Episode 1153

Episode 1153

Ibinta was just as shocked, but his thoughts were a bit different.

‘This method… is actually producing results!’

Maybe if they were in the west, but they were still on the road to the north.

And yet, there was already this much effect. He could hardly believe it.

Just how traumatized must the criminals have been to spread rumors and share information to this extent?

However, Lee Han responded indifferently even to this miracle.

“How do I trust you?”

No matter that they claimed to be from Einrogard, with the criminals coming ready to give up everything in hopes of mercy, his reaction naturally aggravated them.

Mercenaries haunting the empire’s back alleys were not exactly known for patience.

But the mercenaries present today displayed the deep patience of docile sheep.

“In case you’d say such a thing, we’ve prepared confession potions ourselves. You can check the ingredients, and after drinking, we’ll testify immediately. There’s no deceit or tricks.”

“Hmph. You could have wiped your memories beforehand.”

“We’ve prepared for that, too. Will you look at this mirror? It’s a memory-verifying artifact we bought for a hefty price. If you look into it, you’ll see that none of our memories have been tampered with…”

The thorough battle of wits between desperate mercenaries trying to survive and a suspicious mage was tense indeed.

Giselle, watching from the side, was left speechless.

‘What is this, even?’

Sure, there were sometimes criminals who begged for mercy and surrendered, but never ones this thoroughly prepared.

If they had the ability to prepare this meticulously, couldn’t they have just taken regular jobs instead of crime?

“Sigh. I have no choice but to accept.”

And, surprisingly, the mercenaries had won.

Their desperation to survive drove them to victory.

Against an Einrogard mage at that!

-Are you really going to be okay with this?

“I have a time constraint, so I can’t waste it on purpose. If the information is accurate, I’ll take it.”

“You’ve made the right decision!”

The mercenaries clapped with the happiest faces in the empire. Watching them, Ibinta thought to himself.

‘I suppose I’m lucky to not be as bad off as they are.’

It was a miserable feeling, knowing that this was the extent of what merciless mercenaries could do.

---

A priest with a thorned pattern engraved on his forehead gave a blessing to the crowd in the alley.

“Pray, everyone. Pray to the great immortal regenerator. Pray for boundless vitality and perfect flesh.”

“Ooh…”

“Oh, great god of life.”

Recently, rumors had spread through the back alleys about a powerful priest who could heal any injury.

From refugees drifting in after western disasters to the waves of monsters erupting across the north—

No matter how powerful the empire’s infrastructure, there were always the neglected and the wounded.

And it was those people who were most moved by the doctrines of evil god worshippers.

The priest with the thorned pattern waved his empty eyes and arm to signal the end of today’s meeting.

“What? That’s it?”

The remaining anti-magicists revealed themselves in the back.

After their affiliated faction collapsed in an accident, they had wandered until they happened to encounter a priest of Phrakhgal.

Evil god worshippers sounded unsavory, but a few shrewd and skilled villains actually knew how to use evil god worshippers to their advantage.

Call them insane madmen, but as long as they had faith, you could always exploit that.

These anti-magicist remnants possessed the knowledge and information about such things.

When they expressed their interest in Phrakhgal to the priest with the thorned pattern, he allowed them lodging without a word.

“That’s it.”

“We’ve gathered people like this? Isn’t there more we can do with them? I saw a servant from a noble house in there. We could approach a noble house, or swallow up a merchant company…”

These stragglers were short on supplies and money.

Whether they abandoned anti-magicism and started a new gang or reformed a new organization to contact others, they needed gold coins.

“Hm…”

The priest with the thorned pattern closed his eyes.

It was as if he were speaking to his god.

“Not yet.”

“……”

Dissatisfaction crept over the anti-magicists’ faces.

They were bold enough to try using an evil god worshipper, so they knew a fair bit about the structure of faiths, too.

The gods weren’t so delicate as to issue orders left and right. If a priest claimed to have heard the god’s voice, odds were it was just what the priest wanted to believe.

“Tsk.”

“This is why madmen…”

The anti-magicists withdrew for now. But their eyes were already shining with malice.

It was a kind of threat. If you keep ignoring their requests, you never know what price you’ll pay.

After everyone had left, the priest with the thorned pattern was alone.

The priest stuck his arm deep into his own mouth—a posture normally impossible, but his body bent as if it were boneless.

Like a snake eating its own tail, his body twisted bizarrely, and a dimensional fissure opened inside.

Report.

Amazingly, the person on the other side was the sect’s bishop!

The infinitely many dimensions adjacent to the material plane could serve as aid and secrets for wizards but also as hiding places for criminals.

Those who committed grave crimes on the continent would either flee overseas or conceal themselves in this fashion.

These sub-dimensions, accessed by using the worshippers’ own bodies as keys, were difficult places even for most mages to detect.

The contorted priest opened his mouth.

“I have acted as you said. The number of worshippers is increasing.”

And those remnants?

“I have not seen even a fragment of faith in them.”

That’s to be expected.

The bishop, “the Undying One,” was now barely even human in form.

It was a being as if a giant snake’s head and limbs had been attached to a body and then bloated—wriggling and lost in thought.

The role of bishop in an upright sect of the empire, and bishop in an evil god worshipper cult, were leagues apart.

In continental cults, the bishop’s name was bestowed for administrative and honorary reasons due to size, but in evil god cults, only monsters who’d proven their ability could sit in that seat.

If the one above you didn’t seem reliable or devout, you’d eat them and take the seat yourself; that was the rule among evil god worshippers.

The few bishops in the cult were the very core that kept the evil god worshippers going, and each strove to surpass themselves by union with the evil god.

Recently, the “scavenger” lot have shown themselves again. After being wiped out once, they’ve gotten reckless, acting without thought. It’s foolish, but doesn’t it serve as a lesson?

“Scavenger” was what other evil god worshippers called the Sangvilos cult to mock them.

From the bishop’s perspective, this revived cult wouldn’t last long.

With most of the strong fighters gone, now that they dared to lift their heads, whoever was leading those scavengers wouldn’t escape impending doom by ordinary means.

“Do you want me to devour them?”

No. Now is not the time. We lost too much—focus on recovery. Increase the flock, increase the faith. Power must double from now. No need to bother with them.

“I understand.”

Thinking of the resources lost to another cult bishop’s reckless actions still made the Undying One seethe with anger.

With deep patience, the Undying One breathed out toxic breath. For evil god worshippers, the whole world was an enemy.

Subordinates and even other bishops were just rivals.

Did you feed the remnants the parasite?

“Yes.”

Then it’s time to begin.

The anti-magicist remnants were laboring under a misconception.

The only reason they could use the evil god worshipper was because the evil god worshipper hadn’t taken any interest in them.

The moment an evil god worshipper took an interest, their fate was bound to be cursed.

The priest with the thorned pattern had already secretly fed them a parasite of authority.

This parasite would greatly boost its master’s vitality, but at the same time scatter a terrible curse in every direction.

Before long, the stragglers would become walking plague-bearers, and people would come to rely on the god of life.

“I have one more thing to report.”

What is it?

“Recently, the number of those seeking these scavenger bastards has greatly increased. Rumor is that even a few powerful mages are after them.”

Foolish. It’s no surprise. Don’t worry. As long as things are controlled, they’ll serve as arrow fodder.

The Undying One was not greatly concerned.

Even among evil god worshippers, the differences between cults were immense.

When the Sangvilos cult showed themselves, it always was a bloody sacrifice spectacle; when Phrakhgal showed themselves, the empire’s citizens would hide them.

Even if someone put a tail on them, at most it’d be those idiots who got caught.

---

“The evil thieves! Taking over the highway and levying tolls at will. I will not tolerate this!”

“It’s us mages who repair the highways—how dare you collect money?!”

Thanks to criminals who reported anything even slightly suspicious, Lee Han’s group made rapid progress.

After defeating bandit gangs hiding near the roads and capturing human traffickers who’d fled from the south, the White Tiger Tower students felt truly proud.

“Wardanaz! Thanks for the support. If it hadn’t been for your magic—wait, why is Wardanaz like that?”

“Maybe it’s because none of the ones we caught were evil god worshippers.”

“Well, I mean… It’s not like evil god worshippers show up that often. Aren’t they like rare mage cards or something?”

“The analogy’s a bit insulting, but it’s not far off.”

Petty criminals aside, evil god worshippers weren’t easy to find.

Of course, just because something made sense didn’t mean you felt any better. Lee Han prodded the fallen bandits with a sullen face.

“Student Lee Han. Student Lee Han.”

“Yes?”

Called by Professor Garcia, Lee Han stopped poking the fallen bandits with his staff.

The bandits, who’d been playing dead, sighed in relief. The mage who’d just been shooting magic like a madman acting like this—he was downright terrifying.

“There’s word of a plague in Marheim City, and from what I’ve heard it seems to be a curse-type plague.”

“Did someone trigger some ancient ruins?”

“I’m not sure… Anyway, it’d be good to prepare in advance. I was going to make some potions—would you help?”

“I’ll help, too, Professor.”

Catten said, eyes sparkling. Professor Garcia answered in a fluster.

“Ah, Catten! That bandit over there is untying his ropes and about to attack the juniors!”

“???!”

The bandit, who had been writhing in pain, froze in terror.

It was an utterly unexpected accusation.

“Lee Han?”

When Lee Han suddenly fell silent in thought, Professor Garcia asked anxiously.

Normally, whenever this student fell into deep thought, he was up to something weird…

“Professor, may I share an idea?”

“Of course! Did you have a suggestion for the potion?”

Professor Garcia had no doubts about her pupil’s alchemical prowess.

After all, they were both the types who had taken every class.

“If we’re going to distribute potions to people, why not just let me end things quickly with Fall magic and absorb it all at once?”

“…Professor! Professor!! Could you come here for a moment?!”

Professor Garcia swiftly called Professor Kirmin.

She wasn’t confident she could persuade this student by herself.