NOVEL FROG Chapter 211
EP.211 Entering (5)
”Ha ha! Go in!”
Thud!
The place they pushed me into was a spacious stable filled with unidentified people instead of horses.
They looked scruffy compared to the citizens I encountered in the city, indicating they were from outside the city.
It wasn’t hard to deduce they were residents from the nearby village that had gone missing.
However, their condition was not much different from the guests I saw on the street.
With hazy looks in their eyes, they were all fixated on the TV placed in the middle of the stable, resembling a swarm of bugs drawn to a streetlight—it was too eerie to describe.
I tried shouting loudly and shaking my shoulders a few times, but there was no sign of reason returning to their eyes.
”What on earth did they do to these people…?”
”That…”
”Hey!”
”Ugh.”
Before I could get a straight answer to my question, my mouth was suddenly covered tightly by a hand.
Did I get it wrong again?
It had long been clear that, judging by the conversation up to now, their intellect is rather underdeveloped compared to their assumed power.
But every time I attempted to extract information during such a situation, those attempts would be thwarted each time.
”You fool! Didn’t Mother tell you not to say useless things to the newcomer!”
”Huh!”
She, herself, had just loudly spilled important information several times.
I barely managed to bite back a reprimand that almost slipped out of my mouth.
”Anyway, Pai will report to Mother! Ksi, stay vigilant until the newcomer is ready! You don’t want to get yelled at by Mother!”
”Got it…”
With that said, the girl named Pai left, and the expression of the girl named Siq visibly turned gloomy.
She fell into thought for a moment.
Mother. A new world. Newcomer.
While I had gathered quite a bit of information, I had no way of knowing what it specifically meant, so for now, it was just meaningless information.
Zing!
Suddenly, our eyes met.
Her menacing gaze, reminiscent of a soaring raptor, conveyed clearly that she didn’t want me to entertain any foolish thoughts.
If she was going to watch me so closely, I wondered why they didn’t just restrain me, but I had no way of knowing.
Was it a display of confidence that she could subdue someone like me at any moment?
Or was it simply a lack of thought?
I cautiously leaned towards the latter.
Swish!
I quietly sat down.
This was partly to convey to her that I had no will to resist, and partly to delve deeply into thought.
The words Pai left behind before she departed lingered in my mind.
“Keep a close watch until it becomes the offering.”
Newcomer. That peculiar resonance was strange, but the part about watching until the time was right stuck with me.
This was merely a hypothesis.
Perhaps they wanted to turn me into a TV addict like the ones in here?
What benefit they would gain from that was completely beyond me, though.
”Hoo…”
In a sudden wave of frustration, a heavy sigh escaped me.
It felt like doing a crossword puzzle with no hints—just overwhelming.
The fear that my life could end any moment was nowhere near as piercing as the sense of helplessness from having no path to resolve the current situation.
– Heh heh, sounds like you’re in trouble, huh?
Right at that moment.
The Holy Sword, the Archangel Ultima, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke to me.
– Oh, you don’t have to respond out loud. I’m directly talking to your mind right now. You can just think your answers, and it will suffice. No need to worry about others overhearing our conversation.
Her voice was tinged with excitement.
It was kind of annoying how the one who was whining just moments ago had suddenly changed her tone to a boastful one.
But given the circumstances, I decided to listen for now.
– Who’s whining? Ha! Well, whatever! I already knew you were the rudest being around!
I was seriously questioning who was talking to whom.
Not even ten seconds had passed since I decided to have a conversation, and already I felt an overwhelming urge to end it.
– What they are doing right now is probably “tuning.” According to Ha Gye In, it’s said they’ve been inspired. They say they’ve been possessed by the divine. The details are much more complicated, but to explain it simply for savages like you, it’s about aligning the frequencies between the heavenly realm and the human realm.
My breath hitched slightly.
With each word she relayed, instead of relieving my confusion, it was only amplifying it.
But the Sword of the Holy Sword continued her monologue regardless of my obvious agitation.
– Who are you calling a Sword of the Holy Sword! You seriously…!
Though her voice occasionally reflected annoyance, I decided to ignore it.
– Pay close attention. Hearing the voice from the heavenly realm and gaining access to divine authority is a supreme honor granted only to a select few among the chosen lower beings. However, some foolish lower beings, appearing in numbers once per generation, fall under the delusion that they can artificially manifest such phenomena.
Could it be…!
– Yes, that’s right. Those called ‘singularities,’ like you, who are slightly disconnected from the heavenly frequency, see entirely different memories of another realm, making you think you’re a special existence. Hmph! What pitiful creatures.
My eyes suddenly widened at that shocking declaration.
The shock was so enormous that being mocked with my humiliating past in front of me filled me more with astonishment than displeasure.
– The background of the divine gifting ceremonies that your lower beings are so excited about began with a fool who thought they heard the heavenly voice. Am I right?
Rubbing my furrowed brow, I sank into deep thought.
A sacred ordinance to select a future saint from across the region. The baptism.
I had already heard from the Sister about the dark truth hidden behind it.
Selecting robust children from all over the country, pouring the holy power of the divine until a saint is born—it was truly a mad act.
Once humans’ souls are bleached by the divine power, their existence in this world would completely vanish.
The Sister had described it as particularly malevolent, as it wouldn’t leave even a possibility of future repercussions.
– The thoughts and goals of those beings thrown into such a terrible hell by the foolish hands of others goes without saying. Having received power they don’t deserve, their mental state retreats to that of a child, and what do you suppose they think about this world, where they can’t even remember or be grateful for the sacrifices made for them?
Wha-what…?
– I would think like this. Disgusting. Hatred. Cursed. They wouldn’t even bear to acknowledge this world of beings who have survived using their sacrifices. They would want to make others just like them.
An acrid taste built up in my mouth.
This was reckless judgment. Absurd leaps in logic. It was surely nonsensical manipulation.
But if what she said was all true, then the actions they intended to take…
– Yes. What you’re thinking is correct. They want all living beings in this world to perish. Oh, of course, excluding those who survived their selection♪
There was a distasteful playfulness woven into that lively conclusion.
My heart raced, and my breath quickened.
If their goal was really to make the world’s entire humanity experience what I just mentioned through tuning and to embrace the ones who survive the process,
then that declaration would be no different from declaring they intended to wipe out about 90% of humanity.
– Heh heh. Do you wish to stop them? I might have a way. I am a pure being sitting at the right hand of the divine, representing the holy will of the divine. The famous Archangel Ultima. If you fulfill my small wish, I can tell you how to stop them.
A serpent’s tongue coiled around me.
A foul stench permeated the air, and the frayed, torn rope was clearly rotting away.
Yet, even that shabby light seemed to me like a pillar of purity that had come to rescue me.
– Hand over the body of the hero. The body of Triana Abigail to me. Then I’ll tell you how to stop them—
Ah, get lost.
– What!