Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Main Headquarters (3)

“The cultists are targeting the Church of Righteous Radiance.”

“That’s always been the case.”

“To be more precise, they are aiming for the Fall of Righteous Radiance.”

“…That’s not something we can ignore.”

Albaor frowned and straightened his back. Gilbert also stood behind him with a tense expression.

Well, the others seemed confused, not fully understanding the situation.

Fall.

To fall from the sky. To collapse. To become corrupt… You could interpret it any way you like.

The important thing was that gods were not eternal and unchanging; they could be corrupted by someone’s malice.

Perhaps only a very few were aware of the concept of Fall. Even in H&A, we only learned about it in the later stages after the Fall had actually occurred.

“It seems many people don’t understand, so let’s start with a simple explanation.”

“It’s not something that should be widely known… but it’s necessary now.”

Turning away from Albaor, who nodded in agreement, I began speaking to my women and Helena.

“First of all…”

In this world, there were five Good Gods and seven Evil Gods.

On the side of the Good Gods were Righteous Radiance, Budding Sprout, Circulating Life, Clashing Steel, and Free Breath.

On the side of the Evil Gods were Tainted Unity, Vile Proliferation, Boiling Silence, Narrow-minded Usurpation, Reckless Roar, Serpentine Leisure, and Lofty Dominion.

This was the world of the Eurelia Continent, where these gods were divided into good and evil and opposed each other.

But doesn’t it seem strange when you list the names of the gods like this?

First of all, the Good Gods had quite complex attributes.

For example:

Righteous Radiance - Light

Budding Sprout - Earth

Circulating Life - Living things

Clashing Steel - Fire

Free Breath - Wind

This was the most basic classification, but the Good Gods also oversaw various other domains.

Righteous Radiance was not only a symbol of light but also of the sun, and was regarded as the master of the sky.

Budding Sprout was called the god of abundance, Circulating Life was the god of healing, Clashing Steel was the god of blacksmiths, and Free Breath was the god of travelers, each overseeing expanded domains.

In contrast, the Evil Gods only oversaw limited domains related to the Seven Deadly Sins.

The reason was simple. The Good Gods had existed alongside humanity since ancient times.

As human technology and ideas developed, people began to expect more from each god, naturally expanding their domains.

The Evil Gods, on the other hand, were beings from another world that invaded only about 300 years ago, so they haven’t had time to expand.

“A god can exist purely as they are. But in the process of gaining power, they need the faith of people, and they may branch out in different directions according to the wishes contained in that faith.”

That’s right. The fundamental nature of a god doesn’t change, but they could be repainted as much as necessary.

Hearing this, Iris couldn’t contain her urge to speak, her body twitching with anticipation.

However, Iris was still a slave. She couldn’t speak up as freely as she did when we were alone and instead tapped Iona’s shoulder.

Normally, Iona would have teased Iris once, but now she was also curious and nodded quietly before asking the question on Iris’s behalf.

“Hey, hey. So you’re saying… Yandel, are you saying that Righteous Radiance could become an Evil God?”

“Yes. That’s what the Fall is.”

“The Righteous Radiance?”

Iona tilted her head in disbelief.

Well, the Righteous Radiance was known for being the most aggressive and for hating Evil Gods.

“But what if that hatred extends beyond the Evil Gods to encompass the entire Eurelia continent?”

“…Huh?”

“Although we talk about Fall and infusing power as complex concepts… to put it simply, it means driving someone mad. In this case, it would be like amplifying the Righteous Radiance’s aggressiveness and hatred for evil to the extreme.”

Thus, the creation of the eighth Evil God, the Ferocious False Light.

All the devout followers would either die or go insane, leaving behind only anger and hatred with nowhere to go.

I still vividly remember the sight of the apostles, who, emitting a black light, deemed everything in their sight as evil, and the fanatical followers.

In the first playthrough, I thought they were reliable allies, only to be betrayed in the end…

With a deep sigh, I continued.

“Maybe the Pope or Cardinal Gilbert knows, but… the Fall has already happened once. It’s not something to be dismissed lightly.”

“Is that true, Yandel? I participated in the War of the Gods, but this is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“That’s because it was the highest level of secrecy. Probably only the senior cardinals among the clergy and the direct royalty or nobility outside would know about it.”

“Hmm, hmm. I guess I could have missed it since I preferred to act independently at that time.”

I ignored Iona’s questioning gaze and continued.

“Since we’re on the topic, let’s explain a bit more about the Evil Gods. It’ll help with understanding.”

During the time I played H&A, the Evil Gods were mysterious entities that became more suspicious the more I thought about them.

The origin of the War of the Gods.

The failure of the experiment by a mad archmage tore the dimension.

The gods from another world invaded through the torn dimension.

They almost won the war against the existing gods but were sealed by a hero’s unexpected strike.

To summarize briefly, it was like that.

But think about it. No matter how they exploited the gap in the dimensional barrier, to start a war immediately upon arrival? And even gain the upper hand?

Why can’t the Good Gods even descend properly or appoint apostles?

It was because a godly being consumes a vast amount of power every time they try to do something.

Therefore, it was absurd that seven beings powerful enough to overwhelm the existing gods would enter through the gap in the dimensional barrier.

It might be understandable if they broke through the barrier entirely and invaded, but sneaking in through a crack was impossible.

The problem doesn’t end here.

Starting a war immediately upon invasion was one thing. Maybe they had some secret route only they knew.

But what about the suddenly emerged cultists, and how did they even turn mindless monsters into followers?

They were supposed to be otherworldly beings, yet why do they embody human-defined evils like the Seven Deadly Sins?

Moreover, the assigned Seven Deadly Sins were strange.

Tainted Unity - Gluttony

Vile Proliferation - Lust

Boiling Silence - Sloth

Narrow-minded Usurpation - Envy

Reckless Roar - Wrath

Serpentine Leisure - Sloth

Lofty Dominion - Pride

When you list them like this, you could immediately notice something suspicious.

Sloth was duplicated.

These small inconsistencies and duplications were constant questions throughout the gameplay regarding the Evil Gods.

Naturally, the people who fought directly against the Evil Gods during the Great War also repeatedly researched their true nature and somehow found answers.

“Evil Gods have powerful mental contamination abilities.”

Why do they only embody the Seven Deadly Sins? Because when human minds are contaminated, only negative emotions emerge.

Therefore, there’s no room for them to expand into other domains. All followers would suffer from extreme impulses.

As Ayla did before, the higher the rank of the cultists, the more their emotions would be modified.

“They probably invaded through the dimensional gap by reducing their power to the maximum and squeezing through.”

They didn’t invade while strong. They were weak when they entered, but recovered their strength at an incredible speed.

Through mental contamination, they quickly brainwashed the surrounding humans and secured faith through them.

Even though it wasn’t pure faith, it was distorted faith based on instinct, allowing them to secure it from monsters as well.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The best way for a god to gain power was through faith, no matter how you look at it. It was natural for the Evil Gods to gain the upper hand.

“The reason there are two Sloths is simple. The Boiling Silence corrupted the god of the sea, Surging Waves.”

Those who didn’t know might think they were sibling gods, or that the insignificant Boiling Silence was a subordinate god… but in reality, it was the opposite.

The Boiling Silence teamed up with the Narrow-minded Usurpation to pull a trick.

After Atlantis perished and the mermaids went extinct, they contaminated the followers of Surging Waves, corrupted the divine power, and weakened the god to the point of corruption.

The result was Serpentine Leisure.

Seeing his most cherished race being annihilated and his followers going mad, the god’s powerlessness was distorted into Sloth.

For reference, when Righteous Radiance falls and becomes the Ferocious False Light, it would be an Evil God corrupted by wrath.

“It wasn’t easy even when the gods walked the earth directly… but it’s not impossible. No, it will definitely happen if not properly prepared.”

A voice full of conviction. Fortunately, no one frowned at this.

If it were me in the past, no matter how much I said, no one would have listened. That’s why I slowly tried to get closer to the Church of Righteous Radiance.

But it’s different now.

Thanks to the Righteous Radiance giving me blessings, I gained significant influence within the church.

Above all, I had achievements, and it was I who revealed the spies of Boiling Silence and the alliance of the Evil God cults.

What if the cults of the Evil Gods, which were thought to be unable to unite due to being sealed and scattered after the Great War, actually cooperated?

No matter how strong the combat power of the Church of Righteous Radiance was, they couldn’t stop all the Evil God cults alone.

Although the Evil Gods couldn’t descend yet, if they could even implement their mental contamination abilities… then it would indeed result in a Fall.

Albaor, who thought this far, nodded heavily.

“I understand your words well. Specifically, what do you wish us to do?”

“First, gather the paladins and priests dispatched outside. Anyway, the cultists will probably lie low for a while since they were severely hit last time.”

“Hmm. Indeed, all the cultist branches we’ve discovered recently have only left traces. It must have been a massive withdrawal order.”

“Yes. But they won’t just give up, so they might gather their strength and strike all at once.”

“That means the target is likely to be us. Understood. We will take immediate action.”

“……”

I expected them to listen well, but I didn’t expect them to really accept it without any objection.

Even my women had expressions full of questions.

Albaor, noticing my confusion, smiled and said,

“Do you know? Faith is blind belief. But even so… where do you think you are?”

“The audience chamber of the Great Church…?”

“Yes. It is one of the places closest to the Righteous Radiance. If anyone dares to speak blasphemy in the name of the Lord… some form of divine punishment will fall.”

“…So it’s okay since no punishment fell, right?”

“Of course. The Righteous Radiance must have found your words reasonable.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Oh. I better be careful about what I say here.

I sighed in relief internally, but only briefly. Albaor, with the benevolent smile typical of a priest, opened his mouth.

“By the way, you said you had a request. Please tell me anything. As long as it’s not shameful to the Righteous Radiance, I’ll do anything.”

“Ah, it’s nothing major, it’s about Helena…”

“Huh? Uh? Ah?”

Helena, who had been listening with her mouth agape at the grand scale of the conversation, began looking around in confusion when her name was called.

I chuckled at her reaction and continued.

“I want to recommend her not as a candidate but as a saintess. Can I borrow the chapel tomorrow?”

I planned to ask the Righteous Radiance directly.

There were many other inquiries to make as well.