Ch.502Contemplating Velkus

======[ Valkers ]======

‘Dirade is done for. I had some expectations when I heard he obtained a dragon’s scale… but I suppose it was impossible to overwhelm the Empire’s monster in close combat after all.’

Looking down at the now-quiet Church of Saulite, Valkers exhaled the smoke he had been holding into the air.

If Dirade was dead, the womb of dark mana would also be destroyed. The city-wide mind control technique, “Web of Whispers,” would certainly be dispelled before the night was over.

The Web of Whispers—a large-scale technique created by combining Valkers’ power to dominate others’ minds with Eljur’s power to create widespread illusions, all fused together using Dirade’s ability to harmonize different powers.

Since Valkers himself was the core of the technique, he could maintain the Web of Whispers even if Dirade died, but without the supply of dark mana, it would last half a day at most.

‘Damn it, nothing’s working out…’

Valkers sighed.

Originally, this wasn’t a technique meant to be activated so quickly. The Heretical Descent Council’s plan was a long-term strategy spanning years—to infiltrate each city of the Holy State and gradually rot them from within.

However, everything had twisted since Lacy Stardolf and Haschal arrived in the Holy State.

The Council of Dream Utopia, which had been corrupting Holon through drugs, was eradicated except for Eljur and two executives. The cultists sent to Barseva lost contact after the Church of Volberg occupied the place.

Arad too—the elaborate scheme they had set up was dismantled by Haschal alone, leaving only this city, Arvil.

Moreover, according to intelligence, the main diocese of the Church of Saulite had dispatched holy knights to clean up Arvil’s pleasure district, so it was clear this place would be scorched in a few days as well.

Therefore, Valkers and Eljur had no choice but to hastily initiate their final plan, which they would have attempted only a year or two later—to completely control Arvil and massacre the unsuspecting holy knights of Saulite who entered.

They couldn’t just give up and retreat because the time and effort invested so far was too precious.

However, what actually arrived was not Saulite’s holy knights, but the Empire’s notorious killing machine. And not just her alone, but accompanied by an Inquisitor who made it his mission to slaughter cultists, and a saint of Elpinel.

If the Web of Whispers had worked, they would have obtained the finest sacrifices… but judging by the looks of things, it had unfortunately failed.

‘To think they could resist the Web of Whispers. Is it the protection of the Stigmata? Elpinel continues to interfere with us until the end.’

Valkers speculated that Haschal’s group had resisted the mind control thanks to Lacy’s Stigmata. There was no other way to explain it.

In fact, even Lacy and Agnes, who bore the Stigmata, had nearly succumbed to the mind control, but Valkers, lacking clairvoyance, couldn’t perceive what had happened inside the carriage.

‘Eljur… has set fire to the Church of Imela. I asked her to buy time, but I can’t trust her. If the situation isn’t favorable, she’ll flee immediately. She seems to have satisfied much of her revenge against the church.’

She had treated the brainwashed believers so viciously that even Valkers, who was watching, was impressed.

Not only did she use livestock, but she also borrowed monsters from Dirade, and utilized the holy water stored in the church to repeatedly restore the believers to their senses in the middle of the act.

In addition to that, she poured all sorts of blasphemy and desecration with great effort, so it was clear that even if the believers escaped the mind control, they would go insane.

Of course, they no longer needed to worry about going insane. They were currently burning in the collapsing church. It would be a truly hot bed in many ways.

‘What to do… I’ve completed the “Tower,” but I don’t have enough sacrifices to open the “Gate”… yet if I retreat, such an opportunity won’t come again.’

The ashes of the burned mana herb scattered in the wind. Unlike his usual self who would have decided to flee long ago, Valkers hesitated for a long time, looking down at the city.

At the hell he had created.

The scene he had finally achieved after years of effort—expanding his influence through the cracks in the Holy State, allying with other cultists, and investing years of time. Even if he spent the rest of his life, would he ever have another chance to obtain sacrifices of this magnitude?

Doubts and conflicts swirled in his mind, holding his ankles in place.

‘…Perhaps this is my last chance. No, it certainly is. This moment is my only opportunity to achieve my goal.’

Though he had never told Eljur, Valkers’ reason for cooperating with her to found the Heretical Descent Council wasn’t for the base reason of creating chaos and discord for enjoyment. That was merely his hobby.

In his immature youth, he might have been satisfied with just that, but now he dreamed of a grander enterprise, truly worth betting his life on.

From the beginning, the three leaders of the Heretical Descent Council agreed on the goal of corrupting and creating chaos in the Holy State, but in detail, they were a group gathered for different purposes.

Dirade wanted to strengthen his body using valuable sacrifices, and Eljur’s goal was simply to take revenge on the Church of Imela, which had designated her “paradise” as heresy and eradicated it.

Similarly, Valkers too had his own purpose.

‘If I retreat now, I’ll be a fugitive for the rest of my life. There’s no going back. Only now.’

Having caused such an incident, all the cult slayers of the Holy State would pursue him if he fled.

Unless he was content with just enjoying his hobby, building a force of this scale while evading their eyes was simply impossible.

‘So… I must gamble with fate once more.’

Valkers threw the mana herb off the tower and grasped the longsword leaning against the railing.

It was time to roll the dice.

======[ Haschal ]======

The Arvil diocese of the Church of Imela. The church where I expected the heretic Eljur to have opened the gates of hell had transformed into a hell of a different kind than anticipated.

– Whoosh!

Crimson flames flickered through the windows and framework of the church, spewing thick gray smoke.

While the marble exterior walls and skeleton were still standing firm in the fire, the wooden beams and roof had long since burned and collapsed.

It looked like a giant with only bones remaining, crouching and spewing flames from its entire body. The probability of anyone inside the church being alive was close to zero.

One might survive in the fire with miracles or magic to protect oneself… but those whose minds were consumed by lust couldn’t possibly manage such a response. They must have burned to death in there without even thinking of escaping.

“Merciful Heaven, have pity on them. Light the path for their departing souls, that they may find refuge in the arms of the one they serve.”

“…Lord Menes. Though they may not be your followers, they too are our brothers. Please grant them peace.”

“Astraea of order and justice. Your servant is here, make me your right arm to sing of wrath and judgment.”

Looking at the blazing church, the two saints and Ceylon sighed, each calling upon their own deity, while I chewed on the end of my cigarette with a furrowed brow.

Our judgment had been too late. I thought she would be lying in wait inside the church with traps set, but I never expected her to abandon the brainwashed believers of Imela without hesitation and escape.

It was an unexpectedly cold-blooded decision considering the depth of her vengeful heart.

She must have realized the identity of those who attacked the Church of Saulite… that is, us.

Although we had concealed our appearances using Ceylon’s holy light while moving around the city, she seemed to have guessed our identity just from the fact that Astraea’s paladin had arrived.

She must have decided there was no point in holding out in the church against me, so she killed all the believers of Imela and escaped.

If so, where to?

I suddenly looked around at the top of the city wall and realized that my companions who should have been there had completely disappeared.

Only corpses were piled high on the wall—no green-haired girl shooting arrows, no blonde grasshopper swinging a greatsword while jumping around.

Even the half-black half-demon I had placed as a radar was gone.

It was an alarming sight. If they had retreated due to the sense of crisis from the swarming enemies, that would be fortunate… but what if that wasn’t the case?

What if Eljur, who had set fire to the Church of Imela and escaped, had targeted the enemies shooting arrows from afar and headed there?

There was no time to deliberate. Right now, I needed to check beyond the city wall. My companions, not me. I had another urgent matter to attend to.

“Ceylon! Take the others, leave the city and find Demian! Eljur might have headed there!”

With this urgent command, I picked up Lacy and jumped out of the carriage.

“Kyaah!”

“Lord Haschal!?”

“Sister Haschal!”

The companions in the carriage were startled by my sudden action. Lena even reached out her arms to try to grab me.

“Keep going! I’m going after Valkers!”

I couldn’t leave Valkers alone. If Eljur had abandoned Arvil, there was a high probability that Valkers was also preparing to flee.

I landed on the ground in a sliding motion while holding Lacy. I already knew Valkers’ location. The massive bell tower in the center of the city. Apparently, he hadn’t left that place since occupying Arvil.

The cultists of the Eternal Ascension Sect showed no hesitation in confessing Valkers’ location. Though they claimed to be united as the Heretical Descent Council or whatever, they were fundamentally different in ideology.

I hoisted Lacy onto my back like a bundle and dashed toward the bell tower where Valkers was hiding.