This Bishop... who exactly is she?
Why did she suddenly switch sides at such a critical mont?
And... why did she ask about the “Judicator” promotion?
She acted as if she knew well, as if we had t many tis before.
Have I encountered her sowhere?
Uris’s mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation.
But she knew her thoughts wouldn’t change anything. No matter how she analyzed it, the fact remained that she was powerless against the Bishop before her.
“You... are indeed telling the truth.”
After a mont of hesitation, Uris spoke. “Have we t before?”
“We have. In my dreams.”
Ciel replied, “You’ve helped quite a lot.”
Dreams?
Helped her quite a lot?
At this point, Uris gave up trying to understand.
She realized she couldn’t read the other person’s emotions at all. According to her senses, the Bishop hadn’t lied once.
So, what was happening now?
She claid she wanted to help... could she be trusted?
“High Priest Uris, did I just complete the ‘Judicator’ ritual? The ritual instructions you gave were a bit abstract. How exactly is ‘heretic’ defined?”
Ciel only had about two hours left in the simulation. She asked directly, hoping to gather as much information as possible in the limited ti.
During her previous interactions with Uris, Uris had always been in a position of authority. Ciel had to struggle to gain her trust or disguise herself as a “Saintess” to earn their support.
Now, the tables had turned. Ciel was the one in the position of power, holding their lives in her hands.
Under these circumstances, Ciel hoped to extract more intelligence, whether about the Church of the Savior Goddess or the Divine Advent Church.
Ciel’s words also gave Uris a clue.
The ritual we gave?
Generally, the Church of the Savior Goddess did not share its potions and rituals externally, especially not from the Inquisition. It was highly unlikely they would leak the ritual for the “Avenger” path.
This path, centered on killing to stop killing, contradicted most of the church’s doctrines.
So, when the Divine Advent Bishop ntioned that the path was provided by the Church of the Savior Goddess, one na imdiately ca to Uris’s mind.
Avena.
Recently, only she had managed to exchange intelligence about an extrely dangerous sealed artifact for a set of potions and rituals from the Church of the Savior Goddess.
That sealed artifact was buried beneath the Clock Tower Church. If detonated, it would deal a devastating blow to the church’s image and credibility, potentially destroying years of effort in Berren City.
The believers were not fanatical zealots; the church didn’t use coercive thods to retain its followers. A crisis of faith could easily lead them to switch allegiance to another, “safer” orthodox church.
Avena had obtained the potion and ritual through this crucial intelligence. But now, it seed this set had fallen into the hands of the cult Bishop before her.
“You should be familiar with how the Inquisition operates,” Uris said cautiously. “For mbers of the Inquisition, hunting down people like you—whether killing or judging—is considered part of the Reconstitution Ritual.”
The Inquisition?
I have no idea!
Ciel felt ntally exhausted but couldn’t show it. She rely nodded as if she understood perfectly.
“The Inquisition is a double-edged sword for the church,” Uris continued, facing Ciel. “Because the definition of ‘judgnt’ isn’t limited to ‘heretics,’ ‘Judicators’ can easily go to extres.”
“Especially since ‘Judicators’ ascend from the already extre ‘Avengers,’ making each of them an uncontrollable individual. This situation is almost impossible to resolve before reaching the third tier.”
“Specifically, criminals, traitors, murderers, and the like can beco targets for judgnt.”
Hearing this, Ciel began to understand.
The “Avenger” path wasn’t exclusive to the church. The “judgnt” aspect wasn’t solely directed at religious heretics.
“You ntioned the specific targets,” Ciel inquired, “what about the abstract ones?”
As she asked, Ciel already had a vague idea of the answer, but she wanted confirmation from Uris.
“My understanding is ‘conviction’.”
Uris paused briefly before continuing. “Whether it’s the ‘Ascetic’ path or its opposite, the ‘Avenger’ path, the core driving force behind their Reconstitution Rituals is ‘conviction’.”
Ciel nodded slightly.
Abstract indeed.
But she could grasp the concept to so extent.
Having been an ‘Avenger,’ she knew the whispers in her mind, the burning anger in her chest, and the emptiness that followed after completing her revenge.
She could use a simple analogy.
Imagine soone who becos an “Avenger” after suffering greatly or witnessing their family being brutally murdered. Once the ritual is complete and revenge is exacted, the conviction—the hatred—remains.
If that person joins the church, they might channel their vengeance and hatred into religious doctrine, ruthlessly hunting down heretics and purging any within the church who blasphe.
But if they don’t join the church, they might project their vengeance onto the entire category of people who wronged them—criminals, for example—using that hatred to sustain the fire within, transforming revenge into a core belief.
To make a comparison, if a character like Rorschach from her previous life drank the “Avenger” and “Judicator” potions, he would likely digest them instantly.
Ciel now understood why the Church of the Savior Goddess strictly controlled the “Avenger” path potions.
It could create an angel fiercely dedicated to justice, or, under the potion’s influence, it could forge a demon with extremist ideologies.
Conviction...
Ciel thought of Hugh, the “Radiance Bishop.”
In her third-tier role-playing, she strived to embody the church’s ideals, acting dispassionately based solely on doctrine—a manifestation of conviction shaped by the church’s frawork.
Ciel felt she had gained a new understanding of the third tiers of these two paths. She could also vaguely sense her own conviction.
Initially, her revenge was driven by a desire for a peaceful life, one that included her sister.
Thomas and Solari’s sches shattered that peace, inviting vengeance. Anyone else who threatened her peaceful life could be considered a heretic in the eyes of “Avenger” Ciel.
And Kitty, a second-tier threat aiming to destroy her peaceful life, was clearly the target she needed to judge.
To be safe, if she could use the “Avenger” save file in the next simulation to judge and kill Kitty again, Ciel would likely complete all the requirents for the “Judicator” Reconstitution Ritual—since she had already killed the other cultists.
Uris remained silent, allowing Ciel to process her thoughts. Just then, a knock ca from the door.
Knock, knock, knock—
Ciel turned and saw Adele standing in the doorway. Her hood had fallen back during the earlier exertion, revealing her silver-white hair and the scarred corner of her mouth.
“Find a place to sit, Adele,” Ciel said.
Ciel had already removed her mask, so Adele wouldn’t be affected.
“Yes, Your Excellency, Bishop.”
Adele nodded obediently and walked over to sit beside Uris, leaning against her sister.
She had only been brainwashed into a cultist; she hadn’t lost her mories. Her actions were simply prioritized according to the Divine Advent Church’s perceived interests.
Feeling her sister beside her, Uris relaxed slightly, her trust in Ciel growing a little.
“High Priest Uris, I have a curious question.”
Ciel looked at Uris. “Avena told that mbers of the Divine Advent Church cannot attack each other. But why didn’t Adele face any resistance when I ordered her to kill Kitty?”
Ciel hadn’t found it strange that she herself could kill the cultists and injure Kitty—she still wore the “Sacrificial Saint’s Relic,” which absorbed the mark’s effects.
But Adele being able to bypass the mark and kill Kitty, who also bore the mark, puzzled Ciel.
Hearing Ciel’s question, Uris, holding Adele’s hand, looked slightly stunned.
...Are you the Divine Advent Bishop or am I?
And ‘Avena told ’... since when did a Divine Advent Bishop need soone outside the church circles to explain church secrets?
“You... don’t know?” Uris asked uncertainly.
“I don’t know,” Ciel answered honestly.
Still... no lies detected...
“Are you really a mber of the Divine Advent Church?” Uris finally couldn’t help but ask.
“No, I infiltrated secretly,” Ciel remained truthful.
Infiltrated secretly and reached the rank of Bishop... and took out the cult priestess I just fought a grueling battle against with a single shot...
Uris instantly felt a surge of respect for the person before her.
Confirming that the other party wasn’t actually a cultist, Uris finally relaxed sowhat.
Ciel didn’t waste the remaining ti.
As a High Priest of the Church of the Savior Goddess, who had been fighting the Divine Advent Church openly and covertly for years, Uris certainly knew far more about them than Avena or Sherlon could have discovered on their own.
From Uris, Ciel learned a dark secret about the Divine Advent Church.
The issue of the Divine Advent mark.
The mark did indeed allow mbers to recognize each other without speaking, aiding secrecy.
However, the Divine Advent Church greatly exaggerated the mark’s effects in their propaganda to lower-ranking cultists, claiming that bearers of the mark could not harm one another.
One obvious reason was to maintain stability and cohesion.
Brainwashed cultists were loyal to “Sadhana,” but not necessarily to each other. The psychological suggestion associated with the mark, encouraging unity and referring to each other as brothers and sisters, helped foster solidarity.
A more important reason was to conceal another truth.
The mark did have the effect of preventing attacks on another mark holder.
But that tangible mark was only held by Bishops and above.
In other words, the full effect of the mark was: unable to attack mbers holding a higher-level Bishop mark.
“Then how does one obtain this Bishop mark?” Ciel asked curiously.
“It’s only circulated internally among them. Unless you kill a Bishop-level figure and take their mark, you can’t use it,” Uris shook her head. “Because it requires you to possess the brainwashing mark yourself; the two must combine to activate the Bishop mark.”
Isn’t that perfect?
“Gambler” Ciel was brainwashed and believed in “Sadhana.”
“Does the Church of the Savior Goddess have any of these Bishop marks in its collection?” Ciel pressed.
As mortal enemies who had fought for so long, they must have inflicted casualties on each other. The Church of the Savior Goddess likely had so marks stored as spoils of war.
“I don’t know about that,” Uris shook her head. “I’m only a High Priest; I haven’t reached the Bishop level yet. This is also my first encounter with mbers of the Divine Advent Church.”
“Oh.” Ciel nodded, slightly disappointed.
Suddenly, Ciel thought of sothing else. She looked at Uris and asked, “High Priest Uris, is there any hope for Adele in her current state?”
Hearing her na, Adele looked up at Ciel in confusion, unsure what she ant. After a mont’s hesitation, she said, “These injuries... I can heal them myself, Your Excellency, Bishop.”
The air went still for a mont. Not just Ciel, but even Uris fell silent.
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