#210

‘…….’

Athanas doubted the Record.

Was it truly the case that it had crawled beneath the surface to hide contaminated knowledge from Order? If only Fabio could push through the Veil of Oblivion and bring that ‘secret’ back to the surface….

‘Shouldn’t the Record have stopped Fabio from descending, no matter what?’

Yet, the ‘Record’ had tempted Fabio, claiming it would reveal the secrets of Order if he came to the basement of the Main Hall, and threatened to reveal Fabio’s identity to the ‘Director’ if he did not. Fabio was forced to receive the Blessing of Records and had his arm severed. That arm was taken by the Director and eventually ended up in the hands of the Saintess.

Could the Record truly have failed to foresee all of this?

‘…What if it wasn’t to avoid Order, but because there was a reason Order had to descend?’

[The Saintess took Fabio’s arm and descended into the basement of the Main Hall, where she killed the Record and chewed and swallowed its heart. It was to devour the Record’s Divine Power. As the Record Read on Read BL Novelsdied, it sent its blood—its ink—upward. A warning was contained within. Since the Saintess had killed it, the depths were dangerous; that must have been the content. However, [unauthorized copy]much of it was omitted, leaving only the plea not to descend. Fabio headed downward, carrying the newborn me… to find out what the Record had left behind as it died….]

Athanas clenched his jaw.

Even as he tried to believe there was an inevitable reason, he couldn’t help the surge of emotion welling up inside him.

[The Saintess killed the Record but did not return immediately. This part is mere speculation, but Order must have felt anxious and impatient. What if the ‘Saintess’ made the same choice as the Record? What if she concluded that the Order on the surface was better off knowing nothing? However, since no Revelation reached the depths, the only thing Order could do was move another apostle. But there was only one ‘Sacred Relic’ in its possession. To send one more person down….]

“…So that’s why he said he would be thrown down there in pieces.”

Only after hearing this did Athanas understand what Fabio had meant.

“And after that? What happened?”

[The atrocious man who followed Fabio suddenly wrapped me in a Sacred Object of Order and hurled me down there. And then, Athanas, you saved me. Thank you once again. I shall never forget the grace of you saving me so many times. Not as long as the page recording it isn’t torn out!]

“…You’re not saying I have to unauthorized visit our sitecopygo back to the Main Hall to find out what happened in between, are you?”

[Of course not.]

Codex continued the explanation, flipping through pages.

[Marcello Teres felt uneasy and tried to bring Fabio back to the surface. However, because Fabio was in a contaminated state, he lost consciousness the moment he touched the starlight. Just like those children over there.]

“…Do you know why the children aren’t moving?”

[Hmm. It is not easy to explain. Contamination, simply put, is knowledge that must not be known. Even a god would go mad the moment they know it. This chaos happened because Ledeia became contaminated. At least, that is how I understand it.]

Athanas looked down at his left hand, which now had only four fingers.

‘A gap appeared in my pinky finger, and then it started babbling something.’

Others had lost their minds and become immobile the moment they heard that sound.

Only Athanas had remained safe because of the horrific noise leaking from the reliquary, but….

“…What exactly is contamination?”

[It is not good to think too deeply about contamination. The moment you understand what it is, you will end up like that.]

“Are people in that state conscious?”

[I wonder. It is a very important point, but I cannot know. Unless Fabio allows me to lick his cerebral fluid, there is no way to know what he was thinking at that time. However, it is recorded what the foolish Marcello Teres did to wake Fabio.]

Athanas frowned.

He wanted to know, but at the same time, he didn’t.

“…What did he do?”

[He threatened that if he didn’t wake up, he would smash Valentine’s reliquary. Though there was no way those words could be heard. He crushed the reliquary, but naturally, Fabio showed no reaction.]

“And then?”

[After that, he laid out threats that are hard to put into words. Hmm. I am slightly conflicted about whether this part should be recorded in the scripture.]

“…What kind of threats?”

[That if he didn’t wake up, he would kiss him, or do things even more extreme than that.]

“…….”

[Unfortunately, I cannot tell if they actually kissed. If he had said something like, ‘I even kissed him, so why isn’t he waking up!’, I would have known for sure.]

Athanas remained silent for a moment.

Even if such a thing had happened, Fabio wouldn’t have even perceived it. If Fabio felt no shame, insult, pain, or discomfort because of it, it was as if it never happened. Therefore, feeling anger over this was unnecessary… and wasteful.

“…And?”

[Next, he offered prayers, and when none of that worked, he concluded that the reason Fabio couldn’t wake up was because he lacked an arm. Even though it had absolutely nothing to do with it. Foolishly and recklessly, Marcello Teres descended into the basement of the Main Hall to retrieve Fabio’s arm.]

‘He thought of opposing the Saintess?’

Even if the basement of the Main Hall was a domain outside of Order, it was absurdly reckless. And he survived that?

‘Was that when he received the Heavenly Punishment?’

No, more than that.

‘Why didn’t the Saintess come back up?’

While Fabio was naming the dying fragment of Order, the Saintess could have easily returned to the surface. Did she not possess a Sacred Relic capable of overcoming Oblivion?

As Athanas organized the timeline in his head, he suddenly realized.

‘The moment she tried to come up, the world stopped.’

When Andrea had frozen like stone.

The Saintess must have been climbing the stairs.

To stop the ‘Saintess,’ the starlight froze the time of everything belonging to Order. Order realized this and gazed at Fabio.

Because ‘watching’ was the only thing it could do.

‘…My head.’

He felt dizzy.

The more he tried to understand what was happening, the more he realized how absurd and shallow this world was.

Then, Athanas entertained a thought he shouldn’t have.

‘If even the Main God of this land is nothing more than a beast struggling in a trap….’

Crack. He felt as if he heard a cracking sound. He suddenly realized that the path he was walking on was a thin sheet of ice. Beneath it lay a sea of madness.

‘…No.’

Until now, Athanas had believed that only the foolish and weak went mad. Even if the god they believed in had fallen, aren’t there plenty of people who do not lose their minds?

The Lord does not immediately condemn and send to hell even the Idans who believed in the Evil God. Idans are given a chance [stolen stolen contentcontent -->content]to change their faith. If they could not believe because they did not know Order, it is not a sin.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they can reach the Land of Order immediately, but their sentence in hell is shortened. A fanatic who refuses that mercy is a madman who brushes away all hands trying to pull him to shore and walks straight into the sea. As the madman drowns, he screams that what you consider the shore is actually just the sea. Athanas suddenly understood what that madman was babbling about.

Is what I am stepping on really ice? Have I already fallen into the sea? In this place where ‘starlight’ mocks even gods, what could possibly have meaning?

‘…Fabio.’

Athanas thought of the pinky finger Fabio had cut for him.

Athanas thought of the wool hat Fabio had put on him.

Athanas thought of the moment Fabio had been sleeping peacefully in his arms.

As he clenched and unclenched his fist, the dizziness vanished.

“…If he opposed the Saintess, that man must have become a handful of blood. Then is Fabio currently [unauthorized visit our sitecopy]collapsed Read on Read BL Novelsalone in that cold place? Where is the location?”

Andrea looked as if he were ready to rush to the Main Hall this instant.

“Fabio woke up safely after that. I have seen the traces he left in the Apostle’s Hall.”

“Can you be certain that those were left by Fabio?”

[Of course! Fabio’s Vassal, Fabio’s Scripture, and Fabio’s Codex guarantee it.]

“…Then I shall also go to the Apostle’s Hall. If the Lord wishes to receive Fabio as a sacrifice, I will petition that there is a better way than that. Fabio—he needs an advisor to help him stay within Order.]

Athanas shook his head.

“It is dangerous outside the chapel. Unless the Bishop possesses a Sacred Relic that prevents Mental Contamination, it would be better to stay inside.”

“If it is Mental Contamination, then this child….”

Bishop Andrea fumbled inside his sleeve and trailed off.

‘It seems he was looking for the purple snake.’

Athanas had unpleasant memories of that snake.

He had no intention of blaming Andrea for still having habits from when he was brainwashed. In fact, it hadn’t even been a day since he escaped the delusion. If that snake had been properly disposed of, there would be no problem….

“…I momentarily forgot that I had handed it over to Fabio.”

“…….”

Athanas downgraded his trust in Andrea by about thirty percent.