Chapter 16 Lichtenstein Castle, Basilica Level

A silence enveloped the towering basilica, more than ten meters high, its retro-style stained-glass dome reflecting mottled and mysterious light.

The clergyman, clad in white robes and wearing a silver crown, stood alone before the altar, solemn and sacred, his eyes closed in serious contemplation.

Afternoon light filtered through the clouds, casting a golden glow upon everyone within the basilica.

Around the clergyman, a solemn silence reigned, broken only by the gentle whisper of wind carrying the faint chime of the basilica's bells.

The basilica had been cleaned, and the remains of the original castle owner, High Priest Caligula, had been laid to rest outside the castle, with the clergyman offering prayers on his behalf.

The clergyman slowly raised his hand.

'Merciful goddess, cleanse the sadness, pain, and confusion of the deceased. Grant them peace, release their shackles, and guide them into the serene and radiant heavenly kingdom, where they may enjoy happiness in the afterlife.'

His voice was deep and resonant, echoing through the basilica's walls like a warm power.

His words were filled with respect and mourning for the departed, as well as comfort and blessings for the living.

After the clergyman's prayer, the secular clamor and disturbances had subsided.

After a long while.

'Is this the power of divine magic?'

The young master of the Canberra Kingdom's merchant guild couldn't help but raise his head, gazing at the faint, luminous feathers fluttering above High Priest Caligula's tomb outside the window, and exclaimed with emotion.

Performing this prayer of liberation for the wrongly deceased could prevent the souls of the powerful dead from becoming vengeful spirits, and also prevent evil necromancers from enslaving the souls of the dead or probing their memories.

Since the investigation had progressed rapidly, and the detective had not only changed the mechanics of the Shadow World but also disappeared from the map, everyone discovered that they had no clear goal for the afternoon.

The pressure had shifted to the traitors.

Originally, the traitors had a full five days to find the witch and the werewolf, but that time had been drastically reduced to two days.

At the clergyman's suggestion, everyone first buried the remains of High Priest Caligula.

Even though this wasn't the real world, the Shadow World, as a projection of history, indicated that there had indeed been a high priest who sacrificed himself for human freedom, and he deserved to be laid to rest.

At the same time, it was also necessary to prevent any of the traitors who possessed information-type necromantic magic from extracting key information from before the Shadow World began from High Priest Caligula's remains.

So, in the basilica's main hall, everyone gathered again, scattered as they had been in the early morning.

But they had all fallen silent.

No one knew what they could do next, except wait for the traitors' turn.

But the atmosphere was not as oppressive as it had been that morning.

There were still several hours before nightfall.

When the two blood lords of the traitors would awaken, the traitors would be able to use their vampire powers, posing a great threat to all the challengers.

'What do you guys think are the odds that the two traitors are two Resurgence Cultists?'

Ranchi, standing in a corner, suddenly asked.

Immediately, he attracted everyone's attention.

Judging by his focused expression, he seemed to have wanted to hear other people's opinions for a long time.

'Very high probability. You can directly assume that anyone with that kind of motive to cause a natural disaster is a Resurgence Cultist, and a particularly vile one.'

The merchant guild young master confidently gave the first answer.

'According to the statistics of the South Continent Shadow World Association, in all Shadow Worlds where there is challenger versus challenger conflict, 98.2% of the challengers who desire to cause a natural disaster in the real world are Resurgence Cultists.'

His words surprised everyone in the basilica slightly.

This heir to a large merchant guild actually knew something.

'I see.'

Ranchi nodded slowly, turning his head to look at Hyperion, briefly making eye contact with her.

They even knew that the Resurgence Church was deliberately targeting them.

Unsurprisingly, when they were being matched, many Resurgence Cultists were also participating in the Shadow World at the same time.

Plus, the double foreshadowing of Hyperion's initial identity as 'the actress,' it was almost possible to increase the merchant guild young master's statistically derived probability of 98.2% to 99.9%.

'Reverend, do you think the Goddess of Fate exists?'

Ranchi turned to the three clergy members from the North Continent and raised his doubts.

This kind of jump-style question again made the other challengers feel a little confused.

'Although it is impossible to know how long ago the gods disappeared, seemingly integrating into the rules of the world, and no one has ever seen a god in person... they still exist in another way. It's just that they can no longer interfere in the world in the usual material sense. This is also why we clergy members can use divine magic; our existence proves their existence.'

The clergyman answered quite gently.

Usually, no matter who it was, as long as they asked them about questions related to the gods, they would answer patiently.

This was precisely their duty and responsibility.

'I see.'

Ranchi nodded.

He had learned about the divine magic and magic cards of the clergy system as early as the border territory of South Mantina, and their views were very similar to those of the clergy members of the North Continent.

After all, judging from Ranchi's attributes, becoming a clergyman was originally the optimal choice.

Divine magic is a kind of variation of magic, which needs to rely on and mobilize the divine power left in the world by the gods to constitute the world.

Even without using one's own magic power as a source of activation, divine magic can complete miraculous magical effects.

So, the strength of most pure divine magic will depend on one's mental attributes and the degree of faith.

But Ranchi, as a materialist, did not believe in gods.

Even if he became a clergy member, his degree of faith would not be high, and being a clergyman was not a path suitable for him.

So, he decisively became another most healing profession, a White Magic User.

'Although it is possible to use the divine magic or magic cards of our clergy system normally, no matter which of the many good-aligned gods you believe in, different gods will bring different additional effects. All of this coincides with the ancient legend mural that can be pieced together from the thirty-two primordial stone tablets. Perhaps in a distant age that we cannot explore, there were gods active in the current world.'

The enthusiastic executioner added,

'The reason why there are the most clergy members and believers of the Goddess of Fate in the temples of the North and South Continents today is not because the additional effects of the Goddess of Fate are the strongest, but simply because there are the most people who sincerely want to believe in this loving god.'

'There are the most mythological stories about her, and various sayings such as "The Goddess of Fate loves all living beings equally" and "She is the only god who can still interfere in the world" still circulate in the world.'

'There is even a legend that the divinity of the Goddess of Fate lies in the fact that as long as you pray to her, she will have the power to slightly interfere with your fate, and the more devoutly and for longer you pray, the more your heart's voice will be transmitted to her.'

The three clergy members of the Goddess of Fate Church took turns introducing her to Ranchi.

In this world, swearing to a god is a very solemn matter, and people believe that the gods will hear it.

Swearing to each god must not be said casually, regardless of whether these gods still exist and whether they can interfere in the world, it may create karma.

The Resurgence Church had several times had high-level members betray after requesting salvation from the Goddess of Fate, or it was unclear whether they were originally clergy members of the Goddess of Fate who had simply infiltrated. Each time, these children of the people who seemed to have the favor of fate would cause unimaginable fatal blows to the Resurgence Church. It was hard to say whether the Goddess of Fate was interfering with their fate.

This is also why the Goddess of Fate Church and the Resurgence Church are mortal enemies.

'I understand, thank you three.'

After listening, Ranchi only thanked politely, and did not express any intention to join the church to the three enthusiastic clergy members. He turned to look at everyone in the basilica again.

Everyone didn't know what he was thinking again.

Then, in the midst of everyone's gathered gazes.

'Please everyone say with me, praise the Goddess of Fate. If I am an evil cultist, a vicious traitor, please guide my fate in the direction of destroying the Resurgence Church!'

Ranchi raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and announced in his clear voice.

'……?'

The challengers looked at Ranchi in confusion.

Soon, some people began to understand what Ranchi meant.

Although Ranchi's oath may not really come true, after all, fate is something mysterious and abstruse.

However, the Resurgence Church has an unwritten rule—

If a person is clearly associated with the Goddess of Fate, it is difficult to be promoted to a high level.

What the Resurgence Church fears most is the invisible interference of the Goddess of Fate.

Ranchi was essentially cutting off the future of any Resurgence Cultists present!

(End of Chapter)