Eustaf was taking time out of his busy schedule to look into what Adelia had asked him to do separately.
The divine power transplants performed in the Vishna religion in the past, and those involved. Facing the ugly truth of the temple he loved and respected was more terrifying than he had anticipated.
Contrary to what he had been told by the Pope, the experiment was more brutal. The hell that took place in the sacred temple was never-ending, as were the children’s cries.
“Why did the research exist?”
The temple, which was supposed to convey Vishna’s benevolence to the world, instead taught children pain and despair.
The sense of impending shame caused Eustaf to tightly close his eyes. But he soon had to face reality again. He knew avoiding the problem would not solve it.
Eustaf reopened his eyes and examined the classified materials.
“It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
As he predicted, none of the people involved in this experiment have ever been alive; strangely, everyone was a high-ranking priest, but they died at a young age. Because high-ranking priests had a lot of divine power, they lived longer than ordinary people; however, those involved in this study died as young as 40 years old or lost their divine power for some reason.
It’s got to be karma.
The rare indignation in Eustaf’s eyes was evident. He didn’t even realize he was feeling refreshed. Eustaf knew it was wrong, but he felt relieved that they had received a fair punishment.
This is difficult. The information regarding the mysterious group was not available because everyone involved in this study had already passed away.
“Mmm?”
Eustaf re-examined the confidential data in a state of confusion as he discovered one oddity. It had nothing to do with the divine power transplant research study. It was, however, a sign that someone else had looked up the data before him.
The confidential data could only be read by two people in the Vishna religion. It was just him, the Cardinal, and Severance, the Pope.
“Your Holiness has also recently looked into this data”
According to the records, he looked up the information just a few months before his long trip. Eustaf was perplexed as to why he had suddenly looked up this information.
Could he not simply close his eyes and accept the church’s indelible sin? Or, like Eustaf, did he notice and recognize that this research is being abused somewhere?
Severance was thought to be extremely kind and wise, but he was also a mysterious person. Eustaf, who was taught by him, had no idea what his teacher was thinking whenever he saw him, who appeared to be looking far away at times.
But one thing was certain. That he is never the type to act carelessly.
“……I must go.”
Eustaf recalled Severance’s request before departing.
‘Cardinal Eustaf. I’m thinking about taking a short trip. I’ll be gone for about a year, but the work may take a little longer than I initially expected. Please do not allow anyone into my office until that period.’
Severance had never been particularly attached to his personal space. As a result, he frequently received visits from orphans who were under the Holy Land’s protection.
At first, Eustaf had doubts, but he soon agreed. Thinking that the pope must have special reasons.
“Your eminence, are you finished with your business? Then hurry up and get the rest of the papers……”
The assistant priest, who was waiting for Eustaf to come out of the library, continued to speak impatiently. Eustaf, on the other hand, was unable to provide him with the desired response.
“I’m canceling all of today’s appointments.”
“……what?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my regular work tomorrow; then bye.”
“What are you doing?”
The assistant priest yelled and attempted to grab Eustaf’s clothing by the hem.
“I need to go somewhere for a while; from now on, I must move by myself, so please rest a little, Priest Maros, and keep my actions hidden.”
Eustaf nodded and continued on his way. The assistant priest could only stand perplexed and cast a blank glance at Eustaf’s back.
***
Eustaf stood in front of the pope’s office, which had been closed for quite some time. The pope’s office, which he hadn’t visited in a long time, felt strange.
What are you trying to hide?
Eustaf sighed and placed his hand on the doorknob. The Pope’s office, which had been tightly locked, then opened with a click.
Eustaf used his divine power to lock the door after the Pope had left.
screech~
He took his time walking through the open door. The office, which was always warm, has long been filled with cold air.
“Hmm.”
Eustaf narrowed his eyes as he looked around. However, there was nothing unusual about it.
But he knew there would be something here. Otherwise, his teacher would not have mentioned the office to him before leaving.
He took a closer look around the office. Soon, he began to feel alienated, as though Eustaf’s efforts had been for naught.
Isn’t Geronica’s position slightly more elevated?
Geronica was a painting that hung on the wall behind the Pope’s desk. Severance used to use images of the horrific events that occurred in the ancient temple to spread awareness by urging people to make sure that something similar never occurs again.
Eustaf has been paying close attention to Geronica since he was a young child. Therefore, it was impossible for him to have missed the subtle shift in the painting’s position.
He approached the painting with caution and moved the frame. The hidden space was then revealed.
Eustaf was unable to suppress his surprise. He had no idea that such a thing would be kept a secret in the pope’s office.
Eustaf imbued the locked safe with divine power.
The safe then opened with such ease that he laughed. After a brief moment, he frowned. Did His Holiness, Severance want the safe to be opened by him?
“Is this…… a book?”
The inside of the safe was so filthy that it was embarrassing to call it a safe. It only had a map of the continent and an old book inside. Eustaf took out the book and opened it first.
It wasn’t a book, but rather a diary.
However, this was no ordinary diary. The diary was written in an ancient language.
Eustaf looked through the diary.
You’re a desperate man.
The owner of the diary was consumed by anguish and suffering. He was looking for someone. Someone whose name he can’t recall. It was like in the Setraman era.
The diary was filled with unrealistic ideas. If he had seen it somewhere other than here, he would have assumed it was written by someone who was not in his right mind.
“Are you one of the chaos followers?”
Although it has now vanished, there was a group that claimed that the current peace was a sham and that the chaos of the Setraman era should be reignited. They caused numerous problems across the continent and became enemies of all.
Surprisingly, it vanished like a lie at some point, but it might not have vanished at all. Destructive beliefs are infectious and tenacious, so they are difficult to get rid of.
“Don’t tell me……is he related to them?”
He didn’t feel well. He hoped he was mistaken.
Tak.
When he opened the final chapter of the diary, a folded piece of paper fell out. Eustaf carefully picked up and unfolded the paper.
“Your Holiness.”
Severance had written a letter to Eustaf.
[If you’re reading this, it means I haven’t finished my mission.]
Eustaf bit his lower lip lightly. Severance’s neat handwriting gave him the impression that his voice could be heard clearly.
[…so I discovered that there are still forces that follow chaos. They sneakily infiltrated the continent’s depths because they were more cunning and dense. They wish to reawaken chaos. I don’t think it’s strange to believe that the world is not right, but they must be stopped because their goal requires a lot of sacrifice.]
“Teacher…”
Eustaf uttered an old title. He had never used the title since becoming a priest.
“They attempt to transplant divine power and mock the church’s sins.”
“Ha…”
Eustaf let out a sigh. His instinct became a reality.
The forces that had followed chaos were still active. And, as Adelia had predicted, they intended to use the sins of the Vishna religion to their advantage.
[I didn’t tell you, but the study was nearly complete. However, it was a success that could only be achieved through enormous sacrifices. It was a triumph made possible not only at the cost of priceless lives that could not be recovered but also at the expense of relics that were connected to Vishna. So I’m going on a journey to retrieve the relics.]
Eustaf closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Why did you go alone? ….
Eustaf, in fact, was aware. Why Severance would take all this baggage alone.
It was a tumultuous period. When disaster struck, many people trembled with fear. The more heinous the incident, the more likely it was that people were agitated and obsessed with violent thought.
“If I don’t return in a while, I’ll leave you with the completion of this work and the future of the Holy Land.”
I can’t give up yet.
Eustaf desperately wanted to believe his teacher was still alive.
He quickly reached into the safe and took out a map. Looking at the map it seems that Severance knew where the relics were.
The map depicted the relic’s location as well as the path Severance took.
“There are only three of them.”
There are a total of five relics, which means that he already knew that there were relics in the Valkyr and Chihen families.
It appeared that the plan was to recover the remaining artifacts and store them securely since the relics that had already been given to the Valkyr family were inevitable.
“The Sacred Ground.”
He realized why he said he was going to the sacred ground when he left. His final stop was there. Everything was in order. The area where his movements were restricted could be close to the sacred ground.
“……..I should notify Adelia as soon as possible.”
He was unable to leave the Holy Land, so he had no choice but to entrust it to her.
Eustaf’s eyes were sad and helpless.
I pray that the weak and vulnerable humans survive evil. May God hear this humble prayer.
T/N: I believed in the first few chapters of this novel where the pope was mentioned, I wrote that he went to the holy land (신성한 땅) but Eustaf is also in the holy land (성국). That’s because the words 신성한 땅 and 성국 almost have the same translation but different in meaning. 성국 is a country (The holy land) where Eustaf is, and 신성한 땅 some kind of territory inside a country (The place where the pope went. I just put it as Sacred ground.)
