Something Feels Off
Something felt off. Yohan figured there was no point in drawing unnecessary attention to themselves.
"We should lay low for a bit," Yohan said.
"I was just about to say the same thing."
Fortunately, Annie shared his sentiment. The two of them quickly ducked back into a narrow alleyway.
Immediately after, a crowd of people came into view. They were clad in rags that barely passed for clothes, and each of them brandished farm implements like scythes and rakes. They looked to be in terrible shape.
"Geez... Looks like a peasant uprising or something."
"The atmosphere is too heavy for a simple riot," Annie noted.
She was right. Above all, the slogan painted on the banner hanging in the middle of the street made that abundantly clear.
There was no need to waste breath explaining what those words meant.
Some time ago, Yohan had spread a rumor that Justia, the Goddess of Justice, had awakened from her long slumber, throwing the entire Holy City into chaos. And now, a similar phenomenon was playing out across the entire Holy Kingdom on an unimaginably massive scale.
The problem was, who on earth had orchestrated a rumor of this magnitude?
"How do you think things ended up like this?" Yohan asked.
Annie tilted her head thoughtfully at his question.
"Well, I can't say for sure... but it would be whoever stands to gain the most if the current Pope's regime collapses."
As a rule of thumb, when disaster strikes, the prime suspect is always the one who benefits from it.
"You spent some time in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, so you probably know this, but while the Pope is the official ruler of the Holy Kingdom, he doesn't wield absolute power."
"Right."
The papacy of the Holy Kingdom was elected from among the cardinals. Naturally, the other cardinals who failed to secure the seat would either keep the Pope in check or form factions to advise him.
During his brief stint as an apprentice Inquisitor at the Congregation, Yohan had confirmed that the Grand Inquisitor was closely allied with the current Pope.
"Let's head to the cathedral first. We can drop off the scriptures and see if we can pry some information out of anyone still there."
"...Alright," Annie replied, her voice unusually quiet.
It seemed she was having a hard time accepting that the Holy Kingdom she had finally returned to had devolved into such an utter shitshow. Even though she had converted to the Church of the Unnamed Goddess, she was still born and raised in the Holy Kingdom. It was only natural for her to feel disheartened. Yohan understood her feelings all too well.
Fearing they might catch the eye of the angry mob, the two kept to the deserted back alleys as they stealthily made their way toward the Easthold Cathedral.
"Good grief," Yohan muttered.
The cathedral they finally reached was unrecognizable. The main gates, which had always stood wide open for the residents of Easthold and visiting travelers, were tightly shut. The sturdy outer walls were marred by scorch marks and crumbling masonry.
To make matters worse, makeshift barricades constructed from scrap wood and debris surrounded the perimeter. Calling it a cathedral was a stretch; it looked more like a fortress in the middle of a war zone.
And that wasn't all. The teleportation gate station across from the cathedral was in an even worse state. While the cathedral had merely suffered some structural damage and looked intimidating, the teleportation station looked as if it had taken a direct hit from an artillery bombardment.
With Easthold in this state, there was a high probability that the neighboring Empire, which shared its border, had also been affected. At best, the Empire would have completely sealed the border, blocking all paths leading in from the west. But realistically, they had likely already suffered some fallout. After all, the refugees fleeing the chaos of Easthold would undoubtedly try to cross over into the neighboring Empire.
"Traveling between cities using the teleportation gates is out of the question, then."
"Sigh... What a mess."
It was a grim reality. Yohan crossed his arms and let out a soft sigh.
"At this rate, even if we just dump the scriptures in front of the cathedral, I'm worried the angry mob will just burn them to ashes."
"No, that's not the real issue here."
Although they hadn't checked the state of other regions, the fact that people were already shouting about a 'false goddess' suggested that the Holy City itself was likely in no better shape.
—My Apostle.
The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind. Normally, she would be chattering away in high spirits or scolding him, but today, her voice was utterly devoid of its usual vigor.
The Central Church worshipped Justia, the Goddess's twin. Yet, the two goddesses were fundamentally parts of the same entity. To the Unnamed Goddess, the Holy Kingdom and its citizens were, in essence, her own believers.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about a thing. Just leave it to me."
Annie blinked in confusion at Yohan's sudden remark, but quickly realized he was speaking to the Goddess and let it slide.
—I can feel the sorrow and agony permeating the entire city. We must find out what transpired in the mere months we were away. It is one thing for the leaders of the Central Church to rot from within, but the innocent commoners must not suffer the same fate.
Having come all this way, they couldn't just turn a blind eye to this devastating sight and walk away.
"Looks like I'll have to dust off my Inquisitor title for a bit," Yohan said.
Annie nodded, her expression turning dead serious.
If a complete stranger tried to make contact, there was no telling what kind of hostility they would face. But as Heresy Inquisitors of the Holy Kingdom, they could at least initiate a conversation.
"Let's head to the cathedral first. If they've gone to the trouble of setting up barricades like that, there has to be someone inside."
The two brushed themselves off and stood up.
* * *
"Hmm... Looks like several dozen people inside."
Yohan channeled his Apostle's Authority to gauge the number of people inside the cathedral. While it wasn't as precise as the Goddess's divine radar, he could still sense human movements to a certain degree. Since the Goddess didn't chime in to correct him, his estimate was likely spot on.
"The number of clergy working at the Easthold Cathedral, regardless of rank, barely exceeds ten," Annie murmured. "The rest are probably lay workers who stayed behind to help the priests."
"Given that they're barricaded inside, there might be some armed individuals among them."
"Most likely."
Even if most of Easthold's residents had fled and only a small faction of rioters remained, it would be impossible for a dozen or so priests to hold out against a mob armed with scythes, pitchforks, and other makeshift weapons.
While a Holy Knight or an Inquisitor could easily overpower hundreds of ordinary citizens, even they would hesitate to draw their swords against their own countrymen. No matter how cheap life was in this world, there were still lines that couldn't be crossed. They probably barricaded themselves inside and fortified the place for that very reason, Yohan reasoned.
"First off, there's no way we can reason with the lunatics roaming around outside. One wrong move, and we'll end up skewered or broken on a wheel."
Annie nodded in agreement.
The two immediately climbed over the rubble and advanced toward the cathedral. As they moved, Yohan heightened his senses to detect any incoming arrows or offensive magic. Fortunately, no such disaster occurred, and they soon arrived before the tightly shut cathedral doors. Yohan scanned the surroundings briefly before knocking on the heavy wooden doors with the back of his hand.
A faint rustling sound came from the other side, followed by the hurried footsteps of someone approaching.
"Who goes there? State your business!"
The voice from behind the door was thick with suspicion. It wasn't the welcoming tone of a clergyman greeting a visitor, but rather that of someone deeply paranoid of outsiders.
"Uh, well, we're definitely not the rioters running wild outside..."
Yohan trailed off and shot a subtle glance at Annie.
"We are Heresy Inquisitors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," Annie declared smoothly. "We have just returned to the homeland after completing an external mission. Tell us, what on earth has happened here?"
Yes, exactly like that. Yohan nodded in approval as he watched Annie state her identity with absolute composure.
"Inquisitors?"
"Indeed. I demand an explanation as to why the cathedral grounds are in this state," Annie pressed.
But for some reason, the person on the other side of the door suddenly fell dead silent. A brief silence ensued. Then—Crash!
A loud, chaotic clatter erupted from behind the door.
"It's the Inquisitors! The Inquisitors are attacking! They're going to burn us all alive!"
A panicked shriek echoed from within.
"Wait, hold on!"
Startled, Annie pounded on the door with both hands, but the heavy barrier didn't budge an inch. They had clearly reinforced the back of the door with wooden planks or blocked it with heavy furniture.
"Hey! Dammit! Open up!"
Annie, who had been trying so hard to maintain her composure, finally lost her temper and let slip a curse.
"Go away! In the name of the Goddess, begone!"
Fortunately, there was another response from behind the door. However, while the voice from earlier had merely been suspicious, this one was dripping with outright hostility.
"Hey, what's going on out there?"
"What's all the commotion about?"
Several other voices joined the fray. Yohan and Annie shifted their weight anxiously, scanning their surroundings. If they caught the attention of the mob that had just passed by, things would get incredibly messy.
"I-It's the Inquisitors! The Inquisitors are here!"
"Yes! We are Heresy Inquisitors of the Congregation! Open this door immediately and explain why Easthold is in this state!" Annie bellowed, pressing her face close to the door.
She shouted at the top of her lungs, and a flurry of whispered arguments ensued on the other side.
"...Wait. If they're Inquisitors, how are they speaking so rationally?"
What does that even mean? Yohan and Annie tilted their heads in unison at the voice.
"M-Maybe they're Inquisitors who are still sane."
"Did... did the Holy City finally send help?"
"No, the Holy City is probably in the worst state of all."
As the people inside bickered back and forth, a heavy sound echoed.
Click— Rumble—
The tightly shut doors slowly ground open from the inside, finally revealing the interior of the Easthold Cathedral.
"Oh..."
A group of terrified clergymen stood there, brandishing fire pokers and makeshift weapons toward the entrance.
"Are you both... Inquisitors?" one of them asked, his voice trembling violently.
Yohan and Annie nodded.
"Yes. I don't know what you mean by 'sane Inquisitors,' but as you can see, we are indeed Inquisitors. As we just mentioned, we've only just returned to the Holy Kingdom."
To reassure them, Annie pulled out her official Inquisitor's crest from her robes. Only then did the clergy finally lower their weapons.
"Oh, Lord Justia... Thank heavens. Please, come inside quickly."
* * *
Inside, Yohan and Annie listened as the resident clergy of Easthold Cathedral recounted the events of the past few months. They explained that the Main God Justia, who was believed to be slumbering in the Grand Cathedral of the Papal Palace, was actually a false goddess impersonating her. Consequently, the entire leadership of the Central Church, starting with the Pope himself, had completely lost their minds.
"Unbelievable," Annie muttered, her voice heavy with grief. Yohan was equally dumbfounded.
"But it is the absolute truth. His Holiness the Pope has undoubtedly fallen prey to the machinations of a demon, and the Inquisitors of the Congregation who remained in the Holy City have been consumed by madness."
"Then... does that mean those who were deployed on external missions are still sane?"
"We couldn't be certain. But seeing the two of you, it seems our hopes were correct."
Because Yohan had previously stolen the Original Scriptures, almost all veteran Inquisitors—excluding a few hundred apprentices—had been sent outside the Holy Kingdom to search for them. Ironically, this had kept the majority of the Inquisitors safe from the mental corruption. It was a stroke of bizarrely good fortune.
The real issue lay in the distorted truth regarding Justia, who had been slumbering in the Grand Cathedral. According to what the Unnamed Goddess had confirmed, the powerful entity residing in the Papal Palace was indeed the real Main God Justia. Yet, for some reason, the people of the Holy Kingdom now believed she was an impostor pretending to be Justia. On top of that, the Pope and the entire clergy of the Congregation had gone completely off the deep end.
"This is..."
No matter how he looked at it, this had the demons' fingerprints all over it. Manipulating human minds and driving them to madness was a classic tactic of the Pandemonium. The man-eating trolls that had harassed Billy were a prime example.
"That is why we fortified the cathedral and held out here. Even though the believers have gone wild, they still believe they are serving the Main God. Because of that, they haven't brought themselves to tear down a cathedral dedicated to Her."
The priest who explained the situation hung his head in deep sorrow.
"I think I have a grasp of the situation," Annie said, turning to lock eyes with Yohan.
"Yohan. You said you wanted to restore justice through peaceful means, via the Silent Crusade."
"Well, yeah. That was the plan."
But now that the Holy City had fallen entirely into the hands of demons, there was no longer any reason to operate quietly in the shadows. Things had gotten messy as hell, but it also meant they could now step forward and act openly without holding back.