WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 140: Inquisitor Falkenstein (3)
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"Do those bastards think God and Jesus are just anybody's dogs' names? Every dog and cow is converting."
Someone flinched.
I turned at the sound of a hiccup and saw Kohaku and the Mountain Lord smiling awkwardly.
"No, no. I wasn't talking about you two."
"R-right? You can't possibly compare us to those vile bastards, those cauldrons of evil we wouldn't associate with?"
"That's right. At least I never worshipped demons."
Either way, melting down all the bodies was unpleasant and smelly.
They had still been people. There was no way melting them into lumps of gelatin could be pleasant.
"Thanks to you, Brother, we don't have to dig any graves."
"Do you usually bury them?"
"We can't always call in a body disposal crew."
"..."
So there was a body disposal crew.
"By the way, since you came from the Vatican, how is Father Gabriele? He was badly hurt."
"Paladin Gabriele is recovering. The problem is the wounds to his body and mind."
When Father Gabriele faced the demon in Serbia, he had encountered a dilemma similar to ours.
He had compromised to save people, and Paimon's descent had been the result.
"That's unfortunate. It wasn't Father Gabriele's fault."
"The evil spawn exploit our weaknesses and beguile us with wicked, deceitful tongues. There is no doubt that Sir Gabriele Santoro is a clergyman of great virtue."
But.
Falkenstein spoke firmly.
"That virtue cannot remain a virtue when facing evil spawn. We must be resolute and uncompromising before evil. We must never show mercy, even if... we ourselves must commit evil."
Hm, he was on the extreme side.
Still, weren't the evil spawn that had made a clergyman this extreme worse?
"The demons and their worshippers are the bad ones. The bad guys should be blamed first, never the other way around."
"Heh heh, is that how you see it? You have a very admirable way of thinking, Brother."
"Not that admirable."
That was when we were disposing of the demon worshippers' bodies by melting them into gelatinous lumps.
"Uh..."
"Brother, get behind me!"
Father Falkenstein pulled me back as all the Inquisitors went on guard.
The source of the anomaly was the souls.
The souls of the dead demon worshippers were heading somewhere, as if being pulled toward something.
【Aaaaaah! Forgive us...! Please forgive us!!】
【N-no! It can't end like this...!!】
The demon worshippers screamed.
They had realized their end was near and struggled not to be dragged away.
This was the fate of those who had sold their souls to demons for wealth, glory, strength, and power.
Their shrieks were so miserable and hollow that the demon worshippers who had become Chang-gwi and been eaten seemed fortunate by comparison.
When they finally reached their end, the souls that had creaked like broken wooden puppets all opened their mouths at once.
【They are one who prophesies.】
【They see through past and future, and answer without hindrance.】
"W-what is this?"
Like a chorus, the souls creaked as one machine. Bloody tears streamed from them as they continued speaking.
【They are one who causes strife. They govern malice and selfishness.】
【They are one who breaks vows of silence. They do not hold their tongue, nor do they remain silent.】
Then we saw it.
The breath that devoured their souls.
【────】
Our eyes met.
A being with a huge, black pupil was consuming the souls and staring at us.
"...!"
It was huge.
An immeasurable power emanated from that gaze.
The souls' chorus came to an end.
The souls that had creaked like wooden puppets now trembled violently, blood streaming from their entire bodies.
【Thus they prophesy. A spear of fire that cleaves the sky shall appear. A small sun launched by man shall turn night into day, swallow the clouds, and raise a sea of fire.】
【This shall be wrought by human hands.】
It was an ominous prophecy.
Then I heard something unfold behind me, from Gari.
[Deep beneath the borderland where black stones form mountains and rivers freeze, a pillar of destruction shall rise.]
It was After-Kings.
The Heavenly Scribe was adding a new prophecy to the demon's prophecy.
[A long spear that has swallowed fire shall reveal itself in a deep valley. The last king the LORD sent down upon this land shall seize that spear and break it.]
[This is a calamity the LORD has not permitted. The Lord has seen the wicked one's scheme beforehand and shall expose the plot.]
【────!!】
When the prophecy of After-Kings was complete, the owner of that pupil shot Gari a fierce glare.
Gari's teeth clacked as if refusing to yield. The confrontation between the two beings was enough to make the demon worshippers' souls and the Inquisitors tremble.
【────】
After contesting wills with Gari for a while, it stared at us, swallowed every last soul, and disappeared.
* * *
I took the Inquisitors and used Spatial Leap to reach the Senior Pastor's office at Gangnam Holy Temple Church.
"You're here."
The pastors had been waiting because I had called ahead. Pastor Park saw Father Falkenstein and extended his hand.
"It has been a long time, Father Falkenstein. You could have at least called before coming."
"My apologies. I came in a hurry, so I was late contacting you."
We told them about the demon we had just encountered.
"A prophecy... This is no small matter."
Pastor Park looked troubled after hearing both the demon's prophecy and the prophecy of After-Kings.
"Several of the 72 Demons can foretell the future. Vassago, Amon, Gusion, Botis, Orobas. This demon is probably one of them."
"But why would it give us a prophecy? What if we hear it and stop it?"
"A prophecy requires an audience to be established."
That was what Father Falkenstein said.
"Prophecies take form through words, and when they come true, the prophet's standing is proven. There are many forms and reasons for prophecy, but that is what it ultimately comes down to."
"The kind of demons who make prophecies do it to prove themselves. Their prophecies need to come true for people to worship them."
"I see..."
So they weren't just getting cocky and shooting their mouths off.
"There's also something called a self-fulfilling prophecy. The actions taken to stop a prophecy are what fulfill it. In this case, the other side may have revealed it because it knew the prophecy."
"The prophecy of After-Kings?"
"Yes. But the prophecy of After-Kings presented an outcome opposite to the demon's."
Only after the demon had recited its ominous prophecy did Gari open After-Kings and record a prophecy.
The contents were similar until the middle, but the outcomes differed.
The demon's prophecy foretold destruction, while After-Kings foretold that I would stop it.
"Opposing prophecies can also change a prophecy's outcome. Angel Gari intervened at just the right moment."
"With opposing prophecies, it becomes humanity's task to determine which one comes true."
In other words, if we acted to stop the prophecy of destruction, it might ultimately fail to come true.
"We should stop it quickly. But where is this prophecy supposed to happen? The wording is all vague, so I can't tell."
Why did prophecies always use such vague expressions?
I knew that was just how prophecies were, but couldn't they be more straightforward?
"Prophecies are fulfilled by people through vague wording. If everything were revealed, wouldn't our free will be damaged?"
"Still, the prophecy itself has plenty of phrases that bring things to mind. This is actually quite considerate."
Pastor Go showed us the prophecy he had written down.
First came the demon's prophecy.
【Thus they prophesy. A spear of fire that cleaves the sky shall appear. A small sun launched by man shall turn night into day, swallow the clouds, and raise a sea of fire.】
【This shall be wrought by human hands.】
"A spear of fire that cleaves the sky. A small sun launched by man. Something wrought by human hands that shines brightly enough to turn night into day and creates a sea of fire."
Then came the prophecy Gari had given through After-Kings.
[A long spear that has swallowed fire shall reveal itself in a deep valley. The last king the LORD sent down upon this land shall seize that spear and break it.]
"It also mentions a spear of fire. There is no doubt that it is at the heart of this calamity. At this point, only one possibility comes to mind."
"Nuclear..."
Pastor Go nodded.
"It could simply be a missile, but nothing suits a prophesied object that will create a sea of fire better than a nuclear missile."
"Are you saying a demon is going to launch a nuclear missile?"
"Not directly, but it could make one launch in some way. That is probably why the demon worshippers gathered."
But South Korea had no nuclear missiles.
What if the reason so many demon worshippers had recently entered South Korea was to bring about a future where a nuclear missile struck Korea?
"North Korea."
"North Korea, then."
We came to the same conclusion almost simultaneously.
North Korea would launch a nuclear weapon.
South Korea would become a sea of fire, and I would have to stop it.
"Isn't the scale suddenly getting way too big? A war is going to break out?"
"It isn't unprecedented. During the Cold War, there were many times demons tried to start nuclear wars. Even the vampires tried to start a world war."
Come to think of it, the Dake Clan Lord in Europe had also tried to use Russia to start a world war.
It was chilling.
Plots like this had been unfolding all over the world, and there had been people stopping them.
Our world had been sustained through this kind of precarious balancing act, and now I had to stop it.
"But how do we stop North Korea from launching a nuclear weapon?"
"We go into North Korea."
"And we need to identify the base that will launch the nuclear missile."
The first problem was solvable.
I could infiltrate North Korea with Spatial Leap. Moving around from there would be a problem, but I would not need to go through a difficult process to cross the North Korean border.
The problem was where North Korea's nuclear missile would be launched from.
"There is a way to find out."
Pastor Go pulled up a news article on his phone.
[Tongil Party Representative Kim Seokmin abruptly announces resignation.]
[Is he connected to the simultaneous deaths of Tongil Party representatives?]
* * *
"Representative! Representative! Please say a few words!"
"We have information that you may be connected to the deaths of your fellow representatives. Please confirm it!"
Outside an upscale house in Gyeonggi Province, camera shutters went off nonstop.
A black sedan barely forced its way through the rushing reporters and entered the property. The person who emerged was former National Assembly member Kim Seokmin.
"Those hyena bastards... Who do they think they are, barging in here?"
"Representative, I'll escort you inside."
Kim Seokmin of the Iltong Party passed through the noisy yard full of reporters and entered the house.
"I want to be alone."
"Yes. Please call if you need anything."
After dismissing his guards, Kim Seokmin searched for whiskey first.
He drank the hard liquor like beer, then set the bottle down with a sigh.
"That damned sanctuary... Of all things, it had to cover the National Assembly Building."
The second Declaration of the Holy Realm in Seoul had brought the National Assembly Building within its range.
His fellow representatives who had been in the sanctuary had all died at once, while he had fortunately survived because he had been outside.
But having sold his soul to a demon, he could not enter the sanctuary containing the National Assembly Building. He had to give up his seat.
If he dragged things out for no reason, he might come under suspicion himself.
"Damn it... That fucking bastard! He dares come after a member of Korea's National Assembly? He will pay for this!"
It was all because of that Gari Bodhisattva who had established a sanctuary over Seoul.
A lackey of Holy Temple Church.
A self-proclaimed descendant of Solomon who called himself a king however he liked in a democratic society.
If only he could deal with that bastard, he could wipe away this damned humiliation.
"Damn it! After all it took for me to become a representative! To become party leader! How dare he!"
It felt like only alcohol could calm this rage.
Kim Seokmin came into the kitchen to get ice from the refrigerator.
"What? When did the lights get turned off?"
He had told them to leave because he wanted to be alone, and apparently they had gone out after turning off all the lights.
As Kim Seokmin fumbled through the dark house for a switch, he suddenly noticed something stuck to the window.
"Paper?"
There were strange papers plastered all over it.
There were too many for them to have simply blown in on the wind.
When he moved closer, he saw that they were covered in unknown characters.
"It looks like those reporter bastards have all left too..."
He had drunk several bottles of strong whiskey and lost track of time.
Where were the guards?
As Kim Seokmin was about to call them, a chill ran down his spine.
It was an instinctive warning from his survival instinct, like a mouse standing before a snake, aware that a natural predator was near.
His stiff neck slowly turned toward the gaze he felt.
On the sofa sat a young man pouring whiskey over ice into a glass.
"Representative, you've got some good stuff."
A young man who had calmly entered the house Kim Seokmin believed was safest, a house packed with guards, and greeted him.
"You're Representative Kim Seokmin, right? Ah, former representative now. You really reek of rot."
"You bastard, how did you get in he...?!"
The next instant, something seized Kim Seokmin by the throat.
It was a huge hand that felt as if it were crushing his entire head.
"Ghk! Ghk! Ghk!!"
He flailed in the air, but he could not escape that grip with his strength.
When he finally fainted and his eyes rolled back, he thought he heard a strange sound in the air.
【Po.】
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