Chapter 122

Arjio is not a name.

『Ar』

Cruel.

『Jio』

Beast.

"They say I'm a monster, don't they?"

It meant "cruel beast."

"Evil gods exist in quite a number of dungeons."

Inside a dungeon steeped in the colors of a primitive religion, Kang Seodam, a priest of the Sun Cult, explained.

"There are vastly more of them than traditional gods, who value peace and mercy."

"Does any brother or sister know why?"

"Because, unlike traditional gods, evil gods can easily be created artificially."

"That was a good answer, Sister Iru-da."

TAP.

Kang Seodam set his wand on the moss-covered marble floor and said,

"It is not difficult to make white clothes stained with black paint even blacker."

"You can smear them with charcoal, trample them with dirty shoes, or throw them into a mud pit."

"But from the moment black paint stains white clothes, they can no longer be called 'white clothes.'"

Around Kang Seodam and the prospective priests, the corpses of monsters were burning away.

"It is far easier to turn clothes black than to keep them white."

"It is far easier to fall than to maintain noble mystery."

"Because there are far more ways to become filthy than there are ways to remain pure."

Once the monsters' corpses had completely turned to ash, Kang Seodam looked around.

"This place should certainly be safe enough."

"We will rest for a moment and continue the discussion."

"All prospective priests, please make yourselves comfortable."

"Yes, priest."

The young priests, around ten years old, gathered in little clusters and sat near the old altar.

Blood was smeared here and there, and bones lay scattered about, as though this had been a place where offerings were made, but there were no children here who would be frightened by that sort of thing.

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

Kang Seodam continued explaining gently as well.

"The interesting point is that the evil god worshiped by the Sankalut religion was a created being."

He swept his gaze over the prospective priests.

"Can any brother or sister explain how gods come into being?"

"There is a sole god who has existed since the beginning of a dimension, and there are traditional gods who are not that sole god, but were born from nature and fate after the dimension came into being."

"And gods besides those?"

"They can become beings called gods by escaping mortal fate and obtaining divinity."

"I have heard that this can be divided into cases where they become descendants of existing gods or walk the path of an evil god."

"You answered well, Sister Iru-da."

Kang Seodam nodded.

"We refer to gods who maintain the providence of a dimension and pursue coexistence as 'traditional gods.'"

"The sole god who existed from the beginning is one of them as well."

"In other words, all gods born not from mortality, but from nature and fate, can be called 'traditional gods.'"

He looked at the little girl whose hair was tied low and said,

"As Sister Iru-da said, there are also cases where one escapes mortal fate and obtains divinity."

"More than ninety-nine percent of those who twist fate in that way and obtain divinity become evil gods."

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

"First, a being who obtains divinity by straying from the natural order is likely to have a will that is rough and rebellious by nature."

"If you consider that most traditional gods value obedience and harmony, you will understand why they become evil gods."

There was another reason as well.

"Second, mortals cannot understand immortals."

"Unlike traditional gods, who are born immortal because they are unchanging and eternal, those born from mortality change and think, so they easily fall through negative emotions."

That was why, across these vast dimensions, there were more evil gods than good ones.

"Third, as Sister Iru-da said, evil gods can be created artificially."

"What kind of process does the artificial process mentioned here refer to?"

"It refers to thinking living beings gathering their faith in one place."

"Exactly."

"There are beings who were not worshiped as gods because they originally existed that way, but instead gained divinity or were born because they were worshiped as gods."

"The Sankalut religion is such a case."

Kang Seodam pointed at the old yet lavishly decorated marble chamber.

"From the murals, we can read that the Sankalut religion worshiped a red jewel that could not even think as a god, praised the redness of that jewel, and offered the blood of newborns and the elderly to maintain it."

"Did that jewel truly become an evil god?"

"It was a religion on the scale of a nation, and its faith was also intense, so the jewel truly did become an evil god."

"This dungeon was discovered in the early days of the Great Catastrophe, and its clearing was completed."

"Now, it remains as material for learning about the origins of divine existence and its influence."

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

"If its clearing was completed, where is the evil god in the form of that jewel?"

"Its danger level was assessed, and it is currently stored in the Hunter Association research lab in Korea."

At Kang Seodam's words, the prospective priests began to murmur.

"The Association research lab...?"

"I didn't know there was a place like that."

"I thought it would be in Collector's gallery."

"A research lab isn't a storeroom, is it?"

As though he was used to such reactions from prospective priests, Kang Seodam explained.

"Collector's gallery allows outside visitors if they meet the conditions, and even purchases are possible."

"But the Association's research lab is not like that."

"Only Association employees manage the objects there, sales are impossible, and even information leaks to the outside are strictly forbidden."

Kang Seodam spoke as if he understood.

"To you prospective priests, Collector's gallery must be more familiar."

"Yes, they hold a parade when spring comes... and it is wonderful."

"If you become formal priests and come to belong to some religion, the Association research lab will become more familiar to you."

"Why is that?"

"Because dangerous and sensitive objects related to gods require strict management and storage."

It was hard to expect such strictness from Collector, whose very identity lay in being a "gallery."

Starting with the Guild Master himself, he went around saying, "Love the works."

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

"..."

"Yes, there are none."

"Good."

Kang Seodam moved aside so the marble altar could be seen clearly.

"It was right here that the divinity of the Sankalut religion was shaped."

"What are your impressions?"

"I felt that one must not hold faith carelessly."

"Thank you for showing such an active attitude, Sister Iru-da."

Kang Seodam nodded as though to say she had done well.

"You do not know what god you will come to serve, or what religion you will belong to."

"But you must never forget that, in the end, even gods are beings swayed by faith."

At that, the prospective priest named Iru-da raised her hand once again.

"I have a question, priest."

"Go ahead."

"Have there been cases where a human, rather than a jewel, was revered as an evil god?"

"They are found with some regularity."

Kang Seodam rolled his eyes as though recalling something.

"As I said earlier, evil gods exist in quite a number of dungeons."

"This is also the reason evil gods are classified as a type of monster, unlike traditional gods."

"As easily as they are created, they are easily sealed and destroyed."

They were different from traditional gods, who were nature and fate itself, and thus difficult to destroy as well.

"Most of those who became evil gods in human bodies possess physical forms."

"Because beings born as immortals and beings born as mortals have fundamentally different roots, and because they can think as humans, they run into various limits."

"..."

"That is why those who became evil gods in human bodies have all been subjugated or sealed, and are being stored on Earth."

"Most of them think, however faintly, hold things called emotions, and try to eat, drink, and covet something."

"This too becomes a limitation that holds them back."

Those who were bound could not become true gods.

"We call them gods because they can embrace anything."

"If they do not possess enough capacity to contain at least one dimension, then they are nothing more than monsters that will someday be subjugated."

"So in effect, the distinction between evil gods and monsters is faint."

"... Then what if someone became a god in a mortal body and could embrace everything?"

"Only two such cases have been discovered so far, but of course, they are real."

"Both of them gave up their intellect as living beings and wished to become systems that regulate nature and fate."

"Then are there no gods who possess will and self?"

"They exist."

"Because there are gods who possess will and self, gods who enjoy amusement are still occasionally discovered on Earth even now."

"However, remember that these are merely what humans express as 'will' and 'self.'"

A god was nature and fate.

"What appears to us as will may have been a single breath exhaled by a god, and the gentle personality we thought was a self may have been no more than a single strand of that god's hair."

"I cannot understand."

"That is an extremely dangerous thing to say."

"As people who have entered a god's embrace, there is something you must keep in mind."

"We must not understand gods, must not calculate them, and must not expect anything from them."

That was what a god was.

"Do not try to measure them."

Nor should they be analyzed.

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

"... Was I being rude?"

"You are a prospective priest, so there is no problem."

"But keep in mind that merely gazing and following with your eyes in an attempt to understand can bring you a disaster like divine punishment."

"You receive divine punishment just for looking in an attempt to understand?"

"It is not divine punishment, only a disaster like it."

"Even if the god had no emotion wishing to punish you, that is how it would end."

"Thank you for the advice."

"I am glad you accepted it."

Kang Seodam continued.

"There is a saying that you must not look into a god's eyes."

"Because if you do, you'll go mad, so you shouldn't..."

"It is a matter outside the realm humans can perceive."

There is a photograph containing every sight on Earth, without exception.

All of it would easily exceed hundreds or thousands of images, and taking it all in at a glance is impossible; trying to do so is what bursts your eyeballs and rots your brain.

That was what it meant to see a god.

"Are there any other questions?"

At Kang Seodam's words, the curly-haired boy, Cha Yisol, raised his hand.

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

"... Pure evil..."

He drew out his words.

"In our Sun Cult, we do not treat a pure being as a monster."

However, interpretations differed from religion to religion.

It was still an age when the distinction between gods and monsters remained faint.

"Some religions say that something produced by evil cannot be pure."

"Ah..."

"The standards of justice and nobility are similar for everyone, but the standards of evil differ from person to person."

"..."

"I wonder whether pure evil can even exist in the first place."

It was a difference of perspective.

"That is also why there are so many evil gods."

It might be obvious "evil" to the absolute majority, but to a few people, it might be "good."

Who could assign an absolute standard to good and evil?