Pierre's face twisted in shock as he arrived at the chapel, intending to claim ownership of the Holy Grail.
"Proclaiming a holy war all of a sudden—what in the world...!"
Once a holy war was declared, all authority would concentrate in the Pope's hands.
In other words, the Pope would gain the power to decide all matters without needing the assembly's approval.
Caught off guard by the Pope's sudden move, Pierre leaped to his feet and shouted.
"A holy war? What is the meaning of this?!"
The Pope regarded the yelling Pierre with a stern expression.
"Pierre, Chairman, you must be aware of the current situation. The Ork legions are marching forward, destroying cities of the Holy Kingdom one by one, and the Emperor is using that as an excuse to lead the Imperial Army against us. In such circumstances, it is only right to proclaim a holy war and prepare accordingly."
Pierre was flustered. Beatrice, who had always seemed like a naive country girl fresh from the countryside, now scolded him in a solemn tone.
"This can't be the Pope acting on her own."
Pierre glared at Zeke, who stood beside the Pope.
"It has to be that Draker scum who manipulated her into this."
He had paid a fortune in orichalcum to secure the Holy Grail, never imagining he would be stabbed in the back like this.
His face contorted in rage as Pierre cried out to the Pope.
"Proclaiming a holy war requires the approval of the councilors! It cannot be decided unilaterally by the Pope alone!"
The Pope nodded at Pierre's words.
"Approval from the councilors. Then we shall obtain it." Pierre narrowed his eyes at the Pope's response.
For the Pope's proclamation of holy war to pass, a majority of the councilors had to vote in favor. And there was no way a majority would approve a holy war declaration.
"Has she truly been bewitched by Draker and lost her mind?"
At that moment, the chapel doors burst open, and someone strode in.
Pierre and the other councilors were stunned upon recognizing the newcomer.
"Baord?"
A sturdy man with the build of solid rock, clad in armor emblazoned with the emblem of the Arch Paladin's shield.
As he appeared, the paladins lined up around the room tensed and straightened their postures.
Baord slowly crossed the chapel toward the dais where the Pope and Zeke stood.
He knelt on one knee before the Pope, then placed his fist over his heart and addressed her.
"Your Holiness the Pope, your humble servant Baord Corbaccio has arrived at your command."
Baord's declaration left Pierre and every councilor in the chapel aghast.
The Arch Paladin Baord had fully sided with the Pope.
Desperate, Pierre shouted at Baord.
"Sir Baord! The Pope is currently ensnared by Draker's wicked schemes and about to commit a reckless act! You must confine her at once and help her regain her true faith!" Though he spoke of restoring faith, it was essentially a call to imprison the Pope.
The other councilors, swayed by Pierre's agitation, joined in the outcry.
"Pierre is right! Confine the Pope immediately and expel Draker from the Principality!" To protect their own power, the councilors contorted their faces and screamed in fury.
Baord, who had been silent until then, stepped forward.
He drew the sword from his back.
As he gripped it and focused his power, a brilliant light halo spread throughout the chapel.
The sacred light symbolizing the Arch Paladin's prestige emanated from Baord's sword, gradually silencing the raging councilors.
"That bastard Baord..."
Pierre ground his teeth as he watched the other councilors, who had been echoing his words, fall quiet under Baord's holy presence.
Baord advanced toward the dais, sword in hand and radiating light.
He glared at the councilors and bellowed.
"You parasites who leeched off The Order to satisfy your selfish desires! In the name of God, I, Arch Paladin Baord Corbaccio, shall judge you for the glory of Her Holiness the Pope!"
The councilors cried out in shock at Baord's words.
"Sir Baord! What do you mean by that?!"
"Apologize at once! Even as an Arch Paladin, you've crossed the line!"
"I've lived only for my faith! This is outrageous!"
Zeke stepped up beside Baord and pulled a document from his pocket.
It was a paper densely packed with writing.
He read from it aloud.
"Cardinal Pikel. Attempted improper solicitation with a chest of gold bars. Bishop Paolo.
Attempted improper solicitation using smuggled treasures from the Principality." Zeke rattled off the names of the councilors and the bribes they had offered him.
With each name mentioned, the councilors' faces drained of color.
As Zeke continued listing their corruptions, Pierre sensed that something was amiss.
"The other councilors bribed him too?"
The councilors, initially startled by their own names, now shared the same unease.
"Huh?"
"No way?"
Zeke had tricked every councilor in the Principality—including Pierre—into promising him the Holy Grail in exchange for their entire fortunes.
Blinded by their greed to seize the Holy Grail and control the Principality, the councilors had not even communicated with one another and had fallen straight into the trap by attending that day's chapel ceremony.
Zeke had exploited the avaricious nature of the Principality's councilors to set this snare.
The final name Zeke called was Pierre, the Chairman.
"Improper solicitation using two crates of orichalcum, prohibited from export by the Principality." "You bastard!"
Realizing he had been completely outmaneuvered by Zeke, Pierre screamed in rage.
"It's a frame-up! No—this is blasphemy against God! Sir Baord! Confine the Pope to the tower at once, seize Zeke Draker, and detain him! I will handle this severely and uncover the truth! If you, as Chairman, do not obey, I will deem you complicit in this heresy and punish you alongside them!"
With his own corruption exposed, Pierre saw red.
At that moment, flames erupted from the ceremonial vestments Pierre wore.
A powerful surge of holy magic from the Sun God enveloped his body.
Pierre's ability to become Chairman and wield influence over the Principality of Vadoka stemmed not just from his political savvy, but from his holy magic, which surpassed that of most priests.
Pierre unleashed a torrent of flames at the approaching paladins and shouted. "Behold! The Sun God has bestowed his blessing upon me, proving my innocence!" Pierre glared at the Pope on the dais and yelled.
"You seductive wretch, hiding your claws behind an innocent facade!" He hurled a fireball toward the dais where the Pope stood.
A massive fireball, comparable to 5th-Circle Magic, hurtled toward her at high speed.
Beatrice extended her hand toward the incoming fireball without a trace of fear.
Whoosh!
The fireball vanished without a trace before Beatrice.
Pierre's jaw dropped at the sight.
"H-How?!"
In an instant, flames erupted from Beatrice's body, forming a sun-like fireball above her head.
Whoosh!
She was the true vicar of the Sun God, bearer of the sun's emblem.
Beatrice was no fragile, ignorant country nun.
Realizing her true power, Pierre collapsed to the floor in despair.
"It was all planned from the beginning."
From the moment they reacted to the rumors of the Holy Grail, they had been ensnared.
Pierre looked up at Zeke Draker, who gazed down at him.
He clenched his teeth.
"You... You've ruined everything!"
Flames reignited on Pierre's ceremonial vestments. He needed an outlet for his surging fury.
Flames burst from his body, and a massive fireball rocketed toward Zeke.
Boom boom boom!
It carried more power than the fire magic of a 6th-Circle mage.
Zeke, who had been watching Pierre's actions, gripped Roland and summoned the Blade of Purification.
Hummm!
A golden aura spread around him.
He leaped into the air and cleaved the fireball in two.
Whoosh—
The severed fireball shattered into sparks that scattered harmlessly around.
Seeing the fireball he had poured all his strength into disintegrate, Pierre finally felt fear rise within him.
"Zeke Draker. The youngest Red Knight."
He knew how formidable the Draker knights were—he had simply forgotten.
Zeke stood before Pierre, sword in hand.
He looked down at him and said.
"Pierre, Chairman. Will you confess your crimes?"
With Zeke pointing a sword shimmering with golden aura and demanding confession, Pierre looked every bit the guilty sinner.
Pierre fully realized he had fallen into Zeke's trap.
He had been outmaneuvered in the political intrigue he prided himself on, and had ensnared himself.
He looked up at Zeke helplessly and asked.
"...What will you do with me?"
"God will deliver the punishment fitting your sins." Pierre gave a bitter smile at those words.
"God will punish my sins..."
He gazed up at Zeke and said.
"No one can punish me."
In that instant, Pierre tore a teleport scroll from his pocket, attempting to escape.
Teleport scrolls were exceedingly rare; they could only be produced by remaking those found in ancient ruins at the Magic Tower or Nirvana, making this an unexpected trump card.
Pierre had carried it with him ever since hearing of the Ork legions, just in case—but he never imagined he would actually use it.
For now, he planned to flee via teleport and plot his next move.
But he had overlooked something.
Crackle crackle!
As Pierre tried to activate the teleport, his body began to warp grotesquely.
"Wh-What?"
Zeke had swiftly removed his gauntlets and cast Mana Suppression Technique the moment Pierre reached for the scroll.
With the teleport partially activated, the mana suppression caused the spatial magic to backflow, shredding Pierre's body in the transfer.
"Aaaargh!"
Pierre spewed blood from his seven orifices as his body twisted.
The teleport canceled completely, and something thudded to the floor.
A grotesque lump of flesh, presumably Pierre, twitched before going limp.
Zeke looked down at the remnants of Pierre with cold eyes.
The councilors, stunned by the shocking death of Pierre—who had held the greatest power—dropped to their knees.
Beatrice, standing beneath the blazing sun, addressed them.
"In the name of God, you who have committed corruption and pursued selfish desires— will you approve the proclamation of holy war?"
Under the Pope's dignified voice, the councilors trembled and slammed their foreheads to the ground, shouting.
"W-We approve!"
"O-Of course, Your Holiness!"
Refusing seemed certain to invite the scorching sun to consume them.
The Pope turned to Baord.
"In the name of God's vicar, I command you: Imprison them, seize their illicit assets, and distribute them to the starving and destitute faithful."
Baord clasped his hands in prayer to the Pope, then mobilized the paladins to drag away the quaking councilors.
In one fell swoop, the corrupt high priests who had long infested the Principality of Vadoka were rounded up.
The paladins, learning of this a step too late, were thrown into disarray.
With their patron priests all imprisoned, they had only one choice.
They bowed their heads to the Pope one after another and offered their swords to her.
The Pope smiled mercifully upon them.
"Your sins will be judged by God through this holy war."
The paladins, weeping and swallowing their bitterness, had no choice but to join the battle against the Orks.
A few days after the Principality of Vadoka was turned upside down, the Ork legions finally appeared.
The Orks expected Vadoka to tremble like the other cities before their might.
But their expectations were utterly wrong.
"Raaargh!"
Fully armored paladins charged madly at the Ork legions.