Chapter 796
Museum.
A facility created with the purpose of displaying academically valuable materials, relics, or artworks, contributing to research or social education.
But, is this really a museum?
What kind of research, what kind of education does this contribute to.
Simon could not help but harbor such doubts.
The moment he set foot inside the museum, he saw statues covered with preserved human faces and torsos.
They had captured the exact moment a person showed an expression of pain, and stuffed it. Screaming, wailing, even strangling themselves. Though no sound could be heard, it felt as if the buzzing of screams echoed around his ears.
And the inscription before the statue declared, “All of this is parts of corrupted necromancers’ bodies.”
This place, which he thought would be nothing more than a war museum, was a museum of massacre, slaughter, and torture.
Red crosses stood upright like signposts, with actual people nailed to them. Whoever they were, they must have been alive until recently, displayed here while crucified. In the end, they were now lifeless.
On the walls, various gruesome torture devices and slaughter tools were proudly displayed.
There were peeled skins and scattered fingernails, and even a pillar made from the teeth of torture victims.
Every so often, quotations from the Holy War were inscribed.
—Once tainted by corruption, a being is forever corrupted, thus must be eradicated without exception.
—As the missionary gestured, the heretics hanging there were consumed by flames. The townsfolk shed burning tears and prostrated themselves, praising the Goddess.
It also proclaimed the fates of necromancers captured in war, prisoners who showed no resistance, and traitors and heretics who denied the Goddess.
It described which part of the body, subjected to which torture, would evoke what kind of pain and emotion.
Displayed like works of art were paintings of torture victims, soiling themselves as they begged for their lives before the Goddess’ statue, while the priests stood watching.
How could such a thing contribute to social education?
Fear?
Was the purpose to instill fear in order to maintain stability of the system. Even so, this went far beyond. Beyond the Federation and the Alliance, this was a sight that any human would find repulsive.
“Urgh.”
“Ugh.”
All around, students gagged, and even those who didn’t looked grim.
“I told you! Don’t get too worked up or immersed!”
At that moment, Grerion strode in.
“Mental strength is the asset of a necromancer! If you think it’ll keep haunting your mind, then just close your eyes or turn your head away!”
After warning the students, Grerion raised his gaze.
A tower made of the faces of necromancers who had died under torture and abuse loomed before them.
“Several I know must be here as well.”
He closed his eyes in silent tribute, then opened them.
“The Holy Federation says that raising corpses to fight again is our technique of insulting death.”
Then, stepping to the side, he closed the eyes of a man nailed to a cross.
“But what of this. They are insulting life. They seize living people, scorch their flesh, pull their teeth, crush their eyes. Then they strip them of the right to die with recovery magic, and torture them again.”
Strength pressed firmly into his hand.
“To be criticized by those who treat the living worse than corpses, I find it hard to accept. Well, history will decide which side is more righteous and moral.”
He turned to face the students.
“All of you, hurry! Let’s find the materials.”
“Yes!”
The museum was vast, expansive.
And within this enormous place, it was filled with all sorts of horrific sights one would not even want to imagine. Enough to kindle hatred for humanity itself.
But, strictly speaking, the students’ destination was not this museum, but above it.
Before long, they arrived at their true destination.
<Sheily Family>
As part of the vanguard, Simon had been briefed beforehand on the target.
The Sheily Family was infamous for dragging residents from the Dark Alliance, using the pretext of “Conversion Decree” to trample on human rights and enslave them.
A family of warmongers and butchers.
This place, before being a museum, was the mansion of the Sheily Family. Passing through the corridor connected to the museum, and entering behind the mansion, one could see the bones of lords, retainers, and the paladins who followed them, displayed proudly.
They were posed holding swords aloft, yanking chains fastened to the necks of Dark Alliance corpses, or operating torture devices. All adorned in golden necklaces and luxurious clothes.
Even within the Holy Federation, the Sheily Family could hardly be called war heroes.
They incited wars from behind, plundered cities, and profited most from war through slave trade, in truth war criminals.
In order to justify themselves, and prove their loyalty to the Federation’s extremists, the Sheily Family had built this museum of massacre and torture.
Though too grotesque, and an order of closure had been issued by Efnelle, they still endured, citing various reasons.
And in this very building, the remains of paladins who had served the Sheily Family were displayed.
“There it is!”
Students rushed over.
It seemed these remains were indeed the paladin corpses Aron had mentioned. Beneath the glass case, the horrific deeds they committed were inscribed as glorious.
—Massacre of 200 border prisoners.
—31 heretics in Poron Province executed in inquisition, personally conducted.
Craaaash!
While all hesitated, Hector was the first to smash the glass with his fist, pulling out the remains of a paladin.
Once one person started, the others rushed in as well.
“The bones are in quite good condition.”
“With this, we could……!”
According to Grerion, the paladins’ skulls were limited in number, so each could only take one at a time.
He had also sternly warned that any student caught smuggling more than one skull through subspace inspection would not escape with a light punishment.
Thus, the students became all the more careful in choosing their paladin skull.
“……Simon?”
Looking around, Toto turned to Simon.
Simon was leaning against the wall, hand pressed to his forehead.
“Are you sick?”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
In truth, he was not fine.
Since entering this building, Simon had been suffering from headaches, and an inexplicable sense of deja vu.
It didn’t seem like it was shock from seeing the exhibits in the museum earlier.
Saliva gulped down his throat, his body trembled, impatient and anxious emotions flooded his mind. He had never experienced symptoms like this before.
Simon forced a smile at Toto, who was worrying about him.
“I’m fine, so hurry, Toto. We need to find materials for the Death Knight.”
“Ah, o-okay!”
After Toto left, Simon steadied his breathing a few times.
Then, he walked away from here, moving toward another place.
Step, step, step.
He walked aimlessly down the corridor toward the back. The deja vu feeling faded, then thickened, again and again.
Soon, several rooms appeared where the floor ended. It was where the members of the Sheily Family had lived.
At the end was the room of the head of the Sheily Family. Since the door was open, Simon stepped inside.
<Leritong Sheily I>
On the wall hung a portrait of Leritong Sheily, the root of the family.
Simon looked all around.
There was no way the remains of a paladin would be in such a place, yet in this room the suffocating deja vu grew stronger.
‘What is this? What do you want me to do?’
Simon swept his palm around, examining, then noticed a mailbox on the wall. Reaching his hand into it.
Rrrrumble!
The whole wall shook and began to move. Simon’s eyes widened.
‘A hidden space?’
The wall flipped, and in an instant Simon was pulled into the hidden chamber beyond.
White lighting, white wallpaper. And everywhere, portraits of a woman he had never seen before. The woman smiling, the woman holding a sword, the woman drinking tea.
Judging from her attire and surroundings, she seemed to be from long ago.
And in the middle of the wide room stood a statue. A statue of that same woman in prayer. Simon, led by the throbbing headache and the deja vu, walked toward it.
‘This is it, right? What do you want me to do here?’
Simon carefully touched the statue. A sting shot through him, his body showing a faint rejection.
At last realizing the nature of the deja vu, Simon slowly closed his eyes.
‘I can do anything.’
The presence of Darkness in his body blurred, and abundant holiness welled up inside him.
The moment he became a priest, the suffocating deja vu that made it hard to breathe, that forced him to gulp his saliva, turned into a nameless fulfillment. Trembling in rapture, Simon laid his hand on the statue.
“!”
The world flipped. Before Simon’s eyes, two white thrones appeared.
‘So it was you after all.’
The remnants of the Saint’s Essence that had once entered and left his body.
The two thrones rose clearly in front of him as if explaining something, then vanished.
And then.
“Ah!”
The sensation of ground beneath his feet disappeared, his body fell.
Down, down.
Falling endlessly, Simon suddenly entered a new space.
A flower field full of petals. Simon felt the blossoms cushion his body as he lifted his head.
He didn’t know if this was a dream, or a place that truly existed.
Everywhere, only flower petals. With a dazed look, Simon rose and walked forward, parting the flowers.
Tup—
Something brushed against his leg. Simon thrust his hand deep into the flowers, and carefully lifted his arm.
A stark white skull emerged from the petals. Clad in white holy robes, hands placed together neatly.
In its hands was a banner marked with an unknown symbol.
‘What the…’
Simon lifted his head.
‘Where am I, and whose skeleton is this?’
At that moment, the skeleton, which he thought would never move again.
‘……!?’
Slowly rose and looked at Simon.
* * *
At the same time.
Outside the museum.
“……”
Grerion’s chief assistant sat cross-legged on a magic circle, eyes closed.
All around the building, scarecrow-shaped chimeras stood with mouths agape. They distorted vision, and blocked Darkness energy from leaking outside, a ‘barrier-type summoned beast’.
“Senior!”
Just then, one assistant came running frantically. The chief assistant, who had been concentrating with closed eyes, lifted his head.
“What is it?”
“Th-there! In the sky…!”
The chief assistant raised his head.
Woooooooong—!
In the sky floated a blood-red cross.
And within it, a horrific eye hovered, as though spying inside.
He shot to his feet.
“Damn it!”
Snatching up a communication crystal in haste.
“Professor Grerion, this is the chief! We need to get out of here! Right now!”
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