Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 457 I Didn't Provoke Anyone

"Enough, Carlo!"

Yayuma said sharply, taking a half step back and gripping the scepter symbolizing the sect's leader, the "Spirit Mother," as she assumed a fighting stance.

Her dry hair was lifted by the gathered spiritual power, and her eyes, blinded from peering into fate, emitted a pale blue glow.

She had always believed that although Carlo was a fanatical and extreme person, his personal charm and highly persuasive oratory skills could firmly unite the sects and people of the far west. At the end of the Sixth Era, this land needed someone to stand up and take charge.

Carlo was a natural leader.

Regardless of what others say, Yayuma firmly believes in the existence of Doomsday because she once glimpsed the future of this world in a psychic encounter. When destruction came, she saw the flying objects that blotted out the sky. Even if those black steel objects were just falling from the sky, they would be enough to destroy the entire surface of the earth.

She also realized that the culprit who sat on the Iron Throne and brought destruction to everyone was the one behind it all.

He possessed powers that defied common sense; with just a glance, He burned away her eyes, condemning her to spend the rest of her life in darkness. But it was precisely because of this that Yayuma forever imprinted that terrifying figure in her memory.

In order to make ample preparations before the Destroyer arrives, Yayuma was willing to do anything, even if it meant supporting extremists like Carlo to seize power... That was Yayuma's original idea.

However, when she confronted Carlo's sinister research hidden beneath the Cathedral of the Dawn, she realized she had made a grave mistake.

The power emanating from the "brain" was clearly that of Bazartos.

"Yayuma, what are you doing?"

Carlo spoke in an innocent yet puzzled tone, the excitement he had felt earlier from sharing joy with his siblings vanishing with Yayuma's unexpected reaction.

This was clearly a thrilling moment, signifying that they had firmly grasped this world-changing power. He had unleashed the true nature of the Holy Remains, and these legacies left to them by the Goddess of Life would deliver a fatal blow to the Empire.

"You have been completely blinded by hatred!"

"Hatred? While I do indeed hate the Empire, I will never let personal feelings affect our great cause. Everything I do is preparation for the arrival of the Seventh Era. The Empire must perish; this is the law of history—don't you understand? As long as the Empire exists, the Seventh Era will never come."

Carlo delivered a passionate speech.

His close friend Julius left him many clues before he died.

The organization "Servants of the Gods" has been mentioned vaguely many times, along with their theory of "decay period".

Over the long course of time, the empire had gradually become a malignant tumor in the world, and everything Julius had done was to remove this tumor and allow the world to return to its normal historical trajectory.

"Think about it carefully, Yayuma. Every change of era is built on the destruction of another civilization."

"Stop spouting your heretical theories."

Yayuma did not back down. Unlike her blind followers, she believed that no matter how eloquent Carlo's words were, his actions were blasphemous against the goddess of life.

only……

She inevitably felt confused.

Even if she sees through Carlo's true colors, how many people will believe her?
She supported Carlo when he was at his lowest point and personally helped him ascend to godhood. The people of the far west now completely believe everything Carlo has told them. In their eyes, Carlo's status is almost no different from that of Saint Mary. They firmly believe that Carlo is the projection of the goddess on earth and that he will lead everyone to persevere until the return of the rightful God and the moment when true salvation arrives.

Since that's the case, then she has no choice but to end the mistakes she made herself!

Yayuma slammed her staff heavily on the ground, using it as a fulcrum. The surging spiritual energy rolled towards Carlo like a wave. As she chanted a spell, the wave of spiritual energy transformed into a water curtain, enveloping Carlo and the brain behind him that was constantly emitting evil power.

"Is this your choice, Yayuma?"

Carlo stood there, letting the surging waves engulf him.

His vision gradually blurred, and his former comrades became only blurry silhouettes in his eyes. The waves that touched his skin became sharp blades, cutting through his flesh. All of this made him realize one thing.

Yayuma really wanted to kill him.

Carlo couldn't describe his feelings. It was less anger and more a deep disappointment. Every word Yayuma had said to him and everything she had done proved that in the end, no one could truly understand him. Or rather, the one who had truly understood him had died in that imperial coup.

He also heard that Julius was interrogated for many days afterward, and when he was finally tied to the stake, there was no intact part of his body left.

Then, the evil henchmen of the god burned Julius alive in public.

He was depressed for a long time until Yayuma visited the Cathedral of the Crown of Dawn. When he needed support the most, Yayuma referred to him as a "brother in arms" to others. This was of great significance to Carlo, as he saw the shadow of Julius in Yayuma.

That's why, when he finished his research on the relics, he wanted to share the good news with the other party as soon as possible.

However, his meticulously planned grand undertaking only resulted in this outcome.

The sharp blades of the water relentlessly cut into his body, and the suffocating pain made Carlo feel his life slipping away.

Now Carlo understood completely.

Yayuma is not Julius, but...

People change, and that's why humanity pursues power, isn't it?
With enough power, you can change the people around you, the environment, your country, and even the whole world!

He invited Yayuma to be a witness to the new era, so change should begin with her.

The next moment, the blade formed by the water stopped spinning, and the water curtain formed by the surging spiritual power was shaken open with countless cracks. Yayuma's expression changed. This was definitely not the magic power from Carlo himself, but another strange and twisted power.

Carlo's voice, like the whisper of a devil, came from the crack.

"Yayuma, you betrayed me and now you want to kill me..."

The crimson energy seeping from the cracks was terrifying. Seeing this, the youth behind Yayuma rushed forward, intending to deliver a final blow to Carlo before he broke the seal. However, the moment they came into contact with the crimson energy, their bodies suddenly swelled up several times. This change lasted only two seconds, but it was enough to twist the two living people into writhing cocoons on the ground.

Yayuma's ominous premonition was confirmed; although she was blind, she immediately recognized the evil energy fluctuations.

That is... the power from the evil god Bazartos!
Carlo tore open the curtain of water with his bare, skeletal hands. When he emerged, he was bathed in blood, his body covered in cuts and lacerations, with many places reduced to bone. Yet, he seemed oblivious to the pain. With each step he took forward, the broken pieces were repaired at a visible pace.

Yayuma was horrified. Her instinct was to leave this terrifying place, because the blood-soaked Carlo before her was no longer human, but a creation she did not understand.

The power of Bazartos flowed through his veins, and she had never seen any of Bazartos' followers whose power could compare to that of Carlo at this moment.

In a daze, she realized that Carlo was the one who had truly fallen into evil and become a follower of the evil god. Koya Yuma could not retreat even half a step. An invisible force formed an invisible wall, sealing off the exit of the basement. Her spiritual power was also blocked by the scarlet energy, and her limbs could no longer move an inch. She could only watch helplessly as Carlo slowly walked towards her.

All his wounds had healed completely, even the clothes that had been torn to shreds by the water's blades.

Carlo placed his broad hand on her shoulder.

Even so, I still love you.

Yayuma felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, and crimson energy crawled up her skin to her ears, drilling into her skull through the ear canals. This stopped her from thinking, as if her brain was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

Many memories have become blurred.

The scene before her raised many questions for her.

Huh?
Why is she here?
What are those two wriggling cocoons?
Why was Carlo standing in front of her?

All these questions pointed to another unbelievable fact for her—she could see!

Decades after being blinded, Yayuma regained her sight.

She could see Carlo's face clearly, no longer a blurry silhouette in her mind.

At that moment, a smile appeared on Carlo's face. "Yayuma, do you understand now? This is my promise: salvation will ultimately come to everyone!"

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

A few days later, another follower of the Church of Life also had the same smile on his face.

After news of the assassination of Bishop Solaris in the border city spread, the far west entered a state of high alert and preparedness. Solaris had been traveling for the past few days and did not know what had happened on the side of the Vatican, but a large number of guards near the ruins had been evacuated.

On the way, he heard someone mention that the mine containing the remains of a saint in the border city had disappeared, but he had no idea what it meant for the mine to have disappeared.

Solaris suspects that the recent changes at the Vatican are related to this matter, but this also provides him with an excellent opportunity.

The infiltration went much more smoothly than he had anticipated. Since entering the ruins, some unseen force had guided him forward, which made Solaris even more convinced that the goddess of life had chosen him. As the holy scriptures said, when the goddess returned, she would resurrect those martyred heroes.

Saint Mary will be the first.

It turns out that her soul had never left them, but had silently remained there, waiting for the day of destruction to come thousands of years later.

It's getting closer, closer and closer.

Solaris's heart pounded violently. All the omens had led him here, and he knew that at this very moment, the great being described in the scriptures was waiting for him at the end of the grove.

He quickened his pace, passing by the flower-lined path.

The path led to an altar surrounded by flowers and trees. Solaris heard the sound of water, and not far from the altar, there was a waterfall that seemed to connect with the sky. Even he, who never liked to travel, couldn't help but be attracted by the paradise-like scene before him.

However, what attracted Solaris even more than the beautiful scenery was the woman in the center of the altar, with her back to him.

She has short, golden hair that reaches her ears, and a tuft of lively golden hair on top of her head.

The Bible devotes much attention to this lock of hair, which seems to embody Mary's own emotions and conceal another aspect of her personality.

Saint Mary herself was the best embodiment of divinity on earth.

"You're finally here."

Mary's voice was soft, yet it reached Solaris's ears clearly.

"Yes, I have come because of your call."

Solaris clasped his hands together, then interlaced his fingers.

A woman not far away turned to the side. She looked very young, and time seemed to have left no trace on her. This brief eye contact left Solaris speechless.

He noticed a hint of doubt in Mary's eyes before she gracefully walked up to him.

"you are?"

“Solaris, I am an ascetic.”

"Who asked you to come?"

"I came following your guidance, for now the far west is facing—"

On this day, Solaris lost his smile.

He leaned against an ancient tree in the ruins, looking up at the sky. His eyes were filled with vicissitudes, and in an instant, he seemed to have aged decades.

He looked at the swaying shadows of the trees and recalled his seemingly fateful encounter with Saint Mary.

Mary was just a step away from him at the time. Faced with his devout and excited self-introduction, Mary responded with only one word.

--roll!

Concise and concise.

As Solaris was still reeling and trying to say something, the power that had guided him suddenly turned into his enemy, lifting him up and throwing him out of the altar like trash. In the chaos, he seemed to feel a kick to his lower back from behind.

Worse still, he could no longer find the way to the altar after that.

Solaris could only sit in the shade of a tree, lost in thought about life.

Huh?
Shouldn't he be the one chosen by the goddess?
But why was Saint Mary so cold to him, even to the point of being vicious?
Solaris carefully considered their encounter and belatedly realized that Mary's blushing cheeks did not seem to be due to girlish shyness, but rather to a surge of emotion that made him want to twist his head off.

But why is that?
He didn't offend anyone.

(End of this chapter)