Chapter 402: Karmic Fire (Part 12)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 402: Karmic Fire (Part 12)
"These people... they are the true sinners."
The resonant declaration echoed across the vast, black sea of mud. After a brief, heavy silence, the countless faces within the mud sea twisted into expressions of offended rage.
The old woman was struck by a mixture of shock and fury. Her deformed, withered finger pointed at Muen, her entire frame trembling.
"Nonsense... utter nonsense! What 'sinners'? Our people have lived within Cantville for a thousand years, isolated from the world. What sin could we possibly have committed?"
"Right, a thousand years of isolation. You make yourselves sound like a bunch of harmless, innocent babes—as if the whole world owes you something."
Muen finally deigned to look the old woman in the eye, his expression dripping with mockery. "But if you hadn't known from the very beginning exactly what kind of thing you were worshipping, your argument might actually hold some water."
The old woman’s expression shifted slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and sneered. "Who do you think you are? How dare you slander us so brazenly before Her Highness the Saintess? We were simply deceived!"
"Deceived? What a convenient word! Heh, do I really have to strip away the last shred of your dignity? Fine. It’s not like you people have had any use for such a thing for a long time anyway."
Muen let out a cold laugh and produced the diary from earlier. He looked toward Liya. "Do you remember what was written at the very beginning of the diary?"
"I remember."
Liya nodded. She had been the one to translate the diary, so every detail was etched clearly in her mind.
"'Goddess above, we have truly succeeded. We have created a perfect world, a world free from hunger and pain...' I believe that is how it went."
"Exactly. That sentence reveals a fundamental truth... Cantville was built by these people’s own hands."
Muen paused, then continued:
"If this place is a ranch, then they were the ones who hammered in every stake of the fence. They jumped into the pen of their own accord."
"They... chose to become the Evil God's lambs?"
Liya’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Gibberish... what does that prove?"
The old woman’s eyes turned dark and predatory. She let out a furious roar, and it was as if a million voices roared along with her, the sound deafening:
"I told you, we were deceived! We only built Cantville because we were tricked! We thought that god was... was..."
"Thought it was who? The Goddess of Life?"
Muen flipped open the diary. Though he couldn't understand a single one of those tadpole-like ancient scripts, he made a show of reading it right in front of the old woman.
"Hmm, indeed. You referred to that being as 'Goddess,' the 'Goddess of Life.' From start to finish, the writing is filled with descriptions of supreme happiness and sincere praise for the deity.
"But why is it that in all those hymns of praise, the Goddess’s true name, Emiel, never appears once?
"According to standard prayer rites, shouldn't you be chanting Her true name?
"Is it because you didn't know it? No, you knew. In the era of the First Generation Saintess, the name of Emiel had already spread across the continent. At the very least, the group that created this realm knew it!
"So why was it omitted? Was it because you were afraid that if you used Her name while worshipping that so-called 'Goddess of Life,' the real Goddess Emiel would actually hear your prayers? So you deliberately erased the name?
"But why would you fear Goddess Emiel? Isn't She the deity of your faith? If you were truly deceived, shouldn't you have been desperate for Her to hear your voices?"
Muen’s voice rose steadily until he was practically roaring.
The old woman’s face grew increasingly pale, resembling a piece of dried birch bark.
Even the sea of mud fell silent. Muen’s voice seemed to be the only sound remaining beneath the giant tower.
"Furthermore, the diary emphasizes the word 'Goddess' to an unnatural, almost frantic degree. It’s almost as if..."
"As if they were hypnotizing themselves, forcing a self-delusion just to make themselves believe in something," Liya whispered, a trace of dawning realization in the depths of her eyes.
"Exactly. To put it bluntly, it’s like a traitorous collaborator trying desperately to prove that the side they chose is the 'righteous army.' It’s the same principle as Ellag’s suggestion."
Muen affectionately patted Liya’s head. She shook her head slightly, signaling she was alright.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
His cold gaze, sharp as a blade, pressed against the old woman once more.
In the ensuing silence, the fury vanished from the old woman’s face. She seemed to transform back into a pitiful elder, hanging her head in agony.
"Yes... you are right. We—or rather, those of us from the first generation—knew that the one granting us power was an Evil God. As for the name, I cannot speak it now, or He will sense us. The true name of the Goddess of Life was indeed something we deliberately erased. These... are all facts."
"However..."
As Liya’s expression turned to one of shock, humble tears once again flowed from the corners of the old woman’s eyes. She sobbed, "All of this... all of this was out of necessity!"
"Necessity?" Muen’s brow arched.
"Yes! You have no idea how terrifying that era of chaos was a thousand years ago. Our people only did what we had to do to survive. We were forced to borrow the Evil God's power."
"But wasn't the Goddess there?" Liya interjected suddenly. "Goddess Emiel!"
"Goddess Emiel was indeed powerful, but She could not save everyone."
The old woman gave Liya a look of profound sorrow, then prostrated herself reverently on the ground once more, weeping uncontrollably.
"We just wanted to live. Yes, I admit, we committed a terrible sin. But the guilt lies only with those of us from that time! There are so many here who are innocent. I no longer care what happens to me, sir, and Your Highness... I beg of you, please save the innocent children."
She wept bitter tears.
By all appearances, this was an old woman who had once been deeply wicked but had finally seen the light, speaking with the supposed sincerity of the dying.
But this time, Liya pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Heh. Innocent?"
Muen let out a cold laugh. He crouched down, tilting his head to observe the old woman’s flawless mask of grief with practiced ease.
"Do you remember what I said just now?"
"Just now? Which part?"
"I said... you people are the true sinners."
Muen felt the urge to spit in the old woman’s face, but his upbringing wouldn't allow it. More importantly, he didn't want to waste his own saliva.
He stood up, looking out over the million people in the sea of mud. His voice was savage, as if he were driving nails into bone, as he spoke each word with deliberate emphasis:
"When I said 'you people,' I meant all of you. Every. Single. One. All one million of you!
"You are all sinners!"
"Everyone..." The old woman’s face changed completely. "Nonsense—"
"Shut up. I’m tired of hearing that word."
Muen’s voice was cold, but he suddenly broke into a smile. He leaned close to the old woman’s ear and whispered, "Do you remember the monsters outside fighting against the Goddess’s invasion?"
"What?" The old woman froze, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.
"Then do you remember the Prisoner?"
"..."
"What about the Rabbit? The Rabbit who wanted to see the sun?"
"..."
"Hey, why aren't you talking? Do you not remember them... or do you not dare to speak?"
"..."
The old woman suddenly began to tremble violently. Her twisted limbs flailed about as if trying to mask a guilt that could no longer be hidden.
"Look at that. You turned the dissenters into twisted monsters. You turned the rebels into Prisoners to guard your gates.
"And the little girl who wanted to escape this place to see the sun? She was left to dig a tunnel in the dark earth, day after day, a tunnel that might never reach the end.
"Now that the truly innocent people are gone, what’s left?"
Muen straightened his back, his face filled with unmistakable loathing.
"What’s left are those who, for the sake of their own selfish desires, were willing to drag an entire world into the abyss. People who knew that what they offered the Evil God would allow Him to slaughter countless others and destroy the happiness of millions, yet still chose to indulge in a fake dream... This is a supreme crime of treason against humanity.
"And the most pathetic part is that before this, you had two chances to wake up. Two whole chances."
The first was a thousand years ago, when the equally kind First Generation Saintess exiled Cantville and severed the Evil God's connection to this place.
They had a full millennium to repent, but they didn't.
The second was over a decade ago, when Goddess Emiel began her invasion of this world with the Church's help.
All they had to do was abandon the false happiness they had bought with their souls. But they didn't.
It was only now, when the Evil God's corruption resurfaced and they sensed His approach, that they felt fear. So they played the victim, crying for help and pathetically searching for a scapegoat.
And that poor, foolish sacrificial lamb was supposed to be Liya.
That was what made Muen the most furious.
*
"Are you okay?" Muen looked at Liya with concern.
"I'm fine." Liya shook her head. "When you talked about the diary, a lot of things clicked into place. So... I'm not that surprised.
"I just... I don't know what to do anymore." Liya hugged her shoulders, her pale face filled with confusion and helplessness.
If it were a million innocent souls, she would have sacrificed herself to save them without a second thought.
But a million sinners?
"If you don't know what to do, then leave it to me."
"Eh?"
"Look at this." Muen gently pried open Liya’s clenched palm, revealing the crystal that was now brilliantly radiant.
"See? The crystal is full. Once this is all over, Liya, you will be the Saintess."
Liya stared blankly at the crystal, seemingly mesmerized by its beauty.
Muen smiled faintly. "Get some rest. I'll handle the rest."
"But..."
"Trust me." Muen gave Liya a brief hug. "I am your knight, am I not?"
*
With the lingering warmth of his embrace still upon her, Liya watched Muen’s retreating back. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.
She should have trusted her knight as she always did, yet for some reason, an uneasy feeling gnawed at her heart.
*
"You... what are you trying to do?"
The old woman watched Muen as he walked toward the center of the formation. She suddenly panicked, her voice shrill with false bravado.
"You want to destroy the formation? You can't! I'm telling you, you can't! You—you have to save us! If the Evil God harvests all million of us, the world... the entire world will be in danger!"
The sea of mud began to churn violently, and a torrent of foul abuse erupted from the masses.
"Is this how you tried to disgust Liya just now?" Muen asked.
The old woman’s screeching came to an abrupt halt. She realized that the man before her was fundamentally different from the kind-hearted girl.
"Fine. I will save you," Muen said suddenly.
"Huh?" The old woman let out a stunned sound, thinking she had misheard.
But the man before her looked at her with such sincerity. "As the God-Attendant Knight assisting the Saintess, this is the only path left, isn't it?"
"Really? Truly?" The old woman was overjoyed.
But that joy vanished in an instant, replaced by a sudden shiver.
She could sense that this man was actually very weak. He carried no aura of Holy Light.
How could he possibly save them?
"Yes. I will save you. I will... grant you true... redemption!!"
Under the gaze of a million suffering souls, Muen stomped his foot down hard. A crimson fire that could incinerate all things swept forth!