Chapter 194: The Blood-Soaked Specter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 194: The Blood-Soaked Specter
For the first time since Sigrid, the flawless, manufactured judge, took the bench, a verdict of not guilty was delivered.
Ordo, the God of Order, had passed judgment.
The Slave Reaper was not a sinner.
He rebuked his followers for accusing an innocent man.
Once a verdict was reached, the accused should have been released and an apology offered. But the people had yet to recover from the shock.
Not even the former Pope, Antonius.
Not even Myra, who had been blaming herself for her judgment.
Not even Elize, who had dreamed of freedom.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to accept the verdict.
Why?
It was the first question that popped into their minds.
The fact that the Slave Reaper was a villain was known to the entire world. It was tantamount to truth.
As the saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire. How many evil deeds must he have committed to earn the moniker "Reaper"?
For every result, there must be a cause…
Yet it was none other than their own master, their god, who had denied reality.
“Sob, sob…”
The sound of crying echoed.
Sigrid began to shed thick tears as if heartbroken.
Her manufactured poker face had long since shattered.
The sight of a young girl crying would normally evoke sympathy, but Karami just scoffed in disbelief.
Isn't she a fucking psychopath?
Instead of apologizing, she was crying because she couldn't brand someone a sinner?
Was she grinding for achievements?
The "Brand 100 People as Sinners" project?
She seemed sad she couldn't add the Slave Reaper to her collection. Should I feel sorry for her and become a sinner?
Of course, he didn't actually think that.
Karami, the only one at ease, took advantage of the confusion.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and declare me not guilty.”
“Th-this can't be… Something must be wrong!”
“Wrong? Are you doubting your god now?”
“Th-that's…”
For the people of the Holy Kingdom, who had always conducted trials with the power of their god, denying the result was tantamount to doubting their god himself.
Of course, the truth was not that the god had denied reality or made a wrong judgment.
It was because Karami had never enjoyed killing slaves, nor had he ever defiled their souls.
While the slave trade might be classified as an evil act from a macroscopic perspective, the truth of his intentions was known only to Karami and the slaves he had liberated.
They had realized they were loved by their families, erased the curse of suffering, escaped misfortune, and reclaimed a spring that would never have otherwise come.
What the slaves received was salvation in the name of liberation.
Goodness cannot be quantified.
Picking up litter is a good deed, just as saving someone from a fire is a good deed. It's the same whether you donate a hundred dollars or a million.
Both are worthy of praise.
And yet, people unconsciously weigh good deeds against each other.
Twisting fate to lead others to salvation was a feat comparable to that of a god. Thus, the path Karami had walked was superior to Sigrid's manufactured good karma.
Sniffling, Sigrid delivered the verdict.
“Sob… Verdict. The defendant, Slave Reaper Karami, is hereby declared… not guilty.”
*
“The weather is quite nice.”
Karami shaded his eyes with his hand and looked up at the sky.
The sky seemed especially clear today.
As if the god himself were blessing him for clearing his name.
Despite the official not-guilty verdict, people who still couldn't accept it shot glances at Karami as they passed. Antonius, his face hidden by a hood, approached him.
“In all my years, I've never seen a freak like you. What in the world are you? Did you bribe the god?”
“He was cheap.”
“You crazy bastard.”
Karami returned to the inn.
When night fell, Elize came to visit.
She seemed to have rushed over, as if she had been very worried about him.
“Master, are you all right?”
“Why wouldn't I be? If someone like me were punished, the world would be turned upside down. By the way, Elize, where were you during my trial?”
Where was she? Watching from above.
She had been busy thinking about what to do after Karami met his end on the executioner's block. She hadn't even considered the possibility of him being found not guilty.
“I was being held by the cardinal, so I couldn't make a move… I'm sorry. I should have been there to protect you, Master.”
But she couldn't tell him the truth.
Elize expressed her apology with a look of profound regret.
“It's fine. The fact is, we have a slave contract, so your presence wouldn't have changed much. If your identity were revealed, it would have only made things worse. As long as you weren't the one who reported me, it's all good.”
“Of course not. You hold my life in your hands, Master. How could I?”
Karami smiled faintly.
It seemed she had gotten away with it.
Elize breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“But Master… did you really not do anything wrong?”
“How many times do I have to say it? Don't tell me you've been doubting your master all this time?”
“Of course not. I believed you, Master. I just got curious after watching the trial.”
It was a bald-faced lie.
Karami must be an enemy of humanity. That was one thing Elize had never doubted, even if she doubted her god.
She had felt a small sense of kinship with him because of it.
She wasn't the only one who was corrupt.
Though she herself was so covered in blood she could no longer hear the voice of her god, she had taken secret comfort in the fact that a man like him was living well.
“I suppose the trial's outcome is my answer.”
But she was wrong.
She was the only one who was tainted.
An indescribable sense of betrayal washed over her.
“Elize? You don't look well.”
“…It's nothing. I'm just tired from being so tense around the cardinal.”
Elize, evasive as always.
But Karami noticed she wasn't her usual self.
“You are my slave, and I am your master. You shouldn't hide anything from me. Whether it's your worries or the color of the panties you're wearing today, you must tell me everything.”
“……”
Elize stared at him with cold eyes.
“Don't misunderstand. I wasn't saying it because I'm actually curious, but to tell you not to hide things.”
“You're really not curious?”
“…Maybe a little?”
Elize sighed.
Then, her expression turned serious, and she stared into Karami's eyes.
“Master, do you believe human nature is inherently good or evil?”
“Getting philosophical all of a sudden?”
“You're a good man acknowledged by a god, aren't you? I'd like to hear your esteemed opinion.”
“Hmm. Well. Looking at me, I'd like to argue for the inherent goodness of man, but the world isn't only filled with people like me. It's a difficult question to answer.”
“Ah, I see…”
It was a completely unhelpful answer.
Elize changed the question.
“Master, do you think hypocrisy is also a form of good?”
“Corn soup is closer to soup than it is to corn.”
“But it's just pretending to be good on the outside while plotting strange schemes behind the scenes. I don't think that's good in the end.”
“Then do you think feigning evil for a good purpose is good?”
“Well? Wouldn't it be?”
“Even so, no one will ever recognize it,” Karami said with a sigh, his words tinged with complaint.
Elize tilted her head.
In the end, neither answer was helpful. Not that she had expected much.
“Still, doing good deeds feels nice.”
“What kind of good deeds have you done?”
“I've liberated countless slaves.”
What on earth is this 'liberation'?
She didn't know, but she didn't think it meant what the word literally implied.
There had to be something more to it.
“This 'liberation'… is it something I can do, too?”
“Hmm…”
Karami thought for a moment.
“Nope.”
He answered with a breezy expression.
As if to say someone like Elize wasn't even worthy of consideration.
His response sparked a defiant streak in Elize.
She asked, her tone almost accusatory.
“Why?”
“You know better than anyone, Elize. That you are not qualified.”
It was a fact Elize herself acknowledged.
The tainted Elize was not qualified.
And Karami had pointed it out directly.
“That's why you can't.”
The final blow left Elize speechless.
*
Elize wasn't the only one in turmoil. A strange atmosphere began to spread throughout the Holy Kingdom.
“Does it make any sense that the Slave Reaper is innocent? That he's better than Lady Sigrid? I still can't accept it.”
“And what are you going to do if you don't accept it? The Lord God himself said so. Are you doubting the Lord God?”
“But things have been strange lately, haven't they? His Holiness left, too.”
“Then perish.”
In the eyes of the faithful, the God of Order siding with the Slave Reaper was the same as their god joining hands with a demon.
Can we continue to believe in this god?
The number of followers who doubted their god began to grow, one by one.
The greatest driving force behind the Holy Kingdom was faith.
And that faith was beginning to crack.
This was a boon for Marcenus, who was preparing a new order.
“This wasn't what I expected, but thanks to the Slave Reaper, the situation is turning in our favor. It's all thanks to you.”
“……”
“You look troubled. Is it because we couldn't eliminate the Slave Reaper? He's certainly a variable, but there's no need to worry too much. I fully understand your sincerity.”
The trial was held to win the citizens' favor. If he really wanted to kill Karami, he wouldn't have needed to follow procedure.
If he established a new order and eliminated Karami at the same time, he would gain the full support of the faithful. A small sacrifice for the greater good. He should be grateful that Karami was volunteering to be the sacrifice.
“Is it really all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I still don't understand it, but the Slave Reaper is a good man acknowledged by a god. Wouldn't killing him be an evil act? No, what even is good, and what is evil? I don't know anything anymore.”
Is the reason Karami, who slaughtered slaves, is considered good because he liberated them from this chaotic world?
But she was the one who had been branded by the Slave Reaper himself as unqualified for liberation.
Then what in the world is she supposed to do?
If only someone would please tell her which path to take.
“Cardinal Marcenus. Did you say that if I become a Saint, I can hear the voice of God?”
“That is correct. You will be revered as a pioneer who establishes order in the world with God at your back.”
“I see.”
She wanted to hear the voice of God.
She needed someone to give her, in all her confusion, an answer.
What is good.
What is evil.
What kind of being she is.
“You said you were curious about my identity.”
Fortunately, Elize was given a chance.
A chance to hear the voice of God.
Fresh blood swirled around Elize.
A pair of black wings sprouted from her tailbone.
Marcenus's eyes flew open.
“You…?!”
“The Saint you all so desperately wanted to create. A being of perfect balance. That's me.”
Marcenus slowly processed the situation.
“Are you the survivor from the laboratory explosion in the past?”
“That's right. I don't have clear memories, but when I came to my senses, I was the only one left standing. They probably couldn't handle the external power and went berserk.”
Elize calmly revealed her identity.
The blood she was covered in could not be washed away.
The red stains had seeped deep into her soul, and the scent of blood pricked her nose with every breath.
If that's the case, then she just has to make everyone else the same. If she dyes the Holy Kingdom in blood, she won't have to suffer through these worries alone.
Because if everyone is covered in blood, finding the answer will be easier.