Ch.120120. The Second Evil God Conference (1)

“Phew, that really surprised me…”

After a moment, as I looked at Renobel, the assassin boss of the organization I was trying to recruit through my avatar, I was genuinely shocked that he had seen right through me earlier with those soul-seeing eyes.

Fortunately, my divinity had concealed this surprise, and it was also a great stroke of luck that when Renobel looked at me with those eyes, he was seeing me through an avatar rather than directly.

After all, there would be nothing more pathetic than having my recruitment target’s brain melt after I had made all the preparations and finished all the groundwork.

This absurd situation was certainly something even I couldn’t have predicted, but at least it was resolved favorably… I suppose that’s fortunate.

Anyway, Renobel excellently passed the two tests that I originally had no intention of administering.

One was to overcome his own desires and prove his loyalty and faith.

I created a mesmerizing dagger using my power, handed it to him, and ordered him only to watch it without telling him to take it.

I deliberately kept my instructions ambiguous to make self-justification easier, but even so, Renobel successfully resisted the dagger’s temptation.

The other test concerned patience—essentially, how he would react if suddenly subjected to unreasonable pain.

Of course, even I thought this was somewhat excessive, so I had already decided to accept him regardless of this test’s outcome. This test was merely to determine what position he and his assassination organization would hold within the church.

If he endured the pain until the end, he and his assassination organization would receive treatment equal to that of heresy inquisitors, but if he couldn’t bear it or complained to me, they would simply become a subordinate organization of the church.

After carrying it out, I did feel like I might have made a mistake… but despite that feeling, Renobel admirably met my expectations.

Besides, this pain wasn’t simply for testing purposes, but rather collateral damage from the process of making him even stronger.

As a result, Renobel, whose faith seemed to have grown stronger after enduring this test, has now gained power so formidable that no one in the intermediate level would dare challenge him.

For enhanced vitality, I dramatically increased the strength of his muscles, bones, and overall physical structure, and added transcendent control over his body—an ability perfect for an assassin.

Simply put, thanks to this control ability, Renobel can now regulate his breathing and heartbeat at will, and even compress his skeleton to reduce his body size or maximize his senses depending on the situation.

He has undergone such significant changes that I can’t help but think he has somewhat transcended the framework of humanity.

※ ※ ※

Anyway, after the intermediate-level assassin Renobel came under my command, establishing the Assassination Bureau was easily accomplished with his help.

“We’re leaving this place. Follow me.”

“Yes, Boss!” they responded in unison.

He must have commanded considerable respect, as his subordinates—’the Family of Alcatraz’—followed his orders without a moment’s hesitation, even though he gave them abruptly without explanation.

Thanks to this, they were able to smoothly join the underground temple hidden in a corner of the slums under cover of night. After going through several procedures, they received specific instructions from me and left the underground temple again.

Soon after, they established their independent force on a small island near the Holy City.

The island, which had no means of exit except for one underground passage connecting it to the mainland, became the headquarters of an organization—the Cult of Assassin—not long after.

This rocky island, which was probably no larger than a modern high school, had incredibly solid ground due to the faint traces of adamantium in its composition.

As a result, they were able to dig deep into the rocky island and build massive facilities, making it a giant underground fortress despite appearing to be just an ordinary rocky island on the surface.

And the Cult of Assassin, which made this underground fortress its base, is now called the Brotherhood. Unlike their past when they fought to protect their family, they now carry an unwavering faith in their hearts, don equipment tempered with sacred blood by devout blacksmiths.

Following the oracles and revelations received by the devout Renobel—the supreme leader of the Cult of Assassin and my directly appointed “Chosen Avenger”—the assassins become swords representing my will, punishing my enemies.

They recruit personnel by taking in orphans abandoned in the Holy City’s slums, and everyone has the right to refuse “assassination training” if they don’t want it.

Of course, the Cult of Assassin operates in absolute secrecy, unlike other organizations, so information about this cult is known only to the highest echelons.

Because of this, retired assassins have their memories appropriately altered so they can live normal lives, and humane treatment is guaranteed as much as possible while maintaining confidentiality… although…

…many voluntarily falling into fanaticism and sacrificing their lives is… unavoidable, I suppose.

Anyway, after focusing on the Cult of Assassin as it settled in and began its assassinations smoothly, I soon shifted my attention from there to an important upcoming event.

I had planned to focus more on the Cult of Assassin’s activities for a while, but considering that this important event was none other than the Second Evil God Conference following the previous one…

For me, there could hardly be any matter more significant to address.

※ ※ ※

The Second Evil God Conference was held in the same place as the first one.

An endless expanse of empty void, with various pillars rising within it.

And among those pillars, seven larger ones standing even taller.

In this setting, no different from before, all sorts of evil gods had gathered. This time, I arrived almost last, in the form of a wolf-headed beastman…

《…Oh?》

The appearance of the seven great evil gods that caught my eye had clearly changed from before.

The seven great evil gods had already grown to the point just before ascending to higher divinity, and their achievements were naturally reflected in their changed appearances.

Magica, the Evil God of Conspiracy, appeared as a bipedal bird-like figure draped in blue robes—a blue-feathered strange bird.

Horus, the Evil God of Fear, another aspect of Phobos, appeared as the bizarre form of a screaming black human silhouette.

Marus Area, the Evil God of Plague, took the grotesque form of a bloated figure with mosquito wings—the Green Plague God.

Panima, the Evil God of Despair, manifested as a shadow wearing luxurious robes and a crown—the King in Black.

The Nameless One, the one who must not be named, the Evil God of Misfortune [ ], appeared almost unchanged from before.

And then there was me.

As I expected, this should have been the list of participants to pay attention to, but my eyes caught sight of a very unexpected god.

Unlike the first conference which they completely missed, perhaps because they had grown stronger—

The Evil God of Pleasure, with only a single eyeball, had appeared in person.

The wickedly lustful Sodomia Gomorio Blutas was directly present at this meeting.

You might wonder how a god who hasn’t even been born yet could exist, but in this world, gods are “relatively” free from the laws of space and time.

In other words, it’s not particularly strange for a god who is “scheduled” to be born at some point in the future to cause a kind of precursor phenomenon by sending their eyeball to the past.

So after briefly observing that jewel-like sparkling eyeball, I could sense something close to fear, albeit faint, in the gazes of the other evil gods.

Come to think of it, from their perspective, I was the only one in this conference hall who had reached the higher realm. To use an analogy, it would be like boarding the same subway as a madman holding a grenade with the pin pulled out.

Even if they knew I wouldn’t harm them, they couldn’t help but be intimidated by my power.

《I’m a bit late, I see.》

Therefore, disregarding their fear, I naturally climbed onto the highest pillar and plopped down in my seat.

《Now, let’s begin the conference. Raise your hand if you have any objections.》

After saying this while deliberately maintaining an arrogant and haughty posture, I confirmed that no one raised their hand and smiled with satisfaction.

Of course, such arrogant behavior and appearance weren’t my true nature—it was just to hide my real personality and gain the upper hand in psychological warfare.

So, while displaying maximally arrogant movements and looking down on the evil gods condescendingly, I naturally began to lead the conference.

《The topic of this conference is—a declaration of war against the Empire. No objections, I presume?》

After stating the topic, shocked gazes poured in from all directions—

But I simply remained arrogant and composed, looking down on them from my seat.