Chapter 177: Witness the Miracle-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 177: Witness the Miracle-1
It was a dark night, the crescent moon veiled by clouds.
Faint moonlight filtered through the window of a room where the chill emanating from the cold stone walls bit deep into the bone.
Scratch, scratch.
The room, containing only a desk and a bed barely large enough for a person to lie down, resembled a modern-day gosiwon.
In this room, devoid of any decoration, a blonde woman sat at the desk, moving a quill pen.
The nib, saturated with ink, glided across the paper, tracing elegant lines.
The woman was transcribing a book.
Though she had transcribed these contents before, she felt as if she gained a new realization with every repeated effort.
Her hand, which had been copying the verses without hesitation, came to a halt.
She set the pen down and traced the passage with her fingertips.
[Verily, faith is like the air; it is to realize the reality of that which is unseen.]
"To realize the reality of that which is unseen..."
As she traced the words, she recalled the events of the day.
This was an era teeming with false saints.
As an Inquisitor charged with a heavy duty, she had carried out the execution of a false saint who had been captured a few days prior.
The sinner had been brought up to the platform in the crowded plaza.
She, Inquisitor Maria Roen, had opened the scripture and questioned the sinner.
[The sinner has distorted the words of the scripture to delude the faithful. Furthermore, he has called himself a saint to pursue his own private interests.]
The sinner said nothing.
[When the end of days arrives, false saints shall teem, and those who call themselves God shall appear. Be thou wary of them.]
Reciting the verses, Maria turned toward the people gathered in the plaza.
[Children of Light, be wary. The false saint is an existence that leads you astray. Do not be deceived by outward appearances and commit a sin.]
She drew a massive greatsword wrapped in coarse leather.
Silence fell over the plaza.
Having commanded everyone's attention, Maria untied the cord and unwrapped the leather covering the blade.
As the leather fell away, the silver-shining blade of the greatsword was revealed.
Gripping the hilt, Maria turned back to the sinner.
[I shall now carry out the rightful execution of the sinner who distorted the will of the Light and deluded the world.]
Hummm—
As she spoke, the greatsword began to emit a faint glow.
Maria stood beside the sinner.
With his head bowed, the sinner’s neck was exposed, making it easy to strike.
She raised the sword mechanically.
Once she brought the sword down, the sinner’s head would fall to the ground.
She put strength into her arms and swung the sword down. At that moment, she heard the voice of the sinner prostrate at her feet.
[You blind fools, who cannot believe without seeing.]
It was a voice only Maria, the executioner, could hear.
[!!!]
She flinched for a moment at the sinner’s final words, but the blade heading for his neck was already relentless.
The greatsword struck true, and the sinner’s head was severed from his body, falling to the ground.
The head dropped into the box prepared beforehand and rolled with a thud.
[...The execution is complete. Everyone, please return to your homes.]
It was custom to leave the sinner’s corpse as it was for a full day.
It was meant to awaken the vigilance of the believers whose faith was being tested.
Maria finished her afternoon duties with a lingering sense of unease and began her transcription to calm her mind.
[Verily, faith is like the air; it is to realize the reality of that which is unseen.]
It was a verse she had always passed over. Yet, as the morning’s events came to mind, it shook her heart.
"It is a natural truth, so why does it feel so strangely piercing?"
She was someone who could declare that she had never once doubted the existence of God after entrusting her everything to Him.
"Could it be... that I was actually deluded by the sinner's words?"
It must have been a desperate act by a sinner struggling to survive. Maria decided to think of it that way.
Shaking her head vigorously, Maria continued her transcription.
Before she knew it, the candle flame had grown short and flickered, and the sound of an owl searching for prey could be heard in the distance.
With her eyelids growing heavy, Maria leaned forward on the desk.
She intended to close her eyes and rest her body for just five minutes.
And so, she fell into a slumber.
Perhaps because her sleep was shallow, a clamorous noise tormented her ears through her grogginess.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A dull sound echoed through her room.
"—Lady!"
"Lady Maria!!"
Someone’s voice seemed to come from very far away.
She forced her eyes open.
'I must have dozed off for a moment.'
She looked at the candle on the desk. It had shortened a bit, but seeing as there wasn't a huge difference, it seemed not much time had passed.
Thud! Thud!
The door behind her rattled.
"Who is it?"
As Maria asked, startled, a young girl’s voice answered.
"It’s Lorian, Lady Maria."
At the voice of the novice nun, Maria straightened her clothes and opened the door.
A frantic atmosphere rushed into the room from the hallway.
"What is the matter?"
"Go to the plaza right now. Hurry!"
When Maria asked about the strange situation, the novice nun urged her on.
*
After hearing the novice nun's words, Maria ran toward the plaza in a daze.
Other Inquisitors joined her side, and priests followed behind them.
Something big had undoubtedly happened.
Chronologically, it was still night, but the whole world was bright as if the sun had mistaken the time.
And the source of that light was the plaza where the execution had taken place today.
As she got closer to the plaza, the light grew brighter. Maria squinted her eyes, feeling an indescribable sense of tension.
'Oh, God.'
Had the end of days, which she had only seen in the scriptures, finally arrived?
Her heart pounded wildly.
"It is over there."
At a priest's voice, the group's gaze turned toward the execution platform.
It was a sight that could only be described as a miracle.
A massive cluster of light was erupting from the box containing the sinner’s head.
As they arrived at the plaza, the sinner’s head floated up into the air.
Though dazzled by the brilliant light, they slowly approached the platform.
"Oh... God."
Someone’s voice whispered.
The sinner’s head scattered light in the air for a while before slowly flying toward the sinner’s body.
The head attached itself to the severed neck of the sinner’s torso, which lay limp on the platform with dried blood.
Then, a flash. Light rained down upon the entire world.
"Ugh, my eyes."
It felt as if one would go blind if they looked directly at the light.
While everyone else hesitated, Maria slowly climbed onto the execution platform.
"[When the young believer asked the light, 'O Light, are you my master?', the light answered, 'It is so, my descendant.']!"
Maria approached the light while reciting the scripture.
As Maria’s hand touched the sinner’s body, the light began to fade.
The light that had brightly illuminated the plaza gradually died down, and the people who had gathered to see this wondrous phenomenon opened their eyes.
Standing before them was the figure of a man, standing tall on his two feet while emitting a faint glow.
Everyone knelt at the sight of the man, who had clearly died that morning, having come back to life.
"...W-what is your name?"
When Maria asked in a voice full of fear, the man slowly turned his head.
Maria met the man’s clear eyes.
"Kang In-ho."
Hearing the name of the man she had executed today once more, Maria collapsed prostrate on the ground.
"S-Saint..."
Hearing Maria’s murmur, the others in the plaza followed her lead and shouted.
"The Saint has come!!"
"The Saint is here!!!"
Watching the people shouting like that, Kang In-ho thought to himself:
'Fuck, what the hell is it this time?'