< 30 : Apostle of Thunder (2) >
Inside the crude and shabby cult.
There, under Roan’s guidance, a feast was held for the new apostle.
The large table was filled with appetizing breads and vegetables.
Of course, these dishes were prepared by the cult’s followers who followed Roan’s instructions.
Roan, who had spent his life training only dark magic, could not make any food other than drugs.
“Congratulations on becoming a new apostle!”
Roan raised his voice and congratulated Evan, who was sitting at the table.
Evan looked at him with a subtle expression.
He was the one who tried to kill him with his own sword.
But now he was receiving congratulations for becoming an apostle of the evil god, which made him feel awkward.
Roan acted as if nothing had happened, and Evan pretended to be fine and replied.
“…Thanks. I appreciate your congratulations.”
“I heard that you got an amazing ability this time.”
“An amazing ability.”
“Didn’t you get the ability to control lightning? I know how powerful his lightning is, because I also used it for a while.”
Evan looked at the Astrape that he was wearing on his hand.
He had not yet tested the performance of this device properly.
But he knew well that this device had an enormous power.
As it had various abilities, he would be able to gain overwhelming strength compared to before if his proficiency increased.
Moreover, Evan was now receiving a huge amount of magic instead of divine power.
He nodded his head and agreed with the feeling of his power being more abundant than before.
“He gave me a powerful power. It’s too much for me.”
It was a power that he had obtained by selling his faithful faith.
It was natural that he felt some resistance to using it.
Nevertheless, Evan did not intend to abandon his given task.
It was the direction he chose with his own will.
Even if it was a broken faith, Evan had to bear the consequences.
If he was going to fall into hell, he had to fall to the bottom of hell.
That was the only way left for Evan, who had chosen the wrong path.
“With you as an apostle, there will be nothing to fear in our cult for a while.”
Roan tilted his wine glass with a light laugh.
Evan also lifted his glass and drank along with him.
When he was in the holy land, he did not drink as a principle, but when he returned to his family, he sometimes enjoyed wine.
He smiled bitterly at the taste of wine that he had not drunk for a long time.
He did not know where he got it from, but it was not a bad wine for Evan.
It seemed like something that would cost quite a lot.
Evan tore off some bread and drank wine, then suddenly turned his eyes to the corner of the table.
“Hey, who is that guy?”
In the corner where Evan’s eyes met, Peter was eating bread with an awkward expression.
Even from Evan’s perspective, who joined them for the first time today, Peter’s appearance stood out especially.
He did not look like a follower of the cult, nor did he look like a worker.
He did not do much work either.
Peter tore off some bread with his fingers and opened his mouth in surprise when he saw Evan pointing at him.
“Uh… are you talking about me?”
“Yeah. You don’t look like an ordinary follower.”
“I am…”
Peter stuttered in response to Evan’s question.
With bread in his hand, Peter’s eyes kept wandering in the air.
Thud. Thud.
Evan’s fingers tapped on the table slowly with his gauntlet on.
It was clearly a gesture to urge him to answer quickly.
Seeing Peter unable to give a clear answer, Roan stepped in to save him.
“Oh, Peter? He is the servant and assistant of the first apostle.”
“…Servant?”
“Servant and assistant? Is he not a follower of the cult?”
“Not yet. He has not officially joined the cult yet, but he must also revere him in his heart.”
Evan became interested in Roan’s answer.
He was not a follower of the cult, but a mere servant.
Evan tilted his wine glass again and drank it.
Then he looked at Roan and asked him about the cult.
“I’m surprised. I thought you were sacrificing everyone you saw. Isn’t that what you were doing?”
“No. We don’t do that.”
Eutenia answered Evan’s question instead of Roan.
She did not touch the wine, but ate bread with dignity.
Evan asked again at Eutenia’s answer that denied his words.
“…What are you talking about?”
“The humans we sacrifice are only the unbelievers.”
“Unbelievers?”
Several villages had disappeared completely.
It was a fact that Evan had confirmed himself by riding a horse around.
Yet Eutenia denied that they had sacrificed the whole village.
Evan looked at Eutenia with a doubtful gaze, and Eutenia continued to explain.
“Peter is also a survivor from the village.”
“Survivor? So you leave those who serve him alone?”
“Yes. If everyone serves him, then we will have to find other sacrifices.”
Evan thought of a small possibility in his mind at Eutenia’s words.
They only sacrifice those who do not serve the god.
The cult’s method was not much different from the inquisitors’ work.
Except that their actions were radical and their targets were too broad.
What if they could convert everyone they reached to their cult?
Then there might be a situation where no one would be sacrificed.
Whether it was realistic or not, the important thing was that there was such a possibility.
“Let’s change our method from now on.”
“What method do you want?”
“We’ll take a few days to convert them. We can sacrifice them later.”
“Do you mean we should spend more time spreading his teachings?”
“Yes. If more people serve him, he will be very pleased.”
What was his destiny as an apostle?
The god of the other world told him to straighten his faith.
What their master wanted was one thing.
To drive out the six temples and their gods, and carve his name in their place.
He said that if he could accomplish that great task, it would not matter if he influenced the existing method a little.
So Evan was able to make a decision about what he had to do.
“Are you satisfied with that?”
“That’s enough for me.”
“Then let’s decide to do that from now on. There’s no problem, right, Roan?”
“Of course not. Who would oppose expanding the power of the cult?”
Evan looked at the gauntlet in his hand after hearing the confirmation from the members of the cult.
His destiny was to save people.
And for that, the whole holy land had to collapse.
The reason why the war repeated was only one.
The six temples defined their master as an evil god, and kept moving their troops to subjugate him.
As long as the six temples and the god of the other world were opposed, this infinite cycle would continue endlessly.
But what if his new master took their place instead of the six temples?
Then there would be no more war.
In a world ruled by the god of the other world, everyone would forget about heroes and apostles and live a peaceful life.
“If everyone serves him, there will be no more chaos or strife.”
Evan started pouring wine into his empty glass with a new goal in mind.
To suppress the cult and drive out the six temples of the holy land.
That was Evan’s new goal.
There was no salvation in this world just because there was a god who existed.
But by destroying Crossbridge, he could save more lives that would die in the future.
It was enough for him to be the only one who dirtied his hands.
If Evan wore all the blood and sin and fell into hell, then peaceful days would follow after that.
*****
“Phew…”
In the middle of the noisy feast.
Peter escaped from the cult’s building and sighed.
He managed to get into the feast by joining the cult’s schedule, but the atmosphere of the cult was hard for Peter to adapt to.
He was not even a member of the cult in the first place.
It was so bad that he was treated as a servant, who used to be an outsider.
It was natural that Peter felt uncomfortable.
“How did I end up like this?”
Peter muttered as he put some bread that he had brought from the feast in his mouth.
The cult distributed bread at mealtime.
If he did not sneak into the followers’ gap at mealtime and get some bread, he would have to starve and endure it.
That was also why he followed Eutenia into the banquet hall this time.
If he did not fill his stomach by looking around, he would have to skip dinner.
And now he could not go back to his village either, because it had been gone for a long time.
The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt.
“Besides, I have this weird mark on my arm.”
Peter rolled up his sleeve and looked at his arm.
There was a black pattern on Peter’s arm that had been engraved on him a few days ago.
A shape of a sword piercing through wings.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a mark of an evil god that could be seen even in the dark.
Peter reached out his finger to erase the pattern and rubbed it.
As he did so, a sound of a door opening rang out behind Peter.
“…”
Creak.
The one who came out of the door was Evan.
He came out and looked around, then soon found Peter standing in the corner.
Peter quickly lowered his sleeve and hid his arm as soon as he saw Evan.
He nodded his head reflexively with a feeling that he should not deny it when Evan approached him and asked him a question.
“You’re the one who said you’re Eutenia’s servant.”
“Ah, yes, yes…!”
He had been staring at Peter since inside the banquet hall.
Peter hid his arm behind him in panic as Evan came closer to him until he was right in front of him. Evan looked at Peter’s arm that was hidden behind him and asked him:
“Are you hiding something?”
“No, no! It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, you say…”
“It’s just… a simple mark.”
