Chapter 29 – What A Face Focused World Ah.

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Editor: SleepyMango123

Proofreader: Lore

The An-Ki Cult.

Garlan wasn’t very familiar with this cult that was destroyed by King Camos.

Because in the past few rebirths, this cult had already been wiped out by King Camos and there was nothing left. Therefore, he didn’t know much about them.

The reason why he knew a little was because when Ziemuer taught him, he mentioned the An-Ki Cult to him.

The An-Ki Cult used Aaron Landis as its central station, making waves and causing trouble throughout the country.

This cult claimed to serve Tiamat1, the mother of all things who created the world. They declared to the world that Tiamat would one day come to earth, and all things in this world, including human beings, would finally become one again.

Because the iconic symbol of this religion was very special, Garlan had a deep impression of it.

A blood red circle. Within it were the runes of water symbolising life and another symbolising destruction and war, intertwined in red. The whole circle was turned upside down.

It was said that this meant the convergence of all things.

Previously, he didn’t have any feelings towards it because he didn’t know much about the Cult of An-Ki, but now that he saw what this cult did with his own eyes, Garlan immediately hated them from deep within his bones.

Not only did they sacrifice living people, but also children.

Seeing those believers who knelt around and worshipped, watching as a child’s throat was being cut and bled to death in front of them; they even showed an extreme burning look towards it, with a look of desire for more.

This was a group of mentally ill, hopeless scum!

Garlan gritted his teeth and thought.

Perhaps there was no such thing as being humane for these fanatics.

…

…

The wheels creaked, throwing the crazy shouts of those extremists behind.

Garlan laid in the carriage cage with his eyes closed, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fingers.

Hold back.

He tried to relax his breath and kept admonishing himself.

He must not be found out by others. If he resisted, he would beat the grass and scare the snake2. He would wait until Brother King and the others found him to completely destroy this bloody den that killed innocent children!

The carriage swayed for a while and stopped.

The wooden door of the cage was opened, and the children in the cage were carried out one by one and stuffed into the cell there.

It was a huge rock cliff, and several deep caves were sunken into the bottom of the mountain wall. The caves were of various sizes, and the entrances of the caves were blocked by thick wooden railings, forming a natural cage with the mountain wall.

The prison doors of the two largest caves opened, and the children, along with Garlan, were thrown into the two caves separately. Then, all the “thieves” left.

After a while, confirming that all those people were gone and there were no sounds outside, Garlan, who was lying on the ground, slowly opened his eyes.

Moonlight revealed the wooden fence near his face, and he glanced outside from the corner of his eye.

Quietly outside the prison, only a large tree made a faint rustle in the night breeze. Several torches were hung on the mountain wall outside, and the red flames flashed, illuminating the backs of several guards standing in the distance.

Garlan supported himself on the ground with both hands and slowly crawled.

He knelt and looked up into the distance.

The weird altar that they passed by was a little far away. It was blocked by the dense woods and tall rocks and could not be seen at all.

But Garlan watched in that direction quietly. Without blinking, his gaze was like a sharp sword, observing from the woods and rocks to the place where crime and madness were staged.

Bright moonlight fell into the golden eyes, looking as if melted golden amber were flowing in them.

At this moment, the child’s eyes were terribly bright in the dark night.

…

…

The flaming sun jumped out of the horizon and shone the still faint light toward the earth.

Kerry rubbed her eyes and woke up. Because she had just woken up, her vision was still blurry. She knelt on the ground and looked to the side in a daze.

She saw the little brother, Garl, sitting on the edge of the stone wall at the entrance of the cave. He had one hand on his bent knee, the other on his straight leg, and his head tilted sideways, as if he were looking outside.

A few rays of sunlight in the early morning fell into Garl’s eyes. Kerry was in a trance and felt that those golden eyes were brighter than the sunlight.

She didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she felt that at this moment, Garl, who had eyes brighter than the sun, gave her a feeling a child should not have.

“…Garl?” she called with a little uncertainty in her voice.

The blond-haired child who looked sideways at the distance turned his head, looked at her taken aback, and then smiled at her.

The soft blond hair was scattered on the side of the cream-white cheeks, and the big eyes were bent into a crescent arc. His smile was so cute that it sweetened her heart.

Kerry scratched her head.

It might be that she had become muddled after falling asleep.

No matter how she looked at Garl, he was an innocent and lovely child.

“Garl, last night, did you sleep… huh?!”

Kerry let out a shout of surprise when she realised that they had been moved.

They were not in that gloomy underground cage anymore, but they did not know when they had moved to this open-air cavern in the mountains.

“Where is this? Why are we here?!”

“It’s so noisy.”

A grumpy voice came, and Kerry followed the sound and saw that the one who replied was a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy who looked as if he were about her age.

The boy was originally held in the cave, and when he walked out, the sun shone on his face, but he looked gloomy.

He stared at Kerry with a very unkind look, filled with deep contempt.

“Anyway, it won’t be long before you die. Why do you care where you are?”

“Dead…dead? What do you mean by that!?”

Kerry was stunned.

“It is what I’ve just said. When you’re here, what awaits is death.”

The boy sneered and turned his gaze to Garlan, who was sitting at the door of the prison. He looked at Garlan a few times, revealing a look filled with schadenfreude3.

“Look at you, like a weak chicken. You’re either from an official’s family or from a rich merchant, right? Don’t show off when you get here. We are all meat on the chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.”

There was a deep sarcasm in his words.

“Little young master, seems like you’ll die together with us lowly civilians.”

“What did you say!?”

Kerry, who was still kneeling on the ground, stood up. Her temper exploded, like a mother beast guarding her calf.

“You say it again! Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!”

Kerry’s aggressive appearance made the boy take a step back subconsciously, as if he were a little afraid of her. However, he held on to his appearance of showing, ‘I’m not afraid of you,’ to the other.

He sneered, “What’s the use of you fawning over him now? He’s the same as us, and will end up dead.”

After that, he was probably afraid that Kerry would really rush over, so he turned around and walked into the depths of the cell quickly, blending into the shadows.

Kerry, who was so angry at the mean-speaking boy, wanted to rush over, but was stopped by the old man’s voice.

“Kerry, forget it.”

“Grandpa!”

“That kid is right…Ai…N-none of us can live long.”

“Grandpa, what do you mean?”

“Ai, I thought those thieves were just kidnapping children to sell, but I didn’t expect it to be the An-Ki Cult.”

When he said the name, a look of fear flashed across the old man’s eyes.

He had lived for a long time and had experienced a lot. He naturally heard of this cult that had flourished in Aaron Landis for more than ten years until it was destroyed by King Camos.

“This evil group has captured so many children for sacrifice.”

The old man looked forlornly at his granddaughter in front of him with muddy eyes.

He was the first to wake up and had learned some truth from the frightened children here.

He knew that before they were transported here, every day, a child would be pulled out as sacrifice and made to stand on the altar made by the cult, only to be drained of their blood and die there.

The truths learned from the older, sensible children made the old man feel terrified, and chills erupted all over his body. If what those children said were true, then probably thirty to forty children had already had their blood drained on that altar.

“Grandpa is getting old… half of my body is in the soil. If I’m dead, so be it. But you, Garl, and so many children… You’re all young, and can live a long life ahead.”

Having said this, the old man was already tearful and knelt on the ground, and hugged Kerry tightly.

Thinking of the children huddled in the corner and shivering with fear, as well as their numb eyes, he thought of his granddaughter in his arms who would become a walking corpse like those children in the future, and would even be dragged to the altar to be bled dry. It felt as if a knife was being twisted into his heart.

“This damn cult— these people without conscience—”

Fearing being heard by people outside, he dared not to make too much noise but lowered his voice and made a low scream of agony.

At this moment, a person flashed in his mind.

The hero who guarded all the people of Aaron Landis like a God.

“Our King ah. King Camos, God of Aaron Landis, can you hear our voice? Can you hear the pleading of your people?”

“Please, if you can hear it, at least save these innocent children, please…”

“Grandpa……”

The little girl didn’t quite understand, but she could feel the pain from her grandfather holding her. No matter how tough she was, she was still a child, and she couldn’t help crying immediately.

The old man held the little girl in his arms tightly, his eyes full of despair, and silently sobbed.

The crying suddenly infected other children, and those who had just been transported like them also began to cry. Other children who’d been there for a while looked at them numbly with eyes that had already run dry.

Garlan stood silently, watching the old man who was crying desperately, Kerry, who couldn’t help crying with the old man, and those soulless children who sat on the ground and didn’t know when they might be dragged onto the altar.

Then, he turned his head and looked out of the cage.

His gaze crossed the dense woods and leapt towards the endless sky.

Brother King Camos.

You said you’ll find me, I’m waiting for you, you will come, won’t you?

And also…

… And Heimos, although you are my enemy, I know that you always meant what you promised.

So, Heimos, quickly come and find me.

Hurry.

…

…

Time quickly flew by. In the blink of an eye, another day passed again, and the sun was slanting westward and sinking below the horizon.

Several people came over and lit the torch outside the cage. The red light illuminated the pale faces of the children inside.

Many children began to shrink into the cave, shivering in fear. They all knew what the arrival of these people meant— they were likely to be the next victim.

They only saw someone say a few words outside, and a tall guard wearing leather armor walked towards Garlan’s cell.

Suddenly, the children in the other cells were relieved, and Garlan’s cell was silent in an instant. The air seemed to be frozen at this moment, and every child’s face was full of fear. Some even sobbed quietly.

With a creak, the wooden door was opened, and the guard walked in with an apathetic look on his face. With a casual glance, he walked to the left.

He didn’t have any specific target. He would just grab a hapless child at will. Anyway, it was dark in the cell and he couldn’t see clearly, so he planned to catch whomever was available.

And the direction he was heading was exactly where the gloomy boy, who had mocked Kerry in the morning, had now come over to find trouble for Kerry and Garlan.

A deep look of fear flashed across the boy’s eyes, and then, a bit of viciousness suddenly appeared at the bottom of his eyes.

Garlan looked up and saw the fierceness in the boy’s eyes.

Immediately afterwards, he saw the boy suddenly stretch out his hand and shove Kerry. He pushed her beside him, causing her to stagger and fall towards the man who was walking towards them.

The boy’s movements were too fast and sudden, no one could react. They didn’t even see his petty action.

Only Garlan noticed it. Almost reflexively, he reached out and grabbed Kerry, who had staggered a step forward, and yanked her back.

But in order to use his strength, he had to take a step forward as well.

And he happened to be unlucky. The ground of this cell was originally uneven, and the place he stepped on happened to be a slightly larger pit.

As a result, Kerry was pulled back by him at once, and as he stepped into the pit, he immediately staggered forward and fell out.

Just like this, he bumped his head against the man in leather armor who was coming in towards their direction.

But the guard, who originally planned to catch any one who came his way, casually saw a child that ran into him of his own volition. The child was dim-witted and no effort was wasted, so he just grabbed the child and walked out.

Garlan couldn’t resist the man’s strength and was forcibly grasped and tugged out.

He glanced back and saw Kerry’s eyes in disbelief, staring back at him blankly, and the sullen boy’s vicious look that was a bit smug.

“Garl!”

When Garlan was being pulled out of the cell, he heard Kerry’s cry as soon as the wooden door was closed.

The little girl leaped over, clutching the wooden pole of the prison door, crying and reaching out to him from the gap, calling his name non-stop. The man holding onto him was probably already used to this kind of thing.

“Kerry…”

“Grandpa! It was for me—Garl was taken away because of me! He took the initiative to go forward for me—”

“Ai…Garl is a good boy…”

No, you have misunderstood.

I really didn’t take the initiative to step forward.

I’m not that heroic.

I was really unlucky and accidentally stepped on a pit and fell forward—

Hearing the dialogue coming from behind, Garlan thought that he was truly unlucky.

Seems like I cannot wait for Brother King and the others to save me.

Therefore, In the first place, I shouldn’t have done this kind of thing. What hero? What kind of hero easily exchanges his own life!?

The child, who was being dragged away, regretted it. Suddenly, the guard holding him stopped in his tracks.

Garlan looked up and realised that a stout man who was wearing a robe stopped in front of them. The bigger man said a few words, then lowered his head and stared hard at him.

Garlan didn’t know what was going on. He raised his head and his pair of big eyes looked at the plump man in confusion.

And so, in the dark night, the man saw the weak and lovely child lift his head up. His pale golden hair enveloping his palm-sized face, the snow-white skin, the red lips and the white teeth, and the big golden eyes like jewels, reflecting the light of fire. The heavy man was very satisfied with this beautiful scene.

“Go and get another one.”

The fat man continued, “Give him to me.”

The stout man seemed to have a higher status than the guard holding Garlan. The guard gave Garlan to the fat man without saying anything, and then turned around to catch another child.

He observed the left and right side of the child’s features and became even more pleased.

He led the child back to the cell wall near the cave. Kerry, who was crying sadly, saw Garlan’s return and suddenly widened her eyes.

The plump man looked around, found a relatively small empty cell, and pushed Garlan into it.

He originally planned to close the door right after, But after some thought, he turned around and took a plate of food from the guard and sent it to Garlan. He then proceeded to lock the wooden door.

He smiled and said to the child in the small cell, “It’s delicious, eat more.”

After speaking, the rotund man turned and left.

Fortunately, he had seen him…Look at what those idiots did? Actually taking such marvelous goods for sacrifice.

What a reckless way to waste resources!

The large man who turned and walked away, slandered in his heart.

The appearance of that child, that beautiful little face, he had never before seen such a high-class item in his entire life. If this were sold to noble ladies with special hobbies…no, noble men were possible as well. He could make a lot of money. With that money, it would be enough to buy as many child slaves as possible.

En, raise him well. It’ll be more valuable if I raise him well. The plump man thought in his heart as he walked away.

Garlan, who was inexplicably brought back and locked up in a small cell alone. “???”

The little prince looked dumbfounded at the plate of food stuffed into his arms by the stout man.

What happened?

I believe this is the God that they were referring to. Goddess of the Sea and Creation. 

To act rashly and alert the enemy.

Pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.