I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 – The King of Mischief (1)



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Demus was bewildered by the unexpected word. Did these Blasphemia scum know about the Divine Cult?

No. They might have had an inkling that there was an organization representing various cults, including the Pope.

But knowing of its existence and knowing its specific name were vastly different.

The existence of the Divine Cult was the greatest secret among the followers of the gods. Even those officially ordained as priests couldn't know its name unless they had proven their reliability.

How did this man know?

'That's not the only issue…'

He claimed to possess a relic of Phoibos. How did a relic end up in Blasphemia's hands, and why did it choose this man?

In his confusion, Orthes spoke.

"It's your own decision, then."

"Hmph, you're making assumptions. I won't believe it unless you show me the relic."

"That's a simple matter. Right now—"

Suddenly, Orthes stopped moving. Was it a ruse for a surprise attack?

But it felt off for an ambush. Several seconds passed, yet no attack came. Demus watched Orthes with his fist raised.

***

Ah.

I gave it to Carisia.

I didn't panic. Improvising like this was second nature to me. So…

"I had a premonition that I shouldn't show you the relic."

"Playing the prophet? Hah. Either way, whether it's your own decision or not, it's a 50-50 guess. Just because you got lucky with your guess doesn't mean—"

"If it were the decision of the Divine Cult, you would be doing everything possible to win. You are a priest of Enyalius, the war god. But isn't there another war god?"

The priest was speechless. The gods' stories were not deeply covered in the original narrative. However, I had knowledge accumulated from ransacking Blasphemia's branch.

According to Blasphemia's investigation, there were typically two deities referred to as war gods. One symbolized the most primal aspect of war, violence, Enyalius. The other symbolized the wisdom of sophisticated warfare, strategy, Glaucus.

If the Divine Cult truly sought victory, they would send the two forces that dominate war. They would dispatch both Glaucus, the god of strategy, and Enyalius, the god of violence.

"But I don't see the priest of Glaucus. Are you ready to listen to me now?"

***

Demus felt his mind becoming increasingly confused. For an outsider to know the name 'Divine Cult' was earth-shattering.

On top of that, to know the Cult's modus operandi so well?

'Is this truly a foresight from Phoibos' relic? But a relic choosing a Blasphemia agent?'

As he pondered, Orthes spoke again.

"I am known by many names."

The man still wore a smile as he murmured.

"I have many names, but here, it's best to introduce myself as the 'Enemy of the Ten Towers.'"

"Blasphemia, the enemy of the Ten Towers? That's absurd nonsense!"

"They do call me Blasphemia, but that's not my real name."

His eyes gleamed ominously like a snake, nodding as if signaling an ambush.

No. Around us, there were only himself, the man, and the hostage girl.

Then it happened. The hostage girl slowly raised her left index finger. At its tip, a purple force gathered. A hint of grape scent brushed past Demus' nose.

"Of Bacchus…!"

"That's enough. If you continue, the Ten Towers might catch on."

The grape scent flowing from the hostage girl's finger dissipated. So…

"This little girl is a priest of Bacchus?"

'I heard the Bacchus Cult disappeared recently. Wasn't it supposed to be Blasphemia's doing?!'

Demus looked back at the man. His eyes were strangely narrowed, giving the impression of seeing both the future and the present simultaneously—a prophet's eerie quirk?

"…No. I have seen the High Priest of Phoibos. You were not among them."

"Priests of Phoibos see different futures. If the future the High Priest sees differs from mine, it's up to the priest to decide which to believe."

"Who are you?"

"Just call me the Enemy of the Ten Towers, for now. Just like you."

Having seen the cooperation with the girl wielding Bacchus' divine power, he couldn't easily dismiss the man's words. Demus speculated on the man's identity from the clues presented.

The Enemy of the Ten Towers, and in addition,

'The Prophet of Phoibos…!'

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Demus spoke as calmly as possible.

"Lastly, I have one more question. Why is the Enemy of the Ten Towers acting under Blasphemia's identity?"

"Who persecutes and kills cult members the most?"

"Of course, Blasphemia."

"Even if I wander around warning cults of future dangers, some will inevitably be caught off guard. But if I control Blasphemia from within, giving false information and subtly guiding their actions?"

He could save more lives. Demus, though frowning, nodded.

"It makes sense…"

"Then let's get to the main point."

Clap. The Prophet of Phoibos clapped his hands together.

***

Whew. It worked.

Thank goodness I texted Kine to follow me. Always good to have a plan B.

"Oh, let the child go. You know she's not an enemy."

"I'm not like Blasphemia. I don't have a hobby of killing kids just because I said so."

The priest of Enyalius grumbled but released Kine.

"First, let's address your biggest question. Where are the kidnapped cult members?"

I pointed to the ruins.

"That is your answer."

"What?"

"If you snuck into Elysion amidst the chaos, you must have heard the broadcast by those who call themselves 'Argyrion.'"

"Yes. But what do they have to do with this? The tracking and capture of our cult's hideout were clearly Blasphemia's work."

"Because Argyrion's leadership are Blasphemia agents who have become Eroders."

The priest's face hardened. To him, Argyrion must have seemed like an ally of sorts—enemies of the Ten Towers, just like him. He might not fully trust them but saw them as having a common enemy.

But if they were originally Blasphemia, there was no room for negotiation. They weren't the enemy of the enemy but just another enemy.

I could roughly guess what had happened to the cult members.

Carisia had previously deduced that the Silver Thread inserted into Sikton's brain was a 'rehearsal for a terrorist attack on Elysion.'

So why did Argyrion choose the Cult of the Vanished Gods as their test subjects?

The reason was simple.

They were the group least likely to draw suspicion if kidnapped and killed.

If Argyrion had kidnapped people from any city, it would have inevitably drawn attention. The magic towers overseeing each region would have started tracking them, making it difficult for Argyrion to handle.

But the Cult of the Vanished Gods?

Blasphemia's job was to capture and kill them. The disappearance of a few groups of superstition followers would cause joy, not suspicion.

They were the group with the least risk of causing a backlash when kidnapped.

Just as they had tested the Silver Thread on Sikton, choosing the cult members as the first hosts to infiltrate Elysion was a logical move.

I summarized my deduction as concisely as possible.

"Argyrion is a group of Eroders with the knowledge and tactics of Blasphemia. The easiest group to secure hosts for this Silver Thread terror was the cult."

The priest, whose face had been full of red anger, turned pale.

"The kidnapped people!"

"The terror has already been executed. Most of them have likely been expended."

Thud. The priest's legs gave out, and he collapsed.

"Ugh, aaaargh!"

The priest's scream echoed. Pressing a person suffering like this was painful, but we didn't have time to waste.

"Listen carefully. I will tell you what you need to do next."

"My brother! My brother!"

"If you remain in despair, you will continue to lose people in the future."

***

Demus raised his head. Orthes was standing against the sunlight, looking at him.

In his mind, the god Phoibos, the far-seeing and highest god, emerged. Phoibos was also the sun god.

The sun masked his face, leaving only his blue eyes gleaming in the shadow. From within the backlight, the Prophet of Phoibos spoke.

"Argyrion will be your enemy. With their evil research to open the extra-dimensional gate, the Bacchus cult was annihilated, and this child was the only one I could save."

"It's a danger that threatens all cults allied with the Divine Cult. So, priest of Enyalius. Do not succumb to despair. Stand up, do not cover your eyes with your hands, but clench your fists."

Gritting his teeth, Demus staggered to his feet.

"What should I do?"

"I know what Argyrion plans to do next. Relay this to the Divine Cult."

***

Argyrion intends to use this terror to buy time to hide their base. Hence, not all Silver Thread hosts can be caught here.

Conveniently, Elysion has a magical locomotive station connected to the world.

"At the end of this terror, they will announce that they have spread Silver Thread hosts worldwide."

"How? Blasphemia agents are already moving throughout Elysion, tracking the Eroders. You know their capabilities better than anyone."

"The magical locomotive. Before they even announced the terror, they would have already placed hosts among the passengers. Telling this to the Ten Towers will force them to allocate manpower to track the hosts. Argyrion will gain time to regroup."

"…!"

"The one advantage terrorists have over the Ten Towers is that they can choose the timing of their attack. Even before the terror began, their true objective was already achieved. They merely added more terror to create a more shocking presentation."

That was the conclusion I reached after thinking about why they staged such a grand terror.

The Argyrion executive dispatched to Elysion was essentially a sacrificial pawn, and the true goal was to stage a grand debut to deflect the Ten Towers' pursuit.

"The Divine Cult can become a variable in this fight. They can either tip the scales in the search for Argyrion's base or, even if it means sacrificing their followers, boost Argyrion's strength to create a stalemate with the Ten Towers."

"Sacrifice our followers? Do you think that will be allowed?"

"You may not allow it, but what about the will of the Divine Cult?"

The priest of Enyalius fell silent.

That was enough. I scribbled an email address on a piece of paper and handed it to the priest.

"If the Divine Cult's consensus is to destroy Argyrion, contact me. This email address belongs to Blasphemia agent L13. It's one of the names I go by."

***

After the priest of Enyalius took the note from Orthes and left, Kine asked in a trembling voice.

"A-Are you really a prophet of Phoibos?"

He had predicted the fall of the Bacchus Cult and seemed to know in advance what Argyrion, this monstrous organization, would do.

From the moment he brought her along to persuade the priest of Enyalius until now, everything moved according to Orthes' plan.

Such an eerily accurate foresight. Could even the High Priest of the Phoibos Cult manage that?

Hearing Kine's question, Orthes rubbed his temple.

"Kine."

"…Yes?"

"If you're that naive, you'll get deceived by bad adults in the future. Let's go see the boss."

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