### Chapter 93: When the Flower of Sin Blossoms (Six)
It wasn’t the horrifying thing I thought it would be; it was just a tree.
A weirdly shaped, shiny golden tree.
It stood about two people high, its crooked branches jutting up awkwardly from a stone circular base surrounded by golden poles that looked like those fancy ropes you see at exclusive events. The trunk was so thick that even Sword Demon Miss and I couldn’t wrap our arms around it, but it was far too short to really be considered a tree; it was more like a tree stump.
However, starting from the middle of this stump, countless thin, dense branches sprouted upwards. They were so slender and tightly packed that they abruptly shot out from the robust trunk, creating an obvious mismatch as if a ten-meter-tall tree had been brutally chopped down and someone had haphazardly grafted dozens of tiny branches onto the stump.
What made it even more uncomfortable was that those slender branches were tilted upwards with a comically exaggerated curve, making the whole tree look like it was on the brink of toppling over from a storm, or like a frail old man hunched over without a cane, about to lose his balance at any moment.
I couldn’t tell what kind of rock this tree was made of…
But the shiny gold surface must have been plated because there were plenty of spots where the color had chipped away, revealing a dark, shadowy material underneath that glimmered softly in the torchlight.
…What on earth is this?
It didn’t seem like a holy altar.
“This is a holy tree statue.”
I had been staring at it when suddenly Sword Demon Miss spoke up, “I’ve seen something like it once in the Temple Church of the Holy City, where the Choir of Saints sings.”
“…Really? What’s it for?” I asked.
“Not sure, probably for faith?”
She shook her head lightly, adding, “The place where the Choir sings isn’t somewhere anyone can just wander in. I’ve only caught a fleeting glance from afar.”
Clearly, she wasn’t too interested in this thing; she only gave it a cursory glance before turning away to walk towards another corpse nearby, but then seemed to remember something, “Oh right, I saw a baptism ceremony once too.”
“…Hmm?”
“I happened to see a baptism ceremony in the Temple Church. A bunch of desperate clerics were kneeling there, preparing to receive the power of faith. They had something like that in front of them… the holy tree statue.”
She approached the second corpse, kneeling near the “holy tree statue,” and bent down to inspect it, pausing to gather her thoughts.
“A bishop in golden robes placed a chalice in the center of the stump… then poured holy water from a bottle onto the branches. The water flowed down into the chalice, and once it was full, those people were made to drink… and that’s how the baptism ended.”
“So, this is used for baptisms?”
I asked, stepping over the golden poles and climbing the base to get closer to the golden tree.
…Holy water.
I remembered Ailna’s notes mentioning that holy water was actually just a mix of Gidales’ bone marrow or some sort of bodily fluid, right?
If someone’s body was decent enough, considered a good “vessel,” then after receiving the holy water baptism, they could gain the power of faith.
Well, a select few could…
But what about the others?
I didn’t know…
I wasn’t too keen on digging deeper.
“Maybe…”
Sword Demon Miss said, “That’s all I’ve seen; I don’t know much else… and I’m not interested. It’s all just smoke and mirrors.”
Her tone hinted at a bit of disdain, which I hadn’t heard before.
“oh…”
I nodded thoughtfully.
Then I refocused on the tree in front of me, holding up the torch to make the golden tree shine even brighter. Leaning closer to the junction between the stump and the branches, I noticed a groove in the center of the stump, just right for a chalice or something to fit in, while those branching twigs almost all extended into that groove.
I examined it for a while longer and found that the branches were etched with complex grooves, seemingly designed to guide the flow of water, complete with some long, deep channels.
Aside from that, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy.
…So why were these people worshipping this thing right before they died?
Was there more to this tree than met the eye?
I ruminated for a long while but couldn’t come up with an answer, so I decided to abandon that train of thought—it was a meaningless question. Those who could d*e here were likely not the Choir members but related to those “clinic experiments.” This thing might hold some kind of belief for them, but why should I bother trying to understand the faith of a bunch of lunatics?
I turned around and stepped down from the base, looking around. I saw Sword Demon Miss had already moved on to a third corpse farther away, so I casually asked, “Did you find anything new?”
As I asked, I quickly circled around the nearest corpse to walk towards her.
“…A bishop is dead.”
As soon as Sword Demon Miss heard my question, she straightened up, turned to me and pointed at a shriveled corpse nearly flat on the ground, its hands tightly clasped to its chest and forehead touching the earth, “Look.”
“Hmm?”
I walked over to her side, using the torchlight to get a better look at the corpse.
“All his cleric robes are burned up, but the golden framework of his crown is intact, just a bit misshapen. I can recognize this square and pointed shape; it’s the bishop’s ceremonial crown.”
“…So it is.”
I recognized it too.
Even though the crown’s fabric was burned away, the metal framework remained. I hadn’t really paid attention before, but I remembered how that long-robed old guy used to dress; this shape matched perfectly with his headgear…
What was that old guy’s name again?
Ah, right, Anseier.
His rank should be considered high-level clergy, right?
And here he was, mysteriously dead…
And it looked like he hadn’t even fought back before he died.
Was it because of the Eye of Wisdom?
…Perhaps.
Such terrifying illusion powers had rampaged to this extent; if it weren’t for me, maybe anyone else would have been in the same boat… unable to fight back, even a formidable character like the Sword Saint would peel himself like an onion.
Thinking about this…
Did I just solve a colossal problem for the Church?
d*mn!
“Tsk.”
As I thought about this, I clicked my tongue in frustration, wanting to curse something but not knowing what to say. After a moment, I could only stare at the corpse and grumble, “Dying like this is just ugly.”
Fine, fine…
I couldn’t just stand there and watch that monstrous thing harm more people and drag the whole Silgaya down with it… So let’s not overthink it and continue searching.
I still hadn’t figured out what this place was for…
With Sword Demon around, even if everything looked pitch black and I could step on something weird if I wasn’t careful, I still wasn’t too nervous; at least, I didn’t need to be scared out of my wits…
Except for bugs.
“Let’s go, follow me.”
I patted Sword Demon Miss on the shoulder, turning to leave, “Let’s check around.”
“…Okay.”
Thud, thud, thud…
Heavy footsteps echoed in the dark, empty space.
The sky outside had likely gone completely dark by now.
Next, the two of us circled around this circular hall and discovered that it was supposed to be a singing hall; just about twenty meters in front of the holy statue tree was a medium-sized stone platform, and behind it was an altar.
Clearly, if the small church had been operating normally, that stone platform would be where the clerics sang praises, but now it was just scattered with shriveled corpses.
Sword Demon Miss was more observant than I was; she noted some marks on the floor around the platform and figured that there used to be a lot of benches in this hall. Before long, we found a pile of long benches in the left corner of the hall, all dusty and covered in cobwebs.
And…
More corpses.
