Chapter 242

"..."

After wandering the archives for a long time, the bishop parted her lips.

"... Nothing."

No matter how hard she searched, she found no information.

'Just who was that being I saw at dawn that day?'

She wanted to believe it had been an ordinary dream. But there was nothing ordinary about it.

'That strange, ominous feeling... like when I encountered our teacher dwelling within the saintess. No, worse than that.'

The memory of that strange being's words washing over her like waves was still vivid. That had been no mere dream.

'It said the moon had set.'

The words had clearly been aimed at the Moon Cult.

'And no matter how I look at it, what it held in its second pair of hands was our teacher's form...'

Her fellow disciples each described the Moon a little differently. Some called it a round mirror, others a transparent bead, and still others a sphere formed from countless overlapping rings.

Their only common feature was roundness. But the bishop knew. What she had seen that day was indeed the Moon. That beautiful something, shining pure white and cool.

'... Then that bloodred being I saw couldn't have been a mere illusion either...'

Yet there was no information anywhere.

"... A being of that magnitude cannot possibly have no history."

Divinities grew powerful through destiny. The more stories they accumulated, the greater their presence became. This mystery had been powerful enough to hold the Moon in its hands and declare that the moon had set.

'But the Moon Cult has no records of it.'

She had searched everything, from traditional gods to the most infamous evil gods. Just in case, she had even looked into mysteries other than Divinities. But there was nothing. Not even in the Moon Cult's archives, where knowledge and wisdom of every kind were gathered.

'Half a head, deep golden blood, three pairs of arms... and a radiance formed from broken wings...'

She considered whether it might have changed its appearance, but that did not quite fit either.

'I asked the Association too, but they had no answers.'

Only one possibility seemed most likely.

"..."

A new evil god had come to Earth.

'And it has set its sights on the Moon.'

Behind the scenes, unknown to ordinary citizens, Hunter Associations around the world amassed countless secrets. Those concerning mysteries were no exception. If even the Association had replied that it knew nothing, this meant a new calamity.

"... This is troubling..."

The empty secret archives were silent. Naturally so: for generations, only bishops and saintesses had been allowed inside. She dropped into a nearby chair.

"What is the world coming to?"

Even as she spoke, her mind raced.

'... That being was unmistakably an evil god. What does it want? Amusement? Some scheme? Either way, it will surely pose a great threat to an already precarious Earth.'

She felt deeply conflicted.

'But a Divinity's steps always have a purpose. Even if they don't, one eventually emerges. Why did it seize the Moon first? For amusement? Or does it have some other plan...?'

More information would have helped, but she had seen the being only once.

'During the war with the mermaids, the Sun Cult confirmed an incursion by the evil god Sankalut. South Korea is one of the few countries on Earth still maintaining human civilization. Two major religions stand in its capital. One has already suffered an incursion and dealt with it. Could these evil Divinities be conspiring together?'

The war with the mermaids, who were said to have accumulated enough evil karma to approach divinity. The evil god Sankalut, who had violated the Sun Cult. The red Divinity that had invaded the Moon Cult. Perhaps something was happening that should put the religious world on alert.

'But the trouble with the mermaids was resolved. Collector made a great contribution, I hear. And for an invasion by Sankalut, the evil god of blood and pain, the Sun Cult incident amounted to... little more than abducting a single young prospective priest. There was apparently one other encounter before that... but I heard a prospective priest named Cha Yi-sol overcame that too by contracting with Black Cloak.'

Then...

"... Was the being I saw behind the mermaids and Sankalut?"

It would be premature as a conclusion, but plausible as a hypothesis.

The war with the mermaids could have dragged on for several more years. Sankalut's machinations could have been far more vicious. Yet both had been resolved without major trouble. The Moon Cult believed Black Cloak's help had played a large part.

'But add one more thing to that.'

What if that red evil god had been behind those evil beings?

'What if it only briefly threw Earth into turmoil for the sake of something greater?'

It was merely a hypothesis. Nothing was certain.

'But the fellow disciples we dispatched certainly said as much.'

The mermaids had frequently said and done things indicating that they were wary of Black Cloak and wanted to spirit away his child. It was clear that the mermaids and Black Cloak had opposed each other. And if those mermaids, Sankalut, and the red evil god were all on the same side?

'Sankalut, an impatient evil god, ended its incursion into the Sun Cult after merely abducting a prospective priest. Someone must have forced it to stop. And if the one who forced it was the red evil god I saw, the situation becomes even more complicated.'

Having come this far, she found herself wondering again.

'What does it want?'

Why had it shown itself to her?

"..."

Then a fresh realization filled her with shame.

'... Did it think I would betray our teacher?'

The day she saw the Moon in the red evil god's grasp, the bishop had felt bewilderment rather than anger. And beneath that bewilderment, she had secretly felt relief.

'Because I wondered whether that child could live as a human if the Moon were to set for good...'

She had never imagined a world in which the Moon had set. But after witnessing that sight, she could not help thinking of the saintess. The image of her suffering, caught between the paths of humanity and mystery, remained vivid.

'... Was I, was I chosen... because I had such a blasphemous thought?'

She felt dreadful.

No matter how she investigated, no one else had encountered the red evil god. Earth held no records of it either. Of all the people in the world, she alone had seen that being.

It might not have meant much to the Divinity, but to a human, it meant being chosen.

'I, a bishop of a traditional god, have been chosen by an evil god. I couldn't even become a saint's vessel, and had to see so many Moons off. I was always the one left behind in this temple... and now an evil god's...'

But then another thought came to her.

"..."

Wasn't this better, after all?

'... If I were to betray our teacher and erase the Moon from Earth... no, erase the Moon Cult.'

Then perhaps...

"... I've dwelled on this too long."

She seemed to be having absurd thoughts because she had pushed herself too hard these past few days.

With a gesture, the bishop returned the archive materials to their places, so the saintess would notice nothing amiss if she came inside. The fact that she had heard an evil god's voice had to remain a closely guarded secret.

'I should tell my closest associates, since there's no knowing what may happen.'

There was no way to know whether that red evil god truly wanted a bishop who would betray the Moon. But Earth still needed the Moon Cult, to pass on a far better world to descendants in as near a future as possible.

So she needed people who could subdue her should affection and lingering attachments drive her mad. Having put both her thoughts and the archives in order, the bishop stepped outside.

She walked down the long corridor for quite some time.

"..."

"B-Bishop...?!"

Then she came upon the saintess holding a basket.

"... Saintess? What brings you out into the corridor?"

As she approached, the assembled fellow disciples made way.

"And what is this crowd?"

"W-well. I, um, it was nothing much. It really wasn't supposed to turn into this...!"

"You seem quite flustered. Please calm down."

The bishop caught sight of the smiling saint, Seo Jio.

"Hunter Seo Jio, you seem to know something about this?"

"I brought it on myself, so of course I do."

"Ah, I see. What exactly happened...?"

"We baked quite a few cookies in the kitchen."

"Cookies?"

On closer inspection, the saintess's basket was indeed full of cookies.

"... I knew you sometimes made food or snacks."

Everyone knew Hunter Seo Jio took food seriously. Unlike the Moon Cult's priests, who often skipped meals unless research was involved, he frequently visited the otherwise empty kitchen.

"That explains you, Hunter Seo Jio, but why is the saintess here?"

"She cooked with me."

"Ah..."

An unfamiliar emotion stirred in her.

"I never imagined you would be interested in such things."

"It was more... studying than interest..."

Perhaps because she had caused a commotion in the normally quiet Moon Cult, the saintess's face was red. Her embarrassment was plain to see. Struggling to compose herself, she continued her explanation.

"Ahem. After finding myself on the verge of becoming a Divinity without any preparation last time, I belatedly realized how much I still had to learn. All I knew were miscellaneous theories."

"Your knowledge is not something to dismiss as miscellaneous."

"Of course, I too take pride in the knowledge and wisdom I have accumulated. But to teach the Moon more, I thought I would also need... practical knowledge of things I had never done before..."

"So you did the cooking yourself?"

"Yes. Teacher offered to help, so we went to the kitchen together."

"I thought things had been rather lively within the order lately."

A small chuckle slipped through her weary heart.

"So this is what you've been doing."

Perhaps it was because she was unusually exhausted in both body and mind. Without realizing it, she had laughed out of pride and affection for the adorable girl.

"I also heard you put in a new flower bed in your sunny bedroom. And that you made Gyeongbokgung Palace out of folded paper. Sharing these cookies must be part of gaining experience too?"

"You seemed so busy lately. I'm sorry to have given you something else to concern yourself with, Bishop..."

"It's simply lovely to see."

For the first time in a long while, her heart felt lighter.

"Thank you as well, Hunter Seo Jio. As you know, my fellow disciples know only how to study. They have no experience whatsoever with activities like these. Without you, the saintess would never even have thought of learning about such things."

"All I did was help her hand out cookies."

One of the fellow disciples watching spoke up.

"All you did? This is a golden opportunity to obtain cookies made by two saints."

"Is that truly all you can say in this heartwarming situation, Brother? A grown adult, receiving cookies the saintess made herself with these tiny hands, and that's all you have to say?"

"We'll take good care of the cookies as research specimens...!"

"Research or specimens, if you aren't putting them in your stomach, give them back."

Another priest asked,

"Can we study them as long as we eat them?"

"Just give them back."

"N-no...! My precious research specimens...!!"

"Ugh, you're revolting."

The saintess approached the bishop, who was watching the adults bicker.

"Um, Bishop."

"..."

"Bishop...?"

"Ah, yes. It was such a rare sight that it distracted me for a moment. What is it?"

"I made this snack for you."

It was a slightly misshapen rabbit cookie wrapped in clear plastic.

"You seem to have been keeping to yourself lately. Perhaps you've found an interesting topic to research. They're not much, but I made some sweet cookies you could eat easily. Um, please... though it would be even better if you didn't skip meals..."

The saintess's face reddened as she spoke.

"..."

It was the face of a young child robbed of the chance to grow up.

"... Thank you. I'll try to be more conscientious about my meals from now on."

"Oh! I couldn't ask for anything more."

"To receive such advice from the saintess who once refused even a spoonful of gruel... I am deeply moved."

"Th-th-that...! I still had so many shortcomings back then...!"

"No."

She started to reach for that hair bleached white, but her hand twitched and stopped. Hidden beneath the sleeve of her loose priestly robes, it clenched hard enough to draw blood.

"You have done nothing wrong, Saintess."

"I was far too stubborn..."

"Not at all."

This child's own fear had never been her first priority.

"I gratefully accept your gift."

All her research so far had ended in failure.

'A star beside the Moon.'

With a Divinity's help, might it be possible...?

* * *

Arjio said,

"Honestly, even after everything I told her, she still hasn't come to her senses."

Giovanni said,

"How could a frog trapped in a well easily imagine the world outside it?"

"Even so, my friend, does it make sense for her to have made so little progress?"

"That child is doing her best. She is dutifully wavering with every push you give her, Arjio. You ought to be proud of her. She's following along far better than we could have imagined."

"I do think she'll head down the right path if we shake her up a little more..."

Seo Jio said,

"Then can't we go eat now?"

"Let's."

"Let's do that."

And so, 'Jio' decided to take the bishop and saintess to have a meal.

(To be continued)