Chapter 116
A woman endowed with the mysterious ability of enchantment, Lillia. Once a high-ranking executive in the Heaven God Cult, she had become our ally after losing to our group, feeding us intel on the cult from the shadows. But when her betrayal came to light, she ended up wanted by the cult itself. During the recent incident up north, she'd thrown in her lot with the Empire. A bit late to the party, sure, but she'd provided some valuable info along the way, so the imperial court treated her like an honored guest. I'd heard she was staying in the palace as a guest now—too awkward to seek refuge elsewhere.
In my search for someone among my acquaintances who knew the cult inside out, especially regarding the leader's identity and ultimate goal, Lillia had come to mind. So off to the palace we went to meet her. Guided by the palace staff to her guest quarters, we were greeted by that familiar face, arms spread wide in welcome.
But there was one problem—
"…She's plumped up."
"She has, hasn't she."
"Yeah, she's gotten chubby."
"Mmmph?"
Look at her now. Cheeks bulging with cookies as she charged toward us, she looked noticeably rounder than the last time we'd met. Her beauty hadn't faded, though—her skin gleamed so taut and plump it practically screamed how blissfully happy she was.
"Wewcome~ How've you beeeen?"
"Can you swallow what's in your mouth first before talking?"
Gulp~!
"Long time no see! How've you all been?"
I hadn't meant for her to wolf down that apple-sized mouthful in one go. The pelican-like gusto of it left me speechless for a second, but I pulled myself together and pressed on.
"We were good… until a few days ago."
It would've been a pretty happy routine otherwise. I sighed inwardly and got to the point.
"You know what happened, right?"
"Yeah? Pretty much everyone with eyes and ears caught wind of that massive mess."
The Heaven God Cult's atrocity had shaken the entire Empire. No way someone as sharp as her could've missed it.
"That's why we're here to talk. Anything you know about it?"
"Ugh… again? The intelligence folks already grill me every chance they get about loose ends, and now you too…?"
Her face, cheerful at our arrival, clouded over with weary annoyance.
"Nah, it's not like that. We know you've cut ties with the cult. What we're after is the leader's identity—and what his ideal world looks like."
"Uh… umm…"
But as I tried to calmly persuade her, Lillia rolled her eyes, avoiding my gaze like a puppy that'd accidentally shattered a vase, staring holes into the wall or ceiling patterns instead.
"Look, I don't know much about the leader's identity either. The sub-leader never let us meet him face-to-face, and in over ten years, I never even caught a glimpse."
Her words hit harder than expected. I'd pinned my hopes on her as the one with the most firsthand experience, but this was a bust. Disappointment swelled naturally.
"Hmm… now that you mention it, it's weird. The sub-leader was always the one communicating with him. We just took his word for it—hell, we didn't even know if the leader really existed."
How could they believe so blindly in someone they'd never seen? She couldn't explain it.
"Truth is, all us executives hated the gods. Cursed the ones who birthed wretches like us, abandoned by the world. That was us."
People worn down by rejection, betrayal, suffering—mocking and distrusting the divine. Then the sub-leader appeared before their desperation. They clung to him, and he promised perfect revenge, channeling their rage masterfully.
"He told us he'd build the ideal world we dreamed of. A paradise free of grudges, discrimination, sorrow, or worry."
"Does that place even exist?"
"Beats me. He just said he'd free us from being pawns of petty gods."
I glanced at the saintess at his casual blasphemy, but she didn't seem offended by the slight against her god. Maybe because she'd once doubted her faith herself—she listened to Lillia's tale with unusual attentiveness.
"So, wiping out worship of the Creation Goddess across the continent is their endgame?"
"Even so, this scale feels off, doesn't it? If that's the plan, why not just tour the continent smashing temples and wiping out priests?"
In the end, we left without solid intel on the leader and headed back to Amor Academy.
Back at the academy, I spotted unfamiliar faces—construction workers milling about. And among them, a familiar bald head halted our steps.
The headmaster was deep in serious talk with these strangers, shaking his head gravely. Clearly, things weren't going his way, and it was giving him a headache.
"Ah, Headmaster. What's going on?"
"Oh, Mars. Well… We've had complaints from some students about the taste of the drinking water lately, so I called in experts to check it out."
"The drinking water?"
According to student reports, the water from the dispensers had tasted off these past few days. At first, they'd chalked it up to picky eaters, but then faculty and even city folk started complaining. Sensing it wasn't a fluke, they'd summoned technicians to inspect the waterways for issues.
"I've banned tap water for now. It's a hassle, but we'll distribute preserved magic-treated water individually."
"Sounds rough."
I offered condolences watching them pore over sewer maps in heated debate. The poor guy was already stressed from academy drama inside and out—hoping he didn't lose more hair to it.
But a chill premonition stirred. Banning drinking water right when the cult was on the move?
Did they poison the water? With Drak, maybe?
That'd make them total lunatics. No deaths yet, so probably not lethal poison or test drugs, but crossing that line was unforgivable madness. The kind of stunt only cornered desperados would pull. I started shaking my head—
Then a nagging itch in my brain chased away the fatigue.
No backing…?
The sub-leader's office. In that cold, silent chamber lurked a hidden secret space.
A private sanctum known only to him, unknown to any other in the Heaven God Cult.
Shhh—
He opened a small nook in one corner of the office. Meagerly hidden, it held just a tiny picture frame and a necklace—but to him now, they were priceless treasures.
"…My son."
The frame captured an innocent child clutching a toy, beaming radiantly. The sub-leader caressed it with feather-light fingertips, as if touching something fragile as life itself, then sighed and set it down gently.
'Daddy~ Daddy~ Heehee!'
'Daddy… where are we going…?'
'Daddy!!! Save me!! Daddy—!!!'
The child's screams echoed in his ears, making him wince. Eons had passed, yet these hallucinations and auditory ghosts refused to fade.
Or perhaps manifesting only this much was a miracle. Any normal person would've rotted their brain long ago, driven to self-destruction.
"Don't worry. Soon it'll all end, and Daddy will come to you."
Too long without seeing his boy. A good kid, no doubt enjoying heaven with his gentle mother. But a father should show his face, no?
He'd end up in hell himself, but if it meant seeing his son, he'd walk the monster's path gladly.
'Godslay…'
He'd finished preparing to truly kill a god. No easy task, but no tension gripped him—he'd done it once before, so it shouldn't be hard.
All he wished was for a single violet his son loved to bloom mournfully on this soon-to-be-empty continent.