The Church of Outsiders (4)

The moment I revealed my horns, they were extremely shocked.

Even among Mutamit, it’s rare for someone to deliberately conceal their heteromorphic traits.

After all, there has never been a case of a Mutamit pretending to be an ordinary human who has gone public in the world.

If they had that information, it was only natural for them to be surprised.

But what would be even more shocking was the fact that I, too, was connected to Mewzealand.

“So that’s it. You stayed in our world for 50 years and then returned to your home, Earth.”

“Yes.”

I was relieved that they understood quickly.

Since they had already experienced dimensional travel themselves, they accepted it easily.

“But what exactly did you do in Mewzealand?”

“Yeah. I get that you were a demonkin, but what did you do for a living?”

“If you spent fifty years there, you must have made quite a name for yourself.”

Made a name for myself?

That was an undeniable fact.

During the period when they were around, I would probably have still been growing, but at this point, there wouldn’t be any demonkin or humans who didn’t know who I was.

“I just drifted around. Worked as a mercenary and then lived quietly, avoiding humans.”

“And then you just kicked the bucket and only your soul returned to Earth?”

“Does that even make sense?”

Honestly, it doesn’t make sense.

Even though I’ve experienced it myself, it’s impossible to explain it in a way that would make anyone accept it.

Is it plausible to get hit by a car, cross over to another world, reach max level, and then return to Earth—starting over again from age one at that?

No matter how much we’re in an era of hunters and open gates, the hurdles to proving this are just too high.

“To just get to the point, what I’m saying is that I’m someone who can be of help to all of you.”

“…”

Explaining any further would only complicate things.

The fact that I could be helpful to them was already sufficiently proven.

“As I said earlier, we’re the ones who took down all the hunters who attacked this church.”

“That’s…”

“Thank you so much.”

The pastor carefully expressed his gratitude.

He still had doubts, but at least acknowledged that I was someone trustworthy.

After all, even the princess’s daughter, whom they served, was traveling with me like this.

“But did you really spend your time in Mewzealand as just an ordinary demonkin?”

“Yeah. Those attackers didn’t seem like they were ordinary at all.”

“I didn’t just waste my days away, after all.”

“…”

I couldn’t tell the complete truth.

It would be risky to say I was the Demon King.

Especially now that it is confirmed that there are other people from Mewzealand staying on this Earth—people like the pastor and the nuns right in front of me now.

‘Luckily, these people are at least friendly to other races.’

But there were definitely those who weren’t.

If my true identity was revealed to those kinds of people, what would happen was obvious.

They would do anything to catch me, and in the worst-case scenario, they would target those close to me.

Just like the Sura Guild guys earlier.

‘What did my father, mother, and Yunhee ever do wrong?’

I couldn’t put them in danger just because I slipped up.

As soon as those kinds of people found out who I was, they would definitely act.

They’d claim justice with their mouths but discriminate in action—and they wouldn’t hesitate to kill ordinary people for their cause, not just people from other races.

And they’d do it as if it were the most natural thing.

‘That’s why no one currently knows that I am the Demon King.’

Even when talking to Kwon Yongha, I never once said anything about being the Demon King.

I just explained what kind of place Mewzealand was.

Just that alone got Kwon Yongha all excited and dancing.

Seriously, that pervert.

“By the way, you said you came over through a rift, right?”

“Yes.”

“What was that exactly?”

“Hmm… From our situation, it was nothing less than a rescue boat, but why it suddenly appeared is a mystery.”

The pastor spoke while thinking carefully.

A nun sitting next to him also voiced her doubt.

“There was no information about such rifts inside the Empire, either.”

“Right. Even when we were living as a wealthy family, not one person claimed to have seen something like that.”

Even my Demon King’s army’s intelligence division knew nothing about such rifts.

If there had been, I wouldn’t have had to clear insane missions just to get back to Earth.

“And do you know what it felt like when we first saw that rift? It was like being sucked right into it.”

“Yeah! The moment you saw it, your body would just go in on its own.”

So once you saw it, it was already too late?

What is this, a black hole?

Then if you got sucked in without a chance to let anyone know?

And if the rift closed immediately afterward?

If that was the case, it would make sense that the information didn’t spread.

Of course, it’s just speculation.

“I’m sure there are more people besides us who got sucked in that way.”

“There must be plenty here already. Like the ones who attacked us earlier.”

Earlier, the Sura Guild that targeted the church—

Those guys were also people who crossed from Mewzealand to Earth.

It’s unlikely that’s true for everyone, but most of the founders or executives of the guild probably are.

“What reason could those people have for attacking this church?”

“It’s obvious, because we’re traitors.”

“We abandoned the humans and helped the dragonkin, after all.”

Technically, they were traitors.

Other races, including demonkin, are no different from humans—they are sentient beings with souls of their own.

Having realized that, betrayal was possible.

“If there’s an element that could be harmful, it’s always eliminated. That was exactly the method of the Reveli Empire.”

“Did you run into them before today?”

“Yes. One came to see us a month ago and asked us to join them.”

Though they said ask,

The pastor added that it was practically a threat.

Brandishing a blade and making demands—like a mafia or yakuza.

“So we pretended not to know a thing, acted like we’d never heard of Mewzealand.”

That was when he first came.

He had come to the wrong people.

We didn’t know what Mewzealand was.

Completely denied it. But…

“It was all pointless—because of this mark…”

The pastor pointed to a mark drawn on his bracelet.

The same mark was posted all around the church.

It was the symbol of the dragonkin; clear evidence that this church was connected to Mewzealand.

Once that was discovered, there was no going back.

“I’m sorry, everyone. If only I hadn’t put those marks on everything to remind us not to forget the Dragon King…”

“No, we agreed to it. We’re also responsible.”

“Besides, nobody expected that people from that world would come here as well.”

The pastors and nuns apologized to each other.

They didn’t start blaming one another over a single mistake.

That alone showed they were different from other people.

If they’d asked the Demon King’s army for help, we would have helped right away.

“Anyway, that guy visited periodically for a month. Even got in the way of our services.”

“Kept showing up armed, so rumors started in the neighborhood.”

So that’s why the bus driver was talking about the knife-wielding thugs.

“Yesterday, he made a dreadful proposal. He threatened to take my son with them by force.”

The pastor who founded the church spoke angrily.

It was essentially an attempt to take his son as a hostage.

I’d heard of his son, too.

He’s an awakened, and just like me, he attends Hand.

“What did you do?”

When Sang-ah asked worriedly from the side, the pastor answered boldly.

“What do you think! I told him to f*** off.”

“And at the same time, I splashed him with sewer water from the back yard.”

“Haha! Just thinking about it makes me feel better.”

He really let loose, telling them to get lost in style.

But the price was provoking them.

“After that, he got furious and threatened to make us pay for it.”

Until then, only a single person had come, but… after the sewage bomb, things escalated.

He summoned his guild members and decided to attack the church outright.

“I knew they were coming today, so I gave a warning to all the parishioners.”

“And while hiding in the barrier, we ended up meeting you like this.”

They could have run, but the barrier was not useless.

Of those I fought outside earlier, none had seemed to notice the barrier.

Not even the strongest one, the A-rank hunter,

could have penetrated it.

“But this place isn’t safe anymore, either.”

“Yeah, they may have retreated for now, but they’ll be back with even more next time.”

Actually, I didn’t let any of them leave—I incinerated every single one.

None escaped, so there shouldn’t have been a chance to call in reinforcements.

I even broke the A-rank hunter’s communicator.

But these people were still exposed to danger.

“Then we’ll have to move.”

“The problem is, there aren’t many places we can go.”

Even if they moved with the church, their faces were already known.

Wherever they went, the Sura Guild guys would track them.

However—

“Don’t worry. There’s an organization that can protect the pastor and nuns.”

“And where’s that?”

“In Mewzealand, you all were originally nobles serving the dragonkin, right?”

“That’s right…”

“Then that guy will love it.”

That pervert guildmaster.

“By the way, did the Sura Guild people say anything else?”

“Like what?”

“Their objective, for example.”

Might as well try to get a bit more information while I could.

“Ah, I did hear something like that once.”

The pastor exclaimed as he recalled the past.

“When I asked what their purpose was, he answered like this:”

Awaken the great Sura.

For that, they needed as many personnel as possible.

That’s what the pastor said he’d heard.

“Sura?”

“How do I put it… In religious terms, think of it as something like a chosen agent of a god?”

Like a saint from a fantasy story?

I wanted to ask more about this ‘Sura’, but it seemed even they didn’t know much.

****

Meanwhile, at the Sura Guild headquarters…

In a room inside the grand building, several guild members were holding a small meeting.

But, as if they were discussing bad news, the mood was grim.

“Lost contact with Ryu Won.”

“The same with his subordinates.”

Two guild members spoke with serious expressions.

Ryu Won, Captain of Sura Guild’s Squad 1,

an A-rank with a high reputation among captains.

“Life readings are flat. No need for words—they must be…dead.”

“How could this happen?! It was just a church raid, nothing special!”

Everyone reacted gravely to the loss of an outstanding comrade.

At that moment, the girl with her face covered by white cloth raised her hand.

With that, the tempers in the room cooled instantly.

“Apologies, Sura-nim.”

“No, it’s fine. But still, why… Why is everyone so obsessed with that church in Korea?”

It’s not even a big place—just a church you’d see in any neighborhood.

Sura herself couldn’t feel why it needed to be targeted.

A guild member next to her explained:

“They’re lackeys of evil from another dimension. Outwardly they hide in human society, but behind the scenes, they worship demons.”

“They betrayed humanity once before, siding with the dragonkin. Their intentions here are obvious.”

“If worst comes to worst, they could even threaten Sura-nim’s life.”

All dangers must be eliminated.

That was the procedure needed to ensure the safe growth of Sura.

“At least Ryu Won left behind some comms during the fight. Shall we play them?”

It was traces of the battle, recorded on his communication device.

It might be the only clue to the perpetrator.

The group agreed, and replayed the recording.

[Then let me change the question. What about the pastors at this church? Did you kill them all?]

A mysterious male voice was heard.

No, to be exact, it was a boy—a middle schooler, at most.

[Not…yet. There was no one inside.]

[Why are you looking for them?]

The voice of Ryu Won in pain came through.

What kind of attack could have put him in such agony?

[By the way, I have something to tell you.]

[What is it?]

[Bzzzt—]

Suddenly the communication was cut.

Everyone felt heavy at it ending at such a crucial word.

Then—

Thud—!

“S-Sura-nim?”

The girl slammed the table and jumped up.

Shaking, the girl whose face was hidden by a white cloth, spoke.

“That voice… I’ve heard it before somewhere…”

It was a voice unbearably familiar.

And from beneath the white cloth, tears trickled down Sura’s face.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

What is Sura? Is she a demon as well? I feel like she’s also a demon…

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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