< 75. Hell of Disbelief (3) >
***
After washing his body and changing his clothes, the priest Joachim got straight to the point.
“There are incidents where high-ranking priests of our church are being brutally murdered.”
Minjun frowned when he saw the photo he took out.
‘Have you seen too many bad things in one day?’
The first victim in the photo was an orc living in Germany, the cult’s home base. He was stabbed to death with a skewer, covered in what appeared to be his own blood and filth. Dozens of incense sticks containing hallucinogenic substances were lit at his feet, slowly cooking his body from the feet up.
The second victim, a troll priest, was almost reported as an ‘unknown species’ in the press, as the German investigators could not accept the concept of a troll with all of its skin removed. It was hard to imagine how many times the perpetrator had to peel off her skin before her regenerative abilities completely disappeared. The priest’s horrific body was found buried in the bathtub of the Dreamland chapel, filled with snakes and rats.
The third victim, Balien, was an Indian. The highest-ranking winged priest in the pioneer church in the country with the second largest number of believers in Germany was found with 57 nails driven into his body. His bloody wings were exposed as if they were slaughtered chickens, and an autopsy found a mass of feathers filling his esophagus and stomach.
“This isn’t just killing.”
Minjun speaks while holding back his swearing.
“I performed a ritual.”
The scene where the murdered priests were found showed some of the characteristics of the Dreamland religious ritual that Minjun and Dragon had been forced to observe for twelve hours today.
“That’s right. The scene at the scene… is almost identical to the traces of the ritual we perform to attract the attention of the gods.”
It was too authentic to be dismissed as an imitation by an unbeliever.
What this means is one thing.
“This is an inside job?”
“Yes.”
The reason why this matter had to be resolved quietly was revealed.
An incident in which an insider from the religious order serially murdered high-ranking priests. Dreamland, which has a bad image, would become nearly impossible to proselytize if such news were to be released.
“I think you probably already have some suspects in mind.”
Minjun has been doing all sorts of things lately, but strictly speaking, he is not a problem solver. Whether as a prisoner or an agent, he does not step forward unless it involves aliens.
The fact that Joachim, who obviously knew this, went out of his way to look for him meant that the suspect was not an Earthling.
“yes.”
Minjun’s guess was correct.
The suspect Joachim mentioned was an alien who also held the position of priest in Dreamland.
However, Minjun did not anticipate his rank.
“······The Patriarch of the Earth Diocese of Dreamland?”
The leader of the Dreamland Earth congregation.
Joachim mentioned his name.
‘Does this make sense?’
An incident in which a religious leader murdered high-ranking priests who believed in him and followed him.
“If this fact becomes known···.”
“Yes. Our church could be torn apart. So officially, the Patriarch is said to be recuperating due to health issues.”
The dragon and the agent exchange glances.
What the hell is going on?
“As you can see from the photo, the Patriarch is not a native of Earth. You will know that Dreamland is not a religion that originated from Earth. He came to Earth to spread this religion, which is called ‘Elahu-Praga’ in that dimension. And while he was continuing his missionary work with his body and soul, he was forced to stay on Earth due to a sudden lockdown in his home dimension.”
Minjun, who heard the story, read the string of characters that only he could see.
.
.
.
··· Carry out special missions requested by (strategic) agencies.
48. Directly witness and report on what is happening within the self-isolated dimension #77-102: 610,000 talents
.
.
.
The Patriarch was a race from dimension #77-102 who closed all terminals of his own volition.
He was suddenly left in a foreign land during his missionary work, and it is said that he has been preaching while dreaming of returning home one day. As if expressing this will, he has not acquired Earth citizenship and has only renewed his residence permit every year, and has held out until today.
Dreamland is currently being treated as a new religion that has suddenly appeared, but it first set foot on Earth several decades ago.
Anyway, thanks to the efforts of the alien patriarch, Dreamland was gradually expanding its influence on Earth…
‘Did you suddenly get homesick? A religious leader who had been quietly focusing on preaching suddenly turned around and started killing priests?’
Minjun looked at Joachim with an expression that demanded further explanation.
“The patriarch has been acting unsteadily for some time now. He often mutters or screams out of the blue in front of people without context, saying that he must go back quickly… that he must go home as soon as possible. And, crucially, on the day the first victim was found, he disappeared without a trace, and no trace has been found since. Since then, two more people have been brutally murdered.”
There was no longer a smile on Joachim’s face.
“We know how our order is viewed from the outside. We also know that our religious rites are considered disgusting and repulsive to non-believers. However, we never harm or kill any of our consecrated persons during our rites. The Patriarch is so mad that he is committing terrible crimes against the doctrines he himself taught us. We must stop this before it gets out of hand.”
Minjun tilts his head.
“Now that the culprit has been identified, it would be pointless to dig into the motive further. But I’m curious about this. Why did you come all the way here to make this request? If it’s a sect that has people with abilities like yours, there should be an old dragon attached as a sponsor, right?”
“Yes. The great dragon Kallieter, whose territory is Germany, Austria, and eastern Czech Republic, is supporting us.”
“If we made a contract to protect the Order, wouldn’t it be okay to ask that dragon to quietly kill and eliminate the Patriarch who is murdering the priests?”
“It’s impossible. If you look at the contract between the dragon and the cult, there’s a clause that says you can’t harm or illegally manipulate the cult’s key figures. The contract you made with her under the leadership of the Patriarch also had that clause.”
Minjun frowned.
“I see. So it is impossible for a dragon that has sworn to protect a religious order to harm its leader.”
“That is, unless we renew the contract. And the only way to renew the contract in this state is for the Patriarch to personally step forward and renegotiate with the dragon, which is practically impossible. So the Order has no choice but to deal with the Patriarch on its own.”
He looks straight at Minjun and speaks.
“However, if it were possible with our own power, this would not have come to pass. The Patriarch is the one who can exert the most powerful divine power in the church.”
“I understand that you needed help, but why all the way to Korea?”
“Mr. Callieter, who came to see me to discuss this matter, personally pointed to you and asked for your help.”
Minjun strokes his chin. Callieter is the old dragon that worked together with him during the Oslo School elimination operation. He didn’t show off all of his skills at the time, but it seems that he was impressed by that and remembered it.
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“Not only is he skilled, but he also said that he is the agent who has fought and won against the greatest number of races among those currently living on Earth.”
That’s not wrong.
but···.
“Honestly, I’m not very pleased with it.”
Minjun, who had heard this, frowned slightly and said.
“Even though the target is clear, it’s not even certain which country the alien is currently roaming around in, so you want me to find it and kill it? I’m not that kind of person with a lot of free time…”
“I will come to Korea.”
“?”
The priest speaks again with conviction in his voice.
“Because I am here. The Patriarch will definitely come to Korea to kill me. Soon.”
He pointed to the photo and explained that those who have been killed so far are priests ranked second to fourth in terms of sacred power within the church, right behind the Patriarch.
And the one in front of them, Joachim Steinmeier, was the next most capable player, coming in at number five.
“If we look at the pattern so far, he will come to Korea within a week at the most and try to kill me.”
Minjun was lost in thought.
‘So you’re going to be the bait. And I’m just going to stay right next to you and break the pot the moment that crazy alien priest runs at you.’
Exchange glances with the dragon.
If an alien criminal is roaming around Korea, it is right for agents to catch him.
However, from the inmate’s perspective, it is difficult to waste time as they have to take care of an important matter soon.
‘I don’t really like security work···.’
After a brief telepathic exchange, Minjun said:
“I can only stay by your side for a week. If the Patriarch doesn’t show up within that time, we can renegotiate the contract. Of course, even if he doesn’t show up, the promised salary won’t be returned. Also, if you sign a new contract after a week, you have to pay an appropriate salary again, and depending on my situation at that time, I may not renew the contract. What do you think?”
The priest agreed, his eyes sparkling with firm conviction.
“He will definitely come. He will come and kill me within a week.”
And only after Joachim accepted another condition that Minjun had put forward, did the two sign the contract.
“And while I’m here with you, you must absolutely not worship, perform ceremonies, or do anything horrible. Do you understand?”
***
=That’s it, Sister! Thank you for using it today!=
Cathy scooped up the finished Sichuan-style eggplant fritters into a bowl, listening to the sizzling sizzle of the frying pan in a lively mood. She took a bite and smiled with satisfaction.
“Okay, very good.”
=I’m satisfied too, sis! It’s been a while since I’ve had fried food… It’s so thrilling! It’s so good that I can still feel the aftertaste!=
Telepathy was imbued with excitement.
Cash put another piece in her mouth, munched on it, and then spoke softly.
“It’s a shame that I have to eat something this delicious all by myself. I’ll consider this as practice for today and do it again later and bring it to the office.”
=Huh? Why aren’t you taking this? Aren’t you cooking it to feed that brother who hired you? Just like you always do.=
Cassie thought for a moment, wondering how much of the story Minjun had told her.
But soon I thought, ‘So what?’
Anyway, the frying pan is an artifact that only people around Minjun can come into contact with.
It was always like that. When I talked to this AI embedded in the cooking utensil, I would find myself telling stories I had never thought of before. The frying pan was a better listener than anyone else Cassie knew.
When Frying Pan heard that Minjun was currently in charge of protecting a religious person and that he was under 24-hour security, he said this.
=Really? You told me not to even come to the scene?=
Of course, there were safety concerns, but even before that, Minjun seemed to not want Cassie to come into contact with Joachim. In some ways, Joachim was a pervert worse than a frying pan… no, he considered him to be something so horrible that he couldn’t be limited to the word pervert.
=What kind of religion is it?=
“Dreamland. Have you heard of it?”
=No, this is the first time I’ve heard of it.=
But when Cash added a few words of explanation, the frying pan groaned.
=Ah, it’s ‘Ellahu-Praga’!=
“Ella… what?”
= It is the name given to the dimension where the religion was founded. Here, it is translated as ‘Dreamland’? It is not a mistranslation, but it is too simple a substitution of meaning. The original text’s polysemy is not properly expressed… Well, that would have been the best. =
Frying Pan, who had been listening to Cash’s story with interest, asks again.
=So you’re saying we need to catch the alien who first introduced that religion to Earth?=
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of such a strange mission before. And the fact that the opponent was the strongest priest in the sect made me feel a bit uneasy. Minjun’s abilities and compatibility don’t match well. But after hearing more, my worries have eased a bit.”
As Joachim had openly demanded, in order for them to properly exercise their divine power, it seems that not only the priests themselves but also the mobilized believers must all fall into a state of ecstasy. That was the reason why a large amount of hallucinogens were used in the exorcism ritual.
“I wonder if a priest who rushes at you while high on drugs would be a threat to Minjun. No matter how strong he is···”
But Frypan didn’t seem to agree with Cash’s opinion.
=Ah… That’s not necessarily true. That Patriarch is from dimension #77-102, right?=
“77··· What?”
=Isn’t this classification widely used on Earth? It’s the method used by the committee. Anyway, if the priest is a native of that place, he won’t come here high on drugs.=
“What are you talking about?”
=Let me explain it to you in terms of humans so that you can understand it easily. When humans think religiously, a certain part of the brain is stimulated… specifically, the ventral striatum. But that is the area related to ‘reward’, right? It is the part that controls the happiness and pleasure response that the brain feels in return for doing something. You can think of it as one of the factors that causes the sense of fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction that devout religious people often feel.=
Cassie wondered why Frypan was suddenly bringing up this subject.
“so?”
=Dimension #77-102 There is a similar part in the indigenous brain, but the response is much more arbitrary and voluntary.=
“···Can you explain it a little more simply?”
=The priests of Elahu-Praga exert their most powerful divine powers when their brains are in a state of ecstasy, soaked in pleasure. Humans need drugs to reach that stage. However, the race I am talking about does not need drugs. They can control the secretion of drugs in their brains more easily than the human race. Especially trained priests will feel ecstasy just by reciting scriptures in their heads, praising God, or thinking about God! The corresponding brain area will easily respond to religious thoughts.=
When she heard those words, Cassie’s expression hardened.
“If that’s the case… I should tell Minjun just in case.”
=Yes, please do! It will definitely help.=
“however.”
Cassie looked at the frying pan with a dubious expression.
“You really know a lot about everything? Why do you need that kind of knowledge about cooking utensils?”
The frying pan answered.
=To become a conversation partner with high-class hosts, it is a trend these days to have this level of general knowledge! So, what kind of cooking should I help you cook next? Since I have warmed up my body after a long time, I will also cook the next dish using boiling oil···.=
< 75. Hell of Disbelief (3) > End
