The Witch of Joy was dragged to the Outer God Religion as she was.
Although someone who lost family to Hyunkeshuni might have rebelled against taking her to the Outer God Religion, no one opposed Dakota’s choice.
Because they knew well what Dakota’s question just now meant.
More than half of the people here now know Dakota’s past. They knew well when and how her family died.
Because when Dakota persuaded people who lost close ones to Hyunkeshuni, Dakota told her own story.
And the witch who didn’t know what she just said insisted on being treated, saying she would die of sepsis at this rate.
Someone there observed Dakota’s reaction.
Dakota looked at the person observing and smiled brightly, instructing to treat her surgically.
The believers who understood those words took Hyunkeshuni to a room.
And after putting her to sleep with drugs, they performed literal surgical procedures.
The cleanly cut arm was disinfected, the cut surface was stopped from bleeding and covered with medicine, and the crushed right hand was surgically amputated near the forearm and managed.
After performing such procedures on her limbs, they drew magic along her spine as a precaution.
Of course, for legs they only needed to treat lacerations and puncture wounds, but they performed everything surgically.
It can’t be said there was no personal feelings, but there was no one at that place to point that out.
But it’s clearly a happy ending for everyone since she won’t die.
The next day, a day later.
In a carriage heading to the Outer God Religion headquarters.
Hyunkeshuni woke from the drugs and screamed.
She woke up to find her arms and legs gone.
Someone in front of her who thought it was human-like to scream in surprise answered:
“We treated you as you wished, Witch of Joy.”
“What kind of treatment is this! Arms! Legs! Where did they all go! Can people who call themselves priests do such things!”
As soon as she thought she was the victim, Hyunkeshuni’s attitude immediately became haughty. The outburst of someone who doesn’t know their current situation could seem quite pitiful depending on who’s watching.
Dakota?
She’s smiling.
And instead of cursing, she answered like this:
“Receive the blessing.”
Blessing.
Hyunkeshuni knows. If you receive that, all wounds are healed. But it’s a price received after giving up something important.
No one knows what that important thing is.
Hyunkeshuni knows what happens to humans who have what the Outer God calls warmth taken away.
They lose human form and become monsters wandering in search of warmth just the same. Long ago, with Yasle’s permission, she once diverted one who had become a monster.
But she couldn’t keep the monster contained.
Magic was completely ineffective, and if put in iron cages, it ground the cages. So before the situation became dangerous, she dealt with the monster, and from then on immediately disposed of sacrifices whose warmth was taken so experiments couldn’t be done anymore.
But she can’t say out loud that the Outer God is an evil monster.
Even Hyunkeshuni knows that if she says the wrong thing here now, she’ll be killed immediately.
There’s no point telling Outer God Religion people the Outer God is a monster. They’ll just oppose it.
Who would let someone live who calls the god they believe in a monster?
Instead, she asked in a sulky voice:
“Do you intend to let even someone like this receive the blessing?”
The one who smiled at that question was none other than Dakota.
“Of course. Witch of Joy. You must receive the blessing.”
Hyunkeshuni thought the woman was crazy enough to be called a saintess. But if you hear the reality, it’s clear she’s crazy in a different sense.
Because Dakota is thinking about after receiving the blessing.
No one has received the blessing twice.
Once you receive the blessing, in many cases you can’t heal physical damage a second time unless you gained a special ability.
First have her receive the blessing, then put her in the same state again.
Dakota thought like this.
She has no intention of letting Hyunkeshuni die easily. It’s fine to be gloomy. It’s okay even if it doesn’t fit her current position. She can put down everything she’s built up.
Because, finally she can take revenge.
That day.
Her parents were murdered before her eyes by the witch in front of her, and her chest was stabbed with a staff with a skull attached. Dakota remembers the moment she was growing cold with fear and despair then.
She has no intention of letting Hyunkeshuni die comfortably.
While thinking different thoughts, they soon arrived at the capital of the Kingdom of Anselus, where the Outer God Religion headquarters and holy land are.
And she was immediately dragged to the Outer God Religion headquarters.
The Outer God Religion headquarters is not a splendid temple.
Rather, its appearance itself was very shabby to be called the headquarters of any religion.
The Outer God Religion originally bought and remodeled several buildings in the square for use.
But that better showed the name of the Outer God Religion for the marginalized, and so they used that building for over 10 years.
And Hyunkeshuni, dragged by Dakota to a room in the basement, saw a very strange person.
“Outer God? Impossible! You, you can’t be here!”
As soon as she saw her, Hyunkeshuni turned pale and shouted. But soon she realized who she was seeing the blonde hair color.
“No, are you Rebecca? Rebecca Rolfe? You’re still alive after nearly a hundred years? Looking like that?”
Hyunkeshuni was also surprised to barely meet again after nearly 90 years had passed. Rebecca looked exactly the same as in her memory.
Her appearance, not having aged at all, was like a witch. But she didn’t feel witch-like at all. So she asked doubtfully:
“It’s been a long time. But shouldn’t I be the one asking if you’re still alive?”
Rebecca affirmed while looking at Hyunkeshuni thrown onto the cold floor. It was an ordinary tone as if talking to someone she knew.
Rebecca doesn’t particularly dislike Hyunkeshuni more. She just dislikes people.
So she didn’t show any special reaction even meeting Hyunkeshuni. Hyunkeshuni arbitrarily judged her as someone who wasn’t hostile to her, and raised her severed arm.
“Me, let me go. You made my arms and legs like this. I wrote the book to summon it for the Outer God too! I’m not a bad person!”
Hyunkeshuni desperately made excuses to survive. Even Hyunkeshuni knows the reason for bringing her to this basement where people’s voices can’t be heard isn’t a good one.
She has that much sense.
Of course, it’s much too late.
So she made excuses that she’s not a bad person to the Outer God Religion. She actually wrote a book that can call the Outer God.
“Ah, you mean this?”
She threw a thick book in front of her with a thud. The book fell to the floor and opened. Just looking at the open page, you can tell.
It’s the book Hyunkeshuni wrote.
“Yes, I wrote this! How about it? Calling the Outer God? That’s the situation you want, right? I can help!”
But looking down at her like that, Rebecca showed no particular reaction. Hyunkeshuni’s heart sank.
As Hyunkeshuni’s face filled with a smile, Rebecca giggled.
“Wonderful confession. You say you wrote the summoning trap that turns something into hard stone after summoning it.”
You interpreted it.
Despair flashed through Hyunkeshuni’s mind. At this rate she’ll surely be killed. Hyunkeshuni missed the most important part.
So she earnestly makes excuses to survive.
“Well, since not just anyone can summon a god, it’s natural that you can’t call a god if you can’t interpret this too, right? Huh? You’d feel bad too if your god was suddenly summoned to a strange place? I’ll help properly.”
Hyunkeshuni swallowed the words that followed. The words begging to please spare her life could really get her killed if she’s not careful. She knows that well.
Because Hyunkeshuni has killed many people begging to be spared like that, so she knows very well.
Rebecca giggled.
It was somehow terribly eerie, so a giggling sound involuntarily leaked from Hyunkeshuni’s throat.
As Dakota, feeling sick, was about to move, Rebecca raised her hand to stop her. Then Rebecca pointed at Hyunkeshuni with her finger and opened her mouth.
“This witch has a habit of laughing when she’s scared.”
Hyunkeshuni’s very old secret popped out lightly. Hyunkeshuni thought about how she knew that, then soon recalled the fact that the Outer God had seen through her mask.
“You, don’t tell me you were watching everything beyond the Outer God?”
Rebecca thought deeply hearing Hyunkeshuni’s words, then smiled at Dakota who made an expression like she realized something, then looked at Hyunkeshuni again.
“That’s right, Hyunkeshuni. And I saw even more than that. I saw who the Outer God once was, and thus how it became the Outer God.”
But she didn’t bother saying she didn’t see everything. Because if she had kept watching that, she would have gone crazy too.
And because of that, she knows.
People must fear the Outer God. It can do anything if it can eliminate even a tiny bit of that cold by killing people.
Rather, the cold was so painful it’s incomprehensible how it endured until now.
The Outer God’s memories were so painful and terrible that she was convinced she would immediately take the warmth before her eyes no matter what the future held, if it were her.
Rebecca approached Hyunkeshuni sitting on the floor and met her gaze.
Hyunkeshuni’s pupils dilated.
Hyunkeshuni wasn’t stupid enough to not know what was contained in those eyes.
“You. Don’t tell me.”
She involuntarily stretched out her right arm. Though it’s amputated not even a hand’s width from the shoulder, Hyunkeshuni meant to point with her index finger.
“Looking at your state, you won’t be able to interfere with calling the Outer God.”
And she stood up from her seat.
“Dakota. Don’t enjoy it alone, share with people who have grudges. Well then, I’ll be going now.”
Rebecca waved to Dakota and left that room. Though she should have grabbed Rebecca, Hyunkeshuni couldn’t say anything.
Because the expression of Dakota walking forward from beside Rebecca was a very familiar expression.
“On the day the Outer God passed away. There was a girl whose parents were murdered before her eyes, and who was dying with her chest stabbed.”
The woman wearing the mask of a saintess opened her mouth in a very gentle tone. Hyunkeshuni had no idea what the woman before her eyes was saying. But she knew her life was in danger.
And she knew now that no matter what she said, she couldn’t escape.
“The Outer God saved me. After that, I lived solely to kill the witch.”
Her tone changed in the middle. And the sticky hatred Dakota had been hiding until now flowed out. Only then did Hyunkeshuni realize where she had misspoken.
And she could understand exactly where she had made mistakes from.
Barely.
Or too late.
“Let’s be together for a long time. I’ve gathered lots of people who hate you.”
Click.
With a very heavy sound, the door closed.
It was a sound that immediately drove into her head the fact that this space is thoroughly isolated.
Screams won’t reach anywhere.