After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

He knew even better that the bitch was probably forcing him to his doom—but the God of Light knew very well that forbearance was the key to his survival until now.

He gritted his teeth, his heart bleeding, but in the end he still chose to endure!

"Once I regain all my power... I will absolutely turn you, you filthy, vile wretch, into a breeding ground for monsters! I will make you give birth to filthy offspring day after day, and I will make you eat your own children..."

The God of Light uttered harsh words. But not long after, a sudden surge of divine power forced him to shut his mouth again.

Meanwhile, the saintess Cecilia, who was the target of the God of Light's harsh words, was inspecting the defenses of the Protestant border region with the help of the witch and the nuns.

They were well aware that the United Nations had amassed a large military force along its border with the diocese. The countless golems even carried on routine patrols, their deafening footsteps echoing from afar. But regardless of who they were, they showed no intention of deploying any troops to defend against the United Nations.

On one hand, it was due to Saint Cecilia's thoughts—ever since learning of Yang Hao's situation, she had realized the potential problems the parish might face in the future. But upon further reflection, she realized that the area she controlled didn't offer much strategic value, even objectively, so she boldly concluded that Yang Hao was unlikely to attack the Protestant region. Even if he wanted to capture her, she had no value in it.

On the other hand, there's Priscilla, the Witch of the Night's perspective—she's simply calculating gains and losses. The time wasted attacking the Protestants would be enough for the United Nations to occupy St. Petersburg while casually taking a stroll around the Old Church's territory. So, after much consideration, the United Nations probably wouldn't waste their time and energy on such insignificant figures...

...Although thinking about it this way feels very bleak, at least the Protestants don't need to worry about the safety of their rear—anyway, if the United Nations really wants to invade, they have no ability to resist, so they might as well just take off the clothes in the back and increase the thickness in the front.

Cecilia and Priscilla were pondering something with a sense of relief. Just then, they received another letter from the nun, informing them that the enormous skeletal monsters were currently marching with the Old Church's army, and if nothing unexpected happened, their target was the location of the New Church—in other words, the God of Light had chosen to help the Old Church, solely because of the strange phenomenon surrounding Cecilia.

"In short, we've been framed by some unknown entity, so now the God of Light hates us and has decided to join forces with the Old Cult instead of killing them... This is a tricky problem, Cecilia."

"Hmm. I know... but how should I put it? This is actually good news."

"What good news?" Priscilla asked, somewhat curious about Cecilia's current optimism. "Could it be that you can utilize the power of the God of Light?"

Cecilia simply nodded with a wry smile: her current role as a "transfer station" was a welcome relief after all her hardships, as she could "borrow" the power of the God of Light to some extent. But ultimately, the good news she considered to be this was not what she meant by "good news."

Cecilia's good news was that even though she had committed blasphemy that was extremely sinful to the God of Light, the God of Light still showed no intention of personally punishing her.

While it's possible that the God of Light was merely watching the spectacle, the fact that he sent his servants to swear an oath to annihilate the Protestant Church suggests that the God of Light harbors immense hatred for himself, yet is unable, for some reason, to punish Cecilia...

Is it because his current power has been lost?

Or is it because he was sealed away?

Either way, it's a good thing for Cecilia. She's confident she can handle those skeletal structures; as long as she can deal with those strange things, the Old Cult's attack will at most be on par with her own defense...

But then again...

"...Priscilla. Is there any possibility?"

"Ok?"

"Is that person using my existence... to kill the God of Light?"

".."

Priscilla was taken aback by Cecilia's audacious idea. But indeed, if the goal was simply to steal divine power from the God of Light, then sneaking around and taking it slowly was better than being so openly exposed now.

But conversely, if the other side wants to kill the God of Light, what is the most crucial point?

One is to weaken the power of the God of Light.

Another strategy is to keep the God of Light busy fighting a decoy, and then deliver a fatal blow when he is forced to reveal himself.

Now, one condition for weakening the God of Light has been fulfilled. As for the remaining condition for inducing the God of Light, that may depend on how long the Protestant Church can hold out...

If the other side really wants to completely kill the God of Light, then they should intervene in the war when the Protestant Church is about to collapse... But even so, the risk of this war is still very high.

Looking at the faint lights appearing in the distance, Priscilla sighed and said, "The risk is too great—if it really comes to it, let's escape."

“The magic in this area is sufficient to unleash my mass teleportation spell. Including all your ascetics, I can get us out of this place.”

“But even if we run, how far can we go? Priscilla, it’s not just because we can’t escape this continent no matter how we try, and we will eventually be targeted by the God of Light… More importantly, my people need me.”

Cecilia shook her head, bitterly rejecting Priscilla's suggestion.

Wasn't she afraid? No...of course she was afraid. She was afraid of dying if she were captured by the God of Light, afraid that if she failed in this war, she would suffer endless torment like the ascetic, and even more afraid of the existence of punishments more terrifying than death.

She was afraid of many things. She wanted to run away, and she knew Priscilla could help her escape to a safer place—but frankly, where could they go if they remained on this continent?

Moreover... Cecilia has fully experienced the bitter consequences of her past "escape".

If only I had stood firmly by his side back then.

If only I hadn't been acting out of spite at the time.

If only I could have withstood the pressure and seized power amidst the cheers of the believers...

Perhaps the Roman Empire wouldn't have ended up in such a terrible state.

I wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

She had already lost what she cherished most because of her "escape." Now, the Protestants placed their hopes on her, and every ascetic expected to lead to victory under her guidance...

This was a rare and precious trust. The pressure they brought had caused Cecilia to vomit countless times in her room. To avoid being discovered, she even had to ask Priscilla to help her clean up her vomit.

Even so... even if my legs under this skirt are trembling right now, it's fine.

Cecilia was determined not to run away this time.

She knew very well that if she continued to run away, she would not have changed at all compared to the past.

She was also aware of how she would be treated if the war was lost.

But she knew even more clearly that behind her were countless unarmed, exhausted people and believers who needed protection.

She is a saint.

If the Holy Maiden doesn't stand at the very front, who will?

Perhaps it existed before.

But now, he will never appear in front of him again.

"...That's fine then."

If she could go back in time... Cecilia would never let go of his hand again, and she would never choose to shirk her responsibilities again.

She will strive to learn everything she was supposed to learn anyway.

But... it's too late.

She sighed softly.

As the distant lights gradually drew closer.

She simply raised her hands and used the power of the God of Light to forcibly create a brightly lit, shimmering landscape, as if it were daytime, at midnight.

She chose to stand at the very front of the curtain wall.

Seeing this, Priscilla, the Witch of the Night, simply shook her head. She stood beside Cecilia as always, while secretly preparing a teleportation spell for Cecilia's final escape.

And it was just as the final battle within the diocese was about to begin due to the oracle of the God of Light.

With the help of demon servants, a group of naked deserters crossed the demon forest in an unbelievable way and arrived at the capital of the Bayrzans.

In the capital, people were discussing the past actions of the Roman parish, and Yang Hao and his group's plan was showing the effects they had envisioned. But the moment these naked deserters appeared outside the walls of Constantinople, their worst fears came true.

Those deserters revealed everything that the God of Light had done, right in front of the Bayern.

Chapter Twelve: 4/5 Lalumia, sulking - 8K

For Barron and Morin, the night of May 19th was destined to be a sleepless one.

That night, as usual, they gathered at the bar, drinking beer, watching the alluring figures of young girls or middle-aged women, and while enjoying increasingly lavish snacks to avoid getting completely drunk, they also discussed the recent situation.

Originally, they thought today would be no big deal, just like before—until, at some point, the people at the next table started discussing the past actions of the Roman Empire's parishes, and they immediately felt the atmosphere become heavy.

It was a rumor uttered by a drunken half-elf, sprawled on the table, spewing out belches reeking of alcohol:

"You, you all don't know—! These Romans, the Romans don't even spare their own people's corpses! They'll hack the wounded to pieces and turn them into jerky, and they'll even use the bones as torches to burn or make soup! You haven't seen those Roman lunatics, so you have no idea how perverted they are!"

The elf let out a burp, seemingly oblivious to the increasingly serious expressions on the faces of the Bayer Zans around him, and muttered to himself as he chugged his beer:

"Back then, we were at the border... we saw it while fighting at the border—those freaks... for victory they even killed their own people and turned them into zombie soldiers who were even more powerful than zombies to attack our defenses... If it weren't for His Majesty Yang Hao, His Majesty Theresa, and Finn being there, and if we hadn't had a large number of reformed weapons, perhaps Gaparia would have been severely damaged... hiccup!"

The elf let out another hiccup.

This time, the female elf who was a waitress grabbed his hair and dragged him upstairs. It seemed that he was thrown into some unknown guest room and temporarily settled down. After that, the tavern returned to its original state.

The only difference is that the tavern no longer has the cheerful atmosphere it once did.

All the Bayern soldiers wore solemn expressions. Even Baron and Morin were not surprised. They had only heard from soldiers who had fought on the Roman battlefields how insane the Romans were. They had simply taken it as exaggerated tales.

After all, the Bayerzens have been fighting the subterranean demons for so long, what haven't they seen? So what if they eat people? Demons eat people too, it's really no big deal...

...

Right?

The Bayerians remained silent for a long time. They began to recall their nightmarish experiences fighting demons in the past.

Even demons treat the corpses of their enemies with great care. They treat human corpses with the same care that humans show to livestock carcasses. To demons, every food source is a precious resource. They might devour the bones of the fallen Bayerzans, but... uh...?

Have we ever really seen demons eat the corpses of their own kind? Eating human corpses is probably like us eating cockroaches to demons... But would demons really eat the corpses of their own kind like the Romans?

Baron and Morin stared at each other strangely. After a moment, one of them shook his head and said that he had never actually seen a demon eat the corpses of its own people.

"Demons collect the corpses of their own kind and just leave them there... Perhaps sometimes they will do what we do and use corpses to make up for their own disadvantages... But ultimately, we... well, neither we nor demons would directly eat the corpses of our own kind, understand?"

"But the Romans are eating."

"So I... find it very strange. If it was due to a famine and they were forced to do it, that would be one thing... but what the elves just said is that they might have started eating human flesh during their attack? And even killed their own people to make 'corpse soldiers'? Isn't that a bit too far-fetched?"

"I think so too... but have you forgotten? Elves are a race that never lies... If you insist on saying there's anything they might be hiding, I find that even more terrifying?"

"You're right..."

Elves are a race that does not lie.

There was once a rumor about Bayer Gems that if you asked your fairy girlfriend how many times you reached climax last night, she would even give you the exact number of times you were hit and the time of each ascension—they disdain lying, so naturally, everything they say is the truth.

Elves don't lie, but they can hide things.

If you have an elven girlfriend, and one day you discover that another close elven woman has mysteriously disappeared, and you can't get an answer from your girlfriend either, then it's almost certain that your elven girlfriend's disappearance is closely related to your elven friend's...

They won't reveal what they want to hide, and since they can't lie... so in the end, it all boils down to an awkward silence.

...If the two Bayerns were to understand it, the fact that the elves began to "conceal" things actually meant that things were getting more and more serious... They wished that the elves hadn't concealed anything about the Romans—but was that really the case?

The Bayer employees were whispering amongst themselves. Then, someone started to say something, without anyone knowing:

"It seems that our holy city, St. Petersburg, has also been occupied by the Romans... Could it be that the remains of the soldiers who fought in St. Petersburg have been defiled?"

These words silenced the entire bar, leaving only the crackling of the firewood in the fireplace. The expressions of all the Bayern people turned serious and uneasy. They suddenly realized that in the hands of these Romans who didn't even spare their own people, the remains of those warriors who had perished beneath the holy city might also be dishonored.