Chapter 117
Chapter 117
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Darian Becomes Gallery Lord
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I want to die...”
Darian had lost everything.
His family, his money, his home.
He’d suffered physical torment from the beasts and mental agony from other people.
His life was like a filthy sewer.
From that moment on, everything in his vision appeared black.
“My... my stomach hurts so much from hunger.”
Even in this state, he was starving.
As if forcibly separating his mind from his body, his consciousness grew hazy.
His vision was pitch black and damp.
It was then, as he lay sprawled in the square like trash, unable even to secure the basics of food, clothing, and shelter.
“Here, take this.”
-Thunk
A tuna can appeared before his eyes.
Strangely, the tuna can wasn’t black.
It shone with a bright, vivid color like a jewel.
“Ahh...”
Was this a dream?
Then a coat draped over his back.
The coat was the same.
It looked cozy and warm, its colors clear and inviting.
“How...”
Ever since he’d lost everything, the world had appeared black.
So how could the tuna can and coat retain their true colors so perfectly?
Darian slowly raised his head, and soon he found the answer to his question.
“Lord Judak?”
Someone radiating brilliant light all over their body.
The man looking down at him with the sun at his back shone like a god.
He couldn’t deny it.
Every cell in his body screamed the truth, as if he’d attained enlightenment: the figure before him was Judak.
“What do you mean, Lord Judak?”
But Judak denied it.
As if the time hadn’t yet come.
“Ahh.”
Darian understood at once and nodded slightly.
“No, I must be delirious from hunger. Just nonsense.”
Darian got to his feet, fumbling.
The world was still black.
But centered on Judak, all colors blazed like paradise in radiant splendor.
“I am Darian Jallot.”
“Uh, I’m Malphite.”
“Malphite...”
In Darian’s world, Judak was a god.
And the god’s name was Malphite.
“I won’t forget.”
Waiting for the day they’d meet again.
Darian was no longer broken.
With lively, sparkling eyes full of vigor, he gazed at Judak and swore an oath.
Hoping one day to serve him.
*
The Pope’s corpse tumbled down from the dais.
Darian stared at the sight as if beholding something repulsive and blasphemous, then raised the holy sword high.
“Glory to Lord Judak!”
The holy sword still emitted no light.
But with everyone in shock, no one noticed.
- What the fuck is this?
- No way the Pope’s actually dead?
- Shouldn’t we grab him first?
The gallery descended into chaos.
The cathedral soldiers below the dais were the first to snap out of it.
They charged toward Darian, who had killed the Pope...
ㄴ What’s the justification?
ㄴ ?
ㄴ The Pope called him the Hero.
ㄴ Oh
There was no pretext.
The soldiers couldn’t bring themselves to arrest Darian.
A Hero was the executor who carried out the divine will most directly.
All of a Hero’s actions were deemed justified without punishment.
The cathedral itself had certified it, so arresting him would expose their own contradiction.
“Th-this...!”
One of the bishops, frozen beside the Pope’s corpse, trembled with betrayal.
Darian wasn’t a real Hero—he was the puppet fake they’d created.
But he couldn’t order an arrest.
The moment he did, the cathedral’s lies would be exposed.
That’s when the bishop met Darian’s gaze.
“...!”
Darian wore a mad smile.
Only then did the bishop realize they’d all been fooled.
Darian had planned and waited for this exact moment from the start.
A mad either-or, to frame the Pope as a heretic.
“This heretic deserves death.”
To kill the Pope who believed in a god other than Judak and insulted him.
But Judak’s the real deal.
“Evande.”
One of my unknown fanatics killed the Pope.
Right in front of everyone, he slew the Pope and openly chanted my name in praise.
My head started to ache.
- Holy shit, did Judak order it?
- Looks like Judak’s trying to take out the cathedral.
- He’s straight-up praising Judak lol insane.
Naturally, the gallery began spinning conspiracy theories about me.
Claiming I’d orchestrated a high-level psyop to kill the Pope.
ㄴ Yeah, so?
ㄴ Then what about the Pope certifying him as Hero?
ㄴ If he’s really the Hero, doesn’t that make the Pope the heretic?
The problem was the cathedral’s official recognition of him as the Hero.
In the chaotic mess, a bishop finally couldn’t take it and yelled.
“Seize him!”
“Pardon? But...”
You guys said he was the Hero.
The soldier standing before Darian wore a complicated expression, on the verge of tears.
“Take me away.”
But Darian himself lowered the holy sword and approached the soldiers.
In the confusion, Darian surrendered willingly.
*
[Title: Why Darian Isn’t the Hero...jpg]
Everyone must’ve seen this Hero hype.
But no matter how I look at it, Darian’s not the Hero.
(Holy sword glowing gif)
Sure, the holy sword glowed.
But look closely—the light’s off.
(Judak’s verified holy sword gif)
When Judak showed the holy sword before, it had that obvious divine radiance.
But with Darian, it’s just... light.
(Light magic demo gif)
And this is a magic gif from Light Mage Galum—exactly the same light.
So to sum up:
1. Pope made a fake Hero to seize power.
2. Turns out the fake Hero was a Judak fanatic.
3. Pope dies, current situation ensues.
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 12]
- Clean 3-line summary.
- This is it.
- Yeah, thinking back, it was kinda random.
- Thought the Pope would be clean, disappointing...
ㄴ Clean upstream makes clean downstream, know that Galum?
- So what happens to that “Hero” guy?
ㄴ What do you mean? Death sentence for murdering the Pope.
ㄴ Fuck, but we got punked.
ㄴ (I’ll remember this! Peasant con)
“In the end, it comes to this.”
Darian wasn’t the Hero.
In the end, it was the cathedral being the cathedral.
Rarely, the gallery reached a consensus on the bait.
The cathedral’s constant trolling had already soured public opinion.
[Title: So what’s the deal?]
TL;DR please.
- For fuck’s sake kid.
- Bait unresolved.
- Cathedral’s fucked now right?
ㄴ Yeah, not the real Hero, but he did the job thoroughly and took the cathedral down too.
- OP) Ok got it.
ㄴ OP) How can we save that guy?
ㄴ Nah impossible.
ㄴ Think it’ll work?
The problem was Darian couldn’t escape punishment either.
Since the cathedral had faked a Hero, everyone involved faced execution.
The remaining remnants would be wiped out, but the Pope was still the Pope.
In the end, Darian—who’d impersonated a fake Hero—had to die too.
To stop it, at minimum, someone like the Emperor would need solid evidence...
“He’s 7 years old now, right?”
The Emperor was an elementary schooler.
No solid evidence existed.
There was no way to save Darian.
- What are the cathedral knights doing?
ㄴ Aren’t they doing the knights’ job for them?
ㄴ They normalized it instead.
ㄴ But they’re cathedral knights, no pretext...
Above all, there was a reason public opinion strongly opposed Darian’s death.
[Title: Holy shit these fuckers lololol]
(Cathedral knights searching interior gif)
(Corruption evidence hidden in Pope’s office gif)
With the fake Hero scandal, cathedral knights launched a full seizure search.
But holy fuck, it’s not just one or two things.
Murder instigation, bribes, nun rapes, tithe extortion, etc.
Fucking unbelievable lol.
If the top brass hadn’t died, this would’ve stayed buried forever?
I donated to this cathedral? Fuck lol.
Pisses me off so much.
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 5]
- Still downvoters huh.
- Wow; how many are there?
- Goosebumps for real.
- And the top guys died for dissing Judak lololol
ㄴ Cardinal=Witch incident / Pope=Fake Hero / Archbishop=Violence suppression
ㄴ Lmao real talk.
ㄴ Can’t pick a fight lol.
The cathedral had many secret areas accessible only to higher-ups.
Searching them amid this scandal brought all the crimes to light.
Having enjoyed masses of believers as the state religion fueled massive backlash.
It even birthed calls to hail Darian as a hero and save him.
[Title: They’re doing the execution?]
(Darian ascending scaffold gif)
To avoid dragging it out and risking not killing him, they’re rushing the execution same day.
- Wow, impressive lololol.
- A religion doing Hero investiture and execution on the same day? Insane.
- (Startled peasant frog con)
The issue was the Pope’s faction—having failed to create their fake Hero—unilaterally starting the execution.
But in the gif, Darian showed no hesitation or fear.
He ascended the guillotine with a serene expression.
“Hmm, feels like a waste to let him die.”
Killing someone is undeniably a crime.
But if the victim wasn’t human-like scum?
As I pondered options amid the boiling public sentiment.
[One empty slot remains.]
[Searching...]
[One eligible target nearby.]
[Designate target?]
“Right, this was a thing.”
The cryptic system notification given to me as a Gallery level 10 reward.
It only said to designate a target—baffling.
But now I realized what it was.
-Slide
The moment I did, new text appeared above the notification.
[Level 10 Perk – Gallery Lord Picker]
Judak may personally bestow titles on qualified gallery users.
Designate a Gallery Lord.
Empty slot – 1
Eligible targets:
1. Darian
Gallery Lord Picker.
Meaning, “Gallery Lord”—like the most-mentioned figure akin to a gallery lord.
In past-life specific figure galleries, e.g., a celeb gallery’s celeb was the Gallery Lord.
Not the actual creator, but the central bait figure.
- Save Darian!!!
- Cathedral crazies, I riot too if you do.
- Hero.jpg
Darian had risen amid countless gallery mentions.
“But what good does designating do?”
I wondered if it’d even save him.
Darian’s head was already on the guillotine.
[Designate ‘Darian’ as Gallery Lord?]
“Well, I’ll find out by trying.”
I slotted Darian into the empty spot.
That instant.
[!All Former Gallery Users: Mandatory Read!]
[New Gallery Lord appointed by Judak.]
[Generation change from current Gallery Lord...]
[No current Gallery Lord exists.]
[‘Darian’ appointed as current Gallery Lord!]
“Oing.”
Amid blaring gallery notifications and systems.
-Flash!
The world flashed briefly.
[Conceptual Post: Wtf is this?]
(Pillar of light shooting skyward gif)
It’s Adorian but wtf is this.
Something’s rising from the cathedral???
- Holy shit I saw it too.
- Judak decided it?
- Gallery notifications going nuts?
- What’s Gallery Lord Picker?
“Oh...”
A pillar of light shot skyward from Darian’s cathedral.