Chapter 76: Praise the Black Saint (3)
Dominic stood frozen in place, overwhelmed, staring blankly at the man before him.
It would have been strange if he hadn’t.
The overwhelming aura was palpable, even from afar.
A divine power so vast it was unfathomable. Feeling it, Dominic thought to himself:
An abnormal situation caused by some experiment gone awry. The sacred artifact must have malfunctioned and gone berserk.
That was surely why all contact with Cardinal Caron and the others from the Holy Church had been severed.
But it was a misunderstanding.
This aura wasn’t the result of a runaway artifact or a failed experiment.
It was simply emanating from a single person.
Even that alone was terrifying enough. But that wasn’t the only thing that shocked him.
‘That…’
The grand and beautiful Holy Church.
A sacred space that should have been filled with hymns of praise for the divine.
But now, only a horrifying, cold silence remained.
The stench of blood filled the air.
Beyond the open doors, the Holy Church lay drenched in red.
Blood and torn flesh were scattered everywhere, its original state so ruined that it was unrecognizable.
Considering the fact that no one had been able to contact Cardinal Caron since yesterday...
It was clear what had happened here.
‘Could they... have all been killed?’
The genius among geniuses.
Cardinal Caron, said to be the most beloved by the gods. Along with the devout and gifted followers who supported him.
All of them were dead.
And it had happened so easily.
Probably… at the hands of this man.
White hair, blue eyes.
Dominic once again looked at the man, who was inexplicably holding a blood-stained girl in his arms.
Dominic legs trembled uncontrollably. If he let his guard down even a little, he would collapse, unable to hold himself up.
The sheer difference in power was undeniable.
The man hadn’t done anything. He was simply standing there, looking at them indifferently.
Yet that alone was enough to make his mind spin.
It was even more terrifying because Dominic was strong enough to understand the gap between them.
If it had been an ordinary priest here instead of a Cardinal of the Holy Church, the situation might have been easier to bear.
Reading the strength of an opponent’s aura was a skill only the highly trained could master.
A less experienced cleric likely wouldn’t have sensed anything unusual from this man.
But Dominic was different.
His honed senses, trained through years of devotion, only made him more painfully aware of the divine power radiating from the man.
But… Dominic held on to his sanity with all his might.
If his mind had been weak enough to crumble in a moment like this, an orphan with no backing would have never risen to the rank of Cardinal.
He did his best to shut off his senses.
To avoid being completely overwhelmed by the power emanating from the man.
Whatever this aura was…
Even now, with his senses dulled, he still couldn’t escape its influence entirely.
But somehow, Dominic managed to open his mouth and ask the question burning in his mind.
“Wh-who… are you?”
It was a strange question to ask.
The man before him was clearly the culprit of this massacre. The one responsible for this horrific scene.
And yet, Dominic couldn’t bring himself to ask the question in an accusatory way.
Because the aura radiating from this man was so… divine.
That was the very reason Dominic had been struggling to understand the situation from the beginning.
If the aura coming from this man had been purely evil and malevolent, there would have been no need for hesitation.
The gap in power was insurmountable. If a battle were to break out, his death would be certain.
But he had sworn an oath to the God of Light. He vowed to offer his body in service of the divine will.
So, he would simply offer this body to vanquish the demon before him.
Yet the being in front of him was no demon. A demon couldn’t possibly emit such a holy aura.
Those deep blue eyes stared back at him. The man finally opened his mouth and answered Dominic’s question.
“That... is something you all know better than I.”
It was an answer even stranger than Dominic’s question.
A response that seemed to answer a question with another question.
The odd suggestion that they already knew who he was.
But why?
Cold sweat dripped down Dominic’s back.
The reason was simple.
A hypothesis had formed in his mind.
A theory so absurd, so far-fetched, that it couldn’t possibly be true.
It was unrealistic.
There was no way something like that could happen.
No matter how much he tried to deny it, the thought wouldn’t leave his head.
In fact, it only grew clearer.
That divine power.
That untouchable presence.
What they indicated was obvious.
There was only one possible explanation for all of this.
Dominic’s face filled with shock. But, as if indifferent to such a reaction, “He” continued speaking.
“I have always been watching over you.”
He slowly walked toward Dominic.
“I have watched your repulsive acts as well.”
He spoke.
He had seen all of their grotesque deeds with his own eyes.
The terrible sins they had committed.
Only now did Dominic understand everything.
[What purpose does the Holy Church serve if it does not carry out the will of the God?]
The corruption within the Holy Church.
The image of the Church, obsessed with accumulating wealth rather than following the teachings of God.
Until now, Dominic had dismissed such claims as mere criticisms from the leader of the Black Fangs.
He thought it was just the ramblings of an unknown and bizarre organization.
But... that had been a ridiculous misconception.
Those words were the voice of God.
Dominic, who had sworn to dedicate his body to carry out the will of God, had failed to keep his promise.
It was a direct warning to the Holy Church from the divine.
A brilliant light burst forth.
Behind him, white wings spread open.
Two pairs of radiant wings, glowing with a beautiful light.
His mind naturally began to blur.
The overwhelming presence before him threatened to steal his consciousness at any moment.
As the figure revealed its true form to the world, He made a solemn proclamation.
“I have come to judge you.”
He had come to exact justice upon the sinners.
He had come to punish the heretics.
Tears streamed down Dominic’s face as he bowed his head deeply before Him.
There was no other choice.
Excuses would never work. No sinner who falsely bore the name of God could dare claim the right to explain themselves.
All that was left was regret.
Regret for his own foolishness.
For declaring he would dedicate his life to God and yet failing to uphold that vow. For becoming the loathsome person he now was.
“You were… always watching over us, weren’t You? You were always watching. And yet, we…”
They had committed too many sins. They had done things in the name of God that should never have been done.
And yet, they complained in their hearts.
Maybe God had abandoned them, they thought. No matter how much they prayed, there was no answer.
But the answer had been there all along.
He had spoken to them.
That they did not carry out His will. That they were nothing more than a crowd of unbelievers.
It wasn’t that God hadn’t answered.
They had ignored God’s response.
Corruption is inevitable, they said. We’ll find a way to fix things eventually, they claimed.
They covered their eyes with such words and completely silenced God’s will.
Some even had the audacity to call Him a vile heretic, spreading lies to tarnish the Holy Church’s authority.
That recording.
The declaration in that message had been God’s final act of mercy.
It had been their last chance to repent for their sins and throw everything away.
Yet they had kicked it aside with their own feet.
How could they still call themselves priests?
How could they, after committing such sins, claim to be servants of God?
Dominic looked once more upon Him.
He looked upon the figure of the “Black Saint.”
In this moment, there was only one thing Dominic could say.
“We have committed an unforgivable sin. A sin that cannot and should not be forgiven.”
Those who were meant to carry out God’s will had ignored His words. They were no longer priests.
They were merely apostates, heretics, sinners.
Therefore, they had no right to ask for forgiveness.
“Whatever punishment You deem fit, we will accept. Even if You command us to end our lives, we will gladly comply.”
Dominic knelt before Him.
“Please, deliver the rightful punishment to those who have defiled the name of God.”
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