“Illumination.”
Or to be more precise, bring people from a new world through the illumination process.
“Even if there aren’t that many, the 1st generation who went through illumination will be much more powerful. They give more faith too. They’re also more vibrant.”
“Vibrant? In what way?”
“Their lust to breed… determination to create something new… in my world, these desires disappeared as generations passed.”
Because of that, gods wanted new followers from another world. Even if they were illuminated, these new people still had a part of their previous selves. It was better than the ‘dull’ people from the current world.
“I’m sure it will apply to the others too.”
Aruga wasn’t all that specific with the others. Even if gods talked to each other, they were still competing against one another. They did not disclose everything about them. But it didn’t matter. The reason was obvious.
“Hah.”
Dohyuk smiled. It wasn’t out of joy, but out of disgust.
“See? I knew it… I knew it was something like this.”
He rubbed his face.
“Illumination? Becoming a greater being? So that’s what this is all about? Sick bastards.”
Dohyuk was dumbfounded. This so-called god, the best student of the illumination, was talking. So, they knew. They were the same, but they disguised themselves as higher beings.
Dohyuk bit his lip and called out to Aruga. Or tried to.
“…Hey?”
Aruga seemed to be acting strange. It was as if he was going into some kind of trance.
“Something wrong? Did the body go bad or something?” Dohyuk asked, but he soon realized it wasn’t the body.
“W-why…” Aruga spoke with a shaking voice.
“Why. Why. Why.”
“…?”
“Why did I say such a thing? No… no… no…”
Dohyuk backed away from Aruga. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but if a ‘god’ was having a problem, then it wasn’t something to be considered lightly.
“F-forgive me!”
Aruga then began shouting toward the sky.
“I didn’t mean it! Lord, please! I wasn’t…”
In the next moment, his shouting stopped dead as if his switch had been turned off. The shout and the shaking stopped immediately and the body fell to the ground.
“…”
Dohyuk thought about what just happened now.
‘Casita.’
If Aruga looked up to the sky and called out to the ‘Lord’ there, it could only mean one thing. It wasn’t hard to guess as what Aruga said was enough to be considered heresy.
But…
‘He’s not a fool.’
To Dohyuk, Aruga wasn’t a god. Yet even then, Aruga still had power and intelligence that far exceeded Dohyuk’s. Did that Aruga really make a mistake on spilling the information that would haunt him? Even if Dohyuk was threatening him?
“….”
Rather than think about it as he stood, he reached down to feel the High Priest’s pulse. He was alive.
“Hmph.”
Dohyuk then picked him up.
“I guess he deserves this much courtesy at least.”
Before he returned to the city, Dohyuk returned the High Priest to Aruga’s city. However, he couldn’t speak with Aruga any more. He called out to the sky multiple times, but there was no answer and only the High Priest was able to speak with Aruga directly.
So, Dohyuk returned to his city. The first day at Dalian City had passed without many problems, but there were still a lot of things needed to be dealt with.
The execution proceeded seamlessly. Nobody talked down to the ‘murderer’. Giwon did tell people not to curse or throw something at him, but it wasn’t only because of that. It was because most people were at a loss for words at the man.
“P-please! Forgive me! Forgive me!!!”
He had been shouting through his trials.
“I will never do it again! I-if Mayor wants, I will do anything! Please… please…!!”
But he was a corrupt beast. There was nothing left for him to do but beg.
“I don’t need to live within the city. You don’t need to give me food and I will find my own place to stay! Just, let me live near the city…”
“You have two choices.”
Dohyuk did not change his mind. Everyone, including the man, knew the price of killing someone within the city.
Imprisonment under Blass’s underground jail cell, like all other beasts.
Try to return to the city, only to be transported to a random place.
“Hnngh…”
The man chose the former. Rather than face the terror of unknown places, he chose to give up his freedom.
“Please…”
Before he could speak any further, the ground under him churned and the metal wall soared from the ground and encasing him into a dome before it disappeared back into the ground. And that was it. That was the end of the first trial. People scattered back to their work and home and the city was quieter for a few days after.
“A-ahhhhhh!”
A young man shouted as he woke up, and his lover also woke up in shock. But it wasn’t only her. Everyone who lived on the same floor woke up in shock. The man’s screaming was that loud.
“Ah… ah…”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”
The woman caressed the man and hugged him.
“I’m sorry…”
The young man then began crying. This wasn’t the first time he woke up like this. It was already second time today and tenth if one was counting this week. But nobody complained anything about it. They just tried to plug their ears or went to find another place to stay.
It wasn’t because the young man was strong that they did not complain. It wasn’t because the young man was one of the finest fighters in the city and was much stronger than other ordinary people. Everyone felt sorry for the man.
“Oh no.”
An older man who was on a lower floor spoke as he drank water from the cup.
“What did just see? He was so energetic before…”
Nightmares and screaming. It wasn’t only him who was having problems.
Ten days ago, after the island docked at the city, Dohyuk and a thousand fighters invaded Vehume’s region. The result was promising as people thought more people would’ve died, but unlike the citizens who stayed behind who were excited to hear about the victory, the fighters who came back were pale.
Everyone thought it was because of the dead, but it wasn’t. The fighters also brought back hundreds of ‘rescued’ people. These people, however, were not normal. They weren’t corrupt, but they were severely terrified. They screamed the moment someone even touched them, they hated to be in dark places, and they couldn’t even drink water well.
It seemed that the fighters had faced something horrible while rescuing them, but no one talked about it. They weren’t forbidden to talk about it, but none of them dared to talk. More than half of them had nightmares, and that gave the other citizens ideas about the horrors they witnessed.
That’s why no one complained about their screaming. They just hoped that they would overcome the traumatizing experience.
Fortunately, it was only the nightmares. All those fighters who went through a living hell in Vehume’s lair, had nightmares even after 10 days, but they did not become corrupt. Everyone resisted and fought.
As a thousand fighters writhed in trauma, most people were given a new focus.
It was what Dohyuk had purchased from the president of the Merchant Group. The murderer and Aruga’s forced change of direction made him postpone the announcement, but what was inside really did excite the citizens.
It was only natural.