Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, no one came to retrieve the items they had secretly stolen until all the items on the altar were gathered.
Since anyone who would go so far as to keep items from the altar of an evil god would be doing so knowingly, it’s safe to assume there was no one with something hidden in their back pocket.
“It must be because of the evil god’s altar, but I have a feeling the dream will be unsettling.”
The final step of the evil god’s altar was to cleanly remove the symbol that represented the evil god.
After sprinkling salt in a circle around the altar and pouring the remaining holy water from the altar as if to soak everything, they spoke.
“Now you can break it.”
“I didn’t realize the procedure would be this complicated.”
While there were some who recoiled at the mention of the evil god’s altar and tried to stay away, there were also those who, with curiosity, wanted to watch the process of the altar’s destruction.
Since all the offerings dedicated to the evil god had been gathered, I said it would be fine to watch the altar’s destruction, and surprisingly, a lot of people gathered.
An evil god’s altar would normally be something one would never have seen if they had lived an ordinary life.
If one happened to stumble upon an evil god’s altar, it would be unsettling, but watching its destruction was not problematic.
“We’ll begin. Huh!!!”
Boom—!!!!
With Princess Lasiell’s incredible strength, destroying the altar would be a simple task, but no one would be bold enough to use royal blood for such a task.
Even if she volunteered to do it herself, it would be a situation where I’d have to stop her with all my might.
“You need to break it into smaller pieces.”
“Understood. Huh!!!”
Boom!!!!!!
“It feels refreshing.”
“What’s that black smoke?”
“What smoke are you talking about? The dust?”
“No, that can’t be dust. It’s obviously black.”
It seems some of the group, who hadn’t noticed it before, now see what only I could see.
Deciding to explain to the frustrated group who couldn’t tell what it was, I spoke up.
“Because you’ve been a devout believer, you’re able to see something special. It’s not that others can’t distinguish it. They simply can’t see it.”
“Are you saying that I can’t see it, but he can?”
“Hmm-hmm!”
The ones who couldn’t see it were embarrassed, while those who could raised their heads proudly, happy that their faith had finally been proven.
“See? I told you to go to church properly.”
“I always went without missing a service!”
“You didn’t go to church to pray, you went to meet women!”
Even among them, there were some who started bickering.
As I was considering whether I should stop their fight, a question came flying in.
“So what’s that black smoke, Father?”
“I’m really curious about what that is.”
“It’s the remnants of the remaining power. It’s also the evil god’s gaze.”
“G-gaze? So, the evil god is watching us? What if he gets angry because we destroyed his altar and seeks revenge on us?”
They probably have as much fear as they do disgust for the evil god.
The number of people who have died because of them is staggering.
“The reason for the salt is that. The salt draws a line to prevent what’s outside from being seen. The evil god won’t be able to see us.”
That’s why even those destroying the altar were kept from crossing the line of salt.
“Ah~! So that’s why the salt was sprinkled, I see now!”
“It’s amazing. To think that salt can divert the evil god’s gaze.”
“So, is that why they say to sprinkle salt after a funeral?”
“From now on, I’ll definitely sprinkle salt. If you put salt in front of your house, ghosts won’t enter, right?”
“Are you afraid of ghosts?”
As the conversation shifted from the evil god to ghosts, the topic quickly changed.
“No, it’s because I’m worried that if a ghost attaches itself, it’ll be bad for my family.”
“With the Sun God present, there’s no way a ghost would attach itself. But if you’re still worried, you should keep attending church regularly. Then, there’s no need to worry.”
“Wow, I really should go to church.”
“Oh, and you must never remove the salt until the black aura disappears. If the connection of this line is broken, the evil god will notice our presence, and we will continue to be hindered.”
The moment his attention would fade would be when the last of the evil god’s wrath over the destroyed altar had passed.
And usually, once the evil god takes notice of you, unless you’re a priest, there’s no way to escape death.
“How can you know the evil god’s gaze has disappeared if you can’t see it?”
“I will stay here and guard this place.”
Who else could I trust to take care of the evil god’s altar besides myself?
While it might be possible to hire outsiders, I had learned that you can never entrust everything to them completely.
“I’ll do it! I can see it!”
“Thank you for your words, but I will guard this place. When it comes to matters related to the evil god, only a priest can handle them directly.”
It wouldn’t take long to wait until the evil god’s gaze disappeared.
The evil god knew exactly what it meant to see nothing. It meant that a formal priest had destroyed the altar following the proper procedures.
“So, we have to melt all of that and get rid of it?”
“That’s what they say.”
News about the evil god’s altar spread quickly among the team members.
They marveled at the effect of the salt, and to prove their faith, some went to check whether they could see the black aura or not, gradually easing their fear of the evil god’s existence.
However, the biggest source of interest was the “gold and treasures” used as offerings.
It’s said that if those are taken to the temple, they’ll be melted down in lava so that they can never be used again.
“Do you know how much that’s worth…?”
“Are you possessed by a demon or something?”
“No, honestly, it’s a bit of a shame. How much could we sell that for?”
It was a mystery how those who worshiped the evil god could possess such expensive jewels, but the value of the jewels they had was enormous, even at a glance.
If they were human, it would be hard not to feel tempted.
However, since they came from the evil god’s altar, their value was as good as that of stones.
“Who would buy that? It’s just a pretty stone, that’s all. This guy… he’s a bit suspicious. Should we take him to the priest?”
“No, I was just saying it’s a shame, not that we should do anything! Let go of it!!”
“How about we sprinkle some holy water on it first? Let’s not bother the priest.”
“That sounds good. If anyone has holy water, sprinkle it on this guy.”
“Ugh! It’s cold! Ah!”
Holy water was sprayed from all directions.
The man who was drenched in holy water could only escape his torment after taking a full-body holy water shower.
“Are you starting to come to your senses? Still craving that thing?”
“…No. I’ve come to my senses, so you can let go now. It just looks like a stone to me now.”
“Good. You’ve been purified!”
“Haha! You can thank us for saving you.”
Everyone was skilled and earned money without any trouble.
Yet, it didn’t make sense that they would be tempted by the gold and treasures used as offerings to the evil god.
“I’ve heard that such things have a power to seduce people, but I didn’t think it was really true.”
“Seeing it happen to someone firsthand is chilling. Ugh, it gives me goosebumps.”
“So, just by looking at it, they get like that? How do the crusaders survive without the priest around?”
These conversations all happened while they were keeping watch over the shattered altar of the evil god, now reduced to dust.
Even if the missing persons had succeeded in killing all the monsters, I thought it would still have been hard for them to survive, simply because of the altar’s presence.
I also thought that dying at the hands of the monsters would have been a better fate than being cursed by tampering with the evil god’s altar.
“I think we can move now.”
I confirmed that the evil god’s gaze had completely disappeared and informed the leader that it was now safe.
“Is the altar completely safe now?”
“Yes. Even if someone else comes to check the altar, there will be no problems.”
When I was a student, I had learned what to do if I ever encountered an altar of the evil god, but this was the first time I was directly involved in destroying one.
So I double-checked and rechecked everything carefully.
If I had made even the slightest mistake and someone were to get hurt, it would be a serious problem.
“That item…”
“It’s something I have to manage personally.”
It was truly inconvenient to have to keep carrying such a heavy burden, but nothing posed a higher risk of causing trouble than this, so I decided to keep the bundle close and move on.
The only relief was that we weren’t going deeper into a more dangerous labyrinth, but were instead retracing our steps.
“Is the purification complete?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“The priest has had a hard time. This wasn’t what I brought you here for, though.”
That’s true.
I came to treat the injured, but who would have thought I’d end up dealing with the destruction of the evil god’s altar?
The one thing that worried me now was that this might not be the end of it.
These things were like cockroaches—just because you kill one doesn’t mean it’s the end.
There must be a whole nest hidden somewhere, with more of these altars scattered throughout the labyrinth.
‘It’s a good thing I acted cautiously and didn’t recklessly touch the altar. People who don’t know any better would have just gone ahead and touched it.’
If the items from the evil god’s altar spread into circulation, it was only a matter of time before things escalated.
The worst part was that it might have already happened.
“We need to head back as quickly as possible.”
The holy empire’s crusaders had already entered the labyrinth once and left. I wondered if they had noticed the existence of the evil god’s altar.
From now on, all items coming out of the labyrinth must undergo inspection by the Church.’
If the evil god’s altar is reported, there should be compensation to make up for the value of the offerings that must be abandoned.
I needed to make sure this information spread quickly so that it could be implemented immediately.
That was the only way to prevent society from descending into chaos because of the evil god’s altar items.
‘Is it because the labyrinth is so hidden from the public eye that the heretics have been hiding there?
It’s a matter from 300 years ago, so I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like the most plausible explanation for the current situation.
‘If it was like this before, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be the same now.’
Wasn’t it the bishop who had tried to enter the labyrinth and was martyred by heretics?
I felt a strong urge to stop the heretics from entering the labyrinth.