Chapter 130

"Brother Cha Yisol."

In the end, Cha Yisol was called over by Kang Seodam.

"I will ask you directly."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you ever come into contact with an evil god?"

"... Yes, sir!"

"I appreciate your honesty."

"But wait a moment, teacher."

"Please speak. I will listen."

"Thank you...!"

After taking a deep breath, Cha Yisol spoke with solemn resolve.

"It might not be an evil god!"

"..."

Kang Seodam did not bother denying it.

"It is true that distinguishing evil gods separately from a human point of view is a rather ridiculous act."

"He might really be kind."

"What I can tell you is that most gods are quite evil by human standards."

"That... yes, I remember."

"You are a diligent student. I, too, am in a position of serving a god, but that is exactly why I can say this clearly."

He shook his head.

"Gods are not beings one can trust and rely on."

"I've been curious about this for a while, but if you talk like that, doesn't the Sun God get angry or sulk?"

"What matters to a god is not words, but actions and results. If you do not do anything that has a practically negative effect, they do not punish you."

"Surprisingly, gods are kind of... a bit..."

"Indifferent, yes. That is true in practice as well. It is because their understanding of individual humans is low."

Kang Seodam rummaged through the materials in the drawer of his counseling room.

"That is why there are prospective priests who deliberately wish for evil gods, whose understanding of humans is high. Once they become formal priests and actually serve a god, they will not be able to say such things... here it is."

He placed several documents in front of Cha Yisol.

"These are materials on evil gods recognized domestically. You may take them with you."

"Th-thank you...?"

"But judging by your reaction, Brother Cha Yisol, it seems you already have a god in mind."

"Can I say it?"

"Do you know the god's name? That is an extremely rare case."

Kang Seodam stroked his chin.

"Most evil gods likely have a separate name so that humans can call them without burden. Is there no separate epithet used to refer to the evil god you know, Brother Cha Yisol? In the case of our Seoul branch of the Sun Cult, we have a second name, 'the Light of Justice'..."

At that, Cha Yisol beckoned to Kang Seodam with his hand. When Kang Seodam obediently offered Cha Yisol his ear, the child whispered softly.

"Black Cloak."

"... Oh..."

Kang Seodam slowly returned to his original position and nodded.

"I see."

"Yes."

"..."

"Did I do something wrong...?"

"... I think I will know after thinking about that a little more."

After pondering, Kang Seodam asked again.

"You said you still do not know whether he is an evil god or a traditional god, Brother Cha Yisol."

"Yes. How can you tell the difference?"

"You look at whether the claims and powers that god puts forward are harmful to humans or not."

"Then I guess he's not an evil god!"

"However, most evil gods often put forward false claims."

Kang Seodam called in prospective priest Iru-da, who was waiting outside. Iru-da, who had been about to return to the break room with her partner Cha Yisol, soon came inside and looked at Kang Seodam.

"I am seeing you many times today, Sister Iru-da."

"It seems so."

"I assume it was you, Sister Iru-da, who told Brother Cha Yisol that he was an evil god."

"... That is correct."

"I would like to hear why you thought that. Would that be possible?"

"Yes, I will explain."

Though Iru-da wore a face of disillusionment with all things in the world, she explained faithfully.

"I saw a picture Brother Cha Yisol had drawn of something. Something black..."

"I just heard from Brother Cha Yisol what subject we are discussing."

"That is a relief. When I saw that black figure drawn, I felt a chill and a sense of dread."

"Could you not have simply mistaken the oppressive presence of a god?"

"As far as I know, though it was not blatant, that was definitely the wicked divinity of an evil god."

"Not blatant..."

Soon, Kang Seodam asked.

"Did you not sense a warm energy?"

"Pardon? No. Brother Cha Yisol did say that it would be fine because it was warm."

At that, Cha Yisol muttered.

"It really is warm, though."

"I am not optimized for sensing a god's temperature."

"A god's temperature?"

"..."

When Iru-da hesitated, Kang Seodam explained in her place.

"Do you remember when I said that a god is nature and fate with a will?"

"Yes, I remember."

"The range of what humans can perceive is extremely narrow. So narrow that ordinary people will go their entire lives without sensing a god unless they become deeply devout believers."

"Ah..."

"Because we awakened as priests, at least, we can sense gods more easily. That is why each priest has a different way of receiving and interpreting gods."

Kang Seodam pointed at Iru-da.

"In Sister Iru-da's case, she senses the volume of a god."

"Volume?"

"How large the god is, where it is stroking her, how large a voice it speaks with. To put it simply, you could say she can sense every size of a god."

"I see..."

"In Brother Cha Yisol's case, he seems sensitive to the temperature of gods. Compared to Sister Iru-da, who more easily recognizes a god's oppressive presence and violence, Brother Cha Yisol more easily senses the affection or mercy a god sends."

Having explained the cases of the two priests, Kang Seodam pointed at himself.

"However, most priests, including me, do not find it easy to sense gods, so we receive orders from the order. The longer we stay at a temple, the more convenient it becomes to grasp a god's will."

"..."

"This means Brother Cha Yisol and Sister Iru-da have very great capacity as priests. Other priests will each develop their own way of serving a god by the time they are my age as well, but for now."

Kang Seodam looked at Cha Yisol.

"That is exactly why I pay even more attention to what kind of god Brother Cha Yisol will make a contract with. Especially when combined with Brother Cha Yisol's personality... there are points that make me uneasy."

"Am I that uneasy a type?"

"To be honest, yes, you are. I know you have unexpectedly seasoned and clever sides, Brother Cha Yisol, but children your age are especially prone to being swept up by affection."

"... Hmm..."

After thinking it over, Cha Yisol asked.

"What should I do?"

"Has that person ever directly suggested a contract to you, Brother?"

"No, I've only met him privately a few times."

"I still do not know whether that being is an evil god or a traditional god."

He had no intention of telling them, but Black Cloak was a being upon whom the fair light he revered had once descended. Since he was a being affirmed by a traditional goddess of providence, it was difficult to dismiss him simply as an evil god.

To begin with, even among gods of death, depending on the dimension they came from, there were traditional gods who respected human providence, and there were evil gods who broke the natural order and spread the pain of death throughout the entire world. Distinguishing gods by human standards was truly a difficult matter.

"As I said in today's class, evil gods easily see through human desire and anger. They can turn even someone who was rational at first into an incarnation of greed, or into a berserker of wrath."

They easily destroy humans. An evil god was precisely the sort of thing that could turn even a hero with convictions into a miserable murderer in an instant.

"There is a subtlety to that which cannot be found in traditional gods. It happens before you know it, very naturally. That is because evil gods, too, are a kind of nature and fate."

"..."

"Even in our Sun Cult, there have already been several... priests who were bewitched by evil gods and ruined their own lives and everything around them. Even though they made contracts out of altruism like saints, not selfishness, that was how they ended up."

Kang Seodam emphasized.

"Do not believe in gods."

"... But then why make contracts?"

"I misspoke. I mean you must not treat gods with human emotions."

"Yes."

"You may believe in and rely on gods as much as you like, but you must not expect humanity from them."

"..."

"Evil gods are especially subtle in that regard..."

Kang Seodam, who had been about to say something, soon closed his mouth.

"..."

"... Teacher?"

"... No, it is just..."

He continued speaking again.

"I would like you to be cautious."

"Yes, yes."

"The subject you mentioned has not been observed on Earth for very long."

"That's what I heard."

"So there is little material on him, but... hmm."

Kang Seodam nodded.

"For now, I do not sense any negative energy from Brother Cha Yisol."

"Ah, then is it okay if I keep meeting him?"

"I would like to tell you not to make a contract rashly, at the very least. As long as you do not do that, you will be halfway there."

"Why the contract?"

"No god can make someone their believer without a contract. That is also why a devout believer who can use holy power can never be considered a priest."

"Ah..."

"For various reasons, gods do not influence the human world without a contract. A contract is a kind of Maginot Line."

"Then I just shouldn't make a contract?"

"We will have to observe the situation further, but for now, that alone is enough."

Iru-da cut into their conversation.

"Is it really all right as things are? Perhaps the evil god brainwashed him in a way he cannot notice..."

"I was not as much of a genius as Sister Iru-da, but I have far more experience."

"But even so..."

"My partner was bewitched by an evil god and executed. I led it myself."

"..."

"I am the person who can recognize the omens of an evil god better than anyone."

He smiled faintly.

"Do not worry. Brother Cha Yisol is under the protection of the sun."

"I was rude. I apologize."

"How could I not understand your concern for your brother?"

"Thank you."

"However, if any changes occur, I ask that you tell me at any time."

"I will do so."

After leaving the counseling room, Iru-da buried her face in her hands.

"..."

"Ru-da?"

"I made a mistake."

"It's because you like me too much."

"What makes me mad is that you're not wrong."

"Thanks to you, I feel really reassured, you know?"

"... If you know that, treat me well."

"How?"

"Tell me every time he contacts you..."

"I will."

The two chatted quietly as they headed to their assigned room.

"By the way, teacher said in class today that scholars summoned evil gods."

"He did."

"Then that means people can summon gods even if they aren't priests, right? Even if they aren't Awakened like us, but ordinary people?"

"Even ordinary believers who aren't priests can use holy power, so in a way, it's only natural."

"But most people don't even think of summoning gods."

"That's... because knowledge related to gods hasn't been popularized."

Above all, the chaotic world of the present had too low a civic consciousness to handle even knowledge about gods.

"Most knowledge related to calling gods is controlled by the government and the Association because they're afraid someone might rashly do something insane. If there are people who know the details, wouldn't it be the top three guilds after all?"

"Guilds..."

"Unless you serve gods of the same lineage, if you end up serving a different god, you can enter a private guild after becoming a formal priest. With your personality, Cha Yisol, something freer like that might be better for you."

"Then what happens to my partner?"

"I heard they usually move together. It's not like there's a law that says they must, but apparently it's extremely hard to find a priest colleague who works that well with you."

"Ohh..."

Cha Yisol deliberately did not decide on anything.

"Well, you never know what will happen in the future."

"That mindset is wise."

"Then is knowledge related to gods only known by those... um... important people?"

"Rather than saying they know it, you should say there are groups that control part of that knowledge."

"What if someone in that group has bad intentions?"

"... That is..."

Iru-da let out a sigh.

"...the sin of humans who believed in humans."

That was why, in the end, we came to lean on gods.

Because humans were not eternal and undying, nor were humans strong enough to lean on.

He had sinned because he had believed.

"..."

The diligent man had only hoped that tragedy would not repeat itself.

He loved his family, respected his friends, and stood with his colleagues. The man never doubted that the work he was doing would help this precarious world.

But in the end, because of it, the man was left alone.

"... What..."

It was unreal and miserable.

"What did I do wrong?"

He had not believed in gods, but in the end, he came to cry out to a god.

'There is a person here. Please listen to me. Before I knew it, I had crawled into a mire. Please save me. Save me.'

But there was no one at his side. Only the smell of burning filled the air.

"What did I..."

'How long am I supposed to endure?'

"What should I do?"

He could not endure it.

He had already realized that he had fallen into a deep pit of blood.

"..."

God did not answer.

"..."

And he had already created the mark of an evil god and was clutching it tightly in his hand.

This place was before a crossroads.