Chapter 981: Altanus (18)

“Save… Save me…” someone begged.

“This way, Father!” Templar Genny shouted.

“

Ugh… Ack!

” I screamed.

“Please…

Ack!

”

“The holy power isn’t working. Damn it… the holy power…” Draktaris grumbled.

“

Blergh…

”

“

Ahhhhh!

”

Gruesome wasn’t enough to describe the situation.

If they had been just a bit late, I would have had a nightmare.

“Father…” Draktaris said.

“The priests must be bishops or higher, Father Draktaris,” I suggested.

“I understand,” Draktaris said.

“Please evacuate the ordinary priests. If I’m right…” I said.

‘The burn might be contagious.’

“

Gaaaaah!

”

As expected, a priest grabbed their arm and screamed.

I was sure they touched the wound of the injured priest.

“We need priests capable of purification. This burn is like a plague,” I said.

It would spread to people with low Magic Resistance or Holy Power.

The holy power of ordinary priests was useless against it, so they were useless here.

A glance was enough for anyone to deduce that the injuries weren't just a simple burn. I was sure that even a child could deduce that by the fact that the patients were still breathing, even though they had been scorched black.

The pitch-black flames didn't kill anyone—no, it would be more accurate to say that it wasn't willing to give anyone permission to die while inflicting extreme pain on them.

Ironically, those who were dying were being kept alive by the plague.

“So cruel… What the hell… does it think of humans?” I mumbled. I was furious. I believed only a demon could think of such a devious scheme.

I felt someone grab my shaking hands.

“Father…” Templar Genny said.

“It’s fine, Templar Genny. I’m fine…” I reassured him.

The only thing priests who were bishops and lower could do was suppress the burn so it wouldn't get any worse. With my light, however, I believed I could drive out this plague.

I approached a patient in bed, and he was being suppressed by two Holy Knights.

“Don’t let go of him!”

“If he moves—”

“

Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!

”

I placed my hand on the patient’s forehead, and everyone became quiet as if they had been possessed by something.

I unleashed my holy power right afterward, and a radiant light enveloped the patient. The burn injury that couldn’t be healed with ordinary holy power was reacting to mine, which had changed fundamentally upon receiving Lady Lucifer’s blessing.

“

Ahh…

”

“F-Father.”

They were witnessing… a miracle. The black stain that covered the patient from head to toe vanished beneath the radiant light. Every single wound that they had sustained from the pitch-black flame was recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The injured patient, who had been screaming in pain, definitely felt themselves recovering because they looked up at me.

“You’ll feel better,” I reassured them.

“O Lucifer…” the patient mumbled.

Obviously, this wasn’t an easy task. I needed to maintain a high level of concentration, and I had to use a lot more holy power than I thought. Beads of sweat formed all over my face and rolled down my chin.

“Next…” I said.

“Father…”

I didn’t bother treating my arm because the Priest of Prophecy was worried about others more than his own pain. I was afraid I'd run out of holy power to treat others by treating myself, and I'd rather be in great pain than let that happen.

“Father! Father!” Templar Genny shouted.

“

Aaaaaah!

” I screamed.

“...”

“Next…” I mumbled.

There was radiant light everywhere. I was sure it was touching to see the Priest of Prophecy erasing the demonic brand of the pitch-black flame at breakneck speeds. I was doing something that needed several priests of at least a bishop or higher to do.

“I don’t think it’s an ordinary burn. Please notify the other bishops. This is almost like a plague. This isn’t the work of a priest of Rembil…” I informed them.

“...”

“...”

“Do you… know something?” he asked.

“The Monarch of Lies and Deception…” I mumbled.

“...!”

“Also known as the Master of Plagues…” I added.

“...”

“Belial, the commander of the demon army,” I said.

The shocking truth was finally revealed, and I heard people sighing everywhere.

“O Lucifer…”

“How could this…”

“O Lucifer… please save us!”

“Of course, nothing has been confirmed yet,” I said.

“What the hell have the Templars been doing that something like this happened in the Underground Temple? The Master of Plagues? The Monarch of Lies and Deception?” Draktaris complained.

It had been a while since I heard someone grumble along the lines of that.

It was Father Basel’s famous line.

“What the hell are the Templars doing?” Draktaris added.

Father Basel's famous line had to have come from this era.

“An intruder in the Underground Temple… Come on, does this even make sense?” Draktaris questioned.

Their job was to ensure that something like this wouldn't happen.

In other words, the priests were cleaning up the mess that the Templars had allowed to happen. Bahamut had no time to think about this, as he was shocked by the news of his corruption, but the Templars worried about their political influence were on edge.

The priests facing the plague head-on looked noble even in my eyes.

Of course, the Priest of Prophecy shone particularly brighter than everyone else, but overall, we all looked noble. Despite the horrors of the plague, the priests focused on treating the injured. I told the weaker priests to retreat, but they stayed at their stations.

They were comforting the wounded while squeezing as much holy power as they could from their frail bodies.

The Templars and the holy knights were dispatched for security reasons, and they were all watching the scene with the Atentas, who were dispatched to provide support. A small number of people expressed their dissatisfaction toward the Templars, but everyone probably had the same thought.

‘Where the hell are they, and what are they doing?’

Of course, I was busy right now…

‘Because I need to track down the black mage.’

Starting from the area where the explosion had occurred, they conducted many investigations. Even if they managed to find the black mage, it wouldn't change the fact that their influence was under threat.

‘Naturally.’

Regardless of the outcome, they would definitely hold a hearing. The best outcome here was if many forces ended up turning their backs on the Templars. To make matters worse, news of corruption had just been delivered to Bahamut…

The black mage was someone unknown to me, but they were helping me unintentionally.

‘That’s not all.’

“Move out of my way. Sir James, are you there?” Deliha said.

“We’re in the process of keeping things under control. As soon as it’s purified—”

“No, there’s no need for that. I’m going to take Sir James right now and leave this place, Father Draktaris,” Deliha interrupted him.

‘Leave?’

From now on, no one could leave.

“Lady Deliha," someone said, but it wasn't Draktaris.

“I’m sorry, but you must follow the protocols. We’re in the middle of a formal investigation of the people invited to the social gathering,” the Templar explained.

The Templars were trying their best to deal with the issue, and they had no choice but to do this. If one were to think about it, doing an investigation on the people who had been invited to the social gathering was a reasonable choice.

The problem was that the sponsors would be displeased with this decision.

“Are you… ignoring me and the Duke of Harveen right now?” she questioned.

The snobbish nobles wouldn’t just stand idly by. They’d probably follow the protocols, but the nobles would surely retaliate. I was sure the one in charge of internal affairs among the Templars was shaking nervously right now.

“Duke Harveen will not forget what happened here,” Deliha threatened.

“I’m sorry, Lady Deliha, but…” the Templar paused.

“...”

“The Red Magic Tower won’t just stand by and do nothing!” Deliha shouted.

“It’s just a formal investigation,” they said.

The social gathering wasn't going to end here.

The fact that I could decide when it would end was important.

Obviously, Saint Altanus would finally show herself to placate the sponsors. Upon making contact with her, the range of my influence would increase.

I was already drawing many plans in my head. Three days? One week? Making the Templars an enemy group and isolating them wasn’t hard at all.

More importantly, Bahamut was probably being overwhelmed right now, so he’d just stand by and watch.

After treating one of the patients, I decided to calm down the furious crowd.

And that was when I heard a distinct sound…

[The Grave Keeper of the Underground Temple quest has been completed.]

[Demons’ Social Gathering Hall quest has been completed.]

[Templars’ Training Ground quest has been completed.]

[...quest has been completed.]

[...quest has been completed.]

[...quest has been completed.]

The quests that I had sent out were completed all at once.

I stopped walking and pondered,

‘What’s going on?’

Actually, not all quests were completed. The quest with Father Draktaris was still in progress, and the envoy quest was still ongoing as well. Power Boost, Demon From Hell, and a few other quests were still ongoing.

‘What… the hell? Damn it… Why aren’t they getting completed in order?’

'Why did they skip so many quests?'

‘No, no.’

They didn’t skip. It makes more sense to say that they completed the quests all at once but left some of the quests just one step away from completion.

‘The message.’

I thought about the quest list.

There was a certain period between the completed and the not completed quests.

[The quest has been completed.]

[The quest is in progress…]

[The quest is in progress…]

There was a dot for the completed quests and three dots for those in progress.

It was a code used by Jin Cheong, Ji-Hye noona, and me. We made it based on Morse code. I was taken aback, but I felt like pulling out my hair upon solving the puzzle.

— Variable, annihilation, and danger.

And my consciousness began to fade away…