The sacred power, two levels higher than Hilde's, swept through the area.
The ultimate pure light caused the life forms to wither down to their roots.
Everyone turned around, their faces bright with joy.
"Ayleth!"
"Sister!"
"Big sister!"
Ayleth, her face stern, took a step toward the group.
With each more forceful step, the sprouts of the demon plant that were wriggling to rise once again were crushed underfoot.
"Just hold on. Terry went to take care of the source, it will be over soon."
"What's the source?"
"Hey, sister, what's going on right now?"
In response to Iphail and Hilde’s questions, Ayleth answered all at once.
"The apocalyptic vision of chaos has emerged in the world. The demons under its command are taking over the churches across the continent."
The dungeon burst, which occurred with the liberation of Demon Lord Abixinis, was unlike any they had experienced before.
Normally, the dungeon's master would emerge with the entire territory through a single gate, but Abixinis escaped in person and used his apostles to occupy the major human strongholds.
It was far more efficient and destructive.
She could send her apostles to every church in the world.
Therefore, it had the same effect as triggering simultaneous dungeon bursts across the continent.
"This demon plant is proof that the demon apostle has infiltrated our church as well. From its energy, it seems to be at the archbishop level from the Chaos Evil sect... Terry will deal with it soon enough."
At that moment, the demonic plant, which had been greedily absorbing the earth's spiritual energy and growing, suddenly fell quiet.
Soon, Tesilid, shaking off his holy sword, was coming toward them from the direction of the chapel.
"I’ve dealt with it."
The matter of slaying a demon apostle at the archbishop level—essentially a demon from the second-tier ranks of the demon realm—was casually conveyed.
Hilde, Ash, Iphail, and Hestio, exhausted from dealing with the demon plants, collapsed on the ground to catch their breath.
Meanwhile, Tesilid drew closer to Ayleth.
"Ai."
"Yeah, Terry."
The exchange of calls between the two sounded heavier and more subdued than usual.
Even for a transmigrator who had seen the end of the world and a reincarnator who knew nearly everything about the world, the current situation was incredibly grave.
The two of them stood side by side, their gazes fixed on the night sky filled with thousands of stars.
"It looks like it's starting."
It was the moment Ayleth exhaled the breath she had been holding in.
[ Warning. The final war of the Demon Lords, ‘Armageddon’, has begun.]
[ Warning. Demon apostles are attacking the churches across the Serentra continent.]
[ If the demon apostles occupy more than 66.66% of the Serentra continent, the 'True Form of Chaos Evil' will descend upon the human realm. Current invasion rate: 7.19%] The system informed her of the situation.
The final chapter of the original story had begun. As always, the progress was faster than expected.
Ayleth, barely managing to suppress the trembling in her voice, spoke.
"I can't believe the last Demon Lord, Abixinis, is already appearing."
"Probably, Reed must have had a hand in Carpeios."
Tesilid lowered his eyes.
For him, Carpeios was someone with whom old grudges could never be avoided.
For Reed, who shared the ninety-nine cycles, it was the same.
Soon after, Ayleth and Tesilid’s gods delivered a mission worthy of the current crisis on the surface.
[ ‘The Mission of the Papal Inquisition, Final Stage (Difficulty: G)’
Stop Armageddon.
Success reward: Termination of Tesilid Arzent’s Reincarnation
Failure penalty: Destruction of the world]
The difficulty, the conditions for success, the rewards, and the failure penalty—none of these were light for her.
A deep breath circulated the air in her lungs.
"Terry."
A soft call.
Ayleth spoke in a voice that only Tesilid could hear.
"You said it, right? Reed’s goal is to summon a demon king and establish a new god in this world."
"Yeah."
"Then I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Did Reed start Armageddon knowing about the existence of the Papal Inquisitor?"
"...."
It was a question related to him, yet not entirely.
Tesilid, after a long pause, opened his mouth.
"No."
It was a hopeful answer. Ayleth didn’t hide the light in her eyes and immediately moved to the second question.
"Then, can I persuade Reed?"
The answer came swiftly.
"No."
His voice was so cold it shattered any hope.
However, after hearing the reason, Ayleth couldn’t hold any resentment toward Tesilid.
He confessed his own bottom line.
"Because you don’t exist in the hundredth cycle."
The ultimate mastermind, Reed.
He had no motivation to love this world.
After Abixinis took control of the Holy Office, the Grand Cathedral was remodeled to suit her tastes.
The pure white columns and floor of marble were replaced with black obsidian, emitting demonic energy, and the holy art on the walls and ceiling was overlaid with sacrilegious paintings.
What used to feel like a sacred altar turned into a throne room for a ruler.
Currently, Pope Benedict was bowing his head at the base of the high platform.
Beside him, in the same posture, was a middle-aged man crouching in submission.
He was Count Nowzen, the newly appointed Tower Master, having accepted Reed’s bow.
Pope Benedict Deloard.
Tower Master, Gast Nowzen.
Both were servants of Reed in the human realm.
Thanks to their puppet-like usefulness, they were able to keep their lives and remain in these positions.
Tap, tap.
A barefoot girl passed by them, kneeling much closer to the front.
Despite lowering herself to the level of a humble servant, her presence was unmistakable and unyielding.
Her identity was Chaos Evil’s apocalyptic vision, Abixinis.
However, even her grandeur was nothing compared to the figure seated above her, high on the distant platform.
A bizarre throne, seemingly made of a piled-up pipe organ.
A man sat there, exuding a sense of pressure that made one feel like they had to ask permission to breathe or even have a heartbeat.
He gazed down at the platform below with eyes as red as the twilight of the world.
"Honored Chaos Evil."
Abixinis respectfully reported.
"Out of the 6,666 demon apostles sent ahead, 6,665 have successfully occupied the target sites. Using these as footholds, we will march forward with an additional 60,000 apostles."
"Strategy?"
"I have engraved your words in my soul and mind without missing a single syllable. As instructed, we will occupy key geographical points and lead this grand scheme to an overwhelming victory."
"Don’t forget. The area of the continent is 66.67%. There is nothing else to worry about besides occupying the territory."
"I will remember, I will remember, my lord."
"Go."
"Yes."
Abixinis walked with a lazy pace, leaving the Grand Cathedral.
The only ones left were the two humans serving him.
Reed called one of their names.
"Benedict, Pope."
The call served as permission to straighten up and raise his head.
As Benedict lifted his gaze, Reed’s right hand reached into the void and pulled something out.
A long pole with a white flag attached.
It was the holy artifact for constructing the sanctuary.
"Move the surviving humans after the end to the last bastion. The place... Mount Elthio would be good."
A brief look of regret flashed across Reed’s eyes.
He had hoped to decide on the last bastion with Ayleth, but it had failed. A truly regrettable situation.
Thus, the location was decided on a whim, without much thought.
If the demon king, elevated to Chaos Evil, were to escape into the human realm, who knew what disaster it would bring?
Still, a disaster like a great flood would be easier to stop.
Since Mount Elthio was the highest point on the Serentra continent.
At that moment, Count Nowzen, who had been itching to shift to a more comfortable position, saw his chance.
He interjected, his forehead pressed against the ground.
"Exiled one of the regressed world, are you assigning such an important role to the Pope?"
"At the time of the world's end, is there any being more suited to win the hearts of humans than the religious leader?"
"Forgive me, but the Order’s prestige is hardly what it used to be."
The Tower Master’s sarcastic remark and the Pope’s shoulders stiffened in response.
Reed's gaze darkened as he pieced together some unclear information.
He withdrew his force from Nowzen’s body, and out of mercy, Nowzen offered up a confession before Reed even asked.
The information Reed, newly arrived in the human realm, was hearing for the first time.
"The Holy Bible has separated from the Order."
"...."
"Ah, I mean, they’ve created an entirely new religion. With the Swordmaster."
"...."
Though Reed, who had accumulated wisdom and knowledge on par with the Bible, couldn’t immediately grasp what Nowzen had just said.
Benedict, more familiar with religious terms, elaborated.
"The Holy Bible and the Swordmaster are heretics."
"...."
At that moment, the handsome man on the throne became like an immovable statue.
The air around him froze and stopped.
The demons in the stained glass, statues, and ceiling paintings, once part of the sacred artwork, trembled and curled up in fear.
The immense presence of this being caused even the environment to hold its breath.
However, the two humans didn’t notice the change in the atmosphere in time. They dared to argue before Chaos Evil.
"Hey, Pope Benedict. It’s just that we're serving other gods. Why do you have to call us heretics and cast us out?"
"The only god of this world is ‘Strict Order and Goodness.’ Any act of elevating another being to godhood is idolatry and heresy."
"Well, we used Divine Descent and opened the temple of the gods—doesn’t that prove the power of the gods?"
"That is not proof of divine power but proof of heresy. The existence of the temple itself denies the one true god."
"No, the idea of a single god was just something your sect came up with. If the observed phenomena are wrong, shouldn’t we correct the theory?"
"Tower Master, that is simply the belief of a magician. What matters to the clergy is faith. And faith, by nature, allows no compromise. Above all, do not forget that the phenomena you observed were created by the Creator."
Magicians and clergy were not a good match.
Just as the argument was about to escalate.
The floor beneath the Tower Master and the Pope shook. They flinched, but there was no real tremor.
Now, it became clear—it was Reed’s shadow.
The shadow, having grown large enough to cover the entire Grand Cathedral, represented the emotional state hidden within his indifferent shell.
