Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 46: I Will Ransom Your Soul

“...Do you think I’m the only one being controlled, Priest?”

Mr. Layton continued.

“Imagine a puppy. The puppy grew up watching its mother wearing a collar from a young age. Whenever it sees its owner, it always wags its tail and sticks out its tongue to lick their hand, thinking it’s natural, because that’s all it ever knows. Vampires are like that too.”

The power of domination the Vampires have, is actually a great chain that binds them to each other.

“If you are born as a high-ranking vampire, you can dominate the lower ranks forever. And you think it’s natural. The dominating side thinks it’s natural for the other party to be dominated, and the dominated side has no complaints either. I, too, lived thinking it was natural.”

Until he realized it wasn’t natural in the Empire.

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Of course, the Empire is also a class society. Those born as nobles live dominating commoners.

But even that has a clear line. Even if you are a commoner, if you have the ability or achieve merits, you can become a noble, and even if you are a noble, if you squander your family fortune, you will fall.

Movement between classes is not a very common story, but on the other hand, it’s not something that happens so rarely either.

But vampires don’t have that.

“Well, actually, I’m not in a position to harbor complaints. Because I was born into the lord class... Except for Her Majesty, I was in a position to dominate rather than be dominated.”

“Is the dominance of vampires that strong?”

“To the point where if you’re told to die, you have to die. It’s more like dominating the blood rather than the mind, but there’s absolutely no way to overturn it.”

In their society, the top and bottom are practically one body, so it’s common sense that if the top gives orders, the bottom must follow.

Just as it’s natural for the limbs to move when the head commands.

It’s difficult to assert that this is wrong because vampires are a different race from us.

The Lord entrusted me with the will to decide, but this is not a matter where an outsider like me can determine right or wrong.

So I just carefully held out the Bell of Enlightment in my hand to Mr. Layton.

A miracle is still a miracle even if it leaves my hand.

Even without infusing more power, it will demonstrate its might at least once.

“Priest?”

“I now understand the Lord’s will. If this bell rings, you will be freed from the power of domination, but you will also lose the power to dominate others.”

Now I understand the angel’s incomprehensible words.

The Lord wants humans to be free, but that doesn’t mean the freedom to bind others.

-The Lord’s will regarding your second prayer is as follows.

'Oh, ye who yearn for freedom. Should you swear to respect the freedom of others as much as your own...I shall gladly bestow upon you your desired freedom.'

You cannot throw off the constraints of being dominated while maintaining the power to dominate.

At least, you should not seek such an answer from the Lord.

However, that will is not coercion. He merely gave His own solution to the one seeking an answer.

If you don’t like this answer, you just don’t have to accept it.

“Whether you use this bell or not, I will leave that to your choice.”

I have no reason to decide his life, and I have no Ability to do so.

In the end, a person’s life must be walked by oneself. The Lord can use me to help those who groan in the face of hardships that they cannot handle on their own, and save them from the pit of pain, but He does not make life-changing decisions for them.

Only Mr. Layton himself has the right to do so. What he does with this miracle is now up to him.

He can hang this bell on the doorknob like a decoration and use it, or he can throw it in the trash. The moment I handed this miracle over to Mr. Layton, it left my hands.

He, who couldn’t hide his hesitant, reluctant, and shaken expression, grabbed the bell, put it in his pocket and said nothing more.

His face was filled with complex emotions.

So I didn’t say anything either as if nothing had happened between us.

Just adding one more option for him, my calling was over. No, strictly speaking, it’s not over yet.

The Lord did not grant my first prayer, and rejected it, saying that I already have the capacity to solve this problem.

“Mr. Layton.”

“Yes... Oh, yes?!”

“May I use my Lord’s power on you for a moment? I wish to find out how the Sun’s Curse words work before I come up with a solution.”

“Oh, of course... Of course.”

Mr. Layton willingly offered his forehead.

I put my hand on his forehead, closed my eyes, and gathered the Lord’s Divinity.

Almost simultaneously, a sinister, terrible, and horrible malice was conveyed from the other side of the world. It was nothing compared to the malice a human could project.

Not even the most wicked of souls could gather such a dark and twisted resentment.

It was vividly felt from the sun, probably on the other side of the world. The sun, which was originally supposed to shine on the world without emotion, was willfully cursing them.

Even on a night without a handful of sunlight, the disgust is vividly felt, so have they been enduring this hatred until now?

They said that the Ancient Gods are the Laws of the universe.

A curse cast by a part of the universe, even at the cost of giving up its ego.

This means that a part of the Cosmos no longer welcomes the Vampires, and is ready to extinguish them at any time.

I slowly took my hand off his forehead and asked.

“By any chance, is the number of vampires gradually decreasing?”

“...That’s right. I don’t know if I should tell you this, but if we hide the truth from someone like you, Priest, it will only make us suffer. I don’t know how you figured it out, but yes, that’s right.”

“As I thought, it wasn’t a problem that could be avoided by hiding from the sunlight. This curse is actually more of a change in the laws of the universe to harm you than a normal curse, so even if you run away from the sun, which is the medium of the curse, it will eventually catch up with you.”

The sunlight shines down on the whole world, so how can any place on earth be an exception?

The anger of the ancient god carried by the light is shining down somewhere in the world at this very moment, and it is accumulating in the earth and sea. Even if that anger has no effect on other creatures, it has a negative impact on vampires.

“......”

“Mr. Layton?”

Phew. He let out a deep sigh. Only after seeing the shadow on his face could I realize that he had circumstances that were difficult to speak of. Without urging him to answer, I waited a little, and then he slowly opened his mouth.

“You, Priest, are right. Our clan is slowly... very slowly being weeded out.”

“The number of children being born is gradually decreasing, and the proportion of deformed babies is increasing. It is said that the ancient vampires had the ability to transform into various forms, including statues and blood mist, but currently, only Her Majesty and her daughter have such abilities.”

“The other pure bloodlines have either been cut off or deteriorated to lords. Her Majesty doesn’t want to admit it, but we are facing extinction. We’re just living as long as we can.”

Even if they hide deep underground in a burrow,

Even if they flee ten thousand leagues under the sea, which they can’t, the fact that they will eventually face such an end will not change.

When the universe is trying to drive them out, can I turn the situation around with my power?

“You’re completely cornered.”

“That’s why I might have clung to you, Priest, even more. Because no one else will be able to solve this problem.”

Mr. Layton nodded at Her Highness’ words. It is truly so.

The quickest way to solve the Sun’s Curse is to eliminate the ancient god itself, the source of the curse. There is also the option to get rid of the sun, the medium of the curse.

Of course, it’s easy to say, but no one could do those things.

Even if it is somehow realized, it is meaningless. The laws of the universe are not something that can be killed in the first place, but even if one succeeds in removing them, no one knows what will happen next.

If I were to predict, well, the universe will survive. Even if one law changes, only the contents will change, and the universe will not perish. But can we, who live in it also survive?

That would be a question that no one could answer.

The sun, well, it’s no use talking about it.

Even Grimudo wouldn’t be able to do such a thing.

And even if it succeeds, what’s next?

If the sun disappears, what will happen next, as anyone can predict, is extinction.

Almost certainly, all terrestrial races, including humanity, will be destroyed and the world will freeze solid.

This curse is called a curse for convenience, but in reality, it is a partial modification of the laws of the universe.

Therefore, it is not feasible to ask for the curse to be lifted. It is impossible to even convey a message to the ancient god, and even if the intention is somehow conveyed, there is a very high possibility that they will refuse.

In the first place, we should consider whether a new ego that can be discussed has been created.

“Can you do it...?”

I shook my head after seeing Mr. Layton’s desperate expression.

“I don’t know.”

Solving it is impossible. But if it’s just to provide a way to survive...

If it’s just to cover one umbrella from the Sun’s Curse, I think it might be possible somehow.

To do that, I need to create a new Ability. I’ll have to think about exactly what kind of Ability I should create.

“But I don’t think it’s completely impossible.”

Because the ego of the ancient god who inflicted the Sun’s Curse has already fallen into eternal sleep.

Then it is already a dead law. A dead law is a subject of exploration, not a subject of obedience.

The times have changed, and those whom the ancient god was angry with must have died long ago.

Only their innocent descendants are left on this land, becoming sacrificial lambs of a curse that has lost its purpose for generations.

If a dead law torments the living, it is something that should be resolved.

But how can it be solved? What kind of Ability should I create?

Can I assemble and create such an Ability with my shallow craftsmanship?

“I have a son.”

Words thrown out as if it were nothing.

But everyone flinched. I did too.

“He only had one leg from birth. Even as he grew up, his right foot only grew up to his thigh. His eyes are not red like mine, but are empty and white. Priest...... my child does not know light. Do you think my child is special? Not at all. It is beginning to be felt that the lifespan of our race is coming to an end. It’s just that before my son was born as a deformity, I was trying hard to ignore that change. My bloodline, which is of the lord class, is the same. The commoners say that if they give birth to two children, one of them is a deformity.”

The words he must have kept hidden in his heart poured out without stopping.

He just confessed to me. As if he was washing his sins.

“When we hear such stories, we ordered them to take the children to the mountains and abandon them.”

“What?!”

“Those children cannot be cured with medicine or surgery. At first, we pitied those children, but gradually we began to abhor them. Later on, we used to call them mongrels.”

I was silent, Her Highness was furious, and Roka also couldn’t hide her shock with her eyes wide open.

Sin is a sin even if regretted later, and it can never be washed away or erased.

If they really committed such an act, it means there is no way to turn back anywhere. I closed my mouth and just listened to his voice.

“It is the will of Duchess Shmira. But it is my sin that I participated in it. It was I who agreed with the pretext of eliminating the defects in advance to maintain the pure bloodline of vampires. If I had tried to resist and was subjugated, I would have had something to say, but that’s not the case either. Who can I blame?”

“This bitch...! Is she out of her mind? No matter how much the Founder promised the Vlad family a golden token of pardon, she believed in it and committed such a terrible act? Against babies who don’t even have the strength to resist?”

Mr. Layton just hung his head without a word. It was only after a while that he opened his mouth again.

“Once my child was born as a deformity, I finally realized something.”

“Of course you did, you filthy bloodsucker! Because it’s your son...”

I calmed Her Highness down, as it was not the time to get angry now. Then I gestured with my eyes for him to continue speaking.

He opened his mouth again, looking more tired than before.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? Firmly ordering to kill other people’s children, and not being able to do the same for my own child and hiding and raising him instead. Her Majesty doesn’t even know that I have a child.”

“The fact that you, confess like this without making excuses for the sins you have committed and without turning a blind eye to them, is already a remarkable thing. That remarkableness does not absolve you of your sins, but those who realize and reflect on their mistakes are bound to be different from those who do not.”

The shackles of sin cannot be broken, and one can only drag them and walk.

However, one can gain the strength to endure their weight. That strength comes from helping others.

Everything on earth cannot escape sin, and some sins are simply heavier than others.

Unless you are an angel in heaven, anyone accumulates sins while living.

“Priest. I am indeed a sinner who deserves to die. But my son... and my fellow people who have to accept the karma of destruction just because they were born as vampires, please save them.”

He begged and begged earnestly.

“Do we have to sit here like this, unable to even struggle against the sun and only run away? Is there no way to escape this terrible curse?”

“No, that’s not it. But I need time. Time!”

I answered. I told him to wait just a few days.

Not a year, not a month, but a few days would be enough.

Originally, what I cannot do, I cannot do no matter how much time I invest,

But since the Lord said that this is something I can do, it will not take much time.

“I will create an Ability to save you all and bring it to you. And with that Ability, I will ransom your soul.”

I just comforted him by placing my hand on his bowed head.

“However, I wish that you help others within your reach, until the end of your life. I will not force you to follow this. But please, do so for your own good.”

He raised his head in surprise and looked at me. I did not avoid those bloody eyes.

Instead, I simply grabbed the air with my left hand and took something out. An Ability, the Baptizer’s Water Bottle.

A crude imitation of the Lord’s miracle, the reviving spring, that I created in my own way.

Compared to a spring that can easily bestow the virtue of holy water to an entire village, it is merely a trivial power that is exhausted after just one person quenches their thirst.

However, even with this trivial power, there are people who can be saved.

“I will receive a separate price for helping your son.”

What is contained in the water bottle is water, an Ability, and the Lord’s mercy,

So there should be enough power imbued in it to liberate one person from a crippled body.

“Go and repent not before the Lord, not before me, but only to those who have been harmed by you. Whether you receive forgiveness or not, deliver a sincere apology. That is all I wish to receive for this water bottle.”

To him who received the Baptizer’s Water Bottle with trembling hands, I said nothing more.

He also did not speak to me. He just remained silent, unable to open his mouth, and only bowed his head.

Occasionally, he would raise his head and glance at me, but as soon as our eyes were about to meet, he immediately lowered his head again.

Still, I saw his eyes trembling.

“Please come find me again a day later.”

When the carriage was about to reach its destination, I opened my mouth once more.

“Let’s discuss the next steps then.”

The title of this Chapter is a biblical reference to the Sacrifice made by Jesus to save us from the sins of Adam and Eve.

The word 'Ransom' is commonly used in the bible to reference this.