CHAPTER 409: 409 THE HOLY EXCUSE

[El’s POV: ]

"Now that they are dealt with..."

The clergy is part of the temple’s most important force that serves the pope directly.

They are some of the strongest that are going to be one pain in the ass so, the ones that I just dealt with were some of the weakest that that bastard pope had.

"Anna, I’ll leave them to you."

They were perverts as well... bastards were happy to see Anna in their last moments even though the actual gods that they served were completely different beings.

’Disloyal fucks...’

Well, they were a bunch of pricks anyway. No need to pay any attention to them.

What’s more important right now is this person before me, the Ace of my spades, as well as the one who’s going to be at the centre of our war against the Temple.

"Quinz."

He was wearing his white armour as usual, along with the blessed helmet that he never took down, not even before the highest authorities of the Temple.

However, he had taken it off right now. His old face devoid of wrinkles, his eyes, as purple as the amethyst crystals, and his gaze filled with confusion as he saw me sitting down on my seat.

"The Pope, that bitch was going to use you as an excuse, framing you as someone that has collaborated with the Empire.

He was after you from the start, the mission that you received was also just a plan that they had in place.

Can you tell what they were aiming for?"

The rest of the members of Clubs took care of the delegates who were unconscious thanks to my spell, while I asked Quinz to sit back down.

Seeing him so distressed wasn’t a good sight. Especially when he also had silver white hair like Us.

"The pope..."

He wasn’t loyal to the Pope or his religion since he had gained all the Holy power that he had by believing in the Holy sword that he wielded.

He was different from the other Holy knights who had a god’s blessing or carried stigmas of the higher beings possessing divinity.

"He wants to reclaim the Capital of the empire now that the Emperor is gone, or at least that is what he shows on the surface."

What he had was what he had gained from his own efforts, but he still followed the doctrine of the Temple, at least believing in the basic principles that were originally established by the Founder of the Temple, the first Saintess that is only remembered by a few.

’He didn’t think he would have to go against the entire Temple when he joined us. But now, he knew just following me wasn’t going to be enough.’

As he had seen already, the Pope had full control over the Temple and the people that followed him directly were also similar to his puppets.

"If he was really going to frame me as someone who had joined the Empire’s side, he would have taken down a threat that had influence in the Temple, someone who wasn’t his puppet."

"That’s right."

The reason Quinz joined me was because I promised him Lucy would teach him how to actually use his sword, and how to make full use of the powers that it contained.

In exchange for that, he just had to join me and do some things that I asked of him, sometimes things that would involve spying on certain people of the Temple, sometimes following the orders of the ’Holy Father’ and sometimes reporting his findings to me.

He was never loyal to the Pope or the people of the Temple but the Teachings, and he knew there was corruption within the temple, and the Teachings that he had followed were nothing to Those people anymore.

’He wanted to change that, and the only way he saw, the only light that greeted him in the weakest moment of his life, was mine.’

Thus he started following me.

And though it had not been too long since we have known one another, he knew the kind of powers I possessed.

He had just seen it with his own eyes.

"The Pope wants to solidify his position." That was the exact conclusion I wanted him to reach.

Since only by reaching this conclusion...

"The Gods that Temple worships, the higher beings that exert their influence on this world through the Pope, are all afraid now."

With us finishing the second epic and taking a step towards Liberation, they knew their position in this world was withering.

The increasing influence of Us was a threat to the long years of control that they have had over this world, but with us here, they couldn’t have the absolute control that they used to.

"By using you, they wanted to show how We are dangerous as well as how They are the right ones to execute Divine justice.

And, this would spark the flames that They wanted..."

The Pope himself isn’t a threat to us, he never was.

All his powers come from those Gods that the Temple follows, and their intentions are the absolute will for a mere follower like the Pope.

He simply is a strong being that could do a lot many things that the others could not thanks to all the powers, blessings, and authorities that THEY have shared with him.

"Quinz."

Those bastards up there were getting restless with our progress and if the fact that we were also running the empire now gets out, people will want to follow us instead of the lords and gods that they couldn’t even see.

’It’s just how things usually happen.’

They didn’t just want the capital, they wanted to get rid of us. And, the only way they could do that, was through a one sided war.

"They think we are weakened after the war with the Emperor bastard, and He will know the ones he had sent after you are dealt with."

If Quinz goes back, there’s a high chance the Pope would use him in an even worse scheme than this, and his death alone might not be the end result.

"They will want to get rid of you at the very least since in all the other orders, you are the only one that has a great enough influence."

Not only was he a Holy sword wielder, he was also one of the most accomplished individuals of the Temple famous on the continent.

"Quinz... I’m sure you don’t like this as well, but I want you to represent the West from our side."

He was never loyal to the Temple, but he had his high morals and values.

He was not simply a good man, he was also a great person that had helped many powerful and important people when they needed him the most. He was a true noble in a way, if I say so myself.

"With your help... I assure you the Future you wanted for the Temple, your wish will spread to the rest of the world."

As the Ace, he was going to be the spearhead for the operation this time around.

’The final spearhead that will help us elevate our Status to a higher level.’