Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 150: Domestication

Eugene, dragging his aching body, rushed to the nearest Evergreen Church—the old cathedral at the heart of Old Gemino.

It was close to “Three Forks Road”, where the Saints were born and players congregated. Despite the Investigation Knights’ attempts to locate the village afterwards, it remained elusive. At some point, even the players’ attempts to retrace their steps failed. To survive, they had no choice but to select elites to collaborate with the Temple.

Such feats could only be the work of the Goddess Herself. Eugene was certain of this belief.

These Saints were summoned by the Goddess to stabilize the world. Indeed, before the appearance of the new hero “Drake”, the Saints effectively contained the ancient Demon King’s corruption, reducing the number of sacrifices.

To this day, a surface peace was maintained between the Temple and the Saints through a relationship of “mutual exploitation”.

The Saints are the sword and shield of the Goddess—her immortal messengers. Honestly, Eugene didn’t dislike the Saints themselves, but he disapproved of their questioning of the Goddess—the sword and shield, if picked up by the wrong person, could wound its owner.

“What’s the latest on the Saints?”

Upon entering the Investigation Knights stronghold, Eugene immediately inquired.

With the old Pope’s death reported, he would need to spend several days on the “Memory Exploration Procedure” and wanted to clear up the miscellaneous tasks first.

“After the ancient Demon King vanished, the actions of the Saints became dispersed, shifting from concentrated combat to exploration in various locations.”

His subordinate reported promptly, trying to ignore the dreadful smell of blood on Eugene. “So far, we haven’t detected any abnormalities. The transactions and communications with the ‘Returning Saints Council’ are proceeding as usual.”

“’Amazon’ and ‘Hermitage’ actions are also scattered. They are more cautious than we anticipated, seemingly not in a rush to seek out the new Demon King.”

“Good work.” Eugene removed his bloodstained cloak. “What about the details?”

“Just now, a hidden area quest appeared in the center of the city. The content of the quest is quite peculiar, and our people are still investigating and verifying it.”

The subordinate continued methodically. “The confirmed information so far… The main content of this area mission is ‘to eliminate the undead dragon Telistam in the Claw Scar Mountains and find the way to the dragon’s lair.”

Eugene’s action of adjusting his cloak abruptly stopped.

“What did you say?”

“According to the Saints… a new main storyline has emerged, hence the ‘Dragon Map’ will soon be opened in preparation for the ‘Demon King Subjugation’ mission. They believe this to be very reasonable.”

‘No, this isn’t just preparation,’ Eugene thought.

Telistam was secretly murdered by the Eternal Church. Dragons don’t care about the distinctions of the Temple or the Church. In their eyes, Telistam was killed by “humans”.

Sending Saints to the dragon’s lair now would be akin to provoking the dragon leader. With the Saints’ current level, it was impossible for them to gain an advantage in the dragons’ domain.

Why would the “system”, as the carrier of “divine authority”, arrange this?

……

Not long ago, in the oracle cave.

“I’ve seen that face… I really have seen that face…”

Golden Sword leaned lifelessly against the wall, speaking deliriously as if he had a high fever. “The precious portrait of the Blanco family, the great believer Gilmore…”

Merciful Gilmore, Guardian of the Waifs.

This man was written into the sacred texts of the Temple of Life. He was certainly a Chosen One of God. Teest stared blankly for a second, then laughed out loud. “These days, to be a Pope, one must have a history of apostasy?”

Nol: “……” The Mad Monk’s focus was still bizarre.

However, guessing that the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Son might be the same god didn’t shock him; it just added some evidence to his speculation.

If this was true, then Painter wasn’t the first apostate chosen by God. As for the reason for his apostasy—

Nol pressed his temples, seeking a deliberately vague angle. “Were all your actions previously guided by God?”

The old Pope remained silent.

“Answer him.” Teest folded his arms. “His words are as good as my will.”

“Yes, all were the will of my God,” the old Pope finally replied softly, with Teest’s permission. “God chose me. I am special… special…”

“Why didn’t you change your surname?”

Nol continued cautiously, not daring to ask directly whether he was “Merciful Gilmore”. After all, if it were him keeping secrets, he would definitely consider this question taboo.

“No. No one would suspect. I only left my surname…”

Before he could finish, the old Pope’s forehead lit up with an ominous black light, and the surrounding black and red runes stirred. Nol hurriedly applied a memory modification again, suppressing any potential destruction this time.

Well, it seems the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Son are indeed the same being. If he was initially 50% skeptical, now Nol was almost 90% sure.

Unlike Painter, who betrayed on his own, the old Pope simply accepted a promotion and transfer for unknown reasons.

When Teest spoke again, his tone was full of irony. “So, the greatest believer Gilmore, the admirable guardian Gilmore… to produce a remedy for the taint of monster blood, you would need quite a few people. In the past hundred years, have you killed more waifs or saved more?”

The tone wasn’t quite indignant but rather seemed to mock, as if to say, “Both sides are indeed trash.”

The Mad Monk knew too well. According to the sacred texts of life, Gilmore was one of the strongest Chosen Ones of his time. He had eradicated rampant human trafficking and fought alone against monster armies, being a hero who saved towns.

But Mr. Gilmore was indifferent to fame and fortune; he declined the recommendation for the papacy, choosing a quiet life in a small city. He claimed he would live anonymously, becoming a humble priest teaching waifs for free.

Thus, Merciful Gilmore disappeared from the historical stage, but his good deeds were still sung by the world.

‘Fate loves its ironies,’ Teest thought, looking at the unveiled old Pope.

“Why don’t you answer? Have you forgotten? By the way, I can count those from Whitebird City for you.” The Mad Monk continued eagerly, like a curious student questioning a teacher.

“God is absolute.”

The old Pope looked at them with dead eyes, his tone devoid of any emotion. “God is absolute… I just sent them to God’s side…”

“Alright, my mistake, I actually thought you had your own mind.”

Teest poked around the statue-like old Pope for half a minute before muttering and stepping back.

Just another zealot…?

It seemed like everything was over. Now, they just needed to secure this oracle, issue false commands, and deal with Golden Sword, the unexpected eyewitness.

Next, under Fischer’s leadership, the Eternal Church could behave for a while—at least not collude with Demons to cause trouble for Paradise.

It had been like completing a high-intensity boss battle. The reward room’s door was just ahead; they only needed to open it to proceed.

But Nol felt an odd sense of discord.

“Regarding those oracles…” he began, as Teest was already wrapping up.

“Wait.” Nol said, “I want to see his memories.”

Teest’s brow furrowed. “His memories have been tampered with by the Star Stealer. Exploring them rashly is highly risky… Honey, did you notice something amiss?”

“No,” Nol said. “Just a hunch.”

There was indeed nothing unusual about Gilmore, at least not now.

But Gilmore’s transformation was too abrupt… Without a significant event, a person wouldn’t change their nature for no reason. If it were his “Tahe World”, changing a former hero’s character like this would surely lead to player backlash.

And he always felt that the “domesticate” mentioned by the candle wasn’t so simple.

Teest’s troublesome nature had been evident all along. The Mad Monk’s obsession was no less than his power; such a person would rather self-destruct than submit to someone they don’t acknowledge and could never be “domesticated”.

…Could it be that “Merciful Gilmore” was “domesticated”?

How did Star Stealer accomplish this?

Concerning Teest, Nol was reluctant to let go easily.

“I’ll be careful in my investigation. Don’t worry,” Nol said. “I’m better at magical analysis than you. If something is wrong, I’ll stop immediately.”

“Don’t look at me like that—the risk of taking Gilmore out is too high; he must be dealt with here.” Seeing Teest’s disapproval, Nol specifically added.

After passing this village, there’s no more shop*.

*(过了这个村，就没这个店) Proverb referring to opportunities are rare and cannot be missed casually.

“If you hadn’t mentioned, I’d have thought your energy was infinite.”

Teest feigned surprise, tightening his grip on Nol’s arm. “Shh, let me tell you a secret. There’s a monster in this world called ‘Fatigue’, which you might not have encountered—this adorable little thing hides in your ears, and if you’re not careful, it will bite through your eardrum and gnaw on your brain.”

Nol: “……”

Nol: “Thanks for the concern, but I’m not that tired.”

His knight seemed not to know how to care for people normally—his concern was always aggressive.

“Since you insist… While you’re busy, let me handle our Golden Sword.”

Teest’s tongue click echoed in the cave. “I’ll try to be gentle and not hurt his brain.”

……

Golden Sword showed no resistance to Teest’s memory manipulation. Teest showed him a bit of respect, proceeding slowly and meticulously, indeed causing no damage to his brain. When the magic concluded, Golden Sword Billy fell into a deep sleep. Teest was certain that he wouldn’t remember anything that happened that day—including the Alva Merchant Company’s promise of a hefty reward.

It was the first time someone had used him as a free bodyguard. Who knows if Golden Sword Billy had this intention from the start.

Teest wordlessly flicked off the gem shards from his body, the dim light shimmering non-stop on the shards, making Billy shine even more than the brainless “Loser” next door.

Teest, with his youthful body, picked up the adult Golden Sword and roughly flipped him over a few times to make sure he hadn’t used any suspicious gems. After confirming for the hundredth time, he turned his head for the hundred-and-first time to check on Nol.

His Nol was standing behind the Pope with his palm on the old Pope’s nape.

Blue runes spun around him, fast at times and slow at others, while the Pope’s magical fluctuations were like the flames in a blacksmith’s furnace, bursting at times and then subsiding, fortunately without exploding completely.

About two hundred years seemed to pass before Nol finally let go. The moment he released his hand, he collapsed, hands on the ground, retching.

Teest almost teleported to his side, supporting Nol’s body. “What happened? …What did you see?”

Nol wiped his mouth, shaking his head. “It’s too terrible, better you don’t see it.”

He didn’t want to pass on the scene he just witnessed to Teest.

In Gilmore’s memories, he saw hell. Compared to the first few years after “Merciful Gilmore” disappeared, the adventures he and Teest had undergone were practically like a vacation at Disneyland. All the bizarre R-rated films Nol had seen on Earth combined didn’t compare to a fraction of it.

Teest dropped his jesting demeanor. “I can’t see it. How bad is it?”

“It’s like if I stabbed you with the letter opener in the middle of the night, destroyed your gold wheel in front of you, and then told you, ‘Actually, I am the Star Stealer’, all the while laughing at you… about ten times worse than that.” Even a Mad Monk wouldn’t have sins deep enough to witness such things. Nol weakly wiped his mouth.

“……” Teest’s expression vanished completely, and his tone became somewhat stiff. “And yet you endured it.”

Nol coughed twice, revealing a bitter smile. His stomach was still churning, and he could maintain the most basic rationality, not being destroyed by those horrific memories, for one reason only—

“Only looking at his memories, it was very coherent and normal. But in his-his worst memories, people had no faces.” Nol whispered. “Gilmore himself didn’t notice anything odd, but I, this ‘intruder’, could still tell… I think I probably know what ‘domestication’ is now.”

“Implanting a false life, directly twisting the personality—I don’t know how the Star Stealer does it. But it really is…”

Too cruel.

It was as if someone had seen through the personality of this former hero and silently destroyed him in a targeted manner. The entire process was nothing but darkness, pain, and despair—it couldn’t even be called a “story”.

And to smash a person’s spirit to pieces makes them easy to control.

If it weren’t for seeing the remains of the Flama family with his own eyes, stepping into the Eternal Church of the past… whether Teest’s twisted memories were true or false, there was a moment Nol hardly dared to be sure.

But in terms of results, Mr. Gilmore had also suffered years of torment in the “non-existent Eternal Church”.

Thinking this, Nol felt nauseous again.

For the first time, he truly felt the terror of the “Star Stealer”. The companions by his side, who knows when they might change temperament, suddenly having breakdowns or hatred. Even they themselves…

…Is your memory real?

…Is your existence real?

Nol grabbed Teest’s hand, looking into those golden eyes. He couldn’t help but raise a terrifying thought—if he had already been “domesticated”… if he had been implanted with memories of Teest dying in front of him… if Teest wasn’t real…

Could he himself manage not to break down?

“Teest.” Nol softly repeated the other’s name, staring firmly at that face, fearing the features would suddenly disappear. “Teest…”

“Shh…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Teest awkwardly extended his arm, embracing Nol.

“You’ve just thought too much. You’re too tired, easily influenced by the surroundings,” he said. “Rest for now.”

Nol grabbed Teest’s arm with a backhand grip. Never before had he grasped so tightly. The latter just calmly looked at him, as if feeling no pain. “There are oracles… to deal with—to arrange…” Nol’s face was pale. “Billy… the dragon… outside…”

Teest finally curved his lips into a smile. “Well, at least you weren’t swayed by that guy.”

Then he reached out, gently covering his eyes.

“Our hunt can wait.” He kissed Nol’s nose. “Everything can wait, honey.”

“No, it’s not over yet,” Nol murmured. “The system… The system hasn’t yet settled the quest.”

When they saw the High Priest of Fischer again, the ordinary achievement condition of “Finding the missing Miss Fischer” got a prompt. But even now, with the old Pope dead, “Thwart the secret operation of the Eternal Church” remained motionless.

The overdue quest prompt, the bloody memory of the old Pope—they became the coldness clinging to his body, washing over his nerves time and again.

At that moment, the headless torso in the center of the cave convulsed violently again.

Its body was surrounded by a brilliant golden light, far more spectacular than the oracle before. Characters and images incomprehensible to the onlookers spun wildly, condensing into a fist-sized ball of light. Before the two could react, the ball of light plunged into the old Pope’s mouth on its own. The old Pope’s eye sockets and mouth were filled with bright light, transforming into some unknown monster.

[Where dragons are born, where mistakes converge.]

[The master of the world returns to the start of the dream, and you will find what you have lost…]

At this point, the body of the old Pope also convulsed strangely.

[Lost knowledge is reset, and pursued desires are fulfilled. You will receive the aid of fate, and you will find the answers you seek.]

A prophecy.

A prophecy that was triggered automatically, without anyone asking.

At the same time.

[You have completed the rare hidden quest: The Demons’ Conspiracy]

[You have met the perfect achievement conditions for the “The Demons’ Conspiracy” quest: Finding the missing Miss Fischer; Thwart the secret operation of the Eternal Church.]

[Quest Reward: A large amount of experience points [Normal] is being settled; Dragon’s Lair Secret Passage [Perfect] will be settled in subsequent events.]

Nol decisively accepted the experience points. White light, accompanied by power, flowed into his body. His muscles’ fatigue disappeared with the leveling effect, but his temples were still tight, throbbing in pain.

He released Teest, staggering a few steps.

In the system settlement notification sound, the old Pope turned around with Nol’s movement, his expressionless face always facing Nol. He repeated the prophecy over and over again with the unique hoarse voice of the dead.

[You will receive the aid of fate, and you will find the answers you seek.]

[You will receive the aid of fate, and you will find the answers you seek.]

[You will receive the aid of fate, and you will find the answers you seek.]

Behind them.

The supposedly sleeping Embilly Alva opened his eyes, as if invisible fingers had lifted his eyelids. Those ash-gray eyeballs moved stiffly in their sockets for a few seconds, finally turning in the same direction—towards Nol and Teest.

They turned so forcefully that the pupils nearly cramped at the corners.

They watched quietly.

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The author has something to say:

The end of this arc. Entering the Dragon’s Lair next arc.

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