Chapter 262
“!!”
“What are you doing? Surely, you’re not distrusting the blessing of the Constellations?”
The priests of the Fanatic Order hesitated for a moment, but soon they all knelt.
“Greetings, O Prophet!!”
“Please forgive our rudeness!”
However, although they showed respect, it didn’t seem as if they completely believed him.
It was only natural. It would be difficult to blindly believe someone who suddenly appeared claiming to be a prophet.
‘And it is a lie, in fact.’
Chris nonchalantly lifted his chin.
It was an arrogant gesture, a usual habit of his, but thanks to his disguise of a noble impression, it created a dignified atmosphere, truly like that of a prophet.
“I will convey the blessing of the Constellations to you, so guide me to the Archbishop.”
“…To the Archbishop?”
The priests flinched.
It meant the number one person in the Fanatic Order.
For reference, the Fanatic Order was originally an altar under the Holy Empire. It’s just that they don’t listen and act as they please.
As the priests hesitated, Evan stepped forward again.
“Disappointing. You claim to follow the will of the Constellations more fervently than anyone, yet you hesitate to escort the one who reveals that will.”
“!!”
Fwoosh!
Once again, the blessings of the Constellations flashed on Evan’s sword.
“I swear on the names of the Constellations that bless me that there is no falsehood in this one’s nobility.”
As Evan knew that Chris’s inner heart was more noble(?) than anyone’s, this oath was not a lie.
Ruina also swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“Ohoho, I-I will also swear an oath. In fact, the reason I was able to help you all before was thanks to the Prophet here.”
“…Is that true?”
“Yes, the Prophet gave me a revelation about what kind of predicament the members of the Order were in, so I was able to provide the perfect assistance.”
In the end, the priests nodded.
“Understood. We will guide you to the Archbishop. However, please keep one thing in mind.”
A chilling warning followed.
“The Archbishop is one who possesses an insightful eye that sees through the truth. If there is even the slightest falsehood in you, a harsh judgment will be brought down in the name of the Constellations.”
* * *
After passing through the desert, the holy temple of the Fanatic Order appeared.
‘It’s austere.’
Befitting their extremist doctrine that rejected all forms of greed, the atmosphere of the holy temple was bleak.
All around the temple, Holy Radiance mages and knights with intense auras could be seen.
‘Definitely a powerful force.’
Unlike the forces of the Alliance, which were generally standardized at a lower level, the priests of the Fanatic Order were comparable even to the magi of the Magus Empire.
‘The proportion of high-ranking priests is also high. If things go wrong, escaping won’t be easy.’
What was even more noticeable were the eyes of the priests.
Without exception, madness flowed from them.
‘They’re the only ones in the Alliance who practice human sacrifice.’
Surprisingly, the Fanatic Order was making human sacrifices to the Constellations.
However, it wasn’t an indiscriminate sacrifice of the innocent, like one would make to a Devil.
Their justification was that by offering those who had committed great sins to the Constellations, their souls would be cleansed of sin through death.
‘Well, it’s still an unforgivable act, though.’
The priests of the Fanatic Order even offered themselves up as human sacrifices.
He glanced at the plaza in front of the holy temple.
In the middle of the plaza, a blue flame was rising.
It was a sacred fire used for human sacrifice, and the priests of the Fanatic Order would sometimes throw themselves into those flames to prove their devotion to the Constellations.
‘I hear that to become a high-ranking priest, one has to pass a rite of walking through those sacred flames and surviving to prove their heart. In any case, it’s something they don’t even do in the Magus Empire.’
While he was marveling at their insanity, they arrived at their destination.
“This is the place.”
On the dais of a large chapel, a figure was standing.
A young, white-haired boy with eyes as empty as glass beads.
It was Asir, the Archbishop of the Fanatic Order.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen him. In my previous life, I had only heard of his infamy.’
Unlike his boyish appearance, he was in reality a monster nearly a hundred years old.
It is said that he received the blessing of the Constellations and was freed from aging.
‘No, to be precise, it wasn’t a blessing from the Constellations. Because when that bastard’s true identity was revealed, the Alliance was thrown into an uproar.’
Yes.
Among the goals Chris had for visiting the Fanatic Order today was that very Archbishop.
“Show your respect to the Archbishop.”
The middle-aged man standing beside them commanded sharply.
He was a famous figure as well.
The Butcher, Ektar, the strongest Holy Radiance knight of the Fanatic Order.
He was at the level of high 7-Star.
“Ohoho, greetings, Your Excellency the Archbishop. My name is Vivian. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!!”
Ruina, overwhelmed by the pressure, hurriedly paid her respects, but Evan and Chris didn’t budge.
They just stood steadfastly, looking at the Archbishop.
As the Holy Radiance knight, Ektar the Butcher, twitched an eyebrow, Ruina, with a pale face, shot them a look.
‘What are you doing? Do you want to be pickled in salt and die?’
But they still remained motionless.
“How dare you show such disrespect to the Archbishop. Do you want to die?”
“Amusing.”
“…What?”
“Is this not an order that serves the Constellations? And yet, looking at your attitude now, it seems as if the Archbishop is a Constellation himself. You claim to serve the Constellations more piously than anyone, but all I feel is arrogance.”
“!!”
Ektar’s expression hardened.
But because Chris’s point was true, he couldn’t refute it and could only grit his teeth.
Archbishop Asir, who had been standing silently, opened his mouth.
[It is alright. As you said, I am but a mere servant who attends to the Constellations, so there is no need to think of it as difficult. You said you came to deliver a revelation from the Constellations?]
“That’s right.”
His glass bead-like eyes turned toward Christian.
For an instant, a transparent radiance flashed and shimmered in his gaze.
It was the authority he was said to have received from the Constellations, the ‘Mirror of Judgment’.
[But this is strange.]
The boy tilted his head.
[Why is it that I cannot feel a trace of the Constellations from you?]
“!!”
In that moment, the atmosphere in the area froze.
[I can certainly feel a powerful blessing of the Constellations from the knight beside you, but from you, who calls yourself a prophet, I cannot feel even the slightest trace.]
The Archbishop continued coldly.
[Did you dare to impersonate the name of the Constellations?]
Shing!
Ektar the Butcher fiercely drew his sword.
“I will thoroughly interrogate these bastards and make them pay the price for the sin of insulting the name of the Constellations.”
[I’ll leave it to you.]
Thud.
As Ektar the Butcher took a step, an aura that made one’s skin tremble surged forth.
Ruina’s face trembled with fear, and it was in a moment of crisis that felt like it could explode at any second.
Suddenly, Chris opened his mouth.
“I am definitely a prophet who has received a revelation from the Constellations.”
[You are lying.]
“It is not a lie. I will show you the proof.”
[Proof, you say?]
“Yes.”
It was that moment.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, Evan launched his sword at Ektar the Butcher.
“What?!”
Chaang!
Evan’s current level of achievement was high 6-Star.
Although it was lacking compared to Ektar, in terms of swordsmanship skill alone, he was second to none.
He unleashed a brilliant flurry of attacks, momentarily binding his hands and feet, and Ektar, caught off guard, shouted.
“What are you all doing?! Strike them down!”
The moment the other Holy Radiance knights rushed forward, another strange thing happened.
Chris suddenly snatched Ruina’s hand.
“Hurry!”
“Uwaaaah!! I don’t know anything! If I die, I’ll become a banshee and curse you for eternity!”
Fwoosh!
He activated a spatial teleportation through the artifact.
The location: directly in front of the Archbishop.
Chris, fwoosh, drew his sword and struck down.
“Your Excellency the Archbishop!!”
“Danger!!”
But the Archbishop did not show a single hint of agitation.
The Archbishop was one of the monsters hailed as possessing the greatest power in the entire Holy Empire.
He possessed a power on par with 8-Star.
The Archbishop’s white hand, wrapped in a brilliant radiance, reached out toward Chris’s sword.
It was the power of the Constellations.
Shatter!
Chris’s sword was instantly shattered to pieces.
But then Chris did something incomprehensible.
In a situation where even retreating would not have been enough, he reached his hand out to face the Archbishop’s energy.
“Uwaaah! Are you crazy?! We have to run, even now!!”
Ruina made a fuss, but he did not stop.
The very instant their hands were about to meet and be crushed.
Chris gave a wry smile.
“You’re caught.”
At the same time, the unbelievable happened.
Fwaaaaaah!!
The Archbishop’s hand, which had been wrapped in light, was suddenly stained with a black energy.
[W-what?]
The Archbishop, with a look of bewilderment, tried to withdraw his hand, but it was too late.
Everyone in the chapel witnessed that black energy.
Pitch-black and dark.
An energy like that of a Devil, incomparably evil.
“Y-Your Excellency the Archbishop, that energy just now…?”
Ektar the Butcher asked in a trembling voice.
The Archbishop shook his head with a hardened expression.
[All of you, pay it no mind. This is a trick by that villain….]
“My trick, my ass. Don’t spout such nonsense while reeking of a Devil’s energy. You servant of a Devil.”
[!!]
Chris shouted toward the Holy Radiance knights.
“I will tell you what revelation I received from the Constellations. It is that that Archbishop over there is the agent of a horrific Devil.”
“!!”
That was it.
This was the true identity of the Archbishop who led the Fanatic Order.
To be precise, he was a high-ranking priest of the Mystic Demonic House.
‘He was switched out midway. A scheme by the Mystic Demonic House.’
The Archbishop had not been an agent of a Devil from the very beginning.
The Mystic Demonic House, in order to wield the extremist faction, the Fanatic Order, as they pleased, had secretly dealt with the original Archbishop and replaced him with a fake.
‘With the power of a Devil, it’s more than possible to disguise a fake as the real thing.’
With the authority of a Devil, it was also possible to mimic the energy of the Constellations.
After all, it was said that the most villainous Devils disguise themselves with light.
Chris had used the dominating power of his Dark Demonic Energy to reveal the Archbishop’s devilish essence.
“Look. That demonic aura is the proof.”
The Holy Radiance knights of the Fanatic Order murmured amongst themselves.
A scene of being unable to easily accept the truth.
[What are you doing?! That bastard, right now…!]
But the Holy Radiance knights did not move.
Although it was difficult to accept, the demonic aura they had just witnessed was not a lie.
Unable to do either this or that, they just stared blankly at the Archbishop and Chris.
Chris, with a deliberately noble expression, spread his hands out exaggeratedly to his sides.
“The Constellations are revealing their will to me even now. They say to execute that devil. Everyone, raise your swords of light!”
[You bastard, how dare you pull such a trick…!]
His initial composure gone, the Archbishop stretched out his power in a rage.
Fwoooosh!
An intense radiance of light spread out into the surroundings. He had unleashed his Dominion.
The magnificent energy of the Constellations covered the area.
It was a life-or-death crisis, but Chris, on the contrary, thought with confidence.
‘If he spreads his power out wide like this, the openings will increase.’
Naturally, this Dominion was not a proper one. Because from the beginning, it had only been mimicking the energy of the Constellations.
Of course, if that bastard had used his true power, his demonic energy, to unfold his Dominion, it would have been a different story, but all sorts of openings were visible.
Chris secretly exerted the dominating power of his Dark Demonic Energy.
Crack. Crack.
Fissures appeared in the Dominion that had been filled with light.
From within the cracked world of light, a repulsive black energy surged.
A horrific sight.