Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 401



Only Noblemtl

401. Pian (6)

The appearance of the summoned spirit was completely different from the appearance of the fanatic parish priest that Seongjin remembered.

A tough armor covering thick muscles.

A ferocious club that can crush the spine of any vertebrate with one blow.

If it weren’t for the evidence of long-term hardship covering her skin, Sungjin probably would never have recognized her.

“…Belinda?”

When I ask half in doubt, I receive a very polite answer from the soul.

[Yes, my lord. I am your faithful servant, Belinda.]

Yeah. Looking at those gently rolling eyes and the scar on No. 19’s neck, it seems like it’s her… … .

‘What on earth is going on?’

Why is that guy from the Penitence Church suddenly my summoner? Why does he call me ‘master’ without any hesitation?

[Hmm.]

At that moment, the Demon King, who had been watching the new summons with interest, opened his mouth as if he had guessed something.

[It seems that he came to his senses after he died. He became a pure spirit and gained enlightenment that had been blocked by the limitations of his body.]

[Yes, that’s correct.]

Belinda’s spirit nodded.

[Master. The soul that has met death has its spiritual eyes opened, which had been distant, and is able to catch a glimpse of the truth of the world. In this way, I came to know the true nature of the ‘peace’ that I had longed for while alive.]

The true nature of peace?

[Ah! How can I possibly describe the fear and despair I felt in the face of that overwhelming truth! If it weren’t for the Master…!]

Woof-

As Belinda becomes agitated, her powerful aura that fills the room ripples with her.

[If it weren’t for your help! I would have crumbled to dust without even realizing my own foolishness!]

“… … .”

Seongjin looked down at the soul of the fanatic kneeling before him.

She is a person of strong spirit who has never been lazy in pickling herself while she is alive.

If the appearance of the soul fully reveals the essence of the human being, then the excellent armor she wears is an indicator of her dignity and solidity as a soul.

[Master! Thanks to you, I have finally achieved true spiritual freedom. How could I not be moved!]

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

Seongjin, who sensed that the story would be long, sat down comfortably on the bed and gave an order.

“Tell me in detail from the beginning. How did you become my summoner?”

[Yes, my lord. You who are prepared. I will gladly tell you everything.]

Belinda answered like that, then raised her head and looked at Seongjin with sparkling eyes.

[First, I must explain what happened after my death.]

* * *

That day, Belinda was beheaded and died by Number 19.

‘iced coffee……!’

The emotion she felt as soon as she left her body was intense ecstasy.

Belinda walked through the pitch-black darkness, overcome with joy, for she knew that her soul was being drawn straight towards [Repentance] by a powerful pull.

‘Bethel! At the end of a long journey, my soul has finally returned to the Lord… …!’

Although it is now ostracized as a ‘dark cult’, the essence of the underground cult is also worship and praise towards the Lord.

However, unlike the Orthodox Church, they worship the four manifestations of the Lord who came down to earth. They are called [Ae-yeol], [Sowing], [Repentance], and [Answer] respectively.

Among them, Belinda was deeply moved by [Repentance], who endlessly suffered with humans. So, ever since she became wise, she never stopped whipping herself every day.

‘Bethel… …?!’

But [Repentance], the joy of arriving at the Lord’s side was short-lived. Belinda could not help but be astonished at the truth that her newly awakened spiritual eyes were showing her.

Because the place she arrived at was not where the Lord was, nor even the world of peace.

‘…hmm?’

The empty black space of space.

Among them, there was a huge being that could not overcome its own density and collapsed, pulling in everything around it.

‘… Repentance?’

For a moment, Belinda doubted her own sanity.

Is that really the ‘incarnation of the Lord’ that he had been longing for?

No, it was questionable whether it was even a proper person, let alone a god. To Belinda’s eyes, it simply looked like a large wheel with countless saw blades.

A huge thorny wheel so large that it cannot be seen at a glance greets her, surrounded by echoing screams and blood pouring down like a waterfall.

-Repent.

Perhaps this was another ordeal or trial from the Lord? Belinda thought so for a moment.

Until I saw a soul sucked in from somewhere, caught in the thorny wheel, and torn to pieces in an instant.

[Kkaaaah… … !]

The soul that couldn’t even utter its last words properly was ground up by the wheels in the blink of an eye and disappeared without a trace.

‘… … !’

Belinda, who was suddenly anxious, opened her eyes wide and tried to look at the mysterious being. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!

‘… Repentance! My Lord!’

But it was no use. The thorny wheel, which I had initially thought was a single shape, began to lose its proper shape and boundaries the more I focused on it.

It was one, yet not one.

The great thorn wheel was a collection of countless other blood wheels, and within those blood wheels were filled even more wheels of suffering, spinning as they pleased.

It would be much easier to capture every grain of sand on the beach at a glance.

At that very moment, the thorn wheels, as numerous as the stars in the universe, all blinked their eyes and stared at Belinda as if they were crushing her.

-Repent.

Ah! Who dares call that ‘Pian’? That visible thing that exists only for ‘pain’.

The sum total of all the soul-crushing tortures and sufferings that have appeared countless times in history, and those that have yet to appear.

‘No! Pickling?’

Nonsense! There was no way any soul could endure the reality of that for even a moment.

It was the frustration of all those who committed suicide, the bitter regret that made them willing to burn down cities, countries, and even civilization itself.

It was a sorrow that made stars fall to the ground and even galaxies lose their light. It was a misery that did not allow itself a chance to repent even after death.

It was a cry of regret from the entire universe, beyond human senses.

‘ah…….’

Tens of thousands of voices that cannot be denied, mercilessly striking the soul that trembles with shock.

-Repent. Repent.

‘Ah …

– Know your original sin that you commit by existing. Do not dare to even try to repent, but just shed tears of blood with your whole body! Embrace all your sins into your soul without leaving anything behind, and quietly disappear from the world as if they never existed!

Belinda was gripped by extreme fear and frustration. She wanted to end it all right away, even if it meant killing her soul again and again.

Yes. Perhaps it will happen the moment she gets a little closer to it. Her soul will not be able to bear its presence, and in an instant, it will become nothing and scatter to all directions.

Belinda’s soul screamed in agony.

[… No! That, that is not my Lord!]

Ah yes, the merciless and hateful saw blade that mercifully welcomes and attracts humans, the ecstatic and beautiful baptism, even if it is the great Lord or the repentance itself, it is an asceticism that knocks tens of thousands of times and praises it with precious blood, and eventually disappears without a trace, it is a blessing that completely dwells in all things, that is the only peace permitted to the soul, and there is no more place for the soul… … .

It was just then.

Whirlyrick-

Suddenly, a black curtain blocked Belinda’s vision.

[Turn away your eyes now, sister!]

[Ah, ahh… … !]

[You shouldn’t look at it straight on. The emotions that my sister is feeling right now are not yours alone, so you shouldn’t be deceived any longer. First, try to close your eyes completely.]

The one who covered her eyes was a skinny man in a black robe.

However, as Belinda was shaking from shock and unable to control her soul, he eventually took her soul himself and began to fly away quickly somewhere.

-Repent!

The voice that had been resonating terribly in my head slowly fades away.

[… All, you?]

How far had she run from ‘it’? Belinda, who was slowly coming to her senses, reflexively asked herself a faint question.

Then the man turned his head and gently narrowed his dark eyes.

[I am the brother of the last rest, and the third apostle appointed by the Lord of all souls.]

[Rest of… … .]

[Yes. I have come to help you according to the will of the Master of my soul, and now your soul is saved.]

In this way, Belinda was led into another mysterious world by a man she had never seen before.

In a world of complete death where everything is pale and pale, and nothing moves or lives.

But to Belinda’s soul, which had been worked to the limit, even that eerie silence felt like the peace of heaven.

* * *

Belinda’s soul was greatly damaged when she encountered the true nature of [Confession], but fortunately it did not take long for her to recover.

Ironically, the abuse she had endured in the name of training up until then – especially the torture she endured at the hands of the mad Inquisitors of the Heresy Tribunal right up until her death – seemed to have only strengthened her soul.

Belinda, who had been in a short sleep, soon regained consciousness and began to slowly look around this new world.

‘It was the brother of Rest who saved me from [Repentance]. So, can I say that my staying here is also the will of [Rest]?’

At first, she thought that ‘another manifestation of the Lord’ would command her to do something in exchange for salvation. However, no matter how long Belinda waited, there was no sign of her being called from [Rest].

Eventually, Belinda, tired of waiting, decided to enjoy this unexpected peace.

This is a world of complete death.

Beneath your feet is an endless tangle of gray corpses in deep sleep, and in the sky is a rigid space where celestial bodies that have lost their light are frozen like reliefs.

As time passed, curiosity about this world blossomed, but in this place where everything seemed to be dead and asleep, there were hardly any souls that Belinda could interact with.

Besides, the black spirit that brought her here was an overly reserved person.

[Don’t rush to tell me too much, sister. For now, it will be enough for me to just lay my soul here and rest comfortably according to His will.]

Fortunately, there was a kind senior who occasionally spoke to Belinda. It was the spirit of a woman who had not been dead for very long and who often woke up from her sleep.

[Come here. I will help you meet the true owner of this place, whom you are curious about.]

At the woman’s suggestion, Belinda followed her as if possessed.

They passed quickly over the tombstones that were packed tightly together like grass in a field, the urns in the charnel house that were cracked here and there, and the countless corpses lying carelessly on the floor.

It was a sight that seemed as if a giant telephone had been swept through, but strangely enough, the emotions on the faces of the souls lying down were extremely calm… … .

[Stop! Be careful not to look at one place for too long. If you come into contact with the essence of rest even a little, you will immediately and unconsciously crave endless rest.]

A slender woman flies ahead, warning us.

[You seem to be a rather high-class soul. As such, you will need more rest to heal the wounds of your past life, and it will be easy for you to fall into the temptation to sleep.]

So, in order not to fall into a deep sleep, the woman emphasized again that you should move around busily and look around, but not focus on one place for too long.

[Of course, you shouldn’t wander around recklessly and disturb other souls’ sleep.]

Belinda looked at the woman walking ahead, and suddenly noticed her right arm missing and her tattered shoulder.

‘Who is she? She doesn’t look like a warrior at first glance, so what on earth did she do in her life? Her arm wasn’t cut by a blade, but rather looks like it was mercilessly bitten by a wild animal.’

Then the woman walking ahead turns her head and looks down at where her arm once was.

A space where the soul’s thoughts are transmitted as thoughts. Belinda’s questions were bound to reach her ears as well.

[… I can’t say it wasn’t a hard life, but at least it wasn’t the kind of disaster you’re thinking of. My child just ate my soul out of me from time to time.]

Rip and eat… what?

Belinda’s doubts deepened, but the eyes of the woman looking back at her were too dry.

[But it may also be because of that child that I was saved. Instead of being dragged away by the other demon lords as usual, I was enveloped in a bright light and flew straight here. Of all the people who died together, I am the only soul who was saved.]

The woman confided in Belinda her story about herself.

He was kidnapped by bandits at a young age and lived his entire life being exploited. And in the end, he was brutally murdered by the child he was raising.

[That was… wasn’t that such a sad life!]

At Belinda’s sigh, the woman slowly shook her head.

[It’s nothing special. After facing death, I realized that the pain I experienced in my life was nothing compared to what others experienced. Among the souls sleeping here, there are some who have endured lives of hardship that ordinary humans cannot even imagine.]

While we were talking like that, the surrounding scenery was slowly changing.

The frequency of lying down souls became rarer, and the occasional sight of shards of broken weapons and the ground became increasingly bare.

‘Was this… someone’s battlefield?’

Belinda intuitively realized this.

How long did he follow the woman like that?

[Okay, here it is.]

Belinda finally reached her destination and was left speechless at the magnificent sight that overwhelmed her.

‘… … !’

A huge black void with no end in sight. There was a place where tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of demon corpses were entangled and towered like a mountain.

[They… … .]

[These are the followers of the previous ‘Ansik’ who opposed the master.]

The weapons embedded in the hearts of the demons had not yet rusted, and the blood flowing from the mountain of corpses had not yet hardened.

Even after death, they were unable to be liberated and their distorted, hardened expressions are vivid evidence of their struggle against the disaster that struck like a tidal wave.

[Isn’t it amazing? I heard that so many demons rushed at ‘him’ at once. They say it was a sign of an unprecedentedly fierce generational change.]

A thrill ran through me.

Having taken the lives of so many demons to establish his authority and piled up their corpses to claim his own place, how could the black throne at the top not be called the King’s Throne?

[iced coffee……!]

And Belinda, who was faced with the being sitting quietly on top, was unable to control her surging emotions and was soon shedding tears.

Ah! There, the truth she had been longing for all her life, the eternal peace, was there.

[Yes! This is the one who is the true master of my soul… …!]

* * *

Thud!

As Belinda spoke, black tears suddenly began to flow from her eyes.