The Peace of Evil

Naimus had sent the Village Guardian to keep watch on Otto.

At the same time, Naimus borrowed the Rope of Oath to activate silent control for the Village Guardian, allowing him to move without making a sound.

Logically speaking, given the vigilance the Village Guardian had displayed before, it should have been unlikely for Otto to notice him.

So why had the Village Guardian made such a drastic disturbance that the Rope of Oath detected it?

What truly surprised Naimus was that the Village Guardian had also developed "faith."

The Village Guardian had only begun working for him after Naimus forcibly coerced him through a Demon Contract and the life of his daughter.

The Village Guardian's attitude toward him had always been one of clear hatred. Naimus was certain that, given the chance, the Village Guardian would definitely kill him.

Yet despite such a relationship, the Village Guardian had developed faith in him.

"No, that's not right. It isn't faith in me, but faith in 'demons.'" Through his Divinity, Naimus touched that strand of faith and understood its essence.

"So faith itself does not possess an absolutely clear target!"

"The structure of faith is truly interesting."

In the narrow sense, faith referred to trust and reverence toward gods.

But in reality, faith was conviction in some abstract concept.

For example, if merchants believed that profit came above all else, then merchants were believers in profit.

For example, farmers who scratched out a living from the soil placed their trust in the land and their crops, and that too was a form of faith.

Even if you liked the wind, that liking could be regarded as a kind of faith.

Thoughts of admiration, submission, trust, fear, and the like toward things and abstract concepts could all exist as faith.

For instance, among the Orthodox Gods was the Savage Violent Pantheon.

The Rampage Pantheon, led by the Lord of Storms, primarily gained faith through the terror of storms.

Though Naimus had known this before, it had been like hearing a story—limited merely to "knowing."

But now, seeing with his own eyes how the Village Guardian's fear of demons, or even the more abstract concept of "evil," had formed faith, Naimus finally broke through the joints and achieved "knowing that he knew."

"Then next comes action, until knowledge and action become one." Having understood the complexity of faith, Naimus instead found a way to deal with those stray thoughts.

However, Naimus was in no hurry. Sharpening the knife did not delay the chopping of wood. He sensed that the Village Guardian was racing back toward the village.

Sure enough, before long, there came a knock on the door of Naimus's residence. It was the Village Guardian.

"Otto... he tricked the miners into entering the mine, then blew up the mine!" As the Village Guardian spoke, he could not help swallowing.

He had killed people too, but compared to Otto, he was like a sorcerer before a great wizard.

He absolutely did not possess Otto's decisiveness and cold-bloodedness.

Otto had laughed and chatted with more than a dozen miners, then, after they entered, casually thrown out several scrolls without hesitation and blown up the mine.

Among them had even been one of Otto's own confidants—the servant who had delivered tea and snacks to Naimus and the others that day.

Otto had killed him too.

That pure evil Otto displayed for the sake of profit reminded the Village Guardian of Naimus. The two were similar beings, true demons.

Only, one might have been a member of the demon race, while the other had a soul that was close to that of a demon.

It was precisely this fearful understanding that formed faith, and because of the Rope of Oath, Naimus sensed it.

"It seems Otto did a fine job." Faced with the Village Guardian's faintly fearful emotions, Naimus merely smiled and said this.

That reaction truly sent a chill through the Village Guardian.

He had killed for his daughter. After that, he had tried his best not to kill people, merely digging up corpses instead.

Deep down, he still held respect for life. But Otto and Naimus were different. Their sole measure of life was value, and they were indifferent to life's very existence.

At that moment, much of the hatred in his heart toward Naimus was scattered by fear.

The Village Guardian's original little schemes also sank out of sight at this moment.

Forget it. As long as I can ensure my daughter's safety, I won't fight people like them anymore. I can't beat them.

This was not a matter of strength. If it had only been strength, then even though Naimus had utterly crushed him before, the Village Guardian would not have been afraid.

This was a crushing defeat of mindset.

"Why are you afraid?" Naimus suddenly looked at the Village Guardian and asked.

"Aren't we all eating people for our own benefit?"

"It's only that we eat them in different ways."

"Just do what you need to do. Do not be uneasy because of it." Naimus's words inexplicably made the Village Guardian feel at peace. His own sins found acceptance here with Naimus.

Naimus also saw a seed being planted—a seed of faith in evil within the Village Guardian's heart.

At dawn the next day, during the Whale Call, Naimus once more performed the Whale-ification procedure on Pur, who had quietly arrived.

Only this time, Naimus had Pur actively trigger his Essence of Pain ability. Then, under Naimus's control, the Rope of Oath within Pur's body began to change as well.

The power of sealing could conceal something that tangibly existed, preventing it from exerting its effects.

"It still had to be demons." Naimus sighed. The added ability of sealing came from his contract with the Lesser Demon Kurog.

Demons were innately extraordinary beings. Even Lesser Demons were not something ordinary humans could compare to.

"And this can also offer a reference: the state of demonic possession." Inspiration surged continuously through Naimus.

The Village Guardian had adapted the Deep Well Water within his body to the mutations of Whale-ification through repeated infections and repeated self-healing, leaving behind a seed of Whale-ification.

Naimus, however, did not need to go through so much trouble.

Naimus controlled the Rope of Oath and began using Whale-ification Disease as the main body of the seal.

"I sealed Kurog onto Downs. Downs's body allowed the demon to remain in this world for a long time, but it also prevented Him from further invading Downs."

"This line of thought can also be applied to Whale-ification Disease."

"Use the seal to reduce the conflict between Whale-ification Disease and Deep Well Water, maintaining the continual existence of Whale-ification Disease. Then, by constantly manipulating the seal, allow Whale-ification Disease and Deep Well Water to collide and merge in small amounts, many times over."

"As long as my control over the seal is precise enough, and Pur's own Essence serves as an adhesive within it, the experiment will most likely succeed!"

Naimus's thoughts became exceptionally clear.

While the soul of "Nigel" continued operating the experiment at the surface, his deeply hidden True Spirit began to activate his Divinity, observing Pur's newly emerging faith.

Everything proceeded smoothly.

Naimus's idea was correct.

The seal restrained the intensity of the conflict between Deep Well Water and Whale-ification Disease, leaving them in a state where they could fight, yet were unlikely to truly fight.

Finally, there was Pur's own power—the Essence of Pain.

This power, invoked by the Precept of Forgiveness and awakened through the Rope of Oath and faith, could control the sensitivity of one's pain and convert pain into inner strength.

That power of pain was like the finest bridge, swiftly building a platform that joined the two powers together.

Outwardly, numerous black spots suddenly appeared on Pur's body as he lay there.

Those black spots quickly spread, and for the first time, the power of Whale-ification Disease blossomed upon Pur's body.

If you have the time and channels, please help spread the word. Thank you.