#118

Athanas said he had seen the introduction of ‘Die Heretic!’ in a dream.

Which meant there was a high possibility that the dream he had this time was also from ‘Die Heretic!’…

‘What Sacred Relic was there that boosts mental strength?’

I searched my memories, but nothing specific came to mind.

It wasn’t that such a Sacred Relic didn’t exist; I just couldn’t remember it.

‘Who the hell memorizes the location of every single Hidden Piece?’

After all, Hidden Pieces are items that don’t hinder the game’s completion even if you don’t have them.

Hardcore players simply skip the Regression. Since there’s no reason to turn back time as long as you don’t die.

‘Die Heretic!’ is a game where control is more important anyway…

‘Especially since mental strength isn’t that important in Die Heretic!’

Athanas in ‘Die Heretic!’ has high base mental strength and is under the Saintess’s Blessing, so his mental strength rarely bottoms out.

‘In fact, when doing a lunatic run, I used to collect and equip items that lowered mental strength.’

Basically, since Athanas is a Holy Knight, he doesn’t even trigger attack motions against priests who haven’t committed sins.

However, in a state of madness, that discernment disappears, allowing him to kill NPCs he otherwise couldn’t attack.

Of course, he can’t wander around in that state forever; after killing a few people, Adelaide comes to cure the madness, allowing the game to proceed.

After Adelaide dies, you can play the game in a state of madness indefinitely, but…

‘Then the ending won’t trigger even if you kill the Cult Leader of the Plague God.’

A world where Athanas wanders around killing endlessly respawning mobs in a ruined Dark Realm, and a world where every person he could interact with has vanished.

That eerie feeling of not knowing whether Athanas actually killed the Cult Leader of the Plague God or was merely hallucinating that he had…

‘Anyway, there was a Hidden Piece in the place he saw in his dream.’

“Exactly where was that place?”

“…The Main Hall.”

‘The Main Hall?’

Athanas was in the Main Hall?

‘While I was heading down to the basement?’

Was Athanas obtaining a Hidden Piece upstairs?

‘…No, he might have gotten it while I was at the orphanage.’

I decided not to ask exactly what time, what minute, or on what floor he obtained the item.

Knowing that wouldn’t be helpful, and it would only make me feel strange.

‘Man, the game protagonist really is a protagonist.’

The moment something blocking his path appears, he obtains the item to solve it.

Meanwhile, I’ve been experiencing things that belong in a horror game…

‘…But thinking about it as reality, isn’t it a bit strange?’

Who would have placed that Sacred Relic in that exact spot?

ST Games? The System? Order?

‘And the fact that he was shown the location of the exact item he needed at this specific moment in a dream…’

Is someone constantly watching Athanas’s ‘play’?

“Did you see anything else in the dream?”

“…Other than the fact that I could obtain a Sacred Relic by going there, I didn’t see anything in particular.”

‘This is bothering me.’

I couldn’t guess what the entity that showed Athanas the dream wanted.

One thing was certain: it wasn’t Order.

The fact that a way to resist Oblivion had appeared meant that Order’s schemes could now be uncovered.

If Order wanted to move Athanas, there were plenty of other ways.

“May I see that Sacred Relic?”

If that dream was a trick of an Othergod, the Sacred Relic might also be a trap.

‘If there’s an element that negatively affects the mind, a notification window will pop up telling me what it is.’

“By all means.”

Athanas pulled a small pouch from among his unpacked belongings and handed it to me.

There was a familiar mark on the pouch.

‘…Valentine?’

Can Valentine grant a Blessing that affects the mind?

Athanas explained.

“Valentine’s reliquaries are usually made in pairs. I simply swapped the contents inside the empty reliquary that was my share.”

As he said, what was inside the pouch was a reliquary of the exact same shape as the one I possessed.

‘I don’t really want to open it.’

Just in case, I hung the reliquary around my neck, but no notification window appeared.

‘…Is this actually a Sacred Relic?’

I opened the Status Window, but I couldn’t confirm any change in the deactivated stats.

“Can this really block the Blessing of Oblivion?”

“I have confirmed the effect. My memories remained intact when I left the Main Hall.”

‘It seems to activate when external interference occurs?’

It’s somewhat similar to ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme.’

“Is there something strange about it?”

I felt his dark blue eyes scanning me closely.

“…No. I didn’t feel anything.”

I immediately took off the reliquary and returned it.

Instead of wearing it, Athanas put the reliquary back into the pouch.

‘Why isn’t he wearing it?’

“It seems that Sacred Relic has no side effects when worn, so wouldn’t it be better to wear it all the time?”

“…Because then many people ask to see the contents.”

“What? The contents?”

‘Why that?’

“It is for a trivial reason. They want to know which part of himself a lover cut off for my sake.”

…Why on earth are they curious about that?

Do they consider that romantic in the Dark Realm?

‘I really can’t get used to this.’

“So, what’s inside?”

“…Didn’t you tend to find things like this scary? I thought you wouldn’t want to know.”

“That’s true, but to other people, it looks like I gave it to you, right? It would be strange if I didn’t know the contents. Since people are so interested, someone might ask me later…”

If we don’t coordinate our stories in advance, contradictions will arise.

Athanas fell into thought for a moment.

“If anyone asks, tell them I gave you a strand of my hair.”

“…Hair works too?”

‘Compared to a tongue or a finger, that seems damnly insincere.’

“If you say I asked for a strand of hair because I didn’t want you to suffer even a little because of me, everyone will understand on their own.”

‘Oh…’

He can package it like that.

‘That’s a good idea.’

Then no one will come along and attack Athanas, claiming they’ll prove I don’t love him, like Andrea did.

Even if I truly loved Athanas, I wouldn’t feel terrible pain from a strand of hair.

‘Anyway, it’s a relief that the Sacred Relic itself isn’t a trap.’

If so, the entity that showed this Sacred Relic in the dream seems to want Athanas to find out about Oblivion…

I asked cautiously.

“Do you feel that obtaining that Sacred Relic… was the Lord’s guidance?”

Athanas gazed at me blankly.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I added.

“No, I mean, of course it’s the Lord’s guidance! What I meant was, can you clearly feel what the Lord wants you to do? I didn’t receive the Blessing of Order, right? So I’m always afraid that I might be doing something contrary to the Lord’s Will. I asked because I thought you, who received the Blessing of Order, wouldn’t feel such uncertainty.”

“…That is not the case.”

“I see. Even with the Blessing, the Lord’s Will is still hard to discern…”

“That is not what I meant.”

‘Then what?’

“Fabio, I suspect that the dream may not have been shown to me by the Lord.”

Athanas’s expression was calm as he dropped the bombshell.

I froze, not knowing how to react.

“Of course, I am not certain it wasn’t the Lord’s Will. I am literally saying that I have doubts. Fabio, I am not as blind as you think.”

“…….”

“What if I were certain the Lord’s Will was with me, but it was a lie? What do you think I would do if I firmly believed an Evil God’s whisper was the Lord’s Revelation?”

‘…He’d become like Andrea.’

Andrea firmly believes that Athanas is an evil being and must be killed for the sake of Order.

Even though there is absolutely no evidence that Athanas committed any evil deeds.

“I fear that possibility. That is why I have doubts.”

“…….”

“Fabio, do you understand why I am telling you this?”

“…No.”

“You do not need to hide your questions and pretend to blindly believe in Order in front of me.”

My palms grew damp with cold sweat.

Athanas is telling me it’s okay to reveal my doubts about Order?

‘Is this some kind of sting operation?’

Is he saying this just so that the moment I mention something that might be Order’s real plan, he’ll immediately go, ‘You heretic! There was a reason you didn’t receive the Blessing! Such a horrific thought! This is blasphemy!’ and condemn me on the spot?

“Fabio, I do not wish to be a source of fear for you.”

Athanas grabbed my wrist.

“I do not want you to be silent before me. I hope you will not hide the truth from me for fear of my reaction.”

“…….”

“No matter what you say, I will not make an issue of those statements. What I want to know is the truth.”

I swallowed hard.

‘I… should tell him now, right?’

Now that I’m actually about to say it, I feel like I’m going to throw up again.

Athanas probably imagined me confessing a few questions I had about Order.

But the story I decided to tell was much longer.

From meeting the God of Records, to finding out about Oblivion, the truth that contaminates you just by knowing it, and the fact that the Mother God is watching me…

I confessed almost everything, except for the fact that I revive in the Mother God’s camp upon death and that I can use Forced Persuasion on others.

By the time I told him the story about the research director cutting off the Blessing of Records with an axe, Athanas’s eyes were a darker shade of blue than usual.

‘…It’s probably like asking someone if they’ve been having a hard time lately, expecting them to worry about test scores, only to find out they’re terminally ill.’

Still, his reaction was calmer than I expected.

I thought he would furrow his brow deeply with every word I spoke…

“And…”

“…Is there still more?”

“Andrea mentioned that a Prophet would come to find me.”

“Who is that referring to?”

“I think it refers to another Observed One.”

Athanas’s brow finally furrowed.

“When and where are you meeting?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know their name or appearance?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“…….”

“Still, it’s not that I have no guesses at all.”

I added my speculation.

That they are likely cautious, and instead of someone who stays at the Capital Church, they are likely someone visiting for other business.

“So, I was thinking of asking the Inquisition to pretend to investigate me as a witness. I think then they won’t even come near me. It’s a good idea, right?”

Athanas rubbed his face.

“…What do you intend to tell the Inquisition?”

“Just that I had an ominous dream. Casimir knows I’m an Observed One, so she’ll definitely agree.”

‘It’s also true that the Mother God is targeting me.’

Athanas let out a long sigh.

“…I understand.”

Suddenly, I thought Athanas looked incredibly tired.

“Then it would be better to visit the Inquisition before lunch. The probability of the Prophet visiting the orphanage is the highest. They might even come today…”

‘Was his face this haggard when we first met?’

He looked so exhausted that I felt the fatigue was contagious.

“But wouldn’t there be enough time to close our eyes for a bit?”

Athanas looked at me.

“My eyes keep closing. I need to sleep for at least an hour.”

This wasn’t a white lie; it was the truth.

Perhaps because of the relief of having confessed everything to Athanas, the tension broke and sleepiness washed over me.

“Let’s sleep for exactly one hour before we go.”

Without waiting for Athanas’s answer, I lay down on the bed.

I suddenly wondered if hugging the real Athanas would feel similar to the dream, but my consciousness vanished before I could find out.

* * *

As soon as I arrived at the Inquisition, I instinctively felt that I didn’t need to make up a fake incident.

“…Nasir?”

As soon as he heard my voice, Nasir hurriedly pulled up his hood. His movements were swift.

“Fa-Fabio! What brings you here?”

Nasir’s voice was trembling.

“H-how have you been? I asked the Commander several times, but I only heard that you were doing well…”

Seeing his desperate attempt to act normal, I wondered for a moment if I should pretend not to notice, but I simply couldn’t.

“Nasir…. What is that on your head?”

Nasir’s face stiffened.

“You saw it after all.”

“…Yes.”

Nasir sighed and took off his hood.

Brown cat ears with black stripes popped out.

The moment I saw them, only one thought entered my mind.

‘Nekomimi Inquisitor…’

Damn that Mother God bastard, did she pick that possibility enthusiast after me?

Chapter 119