Devil's Bible

Chapter 7 The Identity Trap
"Ah!!" Downs, who was following behind Nemes, howled in pain, and black smoke billowed from his body.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and the demon corpse he was carrying fell to the ground, though it was in a worse state than Downs'.

Flames suddenly burst forth from the corpse, the green flames appearing eerie, and large amounts of black smoke rose from the corpse, only to be extinguished by the power of the hymn that was spreading from it.

As the hymn ended, the demon's corpse had become a withered, rat-like log, and the green flames on it had turned into normal orange flames.

Towns was covered in large beads of sweat, curled up to one side, clearly in considerable pain.

Nems simply smiled as he watched the church doors open in the distance, from which an old, hunched figure emerged.

This was the old priest that Nemes had previously sent Nair to kill.

However, it now seems that Nemes made things a little difficult for Nair before.

"Steel-type?" This was information that the old priest had never revealed before, at least not to Nair.

Otherwise, their contract would have been rewritten long ago, and perhaps Nemus wouldn't have taken over Nair's body so quickly.

Only those of the Iron race can wield such a powerful hymn.

It seems that bringing Towns along to test the waters was the right decision; they actually discovered something special.

"Hmm? Just a demon's corpse? I thought there was a demon daring to invade God's territory!" The old priest looked at the still-burning dried rat with his somewhat cloudy eyes and muttered to himself with slight doubt.

As he said this, the old pastor looked at Nems.

"Maybe I am the devil?" Nems joked.

Then, with a slightly more serious expression, he pointed at Downs and said, "He was corrupted by the power of the demon, and the life force in his body was forcibly activated. I activated some of his traits using breathing techniques."

"Perhaps that's why he gives off a feeling of being a living demon."

Nemes offered his own explanation, which is theoretically valid.

This is also the background he designed for Towns, making it seem more reasonable for him to wield power.

Of course, no matter how reasonable it may seem, some things are bound to arouse suspicion, such as Nemes himself.

He was certain that the old pastor's hymns earlier were very likely directed at him.

The change in Nemus's personality after possessing Nair was so obvious that, in this era, one of the most likely reasons for a person's drastic personality change is possession by a demon.

As a result, many mentally ill people are burned at the stake every year, being mistaken for demonic possession.

However, after this test, the old pastor should have had much less doubt about himself.

That level of hymn power is something that a typical demonic possession could never perfectly conceal.

"That is to say, I am special because I am a transmigrator. My soul structure is beyond the common sense of this world, so I can perfectly take over a person's identity and soul, and use the soul of the person being taken over as an outer disguise."

"Even a god could be fooled by this disguise!" Nemus thought to himself, and his smile became even more genuine.

"I see..." The old pastor looked at Nemus and finally believed Nemus's explanation, a look of emotion on his face.

"I'm getting old, I'm getting old..." he muttered to himself as he turned and walked into the church.

Nems glanced at Downs, who was gradually recovering, and told him to go back and wait for his news. Then he extinguished the fire from the dried rat, picked it up, and went into the church.

The church is laid out in a very conventional manner. Upon entering, there is a corridor with stone mortars on both sides, filled with a mixture of rainwater and dew.

When believers enter a church, they are required to clean their hands, face, mouth, etc.

Passing through the corridor, you enter the church's main hall, flanked by wooden benches and surrounded by stained glass windows. The translucent stained glass panels are inlaid with broken glass, depicting the legend of "the God of Discipline restraining the floating whale," and distorted light spots appear on the floor when sunlight shines through them.

Inside, there is a huge bone-carved deity statue.

The statue is a faceless figure radiating light, with its hands crossed and folded in front of its chest.

This is the God of discipline.

Nemus could sense that there was a considerable amount of faith power surrounding the statue, which was not normal.

Beneath the statue were some broken kneeling cushions, shiny with oil, indicating that many people came to pray to the god every day.

To the left of the statue is a door leading to a confessional, where the old pastor listens to the villagers' remorse and sins and comforts their hearts.

On the right is the area for clergy to rest and study.

There is another room inside that belongs to Nair.

Further back is the cemetery.

The old pastor washed his hands and face with the water from the mortar and then naturally sat down on a bench to the side.

"Nair..." the old priest called out the name while looking at the statue, his expression somewhat dazed.

“You come from the Dartmenley family,” the old pastor asked in a low voice. “It seems you’ve let go of something, so have you considered going back?”

“No, I won’t go back, at least not now!” Nemus said firmly.

This firm answer made the old pastor chuckle a few times.

Nemus has a complete understanding of Nair's past through his soul.

The Dartmenley family is a large family with deep ties to the Discipline Church.

Niel was trained as a paladin from a young age and had a bright future ahead of him, but he fell out with his family after coming of age.

That's why he came from the prosperous Gas Spring City to the small town of Backfin Village. Even though he had given up on himself, he was still unwilling to give up, which is why he hooked up with Nemus, who had infiltrated the material plane.

"It seems you've only figured it out, but haven't truly let go..."

“Yes, it’s not so easy for people to let go.” The old pastor’s gaze remained fixed on the idol, his words light and seemingly not directed at Nemes.

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

After a while, the old pastor began to talk about the church's official work.

“Three days from now, trainee priests and paladins will arrive, along with some migrants. The task of screening them will be yours.”

"Will priests and paladins come here for internships?" Nemus frowned, somewhat curious.

“Op seems to be doing a good job. The dorsal fin village is relatively stable, which has naturally attracted some people,” the old priest said, his gaze turning to where Nemus was.

"You and Oppa have a pretty good relationship, don't you?"

“It’s just normal business dealings.” Nemes immediately sensed the probing. Nemes had received some bribes from Op, but Nemes thought they were just ingratiating gifts.

Clearly, the old pastor's earlier statement, "Op seems to be doing a good job," was a question. The real situation was likely that Op might have done something taboo, which brought the church to its attention.

“Nair, you’re utterly useless…” Nemus had undoubtedly been tricked.

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(End of this chapter)