Chapter Sixteen: Chaos and Belief
“In summary, the followers of demons burn their own bl**d, not to gain the power of Flame Order, but rather to obtain the far scarier Sin Fire. For them, the more bl**d they shed, the stronger they become. What you saw today was merely the entry-level riffraff. I’ve tangoed with high-level members of the Gate of Truth. The temperature of their bl**d… once it ignites, it can easily melt steel. Getting close is almost impossible. If you encounter them again next time, remember, no sharp weapons; use your Frost Order for a quick resolution.”
“Uh-huh.”
I nodded obediently, but inside I was thinking, “Why would I want to fight these crazies? That’s a matter for the Holy Church, not my problem.”
I’m an atheist, after all.
“Things got strange tonight. Why are these heretics involved in selling Lotus Seed Grass? We can’t figure that out yet. But, well, let those guys in the Underground Prison handle the interrogations. We can’t afford to be soft-hearted with those from the Gate of Truth.”
“Underground Prison? Is it scary?”
I recall Carlos using that to spook me before.
“Yeah. For enemies, it’s what nightmares are made of. There’s no need to know more; just understand it’s good for scaring people.”
Honestly, I didn’t need him to spill the beans. I had heard of medieval torture devices in my previous world, and I bet their methods here weren’t far off either.
Indeed, while the Holy Church publicly parades as a savior of the people, behind closed doors, they don’t hesitate to resort to these dark tactics.
Suddenly, a question popped into my mind.
“Do you believe in deities?”
“Me?” Carlos reclined comfortably in his chair, yawning widely as he sleepily remarked, “I only believe in myself.”
I widened my eyes at that.
After all that blabbing about how he despises heretics, turns out he’s an atheist too?
“Surprised?”
I nodded dazedly.
“What’s there to be surprised about? Have you ever seen me use any power of faith?” Carlos looked at me as if I had two heads. “Do you think everyone just blindly follows the Church’s narrative? No way. Let me tell you, most Pope Knights don’t have any power of faith because they have their own beliefs.”
Carlos paused for effect before continuing.
“Even though we don’t believe in deities, that doesn’t mean we think they don’t exist. They do exist—no doubt about that. The blessings they give humanity are real. But… that doesn’t mean they are the ‘real’ gods. Do you get what I’m saying?”
I gently shook my head.
What does he mean by not being real gods? What else could they be?
From what I know, the closer a believer is to the god within the Church, the stronger the power of faith bestowed upon them. Some high-ranking believers, like the four Cardinals who are just below the Pope and a few Archbishops, can wield such power that they can take on Pope Knights just with their faith.
Like that Golden Bell that could restrict my movements, that’s a serious divine miracle. Carlos told me that the old robe guy was a high-ranking Archbishop from Silgaya, and his grip on the power of faith is among the best. If he weren’t so old, I probably would have been defeated even quicker.
Moreover, unlike the Power of Order, divine miracles can do more than just battle; they can heal, bless, and buff you with all those support skills, too!
All these abilities are borrowed from the deities. But if the deities aren’t ‘gods’… then what about the miracles created by the power of faith?
“What’s the power of faith, the divine miracle?”
“The grace given to humanity by the gods.”
I rolled my eyes at that; it was as good as saying nothing at all.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I barely understood the Power of Order!
“Forget it if you don’t understand.” Carlos had already shut his eyes, looking like he wanted nothing more than to sleep, happily relieved to avoid the conversation. “Many questions, I don’t fully understand them either, so you don’t need to stress. You’ll figure things out when the time comes… No more talking; I’m sleepy.”
…Ugh.
I pouted a bit.
I hate it when people tease you with interesting tidbits but never give you the answers!
Staring at Carlos, who seemed to have dozed off, I suddenly felt a wave of irritation rising in me. I raised my small palm and, with a “smack,” slapped his face.
“Caterina, you owe me for the pie!”
Carlos jolted awake, staring at me in shock.
“…You know, I actually admire you a bit. You’ve called me so many different names, not once repeating, and now a girl’s name pops out—you’re a naming genius!” He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. “By the way, that pie was something I gave you; you dropped it yourself and now have the gall to ask me to compensate you?”
“I don’t care.”
I tilted my head back stubbornly.
I was going to boil you into soup; but now I’ve changed my mind. If you have any good snacks, I might just let you off the hook, and you should be thanking me!
“Ugh, seriously.” Carlos scratched his unruly white hair in annoyance. “I remember I was teaching you properly; how did we go off course? Tsk, kids are really hard to manage.”
“You’re the kid!” I glared at him fuming.
“How long have you been born? You are just a kid, aren’t you? Alright, alright, no need to get violent; here, take this.”
Carlos flashed me a look of unwillingness to argue, but then magically pulled out a deflated little bundle from his shirt.
I snatched it up joyfully, quickly tearing it open to find pastries inside.
Is this guy like a treasure bag? Some kind of Doraemon?
“They might be a bit crumbled from earlier activities, but hey, it’s better than plain bread.”
“Why do you have…”
“Wondering why I brought these?” Before I could finish, Carlos rolled over, lazily saying, “Why do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t think.”
And with that, he fell silent, and before long, steady breathing filled the air.
Outside, the snow had stopped, and I could occasionally hear melodic chirping.
The night in the Valen Empire is bright.
Silver-white moonlight bathed the ground, illuminating the whole world brilliantly.
I quietly munched on my midnight snack in the war chariot.
Even if it was a bit crumbly, the pastries still tasted sweet.
…………
The next few days went unexpectedly smoothly.
I expected mercantile issues would arise again, but whether it was due to an awareness of Carlos’s status or a complete absence of heretics, the merchants behaved suspiciously well.
Even the Captain of Knights intentionally relaxed security, showing weaknesses to flush out potential heretics, but no one took the bait.
This puzzled Carlos, but he didn’t push further.
As he said, it’s better to let the Underground Prison deal with these guys.
In the days leading up to Winter City, we deliberately circled around a barren wasteland.
That desolate land was just a few kilometers from Winter City—no hills, no trees, as if it had been painted with black ink. A glance revealed endless aridity, a void so vast that even birds wouldn’t dare fly over.
“This is the Abyss battlefield from two years ago, known as the Valen Catastrophe.”
As he uttered those words, Carlos’s expression was complex, his eyes holding meanings I couldn’t decipher.
“Five Pope Knights, only three survived in the end. Little Shay, did you know I was one of them?”
I was slightly taken aback; it was the first time I heard him mention this.
“Back then… we really risked our lives. Among the surviving three, Duke Skarlick lost an arm; another suffered severe injuries, unable to pick up a weapon again. In the end, I was the luckiest one.”
It’s hard to imagine someone as strong as Carlos would use the word ‘survival.’ After all, when he fought me, it was just him and an Archbishop, and I was already struggling.
What kind of horrifying existence did Carlos and the others face two years ago?
But I won’t back down.
“When we were in Silgaya, we let our guard down. At that time, to capture you, the Church deployed all defenses dozens of kilometers away in the big town; no one expected the Abyss would reappear in the same place. So now, do you understand what you did in that little village means for all of Silgaya?”
I nodded at him.
If I hadn’t killed the Endless Abyss back then, Silgaya would have faced utter catastrophe.
I gained a new understanding of the chaotic power of the Abyss. The strength of the Black Smoke was truly terrifying, but… what if I could learn to use it effectively?
There’s something I didn’t tell Carlos.
When I defeated the Endless Abyss, in the moment before I lost consciousness, a surge of crimson hot energy flowed into my body. Ever since, I’ve been gaining a better handle on the Black Smoke, and I had been secretly testing a theory until I finally pieced it together the other day.
An Abyss can devour another Abyss.
As long as I k*ll the opponent, I could claim their powers. In other words, I now have the ability to make the Black Smoke mimic, essentially creating units that can act independently.
The reason the Endless Abyss twisted itself into those bizarre shapes was merely because it was mimicking what it saw—the villagers—which it had no understanding of.
I, however, am different. As long as I can master this power, theoretically, I could create any living form I can imagine.
Of course, how exactly to do that still needs further exploration.
As of now, these powers can’t be exposed to outsiders.
They must remain my little secret.
…………
Days later, we finally reached Winter City.
