Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 452 Barzatos Will Not Sleep Tonight

Chapter 452 Barzatos Will Not Sleep Tonight
This was undoubtedly the happiest day of Solaris's life. When he woke up late at night and faced the empty room, he still couldn't suppress the emotion of meeting the goddess.

Even though the goddess only spoke two sentences to him in the Garden of Life, they stirred up a myriad of thoughts within him.

He became the only believer in centuries since the time of Henry III to receive the goddess's favor.

He was chosen by the goddess, an honor that even Pope Carlo had never received.

That's why the whole thing has become complicated.

Logically speaking, Pope Carlo, as the actual ruler of the far west, should be the one most likely to receive the goddess's attention, a view that even Solaris himself has always held.

Carlo's series of actions after Julius's death, his preparations for the Seventh Epoch and the Day of Doom, and his introduction of Salvation Contribution Points, which united the inhabitants of the far west, were all tangible contributions.

If Carlo were the one receiving the goddess's gaze, Solaris would not feel any resentment or jealousy.

However, Carlo was "not selected".

Solaris firmly believed that every decision of the goddess of life had profound significance, and that her gaze was not merely a response to a particular pious person, but usually carried the significance of the times. Just as in the Sixth Age, the Empire and the Henry royal family were the absolute "protagonists," and every decision of the royal family could bring about shocks and changes on a global scale.

The greatest contribution of the previous Pope Turzan, who received the blessing of the Goddess of Life, was to establish the Church of Life as the state religion of the empire, gradually transforming the empire from a royal dictatorship into a theocratic state. After that, every king who succeeded to the throne would have a papal investiture ceremony, which, in terms of religion and divine authority, represented that he was the ruler recognized by the gods.

What about him?

Solaris sat up in bed, startled to find himself drenched in sweat.

Even though it was late at night, he was extremely excited.

Clearly, compared to the truly great leaders in the history of the Papacy, he had no notable achievements, and people's impression of him was mostly limited to "Solaris was a steadfast ascetic."

He strode to the table, sat down, and began to review the whole incident.

First, there was the young priest who appeared out of nowhere, and then there was the strange parchment book that appeared out of nowhere on the table. All of this pointed him to that bottle of magical potion.

As Solaris continued along this line of thought, the answer became clear.

The young pastor is an apostle representing the will of the goddess of life!

So, what message did the goddess want to convey to him?
Solaris carefully recalled all his interactions with the Apostles. After their meeting, they went to the Border Management Bureau and learned the truth about the attackers.

He had heard about the Border Management Bureau's shady dealings all along. The so-called thefts were their usual tricks. They would extract a cut of the profits through this method and then select a few unlucky people to take the blame for the thefts. Solaris had reported the chaos in the border city to the Cathedral of the Dawn, but the response he received was that Carlo had secretly instructed him to turn a blind eye.

This portion of the profits is a "loss" that the Papacy can afford, but indulging these local bullies involves the complex relationship between the Papacy and the kingdom's army.

The far west is nominally home to a royal family and nobles, and the corresponding kingdom's army is not under the jurisdiction of the Papacy. However, the transportation of these strategic materials is equivalent to making the kingdom's army on every border line work for the Papacy, and the losses are equivalent to the Papacy's payment to the local tyrants.

Minimal losses, yet the stability of all transportation lines is guaranteed.

In Solaris's view, this was a procedural injustice that brought about the outcome Carlo had hoped for during such a critical time.

The foolish attacker, and his grandmother who was beaten to death with a hammer by border enforcement officers, were victims of this unspoken rule.

From Carlo's macro-strategic perspective, these two individuals are insignificant compared to the great cause of saving the world.

Suddenly, Solaris got goosebumps all over his body, and his heart began to pound violently.

The 201 golden lions and the illogical potion are implying that his past insistence on asceticism led him astray. So, is the goddess implying that Pope Carlo has gone down the wrong path in this way?

"Walking on the wrong path will only make your sins grow heavier and heavier..."

Solaris muttered to himself.

He clenched his fists, and his whole body was trembling.

He believed he had grasped the goddess's profound meaning, but this also placed him on the opposite side of Carlo.

In the far west, Pope Carlo was a dictator, a fact he never denied. He believed that in times of crisis, a tough and ruthless approach was necessary to lead the people through the crisis.

But... rebel against Carlo?
The mere thought of this made Solaris tremble. He knew that even his position as the bishop of the border city was appointed by the Pope. Carlo could make him the administrator here, but he could also make him lose everything in an instant and become a sinner recognized by the Vatican.

He gradually came to understand everything.

He understood why the goddess had chosen him, a hermit.

When he chose the path of asceticism, he was already prepared to dedicate everything to the goddess.

Youth, wealth, desire, and even... life and soul!

This is the goddess's final test for him. There is only one outcome for opposing Pope Carlo in the far west, and countless people have proven this in the past year.

Now is the time for him to carry on the path of asceticism to the end and to give his life for justice.

Solaris's eyes hardened like never before. He put on the bishop's grey-white robes and tidied his appearance one last time. Then, he gripped the scepter that represented his bishop status and walked toward the border control without looking back.

This was the revelation given to him by the apostle.

This final trial begins with two civilians who were framed by the Border Agency and used as scapegoats!
"I retract my previous statement."

Solaris's thoughts were reflected in Ethan's heart through the leaping arc of electricity, and he sincerely expressed his respect for Solaris's enlightenment.

Even Ethan never expected that Solaris would dare to stand against Pope Carlo for a potion worth 201 Golden Lions.

They all knew what this meant.

With Solaris's power, he could not change anything, and even he himself knew that doing so would only lead to his death. But even so, he was still willing to give his life for the path he was pursuing.

The literary-minded girl also put away her expression of disgust and stared thoughtfully at his back.

“Solaris…”

She remembered the human's name and whispered, "He can use wind elemental magic."

"And there's electric elemental magic."

The senior student, who was in charge of the electric element, stood in front of them, tidied his slicked-back hair, and then turned to look at Ethan. "Mori, our potion shop is the kind of conscientious business that provides after-sales service, right?"

The goddess of life has long since fallen; this is an indisputable fact.

But for Solaris, this is definitely a profitable deal.

Because of this, he gained the attention of another "god".

..............................

Meanwhile, Bazatos also had a rather magical night.

This was the first time He had made an appointment with a human to travel far away, arriving in an unfamiliar city and staying in a human hotel.

But tonight, He couldn't sleep.

Since nightfall, He has heard a constant stream of prayers from humankind, indicating that those who are praying to Him are very close to Him and are preparing a grand soul-sacrificing ceremony.

Bazatos wanted to discuss this matter with Ethan, but when he knocked on Ethan's door, he was told by Little Dark that Ethan and Winter had gone out in the middle of the night and no one knew where they had gone.

He pondered for a moment in the room and then made a decision.

He wanted to go there and take a look.

Instead of using the Magic Nexus as a medium to glimpse them across the boundaries of time and space after the sacrificial ritual, I would actually go among them and understand why these humans wish to summon the Old Gods.

Caesars had also mentioned to Him on several occasions that humans were an interesting species, and that He was keen to wander around as Kane, allowing Him to get more directly into the heart of the conflict.

Upon closer examination, the relationship between the Old Gods was not originally this close. He did not know Caesaros and Ampolis. It was Ethan's appearance that became the bond between them, forming the concept of "friends" among them.

This is interesting because their true forms exist in countless different planes, and especially after the sealing was completed, theoretically, they should never have any further deep interaction. Influenced by these "friends," it gradually adapted to the feeling of contact with individual humans.

This time, the incessant prayers led Bazartos to the northwest of the border city. He walked alone in the night, moving further and further away from the city until the city's outline was no longer visible. Only then did the light of the illumination crystals and the sounds of miners working came from afar.

Remains of a saint.

This is the name of the mine; Bazatos had seen information about the mine hiring in the hotel's brochure.

Besides the Devout Chapter, the Vatican now needs to recruit a large number of miners to prepare strategic materials for them. Working in the mines can also earn Salvation Contribution Points, but compared with donating money and joining the chapter, the points that miners can earn are extremely low, and it doesn't seem to be a respectable status in the far west.

Bazatos only wandered around the mine once before the overseer gave him a safety helmet and a miner's pickaxe.

These people are mining a substance called "Holy Remains".

The overseers and mine guards kept the purpose of these materials strictly confidential; all that was known was that they would be packed into boxes and sent to the Cathedral of the Dawn.

Bazartos picked up a piece of the holy relic, weighed it in his hand, and immediately understood that it was similar to an energy storage crystal, a kind of carrier suitable for storing magic power.

Most of the miners here work day and night, seemingly inspired by the Vatican. The entrance to the mine has been built in the style of a magnificent fortress church, with a huge holy emblem hanging above the archway and the motto "Diligence is prayer, dedication brings salvation" inscribed on both sides.

Along the way, Bazartos has learned a lot. In terms of propaganda and organization, the Church of Life is far ahead of those who believe in Him.

The kingdom's law enforcement team, clad in gleaming silver armor, stood guard at the entrance, their expressions solemn. Rather than guarding, they were more like surveillance, checking each "worker" sent in to ensure they were working diligently. For those workers who couldn't wield their hoes, the overseers would occasionally deliver inspiring speeches.

The mine is divided into three levels, and the deeper you go, the more obvious the changes in the surrounding environment become.

The sacred disguise was gradually peeled away, revealing its true nature.

By the third level, the lights had almost disappeared, and the miners could only rely on their headlamps. The air was thin, the temperature was hot and humid, and the water droplets seeping from the rock walls smelled of sulfur. Only sporadic chiseling sounds and distant, unintelligible metallic clanging echoed in the tunnel.

All prayers originate from this level.

Bazatos followed the source of the prayer deeper and deeper, and the air was filled with a familiar scent.

Passing through a hidden entrance resembling a crevice in a mine, He entered this dark and quiet space and saw the exhausted miners sitting around the center of a magic circle.

The soul sacrifice ritual has been set up. At the very center of the ritual are two pale-faced women dressed in miners' gear, their hands and feet unbound, seemingly having made up their minds.

"This can't go on like this!"

In the darkness, someone gritted their teeth, "I found out that the Border Control Bureau determined that Grandma stole strategic materials from the Vatican, and she died shortly after returning home..."

Upon hearing this, the people in the mine were plunged into a long period of grief.

This is a blatant frame-up.

The old man always entered the mine for only one reason—to bring hot soup and dishes to the people who worked there.

They heard that the old woman's son had also worked in the mine, but lost his life in an unfortunate collapse. Since then, she would come to the mine from time to time to pay her respects to her child and bring them hot dishes and soup.

How could such an old man possibly steal the Vatican's strategic resources?
Ironically, in their quest for justice, they had to rely on the power of an evil god. A leaflet containing information about the evil god Bazartos was found deep in the mine. Without the god's help, they would have been beaten to death by guards before they could leave the mine and confront the border control officers.

Even after death, they will still bear the infamy of instigating a rebellion.

Bazartos also noticed the old flyer, which was so faded and illegible that it looked like it was from several years ago.

These miners, who had been there for who knows how long, were completely isolated from the world and had no idea that the structure of His followers' faith had long since changed. Now, there were many new ways to contact Him. First, they could make an appointment with Him through the Nightmare Witch, the head of the Legendary Pictures of Bazartos, in the Imperial Capital; or they could go to the Academy and wait for Him at the classroom door after each "Introduction to Art" class.

“I also found out that my mother-in-law’s grandson was arrested by the border control authorities and has already been convicted.”

The miner said sadly, "We must do something, at least... at least we must rescue her grandson!"

They have seen through the true nature of the Papacy and the Kingdom; their so-called great cause of salvation is nothing but a lie.

Some people use grand and respectable pretexts to amass wealth, while others do so in order to start a war.

The news of the mother-in-law's death became the last straw that broke their backs, proving that patience could not change anything.

Therefore, they had no choice but to seek the power of the evil god.

"But……"

Some hesitated. They were not orthodox followers of the evil god, and many could not bear to watch their former companions die as sacrifices. "If we start the ritual, they will die."

This is the advertisement on the flyer.

The souls of the sacrifices will tear open the gates of time and space, allowing the Father to briefly descend between them.

"We have no choice."

someone said.

Although it was painful, they had to make this difficult decision.

"There are other ways."

Barzatos stepped forward to remind everyone, but his words seemed to ignite a powder keg, and he was met with a barrage of criticism:
"And what do you know?"

Do you think we want this?

"They also made a tremendous effort to get to this point!"

"We've risked our lives to gather all these spell-casting materials!"

"We've come this far, there's no turning back!"

"Success or death!"

……

"Then let's stop the sacrificial ceremony."

Bazartos directly sensed the hardships these miners were going through, and to Him, two deformed souls were of no concern whatsoever.

In an instant, all the miners' eyes fell on Him.

"Who brought her in?"

"Kick her out!"

"You are not welcome here!"