Chapter 683

“Seems like I’ve been found out. Well, it’s not like I put much effort into hiding it.”

The Third Apostle clicked her tongue softly and gazed at the crystal sphere.

It wasn’t exactly surprising. From the moment she had Ragnar retreat the Dane Army, she was certain that her secret pact with Ragnar would be exposed.

In fact, she had anticipated being discovered from the very beginning.

No, to be precise, having her relationship with Ragnar exposed was also part of her plan.

The Third Apostle’s intention wasn’t to join hands with Ragnar to kill Peirus, but rather to send a warning to Peirus.

A warning that if he continued to be indifferent to the safety of the other Apostles, they could turn their backs on him at any moment.

“Though it seems Ragnar had other intentions.”

The Third Apostle knew. She knew the inferiority complex of the Eighth Apostle, Ragnar Lokan.

To her, he was like a slave wearing silver chains. Though he wore chains just the same, he envied those with golden chains and harbored feelings of inferiority.

He wasn’t striving to escape his slave status, but rather to steal the golden chains and place them around his own neck. A foolish slave indeed.

“He probably wanted to step over Peirus and prove that he was Alfodr’s most excellent slave.”

Peirus didn’t seem to care, but Ragnar always harbored jealousy toward him.

Even though they were both Apostles of Alfodr, Ragnar believed that Peirus, who had converted later, had monopolized Alfodr’s favor, despite Ragnar having believed in Alfodr from the beginning.

To the Third Apostle, who didn’t believe in Alfodr, it was nothing short of a farce. A fight over hierarchy among slaves—how ridiculous.

“After all, both of them are just pawns being manipulated by Alfodr’s will.”

Still, that jealousy worked in the Third Apostle’s favor. By stoking Ragnar’s envy of Peirus, she was able to easily persuade and recruit him.

Though she hadn’t expected that the pawn she had worked so hard to acquire, Ragnar, would be torn away before she could even use him properly.

“You were supposed to trust me and wait. Was that such a difficult request? Because of your impatience, we’ve lost the ability to control one Apostle and Dane. How do you plan to take responsibility for this?”

Peirus spoke again, his tone openly criticizing the Third Apostle.

The Third Apostle scoffed.

“Ha, responsibility? Responsibility, you say? You sound like you’re scolding a subordinate. That’s a bit unpleasant. Since when were you above me?”

The position of the First Apostle was merely a representative role among the Apostles, not a throne from which one could dominate and control the others. The Third Apostle pointed this out directly.

“You’re asking me to take responsibility? You have neither the authority nor the justification to do so. You’re not my master, and if you hadn’t let Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur grow so much, the Eighth Apostle wouldn’t have lost his life.”

Her voice was sharp as a blade.

======[ Peirus ]======

“That snake-like woman…”

The First Apostle of the Forgotten Gods’ Order, Peirus Haransior, looked down at the crystal sphere with a mix of displeasure and frustration, letting out a faint sigh.

He knew better than anyone why the Third Apostle could act so boldly.

The Third Apostle was a special existence, unlike the other Apostles.

When Peirus recruited the other Apostles, he had either bestowed favors upon them or bound them with Soul Contracts, effectively placing a leash on them. This was to ensure they couldn’t easily defy his will.

It was the only way to control and manage the unpredictable Apostles.

The Second Apostle, Paulus Eisen Hindenburg, was persuaded by appealing to his faith. Peirus revealed the truth of the deity he had served all his life and explained the concept of ascension.

Paulus was deeply shocked to learn that his faith had been a lie and accepted the position of Apostle, vowing to ascend to the heavens and hear the truth from Menes himself.

The Fourth Apostle came to Peirus on his own, seeking to explore the forgotten ancient knowledge. A very magician-like reason.

He had said that having a leash placed on him was a small price to pay for that.

The Fifth Apostle’s goal aligned with Valenstein’s.

As long as the Heavenly Barrier stood, he would be forced to waste his talents, unable to cross the barrier and struggle until his death. Thus, he chose to cooperate with Peirus. In a sense, he was Valenstein’s senior.

The Sixth Apostle had always been Peirus’s man.

Peirus had found him, a man with potential, and fully supported him, raising him up. He was loyal to Peirus, who had pulled him out of a life at the bottom.

The Seventh Apostle, Eleonora von Wettin, saw Peirus as her savior.

She had been sold to Panam due to Isabella’s schemes, enduring endless humiliation and abuse until her spirit was nearly broken. It was Peirus who saved her.

Peirus subdued King Danon’s spirit and gifted its control to Eleonora, allowing her to escape her status as a plaything and become the shadow ruler of Panam.

Though she lost that power due to the Empire’s “rescue” operation.

The Eighth Apostle, Ragnar, had originally been a holy warrior of Bølberg, but after learning the truth about the god Bølberg, he joined the Forgotten Gods’ Order as a holy warrior of the ancient god Alfodr.

To Peirus, he was a fellow believer of the same god.

Though Ragnar, who believed himself to be Alfodr’s greatest warrior, didn’t particularly like Peirus.

In any case, the Apostles couldn’t defy Peirus’s will.

Whether it was due to the contracts they had made to achieve their goals, the favors Peirus had bestowed upon them, or simply because they served the same god.

However, the Third Apostle was completely different from the others.

She had not made a Soul Contract with Peirus. She had nothing to ask of him and had received no favors from him.

The Grand Sorceress of the White Valley.

Even before Peirus approached her, she had already been the queen of sorcerers, ruling over all the sorcerers of the east. Her status was also exceedingly high.

She was a woman who couldn’t be tempted with the promise of ascension, nor could favors be bestowed upon her to extract a price.

The only thing Peirus could do to bring her into the fold as an Apostle was to form an equal alliance with her, without imposing any restrictions.

Even so, after recruiting her as an Apostle, they had maintained a somewhat close relationship, exchanging various information and assistance…

“Now that the identity of the variable is confirmed to be Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur, this was bound to happen eventually.”

For Peirus, he couldn’t directly interfere with whatever Ha-shal-leur did.

While the other Apostles didn’t truly understand the meaning of the “variable of fate” and simply followed Peirus in calling her that, Peirus alone knew the true significance of the variable.

An anomaly that twists all predetermined fate. The only variable in this world. A soul from another realm.

And thanks to inhabiting the body of the Slaughter Star, she was a being that could lead the world into chaos beyond its destined fate.

“If left alone, she might aid the plan, but recklessly interfering could lead to ruin. The Slaughter Star, with its power to twist fate, would lead all who oppose her to death. Even those who were not originally fated to die.”

Thus, Peirus avoided confronting Ha-shal-leur. He indirectly influenced her movements by manipulating the world’s circumstances, but he always avoided direct conflict.

For his grand plan, Ha-shal-leur needed to survive until the very end. Even if it meant parting ways with the Third Apostle.

“…I’ll advise you once more. Don’t act rashly. Don’t drag the other Apostles into your personal grudges. If the existence of the variable is burdensome, don’t antagonize her—just avoid her.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re telling me to abandon everything I’ve achieved and run away? And you call that advice?”

The Third Apostle retorted with a nervous tone.

She couldn’t run away. To escape from Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur, she would have to give up all her external advantages.

Like Paulus, who went from being a Cardinal of the Holy Kingdom to a wanted man, or Eleonora, who went from being the shadow ruler of Panam to being confined in a small palace.

Even if she abandoned all her external power and status, there was no guarantee of safety.

“Fine. Let’s say I run away. Wherever I go, that woman will chase me to the ends of the earth. What would change by avoiding her? Why don’t you just advise me to meekly offer my neck instead?”

The Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur she knew was a woman who would chase her to the depths of hell to avenge her mother.

“…If you won’t heed my advice, then I’ll just deliver a warning. If you drag the other Apostles into this again, I’ll have no choice but to take measures to protect them.”

“Are you going to try to kill me? Come on in. Let’s see how far you can fight with that fancy Soul Extraction Technique of yours.”

The Third Apostle bared her teeth openly.

In her opinion, fighting Peirus had better odds than facing Ha-shal-leur, who was leading the Imperial Army.

Perhaps centuries ago, but now Peirus didn’t have the resources to wage war against an entire nation.

However, Peirus had no intention of attacking the Third Apostle in the first place.

“Why should I go myself? It’s enough to subtly inform Ai-shan Gi-or Ha-shal-leur, the one you fear so much, about who you are and what you’ve done.”

He had someone who would willingly step forward in his place.

“…….”

The Third Apostle fell silent. There was no way to refute Peirus’s words.