Chapter 13: Hell Must Die

“Your Holiness, let me go……” The boy looked at the elderly Old Pope before him, his expression resolute as he spoke.

In the massive procession, quite a few people grew visibly anxious at these words and edged away from the boy.

“I don’t want to die yet… please… save me…”

“Mother… I’m scared…”

Looking again, many in the ranks were already on their last legs, some even twisted into monsters…

“Your Holiness, this time we have no choice but to go……”

The Old Pope had vanished, replaced by a Middle-aged Pope with a troubled face.

The boy’s youthful features, battered by one blow after another, had grown somewhat haggard…

“Hoo…” The images in his mind faded slowly at this point. Mu Xuan let out a long breath and rubbed his throbbing brow.

Beckze, exhausted from treating Mu Xuan, had already fallen fast asleep beside him.

It was quiet here, but Mu Xuan’s heart was restless—he couldn’t find any peace.

Those once-blurred memories surfaced in his mind, bringing him more information. What caught Mu Xuan’s attention most was that boy…

Hel…

He finally understood Hel’s purpose now.

This corruption was something Hel actively sought out. From the thirty-ninth Pope onward, Hel had been plotting.

The idol, too, was indeed something Hel nurtured. While it protected them, it also bought him ample buffer time. He needed enough time to obtain the Scepter…

Back during the exodus, the thirty-fifth Pope had already set the rule for the Scepter: as long as there were still members of the Church’s original core, the Scepter could only be passed on to one of them.

Hel’s plan was simple—wait for Mu Xuan to die, succeed as Pope, gain the Scepter, balance the corruption within himself, and then, with the power of hundreds of fused corruptions inside, lead everyone onward…

But plans never keep up with change. The idol’s mutation forced Hel to change his plans at the last minute, and the fact that Mu Xuan could truly use the Scepter was something Hel had never anticipated.

Irritated, Mu Xuan tugged at his hair. Seeing Beckze still deep in sleep, he pushed himself up from the ground, trying to stand.

But as the numbing effects wore off, the movement tugged at his wounds, making Mu Xuan bare his teeth in pain.

Because of that backstab from Buzaci, Hel had mutated. Now, without suppression, the hundreds of strange corruptions in him would begin to leak out. That meant things weren’t looking good for Griffind and the others.

Mu Xuan blamed himself. He had made plans without understanding the full picture… What’s more, Griffind was his own SSR card—no matter what, Mu Xuan couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

But as soon as Mu Xuan steadied himself and tried to take two steps forward, he saw two figures emerging from the black mist.

Griffind’s armor was more than half destroyed, his exposed forehead streaked with blood. As for Buzaci, one arm hung limply at his side, and it was clear one of his five fingers was now missing.

“I’m glad you both returned safely… May the Goddess protect you!” Seeing them both back, Mu Xuan let a relieved smile show.

Fortunately, neither of them had fallen.

These two were, after all, the very foundation of Mu Xuan’s efforts to rebuild the Church!

“Your Holiness, it was my incompetence that let ‘Hel’ escape!”

Mu Xuan was about to offer a few words of encouragement when Griffind suddenly dropped to his knees, cutting him off.

Seeing Griffind kneeling, the corner of Mu Xuan’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help but find it both exasperating and amusing.

Did he really think he could defeat “Hel”…

Well, in truth, Griffind didn’t know the real situation with “Hel,” so Mu Xuan couldn’t blame him. The fact they made it back was already a welcome surprise.

“This wasn’t your fault… ‘Hel’ was far more terrifying than we imagined…” Mu Xuan sighed, comforting him, then turned to Buzaci. “Did you notice anything ‘unusual’ about ‘Hel’?”

Buzaci understood what Mu Xuan meant. After a brief pause, he spoke weakly, “He seemed to retain a bit of his consciousness… His power grew much stronger toward the end. He had several chances to kill me outright, but each time, he changed the trajectory of his attack midway…”

Mu Xuan understood what Buzaci was trying to say.

If Hel still retained a shred of consciousness, that was good news for Mu Xuan. With his current strength, Mu Xuan had no way of dealing with Hel.

As for whether he regretted ordering Buzaci to backstab Hel… Not at all!

To Mu Xuan, Hel had always been a hidden threat. Maybe Hel truly wanted to save everyone, but his plan had always required Mu Xuan’s death… Most importantly, Hel had chosen the wrong path—he couldn’t tell who among the people was corrupted!

The Scepter would never accept someone who had fallen into darkness.

Mu Xuan did not deny Hel’s contributions. In fact, it was precisely because of Hel that the group had made it this far. But as things stood, Hel had to die…

Even if Hel abandoned his goal of obtaining the Scepter, Mu Xuan wouldn’t let him stay. With all that corruption inside him, Mu Xuan couldn’t just ignore it… Once a hidden threat is planted, it must be uprooted.

This wasn’t cold-heartedness, but Mu Xuan’s clear understanding that only by doing so could he truly be responsible to himself and to those who hadn’t been corrupted and wanted to live on.

“There’s no need to worry about Hel any longer…” With that, Mu Xuan looked at Buzaci. Among the group, Buzaci had suffered the greatest loss…

At this moment, Beckze, awakened by the commotion between the three, stirred from sleep.

Upon seeing Griffind’s shattered armor and Buzaci’s severe injuries, Beckze’s face instantly changed.

He had seen Griffind’s strength with his own eyes. Many a fiendish foe couldn’t survive a single strike from Griffind… but looking at the current situation…

Mu Xuan knew what Beckze wanted to ask, but he quickly pressed his hand down, signaling for him to remain silent, and turned again to Buzaci.

Thinking of how Buzaci had volunteered to help hold back “Hel,” Mu Xuan’s gaze softened. Resting the Scepter on the ground, Mu Xuan spoke gently, “Buzaci, you’ve done well on this mission. The Goddess has witnessed your efforts. Now, come forward!”

There just so happened to be a new strand of faith power in the Scepter, courtesy of Beckze. It was the perfect chance to heal and strengthen Buzaci.

Buzaci’s faith was far less steadfast than Griffind or Beckze. Griffind could raise three strands of faith power to ten, and Beckze could increase one to two and even master healing arts, but Buzaci still only had a single strand.

Mu Xuan understood Buzaci’s thinking clearly.

The bigger the waves, the more valuable the fish.

When it came to profit, Buzaci was the type who dared to bet and to fight. But Mu Xuan didn’t care what kind of person he was—so long as Buzaci did things that benefited him, Mu Xuan would never begrudge him faith power.

What’s more, Buzaci’s injuries were no lighter than his own.

Hearing Mu Xuan’s words, a glint flashed in Buzaci’s exhausted eyes. This was what he was after—a reward!

Even though his body was weary, Buzaci stepped quickly forward, dropped to one knee, and intoned devoutly, “Praise the Goddess!”

Beckze and Griffind, seeing this, knelt down reverently as well. In the face of a miracle, respect and devotion were a must!

Mu Xuan nodded. Then the Scepter rose from the ground, and a strand of faith power emerged, transforming into a brilliant light that enveloped Buzaci.

That light, like a warm current, flowed into Buzaci’s body. The wounds from his battle with “Hel” healed at remarkable speed.

When the radiance faded, Buzaci felt his exhaustion sweep away, his strength even denser within him. If he now channeled his power into his dagger, the resulting wounds would be even harder to heal, and far more effective against the fiends.

However, the finger that had been severed by the corrupted blade had not regrown…

But Buzaci didn’t mind. One finger, traded for more power—in his view, it was well worth it.