Rhodes Island does not exist.

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Two updates a day.

The thank-you segment will be tonight.

Chapter 85, Chapter Eighty-Four: Deep Sea Tales - Twenty Uncertain Pasts

The woman lived in a dilapidated little church.

The church is located on a secluded coastline and cannot be seen from anywhere on the dike unless you explore further.

So you live here?

The doctor's gaze swept over the filthy interior and the house's frame, which was on the verge of decay from the dampness, and he couldn't help but show a worried look.

"Yes, are you worried about safety here?" the woman smiled.

"Of course I'm worried, especially about your health..." The doctor's gaze fell on the woman's thigh, which was not covered by clothing, and his eyes were filled with deep concern.

Tiny black crystals were forming on her body surface; they were undoubtedly Originium crystals.

“This is my punishment.” The woman noticed the doctor’s gaze and smiled. “I am well aware of my own physical condition, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“But I am a doctor, and I cannot stand by and watch a patient suffer in front of me without doing anything about it.” The doctor shook his head firmly, opened his briefcase in front of the woman, and took out a syringe.

“You…you really are a kind person.” A moment of surprise flashed across the woman’s face, but she quickly regained her usual smile. “But you wouldn’t understand how important it is to uphold one’s faith in Iberia.”

"More important than life?" the doctor asked. "Oripathy can kill people, and if left untreated, you will die in an extremely painful way."

“Pain…is part of the trial, and also a way to prove one’s faith.” The woman shook her head. “As children of God, we should all embrace kindness and goodness, and support each other to live on.”

"But kindness alone is not enough, it is not enough."

She looked up at the overcast sky through the decaying ceiling and murmured to herself.

“We can be kind to our family, we can be kind to our friends, but we cannot be kind to our enemies and those who are different from us.” She maintained her smile. “If we keep the bad apples under the protection of purity, in the end all purity will be polluted and all kindness will be distorted.”

To be honest, the PhD student couldn't understand the hidden meaning in her words at all.

Or perhaps these words have no hidden meaning at all; they are simply narration.

“I have been marked.” She bent down and gently stroked the tiny crystals growing on her leg. “This mark is proof of sin, a manifestation of heresy, so I must prove my loyalty with the purity of my faith.”

“If you, in your kindness, were to interfere with my proof process now, I would no longer be able to prove myself.” She shook her head with a smile. “So please put away your precious kindness.”

At this point, the doctor understood what she meant, so he asked.

"So, if I cure your illness, you'll actually die, right?"

The doctor understood these believers' dedication to their faith.

“You’re right.” The woman nodded. “So please stop trying to bother me and just let me stay here alone.”

"Alright, even though this goes against my medical philosophy..."

The doctor sighed, put the syringe and medicine into the box, and locked it. "...But I have no other choice but to respect your decision."

"Thank you for your kindness in helping me, and thank you for respecting the kindness I chose." The woman bowed to the doctor.

"Then, may I ask you a few questions?" The doctor thought for a moment and decided to get back to the main topic.

“As long as I can answer it,” the woman replied.

"Alright." The professor cleared his throat and began, "First question, what happened here before?"

The question was met with silence.

The woman's smile faded, and her already lifeless eyes became even dimmer.

"A mad disaster."

But she answered.

"Disaster begins with madness and ends with madness," the woman said slowly. "The false god who dwells in the sea whispers to all creatures on the shore with the tides as his mouth, and all things are tinged with the color of chaos."

“A ferocious beast with many sharp teeth rises from the deep sea, awakens, and treads on the shallows with viscous steps, turning all living things into part of its frenzied feast, devouring and gnawing endlessly.”

“Strange, humanoid creatures that staggered along, devoid of desires and wants, knowing only destruction, slaughter, tearing and ripping, immortal and indestructible.”

"However, in reality, none of these exist."

The woman's smile suddenly reappeared on her face.

The doctor felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of that pale smile.

“Because there have never been any ferocious beasts or monsters.” She raised her head, her right hand rising with her voice, like an opera singer on stage. “Indeed, killing and devouring exist, but they do not come from any ferocious beasts.”

"Looking at everything on this shoreline, this empty and deserted, tranquil scene, what do you think happened back then?"

The woman then turned the question back on the doctor.

“My initial guess was that the people here fled because of some kind of natural disaster,” the doctor said. “But based on your description, it seems that the people here didn’t disappear because they were trying to escape, but rather they never actually escaped in the first place…right?”

“You are a kind and compassionate person, and a person with these two virtues must also be quite wise,” the woman said, nodding. “Everyone who lived here died on that night of rising and falling tides.”

“There are no beasts or monsters at all; they… are killing each other.” The woman sighed. “The spreading madness and the deep-seated chaos have completely changed them, making them see each other as monsters that must be killed.”

"Close relatives killed one another, brothers killed one another, and Iberians’ blood filled the houses and flowed into the streets, and then from the streets into the sea."

"They even dismantled their own bones and used them as weapons to strike and chop at each other until there were no other living creatures in sight."

"Finally, after everything was over, those covered in blood threw themselves into the sea, becoming food for this tranquil body of water."

The woman finished speaking.

Her voice had a captivating magic that drew people in, so much so that the Doctor's mind was almost completely lost in her narration until about three or four seconds after she finished speaking, when he finally snapped out of his daze.

Even after he regained his senses, his understanding of these words remained one of disbelief and confusion.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you, Mami-senpai, for the razor blade.

Chapter 86, Chapter 85: Deep Sea Tales - Chapter 21: The Sin of Words

12:25 noon.

The courtroom was packed with people.

The girl's hands and feet were bound and tied with silver metal ribbons that jingled.

A sacred melody emanated from the speakers, playing on a continuous loop.

The crowd stirred, excited, and thrashed about.

Every court hearing is a festive celebration for the onlookers.

This means that they are able to absorb despair and grief from sinners and transform it into their own sustenance.

The sacred book only restrains them from distinguishing between good and evil, and teaches them how to do good and punish evil, but it does not restrict their indulgence of inner feelings.

Therefore, they can watch the executions of criminals with smiles or even laughter, and continue to uphold their own virtues and goodness afterward.

Ah, no wonder, after all, they believed that the execution of criminals was also a warning to themselves.

Therefore, this incredibly realistic execution performance became both their entertainment and their educational program.

And today, the show they've been eagerly anticipating is about to air.

The lead actress is a gloomy-faced young girl, and the crime... is blasphemy.

"It's a witch, isn't it?"

"I heard that he was captured from a remote border town. He not only has no respect for God, but also has a terrible life... He deserves his fate."

"Then this child really is a witch... She should be burned."

"It's a pity that burning at the stake was abolished after the Great Tranquility, otherwise..."

The crowd gathered outside the courtroom whispered amongst themselves, their collective negativity forming a net that shrouded the area within a hundred meters in a thick fog.

And all of this, all of this, was heard and seen by the girl.

She can see, she can hear, she can feel.

Because that's how she grew up from childhood.

Therefore, she has never believed in God.

It wasn't because the religion that originated in Lateran made her uncomfortable or anything like that, but because the impression she got from the people around her who believed in God was just like that.

Believers only see each other as brothers and sisters, and she clearly does not fall into that category.

"There are fifteen minutes left before the trial begins."

"A priest dressed in a black robe said."

He gripped a scepter different from the other priests' in his hand, making him appear as if he possessed the ability to command.

"And what about the plaintiff's guest?" he asked, bowing his head to another priest of slightly shorter stature. "Was his accommodation arranged at the Sunset Cathedral?"

“Brother Sobrino hasn’t arrived yet,” the shorter priest replied, “but he said yesterday he would bring the guest ten minutes early.”

"That's 12:30, I suppose... Alright." The priest in black robes nodded. "In that case, let's wait. Also, tell the believers outside to be quiet. This is the courtroom, not a theater. Although the trial hasn't started yet, I don't want them to lose their proper decorum."

"Understood, I'll go handle it." The shorter priest walked out of the courtroom.

Two seconds later, the cacophony of sounds subsided, leaving only a murmur of whispers like the tide.

"I hope you won't be too nervous."

The black-robed priest turned his gaze to Levini, saying, "As long as you understand what sins you have committed and are willing to accept the punishment of repentance, everything will return to peace and joy."

Levi remained silent and did not speak.

What else could she say?

At this moment, after enduring the loneliness and cold torment, all she wanted was to see the only person she knew and could be close to in Iberia again.

Ironically, it was precisely because he hurt her that she was brought here.

But that's probably because she was born into contradictions and didn't know what she really wanted, which led to this outcome.

"Do you know the time of the trial?" The black-robed priest did not pursue Levini's earlier silence, but continued with the topic he was supposed to be discussing, as if it were a formality.

He would probably say these words to the sinners before each trial.

"12:40".

But this time Levini answered.

"Ah."

The black-robed priest's face remained expressionless; he simply nodded slowly as a response that he had heard.

Perhaps to add some excitement to the suddenly calmed atmosphere, a priest in a blue shawl suddenly strode out from the back of the courtroom and whispered a few words to the side of the black-robed priest.

The effect of this whisper was remarkable.

The calm that had been brought under control returned to its original chaotic state.

Because the stern-faced priest in black robes smiled.

And when such a person smiles, nothing good ever seems to happen.

“Okay, I understand.” He nodded to the priest who delivered the message. “Since Brother Sobrino can’t be contacted, then we can only let God preside over this judgment.”

When he said those words, the smile on his face became especially bright.

Levi had seen such brilliance before.

When news of her biological parents' death in a mining accident reached Asturias, one of her uncles, who had previously taken her in, smiled like this in front of her.

"An undisguised smile."

She gave this kind of laughter a name.

And now she has seen that kind of person with a radiant smile once again.

"It's 12:31 now, and the trial is about to begin in nine minutes." The black-robed priest looked up at the yellowish-brown ceiling, his face gleaming. "But the plaintiff who was supposed to attend this trial has disappeared."

"What--?!"

Levini almost lost her voice.

She couldn't control her emotions in that instant.