The Outer God Needs Warmth

There’s nothing left on his body now.

But judging by the fact that his whole body is dyed blue, it looks like he was really on the brink of death. It’s hard for a person to survive when the bugs inside them are rampaging.

They had those bugs inside them. To control people.

“No, no, I couldn’t have betrayed him!”

Inshimwon denies his actions. Then suddenly, he stands up and rushes towards me.

“You! What have you done to me?”

As Cheonma tried to strike, I raised my hand to calm him down. Inshimwon grabs me by the collar and shouts loudly. He seems unable to handle what he has done.

I’ve already gathered plenty of information, so it’s fine if the interest dies.

But I must use it sparingly.

I placed my hand on the shoulder of the man grabbing my collar.

“It has let you go to the point of death. Is that not being discarded? So I decided to save you.”

He probably didn’t intend to let it go. He had desperately gathered strength to bring the light. But he gave that up to survive.

The one who discarded things is none other than Inshimwon.

“No! Turn me back to the way I was! I will return to his arms! Please, do it. No! If it gets any later, I will surely be punished. Before that, I must go back!”

He exclaims in panic, his face filled with fear that he will be punished if he doesn’t return.

Ah, right. The bodies of the Cheonma Church people are filled with parasites, which they use to control people. Torturing a person from a young age leaves irreversible scars on their mind.

There are experiments too. If you give an electric shock to a dog in a place where it can’t escape, even when you open a door to escape the shocks later, it will just stand there, enduring the pain.

They call it learned helplessness, right?

They just modified it a bit. Inflict pain if they are not loyal, and kill a few as examples.

If that goes on for long, even if they have the strength to escape, they won’t even think about rebelling.

Because it’s already ingrained in their heads that they can’t flee.

So I revealed one fact to him.

“Now, there’s nothing left in your body that torments you. You can live freely from now on.”

He looks at me with a look of disbelief. But the strength in his hands is gradually fading.

He probably knows it too. That nothing remains in his body anymore.

“Inshimwon.”

I speak to him.

“Is there someone you want to save?”

Yes.

He also has someone precious to him. I wouldn’t know who it is. Normally, when a person rises to a higher position, they end up with something precious, but fortunately, this person values humans.

After all, in this space, the only thing you can feel is the value of humans.

Due to dress code regulations, they can’t adorn themselves with wealth. They have no personal property to begin with. The only thing they can obtain is rank, but that requires horrific procedures.

Even after going through all those procedures and reaching a high position, there’s nothing left but a name. The only thing worth obsessing over is a human being.

Maybe that’s why Cheonma is obsessed with Jeonyang.

Anyway.

When I asked Inshimwon, he grabbed his head with a face of immense pain. After a short hesitation, instead of opening his mouth, he raised his head and covered his lips with his index finger.

Then he pointed at three specific places: the ceiling, wall, and a certain spot.

It means there are people hiding and observing.

“Let’s clear them out.”

“Sure.”

As Cheonma stepped forward with a thud, sounds of things being crushed came from all around.

Huh?

I expected him to wield a sword or use something as he did a moment ago, but—

No, technically, he did use me, right?

Blood flowed not just from the place he pointed out, but from a few other locations as well.

Curious, I walked towards where the blood was coming from and opened the door to be greeted by shattered corpses.

The corpses resembled humans but were filled with a lot of impurities.

Arms grotesquely deformed, colorful innards that looked like they were rotting, legs sprouting countless bugs along the spine, and so on.

Yet, it seems that with one stomp from Cheonma, all were dead; there were no survivors. Of course, I realize a lot of warmth was gained from killing them all.

“The bugs are the main body.”

Cheonma, who followed me, looked down with an emotionless expression.

“It’s a common occurrence in the Cheonma Church. Though I didn’t know they’d been consumed this much.”

I returned to Inshimwon.

And I took his hand, bringing it closer to his face as I smiled.

“You can save the person you want.”

If that line came after killing someone, it might sound like I meant not to kill them, but with his blue skin, he should understand my intention.

Only I can save.

I made it appear that way.

He nodded obediently. Then, still trembling in fear, he asked me in a small voice.

“What do you want?”

I replied in a small voice, like him.

“Take me to your master.”

He bit his lip for a moment, then looked at me straight and opened his mouth. There’s a resolute determination.

“First, save me.”

“Alright.”

He seemed surprised that I answered so quickly.

“Why are you so surprised? Isn’t finding a living person better than going for the enemy?”

Cheonma was chuckling behind me. I mean, I know my words could be interpreted as caring for people.

But isn’t that meaningless among those who know what I am? Inshimwon knows what I am too.

There was a reason I shouted at Cheonma earlier. All the attempts made to somehow deal with me through strange sorcery ended up in vain.

No, I didn’t sense anything; however, it seems they tried to cast some curse or use secretive techniques to test me.

But all failed.

It’s not just that they didn’t activate; Inshimwon remembers that it vanished as meaninglessly as throwing an egg against a wall.

At the very least, if they attacked, I would have felt it, but using my harvesting period to curse me seems to have zero attack eligibility.

What a shame.

Anyway, if they misunderstand, that’s fine with me. I led him along with Cheonma to Woljedang. No one bothered us on the way. Soon, he found the person he wanted.

It was a girl.

Not a lover. Nor a daughter. Just a chance encounter, a person he had meaningless conversations with.

Everyone is pitiful.

How can they so easily allow their hearts and act as if they would give everything just because they found a friend?

But it’s too late.

“I’ll make you pay for your betrayal.”

Something that looked like a bear’s paw burst out of that person’s face.

At the same time, the girl’s body swelled up as her brow widened, and scales erupted from her skin. But her body couldn’t take it; some parts of her muscles were visibly exposed and decaying.

Her body was collapsing under the strain of the transformation.

“You, wearing the human disguise.”

The monster spoke while something resembling a lantern fish’s head hung above it.

“I don’t know what your true identity is, but don’t think you can walk away unharmed now that you’ve entered the domain of the Haedo faction.”

Haedo faction?

Ah, so this time it’s the Bonshinyun? Quite a mix of things.

Or perhaps some part of this place might have seeped into a world I once knew, but it’s not particularly important.

“Are you the highest authority?”

It grinned at my question.

“Indeed. I am Tongcheon, the master of the Departure of Division. Are you afraid now?”

So that’s what they were called. But Tongcheon, isn’t that close to being a god here?

“If you are a god, I might be scared.”

Then it burst into laughter. The one beneath it groaned in agony, further contrasting with the monster’s mirth.

“Ah, right. I am the god you fear.”

Heh heh heh.

“Yeah, I got it.”

So it’s a god.

I can take it to mean it’s the god who bestowed this biting cold upon me, right?

I can understand it as the god who has given me this freezing cold to the point of madness, right?

That’s fine either way.

I just need a target to vent my anger on.

“Cheonma. As long as you’re alive, that’s enough.”

Cheonma stepped forward. Then the bear-paw-like creature above him opened its mouth as it looked at Cheonma.

“You are like a corpse. Did you use a resurrection technique? But since you are Cheonma, there must be a pact in place. If you break that, everything you enjoy in this land will be taken away without regret.”

But Cheonma just swung his sword at the creature.

In an instant, the limbs of the girl who had turned into a monster turned to dust and vanished.

Yes. They weren’t simply cut; they turned into black dust and dispersed.

Inshimwon looked at Cheonma in shock, a gaze filled with awe that made me want to laugh.

Cheonma approached the fish that spoke above the monster’s head.

“I know of your old pact. So, this is just a final warning from the party breaking it, Immortal.”

The fish squirmed as if it found it amusing.

“A warning? A mere living corpse patched back together with flesh? Go ahead, try.”

Despite its claim of superiority, Cheonma strangely smiled.

“Run. If you can run.”

And with a shwoosh, the fish turned black and disappeared.

Cheonma turned to me, pointing at the monster who had lost its limbs.
I approached her and made a contract.

Can’t communicate?

Is your brain destroyed, unable to think?

Did you think I couldn’t contract due to that?

That’s not true.

Even if you come into direct contact with the light, it’s okay if the body suffers severe damage. How have I interacted with those who have been above the surface until now?

I recited the Contract Document.
As her body shattered like pottery, a girl with blue skin emerged from inside.

I walked over to the tearful Inshimwon.

“Now, let’s go meet the god.”

I said that while stopping Inshimwon, who was bowing his head to the ground.

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