The Little Girl Before the Temple

"Damn..."

Karen and Samsaek had been sprawled across the sofa for two days straight, catching up on a new drama they hadn't had time for in ages. It was the first cable series ever to hit an average viewership of 20.5 percent—a smash hit called The Phantom.

The male lead could control the weather, glimpse the future, and wield telekinesis, among a host of other abilities.

"Samsaek, how come you can't do any of that?"

"...Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden, Master?"

The remark hit Samsaek square in the solar plexus. He choked on his drink, coughing and sputtering before he finally managed to swallow.

"Sure, they took some creative liberties, but that guy's a goblin from the old legends—and you show up in the old legends too. So why is healing the only power you've got?"

"Only?! That's incredible, I'll have you know! Just watch the drama!"

While Samsaek and Karen bickered, the male and female leads stood facing each other. Then the hero murmured in a deep, resonant voice.

"Damn!!"

Samsaek's eyes shone, thoroughly moved.

"That guy's handsome and he's got a way with words. The Spiritual Beast in our house just eats."

"...."

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang just as Samsaek was nursing a deep internal wound.

"Director Kang?"

Karen spotted Director Kang standing at the front door and opened it at once.

"Come on in. What's up?"

"I've gathered the information you requested on the Church, sir."

"Yeah? Come sit down. Drink? Strawberry latte?"

"Yes. That would be lovely."

Director Kang accepted the strawberry latte Samsaek had fetched from the café, spread the materials he'd compiled across the dining table, and launched into his briefing.

"As you know, the entire world was in chaos after the Cataclysm. That was when the Solari Church appeared out of nowhere. They saved people and took down monsters."

"Kku-ing, sounds pretty decent from what I'm hearing."

"Their influence exploded after that. And they had every reason to. They were performing actual miracles."

"Miracles?"

"Take a look at this. It was filmed thirty years ago."

Director Kang connected his watch to the television and played the footage he'd prepared.

Unlike in the old days, people these days barely batted an eye at someone breathing fire or objects floating through the air. By that logic, were Awakened, Gates, and monsters any more "realistic"? But even accounting for the times, the only word that fit what was playing on the screen was miracle.

People groaning with illness and others grievously wounded in the Cataclysm wailed as they looked up at a single ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man. He wore white robes embroidered at the shoulder with a crimson sun—the symbol of the Solari Church.

Tears streaming down his face, the man raised both hands toward the sky. A blue radiance bloomed from his palms and began to spread outward through the crowd.

Cries of wonder erupted from every direction as the healed shouted for joy.

The footage ended on the image of people dropping to their knees in praise of the Solari Church.

"That's a real Saint."

"That's correct. That's what they called him afterward. But how did you know he was referred to as a Saint?"

I'd seen one in Belial. That was the real thing. I just never expected to find one on Earth.

"What have humans been doing wrong?"

"Pardon?"

"A god intervening that directly is... off, somehow. They don't usually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go that far. Something must be wrong with Earth. Though I suppose it was right after the Cataclysm."

"Yes. It's called the worst disaster in human history."

"Yeah, that tracks. And the one I saw was a Saintess. The color of the holy power they give off is a little different. Anyway, I'll leave saving Earth to those folks... So what's the intel on the Church? Any news?"

"It's so clean it's a problem."

"Kku-ing? How is that a problem?"

"Yeah, it is."

Samsaek didn't get it, but Karen nodded. Any organization where people gathered was bound to have at least a few blemishes. For a behemoth like that to have no visible problems at all? Impossible.

"Public opinion has been excellent since the Cataclysm. They run orphanages, do charity work, operate hospitals. However..."

Director Kang held out the files from his investigation. For all the time he'd spent on it, the stack was remarkably thin.

"There's almost no documentation."

"What?"

"When nations collapsed one after another during the Cataclysm and the Alliance was founded, there was a period of chaos. The Alliance laws drafted at that time made the Solari Church all but extraterritorial."

The Solari Church's popularity had been at its peak while they were saving people, before any real system had taken shape. Enormous donations and offerings poured in, and riding that wave of public support, the Church expanded its branches and its power.

"Extraterritorial?"

"They're essentially a nation within the Alliance. They maintain an armed force—though it isn't public knowledge—and they don't pay taxes."

"Is that so?"

"The police are a given, but even most guilds can't touch them. From the arts to the press, the legal world, the business world, the hunter community—the Church's faithful are everywhere."

So the laws that favored the Church had been written by believers tucked away in every corner, then.

"Hah... well, not my problem. Let them live however they want. So, those holy things—Holy Relics and the like. Do they have any?"

The conversation with a god that Karen wanted required a medium. Karen, who didn't have so much as a speck of faith to his name, needed a Holy Relic saturated with divine power.

No, wait. I actually know gods exist, so maybe I'm ahead of the people who just believe?

Karen snorted at the idle thought. He seemed to have gotten more emotional since coming back to Earth.

"Kku-ing, Master's having weird thoughts again! Those Mandrake-type thoughts!"

"You little—! I was not!"

This little monster was getting even for being compared to a goblin earlier.

Karen scooped Samsaek up and vigorously rubbed his round, protruding belly.

"Waaaaah! That tickles!"

Director Kang watched the scene with a smile and continued.

"There's said to be a Holy Relic at the temple in Seoul."

"Where is it? I'll go have a quick chat with the god."

"Yeouido. Though I hear they haven't put it on display in quite some time."

"Yeah? Anything that's out in the open? Places connected to gods are a bit... awkward for me. I can't just waltz in."

At Karen's words, Director Kang choked on his drink.

"...Khack—Karen, sir? You? The Karen sitting right in front of me?"

"Kku-ing, just how wrecked is Master's image?"

But Karen didn't take it back. The mere memory of what had happened in Belial still made his teeth grind.

"The priest types are at least people you can talk to. They're a bit more worldly. They're probably the ones who've been growing the Church all this time."

"The priests? Aren't they the more close-minded ones?"

"They can't even use holy power. The god set it up that way on purpose."

Even the Pope couldn't use holy power. The original purpose of the priesthood was to serve as administrators—to support the Saint or Saintess, spread the faith, and look after the people. The god had deliberately withheld holy power from them so they would live under the same conditions as ordinary people, without creating a sense of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠otherness. The problem, of course, was that corruption tended to follow.

"The other side, though—they're the ones who are really thick-headed. What are they called? That armed force you mentioned."

"They're called Holy Warriors. They wear black slacks and dress shirts with white overcoats."

So around here they called them Holy Warriors instead of Holy Knights.

"Right. They're the ones who do the protecting. Once those guys snap, they'll come at you until they're dead. Most of them will have holy power."

Fear of death? Real Holy Warriors just charged in, dying or not. They figured dying only meant a reward in the presence of their god, so they had no reason to care.

"At that point it's just a contest of who dies first."

Not that there was much question which side would lose.

The more annoying part was that holy power had a somewhat different nature from mana. You couldn't even infuse it into a fist or a weapon. There was, however, one outstanding quality.

"They don't die. Like cockroaches."

"Pardon? Comparing them to cockroaches is a bit..."

"I'm serious. Only a Saint or Saintess can heal other people, but Holy Warriors have ridiculously tough bodies."

Ordinary wounds closed without a trace, and even a severed arm would reattach if you pressed it back on quickly enough.

"Kku-ing, they sound like zombies!"

"Yeah, they are zombies. Difference is, the heart's still a weak point."

"That's remarkable."

"Those guys have no off switch. They're gentle enough most of the time, but the second you cross the line, it's kill or be killed."

He'd experienced it firsthand in Belial. Other gods had had to step in and pull them apart before they finally made peace.

Director Kang shuddered, a chill running through him. It was always the kind, gentle types who were truly terrifying when they got angry.

"Is there a legal way to meet them? Something that doesn't draw attention."

"Ah! That's simple."

"Oh? Yeah?"

"You donate. Depending on the amount, the Solari Church changes who you get to meet and which areas you're allowed to tour."

"Kku-ing?"

Hearing that, Karen let out a long sigh and lamented.

"Urgh... Karen, sir. That is extremely blasphemous. I just got goosebumps."

"Kku-ing! I felt something too. A really ominous sensation!"

Director Kang was one thing, but Samsaek was a Spiritual Beast. Ignoring that instinct of his was a bad idea...

"Let's head to Yeouido for now. Director Kang, make a donation so we can take a look around."

"It'll cost a fair amount, but... if we throw enough money at them, it should work. I'll take care of it."

I've got a bad feeling about this. Dear God, let's just have a conversation and leave, all right?

He wasn't asking for much. He just needed to know what that ominous energy in the Gate had been, and why his mana had drained away in an instant.

Just as Karen resolved to visit the Yeouido Temple, a young girl appeared before it.

"What do I do..."

A girl who barely came up to an adult man's waist stood before a building, filthy from days without a wash, frozen with indecision. Winter was coming, and with it the snow—but all she had on was a worn-out T-shirt and an adult's windbreaker that hung all the way to her ankles.

The building before her was a vast temple of pure white, a great sun-shaped emblem mounted at its peak and across its facade. White was a color that stained within days, yet there was not a single blemish on it—a testament to how meticulously it was kept.

"But... will they even listen to me?"

Countless people came and went from the temple, but not a single one paid the girl any mind. If anything, they steered around her as if she were filthy trash.

"Those people and I are just too different. Look at those pretty clothes."

The girl looked down at her own clothes and her face fell. There was clearly no one speaking with her, and yet she talked as if someone were right beside her.

"You think I'm better? But..."

She looked at her shabby clothes and the grime under her nails and waved the idea away as nonsense.

"I should at least give it a chance? Okay. Then I'll go."

The girl took a deep breath, then began climbing the stairs to the temple, one step at a time.