Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 442 The Mystery of the Demon
In religion, the struggle between God and the devil is an eternal theme. Just as there is light and darkness, life and death, justice and evil, there are gods and, naturally, demons.

The holy scriptures of the Holy Bishop also contain records about demons.

According to the sacred texts, the Holy Lord defeated the other gods and gained the authority to create the world. However, not all the gods willingly submitted. Some of the fleeing gods and the subordinates of the gods killed by the Holy Lord hid in a dark underground world, waiting to make a comeback and reclaim their world.

It must be said that the bishop's perspective is quite unique, because generally speaking, religious doctrines attribute bad things to the devil and good things to God. If you are depraved, indulgent, and addicted to pleasure, it is a symbol of sin, evil, and impurity; you are possessed by the devil, a spokesperson for the devil, and so on.

The god we believe in is relative, representing justice, kindness, greatness, purity, and so on.

But the Holy Episcopal was different. According to him, the current order of the world, for better or worse, was created by God. Just like the story Sister Elizabeth told Livy when investigating the Sons of the Plague, the then-Holy Episcopal Pope said that both thunder and rain are divine grace. Either God is rewarding you, or God is testing you, or God is punishing you.

The demons here are not the kind that tempt humanity to fall in order to challenge God's authority, but rather more like rebels who want to overthrow the current order and try to regain lost rights.

Therefore, the notion that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell doesn't exist. In terms of life and death, the Holy Bishop is more similar to the one Li Wei is familiar with, where everyone is judged before the Holy Lord after death, and their actions during their lifetime are used to determine their reward or punishment.

Therefore, demons rarely appear in the murals of holy bishops. After all, battles against demons are generally considered "suppression of rebellions" in the holy bishop's scriptures, and wars of this magnitude are generally beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. At most, they might stand by and shout "666," serving as a backdrop for the angels to show off.

Even within the Church of Jesus, murals depicting Jesus battling demons are only found in the Holy Sepulchre or the Great Cathedral; ordinary churches are not permitted to display them.

Because you died, it means that this place once fought a great battle with the demons.

Nobody would erect a war memorial on their own turf that has nothing to do with their local area, right?

Li Wei has seen so many cases, even angels (though they were quite ugly), but he has never actually seen a demon.

Logically speaking, if there are angels, then there must also be demons.

After all, mermaids, sea monsters, dragons, and vampires have all appeared, so it's understandable that there are demons too.

“I have never seen a true demonic descent or demonic possession, Sir Levy.”

In response to Li Wei's question, Sister Elizabeth calmly gave an answer, and then looked at the mural in front of her and examined it carefully.

Can you see anything?

Livy could understand paintings on their own, but church paintings usually have some kind of religious meaning, which is where Elizabeth would need to do the reading comprehension.

Elizabeth carefully examined the mural before speaking.

“I think this must be a record of the town’s history.”

"The history of the town?"

“That’s right, start looking from this side, this is a guard knight order.”

"Ah, I've read about them in history books."

Katie suddenly remembered something and clenched her little fist.

"They seem to be specifically there to protect the colonists?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth nodded.

"The mission of the Knights of the Guard is to escort the colonists on their journeys and to spread the glory of the Holy Lord."

At this point, Elizabeth glanced at Katie, then at Levi.

"Of course, not just anyone can obtain the protection of a guardian knight. Often, they need to offer a large sum of money and sign a contract with the guardian knight in order to obtain the permission to be protected."

To put it bluntly, they're just religious mercenaries.

Li Wei inwardly curled his lip, but he had to admit that the Knights Guard's business was undoubtedly lucrative. After all, they were backed by the Holy Bishop, and with the Holy See as their guarantor, there was no need to worry about these Knights Guard turning against them. At least, the Holy See's credibility was still guaranteed.

But those who can afford it... hehe...

"So this painting depicts them passing through this place and being attacked by demons?"

"The devil is often just a metaphor, Sir Levi."

Elizabeth clearly did not acknowledge the painting's authenticity.

"Most of the time, the demons depicted in the frescoes of the Holy Bishops refer to entities that posed a significant threat to people at the time, such as plagues, hurricanes, and fires. Rather than actual demons appearing. Judging from this painting, it is more likely that the group encountered some kind of danger here and overcame the difficulties under the guidance of the Holy Lord. Thus, later generations used such frescoes to commemorate it."

Wow, this is really interesting.

Upon hearing Elizabeth's answer, Levi's lips curled up slightly. He finally understood why Sister Elizabeth, despite being a member of the Holy Bishop's faction, belonged to the Royalist party.

On the surface, Elizabeth might seem a bit atheistic, but the truth is quite the opposite. Precisely because of her devout faith, she doesn't readily attribute everything she sees to her beliefs. The kind of nonsense that claims miracles or demonic possession upon seeing something one doesn't understand is nothing but the ramblings of a country bumpkin.

True believers would not be so foolish.

Of course, there is another possibility... Li Wei glanced at Elizabeth silently.

If she had truly seen angels, demons, or miracles, she would naturally be able to tell at a glance which was real and which was fake.

After that, the three of them went to see other churches, and based on the murals on those churches, they were able to piece together the history of the town quite well.

If we simply interpret it by looking at the pictures on the murals, then this is how it goes.

The knights were escorting a group of travelers on their journey when they were attacked by a demon that emerged from the mountain. The priest leading the group, facing the demon, mustered his courage, raised his all-seeing eye, and called upon the name of the Lord, praying for power. Together with the knights, he vanquished the demon that had emerged from the mountain.

Their courage moved the Lord, who blessed the land, making it spring-like all year round. The guards and travelers took this as the Lord's will and settled there.

The guardian knights built a monastery on the mountain to suppress the lair of demons.

The travelers, on the other hand, live at the foot of the mountain, guarding this blessed land.

However, in Li Wei's opinion, this place didn't look like it was blessed at all.

The group walked around the churches, and since it was getting late, they decided to rest at the last church near the mountain and head up the mountain early the next morning. As things stand, while it's impossible to be certain whether the story is true or false, one thing is certain: everything that happened here is definitely connected to the monastery on the mountain.

As for whether it's a demon or an evil spirit, we'll have to wait and see.

Night falls.

Li Wei lit a fire in the church hall, and the three of them lay down on the prayer chairs. Incidentally, the firewood for the fire came from a warehouse in a nearby house, and it didn't seem to have been there for too long. Judging from the dust on the furniture, Li Wei estimated that someone must have lived there about three or four days ago.

Then suddenly, everyone disappeared.

Well, if we're talking about ghost stories, they really are pretty spooky.

Katie lay on the bench, fully clothed, asleep, while Elizabeth meditated and prayed before the All-Knowing. Levi did not fall asleep; instead, he remained standing before the mural, carefully studying it.

The town has a total of thirteen churches, each containing a painting depicting how people fought against demons.

The first painting is what Livy saw in the very first church. A demon appeared on the mountain, and the priest raised his all-knowing eye and roared, scaring the demon away.

The second church depicts demons relentlessly surrounding them day and night, terrifying everyone, while the priest inspires their morale, encouraging them to bravely face the darkness and the demons.

The following scenes in the church depict the battle of wits and courage between the two sides, with the basic tone being that the demon is very ferocious and cunning. However, the guardian knights and travelers, led by the priest, repeatedly repelled the demon's attacks.

Then they arrived at the thirteenth church, which is where the three of them are now, the last church guarding the road up the mountain.

In the mural, the priest and knights, with resolute expressions, hold torches high and weapons in hand as they enter a cave in the mountains.

Then, the next painting shows priests and knights emerging from a cave, raising their hands in celebration, sunlight streaming through the clouds and shining on them, while travelers below kneel in worship.

For Li Wei, this is a bit subtle... something doesn't feel right.

To put it simply, the process of the priest and knight fighting the demon in the cave is missing.

Of course, perhaps the artist himself didn't go inside or witness it firsthand. But at least he should be able to imagine it through other people's descriptions.

and……………

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..."

Li Wei silently counted the knights who followed the priest into the mural.

Then he looked over here and saw the knight who had come out with the priest.

The twelve knights, plus the priest, made a total of thirteen people who entered the cave.

Then when they came out, there were also thirteen people.

None of them died?

In Li Wei's view, this was somewhat unexpected, considering that the previous murals had depicted the ferocity of demons and how many guardian knights had died in battles against them.

So you went to attack the lair and fight the BOSS, but no one died?
Did the artist make a mistake? Or is there another hidden meaning?

and……………

Thirteen knights, thirteen churches…

Li Wei turned his head and looked at the All-Knowing Eye hanging on the wall in front of the church. The eye, as always, stared at him indifferently without any reaction.

I feel like something's not quite right.

(End of this chapter)