Chapter 395 The Schismatic Heresy



POV ???:

With his head held high and his footsteps purposeful, the man in white robes strode through the dimly lit alleyway flanked by towering black pillars.

As he neared the end of the alley, his pace quickened, and he soon arrived at an open, circular audience chamber on the other side.

'Phh, who would have thought even monsters could build something like this?' he thought to himself.

The chairs formed a half-circle, all vacant except for a single one.

The monstrous sentries in their fully enchanted armor stood below every single pillar. Their glowing eyes constantly lingered upon him, making him flinch in disgust.

'To think that I would have to visit this godless place,' he muttered, but kept his thoughts to himself, knowing it was not yet their turn to be purified.

"Welcome to the Vesuvian Kingdom..." The masked, female-sounding figure on the chair spoke, and her voice echoed through the spacious and mostly empty chamber and the adjacent hallways.

He wanted to shout 'Godless heretic,' but kept his thoughts to himself, knowing it wasn't yet their turn to be purified.

'We need to clean out our closet before we start cleaning streets,'he thought, suppressing the urge to shout out his contempt.

The man politely bowed and spoke in a loud, melodious voice, "High Inquisitor Malick, I have arrived at the orders of their holiness. We demand that you immediately extradite all and every heretic we mark."

The temperature in the room rose for a moment, making even the high inquisitor sweat all over his body.

The woman in black rose from her decorated stone chair, and her robes embroidered in gold rustled. He felt like staring at the devil itself, something warning him of impending danger.

However, the next moment there were no traces of it as the woman spoke in a clear and polite tone, "Let me convert your proposal to my superiors."

POV Vesuvius:

"How dare that feathery piece of luminescent turd dares to request something from me... no, demand something from me," the dragon fumed angrily at his pile of gold within his divine kingdom, making the kneeling minion in black tremble slightly.

It was impudence for the angel to order him what to do with his kingdom without any scruples.

"Even if they are criminals, they are still my citizens, and no one has the right to punish them besides me," he thought. Just from principle, he wouldn't bow his head to comply with the orders of an angel like some weakling.

The former priests of the god of light he arrested were still in prison, but he wouldn't give them away out of principles.

Vesuvius knew what he had to do. "Just as I thought. It is only a matter of time before the angel tries to move even against me. I need to assassinate and silently dispose of that annoying angel before they stick their feathery nose into my stuff."

He didn't know how, but he knew his divine kingdom's overwhelming attack power would be the key to it.

"I will ambush them, drag them into my divine kingdom, and kill them before anyone even notices something is wrong," he muttered as the dots slowly connected to the murderous plan.

He needed to solve only one small detail: "I need to lure them into someplace far from witnesses, somewhere where I will have all the advantages stacked in my favor."

The players' existence made it even harder to keep things secret as they were the worst thing ever, witnesses impossible to silence.

Vesuvius felt like grinning as he knew how to accomplish it. "Angels will fly towards sins like moths towards lights."

He just needed to create such a focal point of evil and corruption that the annoying angel would rush there without thinking.

"Luckily, I know what this angel seems to dislike. Do they want to hunt corrupted priesthood? In that case, I will create the most alluring buffet for them. I am sure they will not be able to resist it and will rush there like flies to nearby shit."

The dragon's angry aura vanished as he glanced at the awaiting minion.

"Send immortals, but trustworthy ones, and catch me some corrupted priests. The more, the better."

"As you command!" The minion stood up without any delay and ran to fulfill his orders.

'In the meantime, I should prepare for my metamorphosis. This angel is undoubtedly powerful. To end it quickly, I will need all the power I can get.'

Later that same week:

POV ???:

The man stood in his small, dimly lit room, dressed in simple long white robes that contrasted sharply with the room's darkness. He peered out the window, watching the empty streets below with fear.

His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, trembling with fear and paranoia threatening to consume his sanity.

'That mad angel. They destroyed everything!' He was a bishop, yet his authority meant nothing when facing the heavenly wrath of the mad angel.

His colleagues and friends were hanged, burned, or sent to hell one by one. All he could do was pray as he waited for the angel to not turn their attention in his direction.

As he stood there, the noise in his mind grew louder, and the shadows in his chamber deepened, lengthening and twisting as if reaching out to grab him. Even the air felt hot and oppressive, adding to his growing sense of unease.

He sighed as his eyes swept through his small, frugally furnished abode. Out of paranoia, he had even forfeited all his luxuries just to avoid anyone pointing that out and attracting the ire of the angel's fanatical zealots.

'Me, a bishop, living like a dirty commoner.'

ραпdα---nᴏνa| сom Without warning, the doors to his room flew open with such force that they almost flew off their hinges. The black shadows slipped inside, the sharp blades of their weapons gleaming under the dim moonlight entering through the window.

Bishop Radaghul took a step back while his face became deadly pale. His heart almost jumped out of his throat as he felt fear and terror.

'It wasn't my paranoia. They really want me dead!' The new inquisition wanted him dead, and he had no hope of surviving. He had already seen many even higher officials die publicly like filthy commoners.

"Why such panic? We are here to help you."

"Hahaha, as if burning me on a pyre to purify my sins would be of any help." The bishop drew a dagger from the holster on his belt as the shadows slowly approached him, their heavy boots tapping on the marble floor.

"No, we are here to prevent that."

"Our patron is also someone who dislikes these new changes and offers you resources and sanctuary."

He didn't feel any relief. Instead, his alertness grew. 'Is this some kind of trap to lure a confession out of me?'

"Come with us."

"No, I am going nowhere!"

"Grab him. We will have more time to convince him later!" The black shadows rushed him, and the moonlight finally revealed their looks as they closed in on the window.

Their black mantles fluttered, and their black metal masks gleamed under their hoods.