I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Pope.

In Blasphemia's report, it was mentioned only as an 'theoretical existence.' The one whom all cults supposedly unite to serve as the supreme authority.

I considered it exaggerated information from Blasphemia, meant to draw more support from the Ten Towers.

An overblown danger to justify a bigger budget for themselves.

When Carisia and I waged guerrilla warfare against Blasphemia, we did manage to hack into several branch databases.

But there wasn't a single piece of concrete information about a unified organization led by a Pope.

The Pope was supposedly a representative of all cults. Therefore, electing a Pope would require the participation of many cults.

But now, with most cults driven underground by Blasphemia's hunts, I thought it would be impossible to hold such an election.

'So, there really was a Pope? And a unified cult created by multiple cults?'

I was stunned by this sudden revelation.

Because the original work barely mentioned them.

In the distant past, it was the Mage King who drove the cults to decline, but the main enemies in the original work were the Ten Towers that betrayed him. In the second part, which began with the death of Carisia, or the original White No Name, the new enemies were beings from another dimension.

'In the original, the role of the Cult of the Vanished Gods was….'

They were like mines for extracting items like the relic of Phoibos I had now. It was like a bank where the Mage King would occasionally withdraw the necessary tools, reminiscing about the past, 'Oh, I buried such a temple back then.'

It was clear that the world setting of the original still held some truth.

But why were there such differences now?

'Is it because it's not yet 2077, the year of the Mage King's resurrection? Will the union of cults be completely destroyed by Blasphemia by then?'

However, the current Blasphemia was much weaker than in the original.

The internal war against the survivors of the Golden Desert operation who returned as invasive entities. Handling that situation had drained their resources, leaving them with little power to project externally.

Who were the ones who significantly weakened Blasphemia by sacrificing their top elites in the extra-dimension?

Carisia and I.

Ha-ha, damn it.

Was it a disaster I brought upon myself?

I let out a hollow laugh.

***

Sikton initially regarded the man before him merely as a sacrifice. But not anymore. He was someone with both faith and power worthy of possessing a relic of Phoibos.

Eyes like a snake, not fitting for someone who served the far-seeing Phoibos. Eyes so narrowly open it seemed doubtful they could see anything, yet the contradiction created an eerie pressure.

An old saying came to mind: there is power in contradiction.

The man holding the crystal relic suddenly burst into a laugh. A sense of unexplainable dread filled the air.

Sikton instinctively interpreted this as a mocking laugh, implying 'Do you still resist even after knowing my true identity?'

"…Indeed. The superiority between the enchanting power bestowed upon me by Bacchus and the relic of Phoibos you hold is clear."

Divine power is an ability granted by gods to their believers. In this world where the gods' authority has weakened compared to the ancient past, the absolute amount of bestowed divine power has inevitably decreased.

In contrast, relics like that of Phoibos came from the beautiful times of old, when gods directly communicated with their priests. The divine power imbued in such relics, containing the mysteries of ancient times, overwhelmed modern priests in both quantity and quality.

"But listen. You, the high priest of Phoibos. They call me a traitor in the Divine Cult. But was it not they who first betrayed the gods?"

"A high priest, you say. Do I look like one?"

"Do not try to deceive me any longer. If you escaped Blasphemia's pursuit with such a powerful relic, who else could be the high priest of the Phoibos cult but you?"

***

'Actually, this relic is something even Blasphemia doesn't know about.'

I considered saying that but decided against it. The priority now was to extract more information somehow.

"Betrayal, you say."

I pondered what the bishop of the Bacchus cult was attempting with the magic circle drawn here.

Reflecting on the vision shown by the relic. The bishop seemed to be creating something by offering chimeras and other living sacrifices to his god.

The blood squeezed from the sacrifices. Considering it was the Bacchus cult, it could be a kind of wine?

He drank it, destroying his own body and this space in the process.

A wine made by offering sacrifices to a god. If it only destroyed people, that might be understandable, but destroying space and creating a rift to another dimension wasn't something ordinary wine could do.

"You attempted to breach the realm of the divine. You wanted to ascend to a demigod's status by drinking Bacchus's wine, the wine of the gods, didn't you?"

"Is that what the Divine Cult says? Phoibos's foresight may see through illusions, but it fails to grasp human malice."

The bishop repeatedly mentioned the term 'Divine Cult'. It seemed to be the name of the union of cults that elected the Pope.

"Give it up. You cannot withstand the divine."

"That's precisely what I desire!"

The bishop suddenly shouted, no longer acting like a dying man.

"The Divine Cult seeks to abandon the gods! They claim the gods abandoned us first, so we should also abandon them! Does that make any sense to you? No! No!"

After shouting fiercely, the bishop panted heavily, leaning on his staff.

"You can't believe the Pope said such things, can you? But it's the truth. Use Phoibos's power to discern the truth of my words."

"Let's assume your words are true. How does your attempt to ascend to a demigod relate to loyalty to the gods?"

A low chuckle echoed in the cave.

"Didn't you say? I cannot withstand the divine. I never intended to endure it. By letting Bacchus's divinity destroy my body… I will become a gate connected to his palace."

'Is he mad?'

What the old man was suggesting was to open a gate to another dimension by sacrificing himself. Directly connecting the gods' thrones to this world.

If an overwhelmingly powerful force attacked the dimensional barrier, it could indeed be broken.

But who could guarantee that the dimension beyond the broken barrier would be Bacchus's vineyard, Phoibos's shooting range, or the maw of an unknown monstrous entity?

The old bishop, oblivious to my shock, continued to ramble.

"When the gods descend directly upon this world again, the Pope will change his mind. Blasphemia and the Ten Towers behind them will be wiped out! How joyful would that be?"

This was bordering on delusion.

"Is there a way to control the connection to the extra-dimension? You are chasing a futile dream."

"There is a secret holy incantation handed down from ancient times. I stole it from the secret archives of the Divine Cult. They hide so much from us."

A holy incantation. Sacred invocation. Miracles performed through divine power by praying to the gods. It could roughly be described as magic using divine power. Although there are many differences in the details.

"It's a holy incantation to explore the extra-dimension. I will find the heavenly coordinates using the divinity of Bacchus imbued in me as a medium."

***

Sikton laid out his entire plan and looked at Orthes. If the high priest of Phoibos supported his plan, the chances of success would greatly increase.

Aren't seers supposed to see the future? Simply identifying the cause of failure from a failed future and correcting it would suffice.

'Only cult leaders attended the Divine Cult's meetings. The leader of the Phoibos cult did not resemble this man. Knowing that the cult leaders support abandoning the gods must deeply unsettle him.'

And such turmoil of the heart was precisely the specialty of a priest of Bacchus. Inducing pleasure, excitement, and intoxication was the essence of wine.

The veil of illusion might not blind a seer's eyes. But the scent of wine could certainly heighten the seer's inner fury and nurture empathy towards him.

A subtle grape scent filled the cave.

Sikton saw the grip on Orthes's sword tighten.

'It's done!'

"Sikton."

The high priest of Phoibos approached. Through the slit of his eyelids, a blue iris was visible.

How did he know my name? Did the Divine Cult inform him? No. It could be the unique power of seers.

'Hearing my name indicates a significant reduction in the psychological distance between us. But it's not over yet. If he realizes I've secretly used a holy incantation, everything could unravel.'

"Take my life if you must. But know that it was the Divine Cult that betrayed our gods first, not me."

"I have something to tell you."

Sikton spread his arms towards Orthes, smiling. It was a gesture of welcome towards a comrade in the cause.

Shing.

And the next moment, his head was severed and flying through the air.

'Why?'

In his dying moments, Sikton heard Orthes's final words.

"If you wish to die, die alone."

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