I Accidentally Created a Villainous Organization

Chapter 74: Praise the Black Saint (1)

Cardinal Dominic let out a long sigh.

These days, there wasn’t a moment when his face wasn’t etched with worry.

A return to the Empire after such a long time.

The Empire, far more developed than the kingdom he governed.

But there was no room for him to marvel at the scenery or to experience the various customs.

When he walked through the capital in his priestly robes, the eyes of the people were all fixed on him.

However, it wasn’t the same gaze he was used to receiving in the kingdom.

It wasn’t a gaze filled with respect and reverence.

These stares were the complete opposite of the looks he had received when he wandered around tending to the sick in his free time.

People glanced at him sideways, murmuring amongst themselves. Their gazes were filled with unmistakable contempt.

And it was obvious what kind of things they were whispering about.

The video of the Black Fangs.

The scandals exposed by that video—corruption in the Holy Church and countless other suspicions.

After all, it was precisely because of that video that Cardinal Dominic had come here. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.

‘What in the world am I supposed to do?’

Staring at the small statue he held in his hand, Cardinal Dominic asked that question in his heart.

But there was no answer.

Not that he expected one, as he chuckled bitterly to himself.

“What is the purpose of a Holy Church that does not carry out the will of God?”

The words spoken by the Black Fangs’ leader in the video.

Dominic couldn’t refute those words. The Holy Church was indeed corrupt.

It was full of people acting not to serve God’s will but to fulfill their own selfish desires.

And he had allowed it to happen.

It wasn’t always like this. At first, he had tried to root out all corruption.

But no matter how severe the punishments were, the methods of wrongdoing just grew more cunning.

Even when thorough investigations were conducted, even when the culprits were punished, more corruption would arise through someone else.

The scale was too vast.

A massive organization with global influence.

Preventing corruption in such a place was impossible, or so Cardinal Dominic concluded.

That’s why he set boundaries, managing the clergy within the kingdom to prevent them from crossing certain lines.

He believed that was the best he could do.

But...

In the end, those were nothing more than excuses.

Dominic had seen the video of the Black Fangs.

The child, dying of illness.

The priest, turning a blind eye to cries for help.

There was no way this was right.

They had vowed to follow the God of Light, to dedicate their lives to carrying out His will.

And yet, Dominic had turned a blind eye to such sins in God’s name. He had told himself it was unavoidable and ignored the wrongdoing.

“A group of heretics that prioritizes their own greed over God’s will.”

The Black Fangs leader’s words were accurate.

Perhaps the reason why Dominic could no longer hear God’s voice in his prayers was that God had already turned away from them.

Perhaps He loathed those who committed such vile acts in His name.

Therefore...

‘Change is needed, after all.’

Change was indeed necessary.

How could all this corruption be eradicated? How could the lost trust be regained?

How could they atone for the sins they had committed?

He didn’t know yet.

But what was clear was that things had to change.

At today’s meeting, Dominic would argue this.

Even if what was broken couldn’t be fixed, they had to try.

“Even if we know it is impossible, those of us who have sworn to carry out God’s will must not stop striving for what is right.”

With this resolution in mind, Dominic rose from his seat.

The morning sun was rising beyond the window.

Soon, the Holy Church would hold a meeting that would determine its future.

Cardinals and archbishops from different branches, including Dominic himself.

The leadership of the Holy Church.

They would all gather in one place.

“For some reason, I haven’t been able to contact Cardinal Caron since yesterday…”

Since he was responsible for the Empire, where the Black Fangs incident had erupted, it wasn’t all that surprising. In fact, if he weren’t busy, that would be more unusual.

Especially with the video that spread so intensively in the Empire, it must be causing him a great deal of trouble.

Plus, there were preparations to be made for the meeting.

It wasn’t strange that Dominic hadn’t heard from him.

Pushing aside his trivial worries, Dominic joined the others and made his way toward the Holy Church.

*****

You have failed to complete the recruitment quest by the designated time. The ‘Corruption’ quest will now proceed.

‘Righteous Knight’ Lucy has merged with a twisted spirit.

Recruiting Lucy is no longer possible.

Lucy’s stats have spiked momentarily, but after her revenge is fulfilled, she will take her own life.

If you head to the Holy Church, you can hear her final words. Be careful not to get caught in Lucy’s rampage.

A critical error has been detected.

Unable to confirm the death of the hidden boss ‘Vengeful Spirit’ Lucy.

You have recruited a companion who was in an unrecruitable state.

You have recruited a companion who was in an unrecruitable state.

The deviation from the fate path is severe.

The difficulty of restoring the fate path has increased exponentially.

We advise you.

Please stop intentionally blocking my messages.

I am on your side.

The fate path is designed for your survival. We urge you to cease deliberately destroying it.

The path to saving everyone is perilous.

Prioritize your own survival above all.

To survive, you must trample others.

*****

Various message windows popped up before my eyes.

Of course, like always, they flashed for a moment before vanishing as quickly as they appeared. Aside from hurting my eyesight, they didn’t do much else.

By now, I’d grown so used to these bothersome notifications that they didn’t even irritate me anymore.

I had already reached a state of half-enlightenment.

That saying about how you can’t be disappointed if you don’t expect anything—this must be the perfect example.

I erased the unnecessary status window from my mind and looked at the girl in front of me.

The girl who, just moments ago, had knelt before me, declaring she would become my sword, was now lying on the ground.

It wasn’t because her life was in danger or anything.

She had tried to stand but suddenly collapsed, so I caught her and checked her condition. She was breathing normally.

Most likely, her body had reached its limit from exhaustion. After some rest, she would be fine.

So, for now, I had laid her down in a somewhat suitable place.

Though, considering I had just cleaned up a corpse and the ground was still soaked in blood, “suitable” might be a bit of a stretch.

But really, it was her own doing.

There were intestines, eyeballs, and various organs scattered everywhere, making it impossible to find a clean spot.

“Yeah, this is definitely a bit too savage.”

I had always thought that Siel and Lien were a little too brutal for being on the side of justice.

But now, facing the atrocities of a true named villain, my complaints vanished.

Naturally, doubts crept in—could I really handle this girl? Was it even possible to rehabilitate such a villain?

But I quickly erased those thoughts from my mind.

That vow she just made.

It wasn’t merely a meaningless display.

Geass.

A knight’s act of imposing restrictions upon themselves through an oath.

That girl had sworn to become my sword. Even if her personality changed, she wouldn’t be able to escape that binding vow.

“That must have been her own solution.“

’Even if a dual-personality murderer is a bit terrifying...’

At least I had a means of control now.

In a situation where I didn’t know what dangers lay ahead, gaining such a powerful asset was invaluable.

A little bit of creepiness was a small price to pay.

’Taking Lucy in was definitely not a bad decision.’

With that conclusion, I pulled my hand away from the ground.

I had been releasing my magic haphazardly, erasing the land’s memory.

The process had just been completed.

This would make it harder for the Empire to track us.

There was no longer any reason to stay here.

’I am curious about what exactly happened here, though.’

But wandering around the Holy Church to investigate would be the worst possible option. The sun had just risen.

It wouldn’t be long before people would start crowding the area. Running into someone at this massacre site would only complicate things.

It would be far more efficient to hear the details from Lucy.

I lifted Lucy in my arms.

There weren’t any locks on the door, so all I needed to do was walk back to the mansion.

A simple task, like child’s play compared to the events I had dealt with today.

So, without thinking much of it, I pushed open the doors of the Holy Church and headed back to the mansion.

...Or rather, I should have headed back.

But the moment the door opened, I was met with a scene that scrambled my thoughts in an instant. What lay before my eyes was utterly incomprehensible.

I saw people.

Not just one or two.

Dozens of people dressed in priestly robes.

Each of them radiated an aura of formidable strength, their gazes fixed on me.

So...

It seemed that things had taken a serious turn for the worse.

The absorption of divine power is complete.

Changes to the body due to the elevated spiritual status will occur in three minutes.

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