Chapter 99

Firewood (2)

This world is a place where many different races and peoples live together.

As such, it is incredibly complex, and the differences between their respective cultures are so significant that conflicts have arisen since ancient times.

People are naturally inclined to discriminate against or look unfavorably upon those who are different from them.

Therefore, it could be said that disputes both large and small Arising from such differences are only natural.

Yet amid all these differences, there is one thing capable of uniting vast numbers of people.

Gods.

In other words, religion.

Religion has wielded enormous influence from the conflict-ridden days of antiquity all the way to the present.

Moreover, the existence of gods in this world is indisputable.

The proof lies in "divine power."

It is sacred power granted by the gods, an energy said to be the purest form of mana.

Those capable of wielding divine power can exercise far greater strength than ordinary beings.

Of course, there is the requirement that they possess genuine faith, but considering the benefits, that is a reasonable price to pay.

Title) Where did all the gods go?

They say the gods used to descend into the world personally back in the day. Where are they all now?

ㄴ Probably went home.

ㄴ What home? Lmaoooo

ㄴ It happened so long ago that nobody knows. Even the elves and demons don’t know.

ㄴ I think they just taught humanity about magic and mana, and that was it?

ㄴ They’re probably somewhere. They wouldn’t be gods otherwise.

Countless gods existed, but if one had to name the most famous among them, it would undoubtedly be Ares.

The Goddess of War and Wisdom, and the younger sister of Aragon, the God of Magic.

There was also the Chief God, their father and a deity of higher standing than either of them, but his influence was smaller than Ares’s.

That was because, back when humanity was weak, Ares had protected mankind from the evils of the world.

For that reason, countless people worshiped Ares.

Even demons were no exception.

Considering that she was the Goddess of War, there was no reason demons wouldn’t worship her as well.

In this way, Ares and the other gods had left an enormous mark on human history, and their influence continued even now.

One example was Eldorado, a nation founded for the worship of the gods.

Bang!

"How did this happen?! We were so certain we had concealed it perfectly!"

A stern-looking old man slammed his hand down on the table and shouted.

His voice had weakened considerably with age, but it could not conceal the venom within it.

"How could we have anticipated this either? For now, please calm yourself. The people are only demanding an explanation. They haven’t completely accepted the allegations as truth."

Another old man sitting across from him responded.

His luxuriant beard suited him remarkably well, but his snake-like eyes radiated a sinister air.

His voice sounded every bit as stubborn as the other old man’s.

"Cardinal Morgan is correct. The people are still waiting for our answer."

An old man with a distinctive mustache spoke while gently tugging at it.

The slight upward tilt of his chin made him look exceedingly arrogant.

Each of them looked different, but they shared one thing in common.

They were all dressed in white clerical robes that exuded an air of holiness.

Yet the patterns decorating those robes, seemingly gilded in gold, almost seemed to expose their greed.

"This is no time to fight among ourselves. The people outside are demanding an explanation as we speak. We must devise a solution immediately."

The voice was dignified and solemn.

At the same time, it carried subtle pressure.

The old men turned their gazes toward the head of the table.

The man sitting there had more wrinkles than any of the others.

Yet the sharpness in his eyes was no less intense than that of a young man.

Although that sharpness carried an ominous quality, the old man possessed an aura that made him seem unapproachable.

"If any of you have a good idea, speak."

Louis II, the current Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Eldorado, spoke quietly.

Under the pressure of his command, the old men cleared their throats.

The old man who had slammed the table was the first to speak.

"First, we deny everything without exception. What evidence do they have besides a post uploaded to the gallery?"

"Cardinal Howards is correct. Posts from the gallery are notorious for their lack of credibility."

Eldorado had been in chaos since morning.

The controversy surrounding the Immortal King that had begun in the gallery had now spilled over into the real world.

The Immortal King incident had occurred only thirty years ago.

Its scars still remained painfully vivid.

Those who had lost their parents.

Those who had lost their children.

Those who had lost their homes.

Those who had lost parts of their bodies.

Those who had lost everything.

They had gathered together and were now protesting in front of the Papal Palace.

Crash!!

The meeting was being conducted in secret.

Suddenly, a stained-glass window shattered, scattering shards everywhere.

The startled cardinals flinched.

Then furious shouts began pouring in from outside.

[Bring our son back! Bring our son back!]

[And you call yourselves clergy?! You claim to believe in the gods?!]

[If you have mouths, then speak!]

The voices came through the shattered window.

In truth, the room they were in was located far from the entrance of the Papal Palace.

They had even chosen a high floor for the meeting for safety, yet somehow a stone had still managed to reach them.

It was hardly surprising, considering that some of the protesters outside were former knights.

"W-What are you doing?! Drag out whoever threw that stone!"

"W-We’re having difficulty identifying them...!"

"You useless fools!!"

There was nothing the Holy Knight who had belatedly rushed in could do.

That was how fiercely the people’s anger was burning.

One might wonder how things could escalate this far over a single post on the gallery.

But this was a world with newspapers and a press.

And whenever the press caught wind of a sensational story, it was bound to pounce on it.

It didn’t matter even if the story had originated as mere controversy on the gallery.

[We believed in the gods, not you bastards!]

[If you have any conscience, the Pope should step down voluntarily!]

[How dare you disgrace Lady Ares!!]

More than anything, Eldorado’s already poor reputation had contributed greatly to the situation.

Eldorado had been founded as a nation devoted to worshiping the gods, and originally, it had enjoyed a pristine reputation.

Conveniently enough, it had been founded during an era when the demons of Mephisto were running rampant, allowing Eldorado to establish itself as a force of "justice."

But as time passed, the demons became obsessed with something as trivial as playing ball, and the old antagonism between the two sides gradually faded.

And as that conflict faded, the atrocities Eldorado had committed over the years slowly began coming to light.

’How irritating.’

Louis II frowned and pressed his fingers firmly against his temples.

Seeing that, the other cardinals busied themselves watching Louis’s mood.

The current Pope, Louis, wielded more power than anyone else in Eldorado’s history.

One wrong word, and their heads could be at risk. Being a cardinal wouldn’t save them.

"...Come to think of it, have any other nations issued statements?"

"Ah, yes! None so far."

"None so far...."

As mentioned earlier, Eldorado had committed no small number of atrocities.

One of those was pressuring neighboring nations while invoking the name of the gods.

It didn’t matter even if the nation in question was Alvenheim, the land of the elves.

Eldorado’s will was the will of the gods.

Anyone who defied the will of the gods became an enemy of the world.

Normally, Eldorado’s will should have followed the will of the gods, but the relationship had been completely reversed.

That alone showed just how immense the authority and power of religion had become.

And as always, stagnant water eventually rotted.

The stench of that corruption had grown stronger than any desire to follow the gods’ will, reaching a point where it could no longer be ignored.

"So, do you have a solution?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked if you have a solution. If you intend to keep your mouths shut, then leave."

The moment they left, their heads would roll.

The cardinals could already foresee their futures.

How much hardship had they endured to rise to their current positions?

They absolutely could not give them up.

"It will be difficult to simply deny everything outright. If, by any chance, a survivor of the Balkan Kingdom appears, matters will become even more complicated."

"We can appeal to the public by saying we had no choice. The context surrounding the incident is what matters, isn’t it? The Immortal King was conducting experiments to turn his own people into undead first."

Desperate to avoid the Pope’s wrath, the cardinals racked their brains.

If anyone else were to hear the contents of this meeting, they would immediately realize that the records Grylls had uploaded to the gallery were true.

Just as stagnant water inevitably rotted, there was no trace left of the noble faith they had once possessed.

Instead, they were entirely preoccupied with concealing their own wrongdoing.

"Good. Then that is what we’ll do."

"Once the angry masses hear our side of the story, they will surely repent."

"By the way, what are we going to do about that gallery?"

The moment the mustached cardinal spoke, the atmosphere that had been on the verge of turning jovial immediately sank.

After all, the current crisis had originated in the gallery.

No one knew what sort of controversy might emerge from it next.

"That’s simple."

Louis spoke with a vaguely unsettling smile.

When the cardinals turned toward him, Louis presented his solution.

"Why don’t we take this opportunity to declare the gallery evil?"

"The gallery...?"

"Yes. We are those blessed by the gods. Our will is the will of the gods. Therefore, if we declare the gallery evil, it means the gods themselves have declared it evil as well."

As stated before, they had completely reversed the proper order of things.

Their desire to follow the will of the gods had been corrupted long ago.

But the desire for power was not something easily restrained.

"That sounds excellent. We should take this opportunity to impose sweeping restrictions on the gallery as well. Hahaha."

"There is nothing more dangerous than ignorant masses being exposed to false information."

"Come to think of it, I hear indecent things are uploaded there as well. What is this world coming to?"

And so, they began declaring the gallery evil.

Of course—

’I’m still going to use it.’

’I’ll just use it secretly.’

’It’s fine as long as I don’t get caught.’

Hypocrisy was practically a passive skill for them, so all they did was spout words that sounded respectable on the surface.

After the meeting concluded, a spokesperson appeared before the public.

In a situation like this, the Pope should have stepped forward personally.

The fact that he sent a spokesperson instead was enough to show his arrogance.

"Descendants of the gods, hear me! This entire incident is nothing more than a misunderstanding! The wicked king of the Balkan Kingdom, the Immortal King, had long been conducting necromantic experiments upon his own people...!"

Here Is What Really Happened.

The Immortal King had been conducting sinister experiments on his people.

The Holy Kingdom had discovered what was happening beforehand and had been forced to carry out the massacre.

Was it not far better for them to die as humans than to die as undead?

All of this had been done according to the will of the gods, and those who had lived through the incident were suffering from psychological trauma.

As the explanation continued, the crowd gradually began to calm down.

Of course, they didn’t exactly look convinced yet.

Still, at least the Holy Kingdom was offering an explanation.

Apparently, they had enough nerve to brazenly lie straight to everyone’s faces.

Trust in the Holy Kingdom had already hit rock bottom.

Now people were simply waiting to see whether there was an even deeper abyss beneath it.

"Furthermore, His Holiness the Pope has declared the gallery to be a true evil, and those who believe the false information spread through the gallery will face severe punishment—!"

"You fucking bastards!!"

"I knew it! You’re saying that crap because there’s something you want to hide!!"

"What did you say about the gallery?! Are you that desperate to get your head chopped off like the Emperor of the Central Plains?!"

"Stop blaming the gallery for everything! We’re sick and tired of it!!!"

Someone had once said that even rock bottom had a rock bottom beneath it.

Blaming the gallery whenever anything went wrong was already a routine they had been repeating for years.

Normally, people would have simply brushed it off with—

Ugh. Those bastards are at it again.

But the public’s anger had already exceeded its breaking point.

This time, even that wouldn’t work.

"Everyone! Breaking news! The Mage King Kadir has issued a statement!"

"What? The Mage King?"

"Isn’t he a close friend of the previous Hero?"

Amid the rapidly worsening chaos, someone delivered the news.

The spokesperson felt a terrible sense of foreboding upon hearing it.

But it was already too late.

"The previous Hero did not die together with the Immortal King! He chose to die with the Immortal King! And he made that choice because of the Holy Kingdom’s pressure and coercion!"

"What does that even mean?"

"The previous Hero chose death? Are you saying he committed suicide?"

"Can you... even call that suicide? That’s more like...!"

At exactly the right moment, Kadir tossed another piece of oil-soaked firewood onto the flames.

"Bring out the Pope! Tell him to come out here and explain himself!"

"Bring my son back!"

"Give me back my father!"

The inferno showed no sign of dying down anytime soon.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the Forest of Four Seasons—

"Cough. Cough! Ugh. Did I put in too much firewood?"

Grylls was adding firewood to prepare breakfast.