Episode 144
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The Northern Demon King’s Territory, now the land of a church dedicated to the Sistine Sisters in the name of the Duke of Saxony.
The true riders of the Goddess, who claimed to be the White Mage and the Sword of the Church, were there. And the man was there too.
“God wants it… … .”
Master Templar, Guy de Lusignan.
“Praise!”
Amidst the echoing magic of the white magicians’ hymns, wings of light began to flutter behind them. Calling themselves the riders of dawn that would sweep away the darkness of the Demon King’s territory.
The Master Templar aimed his sword at the horde of ghouls charging towards them.
“Goddess, grant me the strength to stand against evil.”
Immediately afterwards, a pillar of light descended from the sky, aimed at the spot where the Master Templar’s sword was aimed, like a satellite bombardment in a science fiction movie.
Satellite beam.
A pillar of light poured down from the sky toward the ground. The heavenly bombardment engulfed the horde of ghouls, and at the same time, their bodies froze. At first glance, it looked like ice, but it was not ice.
It was salt.
As if it were a punishment from God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, everything that was touched by the light pouring down from the sky was turned into pillars of salt.
“Praise be to you, poor ones who do not know the lovingkindness and mercy of the Sister God!”
Unable to contain his surging faith, the Master Templar made the sign of the cross.
Not caring about the fact that the wrath of the goddess unfolding there is somewhat distant from benevolence and mercy in many ways.
“I will drive away the darkness of this land and deeply engrave the will of the Goddess.”
The Master Templar muttered. And the land he was talking about was by no means limited to the Demon King’s Territory. He turned his head away.
Towards the Duchy of Northern Saxony, the land of the apostates who once renounced God.
* * *
Even after the surrender of the Demon’s Lands to the Church, Dale was still there as the ‘representative of Saxony’, now in the old Saxon fortress that was being transformed into the Sistine Chapel’s cathedral, not the Saxon castle.
Furthermore, after the church was officially granted control of the Great Labyrinth project in the Labyrinth City, several new laws were enacted.
It was the tithe.
The act of offering 10% of one’s income to the goddess.
Since the Demon King’s Territory was reborn as a parish of the Sistine Goddess Church, no one in the Demon King’s Territory could be an exception.
Even pioneer farmers, monasteries, and adventurers who conquered labyrinths could not be exceptions. It was a tax that they had to pay separately from the brokerage fee for artifacts or magic stones they obtained from labyrinths, and it was also a separate matter that the brokerage fee was made even more expensive in the name of the goddess.
In any case, the Artifact Rush craze was still offering a windfall reward that matched the risk. The Church, aware of this fact, began to squeeze the Demon King’s territory of its wealth in the greatest way they could.
Around that time, the number of adventurers whispering about a new ruler of the Demon King’s Territory began to increase.
The one on the horse was, without a doubt, Edward of Dulles, the leader of the noble adventurer faction and the one who brought in the most income from this labyrinthine city.
Dale had been aware of his existence from the beginning. Nevertheless, the reason he kept silent about his tyranny was not because he was afraid of his followers or because he could not find evidence.
Sometimes, even poison can become medicine depending on how you use it.
It was around this time that Dale sought out Edward as a poison to control the poison.
* * *
“You f*cking church bastards!”
Edward’s mansion in the labyrinthine city of Labyrinth. As a result of the pioneering work that had begun a few years ago, it was not unusual for successful adventurers to have their own private residences within the city. And among them, some of the private residences were particularly large and luxurious. Even so, this was still the case in the remote northern Duchy of Saxony.
“It seems that even the Almighty Sister God cannot help but deal with money issues.”
Right in that mansion, Dale muttered as if it were someone else’s business.
“His Royal Highness Edward must have been hit hard in many ways.”
“Are you saying that!”
At Dale’s words, Edward raised his voice again. Dale looked around.
The interior of his mansion, which should have been one of the wealthiest adventurers in the labyrinth city, was a complete mess. It was as if the house had been bombed.
It had only been a few dozen minutes.
The church swallowed up the adventurer’s guild that Dale had established, and through the guild’s information, they learned the personal details of high-income adventurers… … and based on that information, the ‘tithe executors’ of the Knights Templar stormed into Edward’s mansion.
Immediately afterwards, under the pretext of collecting tithes in accordance with church law, they ransacked the mansion and raided Edward’s estate.
The church could legally take 10% of the wealth that adventurers accumulated in this labyrinthine city. So, in order to collect ‘as much 10% as possible’, they hung Edward upside down and started to rob him.
In addition, he left a note saying that the 10% of the income he would earn every month from the Demon King’s Territory from then on would be no exception.
“And what’s worse, they’re demanding to nearly double the brokerage fee! Isn’t that something that would make even a sister goddess cry?”
“It seems like the sister goddess is in urgent need of money.”
“What on earth was the Count of Saxony thinking when he handed over his lands to them!”
“What else can I do in the face of robbery committed in the name of God?”
Dale shrugged. There are many types of robbers in the world, and the scariest of them all are those who take the name of God.
“But we can’t just sit by and watch the labyrinth city collapse like this!”
Edward began to raise his voice as if he were the lord of the Demon King’s Territory.
“It is true that many adventurers are making a lot of money in the Great Labyrinth. However, my primary goal is to develop this land of the Demon King’s Territory into a land for humans. At least as long as the church faithfully carries out that project… … I guess I will have to accept some losses.”
“But haven’t the princes and princesses of the imperial family, as well as the powerful people from all over the continent, gathered together for the ‘Great Demon Alliance’?”
Edward raised his voice.
“In that situation, it is absurd and absurd for the church to unilaterally take the lead!”
“As expected, it is Prince Edward.”
Dale smiled faintly at those words.
“In fact, I, too, deeply sympathize with Prince Edward’s words.”
He smiles and continues speaking.
“I guess we have no choice but to be on the same boat.”
* * *
After concluding some sort of ‘deal’ with Edward, Dale headed straight to the hideout of the Shadow Court he led.
Their grand court is temporarily hiding in the Duchy of Saxony, avoiding the church that dominates this area of the Demon King’s Territory.
The true nature of the Shadow Court, the Shadow Church, is a heretical religion that the Sistine Chapel absolutely cannot tolerate.
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And as long as Dale was the ‘Shadow Lord’ who had the loyalty of the Shadow Church, it was necessary to thoroughly hide their existence.
In that respect, it was truly fortunate that they were simultaneously the continent’s greatest assassination organization.
“As the Apostles of Fire and Light are being defeated, new Apostles of Gold are appearing.”
There in the grand court, a girl with her eyes covered by a black bandage opened her mouth.
The Shadow Saintess, Dale and the center of their organization that serves the old Dark Mother Shub.
“You said that Michael Lancaster was an apostle of fire and light.”
“That’s right.”
“What does the Saint mean by ‘apostle’?”
“It means exactly what it says.”
The Shadow Saintess continues with a smile.
“They are the ministers of the gods of gold and shadow, light and darkness, who send revelations to enforce their will on this land, just as once did the virgin Aurelia of the isle of Britannia.”
“Are you talking about power that comes down without any reason?”
“That may be so, or those with special talents like Michael Lancaster may become aware of their beliefs. And even those who perform their mission as apostles without even knowing it. The forms and methods may vary, but ultimately the goal of the apostles is only one.”
“What is that?”
“To establish an empire for their god on this land.”
“Are you talking about gold and shadows?”
“In the grand scheme of things, yes. But just as there are many forms in shadows, gold is no exception.”
This would mean that even within the ideology of the left and right, there are differences such as a spectrum divided into extremes and the center.
“There are apostles who claim to be the Golden Lords, the Shadow Lords, and their loyal standard-bearers, and there are also apostles who have ambitions of becoming the Golden or Shadow Lords themselves. Just like the ‘Empire of Fire and Light’ who are still endlessly fighting behind the scenes to seize the Golden Throne.”
Like a priestess receiving an oracle, the Shadow Saintess’s words were abstract and fanatic. However, there was some truth to her words.
Michael Lancaster was not a man who was unilaterally loyal to the Crown. Rather, the peace he spoke of was ambitious beyond that.
“What on earth is ‘Gold and Shadow’ in the first place?”
“Haha, don’t be hasty and try to understand right away. It’s something you’ll have to come to terms with soon, regardless of whether you like it or not.”
The Shadow Saintess smiles meaningfully again, still covered by the black bandages.
“I and the Shadow Court swear that we will serve the Shadow Lord more faithfully than anyone else, and we trust in the empire you will bring to this land.”
“Would it be okay if someone more suitable for the role of Black Apostle appeared and volunteered to take the name of Shadow Lord in my stead?”
“Who would dare to take the name of ‘Black Prince’?”
The Shadow Saintess asked back.
“The Black Successor and Saxony, who is with the old Dark Mother. Wasn’t that the ‘Black Prince’?”
“… … .”
“Michael Lancaster, Apostle of Fire and Light, is only the beginning. Innumerable Apostles of Gold and Shadow will appear in the future, and they will stand in your way. Just as the Master Templar is currently trespassing on this land.”
Master Templar. Dale held his breath at the name.
I turned my head to glance. There was Master Baro, sipping beer with his feet on the table.
“Master right now.”
“Why are you calling me?”
And only then did Dale reveal the real reason he had come to the Shadow Court.
“Let me get the knife, call the kids.”
* * *
Although he made some kind of deal with Edward, strictly speaking, Edward’s very existence was still poison to Dale. Considering the tyranny that he and the noble adventurer faction held within the labyrinth city, it would not have been strange if they had cut off the seed long ago.
So, to Dale, ‘Edward of Dulles’ was nothing more than a disposable hunting dog. No, strictly speaking, he wasn’t even a hunting dog.
It won’t be him who will be hunting down the Church, it will be Dale and the Shadow Court.
But after the hunt is over, it will be up to Edward and his gang to shoulder the ‘responsibility’.
It was time to prepare the hunting dogs of Tosagupen early and start hunting the church.
