The Foreigner on the Periphery

Hell of Disbelief (21)

Holy light began to penetrate through crevices. The shadows were scattered. The tumor continuously swelled. The dagger was pierced. 

Pop! Flesh began to melt away as the shadows got darker. It was a prisoner who created a tumor in his body with divine magic offered it as a sacrifice. Using the priest’s attack for self-sacrificing black magic, he was slowly getting stronger. 

It seemed like an endless vicious cycle, but there was a reason the aliens did not stop attacking. ‘There is a limit to the vitality consumed by black magic!’ 

It was then decided that if the fight was long, it would eventually die after squeezing the last drop. Or, there was no more vitality to extract, so it was okay to be buried in a tumor mass. 

However, the judges now thought that that judgment might have been wrong. ‘This is absurd!’ 

He couldn’t count how many times the self-sacrifice was repeated. However, the prisoner was still fine and did not hesitate to stab himself. He even feared that he would do that all night long if the fight was long. 

‘What kind of race is it? If even a dragon had that much vitality, it would be even more deadly…!’ 

His line of thought stopped there, and the judge felt a lightning bolt in his head for a moment. Infinite recovery was not allowed, even for trolls. 

‘The prophet answered, ‘They have in their hearts the fountain of life that never runs dry.’ 

But no! 

‘What blasphemy!’ He struggled to deny. He desperately tried to make up his mind, but the cluttered image continuously dulled his movements. Of course, Minjun did not miss that gap. 

Shh! Once again, the shadow began to stretch out like a whip. This time, he finally got to it. 

A shadow began to bind through the hair that in turn emitted an enchanting light. The judges then roared and attacked the black tentacles. However, just before the thin darkness broke, Minjun then bounced the ends of his strands with all his might. He threw his head high into the sky. 

Shh! A heavy wind swept through them. It was the dragon who created the sudden gust of wind. It began to read Minjun’s mental wave and then took off. 

=Huh, I got it!= 

The moment he checked it, the fight on the ground stopped. Minjun still had no intention of killing them, and the judges had priority over the Patriarch. The alien then began to shout in embarrassment. 

= Dragon! That head belongs to our church!= 

Ha Eun-seong then waited for Minjun’s instructions without answering. Breaking through the silence, the priest spoke again. = You have the body of a dragon, so if you’re not a prisoner, why are you helping the committee?!= 

‘Prisoner? Committee? What kind of elf crackling is that?’ 

When no answer came, the judges began to exchange glances. Then, the light gathered in their hands. The intention was to intercept a dragon floating in the air and drop it. 

“············!“

The judges felt the color of the air change for an instant. There came a feeling of pressure that had begun to spread heavily. The source of this was Minjun. 

“You better stop there.” The flesh began to vibrate as if it pierced through the skin. His expression was not revealed because of the shadows, but an energy that seemed to freeze leaked from his entire body. 

From the perspective of the aliens, it was a fierce envy and anger that he had never felt while fighting him. They knew it too. That inmate fought with the priority of neutralization instead of aiming for their own lives. However, the rapidly changing momentum was sharp, almost as if it were going to hit the necks of the priests at any moment. 

With these thoughts, he began to swallow, almost without realizing it. Minjun then aimed his dagger towards them. He then spoke in a cold voice. “I was thinking of keeping all three of them alive.” 

The shadow then began to shake wildly, almost as if projecting anger. “If you touch my private property, this kind of consideration will end. You can still turn it around, so be careful.” 

The judges thought that the object he was referring to was the head of the patriarch. They were now blaming the subject they just stole as theirs! Even for a moment, what they initially thought were truly shameless remarks, they soon realized they were mistaken.

“If you attack that dragon, you’ll have to prepare yourself for more remorse.” 

“··········?!”

One began to stutter.  =Private property… Are you talking about low usage?= 

Minjun nodded and the judges were astonished, and Ha Eun-seong was even more astonished. ‘Are you really thinking of me as a slave?!’ 

He didn’t know if he would even consider them as livestock. Ha Eun-seong was taken aback by Minjun’s remarks, but he wasn’t blind enough to shout, “I’m not that kind of slave!” 

Meanwhile, Minjun warned the judges not to harm the dragon. When the judges saw it, they felt their souls run away. It was because of Ha Eun-seong’s reaction. ‘Why don’t you deny it?! Why aren’t you angry?’ 

Dragons were basically terrifying racists, dragon supremacists, and twisted narcissists even before they hatched an egg. The moment Minjun claimed that he had subjugated the dragon, the target dragon was furious and deserved to spit fire. 

Young or old, weak or strong, it didn’t matter. A dragon was such a creature. Instead of kneeling down and accepting the humiliation, it was a creature that would choose to express its shame with rage.

However, what was his attitude now? ‘Why are you so submissive?!’ 

Something beyond common sense was happening. Also, he gradually noticed things he hadn’t noticed because he was concentrating on the fight. ‘Why is the dragon’s flesh so fat? Could it be… have I been abused?!’ 

Was he truly subjugated and ruled? A dragon? The judges could feel their bodies trembling slightly. The original text of Asif’s book, which was delivered deleted and censored, to the earthly priests resounded in their minds. 

‘The Prophet answered, ‘The original races were those who lived in Ellahu-Praga before anyone else before history was written down, and have in their hearts the fountain of life that never dries up. They are great creators. And….’ 

Some sentences ended up getting deleted out of fear of the committee, but others were cut out because leaking could cause serious discord with a particular race. Seeing this scene now, the sentence they were thinking about belonged to the latter. ‘…And those who rule the dragon and strangle their throats with their blood and flesh.’ 

Minjun stretched out his hands to the sky. Above it was a dragon flying low and coming with his severed head. Just like a bird from hunting flew towards the falconer’s hand, or like a hound that snatched a Frisbee and began to run to its owner. 

Meanwhile, the judges just stared blankly, unable to resist. In addition to this, the moment he finally gave in to Minjun… Pot! 

“···········?!” 

Something that even Minjun didn’t expect happened. From the head of the Patriarch, who had been scattering a dazzling light, an incomparable intense flash of light erupted. In addition to this, the judges sensed that the divine power attached to it was terrifyingly seething. 

From the moment the night fell, the power that had caused the citizens of Bremanhaven to suffer from nightmares and colored them into madness, and the moment it touched Minjun, it began to run wild. 

‘What?!’ Minjun began to feel a wave-like power pouring inside. Immediately after, the prisoner lost consciousness with his eyes open. 

*** 

Minjun then faced a nightmare. The material to weave the dream was the most terrible memory experienced by the prisoner, a fragment of the past that he never wanted to recall. He wanted to shake his gaze and run away from the swamp of recollection but to no avail. 

The more he tried not to think of something, the more viciously that thought clung to him as if he couldn’t think of anything but it in the end.

The more of the past he wanted to run away from, the more desperately it crawled. Among the scars, the least lingering memory arrived first. 

– It’s okay if you think I’m crazy. Probably crazy. I don’t think there’s any way to stay sane. If you think about it, you have no choice but to remember poor Dell. 

He could remember the woman who spoke expressionlessly without looking away from her while being questioned by her. The ex-wife was obviously crazy. Was it the side effect of shoving Endeline’s soul into a human body? For several decades after marriage, they lived without any problems. The first fiery feelings didn’t last forever, but like an old couple, a comradeship soon developed. The two actually fought for the same purpose, so there was no more appropriate expression. 

However, she ended up losing her mind because she was engrossed in the thought that Minjun should be a lifelong criminal and imprisoned in a prison without bars. It was far too deep. The reason why she fell into the superstition that the relationship between her husband and wife would continue after reincarnation was because she wanted to believe that way. 

Minjun then began to stutter. – Curse! Gathering all the remaining power within me, I curse you! All the wraiths I used will devour you! It’s just a pity that I can’t see the spectacle in person! 

At this, Minjun then began to whisper necromancer whose name he couldn’t remember. As soon as they tried to possess him, they began to scream as if they had hit him before running away. He was a psychopath, but if one were to compare it to a particular sound… yes. It was a scream that sounded like burning an Orc alive. 

The moment it touched his soul, he immediately began to feel terrible pain. However, since then, they had been chasing after him. 

He could barely sleep, all because of the curses and vile words whispering in his ear, he thought of death over and over again. He still didn’t want to recall those memories. This memory was the pain that had already been overcome and the suffering that had already been overcome. 

-The current account balance of ‘Asif-666’ prisoners is 0 talents. Be careful. As soon as the talents in the account are converted to negative (-), statutory interest will be charged, and excessive delinquency may result in summary execution. 

If it could be said that the situation of being born and thrown into the world without mutual prior agreement was violent, the first moment of awakening as a prisoner could be said to be cruel. Minjun then woke up with a blank mind without any memories. 

If one did not pay the survival tax within the deadline, they would be slaughtered immediately. The world he faced with a blank slate was too cruel to him. Like a religious person blaming the karma of his previous life, Minjun cursed himself before his memories were erased. 

What the hell did he do, what great sin had he committed? What was the crime, so why did he have to live in such a terrible prison? Predictably, the life to come would soon be hell. 

That was the first scene Minjun could remember. The first feelings he felt and the first thoughts he had after gaining consciousness as a prisoner. Wait a minute. Was this really the first time?

Could they really conclude that this was the oldest of the terrible memories? Was there nothing before that? 

Minjun began to think. Let him go a little further. 

-Thank you for accepting our offer. 

Those who met him did not hide their joy. His appearance, after all, resembled a snake covered in brown fur. 

– Other races think we’ve been away from the realm for a while. It seems to have been called an ‘ancient race’ in the sense that it existed long ago but suddenly disappeared. But that’s wrong. We never went anywhere else. I was asleep, all for quite a long time. 

He then asked, ‘Were you asleep? Why?’ 

– I was waiting for you to wake up. 

– In the past that people in this era call ancient times, we have been anxiously searching for you. However, in the end, I couldn’t find it. It was clear that he was sleeping somewhere. Because of this, I changed my mind. Instead of chasing you as we sleep, we will wait for you to wake up and move. But I didn’t know how long it would take. Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have to wait for generations to come? So that our descendants will welcome us who have awakened.

– We didn’t want to. I didn’t want to pass it on to my descendants. A chance to welcome you. I wanted to meet you in person. It’s okay to think if that choice is selfish. Oh, of course, there were practical reasons as well. We feared that after so many years our goals would be obscured or tarnished with religious messages, mythological symbols, and metaphors. And so, we decided to sleep, all until you wake up. However, even after your ‘ancient race’ woke up, most of us were still asleep, and yet… 

– Yes, it was unexpected. I didn’t expect it to be such a long sleep. At first, I was desperate… but fortunately, I met you just like this! Thank you for your cooperation. 

– When I came back, the whole dimensional world was a mess. There is no world not ruled by those giant reptiles. Did only the far-flung periphery avoid their touch? Don’t you know? People are suffering. Let’s give them freedom. Let’s break free from the oppression and tyranny of monsters that know nothing but domination and exploitation, and help all races to bloom. Let’s end the long winter and let the spring of freedom and peace sprout. So please let me know. Where are you sleeping? We will wake everyone up. 

No! Minjun desperately tried to resist. But in this nightmare, he ended up opening his mouth and putting things in his mouth that he shouldn’t have said.

“The place where we lay…” 

At this, Minjun woke up. 

*** 

With this, his anchored consciousness came back to reality. His sensation gradually returned. At first, the sound came rushing in like a storm, then the sense of smell returned. 

There was the musty smell of a burning city. The bloody smell of human beings. The unique sweet flavor of the Lepatam tribe. The soothing scent of dragons. And then, his vision was again connected with consciousness. 

It wasn’t that the view was blocked. The landscape, which Minjun had been looking at but could not find a connection with reality, again permeated his mind in the color of meaning. There, he could see the faces of the astonished heresy judges. Their gaze was towards Minjun and his head. 

= Divine power… stopped? = 

He was right. Minjun turned his eyes to see his severed head. There was a soul in it who had absorbed the talents at will to gain eternal life. The Patriarch had now regained his consciousness. The madness of the city would then gradually subside. 

Minjun then decided to pay attention to the light emanating from his soul and from his head. When Ha Eun-seong showed up with a talent, Minjun did not notice it. This was because, when he did not consume his talents, the brilliance did not leak out of his soul, almost as if deliberately concealed. 

However now, a beautiful light that anyone could see began to flow from this head. He would remain in this state after he was resurrected. This was because the talents were constantly being consumed to sustain life while keeping the soul bound to a body that could not be regenerated after death. 

As long as the Patriarch was alive, his talents would continue to evaporate. This fact was bad, and he eventually got angry because of it.

At this, Minjun opened his mouth. “It’s not yours.” 

After absorbing the ritual dagger in the shadows, he began to place his empty right hand over his head. The awakened Patriarch simply rolled his eyes full of fear. 

=Please, please…!= 

Minjun then began to mumble softly. “It is mine. Give it back.” 

He was sentenced again, almost as if he was chewing on his own words. “Yes, it is mine. It will be ‘us’.” 

= No! Please… Me! In God’s memory…!= 

At that moment, the light exploded once again. After all the blinding flashes disappeared, the people froze again. The judges couldn’t even breathe. Ha Eun-seong just looked at Minjun with a blank expression. The pupil of the Patriarch, who had been alive a moment ago, was then released. The head then returned to an ordinary corpse.

With this, all the glorious light that began to flow out of it… 

=Oh my God.= 

Religious people began to tremble in astonishment. It was clear that it was fresh blood that fluttered and burned on Minjun’s right palm. A sensitive relic then began to evaporate the moment it touched the mortal world. 

That was why the sacred blood must be kept in a special seal. Such a new blood was emitting light in a stable state without any device, all held in a man’s hand. Now, the judges had lost the will to fight back. 

No, there was no reason to dare to resist. The feelings and attitudes to be sent to that man should have been the exact opposite. He was the one who had in his heart the fountain of life that never ran dry. 

There were those who ruled the dragons and thirst their throats with their blood and flesh. A person who had the power to make everything possible in the blood he shed. The gods worshiped by the priests lay dormant in Ellahu-Praga instead of in the false world, but now, here was the one who began to bear all the symbols had appeared. 

It was not difficult to come up with a religious interpretation of this phenomenon. The judges began to kneel slowly, in joy. In addition to worshiping the miracles that lived in this world, he bowed his head in front of Minjun. 

= God. primordial race. Lowly servant of you, I praise your testimony here.=