Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Temporary 5th Squad Leader (3)
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‘An artifact capable of absolute defense and attack reflection. That means I’ve gained three extra lives.’
For Theo, who would have to tackle even greater dangers ahead, there could be no artifact more to his liking.
The only downside was the limited number of uses, but that was unavoidable.
『From what I can see, it seems like a temporary divine relic blessed by the God of Causality.』
Lordbroke examined the ring from every angle before offering his assessment.
‘The God of Causality?’
Theo recalled the god who had shown him favor throughout his climb up the White Tower.
The reason why that he—or she—had continued to display such benevolence toward him remained an unsolved mystery.
『Indeed. Causality doesn’t always mean a fixed cause and effect. Sometimes, it also means introducing a ‘variable’ to the cause and arbitrarily altering the outcome.』
Lordbroke stroked his chin as he continued.
『In any case, even if it’s only good for three uses, the fact that something like this has been granted at this timing… suggests the God of Causality has seen something in this future.』
“This mission… isn’t something to take lightly, then.”
『Exactly. It might mean your role in this mission extends beyond a simple assassination. The gods of the Pantheon perceive timelines far deeper and broader than we mortals can.』
“Meaning…”
『It could signify that the invasion of the outer gods you witnessed will intensify. Especially the [Nameless Lord], who I suspect will rampage the most.』
In other words, it was a warning.
Prepare thoroughly, for the [Nameless Lord] and the Sacred Demon Church would soon unleash greater chaos.
The God of Causality must have been so worried about Theo that it bestowed this item infused with its blessing.
Right now, the Pantheon was focused entirely on repelling the outer gods’ invasion, leaving them little attention for worldly affairs.
Yet, for them to grant something of this magnitude meant they had paid an equally enormous price.
It was a sign of how much they cared for Theo.
‘What exactly is behind Torkel? Is he connected to the Sacred Demon Church or the [Nameless Lord]?’
This affair might even tie into the secrets of the Black Dragon and the Plum Palace Lord, who had seemed to be on the run.
In any case, Theo had no intention of weakening here.
It might prove most useful for assassinating Torkel, who was shielded by the colossal barrier of the Black Iron Knights.
Whiiiiiish!
As these thoughts swirled in his mind,
Umbra flapped its wings even more vigorously.
Far ahead,
Troyvan’s stronghold had come into view.
* * *
The Sacred Demon Church was a kind of evil cult.
Heretics that the Empire deemed must be utterly rejected.
Thus, the Empire periodically mobilized forces alongside the pioneer lords to subjugate them.
In particular, the massive punitive force centered on House Ragnar decades ago had even obliterated their hidden main altar.
For a time, not even the Sacred Demon Church’s ‘saints’ were seen, all thanks to the hero Kyle Ragnar.
But an evil cult was still an evil cult.
With roots too deep to eradicate easily, they slunk back out and raised their heads whenever the world plunged into chaos.
This time was no different.
With the imperial family’s authority in tatters and inexplicable natural disasters striking the continent, countless refugees were born.
To the common folk with no tomorrow, the Sacred Demon Church’s whispers of an afterlife were as sweet as a devil’s voice.
‘Our Lord will return soon… Our resurrection is at hand!’
Cardinal Vector laughed heartily.
Look at them now.
So many faithful had gathered of their own accord, yearning for the great god’s revival.
“Thus spake the great god: My people, why do you live such sorrowful lives? The reason you endure nothing but pain and persecution is that this world is false—!”
Atop the altar of 999 steps,
A priest clad in white robes looked down upon 9,999 fervent believers, preaching the doctrine.
“The only path to your salvation is to escape this false world. And I shall aid you in that. From the shadows buried in darkness since creation, I return to halt the rebirth of this false world and free you from its yoke—!”
As the priest’s sermon dragged on, the bronze censers flanking the altar burned ever brighter.
Whoosh!
Black flames roared wildly.
The air grew hotter.
The zeal of the believers, hands clasped in prayer, burned hotter still.
Madness.
There was no other word for the atmosphere.
Vector watched the scene in silence.
The ritual was nearing its climax.
“Quite the crowd has gathered.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man approached Vector.
Upon recognizing him, a faint smile tugged at Vector’s lips.
“To see Brother Ed, who’s shown no interest in sermons before, grace us with his presence… It seems you’ve finally decided to devote yourself to the god.”
Ed Troyvan.
In the North, he held the title of Ragnar’s Anti-Dragon, but now he had reclaimed his place as Troyvan’s heir. He twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Unfortunately, I’m an atheist.”
“What a pity. With the god’s miracles right before your eyes, and yet you turn away…”
“Isn’t Father’s devotion to the Sacred Demon Church enough?”
“That’s true, but I can’t help mentioning my regret.”
Troyvan and the Sacred Demon Church weren’t merely allies.
They were bound more like blood brothers.
For Troyvan’s family head, Granada Troyvan, was a fervent believer in the Sacred Demon Church.
Of course, Granada—with pride rivaling Ragnar’s—hadn’t subordinated himself to them.
Religious faith and secular position were separate matters.
However, the fact that the entity Granada truly revered was one of the Sacred Demon Church’s ‘apostles’ could not be ignored.
That was why Ed was aiding the church’s resurgence and participating in this revival ritual.
‘Revival of a god? Ridiculous.’
Ed snorted softly as he watched the ritual’s fervor intensify.
If the god truly existed.
If it were truly omniscient and omnipotent, as they claimed.
Then why had the Sacred Demon Church suffered ups and downs, and why hadn’t this world fallen into that god’s grasp already?
And why was a ‘revival’ like this even necessary now?
When victory was supposedly predestined?
But the god Ed had witnessed over the years was imperfect—one that knew defeat and downfall.
‘It shouldn’t have been sealed in the first place.’
Ed knew how the [Nameless Lord] had been at the height of its power only to be mysteriously sealed.
The cardinals and bishops spouted nonsense about the god resting after performing too many miracles.
The truth was a magical restraint had temporarily sealed it.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to hold this pointless ritual to break the seal.
And,
‘The one who did it was Theo, that brat.’
Theo Ragnar.
A boy he’d once despised and dismissed as insignificant, but who now piqued his curiosity about how far he could grow.
“You’ll surely come here yourself to stop this revival ritual. Come on, show me. What will you look like this time?”
Ed muttered softly to himself, his eyes gleaming with madness.
Madness born of obsession with Theo.
And madness from waiting until completion was near, only to crush it with his own hands.
“But I’m not worried. Once you witness the spectacle to come, Ed, you’ll have no choice but to believe in the god!”
Cardinal Vector spread his arms wide.
As if to directly receive the divine grace pouring from the heavens.
As Vector’s face flushed red and he sank into profound ecstasy,
The revival ritual had reached its final stage.
“There is but one way to welcome the great god: faith in his return. Thus, I ask you, my little lambs. Do you believe in his return?”
“We believe!”
“We believeee!”
The believers shouted in unison at the priest’s question.
Madness upon madness heated the ecstatic air to a fever pitch.
“Do you believe in his salvation?”
“We believe!”
“We shall believe!!”
“Do you believe in his apocalypse?”
“Yes!”
“O god, bring down the apocalypse!”
“Then prove your faith!”
“How… how shall we prove it?”
“We offer everything! Our wealth! Our wives! Our children, if demanded!”
The massive madness had now fully paralyzed the believers’ reason, spewing forth an unpleasant black shadow.
“Offer the most precious thing you can give for him!”
At the priest’s command, the believers raised high the daggers they had placed respectfully at their sides.
They gripped them reverse and without hesitation slashed open their left chests, yanking out and bursting their hearts.
Spluuurt!
Blood and madness from 9,999 hearts mingled as one. The blackened blood formed rivers, converging toward the altar.
“O god, return to us and save us.”
Even the final priest’s heart burst, offering up ten thousand lives as sacrifice.
Ed grimaced at the repulsive sight but said nothing.
The truly repulsive spectacle was only just beginning.
Ruuuumble!
Crunch, cruuunch—
From the pool brimming with ten thousand lives’ worth of blood, black tentacles began sprouting one by one.
Twining and tangling like vines, they shot skyward as if to pierce the heavens.
“Aaah…! The tree is rising! Buds will form soon! Flowers will bloom, and within them shall be the god!”
Vector, already deep in madness, was enraptured as if granted audience with a deity.
‘That’s a flower? Don’t make me laugh.’
Ed suppressed the urge to draw his sword and hack it down right then.
It was grotesque, pure and simple.
Something that could never arise under normal laws of evolution.
A chaotic tangle of deathly auras, demonic energy, eerie chills, and destructive forces.
Any being with common sense would instinctively feel revulsion…
Crunched, cruuunch!
More tentacles adhered to the bundle, soon forming a colossal flower bud dozens of meters tall.
And as the bud began to slowly unfurl,
As Cardinal Vector’s face drowned in its greatest ecstasy,
Fwoooosh!
A thick shadow suddenly blanketed the sky.
Over a hundred shadows.
Vector’s gaze naturally snapped upward,
And Ed turned the same way—then laughed for the first time.
‘You’ve come.’
The beings he’d awaited so eagerly had arrived.
A legion of white flying dragons blotting out the sky.
The White Dragon Knights.