"The second son walks upon fertile lands, bending down to grasp the heavy ears of wheat, reaching out to pluck the sweet fruits that hang from the branches. The valleys are teeming with cattle and sheep."
"The shepherd father warned him not to venture into the underground caves, lest he bring suffering to the world above."
"The second son, unaware of suffering's true form, day by day could not quell his curiosity. Eventually, he ventured into the caves, and suffering came to the earth."
"In the shadows, a demonic spirit whispered to him, unleashing suffering, binding the sin to him. The only way to escape this sin was to take on another form."
"The second son, believing the demon's words, transformed into a new, loathsome shape, one that would attract sin, so his true form might remain distant from the sin."
— Divine Words: The Age of Revelation
Adam chewed on the pickled pastry, leaning against the bookshelf as he perused another copy of Divine Words. In the distance, Master Alva was napping in his chair, snoring softly.
Having spent the entire morning exploring the church, Adam had been granted permission to read books here during his lunch break.
It was undeniable that the Holy Sound Church had done a commendable job with its public education. Periodically, monks would visit each household to explain the Divine Words and teach children to read.
However, as the barriers to entry for the theological academy rose, fewer monks were willing to engage in these home visits. For those monks, who had paid a hefty price to gain knowledge in the academy, it seemed unfair to offer such teachings for free, even if it was only a rudimentary introduction.
Moreover, since the academy's standards had been raised, those who could attend were either wealthy merchants or nobles, groups that often held disdain for the common folk. Their inherent attitudes toward the lower classes dictated their actions.
Adam closed the book, the passage he had just read shedding light on the origins of werewolves and otherworldly beings.
The tale spoke of transforming into another form to bear the weight of sin. As a result, these beings were deemed inherently sinful, and no matter how they appeared outwardly, any monk who identified them typically chose to destroy them, returning them to the dust.
Their existence alone was a sin.
In the afternoon, it seemed Alva's measurements were nearing completion. As Adam followed behind him, something else caught his attention.
Due to the church's ongoing renovations, some of the faithful were being directed to a side hall for their baptisms and prayers. Adam noticed one particular devotee who stood out among the others.
The person, much like the others, performed the rites correctly: entering through the main door, cleansing hands, face, and ears, then sitting in quiet meditation, before kneeling in front of the statue of the god, covering his eyes, and listening intently to the sacred sound.
After completing the ritual, the individual covered his ears and recited the Divine Words, walking toward the door beneath the statue to exit.
The ritual itself seemed unremarkable, but Adam noticed something strange. As the devotee performed the rites, the scent of sweat wafted from him, mingled with a familiar odor.
"Is this one of those otherworldly beings, enduring pain while worshipping?" Adam thought. He understood the process all too well—the worship of these beings was agonizing, as if their entire bodies resisted, like a rebellion stirring within them. This resistance caused intense pain.
However, this pain was something they could grow accustomed to. After enough repetition, it would likely just be a momentary ache and sweat, not enough to cause fainting or reveal any further abnormalities.
Yet, the smell still betrayed the man's true nature—an odor reminiscent of the witch doctor and the werewolf from that day, suggesting that he too had taken magical potions to mask his abnormality.
"Is it fear?" Adam pondered the devotee's psychological state. Otherworldly beings were born with sin, their very existence deemed a crime.
Over the course of their long struggles, some of them had abandoned resistance, accepting their inherent sin and seeking redemption. Following the Divine Words, they became ascetic monks, day after day yearning for divine forgiveness. These beings earned some recognition from human monks and even founded the Church of Divine Tears.
Yet, the relationship between the Church of Divine Tears and other major churches was strained, with many dismissing it as a heretical cult.
This particular devotee did not seem to be one of those truly devout souls, willing to surrender everything to God. His reason for worshiping was not devotion but fear of death.
With the capture of the witch doctor, those who had relied on magical potions to conceal their abnormalities were growing increasingly fearful. But unlike the werewolf who had fully broken from belief and rushed to his death, this devotee's belief was incomplete.
Thus, while he came to worship out of fear, he continued to use magical potions to cover his true nature.
"This man has no true faith," Adam concluded. "Everything he believes is centered on himself, everything serves his own purposes." He recalled the distinctive scent of the man. "And as long as I control his lifeblood, I will control him."
"Once I open this crack and use him as a figurehead, I can gather more power under my name, and with that power, I will control more of them." Strength in numbers was not a mere saying.
When one has many followers, others—no matter how powerful—will hesitate to act. This unseen force will limit them, and in time, they will become part of your influence.
Of course, there would always be brutes who relied solely on personal strength to win.
"Thus, I must maintain an air of mystery, hide my true face, and make others wary of me," Adam thought to himself.
"But caution is still needed." While this was an excellent opportunity, Adam did not plan to act recklessly.
The Holy Sound Church's attitude toward otherworldly beings was one of utter eradication, yet there were always exceptions. Adam considered the possibility that this devotee might be another test from the Church.
Even if it wasn't a test, Adam had to find out whether the Church had noticed the devotee's anomaly.
He could tell the man was an otherworldly being based on his sharp werewolf senses, but the Church might have discovered his abnormality in other ways. If that was the case, Adam would risk exposing himself.
"I cannot rush..." Adam reminded himself, though he knew that time was his most pressing concern.
When Alva finished inspecting the last wall that needed painting, he announced a break, allowing Adam to go wherever he wished.
Although Alva didn't show it, Adam could tell that the teacher had some reservations about him.
"For someone who looks down on others, he never remembers their names," Adam mused. Even after spending two days together, Alva had never once called Adam by name, despite assigning him several tasks.
"Fura is the one he respects," Adam thought, not feeling insulted. After all, he had obtained this opportunity through unscrupulous means.
Adam was clear-headed about this but had no regrets or pangs of guilt.
That evening, Adam once again transformed into his werewolf form, slipping out of the attic and setting out to follow up on the information he had gathered earlier.
"That man arrived at the church this afternoon. The sweat on him had a familiar scent, mixed with the odor of the poisonous mist district. Judging by his attire, his family's situation doesn't seem prosperous," Adam reasoned.
"This aligns with the werewolf I encountered before. The magical potions aren't cheap," he recalled, thinking of the werewolf who had charged the pyre. That man had been diligent in his work but remained poor, unable to afford a wife. Gossip in the neighborhood had even mentioned his gambling habits.
The man likely spent most of his money on potions. From this, Adam inferred that today's worshiper was also in a similar financial situation.
Reluctantly, Adam returned to the so-called "poison mist district," the impoverished area he detested.
The overwhelming stench of the place nearly choked him as he stood at the entrance. He could almost see a monstrous, yellow-green figure floating above the street, grinning at him.
Public hygiene in this era was appalling, with many believing that water was unclean and never bathing throughout their lives.
While the poorer areas had public toilets built by the Kingdom of Saint Heavenly Sound, the slums had no such conveniences. People discarded waste directly into the streets, mixing with horse dung and forming a new, solid road under the wheels of carts.
That's why Adam had named the slums the "poison mist district."