LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 341
“I…”
The High Priest spoke with deep contemplation.
“I believe we should differentiate based on the gravity of the sin.”
“Gravity? Light and heavy?”
“Yes. I think we should treat them differently depending on how much sin they have committed and how serious that sin is.”
The gravity of sin…
“Just as Shamash, the God of Law and Justice, strictly distinguishes and deals with all sins, wouldn’t it also be right for those who fled the temple and became necromancers to face varying punishments based on their crimes?”
“Indeed. Even if they have all fled, it should depend on the sin committed.”
Well, it’s usually correct. Not every necromancer harmed others to gain their power.
How could we punish someone who merely committed grave robbing in the same way as a murderer?
“That makes sense.”
“Yes. We should measure the weight of the sins of the necromancers, and those who took many lives should be branded with a soul mark so they can face their judgment in the underworld, after which all their magical power should be burned away, and their limbs’ muscles severed, sending them to South Romania.”
“Execution will be carried out in South Romania, then.”
“Yes. They would want to personally execute those who caused the problems.”
“Indeed… Since they are people we cannot spare anyway, we’ll leave the cleanup to South Romania.”
In doing so, the discontent of South Romania would likely subside.
“How many necromancers have we captured here?”
“154 in total. Among them, 52 have committed serious crimes.”
“Does South Romania know that number?”
“Not exactly. The inquisitors detained them and transported them without notifying South Romania.”
“In that case… Let’s deal with those 52 serious offenders that way. After all, a human whose muscles are severed and magical power completely burned cannot live long.”
“I understand. Then what about the remaining 102 whose sins are relatively lighter…?”
The High Priest spoke with a measured voice. It seemed he wanted to help them if possible…
“Among those with lighter sins, is there anyone who harmed a person?”
“To my knowledge, no. Most have either robbed graves, stolen corpses, or killed livestock to absorb the energy of death from their remains.”
Indeed. They seem to be those who haven’t crossed the line.
“Many among them were originally devout priests of the church or young children entrusted to the church. It seems they were compelled to follow as the atmosphere of the temple shifted towards the necromancers.”
“Compelled, you say… And what about those who’ve committed serious crimes?”
“Most of them were former mages.”
Hmm. Is the issue really with the mages? Their excessive curiosity leads them to overlook the lines that shouldn’t be crossed!
Exploring knowledge is fine! But they should respect what should be respected!!
Or perhaps they approached with such intentions…!
“Huh… From now on, when mages are admitted into the Church of Life as priests, please pay special attention to them. There’s no guarantee such events won’t happen again.”
“I have already given that directive.”
It seems the High Priest shares the same thoughts as me! While high curiosity is good, they must not engage in what should not be done!
Ah, but what I should focus on now is not this.
“So, what do you plan to do with those whose sins are lighter?”
“I would like to impose an appropriate punishment if possible, allowing them to atone for their sins…”
Hmm. Atonement, atonement…
Pilgrimages for atonement… Hmm. It doesn’t seem that different from what the pilgrims are already doing.
If that’s the case, perhaps we should create a temple so they can’t escape like a prison, allowing them to atone for their sins?
Preparing a secluded monastery-like environment for atonement might not be a bad idea.
After the period of atonement is over… perhaps using the energy of death for tasks ordinary priests cannot fulfill wouldn’t be so bad.
After all, they would be more accustomed to death than other priests, so managing matters related to funerals or… walking the remains of the deceased back home after embalming them, or temporarily summoning the souls of the deceased through communication with the underworld? Ah, of course, reincarnation might be too much!
I thought it might be possible to utilize necromancy… but that seems too risky! Let’s stick to tasks that won’t cause problems!
Anyway, by properly utilizing the knowledge and magic of the necromancers, if we can create sanctified magic, wouldn’t that be acceptable?
Roughly… in the sense of a priest of death. A priest burdened with sins, living to atone!
Of course, it must remain a secret to the outside world. After all, it seems the notoriety of the necromancers, who stirred trouble by raising the dead, has spread quite a bit.
“For now, let’s have them spend time at the temple that previously caused issues for atonement. The duration will vary depending on the gravity of their sins… but let’s limit it to a maximum of 10 years.”
A maximum, of course. If they commit no further sins, they should be able to leave quickly.
“Ten years at most… Isn’t that rather long?”
“However, in a human lifespan where it’s hard to live past 60, 10 years is quite a length of time. Of course, they will need to be monitored afterward to ensure no further sins are committed…”
Once they have atoned for their sins and been released, if they sin again, it will be hard to earn forgiveness then.
“I understand. I will consider assigning them to a place like the inquisitors to monitor them.”
“Oh, please ensure that they are released if they don’t cause problems for a certain period. Roughly twice the duration of their atonement?”
“Understood.”
So, it seems we can handle the atonement of those who have sinned like this.
“Oh, after that, I’ll create a few pieces of sanctified magic that properly utilize the energy of death.”
“Is that alright? The energy of death…”
“Death is also a part of life. Just as excessive use of medicine can turn toxic, while reducing the amount of poison can make it medicinal, the energy of death can also be treated in such a way.”
And if negative sentiments towards death arise due to the necromancers… it might lead to some negative sentiments towards me, who has aspects of the God of Death!
Death itself is not wrong! It’s the reckless misuse by the necromancers that is to blame! That’s the idea.
“We shouldn’t harbor the belief that death itself is negative. Life persists by overcoming numerous deaths throughout the process of living. To deny death is to deny life itself.”
“That is true, but…”
“Thus, I shall contemplate sanctified magic that applies the necromancers’ magic. If we use their magic properly, it can benefit many.”
For the magic of absorbing vitality, we can create spells that weaken enemies while healing others, and for the technique of moving corpses, we could even help the deceased walk back to their homes.
Additionally, we might utilize the bodies of fallen monsters temporarily as allies or restore those who died horrifically to normal appearances, or facilitate communication with the recently deceased souls… I can achieve these with the sanctified magic I create!
Oh, and let’s add that too. A magic that purifies the energy of death emanating from corpses into clean energy for use.
The energy of death coming from corpses is inherently a longing for life that they do not possess. It’s hard to use directly.
If we leave that energy unattended… it may accumulate too much and the corpse might suddenly rise. Hmm.
Therefore, let’s create suitably helpful sanctified magic and appoint those who have fully atoned for their sins as priests of death to teach others.
In a way, it might feel like a punitive task force, and they may end up doing jobs that others shy away from… but…
Still, such roles must exist.
—
“Priests of death?”
“Wasn’t that just a rumor?”
A rumor began to circulate among the exhausted soldiers.
Rumors about priests of the Church of Life adorned in black robes.
Despite the priests of the Church of Life always wearing white, it was said that black-robed priests had been spotted among them.
“But, yesterday, the guard said he saw them and secretly told me!”
“The guard from yesterday… was it Jack?”
“But Jack… died in the battle this morning.”
At those words, the atmosphere among the soldiers darkened drastically.
At the forefront, facing the Demon King’s forces. A fortress where they fought daily against the endless waves of enemies, risking their lives.
An intense battlefield where the next moment could claim anyone’s life.
“Talking about priests of death is just bad luck.”
“But…”
“If you don’t want to die, don’t bring up such foolish rumors. You do remember who we’re fighting, don’t you?”
“……”
The soldier who brought up the rumor of the priests of death couldn’t withstand the gazes from around him and quietly fell silent.
The primary enemies on this battlefield were corpses that had risen from death.
“Alright. Enough nonsense. Get your weapons ready. You never know when those bones will come rushing in.”
Thus, they erased the rumor of the priests of death from their minds.
“That over there…”
In the midst of countless corpses flooding the battlefield, they could see the black-robed priests moving quietly.
Among the white-robed priests, a few black-robed priests advanced silently with their heads bowed.
As they stepped onto the battlefield, the cursed beings resurrected from death could no longer move.
As they knelt in prayer on the battlefield, the revived ones surrendered to death once more and laid their bodies on the ground.
Once their prayers ended, no longer did the living corpse exist.
Thus, the black-robed priests, concealed again among the white-robed priests, began to head toward a different destination.
The soldiers who witnessed such priests began to refer to them not as priests of death, but as priests of rest.