64
Chapter 64
Lucy stared at the footage playing before her with a grave expression.
She was in the middle of taking over her senior's patrol duties as usual. A dark ripple suddenly rose by the side of the road.
The moment she touched it, the video began to play.
Under normal circumstances, the proper protocol in this situation would be to report the anomaly immediately.
But there was no way she could do that.
The video featured a man who appeared to be the Leader of Black Fang.
His face was blurred, making it ambiguous whether he was the actual Leader of Black Fang based solely on his appearance.
However, this method was all too familiar.
It was a frequent tactic used by the Leader of Black Fang.
Perhaps... nine times out of ten, it was the real deal.
She just happened to be looking for clues regarding Black Fang anyway. Believing herself lucky, Lucy watched the video.
And.......
Lucy's face soon stiffened.
In a way, it was to be expected.
Because what was contained within that footage was the ugly truth of the Holy See.
All sorts of horrific things surfaced before Lucy's eyes as visual data.
Cold sweat ran down Lucy's spine.
A premonition washed over her.
An incredibly ominous premonition.
-......Idiots. If it's so great, then you do it yourself.
The words her senior had once spoken flashed through her mind.
The duty of guiding those in need to the Holy See.
That was the response she got every time she pointed out how wrong it was for her seniors to slack off instead of fulfilling their duties.
Exploiting the citizens they were supposed to protect at will by using the authority of Knights.
They were seniors who had tossed aside chivalry and every basic moral obligation a person should uphold.
Because of that, she had assumed they simply hated the crucial task of saving children, treating it as a nuisance.
But what if.
What if that wasn't the case?
If the Leader of Black Fang's words were true. What exactly was the Holy See doing with those children?
An organization so greedy for money.
An organization that couldn't care less if people died for the sake of money.
Why on earth were they working to rescue children?
For what exact purpose were the children being used?
Her head spun in confusion.
Her saying she just wanted to help, lowering the siblings' guard, and guiding them to the Holy See.
The face of the child smiling brightly and waving as they promised to see her again later.
It all kept swirling in her mind.
No matter how hard she tried, the ominous thoughts wouldn't go away.
There was only one thing she needed to do right now.
She had to confirm it.
By any means necessary.
Lucy quickened her pace.
Praying with all her might that this was all just her overreacting.
*****
Karon forced himself to calm down and tried to grasp the situation.
'Just how much fallout will that video cause?'
Massive.
It was at a level that absolutely could not be ignored.
High production value.
A composition that made it easy for anyone to understand the situation.
If something like this spread throughout the entire Empire... no, if it was spreading beyond the Empire to other nations.
The damage would be an astronomical loss.
The trust the Holy See had built up over the years would crumble in an instant. Even if they handled it perfectly, it would barely minimize the damage.
They wouldn't be able to stop the loss of trust itself.
......But.
There was a far more important issue at hand.
'Just how much does the Leader of Black Fang know?'
That video was undoubtedly huge.
It had the potential to tear down everything the Holy See had built.
Yet, even so.
Compared to this, that was an infinitely small and trivial matter.
'It would be a relief if they only knew about the things shown in this video, but.......'
Would that really be the case?
This video certainly contained the grim reality of the Holy See.
It was clear that Black Fang had been keeping a close eye on the Holy See and systematically preparing an attack for a long time.
If so, was this truly all there was?
Was everything that Black Fang had uncovered about the Holy See's secrets really just limited to that?
He simply couldn't believe that was the case.
If it were just the corruption shown in this video... it could be brushed off as the moral decay of a few clergy members.
But what if Black Fang was hiding a trump card up their sleeve?
'The main ingredient of the Holy Grail, the Former Hero's corpse, and the whereabouts of his daughter.'
If even one of those three things was exposed, it was over.
This wasn't a matter that would end with simply losing the trust the Holy See had built up over the years.
Just as the Leader of Black Fang arrogantly declared, the Holy See would be completely torn to pieces.
Resolve.
This was the moment that required resolve.
Before Black Fang spouted nonsense again, before they could prepare their next scheme.
He needed to bring that bastard down for sure.
"C-Cardinal."
His subordinate glanced anxiously at Karon, unable to hide his unease. In a way, it was only natural.
Considering a video like that had just been played in such a public place.
It would have been stranger if his underlings weren't walking on eggshells.
Karon put on a warm, gentle smile and opened his mouth.
"Do not be swayed. We know our own piety better than anyone else, do we not?"
Words that sounded benevolent at first glance.
However, the faces of the people around him had grown pale with terror.
In a way, that was only natural as well.
Because this kind of smile was proof that he was truly enraged.
The people in that video were now Apostates.
It would be useless for them to cry out that everyone else was doing it, that they were just unlucky enough to get caught, or to beg for their lives.
Not only would they be executed, but their entire extended families would be wiped out.
Naturally, torture would precede all of that.
'It's too blurry to tell who they are, though.'
From Karon's perspective, it didn't matter if he couldn't identify them exactly.
He just needed to grab anyone and kill them.
This was merely an example.
By publicly punishing the fools who failed to do their jobs properly and got caught,
It would serve as a warning to ensure this never happened again.
As long as he destroyed them as horrifically as possible, making absolutely sure no one else would ever want to end up like that.
It didn't really matter who was disposed of.
To Karon, all humans were merely tools to be used. As long as efficiency improved, he couldn't care less about what happened to individual tools.
Harboring such dark thoughts inwardly, Karon kept his gentle smile and spoke again.
"It is truly deplorable. What a cunning scheme. To whisper such foul words into the ears of devout believers."
This video would be dismissed as a trick orchestrated by a terrifying Demon known as the Leader of Black Fang.
A Demon had fabricated all sorts of evidence in an attempt to shake the faith of devout believers.
He had to utilize all of the Holy See's power to control public opinion as much as possible and prevent the spread of this video.
A few subordinates who understood the orders hidden in Karon's words quickly moved their feet.
He didn't like entrusting such a crucial task to his underlings, but. This time, there was no other choice.
Because Karon had a task that took priority over controlling public opinion right now.
"The Head of Heretics is falsely tempting the lambs, so God must surely be grieving as well."
"Y-You are absolutely right!"
The remaining people quickly chimed in at Karon's words. It was truly ridiculous how desperate they were to appease him.
Watching them, Karon opened his mouth with a hypocritical smile.
"As someone who has sworn to devote my entire life to God, I am truly ashamed."
Words he didn't even mean.
He had no intention of following God's will. In the first place, Karon didn't even respect God.
He rose to this position not because he respected God more than anyone else, but because he used God better than anyone else.
Rather than harboring his own faith and being recognized by God,
It was more efficient to lock up children and turn them into machines that did nothing but recite Prayers.
There were more than enough Priests to heal wounds.
Sever the children's limbs, cut open their insides, extract what was within, and endlessly torture them while forcing them to praise God.
All he had to do was repeat that.
Because the more desperate they were, the purer and more powerful Divine Power was produced.
Well, there was the side effect of creating something 'filthy' during the production process, but. Even taking that into account, this method was undeniably efficient.
"We cannot simply stand by and watch such behavior forever."
Everyone's gazes focused on Karon.
Karon showed a warm smile once again, and opened his mouth in a gentle tone.
"I will personally Purify the mind of that wicked Demon."
At those words, the people's expressions stiffened.
In a way, it was only natural.
Because there wasn't a single person here who failed to grasp the true meaning behind Karon's words just now.
Everyone moved busily.
They were preparing.
The reason the Holy See had maintained its power all this time.
The ritual of invading another's mind.
Watching that sight, Karon smiled.
Unlike before, it was a truly hideous smile born from the bottom of his heart.
'...Black Fang.'
Perhaps those bastards were feeling like they owned the world right about now. They were probably arrogantly assuming that everything was in the palm of their hands.
However, they would soon realize.
That there are people in this world you should absolutely never mess with.