The Outer God Needs Warmth

As Andrew distanced himself from Rebecca, two individuals assigned by Hieronymus to monitor her approached.

One would think they were there to catch anyone who approached the target carelessly, but instead, the two bowed their heads to Andrew, who casually patted their shoulders and walked away.

Why? Because those two were more loyal to Andrew than to Hieronymus.

Though they were positioned as warriors of the same faith, there was a subordinate of Andrew in between them.

Of course, that didn’t mean they didn’t believe in the Future Hope Church.

They believed in the same god, lived for the Future Hope Church, and would do anything for it.

It was just that their loyalty lay with different people.

It’s like having Mr. A’s line and Mr. B’s line in a company; they simply had different favorites to follow.

If they were a real cult that could ruin people effectively, this kind of situation wouldn’t arise. Especially since Hieronymus had brought over a tested system. Therefore, there wasn’t anything wrong with the system itself.

However, even if the system was perfect, problems arise when the users are problematic.

As Hieronymus focused on expanding the Future Hope Church, he neglected internal management, resulting in cracks appearing.

Normally, one would need time to suppress such cracks into one voice, but Hieronymus simply didn’t have that luxury. To him, the Future Hope Church was merely a disposable cult. Hence, no one truly believed in it.

And the one who exploited that gap was none other than Andrew.

Originally, he was someone who had gathered the despairing with his innate wisdom and charisma to create a religion for them.

Even if that religion merged to become the Future Hope Church, could someone who believed simply change overnight?

Andrew had his own desire for a greater religion, which led him to join the Future Hope Church.

And now, he was moving slowly to seize the growing Future Hope Church for himself.

But then suddenly, a monster named Rebecca appeared, putting all his plans at risk.

If it were just a strong monster, it wouldn’t have been this dangerous.

But this monster granted power in the name of Blessing to those who followed her, providing visible proof of loyalty.

And that was immensely dangerous.

If Rebecca were to respond only to Hieronymus, Andrew would have to find extreme methods to solidify his position.

Who would trust someone who can give nothing (Andrew) over someone who grants Blessings (Hieronymus)? It was pretty obvious who would gain more trust.

Thus, he rushed to contact Rebecca.

And he heard something quite satisfying.

If she supplied offerings, she would grant Blessings. No matter who it was, she said she would side with whoever provided her more offerings.

Andrew thought, “I summoned a pretty terrifying monster,” but he also learned that even if he ousts Hieronymus, he could take his place in that position.

He even heard that if Hieronymus was absent, he could kill the monster if needed.

Or if he couldn’t possess it, just kill it.

As a person’s strength waned from exercise, Andrew understood after listening to Rebecca that she wasn’t just an transcendent being but a being bound within that body.

If push came to shove, he could kill her.

Andrew compared the scenarios of obtaining Rebecca versus killing her while devising a plan to reclaim the Future Hope Church from Hieronymus.

And the scales tipped in favor of gaining Rebecca.

The Blessing she provided was simply too alluring.

Plus, he learned there was an extra way to receive Blessings without having to steal Rebecca from Hieronymus.

It would be hard to keep track of thousands of people, so he devised a plan to bestow Blessings upon his subordinates once the time came when it became difficult to identify all the blessed people.

Only his subordinates.

Of course, Andrew had no intention of receiving the Blessing himself.

Why would he want to turn into a monster himself by receiving blessings from such a being? Are you out of your mind?

Fundamentally, Andrew didn’t connect Rebecca with the god he believed in.

He simply thought she was a monster summoned by Hieronymus through some weird sorcery.

Unfortunately, while it’s true that it was that god who brought forth the monster, Andrew was fundamentally misguided in his analysis.

But that wasn’t anyone’s fault.

No, to be precise, there was indeed someone with malicious intent meddling behind the scenes.

But that entity would probably say something like this:

“I have only spoken the truth.”

Knowing fully well how their words would be perceived, they would still say it.

Deception and being deceived slowly started to send the Future Hope Church rolling down the slope.

Until the moment it stops.

Continuous.

*

Meanwhile, Tisah swiftly moved southeast after escaping the Future Hope Church in the jungle southwest of the Cogni Kingdom.

He wanted to distance himself from the Future Hope Church as much as possible.

So, he ran away until he reached a small village.

Three days and nights. With a body that healed any wound, he pressed on. Normally, an injury or disease would have held him back, but his regeneration was too strong for them to persist. Even bugs couldn’t eat away at him fast enough; he healed faster than they could snack on him.

Bloodsucking insects couldn’t inject their saliva, and even if they did suck his blood, his body would melt away into a vivid purple right away.

With such a body, he crossed the jungle without a hitch.

The dense jungle, which seemed to stretch on forever, gradually transformed.

The stifling humidity decreased significantly, and the trees’ appearances changed. Instead of a marshy ground, it was much more solid underfoot.

The jungle became a forest.

No, to be precise, he had exited the southern jungle of the Cogni Kingdom and reached the northern end of the Ansellus Kingdom.

And there, he stood at a crossroads.

Ahead of him were nine men burdened with loads and a girl being dragged along by them. She was clearly caught in a misfortune, being led away by thieves.

If Tisah had any sense, he would have run away right then.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t defeat the thieves.

Now, purple hair was practically the symbol of the Future Hope Church.

His hair had turned purple after receiving a Blessing from an Outsider, making it unmistakable proof of his connection.

But Tisah simply could not tolerate someone suffering misfortune.

That was just his nature.

If he didn’t have such a nature, he would have used the Future Hope Church even if he recognized it as disturbing; saying being unhappy would mean nothing.

Because the reason he felt something odd was because someone who had stood by him for the sake of the god had died.

So Tisah moved to save the person right before his eyes.

The mere thieves were no match for the incredibly strong Tisah, whose regeneration made it impossible for any cut to effectively harm him.

In terms of ability alone, Tisah had learned how to fight seriously from a young age. Most importantly, he was someone who had experienced numerous practical battles.

So he easily chased away the thieves.

There was no need to kill them; he did it with his innate goodness.

He also recovered the looted goods while he was at it.

And proceeded towards the girl’s village with her.

Simply saving the girl would have earned him some gratitude, but he had reclaimed all the stolen goods.

Tisah became the hero of the village.

Just one week.

For one week, he experienced a normal life he had never known before.

A wooden house, an adult male, an adult female, and the girl he had saved.

Tisah even thought about becoming one family with them, enjoying an ideal reality.

But as I mentioned, the story doesn’t end well.

The hard-earned, first taste of human life was shattered in an instant.

The reason was simple.

His hair was purple.

Thus, someone who had received a Blessing was here, and to help, the Future Hope Church came looking for him.

As mentioned earlier, despite having a specific symbol, the Future Hope Church’s emblem had long become the person with purple hair.

Since, unlike normal church members who once hid their identities under masks and hoods, those using the special power called Blessing revealed themselves freely.

They wore nothing but flamboyant clothes that drew attention.

And a boy’s influence only made that more pronounced.

People with extraordinary abilities received special titles.

The desire present in everyone to want to be acknowledged by others combined with power to create a public display.

Of course, as the number of church members increased exponentially, Hieronymus also encouraged it to make management easier. By giving general directions to those blessed rather than instructing each individually, the rest would just take the wheel.

Thus, the Future Hope Church currently revolved around people with purple hair.

In other words, purple hair had become the power of the Future Hope Church.

The combination of appearance and power came together.

And so, the church members began following those with such appearances more fervently.

After all, following someone with purple hair meant vast acquisitions awaited them.

Do you remember the time I mentioned that the Future Hope Church liberated a village suffering from tyranny?

That had now become something they could take for granted.

The roles of cause and effect had even reversed, and every heretical village became a place that had to be liberated by the Future Hope Church.

For reference, liberation means bringing everyone in that village into the Future Hope Church while destroying everything else.

Just like how the Yellow Turbans collapsed in the Three Kingdoms, they had become plunderers taking everything around them without discrimination.

The results were predictable.

A plunderer armed with religious zeal arrived in the village. How did they know to come here?

Because it was the very thieves Tisah had chased away previously who had informed them.

The Future Hope Church members arrived and thoroughly pillaged the village.

Had Tisah’s hair not been purple, the calamity wouldn’t have fallen so rapidly upon him.

But since his hair had changed, he managed to escape the Future Hope Church.

Luck was in his favor, and misfortune chased after him like a price to pay.

Tisah fought valiantly, but it was impossible to save the village from so many church members.

When he realized his mental state while dealing with the church members, he understood he had failed.

In other words, everyone was dead.

Tisah took the hand of the girl who had become a corpse and kindled the flames of revenge.

He swore to take revenge on the Future Hope Church.

A new goal emerged for Tisah, who initially wanted only to escape from the Future Hope Church.

He buried all the corpses and started moving east again.

But like the first time he fled the Future Hope Church, there was no joy in acquiring freedom. Instead, the desire for vengeance against the Future Hope Church took its place.

Thus, he began to head towards the center of the Ansellus Kingdom.

*

Hehe.

This is fun!

It feels like watching a hero’s story being crafted!

Indeed, getting a special power in such a dangerous place and then becoming a hero is quite a common trope. But to actually witness it, I never expected that.

Normally, stories aren’t too far from reality. So seeing firsthand was extremely entertaining.

I experienced it all from Tisah’s perspective.

Of course, I only know physical information like changes in expressions, how his heart beats, and where it hurts, but I can make educated guesses about his thoughts.

Yes. So I know that he is moving forward for revenge.

Precisely toward the Ansellus Kingdom.

The Future Hope Church led by Hieronymus.

The Ansellus Kingdom, the target of revenge for Hieronymus.

And yet, an enemy of the Future Hope Church walks right in.

Their wills collide, and until reality changes, I will sit back and wait leisurely in a corner of this Future Hope Church.

But if I’m too late, Andrew might deal with Hieronymus and change the Future Hope Church.

Regardless, I will figure out how to wield the skill that summoned me into this world while living carefree, like a pet without a care in the world.

Hehe.

---