The Reckoning of the Faithful
The Goddess Department declared war on the popes and high priests of every neutral divine nation. Gods descended in their true forms and accused them of secretly contracting with the Demon Realm, branding it the sin of apostasy. All divine power was confiscated and the offenders punished. The gods then redistributed the seized power to the most “good” priests and appointed new popes in their place. Thousands of popes above the 6th Circle and hundreds of thousands of high priests had their souls, memories, and achievements erased before being cast into the Four Realms. With most of their leadership struck down by divine punishment, the remaining church nations—overwhelmed by the unbridled majesty and power of the gods—were now swept up in a storm of religious inquisition.
“Those who serve the God of Light yet collude with the Demon Realm under the guise of neutrality shall be purged. Purify the church nations with true faith and advance both the Divine Realm and the Middle World.”
“Priests who betray the gods by allying with the Demon Realm have committed an unforgivable sin. Judge every neutral cleric.”
At the gods’ command, a massive internal purge began. The results were grotesque. Every priest was summoned to the church nations. The new popes and priests, freshly granted divine power, stared in horror as atrocities surpassing those of ancient black mages were laid bare before their eyes of truth. Enraged popes and archpriests passed judgments that called for blood.
“What taxes have you levied beyond those decreed by the Divine Realm, and why have you built such ostentatious temples? More importantly, how can a priest barely wield divine power? How did you even become a cleric? You accepted goddess devotees as novice priests without the church’s approval, and under the name of divine blessing you demanded the virginity of brides-to-be—! We are the church nation that serves the Goddess of Light! By what right did you commit such acts?”
“The splendid temples exalt the gods’ majesty, and devout goddess devotees offered their service of their own free will. The taking of virginity was to cleanse the filthy, foolish bonds of humanity with divine power. It was merely baptism for the children they would bear. They all rejoiced after being purified by divine power.”
“Silence! The gods’ majesty lies not in grand temples but in the miracles of divine power. How dare a priest utter that humans are filthy and foolish? Do you think yourself a secular politician or ruler? Our great and noble gods protect every life in the Middle World and guide them with light. Before the gods, all humans are equal and precious for advancing the Middle World—until they commit wrongdoing. We priests are instruments that carry out that sacred will so the blessing reaches every corner; we are not judges. We pass judgment according to the gods’ will. Strip this man of his priesthood and leave his punishment to the church citizens of the nation he was dispatched to. Inform them that this was not the will of the god we serve, but the corrupt personal desire of this man, and beg their forgiveness.”
“Hrk—! Please, spare me!”
“Life and death hold little meaning for one who serves the gods, yet you are clearly no true priest. How can you serve the Divine Realm while craving worldly desires and fearing death instead of longing for the eternal glory of Heaven? I cannot allow it! All lower priests who are not ‘good’ shall be stripped of their priesthood and have their divine power revoked.”
“Aaaaargh—!”
Those stripped of divine power and priesthood, branded as having corrupted the church nation, realized that all the wealth and women they had offered were for nothing. The furious populace sentenced them all to death. Corrupt priests whose health had been sustained by divine miracles suddenly aged into hideous old men and died on the spot. Survivors were beaten to death by the very citizens they had exploited—filthy and ignorant though those citizens were. Those who somehow lived were accused of apostasy and burned at the stake, the same punishment they had once inflicted on critics.
Some citizens tried to burn the temples themselves, but the new priests’ overwhelming displays of divine power and sincere apologies calmed them. As time passed and the gods’ blessings grew stronger, the number of true believers steadily increased. The inquisition had now reached its final stage: the trials of the heretic inquisitors.
Their unyielding faith and devotion to the gods produced divine power that pressed harder upon the popes and archpriests than any other. Divine power was a miracle born from the meeting of the gods’ granted strength and human faith; their devotion could not be denied. They had slaughtered countless heretics and prevented the Divine Realm from wavering. Their power and resolve were the backbone and order of the church nations, so even their excessive killings had been overlooked. Yet when they began carrying out large-scale massacres against priests and believers of other gods, their alignment shifted to “neutral.” Their terror had once been tolerated for the sake of the Divine Realm’s security and administration, but the gods would no longer forgive such judgment.
Because the heretic inquisitors possessed not only divine power but also the finest martial prowess of each church nation, subduing them was no easy task. Thus they remained until the final verdict.
“Now the only one permitted to wage war in the gods’ name is the God of War.”
“Only the God of Death may decree death. Therefore, those who slaughtered in the gods’ name have already been judged guilty of the grave sin of apostasy—usurping another god’s domain.”
With the change of the Main God of the Divine Realm, every unjust precedent of the past had vanished. An era had arrived in which only the pure superiority of divine power and authority determined right and wrong. The new popes and high priests carried the gods’ command etched into their souls: erase every remnant of the past and strengthen pure divine power and faith. Yet the heretic inquisitors presented a problem. Even the new ruling class struggled to find justification for punishing them.
“That immense divine power itself proves their faith in the gods.”
“They committed no petty wrongs. They fought for the gods on the front lines and in the shadows, enduring disgrace while eliminating heretics.”
The heretic inquisitors suffered the highest casualty rate among all priests. Even though every god now focused solely on strengthening pure divine power and no longer needed shadow intrigues, the sight of that pure divine power made punishment difficult to justify. It was even more so because none of the inquisitors defended themselves or claimed injustice.
“Most were orphans. They were the most loyal to the church nations, devoting themselves without hesitation.”
Yet the new church nations no longer tolerated “neutrality,” and that was what prevented forgiveness.
“They know better than anyone that the slaughter they committed was ‘evil.’ But in the past, when the church nations were ‘neutral,’ someone had to do it. So they accepted the disgrace of ‘neutrality’ as priests of the God of Light.”
The only hand ever extended to the heretic inquisitors during their hardest, most painful orphan childhoods had been the church nations’. With no foundation, they could never have become nobles or received training as aura users or mages. The great gods had granted them divine power strong enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with such people. Executing apostates, annihilating heretics, and secretly protecting their fallen brother priests and temples—even dying in the process—had been an honor. Though their methods were wrong, they had repaid the grace shown by their gods. Even as their methods turned “evil” and they became “neutral,” forsaking Heaven, they had been content and willing, satisfied with the prosperity of the gods and the church nations. If the Divine Realm could no longer tolerate their neutrality, they would simply follow the inquisitors who had gone before them—content with the church nations’ development and glad that the number of orphans and unfortunate souls was decreasing.
Some even rejoiced upon hearing the fate of the previous “neutral” priests, believing they could finally establish proper divine majesty alongside the gods. “To them, life was something the gods gave and took away. That was faith.”
The popes could only sigh deeply as they watched the heretic inquisitors silently await their punishment despite possessing enough power to rebel. Though the popes had once criticized the inquisitors’ excessive actions, these men were nothing like the corrupt priests before them. They seemed like martyrs of the age.
“Has the era truly changed? In the end, those who do not change are weeded out? Your priestly ranks shall be stripped, but you will not be punished. Save more lives than you have taken in the gods’ name and return to ‘good.’ Only then will the gods accept you once more.”
The “good” popes made a decision different from the gods’ firm will, prepared even for divine punishment. Because humans were emotional and ever-changing, they could reach judgments unlike the eternal, unchanging will of the gods. The gods did not force faith upon humanity; they granted free will to choose. Therefore these good humans rendered a decision filled with compassion.
The heretic inquisitors quietly returned their priestly robes and left the Divine Realm. The popes waited for the divine punishment that would surely follow their defiance of the gods’ will—yet what descended upon them was something entirely different: words of encouragement.
“Choosing to bear loss and offer a chance to those who may still be forgiven is the mark of good humans, and their faith is true. They will return as my most loyal priests once more, and my blessings upon them shall only grow greater. Develop the church nations, increase the number of true believers, and make me shine. Eternal glory of Heaven shall descend upon every believer.”
The popes bowed deeply, grateful only for the gods’ mercy. With the gods’ additional blessings, they began planning and advancing ways to lead and develop the now even stronger church nations. All divine nations moved solely toward expansion and prosperity for the glory of the gods.