Chapter 41: Corruption of Proliferation

Zorg tossed aside that pitch-black machete.

Although he had expected this outcome, he had still underestimated his opponent.

“So, even after infusing it with the polluted essence of several ancient evil beings, it only managed to slow him down for a moment.”

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and straightened his body.

With a smile on his face, he looked toward the ferocious giant dragon hovering not far away in the space.

“Destruction Dragon Fingris, His Highness sent you, didn’t he? A pleasure working with you, but you…?”

Zorg looked at the Evil-Eyed Worm with a strange expression in his eyes.

There was an odd sense of déjà vu.

“Must just be my imagination…”

***

The scene shifted back to the War Fortress.

At the foot of this sacred colossal mountain, chaos reigned.

War Pope Sadam was suffused with a thick, bloody divine power, his eyes blazing with fury.

Seven.

A total of seven legendary transcendents! All poisoned to death right under his nose.

Worse yet, the terrifying poison was so strong that even he could only suppress it using most of his own divine power.

Sadam’s anger was close to erupting; as the War Pope—

The one who represented the great God of War and wielded the supreme glory of war across this continent.

He had actually been ambushed.

“Where is Bert!”

“Bring him to me!”

A legendary transcendent, whose poisoning wasn’t deep as the toxins had been mostly absorbed by those ahead, struggled to speak.

“Your Holiness, Bert the Demigod went straight to the Abyss of the Fallen to undergo War Sanction as soon as he returned to the fortress!”

Sadam’s face turned dark.

F*ck…

The other demigods had all secretly gone to infiltrate the major empires.

Within the church, only he, Bert, and Villy were still available.

But Bert was undergoing War Sanction, and Villy had become only half of Villy.

He had to stay at the church and could not leave.

Now, truly, there was no one left to use…

Before Sadam could catch his breath,

A streak of blood-red light suddenly landed before the doors of the Church of War.

The newcomer was none other than the War Church’s High Priestess who had just ordered the old woman driven away.

“Your Holiness, something terrible has happened!”

At these words, Sadam’s already congested face flushed red with rage.

He grabbed the High Priestess by the neck and lifted him up.

“Speak!”

Frightened by the Pope’s expression, the High Priestess hurriedly pulled out a newspaper.

He placed it in front of Sadam.

At a single glance, Sadam’s expression instantly twisted beyond control.

On the paper was precisely the photo Sislia had arranged to be forged.

The headline read—

Shocking! War Pope Sadam caught visiting the Church of Procreation at midnight for an unknown “py” deal.

“Church of the Dawn… that vile woman Sislia! How dare she slander my Church of War and trample upon the honor of war!”

Paris silently surveyed the ruined state of the Church of War,

And the publicly unhinged Sadam.

She felt utterly delighted, and the smile on her face was completely unconcealed.

Sometimes, seeing your good friends live well doesn’t truly make you happy.

But seeing your enemies suffer always brings satisfaction.

Thus, Paris snorted coldly.

“Sadam, today’s incident cannot just be let go, but, I won’t argue with you any further today.”

“You’d best think carefully—when your scandal is exposed tomorrow, how will you face the wrath of the people?”

“You can no longer threaten the Church of the Ocean.”

Paris flicked her trident and slung it across her back.

She turned to leave, not wishing to deal with Sadam any further.

Paris clutched the Note Zorg had left her, falling into deep thought.

“Zorg… that bastard, after thirty years, he finally dares to show up again.”

“Could he be involved with what’s happened lately?”

“The Church of the Dawn, once mired in crisis, the unrelated Neil Earl, and now Zorg—could it all be connected to the Goddess of Fertility?”

“Is this your way of reminding me not to oppose the Goddess of Fertility? Don’t worry—I’ve never considered that.”

“Perhaps I should report these things to my lord when I return.”

“But you… such a cowardly fellow, you can’t even tell me to my face. Are you really still my brother…”

***

Dresis Empire.

Headquarters of the Church of Procreation.

The Church of Procreation had once had many believers throughout the continent; nearly every major city had its own branch.

But now, even the headquarters of the Church of Procreation felt somewhat desolate.

Yet the loyal believers still held firm to their faith.

Inside the Proliferation Divine Kingdom,

A bishop led a young believer toward a hidden chamber.

“Bishop, why have you brought me here?”

The young believer curiously observed his surroundings; it was his first time inside the Proliferation Divine Kingdom.

To worship the statue of his lord, the God of Procreation.

The young believer gazed with sincere excitement at the statue, but in his eyes,

Something seemed off, a strange and unsettling feeling that was hard to bear.

Carelessly, his gaze swept across that veiled face.

.?! “

Suddenly, the young believer shuddered violently.

The God of Procreation—before becoming a deity, wasn’t He of a different race? He should only have had one pair of eyes…

Could the rumors be true?

Had He truly fallen, becoming an evil god?

“No, impossible. I must have seen wrong. The great and wise God of Procreation could never—”

“S-six eyes… how could He become an evil god? Impossible, impossible…”

“Cass, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

The High Priestess turned around, looking at the frozen Cass.

Hearing that gentle, familiar voice, Cass felt a chill crawl down his spine.

“Come over here, didn’t you always want to learn the true doctrine of Proliferation?”

“Come, today, beneath the glory of my lord, the God of Procreation, you shall learn the truth and become a respected bishop.”

The High Priestess smiled kindly at Cass.

At some point, senior members of the Church of Procreation had surrounded Cass from behind.

All of them wore the same smile, herding Cass into that secret room.

Cass, face full of terror and despair, knew there was no hope for survival.

Trembling, he was forced into the room.

The door shut behind him.

In the pitch-black darkness, Cass’s fear only grew.

At that moment, a faint beam of light fell from above his head.

Stiffly, he looked up.

Six red, bizarre eyes stared down at him with greedy intent.

It was a terrifying giant spider, with six eyes on its abdomen.

After a round of tooth-grinding, nauseating chewing,

The High Priestess nonchalantly stepped out of the room, his smile now even more unsettling.

“The Fallen Demon Spider is my lord’s incarnation. To offer yourself to it is your greatest honor…”

***

In a certain city in the Dresis Empire.

An ordinary household.

On the wooden bed, the lady of the house, Yara, was breathing a little heavily, her face flushed.

It seemed she had just finished some exercise.

She pulled the quilt over herself tightly.

She looked at her husband, who was turned away from her, and asked,

“Tell me, do you think our child will be a girl or a boy?”

“I hope she’ll be a sweet and lovely girl, just like me.”

After a while, still with no answer, Yara curiously leaned in beside her husband.

She looked at his face.

“Ahhh!!”

Yara suddenly screamed in terror, her face pale with horror.

The man, previously motionless, suddenly sat up.

His expression was vacant, his eyes clouded white, as if he were already dead.

But, from his body, three pairs of long, spiny spider legs sprouted.

On each side of his chest were three crimson eyes, hungrily staring at Yara.

In terror, Yara twisted around, only to realize that her own body was starting to change, just like her husband’s.

“Bang!”

With a loud crash, the door was kicked open.

A clergyman strode in, his eyes glowing with brilliant gold, holding a scale in his hand.

He looked at Yara with a solemn expression.

“Another case of aberration—this makes over two thousand this month…”

Then, in a reverent tone, the clergyman declared,

“In the name of the Promise God, I swear to slay all who have been corrupted!”

Moments later,

The screams in the room abruptly ceased.

That night, shrieks echoed in many places.

Night passed swiftly.

In a blink, it was the next day.

That day, the cry of newspapers being sold rang out through the whole Violet City.

This place was also known as the City of Newspapers.

Today, Violet City was even livelier than usual.

Especially Imperial Plaza.