Chapter 122

Argio was not a name.

『Ar』

Cruel.

『Jio』

Beast.

“They say I am a monster, don't they?”

It meant ‘Cruel Beast’.

***

“Quite a lot of dungeons have evil gods.”

Inside a dungeon with strong colors of a primitive religion, the Solar Cult priest, Kang Seo-dam, explained.

“Their number is incredibly large compared to traditional gods who value peace and mercy. Does any brother know the reason?”

“Unlike traditional gods, it is because evil gods can be easily created artificially.”

“An excellent answer, Sister Iruda.”

Thud.

Kang Seo-dam, who placed his wand on the mossy marble floor, spoke.

“It is not difficult to make white clothes stained with black paint even blacker. You can stain it with charcoal, crush it with dirty shoes, or put it in a mud pit. However, from the moment black paint touches white clothes, it can no longer be called ‘white clothes’.”

Around Kang Seo-dam and the prospective priests, the corpses of monsters were burning away.

“It is much easier to make clothes black than to keep them white. It is much easier to become corrupt than to maintain a noble mystery. This is because there are far more ways to become dirty than ways to be pure.”

Once the monster corpses had completely turned to ash, Kang Seo-dam looked around.

“It seems this place will be safe enough. We will take a short break and continue our story. All prospective priests, please make yourselves comfortable.”

“Yes, Priest.”

The young priests, around 10 years old, gathered in a cluster and sat near a worn altar.

It seemed to be a place for offering sacrifices, as there was bloodstain here and there and bones were laid out, but there were no children here who would be frightened by such things.

Kang Seo-dam confirmed that all the priests were seated before continuing to speak while standing.

“Similarly, there are a great many ways for an evil god to be created compared to a traditional god. Just like the dungeon we are visiting now. This was a place where live sacrifices were offered to an evil god.”

“Isn't this something that happened on Earth?”

“Yes, the Solar Cult has determined it to be the history of another dimension. The name of this religion is Sankalut, and they tortured newborns and the elderly in creative ways, tied them to an altar, and left them until they died.”

It was a gruesome story for children to hear, but while there were children who were disgusted by it, there were none who were scared.

It was proof that the people of Earth now lived lives very close to death and suffering.

Kang Seo-dam continued his explanation gently.

“What’s interesting is that the evil god worshipped by the Sankalut cult was a created being.”

He scanned the prospective priests.

“Is there any brother who can explain how a god comes into being?”

“There is the One God who has existed from the beginning of a dimension, and there are traditional gods who, though not the One God, were born in nature and fate after the existence of the dimension.”

“And gods other than those?”

“One can escape the fate of mortality and gain divinity to become a being called a god. I have heard that this can be divided into cases of becoming a descendant of an existing god or walking the path of an evil god.”

“You have answered well, Sister Iruda.”

Kang Seo-dam nodded his head.

“We refer to gods who maintain the providence of the dimension and pursue coexistence as ‘traditional gods’. The One God who existed from the beginning is also one of them. All gods born from nature and fate, not from mortality, can be called ‘traditional gods’.”

He looked at the girl with her hair tied low and spoke.

“Also, as Sister Iruda said, there are cases where one escapes the fate of mortality and gains divinity. More than 99% of those who twist their fate to gain divinity in such a way become evil gods.”

“Why do beings who gain divinity from mortality become evil gods?”

“First, a being who has gained divinity by deviating from the natural order is highly likely to have a rough and rebellious will. Considering that most traditional gods value obedience and harmony, you will understand why they become evil gods.”

There was another reason as well.

“Second, a mortal cannot understand an immortal. Unlike traditional gods who were born as immortals and are unchanging and eternal, those born from mortality change and think, making it easy for them to be corrupted by negative emotions.”

That was why in this vast dimension, there were more evil gods than good gods.

“Third, as Sister Iruda said, it is possible to create evil gods artificially. What kind of process does this artificial process refer to here?”

“It refers to thinking life forms gathering their faith in one place.”

“That is correct. There are beings who were not originally worshipped as gods because they existed as such, but gained divinity or were born because they were worshipped as gods. This Sankalut cult is such a case.”

Kang Seo-dam pointed to the worn but ornately decorated marble cavern.

“From the murals, we can read that the Sankalut cult worshiped a red jewel that could not even be thought of, praised the redness of that jewel, and offered the blood of newborns and the elderly to maintain it.”

“Did that jewel really become an evil god?”

“Because it was a nation-level religion and its faith was also strong in color, the jewel really did become an evil god. This dungeon was discovered in the early days of the Great Catastrophe and its conquest has been completed, and it now remains as a resource for learning about the origin of a god’s existence and its influence.”

At that, the girl with the low ponytail asked again.

“If the conquest has been completed, where is that jewel-form evil god?”

“After assessing its risk level, it is currently stored in the Hunter Association’s laboratory in Korea.”

At Kang Seo-dam's words, the prospective priests began to murmur.

“The Association’s laboratory…?”

“So there was a place like that.”

“I thought it would be in The Collectors’ gallery.”

“Isn't a laboratory different from a warehouse?”

Kang Seo-dam explained, as if accustomed to the prospective priests' reactions.

“The Collectors' gallery allows visits from outsiders if certain conditions are met, and even purchases are possible, but the Association's laboratory is not like that. Only the Association’s staff manage the items, sales are also impossible, and even the leakage of information to the outside is strictly forbidden.”

Kang Seo-dam spoke as if he understood.

“To you prospective priests, The Collectors' gallery will be more familiar.”

“Yes, they hold a parade in the spring… it’s cool.”

“If you become official priests and belong to a certain order, the Association’s laboratory will become more familiar.”

“Why is that?”

“Because dangerous and sensitive items related to gods require strict management and storage.”

It was difficult to expect such strictness from The Collectors, whose very identity was in being a ‘gallery’. The Guild Master himself was going around yelling, ‘Love the artworks’.

“Are there any other questions related to the storage of evil gods?”

“…….”

“Yes, there are none. Good.”

Kang Seo-dam moved his body, stepping back to give a better view of the marble altar.

“It was right here that the divinity of the Sankalut cult was forged. Have you felt anything?”

“I felt that one should not harbor faith carelessly.”

“Thank you for showing such an active attitude, Sister Iruda.”

Kang Seo-dam nodded his head as if to say she had done well.

“In the future, I do not know what god you will come to serve, or what order you will join. But you must never forget that in the end, even a god is a being that is swayed by faith.”

At that, the prospective priest named Iruda once again raised her hand.

“I have a question, Priest.”

“Please speak.”

“Are there any cases where a human, not a jewel, was revered as an evil god?”

“They are confirmed not infrequently.”

Kang Seo-dam rolled his eyes as if recalling something.

“As I said before, quite a lot of dungeons have evil gods. This is also why evil gods, unlike traditional gods, are classified as a type of monster. Just as they are easily made, they are easily sealed and destroyed.”

They were different from the traditional gods, who, being nature and fate itself, were difficult to destroy.

“Most of those who became evil gods in a human body have a physical form. Because the roots of a being born immortal and a being born mortal are different, and because they can think as humans, they face various limitations.”

“…….”

“Therefore, those who became evil gods in a human body have all been subjugated or sealed and are stored on Earth. Most of them can faintly think, harbor emotions, and seek to eat, drink, and covet things. This too becomes a limitation that holds them back.”

One who is bound cannot become a true god.

“We call them gods because they can embrace anything. If they don't have the capacity to embrace at least one dimension, they are nothing more than a monster that will be subjugated someday. So, in reality, the distinction between an evil god and a monster is blurry.”

“…Then what if one becomes a god in a mortal’s body and can embrace everything?”

“It is a case that has been discovered only twice so far, but of course, it is a real story. Both of them wished to give up their reason as living beings and become a single system that coordinates nature and fate.”

“Then are there no gods with will and ego?”

“They exist. Because there are gods with will and ego, gods who enjoy their amusement are still occasionally discovered on Earth. However, please remember that it is only that humans express it as ‘will’ and ‘ego’.”

A god was nature and fate.

“What seems like will to us might have been a single breath to a god, and the kind personality we thought was an ego might have been no more than a single strand of hair to a god.”

“I cannot understand.”

“That is a very dangerous statement. As someone who has entered the embrace of a god, there is something you must keep in mind. We must not understand the gods, we must not calculate them, and we must not have any expectations of them.”

That was a god.

“Do not try to measure them.”

One shouldn't analyze them either.

“If that is possible, it means you have already become something other than human.”

“…Was I being disrespectful?”

“You are a prospective priest, so there is no problem at all. However, please keep in mind that just by looking and trying to understand, you could suffer a disaster like divine punishment.”

“I can receive divine punishment just for looking to understand?”

“It is not divine punishment, but merely a disaster like it. For it will end up that way even if the god had no emotion of wanting to punish you.”

“Thank you for your advice.”

“I am glad that you have accepted it.”

Kang Seo-dam continued.

“There is a saying not to look into a god’s eyes.”

“Because you’ll go mad if you look, so don't….”

“It is a problem outside the domain that humans can perceive.”

There is a photograph that captures the entire scene of the Earth without omission.

It is impossible to take in all of it, which would easily exceed hundreds, thousands of sheets, at a single glance, and in trying to do so, one’s eyeballs would burst and their brain would rot away.

That is what it means to see a god.

“Are there any other questions?”

At Kang Seo-dam's words, a boy with curly hair, Cha Isold, raised his hand.

“Is an evil god that harbors pure evil treated as a monster?”

“…Pure evil…”

He drew out his words.

“In our Solar Cult, we do not treat a pure being as a monster.”

However, the interpretation of this differed for each religion.

It was still an age where the distinction between god and monster was blurry, after all.

“Some religions say that the result of evil cannot be pure.”

“Ah….”

“The standard for justice and nobility is similar for everyone, but the standard for evil is different for each person.”

“…….”

“In the first place, I’m not even sure if something like pure evil can exist.”

It was a difference in perspective.

“That is also why there are so many evil gods.”

It might be a clear ‘evil’ to the absolute majority, but to a small minority, it could be ‘good’.

Who could apply an absolute standard to good and evil?

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