Slane Theocracy.
At the very center of the cathedral lay a domain only priests and God-kin were permitted to enter.
A figure walked slowly through the corridor.
It was the Captain of the Black Scripture, who had already completed his transformation.
Because the blood of the God of Wind flowed through his body, his appearance had changed slightly.
His once pitch-black hair now carried faint streaks of blue and gold.
Beneath his refined features was now a trace of steady composure.
His pale blue eyes swept across the surroundings, carrying a faint but unmistakable authority.
The God's armor had fully awakened.
Six pairs of hidden wings of light unfolded behind him, radiating a sacred glow.
When he arrived at a door, the Captain of the Black Scripture raised his hand and knocked.
"Oh, it's you. I didn't expect the priests to send you to find me."
A voice came from the darkness.
The door opened silently, and a girl holding a battle scythe stepped out.
Her hair was extremely distinctive.
The colors on the left and right sides were completely opposite, and even her pupils mirrored that contrast.
She looked about fifteen years old.
This was the former ace of the Theocracy, Zesshi Zetsumei.
"So? Getting used to that armor?"
Zesshi Zetsumei glanced at the Captain of the Black Scripture and spoke calmly.
The armor he wore had originally been her equipment.
However, after he inherited the bloodline of the God of Wind, the priests had unanimously decided to give it to the Captain of the Black Scripture.
This armor had originally belonged to the God of Wind.
Compared to Zesshi Zetsumei, it would clearly be far more effective in the hands of the Captain of the Black Scripture, who possessed the god's bloodline.
"Ahem… sorry."
The Captain of the Black Scripture looked slightly embarrassed.
"No need to apologize. I don't really care."
"I can use the equipment of any of the Six Great Gods anyway. Giving you one set doesn't matter."
"It's just that I liked that armor the most."
"So, what do you want today?"
Zesshi Zetsumei waved her hand casually.
She wasn't petty enough to start a dispute over a piece of equipment.
"Well… it's already been half a month."
"The priests have been urging me several times. They really had no other choice but to send me to find you."
During the past two weeks, the priests had contacted Zesshi Zetsumei multiple times, but none of their attempts received a response.
In the end, they had no choice but to approach the Captain of the Black Scripture, who had only recently awakened.
They asked him to come personally and invite Zesshi Zetsumei.
"Oh. I didn't look at them."
Zesshi Zetsumei answered without hesitation.
Since being resurrected, she had spent the past half month training herself. She had completely blocked out news from the outside world.
"At least take a look. The priests are in a difficult position too."
"After all… that person's return caused quite a shock."
The Captain of the Black Scripture sighed.
About half a month ago, the upper ranks of the Theocracy had been shaken by an unprecedented upheaval.
A god… had returned.
One of the ancient Six Great Gods—the god who symbolized death.
The great God of Death.
The Captain of the Black Scripture still remembered the scene clearly.
When he had just awakened and heard the news, his mind immediately fell into chaos.
Two conflicting emotions surged within him.
Although his subconscious had been altered by the [Millennium Rod], it didn't mean the Captain of the Black Scripture no longer cared about the safety of the Theocracy.
It was just that his priorities had changed.
His foremost loyalty had shifted from the Theocracy to the Supreme Ones.
After all, if his beliefs had been completely rewritten, the fanatical priests would have quickly noticed something strange about him.
As someone who had grown up listening to stories of the Six Great Gods, when he learned that the God of Death had returned, the Captain of the Black Scripture genuinely felt joy from the bottom of his heart.
But that joy did not last long.
Once he remembered his current identity, the Captain of the Black Scripture was quickly overwhelmed by fear.
The return of the God of Death was wonderful news for the Theocracy.
But for the Supreme Ones, it was anything but good.
If the information about the God of Death's return were revealed, the Theocracy might face complete destruction.
Thinking about this, the Captain of the Black Scripture fell into confusion.
On one side was the Theocracy where he had been born and raised.
On the other was the being he had sworn to serve with his life.
He couldn't tell...
He truly couldn't tell...
The immense torment even drove the Captain of the Black Scripture to develop thoughts of self-destruction at the time.
But that thought had only just appeared when...
A faint sigh echoed from the depths of his consciousness, gradually calming the restlessness in his heart.
But this was never a long-term solution.
It wasn't until the following night that Clementine found him.
After informing him that Naohara-sama had already reached an agreement with the Six Great Gods and that the two nations had become allies, he was finally able to relax completely.
"So the God of Death has returned. Are those old men really making such a big deal out of it?"
Zesshi Zetsumei sounded completely unconcerned, as if the return of a god meant nothing to her.
"But he is the God of Death. To the Theocracy, his significance far exceeds that of the other gods."
The God of Death—Surshana.
A benevolent god who, despite being an Undead, was deeply loved by the people of the Theocracy.
His prestige even surpassed that of the other five gods.
After all, after the five gods passed away from old age, the great God of Death alone protected the Theocracy for nearly a hundred years.
Then, during the crisis of the Eight Greed Kings, he chose to die in battle in order to protect the Theocracy.
No one knew how he had come back to life.
But did that really matter?
Of course not.
Devout believers would only feel joy. No one cared about such details.
"So what if he's the God of Death?"
"I'm not interested. Right now, all I want is to keep getting stronger."
Zesshi Zetsumei's tone remained completely calm.
"What's going on? Whenever you met a strong opponent before, didn't you always want to spar with them?"
The Captain of the Black Scripture asked, puzzled.
He knew Zesshi Zetsumei's personality well. Logically, she should be extremely interested. Why did she seem so… indifferent?
"I just met someone. Someone who truly interests me."
"Whether it's the God of Death or even if all Six Great Gods were to fully return, none of them compare to even a fraction of him."
Zesshi Zetsumei raised a hand and rested it against her cheek, a faintly unhinged expression appearing on her face.
That feeling.
The moment just before her consciousness completely faded.
At that time, he had held her head like this, gently placing it on the ground.
I want to see him.
I want to fight him.
I want to be gently crushed by him.
I want to experience that feeling of standing at the brink of death again.
I want to feel him touch my cheek again.
I want...
On the surface, Zesshi Zetsumei looked calm. But anyone who looked closely would see it clearly.
Deep within her pupils burned an uncontrollable greed and desire.
But that was all.
Right now, she was too weak.
So weak that she couldn't even make him fight seriously.
That was why she had to train.
In the past, others had always chased after her strength.
Now, she was the one chasing someone else.
She had to admit—it felt strangely exhilarating.
This unfamiliar sensation constantly stimulated her nerves, making it impossible for her to stop.
"Hey, you shouldn't say things like that carelessly."
"Go on, go on. Kids wouldn't understand."
Zesshi Zetsumei waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a small animal.
The Captain of the Black Scripture couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.
Although he really was quite young, as the First Seat of the Black Scripture, no one had ever treated him like a child.
In fact, the priests practically wished he would immediately take three or four wives or even dozens, so that the bloodline of the God-kin could continue.
In the entire Theocracy, the only person who would call him a kid was probably Zesshi Zetsumei.
Still, the situation left him puzzled.
He knew Zesshi Zetsumei's personality well.
After all, she had once forced him to drink horse urine.
Logically speaking, she shouldn't have been this easygoing.
And the way she looked just now...
Had she really met someone she liked?
That didn't seem right.
Wasn't it because she didn't want to get married that she came up with the condition that her husband had to be stronger than her?
Had he guessed wrong?
A trace of confusion flashed through the Captain of the Black Scripture's eyes.
[PS: The Theocracy is unaware that Zesshi Zetsumei once died, and neither Zesshi Zetsumei nor the God of Death has mentioned it to anyone.]
During the time he had been undergoing his transformation, what exactly had happened?
First the God of Death returned.
Then the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Theocracy somehow formed an alliance.
And now Zesshi Zetsumei had fallen in love.
Tsk.
Things had become ridiculously surreal.
"Alright. Besides the priests' request, I also came to inform you of something."
"The Theocracy is preparing to launch a full-scale war against the Elf Country."
"They say this was Surshana-sama's command."
"The priests support it completely. After all, that Elf King is a descendant of the Eight Greed Kings."
"I also heard that when the priests signed their agreement with the Sorcerer Kingdom, one of the conditions was to hand over the Elf King along with half of the territory."
"This was approved by the God of Death, and apparently they also plan to greatly expand trade between the Theocracy and the Sorcerer Kingdom."
The Captain of the Black Scripture spoke quickly.
The Theocracy had long been at war with the forest elves who lived in the Great Southern Forest.
The conflict had already lasted for several centuries.
It wasn't that the Theocracy couldn't win. Quite the opposite. The powerful Theocracy had always held the upper hand.
The reason the war had dragged on for so long was mainly because of a certain True Dragon Lord.
Yes. The Platinum Dragon Lord.
That guy was the very definition of a fence-sitter.
He allowed the Theocracy and the Elf Country to fight, but he never allowed the Theocracy to win completely, maintaining a strange balance between the two sides.
[PS: The Platinum Dragon Lord will not allow the Elf Country to be completely defeated because the Elf King is a descendant of the Eight Greed Kings. If something were to happen to him, the Dragon Lord believes those NPCs might leave their base.]
But now none of that mattered.
Not to mention that the Platinum Dragon Lord had already disappeared. Even if he were still around, the Theocracy would not fear him in the slightest.
For the sake of the great God of Death.
This time, no matter how heavy the cost, the Theocracy would completely wipe out the Elf Country.
"The Elf Country, huh?"
"Heh. At least it's a useful way to dispose of trash."
Zesshi Zetsumei brushed her hair over her ears.
A bloodthirsty smile slowly formed at the corner of her mouth.
She had absolutely no fondness for the Elf Country.
Especially the Elf King. She loathed him to the extreme.
She had reached the point where even seeing him once would make her feel nauseous.
But the Theocracy and the Sorcerer Kingdom had reached an agreement?
According to the intelligence reports, that man's identity seemed to be the king of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
In that case, the Elf King would make a perfect gift for their next meeting.
Hopefully he would like the present.
"Let's go find the priests. I want to talk with them in detail about capturing the Elf King alive."
With that thought, Zesshi Zetsumei stepped forward and walked straight toward the conference room.
"Hey. The priests are currently in a meeting with Surshana-sama. If you barge in like that, it will cause trouble."
The Captain of the Black Scripture quickly called out from behind.
But in the blink of an eye, Zesshi Zetsumei's figure had already disappeared at the end of the corridor. It was impossible to tell whether she had even heard him.
Judging by her personality, the Captain of the Black Scripture suspected that even if she had heard him, she would not care.
He sighed.
The situation had become rather ridiculous.
The priests had even been worried she would get angry about the plan to capture the Elf King alive, so they sent him to test her reaction.
Thinking about it made the Captain of the Black Scripture sigh again.
He turned and walked in another direction.
After passing through a maze of complicated corridors, he eventually arrived at another room.
When he opened the door, two figures appeared before his eyes.
One of them was Clementine, currently disguised.
However, Naohara had previously mentioned through Message that her identity was likely already exposed. Still, there was no need to worry. As long as she did not do anything excessive, the priests would choose to turn a blind eye.
Since she was still useful as a visible decoy, Clementine had stopped pretending and returned to her usual personality.
[PS: The protagonist once suggested that Clementine could return, but she refused. Her reasoning was that this position might produce unexpected results. Besides, for her, staying in the Theocracy under this identity was extremely exciting.]
"Oh. You finally showed up."
Seeing the Captain of the Black Scripture enter, Clementine, who had been playing with a short spike, raised a hand in greeting and casually tossed it toward him.
"Do not get carried away. If people from the Theocracy discover you here, they will start suspecting me."
Tilting his head to avoid the incoming spike, the Captain of the Black Scripture shook his head.
Ever since learning that she no longer needed to keep up the act, she had become increasingly reckless.
He sighed again.
"This is the intelligence I just compiled. Please deliver it back to Nazarick."
After speaking, the Captain of the Black Scripture turned to look at the other girl sitting quietly in the corner.
Thousand Leagues Astrologer.
She was an ally who had suddenly appeared during his transformation.
The first time they met, the Captain of the Black Scripture had not known what to say.
The two of them had simply stared at each other in shock.
Their expressions seemed to say the same thing: "So you are one of us too." x2
"Sorry to trouble you."
After hesitating for a moment, the Captain of the Black Scripture added that sentence.
"Mm."
Thousand Leagues Astrologer did not speak. She simply nodded.
Even now, she still felt a little confused.
That sentence kept echoing in her mind.
"Miss Thousand Leagues Astrologer, you do not want to…"
Somehow she had become an undercover agent.
Then she had discovered, just as inexplicably, that both her captain and vice-captain were also undercover agents.
Honestly, the situation was terrible.
All she had wanted was to stay in the Theocracy, perform her duties properly, and peacefully live as a beautiful girl.
Was that really such an unreasonable wish?
Thousand Leagues Astrologer no longer even had the strength to complain.
Forget it.
Maybe the world should just end.