"I killed your parents with my own hands."
Originally, when Grandpa said he planned to tell Kallen the secret, Kallen had prepared himself. Even though he was still lying in bed, in his heart, he had already reserved room for a cushion.
Yet he truly did not expect that Grandpa really had no opening cinematic at all and jumped straight into the heavy bombshell.
Perhaps, just as he had said earlier, it was about seizing the time to say what should have been said all along.
"Your parents, just like me, were also Inquisitors of the Order God Church."
Kallen noticed that Dis said "Inquisitor" instead of "Divine Servant".
According to Puer, the orthodox churches might have different titles, but they all followed a specific sequence:
Purifier -- Divine Servant;
Inquirer -- Divine Revelation;
Reflector -- Divine Shepherd.
The fourth tier was the Inquisitor.
The first three tiers were somewhat akin to grassroots civil servants. By the time one reached Inquisitor, it was similar to traditional officialdom. Judging by Grandpa's position, an Inquisitor was comparable to a local top-ranking leader.
Therefore, "Kallen's" parents held a truly high position.
For the Immerlis Family to have produced three "Inquisitors" meant that within the system of the Order God Church, they could also be considered a "prominent family" existence, at least one not to be underestimated.
"During a mission to suppress an Otherworldly Demon, their souls were contaminated. This contamination was irreversible, unable to be saved or redeemed. At their entreaty, I chose to help grant them release."
Hearing this, Kallen did not feel too much surprise.
Even Puer said that Dis was someone who valued family deeply, and that Dis did not kill him simply because he enjoyed the shelter of being the grandson named "Kallen".
Even though it had been depicted in "Kallen's" notes that Grandpa had killed his parents, Dis surely had his unspeakable reasons.
Although Dis spoke of this matter in a very calm tone, Kallen could empathize with how agonizing it must have been deep inside for this man who valued family when he personally killed two of his own family members.
However, contamination... irreversible?
Earlier, when that "Source of Sin" copper coin contaminated Ron, it should have been reversible and curable. Dis performed "Purification" for Ron, and then Ron returned to normal.
As for "his" parents, it was irreversible.
The difference was akin to Ron eating something unclean which triggered diarrhea-taking medicine would cure it-whereas "his" parents had drunk Paraquat, with zero possibility of survival.
"Ever since then, you became a child without parents. And ever since then, I began to regret-regret why I had led your father and your mother to join the church, and even more, regret how many family members the Immerlis Family had lost throughout history because of the Order God Church and because of devotion.
Almost every generation of the Immerlis Family has had to endure the agony of a loved one's sudden departure.
Even more ridiculously, although the family runs a funeral society, we don't even have the qualification to hold a true funeral for our own departed family members."
Kallen remembered Puer saying that the bodies of divine officials would be "recycled".
"Therefore, I made a resolution: the Immerlis Family, after I leave, will permanently withdraw from the Order God Church.
I hope Mason, I hope Winnie, I hope their children, I hope you, I hope my family, can avoid wading into the whirlpool of this world's dark side and live out the life of a normal, ordinary person.
Even though ordinary people are destined to grow old, fall ill, and die, destined to be accompanied by all kinds of accidents, it is still far more blessed than witnessing those distortions and cruelties firsthand, right down to your soul being defiled and still finding no rest when it ends."
At this point, Dis smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly:
"When all is said and done, I am a selfish person, and the furthest distance my gaze can reach is only the porch at the front door.
Perhaps in my youth, I also harbored the doctrine in my bosom, also shouted slogans that I could sacrifice everything for the Light of Order, and also hoped to defend the glory of the Immerlis Family within the Order God Church;
But the me of now,
I only hope that my family can be healthy, can be secure, and best of all, can live a little more happily."
Dis's gaze began to look out the window;
Kallen understood that at this moment, Dis was no longer merely "narrating" to him, but more than that, he was pouring out his innermost thoughts.
Some words he could not say to the rest of the family; they could only be bottled up inside.
"I, Dis Immerlis, am just such a good-for-nothing person."
This was the most sincere confession from the heart of a solemn old man.
"Then, you fell ill, and fell very ill. I tried my utmost, hoping to be able to protect you, but I did not succeed. You still left."
Kallen fell silent.
This sentence,
was equivalent to laying everyone's relationship out in the open.
"I lied to Mason and Mary, saying I was taking you to a hospital in Bellwyn City, that that hospital was very good at treating difficult ailments like yours. But in reality, when I carried you away, you had actually already stopped breathing; you were already dead.
I lost my son, my daughter-in-law, and also caused you to lose your parents;
Then,
I was going to lose you.
I once suspected that this was the God of Order's disciplinary punishment for my disloyalty, that he knew of my betrayal of the Light of Order and therefore deliberately sent down disaster to snatch you away from my side as well.
When you were being resuscitated, I once repented. I even swore that if the God of Order could restore my little Kallen to health, I would unreservedly continue to dedicate the rest of my life to the Order God Church and guard the Light of Order.
And the Immerlis Family would continue to inherit the glory of the Order God Church, becoming its most loyal defender. I would bring you into the church, and I would pass everything down to you.
Because our devotion, at least, had been rewarded.
Yet,
you still left.
The God of Order did not answer my prayer; perhaps he didn't even hear it at all."
Dis's voice grew lower and lower;
Finally,
he slowly raised his head,
and continued to say very calmly:
"When I stood before your remains, I said a sentence facing both you and the sky."
After a pause,
Dis spread his hands open,
as if reminiscing,
yet also as if brewing emotion,
no,
and yet as if savoring it;
he said:
"The God of Order raised by a whore!"
When these words were spoken, Kallen felt a slight sense of unreality, as though the light and shadow before him had produced a slight deviation;
Kallen understood that this was his own psychological effect.
Even though in his past life he did not believe in any religion and did not like to kowtow and pray upon seeing a statue of a god, he still wouldn't do things that insulted the gods, nor would he curse aloud. He didn't even dare to curse, always feeling it would break taboos.
Yet right before his eyes,
in a world where religion clearly truly possessed extraordinary aspects,
an Inquisitor of the Order God Church,
had actually, right in front of him,
profaned and insulted a god.
"He made you leave me, but I simply refused to agree. Because you were still young, and with your reclusive nature since childhood, you hadn't even had time to unfold your life; there was still too much you hadn't seen or heard.
You shouldn't have just left like this. This isn't fair to you.
To your father, to your mother,
to me,
to the entire Immerlis, it is not fair!
Therefore, I found Mr. Hoffen.
Mr. Hoffen is a retired Divine Shepherd of the Principle God Church, but his knowledge and abilities are far from being merely those of a Divine Shepherd. He knows too many secrets and understands how to manipulate and execute this secret.
I once saved him, and I was despicable enough to use that life-saving grace as leverage; he finally agreed to me.
With his help,
inside an abandoned factory in the suburbs of Bellwyn City, I completed a Divine Descent Ritual of extremely high specifications.
Do you know,
Kallen,
after the ritual was completed,
I didn't rush to flee, even though I knew the commotion here could attract the attention of the government and numerous major churches. Yet I still spent a full three minutes.
I pressed my ear against your chest,
and I heard the sound of your heartbeat.
That joy intoxicated me.
This was not me using the 'Awakening Art' on your remains-that was merely an empty shell, and moreover the flicker of a dying candle, a form of self-deception.
Instead,
within my grandson's body,
the soul was once again brimming over;
my grandson,
once again burst forth with vitality.
My grandson,
he,
had come back to life."
Kallen took a deep breath. He knew that the one who had returned was not "Kallen", but him.
Therefore, he himself-who had already died from an accident-had his soul summoned by Dis into "Kallen's" body, ultimately achieving "resurrection".
His resurrection in this world was not random, nor did it rely on luck. All of this was Dis's purposeful plan.
For a moment,
a trace of guilt actually welled up inside Kallen's heart. Because of his own reason, Dis's plan to resurrect his grandson "Kallen" had actually not succeeded.
"I believe that the reason that Alfred is willing to treat you with 'utmost respect' is likely because he guessed something-for instance, linking you and that Divine Descent Ritual in Bellwyn City together.
Both Hoffen and Puer helped me a lot when I was preparing the Divine Descent Ritual, but perhaps at the time they didn't think I could complete such a high-specification Divine Descent Ritual, so they held the mindset of fulfilling the final wish of an old man driven out of his mind by grief over losing his grandson.
However, to their surprise,
the Divine Descent Ritual succeeded.
Then, they began to endlessly persuade me to kill this descended Evil God while he was still weak."
Kallen pressed his lips together.
He was not worried that now that the conversation had reached this point, Dis would kill him.
Because if Dis really wanted to kill him, he would have done so long ago.
The old man was not a person of indecision;
that's right, an old man who dared to greet the God of Order as one raised by a whore, how could he possibly do such a wishy-washy, hesitant thing?
However,
Kallen still asked with some curiosity:
"Grandpa, then why didn't you kill me?"
Kallen knew that this "phrasing" of his was somewhat asking for a beating.
Yet it was precisely in front of Dis that he dared to ask like this.
Hearing this, Dis asked, "What did you call me?"
"Grandpa."
"Then you are my grandson."
Kallen suddenly chuckled. Lying on the bed, he stopped looking at Dis, turned his head instead to look at the ceiling, and asked again:
"Why?"
Dis stood up and looked at Kallen lying in bed:
"Why what?"
"You know what I'm asking, don't you?"
"Then, what difference is there between the you of now and the you inside your mother's womb?"
"There is a huge difference," Kallen said. "A huge difference."
I am not that "Kallen",
no,
to be precise,
I am nothing like "Kallen" at all.
He was autistic, cowardly, and timid, while he himself was like the exact opposite of him.
Dis shook his head and said:
"What I asked was, as far as I am concerned, what difference is there?"
"As far as you are concerned..."
"When my grandson was gestating in his mother's womb and hadn't yet been born, where did my affection for this child come from?
Did I know what kind of personality he had?
Did I know what kind of person he was?
Did I know what faith he would have when he grew up?
Even,
I didn't even know if he was a boy or a girl.
Yet I still loved him, I looked forward to his birth, and I even imagined him waking up and crying in a cradle after being born."
"Is it because of bloodline..."
Kallen asked, "Is it because what flows in this body, just like you, is the bloodline belonging to Immoreles?"
"No."
"Not that?"
"The reason I looked forward to that fetus in the womb so much is because I knew that when he descended, when he learned to speak, he would call me... Grandfather."
Kallen fell silent.
He finally realized that he had misunderstood Dis, had always misunderstood him.
He had habitually projected his own mindset onto Dis, but Dis was simply Dis. The way he viewed the world was different from ordinary people; beneath his stern exterior, he was actually extremely peaceful.
"After the Divine Descent Ritual was completed, I pressed my ear against your chest. When I heard the heartbeat burst forth from your body anew, it felt as though I had returned to the time when your mother was carrying you-that period when I stood to the side looking serious, yet in my heart, I was filled with hope that you would arrive safely and healthily soon.
I had a premonition.
When you awoke,
you would call me Grandfather.
Yet at the same time, I wasn't certain; truth be told, my heart was also somewhat apathetic and uneasy.
Therefore, when we brought you home and you awoke for the first time, our whole family gathered around you.
When you looked around in a daze, scanning the faces of everyone here without calling out to anyone, I felt somewhat uncomfortable inside.
But I could understand it too.
After all, you had just 'been born.'
Facing this world so unfamiliar to you,
how could you possibly start speaking and calling out to people the moment you woke up?"
Only now did Kallen recall the expression on Dis's face when he first woke up: relaxed, solemn, relaxed, and solemn once more.
When he had recalled this scene previously, he thought it was because Dis had seen through the fact that he wasn't "Kallen" and was struggling over whether or not to kill him.
In reality, however, the man had known from the very beginning that that "Kallen" was never coming back.
He had simply been worried-worried about why he hadn't called out to anyone right away.
"Heh, heh, heh..."
Dis suddenly laughed.
"Two days after you woke up, you started calling people, and you called out with quite a bit of enthusiasm. Your cousin brother, your cousin sister, your uncle, your aunt, your aunt, including me, this grandfather.
Do you know?
That flattering tone in every single one of those 'Grandfather' calls you made took some getting used to for me at first."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..."
Hearing this, Kallen burst into loud laughter as well.
He had been cowardly at the time, extremely cowardly. Arriving in an unfamiliar world, he could only rely on his "family" to provide him with protection and the necessities for survival.
Just like a human infant newly arrived, this was, in truth, his own re-arrival into another unfamiliar world.
Dis reached out.
He tucked the corner of the blanket in for Kallen.
"A high and lofty god took away my grandson. I, Dis, simply had to snatch him back.
From the very moment you opened your mouth and called me Grandfather,
it no longer mattered whether you were the descent of a True God or an Evil God."
Dis bent down.
He gently kissed Kallen on the forehead.
"I lost a family member, yet I gained a family member once more, didn't I?"
Kallen nodded very sincerely.
He said:
"Yes, Grandfather."
I like this family. I like this family very much.
I like the sensible cousin sister Mina and Lunt, and I like the well-behaved Chris;
I like Uncle Mason, who was somewhat cynical and unreliable yet always bore the responsibilities of an elder, I like Aunt Mary, who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, and I like Aunt Winnie, who looked rigorous yet was warm-hearted within;
and I like you too, Dis.
Did you have any idea just how cool you looked when you were blaspheming the gods just now?
"Rest well and recover from your injuries."
Dis turned around and opened the bedroom door.
At that moment,
Kallen forcefully propped his body up with one hand, turned sideways toward Dis's retreating back, and said:
"Grandfather, in the future, I will make sure everyone in this family leads a stable and happy life. I promise."
Dis did not turn his head back.
Instead, he waved his hand.
He said:
"You won't be needing to do that yet."
Then,
he added another sentence:
"Before I leave."
Before you continue