[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing":3,"chapter-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-102":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Holy Church Begins with Bestowal of Blessings",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1688775,2156,"Chapter 102 : Burke Church","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-102",102,"\u003Cp>Chapter 102: Burke Church\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy rain had returned to the York Territory after a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the darkness of night, strong winds howled, and raindrops pelted the rooftops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Small Church of Garcia Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this Small Church had its own name—it was called Burke Church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Burke was Nyx’s surname.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx Burke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He admitted there was a degree of personal intent when naming the Small Church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, whenever he conversed with the Great Church, the Bishop, and other Church personnel, he referred to it as \"the Small Church in Garcia Village.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he knew full well the Bishop must have already known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But some matters—if not spoken aloud—wouldn’t become awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, upon thinking of the Bishop, he couldn’t help but sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a Scholar, there were unique traits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could perceive clues of Mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a feeling that defied description.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet experienced Scholars could judge the intensity and danger of Mystery based on that sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And during his last conversation with the Bishop, Nyx had clearly felt the Mystery on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t Mystery brought on by any item, but from the Bishop himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still remembered—at first, he could tell the Bishop was an ordinary person, just capable of using some mysterious powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at this point, Nyx would rather he didn’t have the Scholar’s perception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, then he wouldn’t feel so strained using the power of Divine Word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a Scholar, his research into Church Faith was more profound than anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it was about stealing power from the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They hoped to destroy all Churches, so that people would entirely forget the existence of the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the power-hungry lords would never agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So to prevent uncontrollable outcomes, they chose to actively participate in the Lords’ control of Churches, even assisting them in stealing power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And during this process, Scholars naturally learned how to guide people to become Believers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, the most basic method—Mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only with Mystery comes Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once Fear took root, whether through malicious threats or gentle deceit, Faith could be established.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least verbally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why the main Believers of the Church were the lower class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in their eyes, the Church, which held certain privileges, was already terrifying enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Local Gentry and Knights—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their own privileges exceeded those of the Church. That’s why even though most of them didn’t understand the Church’s true nature, they didn’t fear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, Faith couldn’t be obtained from them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the lords were satisfied with that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if those people believed in the Church, would they not unite under it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What of the lords then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their own Territories, the lords themselves were akin to gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Nyx did fear the Church of the Sanctuary and the Bishop, he was a Scholar—Fear alone wasn’t enough to frighten him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after approaching the truth, he understood more clearly that he could never be like George, who treated the Holy Scriptures of the Lord as the creed of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would never possess such Devout Faith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barely usable Divine Word was proof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx knew that it was only his Priest status that allowed him to meet the minimum threshold to use such powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To use them truly and freely, one had to have sincere Faith in the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Faith—Nyx didn’t understand how its boundaries were judged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he wasn’t Devout. And he knew the Bishop knew he wasn’t Devout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Bishop had never spoken of revoking his Priesthood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, he seemed quite satisfied with what Nyx had done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx understood it was only because he could properly convey the content of the Holy Scriptures of the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the Temple Warriors, who would, during interpretation, directly drag the worshippers and force them to believe in the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, under impulse, those Temple Warriors would even press Believers with flanged maces into Faith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, when Knight Wolf returned and told him it was now safe, he had those Temple Warriors sent back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, with them around, how could people here truly understand and feel the Lord’s Mercy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faith born of brute force—was either false or driven by fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t what the Bishop wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the Bishop needed were Believers who listened to the Holy Scriptures of the Lord, who longed for the world depicted within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who believed that following the Lord's Teachings would inevitably lead to the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth, as described in the Scriptures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bishop had told him that true Faith could not deceive itself, nor could it deceive the Lord of the past, present, and future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx, in fact, longed for that Heavenly Kingdom on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He believed it was a world of truth and stability, a world without Curses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Nyx didn’t believe that simply following the Lord’s Teachings could achieve it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in Daniels Village—the Believers there believed in the Lord, yet they still suffered, and people still died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, the Church used force to make the Daniels Family submit—and finally, to destroy them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could force bring Faith?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course it could. At least those who were already Believers would believe the Lord saved them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to the non-Believers, the last survivors of Daniels Village—what they felt most was Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When questioned by Church members and Believers, they would insist they were Devout Believers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But was that enough?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least when Nyx made such claims, he didn’t feel the Divine Word he used became any stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Faith in Mercy—but also a very exacting Faith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx truly wished to spread the Church’s doctrine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only because he hoped the Church’s \"Truth\" would come to fruition, but also, more so, because of Melia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t want Melia to become a Scholar—because that was far too dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how could he bear to let Melia end up an ordinary person?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had witnessed the \"truth\" of this world—the high-tier Scholars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after experiencing the power of the Church firsthand, he decided to have Melia study at the Monastery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To eventually become a Church personnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he would use the remainder of his life to pave the road for Melia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he had advised Corleon to get rid of Ando.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even knowing that it would make Melia sad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, that night, he had wanted to suggest the Bishop punish all of Daniels Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he could already imagine the Fear within those survivors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would become refugees, and spread the Church's terror to everyone they came into contact with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the spread of that Fear would impact the message of the Lord’s Mercy and Compassion that the Church sought to convey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, there would surely be those who converted out of Fear—but at the root, Faith born purely of Fear could never bring about the true \"Heavenly Kingdom on Earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only complete erasure, maintaining the event’s Mystery, would inspire awe instead of mere Fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t spoken it in the end—because the Bishop acted too quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So fast that he didn’t even realize when it started.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So fast that he never even saw the punishment unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the end, the Bishop still chose Mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, the Bishop always bore Mercy for everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as written in the Holy Scriptures of the Lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Local Gentry and Nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, even Ando—someone destined to resent the Church—was spared by the Bishop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But if it's not done thoroughly, those Local Gentry will still cling to hope.\" Nyx sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he told Knight Wolf—who had returned—that Ando was still alive and had already gone south.\u003C\u002Fp>",1266,"2026-06-06T13:52:13.932Z",1,"novelbin.me","b3e69c82459688b6994b30e67c3dc7530436da37f2a527cfb89ef0a43e2c7034","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-103","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-101",373,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-cover.jpg"]