsaken God. The mother superior, once the object of everyone's expectations for her overflowing faith, had blasphemed the Sky God and become an Elder of the Progenitor.
-The Saintess of the Sky has ordained a future for you. If you step onto this path, you will ride the currents of causality and seize the future she has blessed.
Cathedral and nun. Words that should be holy, yet they did not suit the Monastery of Blood or the Fallen Nun Yegcheria.
She performed the sacred sacraments with blood. She directed the words of those who came to confess not to heaven but back to themselves, and she washed newborn children in blood instead of oil.
-However, even the wicked perform good deeds, and the good commit evil acts unthinkingly. This must be because humans are imperfect.
Yegcheria had not forsaken God. She had simply sought the god that resides within the human body and mind, instead of a distant one.
-My blessing is a small whim. A slight stir that matters not whether it happens or not. Yet, it is a seed of chaos that can, in an instant, turn a wicked person good, or a good person wicked.
While blessing me and the Regressor, Yegcheria had sown a tiny seed. A trivial impulse that would influence the flow of blood at a certain moment watched by the Saintess, at the end of the destined future.
-The Saintess of the Sky determines the future. It is the end of inevitability. The conclusion reached through reason and causality. However, because she judges humans—imperfect beings—with a perfect standard, things become misaligned, confused, and twisted.
The breeze feels cool, my body feels light, something suddenly catches my eye. An impulse, just enough to make me feel that way, had touched me. It couldn't control me, but it could make me pause for a moment.
-God is within our hearts. I, Yegcheria, bless you.
Bloodcraft, Baptismal Blood Thread.
The power of Yegcheria's blessing was a tiny whim. It planted a small impulse in the body, one that could suddenly change a person's mindset or actions. It was insignificant compared to the Saintess's blessing, but it was a wild card that could disrupt it.
The blessing, reconstructed with Bloodcraft, certainly exerted its power in my body. The only small problem was that I already knew of its existence through my mind-reading.
A small impulse is only an impulse when you're unaware of it. Knowing it's there makes it a bit awkward. It was supposed to be her trump card, too.
Hmm. But still.
There's no reason not to act on a whim, is there?
I immediately brought my hands together and bowed deeply.
“I'm truly sorry. I apologize to all of you.”
The Undying, who had been approaching with boiling fighting spirit, faltered when I suddenly took a humble stance. I took this chance to apologize more dramatically.
“I'm sorry for trespassing and causing a commotion. But please, try to see it from my perspective. When I heard you were offering people to the Sacrificial Vessel, I couldn't just not check, could I?”
“…What?”
“Those people were sacrifices meant for an evil god, so when I heard you were offering them up, I had a bad feeling. What if the Sacrificial Vessel was a wicked being, like a black magician? What if it planned to devour them all to gain power? I only came in to confirm that. I admit I was a bit inconsiderate to you all in the process.”
“Ugh, hold on. My head.”
'Left Arm' pounded on her temples against the sudden headache. After resolving the pain with a treatment befitting an undying, 'Left Arm' scowled.
“You cause all this trouble, even attack us, and now you want to apologize? What's with the sudden change of heart?”
“It is a change of heart, but it's also true that I overstepped my bounds, isn't it? I wanted to apologize for that part first.”
“If you want to apologize, you should offer up one of your arms. How shameless, to do it with just words!”
“Well, aside from that, I was just being inconsiderate. It's not like I did something I shouldn't have. I mean, what if the Sacrificial Vessel really had been eating people?”
I didn't know what effect this whim would have, but it's not like words are only for getting results.
“However, if the Sacrificial Vessel mercifully forgives me, I won't fight anymore either.”
*
[Yegcheria. In the end, you….]
The future had changed. The Saintess of the Sky realized the nun's shadow trailing behind him and let out a groan.
No, in truth, the future hadn't changed at all. Without the Saintess's intervention, the King of Humans would challenge the order. The Sacrificial Vessel wouldn't bend its desires either, so a clash between the two was inevitable.
That small impulse had only slightly twisted the path leading to that future.
However, with just this small difference…
The ‘sin’ changes.
“He apologized! See? Hughes yielded first. Isn't that enough?”
Shei shot to her feet, her face looking refreshed.
Even if causality doesn't change at all, the standard by which the act is judged changes. With a small whim, a slight difference, the ball of right and wrong is passed to the other side.
Despite the King of Humans being who he is, and the Sacrificial Vessel being what it is, a slight change blurs the line between good and evil. Gray spreads from the border between black and white.
[This changes nothing…. In the end, that will still come.]
“It did change, didn't it? The way we see Hughes!”
Shei retorted, her face relieved.
*
“You'll stop fighting here?”
“Suspicious. He must be up to something.”
“Left Arm. What will you do now?”
“Why are you asking Left Arm, Thigh! The Sacrificial Vessel has already given its command! Are you thinking of disobeying it!”
“Hasn't the situation changed? The Sacrificial Vessel might give a different command.”
“There have been no other commands since then! So we must follow the previous one!”
“But he apologized, didn't he?”
Pouring cold water on their boiling fighting spirit, opinions among the Undying became divided. There were those who disliked using force without reason, those who feared the power I had shown, and those who simply believed my words and wondered what the problem was now.
A slight conflict of opinion arose. Unable to stand the buzzing chatter, 'Left Arm' roared.
“Quiet! My head hurts, so stop your damn chattering!”
“No, but…”
“I said my head hurts!”
'Left Arm' slammed her fist down on the head of an undying who kept talking despite her words. The Undying, whose head was now dented, fell to the ground and sheepishly shut his mouth.
“Just capture him for now! We can just lock him up until the Sacrificial Vessel's command comes down, can't we? You young'uns have less flexibility than I do!”
“Oh, that's a good idea!”
“Are you trying to make an old woman whose memory is fading use her brain, too?!”
Lock me up?
Should I indulge this whim a little more and let them capture me? I can probably break free from an Undying's restraints easily enough. Hmm, but I don't really want to concede that much.
Alright. Let's fight over this. If they're just going to wait for their god's command, there's no need for me to accommodate their wishes any further, is there?
“Wait! Everyone, stop fighting!”
Just then, a massive shadow burst between me and the Undying. A man with a build comparable to 'Left Arm's, with a particularly prominent right arm—the strongest power of the Undying. It was 'Right Arm' Rasch. He approached with a bewildered look on his face, glancing back and forth between me and 'Left Arm'.
“I say, what in the world is this bizarre situation? Why are you suddenly brawling with our guest?”
“Right Arm? What are you doing here? I'm sure I buried you and your new bride in the ground during the wedding ceremony!”
Rasch rolled his eyes. He was supposed to be buried underground after his wedding, but he had dug a tunnel in advance and carefully slipped out through it after nightfall. Only after finding a place to stay, hidden from the eyes of the other undying, did he receive the Sacrificial Vessel's call and come rushing over.
“Suddenly, my Sacrificial Vessel began to move urgently. It must have been an emergency, so I asked my wife's understanding and rushed out!”
“This whelp is a long way from being the head of a household! To abandon your new bride right after the wedding and come to a battlefield!”
“Ah, we can just have another wedding later! So what's going on? Why are you fighting with the Teacher? Did the Sacrificial Vessel order you to kill him?”
“The Sacrificial Vessel's revelation must have reached you as well, yet you ask so brazenly as if you don't know!”
“Oops. Busted.”
Rasch scratched his head, looked back and forth between me and 'Left Arm', and sighed.
“Stop this, Aunt Left Arm. There is no reason to fight.”
“What?”
“The Teacher's companion, the boy, is an extremely powerful warrior. Even the Earth Sage was ultimately defeated and lost an arm. And the Teacher is a powerhouse on par with him. We cannot fight them with half-hearted resolve.”
“Avoiding a fight just because the enemy is strong? Rasch! Is that how I taught you?”
“Of course not, Aunt Left Arm. As an undying, I do not fear battle. But I spent time with them in the Military State beyond the plains, I am indebted to them, and I welcomed them to our village as guests. How can I possibly fight with all my strength against guests I personally welcomed?”
Rasch was still young, but he had received the right arm of the Sacrificial Vessel. The Right Arm and the Left Arm were the Sacrificial Vessel's two limbs, equal in standing. With their opinions clashing, 'Left Arm' could say no more and just groaned.
“Hmph. It's not that I don't understand what you mean. But the Sacrificial Vessel has given a command, how can I ignore it?”
“Let us ask the Sacrificial Vessel again!”
While 'Left Arm' was racking her brain, Rasch came to a clear conclusion.
“The revelation must have been mistaken somehow! Surely the Sacrificial Vessel would not issue such a reckless and sudden command? It is right that we call the priestesses and ask the true meaning of the Sacrificial Vessel's words!”
To suggest a god could be wrong is not an attitude generally recommended for a believer. But this time, Rasch was right. The Sacrificial Vessel only possessed power like a god; it wasn't a true god.
I hadn't particularly intended to avoid a fight with the Undying, but if acting on a small whim let me avoid one, that was fine too. I guess the fight with the Undying ends here. All that's left is…
[As expected, a body that does not follow the will of the head is nothing but a disorderly mob.]
Ruuuumble. A great vibration came from the Sacrificial Vessel's cave. As if the cave were too small, a figure emerged, bracing a hand against the ceiling as it slowly walked out.
A grotesque body made of stitched-together skin. The Sacrificial Vessel, which had assembled its body from the parts offered by the Undying, had awakened from its long seclusion.