章 266: The Eucharist (1)
The face of a cute black puppy.
Vikir was currently wearing a child's mask sold by a street vendor.
As it is urgent, it is a night hound stopgap mode.
And in front of him stood Dolores.
Dolores looked dazed as if she couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
"...Night Hound?"
Nod.
Vikir nodded in response to Dolores' question.
Thump-thump-thump-
Dolores felt her heart pounding in her chest at the sudden encounter.
He acted as if he had the supernatural power to see into people's minds.
The moment she thought she wanted to see him, he was there, like a lie.
If it wasn't a superpower, then what was it?
'...or fate?'
A common theme in popular classic romance novels.
But Dolores, who was precocious for her age, thought all of that was childish.
But now that she's in this situation, she can't help but think about it.
Fated mates. An inevitable relationship, you know, all that heart-pounding stuff.
'Well, come to think of it, even then....'
Dolores recalled a moment in the past when she was briefly assimilated into the spirit of Night Hound.
A cold, lonely, and difficult journey. A pilgrim walking through a thorny path carrying all his burdens alone.
The memory of that night, when she could feel his pain, his suffering, his numbing loneliness.
A soulmate who went through extreme situations together. Even though she doesn't know anything about the outer shell, there is definitely an invisible tie between him and herself.
That's what she thought.
Then.
"Come to your senses."
Night Hound voice snapped her back to reality.
She looked up quickly to see Night Hound's palm flicking back and forth in front of her.
"Oops. I'm sorry, I was a little dazed for a moment, I was a little surprised...."
Dolores blushed and apologized.
Then she looked at Night Hound, who had the face of a cute puppy, and frowned.
"What can I say? The atmosphere has changed a bit. It's the same with the mask."
"...."
Vikir didn't answer, but the clever Dolores had already noticed. This meeting was not in Night Hound's plans.
So he must have been too busy to prepare his mask.
"We must have met by accident."
"...."
"Do you live around here?"
"...."
Vikir remained silent, but Dolores knew that she was interpreting it as a positive meaning.
"The fact that we met while looking around in casual clothes on a weekend means that you have a residence in this neighborhood. Moreover, considering that you are familiar with the geography of the Colosseo Academy....'
Previously, Dolores had thought that Night Hound had informants within the school.
However, looking at the current situation, the possibility that he was a person inside the school could not be excluded.
'...Wait, why did I say that earlier?'
Dolores had just said the name 'Vikir' without realizing it.
Why, simply because of the hand covering her mouth?
Because it reminded her of the time she almost ran into Guality in the orphanage hallway?
Dolores felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.
But she doesn't know exactly what it is.
It's just a vague feeling that she's missing something important.
Meanwhile.
"...."
Vikir watched the adjutant's back as he walked away.
The scent of the demon was unmistakable on him, even faintly.
'Even though Dantalian has been eliminated, the members of the Quovadis family still smell of the demon.'
That scent wafted throughout the Temple of the Old Testament, as he had confirmed when he bought his indulgence.
And Humbert, whom he had seen earlier from afar, also had a strong smell.
'The New Testament priests at Quovadis Family don't smell it at all, so the Old Testament and the Sixth Corpse must be involved.'
In particular, Humbert, the leader of the Old Testament, was a suspicious man in many ways.
The carriages he traveled in and the mansions he lived in were covered in precious metals and works of art, and his spending was enormous.
It was even revealed that he was receiving regular entertainment and bribes from Guilty of Indulgentia, but he was also a skilled politician who survived by having his tail cut off.
'But he wasn't a demon.'
Deeply intertwined with the demon, but not the demon.
No matter how carefully Vikir looked, it was the same conclusion every time.
'Then we should investigate his new source of funding.'
Humbert still boasts wealth despite the extinction of the Indulgentia family..
'If we can find out where he's getting his money from, we might be able to find the Sixth Corpse, who is said to be close friends with the Ninth Corpse.
And Vikir sees a clue in Dolores's words.
"They say that cults and sects are running rampant throughout the empire because of the conflict between the Old and New Testaments, so I thought I'd try to find a solution...."
Dolores revealed why she had come to spy on the temples of the Old Testament.
And Vikir reacted to the words 'heresy' and 'cult'.
'The Old Testament versus the New Testament, and they have the most to gain from it.'
Suddenly, Vikir's mind flashed back to a target he had assassinated not long before.
The name Edward Bourbon Jr. Aka St. Bourbon.
A mid-level Graduator. A high priest of the emerging religion of Ohm, which has become quite powerful in the north.
A traitor who will betray the Human Alliance and join the Demon Army in the Age of Destruction decades later.
In the original fate, he would have wounded Tudor and Bianca and escaped, but Vikir killed him beforehand to eliminate any future worries.
The Indulgence Book was found as a memento of the dead cultist.
'All sins of this faithful church member are forgiven.'
– This indulgence was issued and guaranteed by the Old Testament, and counterfeiting can result in punishment –
㊞
After some digging, Vikir came up with a pretty significant result.
'Most likely, the Old Testament school's new source of funding is cults and heresies.'
It was possible that the Old Testament faction was sowing 'religious autonomy' in the form of indulgences to gain an advantage over the New Testament.
Perhaps Cardinal Martin Luther recognized this to some extent, which is why he is here today.
Hearing Vikir's words, Dolores covered her mouth with her hand in astonishment.
"...Oh my God! I didn't realize that Cardinal Luther was watching! I must have been a frog in a well."
"This is not the time to blame yourself."
Cults and heresies were likely to be just the tail.
At best, they are 'middle man' who distribute and launder funds.
... The 'real' thing was behind the scenes.
The Old Testament of the Quovadis. And the cults and heresies running rampant throughout the empire. And a money trail that leads to a mysterious 'dark side'.
In order for the Quovadis to be purified, the flow of dirty money must be cut off.
"Let's start with the middle man."
Dolores nodded at Vikir's words.
What kind of outside force could be corrupting and manipulating the Quovadis?
Using the worldly weapon of money, no less, and quietly.
"...When heresies and cults take hold, it's the poor and needy who suffer the most."
Dolores continued, sounding indignant.
"I don't think people need to believe in Lun to be saved, as long as they can find peace of mind by doing good to others in ways that are comfortable and familiar to them. But they're not. They...."
Vikir was well aware of the dangers of heresy and cults.
During the days when the war against the demons was in full swing, he had seen many verminous things that roamed among the poor and sick, sucking the lifeblood out of them.
Money, food, body, blood, appetite, lust, pleasure, etc… … Most of the things that heretics and cults demand from believers are obvious.
"The one I killed yesterday was a similar case."
Dolores paused for a moment at Vikir's words.
As expected, Night Hound was fighting. Still alone, still hurting.
"... Let me help, too."
Dolores held Night Hound's hand tightly.
It was like that before, but now it was even stronger and more earnest.
…Aah!
A light of respect and affection that could not be hidden was radiating from Dolores' eyes, which strongly demanded solidarity.
"I can be of help."
At her strong assurance, Vikir asked curiously.
"That buff against Dantalian last time. Can you do it again?"
"... That, that is."
Dolores quickly looked intimidated.
Apparently, it was only a temporary thing, and she couldn't control the power yet.
'Of course. If you could, you'd already be called the Ironblooded Saint.'
Vikir nodded.
Right now, Dolores is still just a young girl. She has a long way to go before she can awaken and become a great hero who will save all mankind.
It would be wrong to expect too much.
"I see. First, we'll have to deal with the cults that are supposedly connected to the Old Testament."
"Uh, how? Are you going to visit every single one of them in the empire?"
At that, Vikir shook his head.
"There's not enough time for that. There is a way to overcome everything."
A way to wipe out all the cults and heresies in the Empire in one fell swoop.
Dolores' eyes widened at the mention of such a method.
Something that the young priests of the New Testament hadn't been able to solve, no matter how many times they put their heads together.
An answer they had all given up on.
And yet, Night Hound was saying it quite firmly, his tone full of confidence.
"And what is that?"
Dolores asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Like a true honor student, she had a ballpoint pen and notebook in her hand, ready to take notes.
And then.
Vikir spoke, his voice flat and dry.
"I need your body."
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