The Outer God Needs Warmth

Chapter 53

Hyungkeshni listened from a distance to the foreign press speaking about Tis-ha.

The nonsense spoken by the foreign press didn’t affect Hyungkeshni in the slightest.

Of course, she knew that the foreign press was telling the truth. But it sounded like a monster begging for warmth from the people of Ansellus Kingdom to survive.

So, when the foreign press mentioned religious freedom, it didn’t faze her in the least.

Hyungkeshni had been chased by various religious groups in her past. Gods had always been on the opposite side of her throughout her life.

Therefore, even if someone said that people had the freedom to choose their religion, it only made her question why such an obvious statement was being made.

To someone who had been cast out from the gods, the idea of having the freedom to believe in them meant nothing.

It wasn’t as if she was promising blessings if people believed in her. If they wanted to believe in the Holy Spirit, they could, and nothing would change.

Sure, after hearing this, the Holy Spirit Church seemed cowardly, but would anyone really abandon their faith for that? It seemed like the foreign press was simply trying to deceive people with empty words.

Hyungkeshni thought this as she sat on the terrace of an unknown house, watching the execution platform.

However, the excitement was beginning to wane.

Watching the foreign press get slapped in the face and act like a sycophant was amusing, but she was looking for something more stimulating.

For example, the foreign press crying and begging for her life on the execution platform.

As she thought this, contemplating whether she should cast a curse or not, the foreign press continued speaking from the platform.

“I gave Tis-ha a blessing as long as he lived, and when he died, the contract was completed. So, I came to fulfill my promise and claimed his last warmth.”

It was a simple truth.

Hyungkeshni, who understood what it meant to take warmth from someone and knew what happens to a person once it’s stolen, wondered if the foreign press was confessing their sins before death.

Those with knowledge often forget how those without it think.

When you know something, you assume everyone else does too. It’s a common mistake, and Hyungkeshni made it as well.

This was something that should have been learned through experience.

It’s important to understand how people without knowledge would think when you try to share your knowledge with them and how much effort it takes to explain things to them.

But Hyungkeshni had never had such an experience.

Had she taught Yasle?

He was already an expert. With just a little knowledge that only Hyungkeshni knew, he could easily organize it and use it in his own way, for he was sharp and had a vast amount of knowledge already.

So, she had thought that everyone would understand the situation the way she did.

“However, something interfered with that. It prevented me from keeping the last promise.”

There’s a saying about “human warmth.”

It’s a phrase that is rarely used negatively. And when the last warmth before death is mentioned, people usually feel as if someone is trying to accompany them on their final journey.

And it was the Holy Spirit that prevented it.

“So, when I denounced it, this is what happened.”

We all know what "something" refers to.

It’s the Holy Spirit.

Normally, even if a person from Ansellus Kingdom hears something negative about the Holy Spirit, they would just consider it heresy and leave it at that.

They would rush at the person with a club if they cursed.

In other words, the faith of Ansellus Kingdom would not waver just because the foreign press said a few words.

Unless, of course, they insulted Tis-ha just before.@@@@

Human greed caused anger.

The jealousy of not liking the fact that the person who received the Holy Spirit’s blessing wasn’t one of their own, but someone from the outside, quietly rolled and gathered into a small spark.

Of course, people from the Holy Spirit Church had their own excuses.

In an instant, the knight’s hair turned purple, and his once healthy brown skin turned pale white.

Murmurs.

The sounds of astonished people spread throughout the square, and the other knights nearby pointed their swords at the knight who had killed the foreign press.

Crack.

From within the cracks, something shattered.

It was the sound of the hole in the crack widening as the surrounding edges slowly crumbled.

Anyone who had heard the sound of glass or ice cracking under a heavy object could roughly guess what it meant.

Something very heavy was on top of the hole.

But the sound was brief.

The cracks all over the place were drawn into the hole. The inside and outside flipped, and the hole vanished as if it had never existed.

In the place where the hole had been, there stood a girl with long purple hair.

The evil god, the one whose head had been cut off just moments ago, now stood unscathed.

“If you kill me, you gain the blessing. Of course, I won’t force you to believe in me. If you want to believe in the Holy Spirit, go ahead. You have the freedom to choose your religion.”

The foreign press paused for a moment, collecting their thoughts.

This brief pause allowed the crowd to focus on the words. And unexpectedly, the next sentence became even more emphasized.

“There is also the freedom not to believe in the gods. If you don’t want to believe in the Holy Spirit because you hate it, that’s fine too.”

The foreign press smiled brightly.

It was a thought that came to them when they had just been about to return to the depths below. But after realizing the situation, they spoke those words.

Their impromptu responses were quite sharp.

They never forgot to lace their words with poison.

They had naturally explained that the Holy Spirit would abandon those who had received its blessings.

At these words, the knight, Martin, hesitated and stepped back. The heat from his faith melted away, replaced by the cold chill of reality.

As he looked around, he noticed that his fellow knights had drawn their swords on him.

It was a wound to his heart.

How much had he dedicated himself to the Holy Spirit Church to be met with this sword?

“The Holy Spirit has abandoned you, just like it did with Tis-ha. Now, let me make a suggestion,” the foreign press said.

At that moment, Martin, despite having been forcibly blessed by the foreign press, resolved to not leave them alone.

However, the suggestion wasn’t for him.

The foreign press stood up from the execution platform, turned their body, and bowed their head toward the people of the Holy Spirit Church.

“I will die here, but please forgive others. I have only given blessings to humanity. I’ve also given explosive power to those in deep despair, so I will disappear here.”

Still.

Still, no one understood what these words meant.

Hyungkeshni knew that the foreign press was a defeatist who had inspired the primitive faith in others, causing sudden outbursts of power. But since they never prayed to the gods, she didn’t understand what the foreign press was trying to say.

They didn’t know the fundamental reason why the Mirae Hope Sect had captivated people’s hearts.

The god of the lowest class.

It was them, claiming that they would forgive humanity, declaring the freedom not to believe in the gods.

The foreign press truly smiled with happiness.

“I’ve already accomplished everything.”

At that moment, the three people in the mansion on the outskirts of the capital had finished reading the book.