The Young Lady is Remarkable
Chapter 63: "The Young Lady is Remarkable."
Recalling their recent encounter, Jealousy let out a soft chuckle. There was no doubt about it. The young lady had clearly sensed his mana. She had detected the common thread between the mana he used while disguised as Professor Clara and the mana he had just subtly spread, and her reaction showed her confusion. That was no ordinary feat of mana sensitivity. Considering her current level was only 2-star, her talent alone was nearly on par with the Seven Deadly Sins, himself included.
That's our young lady, all right.
Truly, she was a source of pride. If only she could grow steadily without any mishaps.
Ding.
Just as he was indulging in his doting thoughts about Arina, his smartphone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
It was a spam message from Layla. Jealousy tilted his head, momentarily unable to process the name written there.
But he quickly grasped the situation. The Master had probably just made something up because he found answering bothersome. Well, it wasn't like he could go around using the name Jealousy freely.
"That aside, what the hell is Hans? Hans."
It sounded like the name of some random villager from a fairy tale. In the Fan Empire, it was on the level of calling someone Younghee or Cheolsu—utterly disastrous naming sense. Something flashy like Gonzales would have been better. The name was far too plain, completely mismatched with his own dazzling self.
If it weren't for the Master, I'd have beaten the crap out of him.
After going through all that trouble to save him, the Master had saddled him with this garbage. With trembling hands, Jealousy hurriedly typed out a reply.
His parents hadn't given him that name. No parents had ever given him a name at all. Abandoned at birth, he had wandered the back alleys until slave traders caught him and sold him off to the Fan Empire.
"Tsk."
This damn woman was making him remember unnecessary things. Realizing that replying would only drag the conversation out, Jealousy shoved the smartphone back into his pocket.
Perfect timing, actually.
His mood had turned foul. Now he could kill with even more enthusiasm.
A twisted, mad smile spread across Jealousy's face at the thought. At the same time, his footsteps slowly turned toward the church ahead.
The Church of this era was divided into seven factions: Humility, Charity, Kindness, Patience, Chastity, Temperance, and Diligence. These were commonly called the Seven Cardinal Virtues, regarded by the Church as the fundamental virtues every human should possess.
The place Jealousy had come to belonged to the Kindness faction among those seven. It was the very church that had hosted the charity event in Raymond National Park.
At the very least, they're definitely involved.
It was even more absurd to claim the organizers knew nothing about the drugs. Especially if the purpose of distributing those drugs was to increase the number of followers. In other words, this church was a place that needed to be eliminated. He had already told Pride it was the Master's order, so Pride would handle the cleanup. After all, directly targeting the Church—unlike their previous focus on only criminals—might offend the Majoan.
Hopefully the Archbishop isn't away.
The Church was fundamentally a religious organization and not a combat-focused one. But that only applied up to the level of priests. Once someone reached the rank of bishop, it was normal for them to possess a certain degree of martial ability—whether through magic or spirit arts. In fact, during major incidents caused by dark mages like the Dark Wave, there had been many cases where the Church moved faster than the nation itself.
Of course, even then, their level wasn't particularly grand—barely reaching 5-star at most. Honestly, from Jealousy's perspective, the Church's combat strength was nothing special below the level of the Cardinals.
"Coming through!"
Using the Master's order as an excuse, he kicked the church doors open without hesitation. Sunlight filtered through the stained glass, casting colorful patterns and creating a sacred atmosphere inside. It was so devout that one might feel compelled to kneel and pray. But the moment he passed through the corridor and entered the main hall, Jealousy could only frown at the unexpected scene.
Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. And more blood.
The interior was soaked in crimson, the scent of blood so thick it hadn't even fully dissipated. Amid the piles of corpses, a woman turned her head toward Jealousy while gripping someone's neck.
"Ah, you've arrived."
Crack.
With that, the neck of the man she held snapped. The middle-aged man died instantly and rolled onto the blood-soaked floor like a puppet with its strings cut. His face was unmistakably that of the Archbishop Jealousy had confirmed before entering.
"It's been a long time, Jealousy."
"Yeah."
As he had mentioned earlier, whenever dark mages caused incidents, the Church often took the initiative and moved before the nation. The same had been true during the underworld's activities under the Death King. She was one of the figures who had joined hands with the Empress during the war against Yggdrasil and stood against the Death King. One of the seven Cardinals who ruled over the seven factions.
"Damn, it's been a while. Kindness."
The reason Kain called his subordinates the Seven Deadly Sins was to create counterparts to oppose the Church that rejected him. In that sense, the Cardinals of the Church could be seen as the direct opposites of the Seven Deadly Sins—not only in name but in power as well.
"Perfect timing. I was just about to go looking for you."
Upon hearing that something had happened at a Kindness faction church, the first thing that came to mind was finding her, the Cardinal of Kindness. And here she was, appearing right in front of him. He couldn't have been more grateful.
"Well then, start explaining the situation."
She was an 8-star superhuman, just like him. Someone he wasn't even sure he could defeat even if he went all out. Yet there was no hesitation in Jealousy's actions. It was only natural. There was no reason to fear a loser who had once tucked her tail and fled from the Master.
"It's exactly as you see."
Kindness looked down at the Archbishop's corpse with emotionless eyes.
"I received a report. He was spreading drugs to boost his performance metrics."
That was why she had judged the sinner—through summary execution.
"Is that so?"
Jealousy smiled faintly at her words.
BOOM!
His kick shot straight toward her. The impact was so powerful it was hard to believe it came from a clash of leg and arm, sending the scattered corpses flying into the church walls.
"But why does it look to me like you're trying to clean up after getting caught by the Master?"
"……"
Kindness blocked Jealousy's kick with one arm, her brows furrowing.
"The drugs. That was your Church's doing, wasn't it? But after getting caught by the Master, you're scrambling to cut ties."
Even during the great war with Yggdrasil, the Death King had rarely appeared in person, mostly sending summons. And one of those rare occasions was when he swept through the troublesome Church. She had been at that scene, meaning she was one of the few who knew the Death King's face.
"Why are you making excuses with such pathetic lies? It's laughable."
"Haa. Can't you just let this slide?"
Kindness clicked her tongue in annoyance. Now that her mask had finally come off, Jealousy stepped back with a refreshed expression.
"This incident was a mistake on our part. How could we have known? Who would have imagined the Death King would leisurely stroll through a park eating doenjang soup?"
No one could have imagined such a ridiculous situation.
"Yes, you're right. We cut ties because we don't want to fight the Death King. But is that really wrong?"
No matter how powerful the Church was with its seven superhumans, it could never stand against a single Absolute Being. They had learned that lesson painfully during the war with Yggdrasil.
"In the first place, as long as what we do doesn't harm you, it shouldn't matter, right? This case was beyond our control. I'm sorry. On behalf of the Church, I apologize. If you wish, we'll compensate the underworld directly or even bow our heads before the Death King."
They would do whatever it took. So please, forgive them. Unlike what Kain had said to Layla, this apology carried genuine sincerity.
"Let me say it again. We have no intention of opposing the Death King yet."
"Yet, huh……"
Jealousy snorted at her words. There was one phrase the Church always used: when the world was filled with chaos, God would descend once more. It was the Day of Judgment written in the Apocalypse. What Kindness meant by "yet" was precisely that day—the absurd delusion of God manifesting in this world.
"Fine. I'll relay your words to the Master and Pride exactly as they are."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"Don't thank me. If the Master still orders us to erase you, the Church will vanish from this world completely this time."
With those words, Jealousy turned his back as if there was nothing more to see. Then, glancing at the Archbishop's corpse pushed against the wall, he clicked his tongue again.
I was hoping to blow off some steam, but……
His prey had been snatched away by someone else. Damn bastard.
"We'll handle the cleanup ourselves. After all, it would be difficult for the underworld to operate in the Ellemental Kingdom right now."
"Oh? You even know about that?"
"There are followers even among the great nobles."
These loose-lipped bastards. Why were they blabbering about the negotiations between the underworld and the Ellemental royal family to outsiders? If this story reached the Majoan, he would surely have a headache as well.
"Whatever. Do as you please."
With a casual wave of his hand, Jealousy left the church. At the same time, he pulled out the smartphone he had tucked away earlier.
"Hey, it's me. The situation's changed a bit strangely."
He immediately called Pride to explain the circumstances.
Hmm, so that's how it turned out.
But Pride's reaction after hearing the explanation was somewhat strange. It was as if he had expected the Church to respond this way.
"Anyway, don't report it to the Majoan yet. I'll ask the Master what to do first."
I wasn't planning to report it in the first place anyway. The idea of the Church picking a fight with the Master is absurd to begin with. They know his power better than anyone.
It was a completely different matter from the future where ignorant Church followers might show up at his doorstep after discovering Kain was a dark mage. The difference between knowing and not knowing. Also, the difference between indirect annoyance and direct harm like drugs. Though Kain was indifferent to most things in the world, once someone crossed the line he had set, he became more ruthless than anyone. Naturally, the Church would also move to resolve this incident in their own way.
It was just faster than expected. Honestly, that part was a bit puzzling. How could they move so quickly? And not just anyone, but Kindness, one of the Seven Cardinal Virtues.
Coincidence?
Had she come by chance and discovered the Master's appearance? Or……
I'll have to investigate that separately.
There was something that kept bothering him in Jealousy's words. The fact that the Church knew about the deal between the underworld and the Ellemental royal family.
If my hypothesis is correct……
For the Master's sake, he would leave no room for doubt. Pride sank into thought, planning his next moves in his head. At his words, Jealousy scowled deeply.
"What? So you sent me knowing this would happen?"
It was the Master's order.
"Damn it."
Both Kindness and Pride. Nothing but bastards.
Good work. I'll report to the Master.
"Do whatever. But what if the Master still says to erase the Church?"
Why ask something so obvious?
There wasn't a shred of hesitation in Pride's answer to Jealousy's question.
Of course we'll erase them. The Church, from this world.
If it was what the Master wanted, they would achieve it no matter what. At that simple premise, a smile returned to Jealousy's lips as well.
"I hope that's what happens."
Kindness—that crazy woman's face. He had wanted it for a while now. Hoping the Master would make a good decision, Jealousy ended the call and looked around the blood-soaked church.