Chapter 42

Chapter 5 Rise of the Evil God A few hours before the announcement of the new cardinal, a young priest let out a heavy sigh. He’d been charged with guarding the dungeon below the Archbasilica, aptly named the Pit of Divine Punishment. “Hey, it’s about time to do the rounds,” one of his colleagues called out. “Oh man. How ’bout you go for me this time? Drinks on me later.” “No way in hell. I’m not about to walk around this place at night.” Not that it mattered if it was night or day. It could very well be either, since no light ever reached depths of the Pit. But there’d been rumors circulating that the ghosts of heroes past haunted the place, roaming around at night. It was far too eerie for him. “Haaah. I don’t wanna go,” the young priest protested dejectedly, but he obediently left the guardroom and descended the stairs farther underground. It wasn’t a real problem since the majority of the imprisoned heroes were rendered harmless after they’d endured great psychological torment. But they had been some of the most gifted fighters of all time before their fall. If they managed to snap back to their senses, they could easily slam through the wrought-iron doors or dig their way through the walls with a Tunnel spell. That was why these regular rounds were critical—especially for those on the highest floor, those who managed to cling to their sanity. They were the most dangerous of all. “Dammit, I wish they’d just transfer me already.” He shuddered at the beastly howls of the insane, ricocheting down the halls. He stopped at every cell and peered through the small window on the iron doors to check on the prisoners. To the relief of the priest, most of them were sleeping quietly, with the exception of one. He halted in his tracks when he heard a voice. “Y-you…? Can you really be…? Ah…!” It rang out of the closed cell of their newest prisoner, the ex-bishop of Boar Kingdom—Hube. “Y-yes… I’m incredibly grateful… Everything will be as you intend!” He was the only person in his cell, but it sounded as if he was having a conversation. His energetic chattering spilled through the halls. Oh, how pitiful. He couldn’t handle this, huh? The Pit of Divine Punishment housed some of the most heart-wrenching groans and screams. The turnover rate for the guards was high; many were unable to withstand it. It wasn’t all that surprising for a prisoner to have a breakdown after they’d been subjected to that noise twenty-four seven. Well, I suppose he’ll be happier that way. Better that than suffering through this hell for who-knows-how-many years. As the young priest continued this thought, he peeked through the window of the cell. That’s when the iron door was blasted from the inside out. “Gah—!” The door flew across the hall, taking the priest with it and crashing hard into a wall. Shrieking in agony, he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. As he started to slip from consciousness, he saw the face of the man stepping calmly out of his cell. It wasn’t the face of a man suffering from confusion or insanity. It housed a smile as bright and breezy as the sky on a sunny day. “Emergency…situation… Hube has escaped…” With the last of his remaining strength, the young priest sent a telepathic message to his colleagues. Then he passed out. Within a minute, a squad of heavily armed holy warriors sprang down to the upper floor of the Pit. But Hube was nowhere to be found, vanished into the night. “He’s not here! Has he already escaped the Pit?!” “Get the patrols outside! We can’t let him get away!” “Wait, there’s no magical residue left of the Tunnel or Teleport spell. He should still be inside.” “But he’s not in his cell. Could he have gone farther down…?” But why would he run deeper into the Pit when it clearly didn’t have an escape route? The holy warriors weren’t certain of the reasons, but they hustled down the stairs, trudging deeper into the Pit, dashing onto the floor above the torture room, the lowest level of them all. That was where they spotted the former bishop. His back was turned to them. “Don’t move! There’s nowhere to run!” boomed the squad captain of the holy warriors, pointing his halberd at Hube. “You should have stayed in your cell! I can’t believe you’d act so foolishly.” These attempted escapees were deemed high risk. They were made powerless—in other words, psychologically tortured to the point of insanity. The squad captain wasn’t without some sympathy for these people, but he intended to fulfill his duty and signaled for his squad to circle around Hube. But they were far too late. “…Heh.” No sooner had he turned around with a genial smile on his face than chains of light snapped out of thin air, tightly binding each of the holy warriors. “Huh, a Photon Bind?!” yelped the squad captain. In a hurry, they cast Dispel, but its iron grip wouldn’t budge an inch. “This is insane! How can he cast such a powerful spell on everyone without reciting an incantation…!” The squad captain and Hube should have had comparable magical strength. After all, the captain had similar magical skill to the average bishop. But he couldn’t wiggle out of this binding spell, even though it should have been weaker without an incantation. In other words, the difference between the two was like a newborn baby and a grown-ass adult. “Impossible! How did he get so strong in such a short time—? Ack?!” There was one possibility. It raced in the back of his head. It had been a miracle: a certain young man, a humble woodcutter, who’d transformed into a formidable magic user overnight. “N-no… It can’t be…?!” “…Ha-ha.” Hube chuckled at the squad captain, who was quivering upon this realization. Sauntering to the nearby iron door, Hube cast Unlock without an incantation, opening the door that’d been shut for the past few decades. The prisoner inside let out whoops of excitement and came tumbling from the room. “Aaaahoooa—!” Saliva spewed from the corner of the elderly man’s mouth as he sputtered, as if he were a rabid dog ready to attack. Hube stood directly in front of him, stopping him with one swift motion, and lifting him toward the ceiling. “You poor criminal. I’ll put an end to your suffering now.” He began to cast his spell as the raging man tried to claw free from his grasp. “Forget all your sins. Uninstall.” The wave of magic pulsed from his palm into the man’s brain, burning through neuron after neuron. “Ah…” For a moment, the man made a sound as if he had suddenly regained his sanity, but then he seemed to lose all the energy from his body and hung limply in Hube’s arms. But Hube wasn’t done yet. “You are now the obedient vanguard of the Goddess. Install.” The elderly man’s brain started as a blank slate, and new information was being etched into it. “Ah, ah, ah.” As if shocked by electricity coursing through his nervous system, he convulsed a few times then stopped moving. Hube released his grip on the man, and he held himself up as his feet landed on the ground, spine straight. The man’s face was tense, put together. It didn’t carry any semblance of the unrestrained beast from before. At the same time, his expression was completely blank: It held no joy, no anger, no fear. “Wh-what…? What have you done?!” The squad captain was unable to process anything. He only knew that this was something absolutely horrifying. Hube calmly turned to the shrieking, pale-faced captain. “Will you all join me? Or will you become the Goddess’s vanguard?” he threatened. They had their choice: join him willingly or be brainwashed. No other options. There wasn’t even room to resist. Trembling from fear and humiliation, they nodded respectfully. To this, Hube smiled, satisfied. “That’s all.” As soon as he said that, the chains of light dissipated. But no one tried to run. If they did, they’d be caught instantly, and their minds would be erased—just look at that elderly guy. They shook and emptied their bladders at the thought. “Well then, open the doors please.” The captain hurriedly unlocked them. Hube stopped the escaped prisoners one by one, erasing their minds so that all that remained was the empty vessels of their bodies—tools for the gods. After their top-secret discussion came to a close and the advisor of the Demon King took his leave, Vermeita read, reread, and re-reread the BL manga before finally climbing into bed. But that didn’t last long. She was rudely awakened by a telepathic message. “Cardinal Vermeita. Bad news. Please come to the Archbasilica as quickly as possible!” The voice belonged to the bishop in charge of security at the Archbasilica. The fact that he was contacting the cardinals directly meant that this situation was urgent. Vermeita leaped from her bed and threw on her cardinal robes over her thin nightgown, picking up her well-loved iron cane and dashing from the orphanage. “What’s happened?” “H-Hube has escaped from the prison, releasing the other prisoners so they’ll join him. Even the guards have his back…” “…I’m sorry. What?” “Hube has escaped, and he’s leading a revolt!” The hysterical scream echoed in her mind. She furrowed her brow and forced more strength into her legs to run. “Okay, so Hube has escaped. But I don’t understand how he got the guards to join him, much less the mentally ill prisoners. How did he manage that?” “I have no idea!! Please hurry, hurry, and save us! If you don’t—ah?!” The telepathic connection cut out after that final scream. Vermeita felt sweat drip uncomfortably down her back, but she strengthened herself with Physical Enchantment, feet pounding through the night, running faster than an arrow. Just as she arrived in front of the Archbasilica, three shadows descended from the sky. “Ah, youngsters. So full of energy.” “Indeed. We hardly have the energy left to run here.” “My belly has gotten so heavy, too heavy. The girls are always harping on me to lose weight, but I’m just not up to it.” The Elderly Cardinal. The Agreeable Cardinal. The Materialistic Cardinal. The three chattered pointlessly as they released their Fly spells and landed softly on the ground, but their faces mirrored Vermeita’s—full of unchecked concern. “Well then, shall we go see the face of the foolish escapee?” Cronklum suggested as he led the four into the Archbasilica. Inside, it was uncomfortably quiet. Not a single escaped prisoner or a priest to be found. “……” Their feet silently shuffled forward, carrying them to the prayer room in the center of the building. Beyond its heavy doors, they found the person in question surrounded by a crowd. “I’ve been waiting, cardinals.” At a leisurely pace, Hube turned from the statue of the Goddess upon finishing offering his prayers. A warm smile pulled at his face. It was as if he was a different man from the one who’d spewed hysterical fury and antagonism when he’d been dragged out of this exact same room. But upon closer inspection, there was something dark and murky that glinted in his eyes. It manifested in the looks of the holy warriors around him, as their expressions showed nothing short of sheer terror. What on Earth…? Vermeita couldn’t get a good read on the situation as she looked from face to face of the obedient holy warriors and the group of people directly facing them: the former heroes who’d been psychologically broken and imprisoned for the heinous crimes. Their faces reminded her of dolls, completely devoid of emotion as they stood stock-still at attention, like a line of toy soldiers. Every fiber of Vermeita’s being was screaming at her to run, and while she fought to control her instincts, Cronklum took a heroic step forward. “Hube, what exactly are you trying to do?” “Oh, isn’t it obvious?” Hube spread his hands with a rapturous expression on his face. “I vow to eliminate the evil demons and all the sinful humans on their side from this world. That’s the will of the Goddess Elazonia!” “……” It was clear that they weren’t on the same page. Cronklum muttered under his breath, “I guess you’ve finally cracked…” He let out a long sigh. “Yes, you’re right. That is the Goddess’s will. But it is not a duty for a criminal to take on. Return to the prison. Go on. Photon Bind.” The chains of light reached out to ensnare Hube’s body—and shattered into fragments of light. “What in the—?!” “It’s all futile. There’s no one in this world who can capture me now.” In a dramatic gesture, he showed the backs of his hands. “For I’ve been chosen by the Goddess Elazonia as the true messiah!” He revealed the shining golden symbol of the Goddess on the backs of both hands. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” shouted Cronklum in confusion. “Don’t you understand? Fine, let me demonstrate on you.” As he chanted, Hube thrust both glowing hands in the cardinal’s direction. He spoke as if to clear away his deep-seated resentment, which had brewed for as long as he was locked away in the dark prison. “—You’re not fit to be a hero.” As Hube’s voice echoed through the room, Cronklum’s right hand started to burn, as if seared by a branding iron, and the symbol slowly peeled itself off from his skin. A throbbing, excruciating pain overcame his senses. “GAAAAAAAAH—!” His screams filled the chambers as the symbol completely flaked off his hand, scattering into a million tiny embers of light before disappearing to the heavens. That was the moment an undying hero—one with protection from the Goddess—fell and became a simple old man. “Th-that’s impossible; m-my undying status…” “Thank you for your service, Cronklum.” Hube addressed him without his title. The old man crumpled feebly to the ground. Then Hube turned his attention to the three remaining cardinals, frozen in place. “Well, then. Would you all be so kind as to assist me?”