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Genius Warlock-Episode 685

685. nuns (6)

There were more underground passages under Seonghwangsiguk than expected..

This is a secret passage created in the past when the Paterism was persecuted..

Quite a few people in the Seonghwangsi Kingdom knew of the existence of this underground passage, and even more knew its exact location and route..

And Armand and Roderick, who were divided into two groups and entered the underground passage, fell into the latter group..

[I figured it out just in case. I never thought I would use it. Too bad.]

I could hear Roderick lamenting through the communication device Merlin gave me..

To be honest, Armand, who listened, also felt the same way..

Although I spent time and effort identifying Seonghwang City's underground passages in case of an emergency, to be honest, I never once wanted to use them..

For a person of the rank of Cardinal Priest to use such a shadowy channel meant that a major disaster had befallen the prosperous kingdom..

It was best not to use it at all..

However, regardless of the wind, things came to an end..

As proof, the Holy Knights and Servants who swore allegiance to the Church of Pater blocked the Cardinal Priest's path..

“gibberish! We owe our loyalty not to a denomination, but to our Father in heaven.-”

-pop!!

A servant holding a cross-shaped machine gun was standing in a narrow street and increasing his firepower when Armand fired an armor-piercing bullet and set off the machine gun..

The machine gun, overheated from pouring out firepower to its limit, exploded, and the Servant's voice was swallowed up by the explosion, creating a huge flame and spark..

Stopped firepower projection.

Armand, wearing iron armor all over his body, rushed forward..

It was then. A yellow sword was aimed precisely at Armand, cutting through the smoke created by the machine gun explosion..

kagak━!!

It was a perfect surprise attack, but Armand blocked it by using holy magic on the shotgun that fired armor-piercing bullets..

When the blade and the shotgun collided, sparks flew..

Armand immediately moved the long sword in his other hand and stabbed the attacking paladin's abdomen from bottom to top..

A blade that goes deep, like cutting through butter with a heated knife. However-

-Wow!

The paladin grabbed Armand's arm and blocked his movement..

It adheres to the Holy Knight's battle doctrine of not dying right away even when attacked, but hindering the enemy's movements to help allies win..

He was a very well trained paladin..

‘Then next is······.’

Armand looked ahead, thinking calmly..

A paladin and servant wearing holy magic rushed towards Armand, whose arm was caught..

0.1A fighting method suitable for the battle of paladins where life and death can be decided in seconds..

The stabbed paladin wouldn't let go for at least one second..

One, it was okay. Because Armand didn’t come alone either..

Well done━!

bang━━!!

The paladins who came with Armand immediately followed behind and cut down the charging paladins with their long swords and struck them with their hammers to block their path..

Armand used the opportunity to pick up the paladin he had stabbed with his sword and throw it forward..

The Paladin and Servant who received the corpse of a friendly Paladin paused for a moment..

At that time, Armand kicked the ground and dug into the center at once, cutting down the standing paladins and servants with his long sword and creating a hole in his body with the shotgun..

Multiple Paladins and Servants Falling.

“Phew······.”

Armand caught his breath in the midst of it all..

My body didn't respond as well as I thought..

It wasn't simply because he left active duty. My body was old.

I thought I managed it well, but I couldn't escape the law of aging established by God..

As a body that serves God, I don't feel resentful, but I was worried..

If things continue like this, I can't guarantee that we'll be able to reach the center of the convent in time..

I didn't know, so I took out insurance, but I couldn't rely on that alone..

“shit······”

A low cursing sound was heard..

These were the words spoken by one of the paladins who came with Armand. He was looking down at the paladins and a considerable number of servants who had fallen on the floor with empty eyes..

It was an inappropriate action during a mission, and in a situation where Seonghwangcheong might be in crisis, but honestly, I didn't want to blame him..

No matter how much of a paladin you are, it would be inconvenient to kill a fellow paladin and a servant assisting that paladin..

This was even more so if it was an organized form rather than a deviation of a few individuals..

It was a situation that could not be called a tragedy..

However, on the other hand, it was proof that Paterism had festered internally..

The side effects of the Paterism policy of forcing nuns to sacrifice have come to the surface..

Armand wondered if there was any use in saying this now, but he just thought that the time had come..

It could be said to be the fate of an organization that is conservative and has clear hierarchical relationships..

Although it appears stable on the outside, dissatisfaction is building up in places that cannot be seen..

It was an inevitable case of measles that would happen someday..

Of course, it wasn't something Armand himself would say, even though he knew about it but couldn't touch it..

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Ugh······!

The communication device rang..

Archive It was a communication device given to me by Merlin, and coincidentally, it was Merlin who contacted me..

When I picked up the communication device, I heard Merlin's voice..

[His Majesty Armand)······.]

“archive.”

Armand quickly received the communication device. He was the only one who could bring news from outside..

“What's going on outside??”

[A frog is coming out of the water that has turned into blood..]

frog. It was the second of the ten signs that appear before the devil descends..

Armand swallowed quietly..

It was recorded in the literature of the Paterism that the power of the devil and its ripple effect that would descend on this world were determined according to the omen..

In the case of First Step, a colonial city in the New World, the second sign caused a quarter of the city to be burned down..

At only the second sign.

So what happens when the third, fourth, maybe fifth or more signs appear??

It was something that even Armand, who was a cardinal priest of the Church of Pater and chancellor of Gallos and had seen all kinds of unpleasant situations and even made decisions, could not easily think about and did not want to think about..

“The devil is... Has it descended??”

[······Probably not yet.]

Armand didn't ask unnecessary questions like how he knew..

I don't know the details, but I know that the Archives knows more about the end times than the Paterism..

That's why Armand exists... He didn't even ask what he was going to do with Dave..

I also had no idea what to do with that being, and there was nothing I could do right away..

What he couldn't do was just a delusion, and Armand decided not to waste time with delusions..

Because he was a cardinal priest.

Even if he was corrupt and failed, he was still a cardinal priest. So I decided to focus on what I can do right now..

That's right, stopping the devil.

Armand hurried forward, gathering the spirits of the Holy Knights..

The omen has begun, but unless the devil has descended, I don't know if I can stop it..

Of course, it will be a pain to clean up the place since the devil almost descended at the hands of the nuns during the prosperous times, but it can be handled.······.

“······this.”

Armand, who was running, looked ahead and stopped without realizing it, muttering..

A desiccated corpse wearing a black monastic habit and a skeleton with only hair remaining blocked the way..

I guessed the identity of that body and skeleton. They were nuns buried under the convent..

Nuns who died for unclear reasons.

“zombie······?”

One of the paladins said. Armand corrected me..

“It's not just a zombie.”

Corpse and skeleton standing on two feet.

At first glance, it looked like a zombie, but it wasn't just any zombie..

The power that resides in the corpse and the power that moves the corpse is similar to that of black magic, but in a different direction..

Something a little more high-dimensional... As proof.

[Holy Light)]

Even though a sacred method that was absolutely compatible with black magic was used, the zombies did not disappear and remained standing there..

Tadak······. Just.

Kikigeek······. Geek······

I didn't know what harmony it was, but I knew two things:.

We can't move forward easily and now we have no choice but to place our hopes on Archive's disciple Kevin..

Armand thought so and rushed towards the dead nuns..

***

Joanna shouted to everyone..

Stop praying right now. This is an act of summoning the devil, and an act that puts everyone in danger. Even those who perform the ritual.

why? Because I had already seen something similar with my own two eyes..

At the New World First Step abandoned mine..

Joanna still remembers that day vividly..

The sight of a hundred red men burning like firewood, circling around them, beating drums, and dancing..

They made bizarre gestures as if they were being grabbed and swayed by someone, and just looking at them made the hairs on their bodies stand up..

A sight that goes beyond bizarre to blasphemous..

But what I remember most was the girl in the middle of the ceremony..

A red-faced girl with a very thin face and limbs, and an abnormally swollen belly..

The Burned One, a demon, came out of the girl's stomach and descended into this world..

With a scream that tears the world apart.

Of course, the girl died, and not only the girl, but also all the red people who participated in the ritual died. Maybe I had suffered something more than death..

What was certain was that all those who wanted revenge, even by borrowing the power of the devil, met a terrible end at the hands of the devil..

Joanna said it out loud.

What you are doing now is not a prayer or anything, it is a blasphemous sin, and you will all be sacrificed to it..

Some girls who were praying stopped at that shout..

It was a natural reaction. They were all just girls who wanted to help the nuns punish sins and change the world for the better..

I wasn't trying to summon a devil against God..

Finally, one girl couldn't hold back and asked. Is what Joanna said true?.

The nuns tried to stop the girl, but Sister Della nodded..

“Yes, summoning a demon. you're right.”

In response to this completely unexpected answer, there was silence for a moment in the basement of the convent, where only prayers were heard, and a murmur spread like a crack..

This too was a completely natural reaction..

It is said that a nun who worships God summons the devil..

Then, Della spoke again.

“But what's the problem??”

“yes······?”

“I asked what was wrong with trying to summon a demon?.”

I had no idea what to say to the girls because of that nonsense..

The brain can't keep up with the sound that makes so much sense..

Della opened her mouth once again..

“Let me ask you a question. Is God omnipotent and omnipotent??”

“yes? yes, of course······.”

The girls nodded even though they were embarrassed..

Because that's what I've learned my whole life..

“But isn’t it strange? Then how can there be a devil??”

“yes?”

“It's a simple question. If there is an omnipotent God, how can there be an evil devil who opposes God? That's strange?”

It was definitely strange. She had never thought about it because she was not allowed to question it, but when Sister Della pointed it out like this, she found it really strange..

I did not understand how a God who is good, knows everything, and can do anything could have an opponent or evil..

All of the girls here had not received basic education, but they had reason given to them by God, so they were not ignorant of reason..

The good and omnipotent God and the evil and omnipotent devil opposing God were irreconcilable contradictions..

Questions and confusion that I experienced for the first time in my life.

Sister Della, who raised the doubts and confusion, solved them..

“The reason is simple. Because the devil is also an apostle of God..”

“······!!”

A quiet shiver ran through the girls..

The devil is an apostle of God. It was a shocking story that seemed to turn heaven and earth upside down..

However, at the same time, it was a story that could put to rest the doubts and confusion I had for the first time..

If so, it would explain why there is an omniscient and omnipotent God, but there is also a devil..

“Is it really true??”

one of the girls asked in disbelief..

It was information that contradicted my lifelong teachings..

Sister Della answered in a confident tone, as if to calm the confusion..

“Yes, because I heard it directly from him... The devil is also an apostle of God who receives orders from God. Like an angel. It's just that the devil is not a being that saves good people, but a being that punishes people who have committed sins..”

The girls were silent. It was persuasive..

Sister Della was wedged..

“In other words, the devil is not an evil being, but human sin is an evil being. We just want to punish those sins and put the world right..”

“don't listen!”

Joanna joined in, shouting..

Della asked back..

“Are you denying what I said??”

Joanna could not deny it.

It wasn't because Della caught me by the head..

Joanna also knew this. Because she learned from her conversation with the Burned One.

The devil is also a being who follows God's will.

Even though the words were spoken by the devil, Joanna instinctively knew that what he was saying was true..

But even so······.

“You can't pray! The devil is still the devil!! If the ritual is really successful, everyone here is in danger.······!!”

Joanna's sincere cry made even the nuns, including the girl, look at Della..

I asked if that was true.

“Do not worry. The driver is not lying, but our case is different..”

Sister Della looked at everyone with profound eyes..

“We just sang it at his request. To judge sinners and to set the world to rights.”

“How can you have the arrogant belief that the judgment will only miss you??!!”

Joanna shouted even more desperately..

“Really, can you say with confidence that you have not committed a single sin in your life?! Do you really believe that the devils see things the same way we do??!!”

Joanna shouted. Because he, too, was a sinner who ignored the small, skinny and unsightly sheep. Also, he was the one who had a brief conversation with the devil..

I regret the unfair treatment the nuns have received over hundreds of years, but this was not the case..

No matter how difficult and painful it is, people living in the same world must find a solution, and they cannot plunge everything into the abyss of destruction..

It was not a solution, it was just a primal desire to destroy everything driven by anger and hatred..

Knowing this, Joanna desperately tried to stop the girl and the nuns by shouting..

Because I know clearly what will happen to them. At the same time, for his brother and Oliver in this city..

“Please- Eup! Ugh!!”

Joanna screamed desperately and tried to stop herself when something blocked her mouth..

It's none other than black velvet.

A nun who was a follower of Sister Della had skillfully covered Joanna's mouth using velvet..

The nun tied Joanna's body as well as her mouth and carefully wrapped it like a gift box..

“Ugh...! Ugh······!!”

When Joanna forced herself to keep quiet, the shaking atmosphere subsided, and the girls returned to their seats, and the nuns also returned to their seats..

Two-layered circle surrounding the altar.

Sister Della dragged Joanna by her hair, just as she had when she was brought in, to the altar..

I tried to resist, but it was pointless, perhaps because I lost my sacred law..

When they arrived in front of the altar, Sister Della lifted Joanna and placed her on the altar made of tombstones, and at that moment, Joanna and Sister Della's eyes met..

Joanna asked with her eyes in that split second..

Are you really going to force this for your own desires?.

Sister Della also responded with her eyes..

Of course it is.

When Della placed Joanna on the altar, an unknown force pulled the velvet and completely bound Joanna's body, as if held by an invisible hand..

I tried my best to resist, but the pressure from the bulette was so strong that I couldn't move..

After seeing that Joanna couldn't move, Della returned to her seat..

He stood in the second outer circle, facing the front of the altar, and said.

“I will pray.”

With those words, the chaotic atmosphere subsided and the girls and nuns knelt in their respective positions and began to pray again..

“Our Holy Father in heaven······.”

Underneath the catacombs beneath the convent, 55 girls and 56 nuns opened their mouths simultaneously..

“Your daughters have made the altar.······.”

111The voices of hundreds of people rang out in unison and echoed throughout the underground tomb..

“Please listen to our voices······.”

Is it because the voice echoes? Every time I recited the prayer, I felt like my voice was growing louder..

“Send down your apostle upon us.······.”

As each voice was added, the volume grew louder..

“We are ready to make sacrifices······.”

The air rang in accordance with the increased volume, and the torches that illuminated the surroundings also swayed along with the ringing air..

“Please melt us and use us as tools.······.”

Every time the torch was shaken, the surrounding darkness fluctuated and the surrounding area became bright and dark repeatedly..

“Our Father in heaven. They made us their tools······.”

The darkness that brightened and darkened was like a writhing creature. The darkness that became a living thing gave birth to many children..

Darkness in the shape of a person.

“Renew the world. Destroy all evil and do good.······.”

No one paid attention to the countless darkness shaped like people, perhaps only visible to Joanna..

The darkness in the shape of a human walked on the ground and approached the praying girls one by one and knelt down next to them. As if we were praying together.

Joanna was able to instinctively feel it when she saw it..

I can't stop now. At least you can't stop it on your own.

The prayer continued, and each time the prayer was recited, voices were added and the volume grew..

As the volume grew, the air inside the basement trembled and the torches fluctuated like crazy..

Darkness swaying with torchlight.

Inside, the girl and the nuns continued to recite prayers..

“Destroy the anger, jealousy, envy, jealousy, and malice that are prevalent in the world.······.”

The darkness continued to give birth to human-shaped children, and it approached the girls. Until the last 55th girl.

Then the darkness in the shape of a man approached Joanna. Passing by other girls.

slowly. very slowly.

“Please fill that empty space with true atonement.······.”

Deed.

The darkness in the shape of a person has already arrived right in front of us..

The darkness slowly reached out to Joanna..

Hehehehe······.

“To the Almighty Heavenly Father······.”

dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd······.

The moment the hand of darkness was about to reach Joanna-

-Kwaang!!

The tremors in the ground grew louder, and something broke through, kicking up dust and overturning the altar..

Gold threads scattered everywhere, pure white lace stained with dirt, perfume spilled on the floor..

The prayer was cut off due to the sudden situation, and everyone looked at the center of the altar with a blank expression..

There was a man standing there.

A man with black hair and red skin.

It was Kevin, the red wizard..

“It's not too late.”

Kevin said as he untied Joanna from the black velvet..