The Blood Heaven Cult's forces, who were part of the train pursuit team, had all returned to their headquarters. Simon, Lete, and Prince hid behind some distant trees, observing the situation at the Blood Heaven Cult's headquarters.The Blood Heaven Cult's headquarters was a massive cave converted into a building. From the outside, it looked like an empty field, but once Lete pierced through the perception-disrupting magic, a colossal building clearly appeared.The cultists were bustling about as if preparing for war, meticulously deploying zombies throughout the building.[There aren't many organizations even within the Dark Alliance that operate such a large number of zombies.] Prince said.[And a significant portion of them are human-type zombies. How did this all happen?]“……” Lete sighed deeply beside them.“What do you think? They're all our residents, taken and turned.”“I also have a question.” Simon interjected.“The Divine Federation so strongly suppresses and subjugates heretics. How could such a massive heretical force emerge?”“The Blood Heaven Cult is different from ordinary heretics. They are a very special case.”The history of 'Daveism', the state religion of the Divine Federation, had always been intertwined with the history of heresy.As Daveism's influence grew, the number of heretics also increased exponentially. Ignorant commoners were easily swayed by the sweet words of people in front of them rather than the difficult scriptures.Lete gave a simple example.“Just go to some obscure rural village and show them that you can use divine power.” She held up her palm, manifesting divine power.“What would people who've spent their lives farming know? They see divine power right before their eyes, so they believe it.”Usually, heresies formed around excommunicated Priests or naturally awakened individuals who hadn't entered the Holy Office, wielding distorted doctrines.But the Blood Heaven Cult was different. They expanded their power systematically and radically.“They began to spread 'Cores' among the residents.” Simon's jaw dropped at that statement.“Cores in the Divine Federation?”“As you know, the Divine Federation's media is thoroughly controlled by central Efnel. The residents only know that the Dark Alliance bastards are vile and evil, and naturally, they wouldn't know about Cores.”Simon fell into deep thought.“I see why Efnel hides the existence of Cores.”“Why?”“Because anyone can open them.”Lete nodded with a hardened expression.“Exactly.”Jet Black is more accessible than divine power. Assuming there's a practitioner, all one needs to do is create a Core in their body.Even people destined to farm their entire lives due to low Divine Aptitude could find an opportunity to display new talents if they opened Jet Black.However, Efnel, according to its doctrine, denies the very existence of Jet Black and Necromancers.What if Necromancers who opened Cores sprang up like mushrooms across the Divine Federation's land? What if they formed organizations and gathered strength to resist the current establishment?Prince, who had been listening quietly, let out a chuckle.[From Efnel's perspective, it couldn't get any worse.]“That's exactly what the Blood Heaven Cult is doing. They present fake scriptures to unsuspecting residents, deceiving them into believing it's the true doctrine of Goddess Dave, and sweet-talk them by saying they can enable anyone to use divine power. Efnel controls divine power, but they claim they'll let anyone use it.”“So they lure people in, implant Cores in their bodies, and turn them into Necromancers?”“Yes.”The Blood Heaven Cultists, thoroughly brainwashed by heretical doctrines, believe Jet Black is the 'true power of the Goddess'. Thus, a strange hybrid was born: Necromancers who use Jet Black yet praise Goddess Dave.“That is the true identity of the Blood Heaven Cult.”Simon nodded heavily. It was a somewhat chilling story.[Wait, woman. You've gone off on a tangent.]“What do you mean?”[So why does the Blood Heaven Cult have so many human-type zombies?]“……What do you think?” She sighed deeply.“People who died during Core implantation, people who couldn't achieve Jet Black form transformation, people who refused to join the cult, and other kidnapped or captured individuals are used as test subjects and all turned into zombies.”The Blood Heaven Cult implants a 'special Core' they've改良ed into people.After opening the Core, the 1-2 year period required for Jet Black to go from simple emission to form transformation can be drastically reduced, they gain higher divine resistance than ordinary Necromancers, and can use special blood flow magic. However, the side effects are, of course, severe.“All these evil deeds,” Simon summarized.“They're attributing them not to a heresy derived from the Divine Federation, but to the actions of Kizen and the Dark Alliance Necromancers. That's the Chief Inquisitor's objective, isn't it?”“Exactly. That's also the objective of the Blood Heaven Cult's upper echelons. They must have hidden a bunch of fake command documents in their headquarters, claiming they're following Kizen's orders.”The scale of the incident was becoming unimaginably large, far beyond what they had anticipated.Saving Anna's life was important, but at this rate, Reshill would be embroiled in war the moment Anna was fully healed.“We absolutely have to stop this.” Simon quietly said, clasping his hands together. Lete nodded.“At least we avoided the absolute worst by stopping the Divine Train hijacking. Now we just need to prevent the Chief Inquisitor and the Blood Heaven Cult from manipulating information.”Simon looked at the briefcase in his hand.The evidence held by the Blood Heaven Cult's Bishop was the key to preventing war. However, releasing the information to the media as is was impossible due to controlled information and the risk of the Chief Inquisitor intervening.Reporting directly to the Pope was also impossible. The alternative was to deliver the evidence to the Priest whom Lete trusted, who opposed the war.This was the gist of their plan.“Then, it's about time, so I'll set up the teleportation guidance magic circle.”Lete squatted down and began drawing a magic circle on the ground with divine power from her fingertips. Simon and Prince watched quietly.“What is it?”As Lete concentrated on drawing the formula, one part of it kept disappearing. When she filled that part in, another part would disappear, repeating the cycle.Prince, watching this, scoffed and said, [Hey, woman. Didn't you say you were Efnel's best?]“Ah! Stop calling me 'woman'! I'll smash your head in!”[And you keep calling me 'undead'!]Simon, who had to restrain the two from their pointless bickering again, also squatted down to look at the magic circle.“What's the problem?”“The teleportation formula keeps artificially disappearing, even though my calculations aren't wrong. This is a bit strange, isn't it?”She lifted her finger from the ground and, with a burst of divine power, stamped the magic circle onto the ground. But this time, with a crackling sound, the teleportation formula tore apart.“Teleportation neutralization? How did they…...”Her gaze shot to the sky. White divine projectiles were raining down from above.“Oh, damn it! Get down!”The three immediately pushed off the ground and leaped. Dozens of divine projectiles, suspended in the air, fell directly onto their previous spot and exploded.“Ugh!”Simon tumbled to the ground, reeling from the immense firepower. Lete and Prince also barely dodged, lying prone on the ground.[W-what is this?]“It seems a teleportation neutralization barrier has been set up in this vicinity! They destroyed my formula and simultaneously read my coordinates to attack!”[Is it those Blood Heaven Cult bastards?]“Those heretics couldn't possibly perform such high-level sabotage!”Lete gritted her teeth and continued.“These are definitely people from the Inquisition! How did they get here so fast?”Simon raised his head and looked straight ahead.As she said, a group of soldiers in Inquisitor attire, emerging from the northern forest, were seen walking towards the Blood Heaven Cult's headquarters.“T-this can't be! They were supposed to arrive two or three days later!”“That is strange.” Simon racked his brain.It would be a proper cause-and-effect for the Inquisitors to arrive after the Blood Heaven Cult spread information. But the Blood Heaven Cultists hadn't escaped yet, and they had even set up a teleportation neutralization barrier as if to block any possible escape route.Then there was only one thing to consider.“It seems the Inquisition's intelligence was a step ahead.”At Simon's words, Lete finally understood the situation and nodded slightly.“That aside, what do we do now? This wasn't in the plan at all.”“……”Simon pondered for a moment, then spoke urgently.“Prince! Get into subspace!”[Huh? Oh, right.]No sooner had Prince entered subspace than a pure white spear strike shot towards them. The two quickly twisted their bodies to dodge.“This is…...!”Thump-thump-thump!Two men dressed as Inquisitors on horseback were galloping towards them. The two quickly turned their backs and fled.“We are Inquisitors!” The man on horseback raised his voice.“Surrender immediately and submit to interrogation! If you refuse our orders, we will kill you!”They were thorough. After reading their coordinates and sending divine projectiles, they even sent troops for a confirmation kill.“No need to listen.” Lete growled as she fled, stepping on tree branches.“They just bombarded us with the intent to kill, and now they talk about interrogation? They crossed the line first, so we'll ignore them.”Simon nodded. It was obvious they would lose the evidence if they complied.The two pushed off the trees and fled, while the two Inquisitors on horseback chopped down surrounding trees as they approached.“Stop!”“Fleeing will only increase your sins!”They spoke with the logic of interrogation, but the eyes of the two men were those of typical fanatics.Simon turned his head.“This won't do. I'll subdue them.”“We'll have to.”The two, who had been running on trees, immediately changed direction and landed on the dirt ground. The Inquisitors pulled on their reins and stopped.The two Inquisitors looked slightly flustered upon seeing Lete's Efnel uniform, but as direct subordinates of the Inquisition, they showed no signs of backing down.“Kneel and put your hands on your head.”“Resistance will result in immediate death.”Simon and Lete lowered their stances, ready to fight. One Inquisitor grinned, pulling out the hammer from his back.“Oh, you want to fight? Even better…...”Float.At that moment, the two Inquisitors on horseback were trapped in water bubbles and floated into the air.“W-what is this?!”Then, with a whoosh, they were flung far away. Simon blinked.“What happened?”“Ah! You've arrived!”Lete smiled brightly and pointed upwards. The Inquisitors heading towards the Blood Heaven Cult's headquarters had also stopped.Whoosh-Thousands of meters high, a woman with sea-blue hair descended with a radiant glow. She held a white flute in her hand, slowly playing it. It wasn't music, but the sound of nature that flowed from the flute.Simon swallowed hard.“That person is…...”“Yes. She's a direct junior of Teacher Anna.” She said with an excited expression, clasping her hands together.“It's Saint Israfil.”Israfil's sudden appearance startled both the Blood Heaven Cult, who were preparing their headquarters' defenses, and the Inquisitors, who were about to charge in.Chief Inquisitor Rate's face, in particular, turned crimson with rage. He gripped his cross-shaped greatsword, grinding his teeth.“Just when we were so close, a meddler…...!”No one in the Divine Federation was free from the Inquisition. Nominally, even if an Archbishop stepped forward, Rate's investigative authority was stronger.However, the Seven Holy Maidens, who had transcended human authority and were treated as demigods, were an exception. They could wield extra-legal power, unbound by any regulations.And Israfil was a prominent moderate who opposed the war.‘What are you planning, Saint!’The sky began to ripple with her music.Rate instinctively realized that the worst-case scenario for him was unfolding before his eyes.
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