Of course, the Followers of Death weren’t heretics from the beginning.
In the beginning, they were those who explored the afterlife and paradise, performing good deeds for the judgment in the underworld.
However, they started to change when certain mages began to infiltrate their ranks.
Reading the scriptures of the Church of Life, adhering to its doctrines, and repeating good deeds, the Followers of Death were suddenly faced with the fresh perspectives of curious mages, allowing them to study death from a new angle.
If it had only ended at that level of exploration, they would never have become heretics.
But the mages’ thirst for knowledge was insatiable, eventually leading to attempts to control death through magic.
Initially, those who revered death regarded such attempts as undesirable, but somehow they were persuaded…. It seems they fell for the smooth tongues of the mages.
Thus, the Followers of Death, who had set death as their goal, transformed into those who wielded death as a tool.
“Is all this because of the mages?”
“The mages’ curiosity is truly remarkable. What can we do about it?”
Who would have thought that with the increase of mages due to Sia’s book and the beginning of the development of various magic, such a side effect would occur? It was really unexpected.
Well, I can’t say I don’t understand the mages’ perspective. When there’s a significant goal like an existing god, who wouldn’t want to get a little closer to it?
Just like when there’s a giant mountain, you’d want to climb it.
It seems they tried to emulate that god’s powers a little, but from the perspective of those getting stomped on, it’s nothing but a nuisance!!!
And there’s one more thing.
At the time, the location the Followers of Death chose as their base… was a temple built near the land filled with the aura of death.
One of the temples built to suppress the deathly energy gushing from the Dragon’s Tomb. The temple most closely related to death’s energy.
The Followers of Death settled there… and began using the deathly energy of that land after transforming into necromancers.
Just like how one uses magic with the power of mana stones, they began to use death’s energy like magic.
Of course, this was not easy to accomplish, as it was a power quite different from ordinary magical power.
The deathly energy, which devoured life and distorted magical power, was like an extreme poison that no ordinary human could withstand.
But wasn’t it said that poison and medicine are essentially the same, with only the dosage differing? Somehow, they found a way to suppress and control that poison-like deathly energy, managing to turn it into a source of their power.
They had gained the ability to handle a tremendous amount of death energy, something typical mages could not.
While the amount of that energy was vast, the only things they could do with it were related to death or life, so at that point, they had become completely different beings from typical mages.
They could move corpses by rejecting death and craving life, manifest the deathly energy into objects to create sharp bones, absorb others’ life to make it their own, ignite unextinguishable black flames, or create spirits that mimicked souls with the power of death.
In exchange for accepting death’s energy into their bodies, most of the spells an ordinary mage could perform either became impossible or were significantly weakened.
“But wanting to grow stronger by making death’s energy your own… that seems somewhat insane.”
“Hmm. Using a power that gnaws away at one’s own life in such a way is not a common idea, is it?”
In reality, many necromancers found that after accepting death’s energy, they could no longer utilize magic normally.
Perhaps because they used their magical power to suppress and control the ever-hungry death energy… they lost the ability to use magic properly.
“Wanting power that one cannot handle and, as a result, losing what one originally possessed… what a foolish choice.”
“Well, they might be satisfied with it themselves.”
From their perspective, death is an area governed by the Goddess of Life. They might think that by stepping into that realm, they have gotten closer to divinity.
What others think of such a spectacle… goes without saying.
“Still, if they had just studied quietly, none of these problems would have arisen…”
“Such a large power obtained so easily cannot be managed by the same means.”
“Yeah. That makes sense…”
The Followers of Death. Or rather, the emergence of necromancers did not initially pose a huge problem.
Conducting research on death itself wasn’t an issue. Just as no one questioned the Followers of Death researching and spreading their doctrines.
However, at some point, they crossed a line. They became intoxicated by the powerful force they could easily obtain.
At first, it was just that more people began entering the Dragon’s Tomb, but at some point, the death energy emanating from the Dragon’s Tomb significantly increased.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the temple the Followers of Death had taken as their base wasn’t effectively suppressing the death energy, leading to various issues and the Followers of Death deserting…
It was truly a series of complicated headaches.
“Thanks to that, I ended up becoming the High Priest.”
“Indeed.”
As the Followers of Death fled from the temple, something was obviously amiss, as the death energy emerging from the Dragon’s Tomb only grew stronger… forcing even the dragons remaining with the Church of Life to step in.
Even the dragon who had been the High Priest already… handed over his position to another human to suppress the death energy.
“Well, thanks to that, I find myself in this wonderful position now.”
“You can brag about it. You’re the first human to become the High Priest among the members of the Church of Life.”
“Ahaha… although I ended up learning truths I didn’t know before.”
The High Priest chuckled lightly. He had been informed of many stories by the previous High Priest.
About the Church of Life, the Goddess of Life, and the dragons within the Church.
Why the saint of the Church of Life was called the Dragon Priestess.
“So, are you disappointed? That the Goddess of Life you worship appears in such a childish form?”
“No, I’ve decided to think positively about it. The Goddess of Life has descended to earth for us humans.”
The High Priest wore a friendly smile. Well, it wasn’t entirely incorrect.
Most other gods merely provided miracles, lent strength, or offered prophecies.
In contrast, she does everything and even comes down to work herself!
“In the future, humans will become even more numerous. The dragons working within the Church of Life… will have decreased rather than increased.”
I had been purposefully reducing the number of dragons within the Church of Life.
While it was certain that their power was strong and they could be useful allies, it was… well… kind of boring, right?
It might not be right to judge everything based on entertainment alone, but whatever.
“I know. The Goddess of Life wishes to claim this land for life. The dragons are powerful, but they’re too strong to simply consider them life.”
“They’re not bad, but if such a large being moves recklessly, even the small ones could end up in calamity from the aftermath.”
I’m not a fan of having a giant dinosaur smashing everything up in a cute city simulation.
Such occurrences should be saved for the end of everything, when it’s time to wrap up that scenario.
When that will be, I have no idea.
“Let’s move on from them… um. What are you thinking about the necromancers?”
“Well, what would be the best course of action…”
From the perspective of South Romania, it seemed they were hoping the Church of Life would somehow handle the issues arising from within.
However, since the dragons capable of properly dealing with them were stabilizing the tomb… hmm.
“It might be best to select the more skilled priests to subdue the necromancers.”
Since their roots lie within the Church of Life, they cannot escape their responsibility.
Some measure of action is definitely needed.
“Should we call them Inquisition?”
“Heretics… that’s a rather ominous term.”
“But it fits well.”
Death is merely the final act of life; it shouldn’t become a domain of control.
Those who seek to use death as a tool must be seen as heretics.
“Or I could just go there and smash them myself…”
“Oh, no. The Goddess of Life… I mean, the Dragon Priestess shouldn’t need to get involved in such matters directly. I’ll assemble the appropriate personnel and take care of it.”
“Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Leave it to me.”
As the High Priest spoke, I simply nodded, when suddenly I had a brilliant idea.
“Oh! Right! I’ll create a holy magic that’s effective in neutralizing death energy. We can’t let my precious priests get hurt during the process of dealing with the necromancers.”
If I create a flame that purifies the corrupt energy through faith, the rest will take care of itself!
Though perhaps the bodies of those heretics condemned in sin may end up being burned too.
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