Siegfried immediately rushed to the communications room as soon as he received Michele’s report to contact Saintess Janette at the headquarters of the Continent Religious Council. “What is happening?” he asked. Saintess Janette was about to answer but hesitated, wearing a puzzled look. — Why... are you dressed like that? “Ah, w-well... s-so what happened was...” Siegfried stammered in response as he explained what had happened to him recently. — Oh, I see... So something like that happened... — May the gods bless Your Majesty...” “Thank you. But more importantly, what is the situation right now?” — The five great powers, Corinth, Adrianople, Zimbir, Hadashite, and Byblos, have all simultaneously declared religious reformation. Saintess Janette’s response made Siegfried furrow his brow. “A religious reformation...?” — Yes. They officially declared all existing religious orders to be heretics. Now, they are promoting Monotheism, a monotheistic faith that worships the Creator. “Won't there be strong resistance, though?” Siegfried had a point. Even if these great powers were trying to enforce a new religion, it was questionable whether the people would readily accept it so easily. The people of the continent had been believing in their traditional religions for centuries, so abandoning them overnight was not easy. — Yes, resistance is growing. But... it seems they have already accounted for that. — They have begun to publicly torture and execute clergy members and devout believers from the existing religious orders. Their goal is to deny the very existence of the gods through public persecution. “Well, that makes sense in theory... but I saw it firsthand during the incident back with Neptune’s religious order. Miracles do exist. — You are absolutely right. The gods do exist. But... — The Monotheism Church has angels. “What?! The angels?!” Siegfried exclaimed, his eyes widened in shock. — Yes, Your Majesty. The angels are openly performing miracles to bolster the power and legitimacy of the Monotheism Church. “So they’re just shamelessly siding with them now?” — It is indeed a clever move. Unlike the demons, who already have a negative reputation among the populace... “Angels are seen as benevolent creatures and symbolize goodness, right? And they only existed in myths... until now.” “They got us good this time.” Siegfried had to admit that the angels made a very smart counterattack. Just a few days ago, he successfully disrupted the divine power being secretly funneled to the angels through the Praystones in the temples, statues, and holy relics of various religious orders. But now, the angels were using the five kings of the great powers, who were high-ranking members of the Illuminati, to openly secure divine power on a national scale. ‘They’re like a damn Hydra... Even if one head gets cut off, another takes its place...’ Siegfried felt as if the angels and the Illuminati were as stubborn as a Hydra, judging by how they had been adapting to the situation. “Now that they’ve publicly aligned themselves with the great powers, dealing with them just got a whole lot more complicated...” — Yes, Your Majesty. And also...” “I assume the Illuminati have infiltrated the clergy as well. No matter what we do, information will inevitably leak. Saintess Janette’s expression darkened. — I am not sure what to do. At this rate, the existing religious orders will lose what little influence they have left. “Ugh...” Siegfried groaned out of frustration. The Illuminati had spent tens of thousands of years meticulously preparing for this exact moment ever since the Holy War ended. They were not an enemy that could be defeated easily. “For now... We should focus on rescuing the high-ranking clergy members who have been captured,” Siegfried said. — Yes, Your Majesty. I was about to request your help on the matter. Saintess Janette looked relieved, as if she had been waiting for him to say that. — We can't save everyone, but... will you help rescue the clergy members who are being persecuted? At that moment, a quest notification popped up before Siegfried’s eyes. [Holy Rescue Operation] [Rescue the high-ranking clergy members imprisoned across various nations.] [Reward: 5,000 gold per clergy member saved (Rewards will increase the higher their ranks are!)] [Warning: This quest is extremely dangerous. Do not get greedy during the mission!] “Of course,” Siegfried said, immediately accepting the quest. [Alert: You have accepted the Quest — Holy Rescue Operation!] There was no reason to refuse, as this was a gold mine of a quest that paid five thousand gold per person rescued. — Then, we leave it in Your Majesty’s capable hands. Siegfried ended the communication with Saintess Janette and immediately got to work. He wasted no time and set off at once. Siegfried had accepted the Holy Rescue Operation without any hesitation, but that did not mean it was an easy task. Infiltrating the heart of a great power’s capital city to rescue the clergy members was no simple mission. Entering the tiger’s den was one thing, but he was practically diving headfirst straight into its jaws. For him to have any chance of completing this mission, he would need a meticulously detailed plan, starting from infiltration to escape. However, the escape was the real challenge. Getting in was one thing, but safely extracting the clergy members and making it all the way back to the Proatine Kingdom was a whole different story. In the end, Siegfried had no choice but to seek Gerog once again. “I need to ask for your help again.” “I’ll gladly help if it’s you asking for—hm? But before that, what’s with that pink bodysuit?” “It’s... well... the thing you warned me about happened,” Siegfried said with an awkward smile before proceeding to explain his predicament. “Hmm... As expected, my prediction was correct,” Gerog said with a nod. “But still... It's quite impressive.” “Your body is truly extraordinary. Is it because your master personally modified it? To think you could withstand Inkarthus’ heart... Had it been an ordinary human, they would’ve caused a massive radiation explosion and died.” “As expected, your master is truly omnipotent.” “Well, yes. I agree.” “Anyway, what did you come to ask me this time?” “I need your assistance once more,” Siegfried proceeded to explain his plan in detail. “So, you want me to open a warp gate frequency to ensure a safe escape?” “That’s hardly difficult. Disrupting the warp gate frequencies of humans is a simple task.” “As expected of you, Elder! Other than my master, you’re the closest thing to an omnipotent being!” “Bwahaha! Now we’re talking!” Gerog let out a hearty laugh, pleased by Siegfried’s praise. ‘Got you hook, line, and sinker! Hehehe!’ Siegfried smirked inwardly. He knew all too well that dragons were weak to flattery, which was why he made sure to flatter the Dragon Lord whenever possible. Of course, Gerog was the most powerful creature in the world, second only to Deus, which meant that Siegfried’s praises weren't mere flattery. “This is nothing for me! Bwahahaha!” “I’m in a good mood today! Let me give you a special artifact!” Gerog reached into his inventory and pulled out something that resembled a door handle before handing it over to Siegfried. [Inzaghi’s Door Handle] [A legendary artifact created by the Great Explorer, Inzaghi, in his twilight years.] [This artifact can be installed on any door to create a small warp gate with the assistance of Dragon Lord Gerog.] [The warp gate created with the assistance of the Dragon Lord will override any warp gate frequency created by human mages.] [It requires five minutes to set up a warp gate.] [Type: Magical Artifact] [Durability: Infinite] [Warning: Due to the small size of the warp gate, it is unsuitable for transporting large armies.] “Oooh!” Siegfried exclaimed, his eyes lighting up after examining the artifact. “Kwahaha! What do you think? Do you like it?” “Like it? I love it! Thank you very much, Elder!” “Bwahaha! I’m glad you’re pleased!” “This is nothing. I hope it proves useful to you.” “It absolutely will!” Siegfried replied with a bow. Then, he flashed a grin while still bowing and thought, ‘Yeah, this is more than enough.’ Now that he had this overpowered artifact, he had no worries about escaping. Thus, all that was left was to carry out the mission. At the same time, after parting ways with Metatron, Chaos joined Shakiro and Michael in search of Michael's wings scattered across the continent. Chaos also wanted to visit the Demon Realm, as it had been so long since he was last there, but Metatron advised against it. Metatron had no choice but to return due to his personal matters, but he still felt very bad that he had to leave in the middle of the search for Michael’s wings. “You must remain and carry out the mission His Majesty has entrusted to us, Chaos. One person leaving due to personal circumstances is already one too many.” “As you command, my lord. I will stay behind and see things through.” Thus, Metatron chose to return to the Demon Realm alone, leaving Chaos behind. ‘I just hope nothing happened to His Majesty, Lord Vernas...’ Chaos thought anxiously. With that thought weighing on him, Chaos tossed some firewood into the dying campfire and poked at it to rekindle the dying flames. “Chaos,” said Shakiro as he emerged from his tent. “Is something the matter, Sir Shakiro?” Chaos asked, tilting his head. Shakiro had woken up two hours earlier than his shift for the watch. “Are you unable to sleep, sir?” Shakiro shook his head and replied, “No. Something is approaching us, fast.” “Pardon me? What do you mean—?” “That way,” Shakiro gestured behind Chaos. Then, he added, “Someone is being pursued. And they’re headed straight for us.” “You can hear that...?” “Not hearing it would be more unusual. They’re very loud.” “We may be forced to fight,” Shakiro said, summoning his radiant aura blades. He had reached a level where he no longer needed physical weapons, as he could simply manifest whatever weapon he required using his aura. “It is quite noisy out here,” Michael said, emerging from his tent. ‘A-Am I the only one who didn’t notice anything?!’ Chaos cried out inwardly. He couldn’t help but feel utterly useless. However, that was not the case at all, as it was simply that Shakiro and Michael possessed supernatural senses that were beyond ordinary. “They’re coming,” Shakiro warned. As soon as he said those words— Someone jumped out from the bushes and crashed into the camp. “W-Wait! Stop! Don’t strike, sir!” Chaos urgently shouted after recognizing the figure. Shakiro, who had been moments away from delivering a lethal blow, halted his attack. Well, he did not have to attack, as the figure on the ground looked completely exhausted. Chaos exclaimed and rushed to the side of the figure on the ground. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be a demon, too. However, she was in terrible condition, as she was badly wounded and looked completely exhausted. “Do you know her?” Shakiro asked. “Yes, sir. She is one of His Majesty’s royal guards, and she serves him personally.” “But why is Lady Anastasia here—” “Leave no one alive!” A group of demons came charging out of the bushes, rushing straight toward Shakiro and the others.