Chapter 502

======[ Belcus ]======

“Diraid is done for. I had some hope since he obtained the dragon’s scales, but… overwhelming the Empire’s monster in close combat was impossible after all.”

Looking down at the now silent Shaulite Cathedral, Belcus exhaled the smoke he had been holding into the void.

If Diraid was dead, the Womb of the Lustful Demon must have been destroyed as well. The large-scale brainwashing ritual, ‘The Truth of Transverse Sound,’ would surely be undone before tonight was over.

Using Diraid’s ability to fuse different powers into one, Belcus’s power to dominate others’ minds, and Eljure’s power to create vast illusions, they had created the large-scale ritual, ‘The Truth of Transverse Sound.’

Since Belcus himself was the core of the ritual, even if Diraid died, the ritual could be maintained. However, without the supply of dark magic, it would only last half a day at most.

“Damn it, nothing’s going right…”

Belcus sighed deeply.

Originally, this ritual wasn’t supposed to be activated so soon. The Reverse Ascension Society’s plan was a long-term scheme spanning years. The plan was to infiltrate each city of the Holy Kingdom, slowly rotting away its roots.

But everything went awry after Lacey Staldorf and Ha-shal-leur arrived in the Holy Kingdom.

The Dream Paradise Society, which had been eroding Holon through drugs, was annihilated, leaving only Eljure and two executives. The cultists sent to Barseva had lost contact after the Bølberg Church Order took over.

Even in Arad, the work they had painstakingly laid out was undone by Ha-shal-leur alone, leaving only Arvil as their last stronghold.

Moreover, according to intelligence, the Shaulite Church Order had dispatched the Holy Legion to clean up Arvil’s red-light district. It was clear that this place would also be devastated in a few days.

Thus, Belcus and Eljure had no choice but to hastily initiate their final plan, which they had intended to execute a year later. To fully control Arvil and brainwash the Shaulite Holy Legion, who would enter unaware, and slaughter them.

It was too much of a waste to abandon all the time and effort they had invested so far.

However, what arrived wasn’t the Shaulite Holy Legion but the Empire’s most infamous killing machine. And not alone—she brought along a Judge who had made it her life’s mission to slay demons and Elpinel’s saintess.

If ‘The Truth of Transverse Sound’ had worked, they would have obtained the ultimate sacrifice… but it seemed, regrettably, that it had failed.

“To resist ‘The Truth of Transverse Sound’… Is it the blessing of the Holy Mark? Elpinel continues to hinder us.”

Belcus speculated that Ha-shal-leur’s group resisted the brainwashing thanks to Lacey’s Holy Mark. There was no other explanation.

In truth, even Lacey and Agnes, who bore the Holy Mark, almost succumbed to the brainwashing. But Belcus, without clairvoyance, couldn’t grasp what had happened inside the carriage.

“Eljure… set fire to the Imera Cathedral. I asked her to buy us time, but I can’t trust her. If things go south, she’ll probably flee immediately. It seems she’s mostly satisfied her thirst for revenge against the Church Order.”

The way she treated the brainwashed believers was so brutal that even Belcus, who was watching, was impressed.

Not content with treating them like livestock, she even borrowed monsters from Diraid and repeatedly used the holy water stored in the cathedral to bring them back to their senses mid-act.

She poured all sorts of depravity and blasphemy upon them, so even if the Imera believers were freed from the brainwashing, they would surely go mad.

Of course, they wouldn’t have to worry about going mad now. They were currently burning alive inside the collapsing cathedral. In every sense, it would be a hot resting place.

“What to do… The ‘Tower’ is complete, but there aren’t enough sacrifices to open the ‘Gate’… But if we retreat now, we’ll never get another chance like this.”

The ashes of the magical cigarette scattered in the wind. Belcus, who would have usually decided to flee by now, hesitated for a long time, looking down at the city.

The hellscape he had created.

Taking advantage of the Holy Kingdom’s cracks, expanding his influence, allying with other cultists, and after years of hard work, he had finally achieved this. Even if he spent the rest of his life, would he ever get another chance to obtain sacrifices on this scale?

Doubt and conflict swirled in his mind, holding him back.

“…Perhaps this is the last chance. No, it must be. This is the only moment to achieve my goal.”

Though he had never told Eljure, Belcus hadn’t founded the Reverse Ascension Society with her just to create chaos and enjoy the discord. That was merely his hobby.

In his foolish youth, that might have been enough, but now he dreamed of something grander, something worth staking his life on.

Originally, the three leaders of the Reverse Ascension Society shared the goal of corrupting and destabilizing the Holy Kingdom, but each had their own motives.

Diraid wanted to use valuable sacrifices to further strengthen his body, while Eljure’s goal was simply to take revenge on the Imera Church Order, which had labeled her ‘paradise’ as heresy and destroyed it.

Similarly, Belcus had his own goal.

“If I retreat now, I’ll be a fugitive for the rest of my life. There’s no going back. Only now.”

After all this, even if he fled, every cult hunter in the Holy Kingdom would pursue him.

If he were content with just enjoying his hobbies, that would be one thing, but rebuilding a force of this scale while evading their eyes seemed impossible no matter how he looked at it.

“So… I’ll have to gamble with fate once more.”

Belcus tossed the magical cigarette out of the tower and gripped the longsword leaning against the railing.

It was time to roll the dice.

======[ Ha-shal-leur ]======

The Arvil diocese of the Imera Church Order. The cathedral, where the heretic Eljure was thought to have opened a hellscape, had transformed into a different kind of hell than expected.

– Crackle!

Crimson flames flickered through the cathedral’s windows and framework, spewing thick gray smoke.

The marble exterior and skeleton of the building held firm against the fire, but the wooden beams and roof had long since burned and collapsed.

It looked like a giant, now only bones, crouching and spewing flames. The chances of anyone inside being alive were close to zero.

If they had used miracles or magic to protect themselves, they might have survived the flames… but those whose minds were consumed by lust wouldn’t have been able to do so. They probably didn’t even think to escape and burned to death inside.

“Gracious heavens, have mercy on them. Illuminate the path of their departing souls, so they may rest in the embrace of the one they served.”

“…Menes, even if they did not serve you, they are still our brethren. Grant them peace.”

“Astraea, goddess of order and justice. Your servant is here. Make me your right hand and sing of wrath and judgment.”

As they watched the blazing cathedral, the two saintesses and Seilon each prayed to their gods, while I chewed on the end of my cigarette, furrowing my brow.

Our judgment had been too slow. We thought they would hold out in the cathedral, having set a trap. We never imagined they would abandon the brainwashed Imera believers without hesitation.

Given the depth of her thirst for revenge, it was a chillingly rational decision.

Perhaps the ones who attacked the Shaulite Cathedral… in other words, they had figured out our identities.

Even though we had been concealing our appearances using Seilon’s divine light while moving through the city, she must have guessed our identities just from the fact that Astraea’s paladin had arrived.

If she couldn’t hold out against me inside the cathedral, she must have decided to kill all the Imera believers and escape.

Then, where to?

I quickly scanned the city walls and realized that the comrades who should have been there were nowhere to be seen.

Only corpses were piled on the walls. The green-haired girl shooting arrows and the blond grasshopper swinging a greatsword were gone.

Even the half-black, half-demon I had left as a radar was missing.

It was a chilling sight. If they had retreated due to the overwhelming enemy forces, that would be fortunate… but what if that wasn’t the case?

What if Eljure, after setting fire to the Imera Cathedral, had headed there to target the enemy shooting arrows from afar?

There was no time to ponder. I had to check beyond the walls immediately. My comrades were out there. I had other urgent matters to attend to.

“Seilon! Take the group and leave the city to find Damien! Eljure might have headed there!”

I urgently commanded, then picked up Lacey and jumped out of the carriage.

“Kyaa!”

“Ha-shal-leur!?”

“Ha-shal-leur unnie!”

The group inside the carriage was startled by my sudden action. Rana even reached out to grab me.

“Keep going! I’m going after Belcus!”

I couldn’t leave Belcus alone. If Eljure had abandoned Arvil, Belcus was likely preparing to flee as well.

Holding Lacey, I slid to the ground. I already knew Belcus’s location—the massive bell tower in the city center. He hadn’t left since taking over Arvil.

The cultists of the Reverse Ascension Society had confessed Belcus’s location without hesitation. Despite their unity under the banner of the Reverse Ascension Society, their ideologies were fundamentally different.

I spun Lacey around and hoisted her onto my back, then sprinted toward the bell tower where Belcus was hiding.