Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 450 My Milk Sent Me Here
For Solaris, the two-hour meditation session in the afternoon is a fixed rule, a habit he developed since joining the Vatican as a child, simply because the priest in the church told him that meditation is the way to bring his mind closer to the goddess of life.

This became Solaris's lifelong dream.

He hoped to meet the great being who would lead humanity out of the dark ages before his life came to an end.

But as time went by, Solaris felt his dream was becoming increasingly unattainable. Meditation had become a habit, but the burning passion in his heart had been worn away by the years, leaving only endless emptiness, to the point that he would sometimes have some "rebellious" thoughts.

Why does the goddess of life never respond to her devout believers?
And, does He still exist?
Such skepticism intensified after the Empire's religious reforms. The far west had classified those people as apostates, but many of the ideas put forward in "Imperial Truth" still flowed in and had a great influence on many people.

The Imperial Truth states that all the principal and intermediate gods have fallen.

Even if doomsday eventually comes, humanity should focus its energy and faith on self-salvation, rather than pinning its hopes on the past and expecting fallen gods to return and save them.

Of course, these statements have been identified by the Vatican as brainwashing by evil gods, and every believer in the Church of Life should take a clear stand against those evil god believers who spread rumors and undermine morale.

Even so, the Vatican cannot actually provide factual evidence to refute it.

The last saint of the Papacy dates back several centuries to Archbishop Turzan during the reign of Henry III of the Empire. Solaris read through all of Turzan's manuscripts, but none of them mentioned his connection with the goddess of life.

Unlike the ordinary people outside the cathedral, as the bishop of a border city and the city he lived in, he had access to some manuscripts of "Imperial Truth," and Carlo's many speeches and evaluations about the manuscripts... were suspected of being taken out of context in Solaris's view.

For example, Carlo deliberately omitted the part of "Imperial Truth" that encouraged people to actively seek self-salvation, only cutting out the part that declared the fall of the right and middle gods, and misinterpreted it as encouraging mankind to turn to evil gods before the end of the world in order to survive when the end times come.

After carefully reading the chapters in "Imperial Truth" about the fall of the gods of the highest and middle ranks, he was actually somewhat persuaded deep down.

Because the authors of "Imperial Truth" never attacked or stigmatized the contributions made by the principal and intermediate gods during the Dark Ages. In fact, they gave them a higher evaluation—those gods gave up eternal life and supreme power to break with the old gods, which was the most sublime sacrifice.

The author then used occult theories to explain the possible connections between these deities and the Old Gods.

It was a vast and complete system. Even through the cold, hard words on the parchment, Solaris could easily imagine that the person who proposed these theories must have been a master with a deep understanding of theology, religion, and mysticism.

If given the opportunity, Solaris would prefer to have a direct debate with the proponents of this theory in front of others, which would also resolve many of his inner doubts.

This is also why he harbors resentment towards Carlo's series of actions.

Solaris considered himself the most steadfast believer. He was unafraid to debate with anyone and was always ready to defend the legitimacy of the Papacy. However, Carlo's selective interpretation of his words was a major blow to his beliefs.

He felt that this was probably also the reason for his inner wavering.

Compared to Carlo's approach, the author of "Imperial Truth" did not include any personal bias in the chapters about the fall of the gods. Instead, he openly and objectively analyzed the process of the fall of the rightful gods in a mystical manner.

Solaris knew he couldn't express these inner thoughts.

Because if he did that, his stance wouldn't be clear enough.

At the same time, he also agreed with some of Carlo's views. With the day of destruction imminent, the far west was at its most critical juncture. At such a time, they must not resort to such conciliatory methods. As the bishop of a border city, any wavering statement from him could be exploited by those with ulterior motives.

In such times, they must take measures, even if it leads to misjudgment, it is a necessary sacrifice.

Meditation time is over.

Solaris opened his eyes, his expression grave.

He was suffering greatly. He knew that his meditation was becoming increasingly impure, mixed with a lot of personal emotions and concerns about the Papacy's policies. However, he could no longer calm his mind completely and put all these things out of his mind.

This may also mean that he is destined never to receive the attention of the goddess of life.

"Bishop Solaris!"

Almost immediately after he opened his eyes, someone knocked on his door.

"Come in."

The knocker respectfully pushed open the door. Upon seeing the visitor, Solaris paused for a moment. The person who entered was a young man wearing a gray priest's robe, a complete stranger.

He composed himself. "What is it?"

"The Border Agency wants you to come over. They arrested a Bazarus believer today, and they think you might be able to get some information out of him."

The young man said respectfully.

"understood."

Solaris waved his hand.

Two minutes after entering the cathedral, Ethan changed his plans because he unexpectedly bumped into a young priest pacing back and forth outside the bishop's door. He also did not expect that the early morning bombing of the fake believer would have any follow-up.

He was also curious to see who had the audacity to impersonate Buffett's follower.

Ethan readily took over the young pastor's position as a newcomer to the church, letting the young pastor, who claimed to have some urgent family matters, go home first.

A few minutes later, Solaris, having rested, came out the door. He winked at Ethan, who was waiting at the door, and said, "Let's go."

With Solaris's help, Ethan easily infiltrated the Border Services Agency.

The prisons in the far west were distinctly different from those in the empire. The cells were covered with spells of unknown purpose, and standing outside the window, he was able to get a clear look at the attackers.

His head was bandaged, with blood seeping out, and his face was bruised and swollen from being hit with a hammer by the law enforcement team.

The burly man's expression was somewhat subtle.

Contrary to Ethan's expectations, Ethan was instead happily strapped to the chair, looking around.

Upon seeing Solaris's arrival, the border officials rushed over as if they had seen a savior.

While the others were talking and not paying attention, Ethan made eye contact with the burly man in the interrogation room and gave him a victory sign. The burly man obviously didn't recognize him and was winking at Ethan through the window like a primary school student.

This guy has a really big heart.

Ethan was impressed.

For him, carrying an explosive crystal to attack a border checkpoint was as trivial as being called to the teacher's office for not doing his homework.

“Bishop, this prisoner… his situation is somewhat special.”

The border checkpoint officials had strange expressions.

This is one of the few attackers to be captured alive recently, and he even readily admitted his identity during interrogation, answering all the interrogator's questions without reservation. He was quite cooperative, but... once they met those "intelligent" eyes, they began to question the credibility of his answers.

"You should contact the prisoner yourself."

Despite not being invited by the officials, Ethan calmly slipped into the interrogation room and stood guard at the door like a gatekeeper.

The official glanced at Ethan with a puzzled look, and tried to speak several times, but ultimately swallowed his words.

According to the Bureau's rules and regulations, Ethan, a "small fry," was not qualified to enter the house, but the young man's expression was too calm and confident, making him look like a criminal investigation expert invited by Bishop Solaris.

Moreover, after the young man followed Bishop Solaris into the house, he dodged and blocked the staff behind him.

This kid is an expert.

The officials and staff exchanged bewildered glances, already regarding Ethan as a true master detective.

"Are you a follower of Bazartos?"

Solaris seemed to have never seen such a composed follower of the evil god before, and asked a question.

"I think I am."

What answer is this?
Solaris was even more confused.

Why do you believe in an evil god?

"Because my grandmother said that the followers of Bazartos could regenerate their limbs if they were killed by bombing."

Ethan couldn't help but secretly give the burly man a thumbs up for his impeccable answer.

He now understood: this guy wanted to be a human bomb, and after he exploded, he wanted to be resurrected on the spot, which was why he temporarily decided to follow Buffett.

Even Solaris, who had dealt with countless followers of evil gods, was speechless for a long time.

In the past, cult followers who fell into the hands of the Vatican, knowing they were doomed, would mock the Church of Life from their own self-proclaimed righteousness, and he would retaliate mercilessly. He was certain that all cult followers had caused the deaths of innocent civilians in their so-called righteousness, and even by their standards, Solaris could refute them until they were enraged. But this attacker?
He's a genuine person, and what he said was true.

Indeed, many fervent followers of Bazartos have been able to regenerate severed limbs.

After a moment's thought, Solaris decided to steer the debate back to his area of ​​expertise, using his familiar experience to dismantle the other side's justification: "Why did you attack the border checkpoint?"

"My grandma sent me."

The interrogation room fell silent once again.

On this day, Solaris finally received an answer that caught him off guard.

In the past, when faced with his sharp questions, the followers of the evil god either expressed their disapproval of the hypocrisy of the followers of the Church of Life, or believed that only the evil god they worshipped could bring true happiness to the world.

Only this person.

He wasn't even sent by God the Father; his grandmother sent him.

"Where...is your grandmother?"

"died."

"How many more of you are there?"

"Just me and my grandma."

The conversation had fallen into a logical deadlock. Ethan saw Solaris's expression gradually turn painful. The well-informed bishop seemed to be struggling to figure out whether this burly man was a follower of an evil god.

Ethan roughly understood why the border officials had passed this hot potato to the bishop.

As the saying goes, sincerity is the ultimate weapon. This attacker was so cooperative that the border control interrogators didn't even have to use torture devices.

But clearly, the grandmother the attacker mentioned was not a simple person.

Where do you live?

After much deliberation, Solaris launched another attack.

"Home."

"I mean, where does your home live?"

"Mountain."

“Bishop, we investigated that mountain. There was only a small wooden hut and a new grave. He probably wasn’t lying…”

Border officials poked their heads in and provided further explanation.

He had initially thought this would be a major breakthrough, but the cabin was empty. If he had to say what the evil god was, it was probably just a tattered propaganda booklet about the evil god that had been passed through several hands.

How did your grandmother die?

When the conversation reached an impasse, Ethan spoke up.

"He was hit by a man with a hammer and died shortly after returning home."

Why did the person with the hammer hit her?

"They said she stole something."

"What did you steal?"

“They stole the goods that were being transported into the city, that crystal. They said that crystal could explode, but I tried it today and it didn’t explode. They’re lying.”

"Then what are these crystals...?"

"It was stolen from the person who hit my mother."

"That guy is an idiot!"

As Ethan asked his questions, the border official suddenly looked sweaty. He quickly intervened, saying, "There's no point in asking any more questions. Since he has admitted to attacking the border checkpoint, the evidence is conclusive. We will hang him according to the law."

Solaris understood what was going on, gave the border control officer a deep look, and said nothing more.

As the two left, Ethan vaguely heard officials scolding staff for not asking about such an important matter beforehand.

If he had known, he would never have called the Vatican!
"They are referring to strategic materials transported in through the border."

After walking a short distance, Solaris suddenly asked, seemingly casually, "Supplies are frequently stolen. Although the Border Agency can catch the thieves most of the time, losses of supplies are inevitable in the process... What are your thoughts on this?"

He admired Ethan's performance at the Border Services Agency. Nowadays, most of the young priests who followed him would stay far away from him and wouldn't dare to speak.

"I think this should be a good thing."

"why?"

"In any case, the Border Management Agency will strengthen its management after today, and there should be no more cases of stolen goods in the short term."

Upon hearing this, Solaris nodded in satisfaction, but was also somewhat surprised.

This doesn't sound like the answer given by a hot-blooded young person. If it were someone else, they would likely point the finger at the Border Agency and launch an investigation.

"Young man, why do you want to join the Papacy?"

"Because I want to save money to buy medicine."

This was yet another unexpected answer.

Solaris had expected Ethan to offer a more noble purpose, which was almost the standard answer from every low-ranking priest.

For the great cause of saving the world, and to once again drive the evil god out of this world.

Ethan piqued his curiosity.

What kind of medicine do you want to buy?

"This……"

"you do not believe me?"

"I believe you, but..."

Ethan looked troubled.

"Then tell me, perhaps I can help you?"

"I want to save up to buy a bottle of 201 Golden Lion potion."

"201 Golden Lion!?"

Solaris was startled and asked, "What kind of potion is that?"

"That person said that as long as I drank this potion, I would gain the goddess's attention... because there was only one potion, I—"

Ethan stopped there, noticing that Solaris's expression was undergoing a series of changes.

"There is no such potion in the world!"

After a long silence, Solaris said firmly, "There is no shortcut to gaining the goddess's attention. Only persistent and arduous training can prove your worth to the goddess!"

"I understand, thank you for your guidance..."

"As long as you know!"

Solaris said, "Give me the address. I never imagined that such scoundrels could infiltrate this city! I have to prevent more young people like you from being scammed!"

(End of this chapter)