The witch of joy was dragged into the Outsider Church just like that.
If someone had lost their family to Hyungkesuni, one would expect at least one person to resist being taken to the Outsider Church, but no one opposed Dakota’s choice.
Because everyone knew exactly what Dakota’s recent question implied.
More than half of the people present here were aware of Dakota’s past. They all knew when and how her family had died.
That’s because when Dakota tried to persuade those who had lost loved ones to Hyungkesuni, she shared her own story.
And the witch, who was just now not quite aware of what she had said, threw a fit for treatment, claiming she would die from sepsis if things continued like this. Whine whine!
The people in the room glanced at Dakota for cues.
Dakota smiled at those looking for guidance and instructed them to proceed with surgery.
The churchgoers who understood her words took Hyungkesuni to a room.
After sedating her with medicine, they performed a literal surgical procedure.
A neatly severed arm was disinfected, the cut was cauterized with medicine applied, and the mangled right hand was surgically amputated near the forearm and treated.
After conducting such procedures on her limbs, they inscribed magic along her spine just in case.
Of course, for injuries like her legs, it was enough to treat the cuts, but they surgically treated everything.
It can’t be said that everyone was completely selfless, but no one pointed that out at the location.
But since she wasn’t dead, it’s certainly a happy ending for all.
A day passed.
Inside the carriage heading to the Outsider Church headquarters.
Hyungkesuni, who had just awakened from the medicine, screamed.
She awoke to find her limbs missing.
Gasp! Surprised, she screamed, feeling like a person in distress would react in front of her.
“I healed you just as you wished. Witch of Joy.”
“What kind of healing is this?! My arms! My legs! Where did they go?! Are the so-called priests allowed to do this kind of thing?!”
As soon as she considered herself the victim, Hyungkesuni’s attitude turned haughty. The outburst from someone oblivious to her current situation seemed quite pitiful to onlookers.
Dakota?
Smile!
She was grinning.
Instead of cursing, she responded with, “Receive the blessing.”
Blessing.
Hyungkesuni knew that receiving it would heal all wounds. But it comes at the cost of sacrificing something significant.
No one knew what that significant thing was.
Hyungkesuni understood what happens to a human who loses something referred to as warmth by the Outsiders.
They lose their human form and become a monster, wandering around seeking the same warmth. Once they had smuggled someone who had become a monster with Yasle’s permission, but they couldn’t contain the monster.
All magic became useless, and if they were imprisoned in a cage, they would barge through it. So before the situation became dangerous, they dealt with the monster and immediately disposed of the offering who had lost their warmth to prevent any future experiments.
Yet, one could not openly say that the Outsider was an evil monster.
Even Hyungkesuni understood that if she spoke carelessly in this situation, she could be killed there and then.
What use is it to tell an Outsider that their deity is a monster?
Who would keep alive someone they consider to be a monster representing their faith?
Instead, she grumbled, “Are you really going to give blessings to someone like me?”
The one smiling in response wasn’t anyone else but Dakota.
“Well, of course. Witch of Joy, you should receive the blessing.”
Hyungkesuni thought that she was a woman who deserved the title of saintess. But upon hearing the reality, it was clear she was crazy in another sense.
Because Dakota was already thinking about what would happen after receiving the blessing.
No one has received the blessing twice.
Once blessed, unless they gain some special ability, it’s often impossible to heal physical injuries a second time.
First, she would let her receive the blessing, then revert her back to the same state.
Dakota was thinking along those lines.
She had no intention of letting Hyungkesuni die easily. It’s fine if it’s gloomy. Even if it’s behavior unbefitting her current status, she could drop everything she had built up.
Because, finally, she could get her revenge.
That day.
Having had her parents killed right in front of her by the witch, being stabbed in the chest with a staff adorned with skulls, Dakota remembered the moment that had chilled her with fear and despair.
She was not going to allow Hyungkesuni to die easily.
While their thoughts diverged, they soon arrived at the capital of the Ansellus Kingdom, where the headquarters of the Outsider Church and the sanctuary were located.
And they were immediately taken to the headquarters of the Outsider Church.
The Outsider Church was not an imposing temple.
In fact, its appearance was quite shabby for what one would expect from the headquarters of any religion.
The Outsider Church originally purchased and remodeled several buildings in the square for use.
Yet that served to highlight the church’s name as one for the marginalized, and they had continued to use those buildings for over ten years.
And after being brought underground to a room, Hyungkesuni found an extraordinarily strange person.
“Outsider? No way! You can’t be here!”
Upon seeing her, Hyungkesuni paled and screamed. But soon realizing the woman had blonde hair, she understood who she was.
“No, it’s you! Rebecca? Rebecca Rolfe? It’s been nearly a century, and you’re still alive? Looking like this?!”
Having finally reunited nearly 90 years later, Hyungkesuni was surprised to see Rebecca. She looked exactly like the memory of her.
Not aging a day, resembling a witch, but there was no witch-like aura about her at all. So, she hesitantly asked.
“It’s been a long time. But shouldn’t I be the one to ask if you’re still alive?”
Rebecca looked at Hyungkesuni, who had been thrown onto the cold floor, and nodded in an ordinary tone, as if speaking to someone she knew.
Rebecca didn’t particularly despise Hyungkesuni. She just disliked people in general.
So even upon meeting her, there was no special reaction. Hyungkesuni, judging her as someone who didn’t oppose her, raised her severed arm.
“Let me go! Look what you did to my limbs! I wrote a book to summon the Outsiders for their sake! I’m not a bad person!”
Hyungkesuni was desperately justifying herself to survive. Even she knew that there was no good reason for dragging someone whose words wouldn’t be heard down to the underground.
She had enough sense for that.
Of course, it was a bit too late now.
So she argued that she wasn’t a bad person to the Outsider Church. In truth, she had written a book to summon Outsiders.
“Oh, this?”
She tossed a thick book in front of her. As it hit the ground and opened, it was clear just from its spread.
It was the book Hyungkesuni had written.
“Yeah, I wrote this! So what? Summoning Outsiders? Isn’t that what you want? I can help!”
But looking down at her, Rebecca showed no particular reaction. Hyungkesuni’s heart sank.
As a smile filled Hyungkesuni’s face, Rebecca chuckled.
“What a confession. To say that you wrote the summoning trap to turn them into stone.”
Giggle!
She had figured it out.
Despair brushed through Hyungkesuni’s mind. If this continued, she would surely be killed. She had overlooked the most crucial part.
Thus, she diligently mocked her excuses to survive.
“Well, it’s not like anyone can summon a god, and it’s only natural that you’d need to interpret it right? Right? You wouldn’t want your god summoned to some strange place suddenly, right? I’ll help you do it properly.”
Hyungkesuni swallowed the back part of her words. Pleading for her life could easily lead to her actual death. She knew that well because she had often killed those who begged for their lives.
Rebecca chuckled softly.
Something about it felt eerie, and a giggle slipped from Hyungkesuni’s throat involuntarily.
As Dakota gasped and tried to move, Rebecca raised a hand to stop her. She then pointed at Hyungkesuni with her finger, opening her mouth.
“This witch has a habit of laughing when scared.”
A long-held secret of Hyungkesuni slipped out casually. As she pondered how Rebecca knew that, she recalled that the Outsider had seen through her mask.
“You, you’ve been watching from beyond the Outsider, haven’t you?”
Rebecca listened to Hyungkesuni’s words and, after thinking for a moment, smiled at Dakota, who had a look of realization, then turned back to Hyungkesuni.
“Exactly. Hyungkesuni. And I saw much more than that. I saw who you once were and how you became an Outsider.”
Yet she didn’t stress that she hadn’t seen everything. Because if she did, she too would’ve gone mad.
And because of that, she knew.
People must fear the Outsiders. Because if killing them could relieve even a bit of their coldness, they’d do anything.
She couldn’t understand how she had held on until now; the cold was torturous.
She was certain that she would immediately strip away the warmth standing right in front of her, for she believed that memory of the Outsider was horrifying and grotesque.
Rebecca stepped closer to Hyungkesuni, sitting on the floor, locking eyes with her.
Hyungkesuni’s pupils widened.
She wasn’t stupid enough to not know what kind of things were hidden within those eyes.
“You. No way.”
She instinctively extended her right arm. It had been severed just a few inches from her shoulder, but Hyungkesuni intended to point with her index finger.
“By the looks of you, I guess you can’t interfere with summoning the Outsider.”
Then she stood up.
“Dakota, don’t just enjoy this alone, share it with someone who holds a grudge. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Waving goodbye to Dakota, Rebecca exited the room.
Hyungkesuni needed to grab Rebecca, but she couldn’t utter a word.
She knew Dakota’s expression well as she stepped out next to Rebecca.
“On the day the Outsider died, there was a girl whose parents were murdered before her, stabbed in the chest.”
In an exceedingly soft tone, the woman wearing the saintess mask began to speak. Hyungkesuni couldn’t comprehend what the woman standing before her was talking about. But one thing she knew was that her life was in danger.
And now, she understood that no matter what she said, she couldn’t escape.
“The Outsider saved me. After that, I lived solely to kill the witch.”
Her tone shifted midway. And the sticky hatred that Dakota had been concealing began to seep out. Only then did Hyungkesuni realize where she had gone wrong.
And she understood just where the mistakes began.
Barely.
Or far too late.
“Let’s spend a long time together. I’ve gathered many who hate you.”
Click!
With a heavy sound, the door closed.
The realization that this space was thoroughly isolated immediately struck her.
No screams would reach anyone.
