The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 122

Argio is not a name.

『Ar』

Cruel.

『Gio』 freёwebnoѵel.com

Beast.

“I’m a monster?”

It meant ‘cruel beast.’

“There are evil spirits in quite a few dungeons.”

Inside the dungeon, which had a strong primitive religious color, the Sun Cult priest, Kang Seo-dam, explained.

“Compared to traditional gods who value peace and mercy, there are a lot of them. Does any brother know why?”

“Unlike traditional gods, evil spirits can be easily created artificially.”

“That was a good answer, Sister Iruda.”

Thump.

Kang Seo-dam said, placing his wand on the mossy marble floor.

“It’s not hard to make a white garment that has been stained with black paint even blacker. You can smear it with charcoal, crush it with dirty shoes, or put it in a mud pit. However, from the moment a white garment is stained with black paint, it can no longer be called ‘white clothing.’”

The monsters’ corpses were burning around Kang Seo-dam and the priests-to-be.

“It’s much easier to make clothes black than to keep them white. It’s much easier to become corrupted than to maintain a noble mystery. There are more ways to become dirty than ways to become pure.”

As the monsters’ corpses completely turned to ash, Kang Seo-dam looked around.

“This place certainly seems safe. I’ll take a short break and continue the story. All priests-to-be, please take your seats.”

“Yes, priest.”

The young priests, all around ten years old, gathered together and sat down near the old altar. There was blood and bones here and there, as if it was a place for offering sacrifices, but there were no children who would be scared by such things.

Kang Seo-dam continued speaking while standing after confirming that all the priests were seated.

“Similarly, there are many ways for evil spirits to be created compared to traditional gods. Just like the dungeon we just visited. This was a place where living sacrifices were offered to evil spirits.”

“Didn’t that happen on Earth?”

“Yes, the Sun Church understands that it is a history from another dimension. The name of this religion is Sankalut, and they torture newborns and the elderly in creative ways and tie them to altars until they die.”

It was a horrifying story for children to hear, but no children were afraid, even if some were tired of it. It was evidence that the current Earthlings are living lives very close to death and suffering.

Kang Seo-dam also continued his explanation gently.

“The interesting thing is that the evil spirits worshipped by the Sankalut Church were created beings.”

He looked over the prospective priests.

“Is there a brother who can explain how gods come into being?”

“There is the one and only god who has existed since the beginning of a dimension, and there are traditional gods who were not the one and only gods but were born from nature and fate after the existence of the dimension.”

“What about other gods?”

“You can escape your mortal fate and gain divinity and become a being called a god. I heard that you can either become a descendant of an existing god or walk the path of an evil god.”

“That’s a good answer, Sister Iruda.”

Kang Seodam nodded.

“We call gods who maintain the providence of the dimension and pursue coexistence ‘traditional gods.’ The one and only god who has existed since the beginning is one of them. All gods who are not mortal but born from nature and fate can be called ‘traditional gods.’”

He said this while looking at the girl with her hair tied low.

“Also, as Sister Iruda said, there are cases where people escaped their mortal fate and gained divinity. More than 99% of those who twisted their fate and gained divinity in this way become evil gods.”

“Why do beings who gained divinity from mortals become evil gods?”

“First, beings who gained divinity by violating the law of nature are likely to have wild and rebellious wills. Considering that most traditional gods value obedience and harmony, you can see why they become evil gods.”

There was another reason.

“Second, mortals cannot understand immortals. Unlike traditional gods who are born immortal because they do not change and are eternal, those who are born mortal change and think, so they are prone to falling into negative emotions.”

That is why there were more evil gods than good gods in this vast dimension.

“Third, as Sister Iruda said, evil gods can be created artificially. What kind of process is this artificial process?”

“It refers to the gathering of faiths of creatures that can think in one place.”

“That’s right. There are beings that are not worshipped as gods because they originally existed that way, but rather, they are beings that have acquired divinity or were born because they were worshipped as gods. This Sankalut religion is one such case.”

Kang Seodam pointed to the old but splendidly decorated marble cavity.

“If you look at the mural, you can read that the Sankalut religion worshipped a red jewel that could not even think as a god, and also praised the redness of the jewel, and sacrificed the blood of newborns and the elderly to maintain it.”

“Did that jewel really become an evil god?”

“Because it was a religion at the national level and its faith was also dark, the jewel really became an evil god. This dungeon was discovered early in the Great Calamity and was conquered, and now it remains as a resource for learning about the origins of the existence of gods and their influence.”

The girl from Lowtail asked again.

“If the conquest is complete, where is the evil spirit in the form of a jewel?”

“We have identified the danger level and it is currently stored in the Hunter Association Research Institute in Korea.”

The prospective priests murmured at Kang Seo-dam’s words.

“Association Research Institute...?”

“There was a place like that.”

“I thought it was in the Collector’s Gallery.”

“Isn’t the research institute a warehouse?”

Kang Seo-dam explained the prospective priests’ reactions as if he was used to it.

“The Collector’s Gallery can be visited by outsiders if the conditions are met, and they can even purchase it, but the Association’s Research Institute is not like that. Only the Association’s employees manage the items, and sales are prohibited, and even information leaks to the outside are strictly prohibited.”

Kang Seo-dam said as if he understood.

“The Collector’s Gallery will be familiar to you prospective priests.”

“Yes, they hold parades in the spring... It’s great.”

“If you become official priests and belong to a certain religion, you will become more familiar with the Association Research Institute.”

“Why is that?”

“Because dangerous and sensitive items related to the gods require strict management and storage.”

It was difficult to expect such strictness from a collection store in the ‘Gallery’ whose identity was ‘Love the works’. The guild leader himself was talking about it.

“Any other questions related to the storage of evil spirits?”

“.......”

“Yes, there are none. Good.”

Kang Seo-dam moved his body and stepped back so that he could see the marble altar better.

“This is where the divinity of the Sankalut religion was created. Did you feel anything?”

“I felt that I should not carelessly embrace faith.”

“Thank you for your proactive attitude, Sister Iruda.”

Kang Seo-dam nodded as if he had done well.

“I don’t know what god you will worship in the future, or what religion you will join. However, you must never forget that even gods are ultimately swayed by faith.”

The prospective priest Iruda raised his hand once again.

“I have a question, priest.”

“Please speak.”

“Are there any cases where humans, not jewels, were worshipped as evil gods?”

“It is not uncommon to find cases.”

Kang Seodam rolled his eyes as if recalling something.

“As I said earlier, evil gods exist in quite a few dungeons. Unlike traditional gods, evil gods are classified as a type of monster. They are easy to create, but they are also easy to seal and destroy.”

They were different from traditional gods, who were difficult to destroy because they were nature and destiny itself.

“Most of those who became evil spirits with human bodies have physical forms. Since beings born immortal and beings born mortal have different roots, and because they can think as humans, they face various limitations.”

“.......”

“That’s why those who became evil spirits with human bodies are all subjugated or sealed and are kept on Earth. Most of them have vague thoughts, feelings, and desire to eat, drink, and covet something. This also becomes a limitation that holds them back.”

Those who are bound could not become true gods.

“We call them gods because they can embrace anything. If they don’t have the capacity to embrace at least one dimension, they are nothing more than monsters that have been subjugated at some point. So in reality, the distinction between evil spirits and monsters is vague.”

“...Then what if you can become a god with a mortal body and embrace everything?”

“There are only two cases discovered so far, but they are of course real. Both of them gave up their rationality as living beings and wished to become a single system that ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) coordinates nature and fate.”

“Then there is no god with will and self?”

“There is. Because there are gods with will and self, even now, gods who enjoy play are often found on Earth. However, remember that they are just ‘will’ and ‘self’ in human terms.”

God was nature and fate.

“What we see as will may have been just a single breath to God, and the affectionate personality we thought of as self may have been just a single hair to God.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That is a very dangerous statement. There is something we must keep in mind as people who have entered the embrace of God. We must not understand God, we must not calculate, and we must not expect anything.”

That was God.

“Don’t try to measure them.”

It was not even possible to analyze them.

“If that is possible, then it means that you have already become something other than human.”

“...Was I rude?”

“You are a prospective priest, so there is no problem. Just keep in mind that just looking and following your gaze to understand can result in a disaster like divine punishment.”

“Just looking to understand can result in divine punishment?”

“Not divine punishment, but a disaster like that. It’s just that. Even though God didn’t have feelings of wanting to punish you, it will eventually happen.”

“Thank you for your advice.”

“I’m glad you accepted it.”

Kang Seo-dam continued.

“There’s a saying that you shouldn’t look into the eyes of God.”

“If you do, you’ll go crazy, so don’t do that...”

“It’s a problem beyond the realm of human perception.”

There are photos that capture the entire landscape of the Earth without any omission. It’s impossible to capture all of it at once, which easily exceeds hundreds and thousands, but if you try to do it, your eyeballs will burst and your brain will rot.

That’s what it means to see God.

“Are there any other questions?”

A curly-haired boy, Chae Sol, raised his hand at Kang Seo-dam’s words.

“Is an evil spirit with pure evil treated as a monster?”

“... Pure evil...”

He spoke at length.

“In our Solar Church, we do not treat pure beings as monsters.”

However, this was interpreted differently by each religion. This was an era where the distinction between gods and monsters was still vague.

“Some religions say that the results of evil cannot be pure.”

“Ah....”

“The standards of justice and nobility are similar for everyone, but the standards of evil are different for each person.”

“.......”

“I wonder if there can be such a thing as pure evil in the first place.”

It was a difference in perspective.

“That is why there are so many evil gods.”

It may be an obvious ‘evil’ to the vast majority, but it may be ‘good’ to a small minority.

Who can set absolute standards for good and evil?