Ultraman Any Key: Qiming

Chapter 574, Section 570: An Absurd and Crazy World

After a hurried journey, Torregia arrived outside the atmosphere of Ora.

He remembered that when he first visited the planet, it was filled with the smoke of despair.

It was his meticulous targeting of the monster's weaknesses that ended the disaster.

From orbit, it appears to have returned to tranquility, with the blue ocean and verdant continent outlines still visible.

He placed the "experimental machine" he had brought for protection in space, then descended to break through the atmosphere and looked down at a vast expanse of farmland.

The level of productivity in this world is roughly equivalent to that of the Middle Ages on Earth: wooden farm tools, animal-powered plows, and villages with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys in the distance.

Toregia's gaze was quickly drawn to the scene below. Golden waves of wheat shimmered in the sunlight, their ears full and promising a bountiful harvest.

However, amidst this bountiful scene, several farmers who were working were emaciated, their tattered clothes hanging on their withered bodies. Their movements were slow and numb, and their eyes showed no joy of harvest, only bottomless exhaustion and resignation.

This feeling of oppression is...

With that thought, Torregia transformed into his human form, "Kirizaki," dressed in pure white, and walked toward an old farmer resting by the edge of a field.

“Sir, this year’s harvest looks good,” Kirisaki said gently.

The old farmer raised his cloudy eyes and looked at the distinguished-looking man in luxurious white robes, instinctively assuming he was a high-ranking member of the church.

He quickly lowered his head and replied in a reverent tone, "It is all thanks to the blessings of the God of Torregia... I hope this year's 'divine food' will satisfy the bishops."

Kirisaki was taken aback: "What is divine food?"

The old farmer's voice was hoarse, as if stating a self-evident truth: "Seventy percent of our harvest must be handed over to the holy city and offered to the god Toregia."

Then he realized... How could this well-dressed, priest-like man not know about "divine food"?
Is this a test of my loyalty?

Kirisaki continued, "Will keeping 30% be enough for your family?"

This follow-up question made the old farmer even more convinced that this was a test from above. He straightened his hunched back and put on a fawning smile:

"It doesn't matter, we understand, this is a test from the god Toregia!"

“His Holiness the bishop said that the more you give and the more sincere your intentions, the greater your blessings will be.”

"Only then will the god Torregia continue to protect the planet Eurasian and bless us with good weather and abundant harvests in the coming year."

Torregia listened quietly to the old farmer's words. On the surface, he still maintained his gentle "Kirizaki" appearance, but inside he was trembling violently with anger and a sense of absurdity.

What's going on with this Eurasian Star?!

Why are we starting to use the medieval European church stuff from Earth?!

They even used his name to plunder the people's wealth!

Kirisaki clenched his fists, but he suppressed his anger and continued to inquire about the "Tregear Cult," obtaining much crucial information.

"This church appeared suddenly and spread across the planet as quickly as a plague...too fast for the communication and transportation of this time."

"They seem to have absolute force and can deal with anyone who raises objections."

"They publicized my feat of killing that monster, and added fuel to the fire, saying that I controlled natural and man-made disasters."

"They say that if people are not devout, fire will rain down from the sky; but if people do as they say, paying their taxes and performing their duties, I will ensure that the world is blessed with good weather and abundant harvests..."

“He said that the church leaders are my spokespeople, who can communicate directly with me and convey my will, so the people must absolutely obey.”

"Otherwise, disobeying the clergy is disobeying me, and I will then bring down divine punishment..."

"Bastard thing!"

The more Torregia listened, the more he lost control of himself.

The old farmer also sensed something was amiss. Why did this adult in white seem to genuinely not understand these common sense facts?

Just then, a cloud of dust rose from the end of the dirt road in the village.

Accompanied by the heavy sound of hooves, a church deacon dressed in a magnificent priestly robe led two men clad in heavy armor, resembling knights, to the scene.

Their goal was clear: they headed straight for an elderly man with gray hair and a hunched back in another field not far away.

Seeing this, the old farmer beside Kirisaki seemed to understand something, and a look of pity appeared on his face: "It's over... It's him. He's a very good person, but his life is just too hard."

Kirisaki asked, "What happened?"

The old farmer said that for the "Torrechia religion," the most important thing was casting idols, and they valued the ore highly.

Therefore, the Pope issued an "oracle" requiring every household to send someone to mine in order to add new idols.

The old man who was approached had only one son, who had been killed by falling rocks in a mine collapse and whose remains were never recovered.

But the church didn't care about any of that. Since the son was dead, the family had to have someone else take over – if there were no able-bodied young people, then the elderly had to step up.

Kirisaki was shocked. Wasn't this forcing someone to die?
He couldn't hold back any longer: "Isn't this treating people like disposable materials? It's utterly absurd!"

The old farmer, as if he had heard something utterly treasonous, immediately panicked: "This is a divine decree from His Holiness the Pope! It's all for the creation of more idols, so that the radiance of the god Toregia can extend even further. How could a divine decree be wrong?"

Kirisaki didn't want to pretend anymore, because she already had a better person to question.

He said directly, "Relay? The one who once protected this place, Torregia, never said such a thing!"

"That so-called church is a complete and utter lie from top to bottom!"

"The real Torregia would never fight to take your resources, much less force you to your deaths!"

The old farmer's eyes widened suddenly, and he was so frightened that he almost collapsed.

To him, these words were utterly outrageous.

Anyone who has ever said such a thing is finished!
Hearing this and not exposing the heresy is disloyal to God. If the news leaks out, he will also be doomed!

"Don't panic, this will all be over soon," Torregia said in a low voice before walking away.

On the other side, the church deacon was reading out an order, saying that the old man's failure to come forward to take his place after learning of his son's death was a dereliction of divine decree and a great disrespect to the God of Toregia!

As punishment, the 30% of his harvest that he was supposed to keep this year will also be confiscated!
The old farmer, who had just stood there numbly, neither begging for mercy nor resisting, trembled again upon hearing the last sentence. "Sir, spare my life! If everything is confiscated, how will my wife and daughter survive this winter!" He quickly knelt down and kowtowed to the church deacon.

The church deacon on horseback looked down at the old farmer, enjoying the feeling of being superior.

But he didn't change his mind at all, and simply shouted, "Take him away."

"Wait!" Kirisaki rushed over and stopped them.

"Who are you?" Kirisaki's demeanor and attire made it difficult for the church deacon to figure out his background, so he didn't act too arrogantly.

Kirisaki asked, "What you just did was to force this family to their deaths. Since Toregia is a benevolent god, how could you, as his messenger, cruelly disregard the lives of these people? I think there's something very wrong here!"

"How dare you!" A knight standing next to the church deacon drew his iron sword.

The church deacon gestured to stop him, noticing that the surrounding villagers were subtly focusing their attention on him.

He said according to the doctrine: "The fact that they die proves that they are not devout enough and not loyal enough to the god Toregia!"

“They use death as an excuse to avoid service, which is itself a blasphemous sin.”

“A true believer should dedicate himself with the utmost sense of glory, and the god Toregia will naturally protect him.”

Because he died, he could no longer serve, which became a crime?

Kirisaki almost laughed in anger upon hearing this twisted logic. He looked around at the villagers to see their reaction.

As a result, no one responded, no one dared to meet his gaze, and they all lowered their heads.

This made Kirisaki's heart sink to the bottom.

Are they truly numb, or are they afraid of the iron sword in the other's hand?

He glanced around at the gaunt-faced farmers and continued in a deep voice:

"You mean that the god Toregia you speak of needs the hunger and death of his people to prove his authority?"

"Can he really be called kind? Would a guardian just stand by and watch the people he protects be destroyed and die without doing anything?"

With Torregia's intelligence, he immediately found the logical flaw in the opponent's statement and attacked it.

These words struck the hearts of every villager like a hammer blow, causing a slight crack to appear in their fear and obedience for the first time.

Some people began to whisper among themselves, while others looked blankly at the deacon, hoping he could provide a reasonable explanation.

The deacon hurriedly tried to explain, but being less intelligent than Toregia, he couldn't win the argument. After a few rounds, his face turned a deep purplish-red.

He had no choice but to use his status to intimidate others: "I am well-versed in the holy scriptures, even His Holiness the Pope approves of me, and I will soon be promoted to priest!"

"You mysterious fellow. Do you understand the god Toregia, or do I?"

Do you know more about Toregia or do I know more about Toregia?

These words caused Kirisaki to fall silent for a moment.

Just when the butler thought he had successfully used his status to intimidate others, Kirisaki said quietly, "I definitely know more about Tregear than you do. Ultraman is definitely not some kind of god."

"How dare you! This is blasphemy! You must be a heretic transformed from one of the monsters that the god Toregia defeated." The deacon finally found his chance.

He shouted to the two knights, "Capture this monster! Take him to the Holy City, and I will purify his soul with the holy fire before everyone's eyes!"

After shouting, he glanced at the villagers around him, who looked bewildered and surprised. He saw that many of them had wavering and thoughtful expressions on their faces, and his heart skipped a beat.

These lowly people are getting restless. If I keep them around, they might say something that ruins my promotion... I need to find a reason to get rid of them all.

Torregia was taken aback when he heard his words.

Burning at the stake?

It's exactly like medieval Earth, what a coincidence.

However, according to Mr. Qi Ming, the fact that they came to me meant that they had "hunted the Scarlet Witch."

"The Holy City, that's your base of operations, isn't it? Those guys who supposedly can 'communicate' with Toregia are there too, aren't they?"

“I will indeed be going there, so please lead the way.”

Kirisaki looked at the two knights who had drawn their swords and were charging towards him with a blank expression.

If it were Fengyuan, he would definitely be in a difficult position in this situation.

However, Torregia, whose will is most easily influenced by the outside world, has been deeply influenced by Qi Ming, whom he respects and admires, for so long.

He decisively drew his Victory Hyper gun and pulled the trigger.

"Huh! Huh!"

Two beams of laser light instantly pierced the right knees of the two sword-wielding knights.

Amidst screams, the two knights fell from their horses, writhing and convulsing in agony.

They, who were originally fierce and didn't care about the lives of ordinary people, looked at Kirisaki with fear on their faces.

They didn't know how it was done; the laser beam was beyond their imagination.

The villagers who had recently thought that Kirisaki's defiance of the butler was suicidal and were waiting to "watch the show" now looked at him with awe.

The butler, who had just been so arrogant, was now only pale with terror.

"Who...who are you? Are you really a monster?" he asked timidly.

Toregia: "Oh? So you knew I wasn't a monster?"

The deacon stared at the Victory Hypa spear in Torregia's hand, not daring to answer.

Kirisaki looked at the old farmer kneeling on the ground behind him, who was about to be dragged to work as a miner, and pulled him up: "Come on, let's go to that holy city, to find those bishops, to find that pope, to find 'Torregia' and demand justice!"

(End of this chapter)