Chapter 264
And so, after the battle concluded, it was time to clean up.
Chris was active even after the fight.
He used the power of the prestigious House of the Medical Saint to treat the wounded.
‘If I want to turn the Fanatic Order into puppets that move according to my will, I have to win their favor first.’
Dealing with the Archbishop was, in the end, just an intermediate step.
His goal was to use the Fanatic Order.
‘These guys have a simple side to them, so they’ll be easy to exploit. Let’s do our best, thinking of it as one step toward wealth and glory!’
Meanwhile, Evan watched Chris with a strange gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…No. It’s just that the thought of me being a Hero… I feel it’s undeserved.”
The priests of the Fanatic Order, having seen Evan’s sword, were hailing him as the second coming of the Hero.
‘The real Hero isn’t me, but Christian.’
Look.
At the sight of Christian tending to the wounded even now.
When Evan looked with his Mind’s Eye, it seemed that Christian didn’t particularly think well of the Fanatic Order’s priests.
But despite that, he was still so devotedly administering treatment for the sake of the world.
‘As expected of Christian.’
…It was a misunderstanding that came from his Mind’s Eye not being perfect and only being able to see the ‘general’ inner thoughts of his opponent, but Evan was once again filled with admiration for Christian.
Just then, a heavy voice was heard.
“We offer our thanks to you, O Prophet.”
It was Ektar the Butcher!
He bowed his head to Chris, his face drenched in blood.
“Thanks to you, Prophet, we were able to execute the devil. If it weren’t for you, who knows how long we would have been toyed with by that devil’s servant.”
Ektar’s bloodshot eyes shone menacingly.
“It is surely a conspiracy of the evil Magus Empire. As soon as we’ve gathered our strength, we will immediately take our bloody revenge.”
Chris was appalled.
If they did something like that, a war would break out between the Holy Empire and the Magus Empire.
The problem was that, if left alone, they were the kind of people who would more than likely do just that.
‘From now on is what’s important.’
Chris lifted his chin and put on a deliberately noble expression.
“Foolish. Do you think such actions of yours will truly please the Constellations?”
“!!”
“As it happens, I have received a revelation from the Constellations concerning you.”
The priests, including Ektar, flinched.
They were already in a state of having completely acknowledged Chris as a prophet.
They knelt and shouted.
“What is it? We will heed the words of the Constellations!”
Chris observed the priests for a moment.
‘First, I’ll have to lay the groundwork.’
He had revealed the Archbishop’s true identity, but he had not yet properly shown his aspect as a representative of the Constellations.
He had to completely bewitch the priests of the Fanatic Order.
“First, from now on, human sacrifice is forbidden. Whether it is to cleanse the sins of the wicked or to prove your devotion to the Constellations, all of it is disallowed.”
“!!”
The priests of the Fanatic Order showed a vehement reaction.
“That cannot be!”
“Our devotion to the Constellations…!!”
Chris cut them off coldly.
“Did I not make myself clear? What I am saying now is a revelation bestowed upon me by the Constellations.”
“…It is difficult to accept. The reason the Constellations bestowed that Sacred Fire upon us must surely be for us to prove our hearts through sacrifice.”
The Sacred Fire was a flame that contained Holy Power and burned endlessly on its own.
It was a mysterious natural phenomenon, but for some reason, the priests of the Fanatic Order had interpreted it as a sign to perform human sacrifice and had been continuing the evil custom.
Of course, it was an absurd idea.
‘I wonder what bastard first thought of such a thing. It’s not like I can break the legs of the long-dead fool who started it.’
As it was a tradition that had been carried on for a long time, the atmosphere was one of not easily accepting it.
It was fine.
“I will prove that this revelation is the will of the Constellations. Watch.”
Chris walked toward the Sacred Fire.
While everyone had puzzled expressions, something surprising happened.
Fwoooosh!!!
A brilliant radiance burst forth from Chris’s hand.
“Th-that light? Radiant Mana?”
“No, it’s different. Don’t tell me… Holy Power?!”
Just like demonic energy, there are many types of light-based mana.
Among them, the strongest and highest-tier is the Radiant Mana used by the Hero.
The power used by the priests of the Holy Empire is also mana. They used a noble, pure white mana.
On the other hand, Holy Power was of a completely different lineage from mana.
‘Holy Power refers to the power received directly from the Constellations.’
There were only two types of people who could use Holy Power.
Cases where a blood relative who inherited the blood of a Constellation awakens their power. This was the case with Chris’s younger sister, Olivia.
Or, cases where one has received a special blessing from the Constellations.
One who has received Holy Power is considered a true saint who acts as a representative of the Constellations’ will.
So how could Chris, a magus, wield Holy Power?
‘Naturally, it’s a trick.’
It was an absurd notion. To fake Holy Power?
But Chris had several tools he could use to pull off such a trick.
‘I mixed Radiant Mana with the will of the Healing Arts, and then used the Insignia of the Constellation.’
The mana with attributes closest to Holy Power is Radiant Mana.
If you combine the will of the Healing Arts with Radiant Mana, you can display a nobility that is no less than that of Holy Power.
On top of that, he secretly mixed the Holy Power dwelling in the Insignia of the Constellation into the radiance.
‘The Insignia of the Constellation is a concealment-type artifact, so it’s possible to bestow Holy Power in this way. It should look similar at a glance.’
Of course, this alone was not enough to deceive the priests.
Because even though it looked similar, it was still distinctly different from true Holy Power.
Chris’s decisive trick was this.
‘I cast an illusion dark magic along with it.’
In other words.
It was like a sleight-of-hand magic trick.
If he had openly cast the illusion dark magic, they would have noticed, of course.
But Chris first created a performance similar to Holy Power using his Radiant Mana, the will of the Healing Arts, and the Insignia of the Constellation, and then just added a slight finishing touch with illusion magic.
To make it indistinguishable from true Holy Power.
‘Someone with a deep knowledge of magic might have noticed, but fortunately, they all died or were seriously injured while fighting that bastard from the Mystic Demonic House earlier, so they aren’t here.’
The person with the highest level of mastery here was Ektar, and as a knight, it was impossible for him to notice Chris’s elaborate trick.
Of course, if they looked closely, they might have noticed it was a trick, but Chris had no intention of showing the ‘Holy Power’ for long.
“Watch carefully.”
Chris poured the Holy Power he had produced toward the Sacred Fire.
Then, something surprising happened.
Fssshhhk.
The Sacred Fire lost its power as if it had been drenched in rain, and then, it was completely extinguished.
“I-impossible?”
“How could the Sacred Fire?”
The priests of the Fanatic Order muttered in bewilderment, and Chris spoke sternly.
“It is the will of the Constellations.”
“!!”
Of course, it was a lie.
‘In truth, this is also a trick.’
Originally, to extinguish the Sacred Fire, one would have to pour an immense amount of true Holy Power onto it. An impossible task for Chris.
But there was another, easier way.
‘I just have to make two opposing powers clash.’
It was demonic energy.
In particular, Dark Demonic Energy was the most ultimate of all demonic energies. Naturally, it was fatal to the Sacred Fire.
‘It was a close call, though.’
He had to hide his Dark Demonic Energy behind the brilliant Holy Power and precisely annihilate the core of the Sacred Fire.
He had to control it so that the aura of the Dark Demonic Energy and the aftereffects of the clash did not leak past the Holy Power that was acting as a veil. It was an extremely difficult task, but Chris succeeded with his ultimate control over demonic energy.
“Did you see it well, the will of the Constellations?”
The priests of the Fanatic Order hesitated, looked at each other, and then knelt before Chris.
“We accept the will of the Constellations!”
“O great saint!!”
Their voices had changed from before.
They had completely acknowledged Chris as a representative of the Constellations.
‘Good. I fooled them well.’
Meanwhile, the priests weren’t the only ones who were deceived. Evan was, too.
‘As expected of Christian. To think he would go to such lengths to abolish human sacrifice.’
Evan knew that Chris did not possess Holy Power.
Even for Chris, faking something like that couldn’t have been easy.
The reason he did it anyway must have been because he felt pity for the lives being sacrificed in human offerings.
Because when they first came to the Fanatic Order, he had clearly seen with his Mind’s Eye how Christian had frowned at the Sacred Fire, displeased.
‘He’s not a fake. Christian is the true saint.’
And so, another trivial incident that deepened Evan’s misunderstanding occurred, and Christian continued with his business.
“I will now speak the next revelation from the Constellations.”
“Just speak your word, O great saint!!”
The priests shouted as they bowed their heads to the ground, and Chris said something unexpected.
“The next Archbishop is you, Raphael.”
“!!”
The hall stirred.
The designated priest, Raphael, also had a bewildered expression.
‘Because he’s the only one in the Fanatic Order who’s at least halfway sane.’
He was the representative of the dove faction.
“M-me?”
Chris said in a resolute tone.
“It is a revelation from the Constellations. Surely, you do not intend to disobey?”
“That is not it! I will obey!”
“The Constellations wish for your Order to change. Do you understand my meaning?”
The designated Raphael’s gaze changed.
He was one who had believed the actions of the Fanatic Order were not right. He understood Chris’s words at once.
“I will keep it in mind. I will do my best so that we can become an Order that correctly carries out the will of the Constellations.”
Chris nodded.
With this, the Fanatic Order would no longer cause harm to the Alliance as it had before.
“And there is an even more important revelation.”
“What is it?”
“Before the revelation, I ask you. No matter what revelation is given, can you swear as servants of the Constellations that you will follow it?”
At the unusual atmosphere, the priests had puzzled expressions for a moment.
“Of course. If it is the command of the Constellations, these servants will simply obey.”
“Good.”
Chris looked at the priests of the Fanatic Order, including Ektar.
“From this moment on, you, Ektar, and all personnel of the rank of high priest of the altar and above will be excommunicated from the Order.”
“What does that mean?!”
“The charge is that not only did you fail to recognize the Devil’s servant right before your eyes, but you also willingly served him.”
Ektar and the others were rendered speechless.
Chris raised his voice a notch to hammer in their guilt.
“Reflect on your actions. You surely had opportunities to realize that the fake Archbishop was wrong. But you closed your eyes and pretended not to know.”
“……”
“The Constellations also surely warned you many times. But to have ignored all of this is your clear sin. By the will of the great Constellations, you are all sentenced to excommunication.”
The hall fell silent in shock.
But because there was nothing wrong with his words, no one could refute him.
“…You are right. Having served a devil, we no longer have the worth to live. We will offer our lives to the Constellations right now.”
In the Fanatic Order, excommunication meant death. Taking one’s own life was the rule.
Shing!
It was the moment Ektar and the other high-ranking priests raised their swords.
Suddenly, Chris opened his mouth.
“However, the Constellations have revealed to me that you are to be given a chance to wash away your sins.”
“!!”
“Before that, I will ask. Are you prepared for martyrdom to wash away your sins?”
“Of course! Our lives are already offered to the Constellations! If it means we can wash away our sins, we will do anything!”
Ektar and the others dropped to their knees.
“A great evil is gestating in the Magus Empire. Can you offer your lives to uproot that evil?”
“Yes, just tell us what evil we must uproot!!”
Chris nodded.
“The Destruction Demonic House.”