“Are you truly a member of the Illuminati?” Oscar asked once again. “I will swear that I am... indeed a member of the Illuminati! Eh? What?!” Arete, a cardinal of the Church of Wisdom, clamped his mouth shut after answering truthfully. Siegfried stepped forward and grinned. “So you were the rat? An Illuminati rat, eh?” “W-What? N-No! I’m not an Illuminati rat!” “N-No! W-What is this sorcery?!” Arete’s face twisted in sheer panic, as he kept speaking the truth against his will. “Damn it! Glory to the One True God!” Then, he made a grand declaration before biting down on his tongue in an attempt to take his own life. His poison was confiscated when he was captured and bound, so this was his last resort. Unfortunately, suicide was not something he could achieve so easily without the poison. Siegfried darted forward and kicked Arete’s jaw. Arete winced in agony and collapsed to the ground. “Hey, listen, buddy,” Siegfried grabbed the cardinal by the hair, lifted his head, and snarled. Then, he grinned and said, “You don’t get to die without my permission.” “If I tell you to live, you live. If I tell you to die, you die.” As he spoke, Siegfried placed his hand on Arete’s head and began injecting radioactive microbes into him. “G-Guuh...! Krrrghhh!” Arete’s eyes rolled back as he violently convulsed before his body fell limp. About ten seconds later... Arete knelt before Siegfried, paying respect to him like a slave greeting their master. He was now completely under Siegfried’s influence after being turned into a Radioactive Ghoul. He would now spill everything he knew of his own accord, even without being compelled by the Sword of Truth: Fragarach. “You are a member of the Illuminati, correct?” “Tell me everything about the Illuminati.” “Mmph! Mmphhh! Nghhh!” A few of the other high-ranking clergy members, who had remained silent until now, suddenly lunged at Arete. Despite being bound and gagged, they struggled against their restraints in a bid to silence the cardinal. “Oh? So you’re all rats, too?” Siegfried said with an amused smile. There was no reason for them to react so strongly unless they were members of the Illuminati, too, right? After all, the existence of the Illuminati was not something ordinary clergy members would know of. “They’re all rats as well. Hold them separately, but make sure to keep an eye on them. Those bastards might off themselves.” Leaving the others for later, Siegfried resumed interrogating Arete. “I’ll ask again. What exactly is the Illuminati?” he asked. “The Illuminati is an organization dedicated to bringing down those who dared to betray the Creator. The organization is working in close cooperation with the angels.” “How many of you are there?” “The organization operates in a cell structure, so I do not know the exact number. While I do know of a few members, there are many hidden. “Then who leads the Illuminati?” “It is led by rulers of various nations on....” “...the continent. Several monarchs are high-ranking members of the Illuminati.” “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “And the Church of Healing, which serves the God of Medicine, Hippocrates, is one of the Illuminati’s largest factions.” “What?! The Church of Healing?!” Siegfried exclaimed, his eyes widened in shock. The Church of Healing was one of the most influential religious orders on the continent that boasted an enormous number of followers. It was all because all humans would undoubtedly suffer illnesses. From newborn infants to the elderly on their deathbeds, no one with a mortal body could escape diseases. Thus, the Church of Healing was the largest religious order on the continent. “The Church of Healing is in the Seneca Kingdom, right?” “Yes, master. It is the state religion of the Seneca Kingdom.” “Hmm... The Seneca Kingdom is a powerful nation... and their king can be quite annoying, too...” Siegfried muttered. As one of the great powers, the Seneca Kingdom was ruled by King Romanson, a highly conservative figure. He wouldn't have qualms about refusing to cooperate with even the mighty Marchioni Empire, and he had always refused to acknowledge Siegfried as a legitimate ruler. Needless to say, he would never allow Siegfried to enter his kingdom. “I guess that makes things much more difficult to deal with...” Siegfried grumbled after realizing that gaining cooperation might be difficult. Then, he shrugged and said, “Well, that’s a problem for later. For now, tell me everything you know about the Illuminati.” “As you command, Master.” Thus, Arete began to reveal every last secret he knew about the secretive organization. After interrogating Cardinal Arete and the other rats, Siegfried managed to extract the following information from them... 1. When recruiting members, the Illuminati targets children under the age of seven. Their loyalty is beyond imagination, as they have been indoctrinated from an early age. Their devotion to the Illuminati surpasses even those who were raised with unwavering faith since birth. 2. The Illuminati’s high-ranking executives are scattered throughout the continent. Among them are individuals who wield unfathomable power. 3. These high-ranking members are part of what is known as the Black Cross Order, but their identities remain shrouded in mystery. “Tsk... These guys are seriously twisted,” Siegfried grumbled and clicked his tongue in disgust. The fact that the Illuminati mainly targeted children for recruitment made perfect sense. It was finally clear why their members were so loyal, and it was undoubtedly a despicable and twisted method. According to Cardinal Arete's testimony, many Illuminati members had been part of the organization for generations. In other words, their families had passed down their belief in the Creator while secretly orchestrating the world’s destruction to their children. The Illuminati was an ancient secret society that existed for tens of thousands of years, and they had embedded themselves deep within every layer of society. In other words, they were not just in religious orders; they were throughout the entire continent. ‘I guess I’ll have to start with the Church of Healing,’ Siegfried decided. His first move would be to dismantle the Church of Healing, which was the Illuminati’s most powerful faction. After capturing the high priest of the church, he would interrogate him to uncover how the angels managed to descend into this world. The best way to resolve this crisis would be to identify and eliminate the route that allowed the angels to appear on the continent. “For now... We should request cooperation from the Seneca Kingdom,” Siegfried said to his comrades. With that, he immediately moved to the communication room and contacted King Romanson. — Oh? To what do I owe the pleasure of the mighty King Siegfried van Proa to personally reach out to this old man? King Romanson was infamous for being a staunch conservative monarch, and it was evident from the way he greeted Siegfried. His greeting dripped with sarcasm, openly displaying his clear disapproval of Siegfried. His feelings toward Siegfried were obvious from his tone of voice. ‘Oh? Is he thinking that I dared to reach out to him just because I was crowned king? Is that it?’ Siegfried found the king’s attitude annoying. However, he decided to remain diplomatic, as the situation was quite urgent. “Hello, King Romanson. I greet you with my utmost respect,” Siegfried greeted with a courteous bow. “I am reaching out today to humbly request your assistance.” — Ha! What could someone as favored by Emperor Stuttgart possibly need from an old man like me? If something is troubling you, won't it be easier to just go cry to the emperor for a quick handout? “That is not the case, Your Majesty. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart, just favors me a little bit.” “King Romanson. I have an important request, and I hope that you will hear me out at least.” – Hmph! Speak, then. I suppose listening to you won’t cost me anything. “Actually...” Siegfried proceeded to explain the situation to the king. He explained that the Illuminati, the secret organization plotting to destroy the world by summoning the angels, had deeply infiltrated the Church of Healing, the state religion of the Seneca Kingdom. And if left unchecked, the consequences would be catastrophic beyond imagination. “I request that you may kindly grant us access to the Church of Healing so that we can resolve this matter before it becomes—” — Hold it right there, King Siegfried. Are you seriously asking for permission to raid our national religion’s main temple based on your ridiculous claim? “No, that is not what I meant—” — Did you seriously call me to spout such nonsense? “Your Majesty must understand that this matter is of utmost importance to the–” – I am already extremely busy preparing for the upcoming religious ceremony, yet you come to me spouting this nonsense? “Religious ceremony...?” — It will be the fiftieth anniversary since we declared the Church of Healing as our kingdom’s state religion, and we are currently preparing for it. — I don’t know what you’re scheming, but if you wish to play your petty tricks, do it elsewhere. I am not interested in your nonsense. King Romanson shot Siegfried with a cold glare that carried a silent threat. —I see that there’s a reason people say you’re the last person in the world to be trusted. — Your reputation as a hero is well-known across the continent, but you are equally infamous for betraying those who trust you. — If you dare to bring this up again, I will consider it an act of diplomatic provocation. Do not test my patience, King Siegfried. And I suggest that you heed my advice. “Y-Your Majesty, King Roman—” — This conversation is over. Without skipping a beat, King Romanson abruptly terminated the call. He used Siegfried’s ultimate technique of one-sidedly cutting off communications first, beating him at his own game. “That damn old geezer...!” Siegfried growled and gnashed his teeth. He immediately tried calling the Seneca Kingdom again. It was all because he wanted to hang up first, as an act of petty revenge. — The number you have dialed is currently not available. Please leave a message after the beep. You will be charged additional gold for using the... King Romanson completely ignored Siegfried’s attempt to call. He was clearly set on shutting his eyes and ears to whatever Siegfried had to say. After returning to the Proatine Kingdom, Siegfried immediately looked into the upcoming religious ceremony of the Church of Healing to be hosted in the Seneca Kingdom. And what he found was— “What the hell...? Why is this celebration so grand...?” He was stunned upon receiving the report. The scale of the religious ceremony was so immense that altars were being built across the entire capital of the mighty Seneca Kingdom. A ceremony of this level was no longer just a grand event. It was on par with the festivals hosted by the Marchioni Empire. No, it was beyond that. It was so excessive that it would, without a doubt, deal a blow to the Seneca Kingdom’s finances despite them being a great power. “They’re spending this much... just because it’s the fiftieth anniversary?” Siegfried muttered in disbelief. Even if it was a celebration dedicated to their state religion, pouring this much money into it was not only wasteful—it was outright insane. “Kyuuu! This is fishy, owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed. “What do you mean by that?” “No way humans would spend this much on a religious event! Kyuuu!” “I guess you have a point?” “What if that’s actually some sort of ritual to summon the angels into this world?! Kyuuu?!” Just then, a chill shot down Siegfried’s spine, and he felt as if he had been struck in the back of his head with a hammer. Hamchi’s suspicion made perfect sense. The Illuminati had been using people’s faith in some way to aid the angels in descending into the world. ‘Are they gathering divine power through this ceremony... to open a gate connecting this world and the Celestial Realm?’ Siegfried deduced. The sheer scale of this religious ceremony was arguably the largest and grandest, making it unprecedented in the history of the continent. Based on the scale of this event, they could make use of it to open a gate connecting the two realms.