#054

“I heard there is a Bloodless Festival sometime next week. We should be able to attend together then.”

“A Bloodless Festival?”

“It is a rite where no sacrifices are offered. Services consisting only of songs, dances, or prayers are called Bloodless Festivals.”

‘So that means all other services are blood rites?’

Then again, even in Conclude, sacrifices that didn’t involve offerings didn’t grant many Faith Points.

‘The Church of Order has plenty of resources, so they probably don’t see a need to hold services without sacrifices.’

Considering the amount of meat consumed by this entire Capital Church, an enormous number of livestock must be slaughtered every day. There would be no shortage of animals for sacrifice.

‘I wonder what kind of sacrifice method Loclem prefers?’

In the Dark Realm, there are various ways to sacrifice an offering.

Essentially, you just need to ‘destroy’ the sacrifice in some manner.

Burning it whole, letting it rot, or cutting its throat to soak the altar in blood…

If a god has a symbolic animal, feeding the sacrifice to that animal is also a method of sacrifice.

Offering it to birds, or offering it to insects…

‘…And the apostles eating the sacrifices themselves also counts as a sacrifice.’

That was exactly why I never wanted to be discovered by Mother God.

Mother God prefers ‘dining’ as her method of sacrifice.

And specifically, dining on live sacrifices…

‘The Cult Leader goes crunch-munch.’

A chill ran down my spine as I remembered that one wrong button press could have made me Mother God’s Contractor.

‘Thank goodness Happy God is a guy who doesn’t take any sacrifice other than prayers.’

Even if I somehow connected with him, he wouldn’t demand anything from me other than prayers.

Imagine if it had been Mother God. She’d be screaming at me to catch a rat and eat it right now to gain Faith Points and biological data.

Anyway.

If it’s Loclem, he probably accepts ordinary burnt offerings or blood sacrifices.

Blood sacrifice sounds macabre, but spilling the blood of beasts is a very common ritual method in human culture. It appears frequently in the Old Testament.

Don’t livestock undergo a blood-letting process during slaughter anyway? It’s just that it’s being done on an altar.

‘He probably uses cows or sheep as sacrifices, right?’

I felt a bit creeped out imagining the process of slitting a live animal’s throat and draining its blood in front of an altar.

‘Of course, to medieval people, it would be a perfectly normal sight…’

I am a frail modern human who has never seen a headed corpse other than a fish.

I can barely stand to watch bony fish being chopped up at a seafood market; there’s no way I could watch the death of a mammal.

‘It’s a real relief that Elamin didn’t just drag me along to a service.’

If I had seen a scene like a cow’s neck being chopped off without any mental preparation, I might have fainted on the spot.

While I was deeply grateful for Elamin’s consideration, a question suddenly occurred to me.

‘…But Elamin doesn’t know that I’m a frail modern human, does he?’

In Elamin’s eyes, ‘Fabio’ is just a serf.

Serfs slaughter the animals they’ve lived with until yesterday with their own hands.

‘On what basis did Elamin decide it would be better for me not to go to a blood rite?’

Because of my divine power allergy?

I asked Elamin.

“In services that aren’t Bloodless Festivals, what is usually offered as a sacrifice?”

“…That which we hold most dear is what the Lord also holds most dear.”

Elamin answered vaguely.

‘What we hold most dear?’

A serf would hold a cow most dear, but others wouldn’t.

If it’s something precious to everyone…

‘Is it money…?’

Was I unable to attend because I was a poor serf with no private property?

“If it is something held dear… is it wealth?”

At my answer, Elamin shook his head.

“It is something more precious than wealth. Without this, no amount of wealth is of use.”

‘…What is there that is useless even if you have plenty of money?’

Health?

How do you sacrifice health?

‘An all-night vigil?’

When Elamin saw that I was completely lost, he spoke again.

“Anyone cherishes their own body. For without a body, one can do nothing. Is that not so?”

“I suppose…?”

“Therefore, the Lord is most pleased when one offers their own body.”

‘……?’

Human sacrifice?

Is Loclem receiving human sacrifices right now…

“Ah, offering one’s body does not mean offering one’s life. The Lord commanded us to contribute to Order until the day we die. A body that still moves healthily should be used for labor.”

“Then how…?”

“Only a part of the body is offered. Plucking out an eye, or cutting off an arm…”

I was speechless.

“The lost body part can later be regenerated by receiving the Blessing of Healing. The offered body part is then crafted into a Sacred Relic.”

‘…How efficient.’

“Before I received the Blessing of Order, this was one of the cultures I understood the least. Of course, it doesn’t feel strange at all now, but still, I tend to avoid blood rites. After all, well…”

Elamin fiddled with his eyelid.

“It reminds me of when my eye was plucked out…”

“Ah…”

“It must be because I am a small-minded person. Lady Casimir plucked hers with her own hands.”

No, having it plucked by someone else sounds like more of a trauma.

Seriously.

“Anyway, since divine power overflows throughout the chapel during such blood rites, you would find it very uncomfortable. Of course, if you truly wish to see a blood rite, I will try to find a way.”

“Ah, no! It’s fine!”

I declined in horror.

I absolutely did not want to see a scene where a real person is chopped into pieces.

‘Wow, fuck, I forgot for a second that this is the Dark Realm.’

Come to think of it, the guys who told the desert native they’d only grant him Baptism after plucking out his eye were also from the Church of Order.

‘Crazy bastards…’

Unlike the game, they might be more friendly toward heretics, but it seems the fact that the Church of Order people are fundamentally insane fanatics hasn’t changed.

‘No, if you think about it, it’s actually rational…’

The severed part is cleanly restored.

The severed body part is made into a Sacred Relic and used usefully.

Since the believer offers themselves, it’s classified as ‘self-sacrifice,’ so the Faith Points would be measured quite high.

Thus, self-amputation might be a far more rational, efficient, and advanced zero-waste sacrifice than killing an innocent animal.

A win-win for everyone…

‘From the perspective of sustainable development, it’s not a bad method…’

Rational…

What exactly is rational?

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘In the Dark Realm, perhaps the fanatics are the ones with the most rational way of thinking?’

It’s a world where gods actually exist.

Living as a non-religious person when gods exist might be similar to believing in a Flat Earth in the 21st century.

Anyway, if I want to keep living in this world, shouldn’t I adapt a bit to this fanatical way of thinking?

Adapt to blood rites, adapt to the Blessing of Healing…

‘…I’ll just live irrationally.’

I immediately gave up on becoming a rational fanatic.

I’m pretending to be ‘Fabio’ to survive; I’m not trying to become Fabio.

What’s the point if I forget who I am?

‘Once Christmas passes…’

I’ll be able to meet other players.

On the Day the Starry Sky Opens, if a Concluder isn’t born, it will end with a victory for the Church of Order.

Once the game is over, it won’t matter if we reveal our identities to each other.

If there are 16 players, wouldn’t there be about three Koreans, including me?

‘…I just hope that crazy bastard isn’t Korean.’

I mean that crazy bastard who said he’d keep playing the game.

The guy who said he’d become a Cult Leader believing in an Othergod and plunge the world into misery.

Whoever that guy is, he’s definitely a psychopath.

‘How can anyone think of continuing the game when it’s become reality?’

In Conclude, offering a sacrifice just pops up as a line like [Burnt offering made. Faith Points +385], but now that it’s reality, you have to actually burn a person.

And while they’re alive…

The thought made me feel a bit sick.

I cancelled my plan to get another plate of steamed trout.

Elamin also seemed to have lost his appetite, as he sat quietly, touching the area around his eye.

The meal ended in a somewhat heavy atmosphere, and Elamin stood up, offering to guide me back to the Branch Office.

The weather was turning toward winter, but since the sun was still high, it wasn’t that cold.

“I think I’ll have some time around next week. I’ll give you an introduction to the Capital Church or a tour of the Main Hall then.”

Elamin spoke apologetically.

But I was the one who should have been sorry.

‘I’m sorry for thinking you were a discriminator without knowing anything…’

I apologized to Elamin in my heart.

Elamin was truly just trying to be considerate of me…

‘From now on, I should assume there’s a reason if he doesn’t tell me something.’

Elamin even provided a thick cloak, saying it would be cold once the sun set.

I felt disgusted with myself.

‘What trashy personality, suspecting people first…’

They say pigs see only pigs and Buddhas see only Buddhas.

It’s good to be cautious, but I shouldn’t be too suspicious.

I folded the wool cloak, held it in my arms, and entered the Branch Office.

The Branch Office was still silent.

‘…Wow, this person is still asleep.’

He didn’t even seem to have changed the position I saw when I left.

‘Isn’t it uncomfortable to sleep face down?’

You’d think he’d wake up eventually.

Just how tired was he to sleep like a corpse?

I was about to sit in my original seat, but I moved to a spot closer to the window.

Even so, I had only moved about two seats, so I could see the sleeping person clearly just by lifting my head slightly.

‘…It’s strangely distracting.’

Even while reading a book, I couldn’t help but keep glancing in that direction.

While the bell announcing the hour rang three times, the person did not move an inch.

It wasn’t even 4 PM yet, but because it was winter, the bright sun felt like a lie as the surroundings had already grown dim.

‘He couldn’t have died, right?’

Since there had been no movement for nearly five hours, I started to worry.

I intentionally made a loud noise by dragging my chair and slammed my book onto the desk. The desk he was leaning on must have vibrated and been noisy, but the other person showed no reaction.

‘…Is he even breathing?’

I went closer, but because of the breastplate, the movement of his chest wasn’t clearly visible.

I felt like I’d have to put my hand under his nose to check if he was breathing.

‘What if he’s not breathing?’

“Excuse me. Are you alright?”

When I carefully grabbed and shook his arm, a groan escaped him.

‘He’s alive.’

Thank goodness.

Relieved, I intended to return to my seat immediately and finish my book.

However, a sense of déjà vu held me back.

‘…Why does the back of this head look so familiar?’

I felt like I’d seen it somewhere…

Just then, the man who had woken up slowly lifted his head.

‘Ah.’

I realized the reason for the déjà vu immediately.

Of course it was familiar.

It was a back of the head I’d seen for nearly 200 hours.

‘It’s Athanas…’

The protagonist of Heretic Slayer, Heretic Inquisitor Athanas.

‘No, is he not a Heretic Inquisitor yet?’

Athanas looked much younger than the in-game description.

It was nearly eight years ago, so that was only natural…

Athanas blinked.

The moment those dark blue eyes turned toward me, I unconsciously gasped.

Clatter.

At that moment, Athanas suddenly bolted upright, and his chair fell over.

‘Holy shit, you scared me.’

Why is he surprised?

Because it was evening when he opened his eyes?

“…Did I fall asleep?”

Chapter 55