Chapter 367: Shaken Faith

Pergrande felt the world spin. She dared not contemplate the details, but the current situation was forcing her to imagine the worst!

’If everything is really true, doesn’t that mean... I’ve actually been serving devils all along?!’

Even though her mission as a frontline soldier had always been to fight demons, which seemed no different—how could it possibly be the same!

"No, no, no, no..." Pergrande clutched her head. Despite having seen and heard it all, she still refused to believe any of it was real.

’Maybe... maybe this is a nightmare I can’t control? Did I only become a Bishop in my dream? If so, I really wish I would wake up soon!’

"We have a church here, and it houses a Divine Statue of Tyr," Ron said, noticing Pergrande’s increasingly erratic behavior. He shot Yelena a meaningful look, signaling her to go find Buni and Andre—if Andre was currently in town. "Perhaps it would help to pour your heart out to your god."

"Rest assured, our priests here have ’seen it all.’ They won’t judge you for anything you say," Ron said, patting the Priest’s shoulder. "Tyr is the embodiment of justice. Surely He would have sensed such evil, don’t you think?"

"But why..." Pergrande looked up. She was no longer a young woman and never thought she’d be lectured by a young pagan, but right now, she desperately needed an explanation. "But why hasn’t He ever responded? The Archbishop couldn’t have just recently strayed onto this path of betrayal."

"First, the war with the Abyss cannot stop. Internal turmoil within the Religious Order would be fatal to the front lines," Ron began. Though he didn’t worship Tyr, he knew there was nothing new under the sun. He figured he could cobble together a few stories he’d heard to salvage the spirit of a devout believer. "Conflicts of faith and ideology are nearly irreconcilable. When two sides are locked in a long war of attrition, a crisis of faith is tantamount to self-destruction."

"There was once a great war. At its climax, infighting led to a change in command on the front lines, causing one side to lose everything. The dreams, souls, and lives of countless people were destroyed. Tyr wouldn’t want that to happen to your people, would he, Miss Pergrande?"

"Or do you believe the Archbishop’s fall isn’t an isolated case? That the vast majority of the Religious Order’s faithful, including Aron, have all gone over to the devils?"

"That’s impossible!" Pergrande immediately retorted. "I can’t speak for others, but Old Lei never would!"

"Exactly!" Ron nodded. "So, doesn’t it make sense that Tyr is already taking action to set things right without affecting the front lines?"

The Priest stared blankly at Ron, and it took her a long moment to process his words. She pointed at Ron, then at herself. "You’re saying... You can’t be saying?"

"I’m no believer, and I can’t even say I’m on your side. But sometimes, you have to recruit other allies. Isn’t that exactly what you were thinking when you came here?" Ron smiled and turned his head, just in time to see the Half-Elf Priest follow Yelena through the door.

’He didn’t need to worry about what came next. The professionals, of course, had more professional ways of talking things through.’

"You’d better find another place to stay for the next few days," Ron said, motioning for Yelena to follow him out after Buni had taken over the "talk therapy" with Pergrande. "If you accidentally let it slip that we also have dealings with the infernal realms, I’m genuinely afraid she’ll have a complete breakdown."

"I’ll stay in the warehouse, then. Or I could just move into the Black Dragon’s lair for a few days," the Shadow Spirit shrugged, offering no objection. "A Priest of Heim might be able to look past good and evil, but a Priest of Tyr can’t. But I’m telling you, you need to figure out a way to get her out of here, or there’s going to be trouble."

’She’s an adult in her thirties and a high-ranking member of the Religious Order. Changing that kind of worldview is nearly impossible without using Arcane Magic.’

"I’ll solve this problem as soon as I can, but I haven’t come up with anything yet," Ron sighed. "You don’t have to inconvenience yourself like that. There’s a bed in my office; you can just rest there."

Shadow Spirits, much like Elves, don’t require sleep; meditation is sufficient.

"The most reliable method is to assassinate their entire high command and install Pergrande in power," Yelena said, her suggestion shockingly blunt. "Then we—or I—can act as the intermediary. We’ll maintain a certain degree of infernal control over them, and we won’t have to worry about retaliation from that side. Her Highness the Princess would certainly never pass up such a gift-wrapped achievement."

"That would destabilize the front lines. It would be a blow to the Molten Iron Barrier, and perhaps the entire world." Ron was tempted to adopt this approach. While it was dangerous, with a low chance of success, it would allow Delusional Land to avoid being at the center of the vortex. The responsibility would naturally fall on those with broader shoulders. But he had to consider the aftermath.

He didn’t know where the Religious Order’s battlefront was, but they also had connections to the Abyss. If something were to happen on that front, Pollution Worm Demons, Babu Demons, and Balrog Flame Demons might come pouring into Delusional Land... He had no intention of spending his future dealing with creatures like that. Devils weren’t good by any means, but at least they were somewhat reasonable and had a humanoid form.

"Well, that makes things difficult. You’re not actually planning to let that Archbishop ’see the error of his ways’ on his own, are you?" the Shadow Spirit huffed. Walking down the street, she noticed her face was attracting too much attention and pulled up her hood. "The only other option with a similar chance of success is for him and the other bishops who’ve thrown in with the infernal forces to abdicate en masse. Compared to that, I’d say it’s more likely for that Priest’s prayers to be answered by a few divine beings from Tyrheim descending to perform a miracle."

In a world without Deities, a statement like that would be synonymous with "impossible." Here, however, it might actually come true—though the odds were just as slim. After all, most Deities had their own power bases; even if beings from Tyrheim were to truly descend, they would most likely appear in Ferren, not here.

But speaking of this world’s native Deities...

Ron subconsciously touched the spot over his heart, but the Gray Mist, which had been fairly active before, offered no response—not that it had ever obeyed his commands to begin with.

Ron and Yelena strolled toward the administrative mansion. The three-story building, complete with a basement, had been constructed under Annie’s supervision in the architectural style of Rose City: its main structure was marble, featuring a profusion of arches and columns.

The mansion’s first floor was the administrative hall, where residents from the territory came to have their various requests compiled, categorized, and answered. Flanking the hall were several conference rooms and offices. In addition to being used by Ron and his people for meetings and receiving envoys from other city-states, this was also the workplace for the technical officials recruited by Ron and the Civil Servants scouted by Ivendel.

The second floor mainly consisted of offices for Ron and his staff, as well as a room for Ivendel, a "007"-level workaholic. The third floor was Ron’s personal residence. Because several people, including Aiksuuri, would sometimes come to discuss matters, a huge platform had been built on top, large enough for Ron to move the entire workshop he had built at the trading post. In a few more months, the effects of Duncan the Demon’s private sanctum would become permanent.

As it was winter, only a sparse few people were entering and leaving the multi-purpose building. It was precisely for this reason that Ron was able to recognize the man lingering at the entrance with a single glance.

’He’s supposed to be helping out at the Night Wind Tavern in Rose City right now. What is he doing here?’