Chapter 950: 142. Performer

Holy Light rose from the statue of the Goddess, but it did not fully ascend into the sky. Instead, like a fluffy mass of mist, it shrouded the vaulted ceiling carved with ornate reliefs.

All the candles and magic stones had been extinguished, but under the illumination of this holy light symbolizing the Goddess’s grace, the entire Ritual Hall was as warm and bright as a spring day, without the slightest trace of shadow.

Warmth, brightness, reassurance—these needs from the depths of the human soul were completely satisfied by that holy radiance alone. Anyone enveloped in the Holy Light felt a kind of inner peace and fulfillment.

“How comfortable.”

Muen raised his hand, also feeling that vast Holy Light.

“Even Holy Light, as the Goddess’s power, has been recreated this perfectly? Or... is this Holy Light not fake?”

Holy Light was no ordinary thing. It was a divine gift, and it was truly hard to imagine that something like this could also be recreated through magic.

But then...

For some reason, Muen thought of a certain disgrace among Evil Gods.

That being had previously succeeded in stealing a portion of Holy Light from the Church, then taken that Holy Light everywhere to stir up trouble. It could even be said that if many incidents had not had the help of Holy Light, that being’s destructive power would have plummeted by quite a lot.

A dignified Evil God actually had to rely on external objects to increase its ability to cause trouble... Sure enough, names could be given wrongly, but nicknames were never wrong.

No, that was not the point of thinking about this now.

Rather... from the Love God’s example, it could be seen that although Holy Light came from the Goddess’s grace, it did not seem to have any strict limitation where only those who had devout faith in the Goddess could use it.

Although there was indeed something called Holy Light affinity, in a certain sense... it was more like a resource, only controlled by the Church?

If that was the case, then the Salvation Society, founded on the basis of Church traitors, being able to mobilize Holy Light was not particularly surprising.

Muen looked back at the statue of the Goddess not far away. The noble, sacred Goddess had opened Her arms, looking down upon all living beings with compassion.

As expected of the Goddess. Was that breadth of heart also inherited in the same line?

“Speaking of breadth... why haven’t Liya and the others come out yet?”

Muen’s gaze swept over the surroundings. Aside from the clergy belonging to the Ritual Hall and the cathedral, many important figures in the royal capital had also come here. Among them were no few prominent Kingdom nobles, as well as high-ranking members of various forces.

Muen quickly ignored those people, because no matter how noble their usual status was, here and now, in Muen’s eyes, they were nothing more than useless NPCs.

What suddenly made his mood heavy was still Liya and the others.

According to the arrangements Muen knew, Liya should also have appeared at this time. Together with the Judgment Archbishop, she would serve as the reluctant fallback and backup plan for this operation—if Muen’s action failed, or rather, if he did not kill “Archbishop Ision” but only severely wounded him, then at that point the Judgment Archbishop would join the other Church powerhouses who had followed them here and launch an all-out attack against “Archbishop Ision.”

Even knowing that such a frontal assault would most likely cause some unknown negative effect on the “true royal capital” hidden behind the false appearance, under those circumstances, attacking would still be better than clearly knowing the “true royal capital” was about to step into destruction and doing nothing.

But even before he, the first plan, had time to begin, the backup plan had already dropped the ball first.

It was not only Liya. The Judgment Archbishop was nowhere to be seen either.

“Sure enough, things aren’t going as smoothly as imagined?”

Muen slightly distorted the light, making his gaze less conspicuous, while his eyes fixed straight on the old man in ornate priestly robes not far away.

“Archbishop Ision” had already donned an elaborately shaped cloak with the help of an attendant nun, and he held a sacrificial vessel shaped like an incense burner in both hands.

The old man’s gaze was calm, his expression gentle, as if he were walking through a quiet and peaceful evening.

And yet behind him, there seemed to be darkness and storm after sunset, drawing gradually closer.

“As expected of someone pushed out by the Salvation Society to carry out such an important task?”

Muen took a deep breath.

Liya and the others definitely would not be late for no reason, much less on such an important occasion. In other words, this “Archbishop Ision” must have noticed something, and... done something in advance.

He was absolutely not as calm and kindly as he appeared on the outside.

“It’s about to begin. Everyone, please prepare to take your places.”

The clergy member in charge of miscellaneous duties hurried past in front of Muen, pulling Muen’s attention back to the present.

After briefly calming himself, Muen’s azure eyes regained their resolve.

Yes. No matter what “Archbishop Ision” had done, with Liya and the Judgment Archbishop’s strength on their side, they should not be in danger for the time being.

This place was still the main stage.

And if he could still stand here, that meant his side had not been exposed yet.

The game was far from over.

Muen stepped forward and walked into the center of the “stage.”

Since the manpower had been drawn from the various major churches, there had naturally been no time for rehearsal. But the Church was experienced in this area and had assigned everyone’s position in advance. As long as they stood in their own spots, absolutely nothing would go wrong.

Muen’s position was right in the middle of the two rows.

Of course, such a convenient position was not because of luck, but the result of him having Bishop Kore operate behind the scenes.

Because next, during the singing of the sacred hymn, that “Archbishop Ision” would hold the special ritual vessel and walk through the formation, then go before the statue of the Goddess and offer Her devout prayer.

Praising the Goddess, thanking the Goddess, offering the Goddess one’s devout prayers and repentance—no matter what kind of event it was, for the Church, this was basically a mandatory step.

And at that moment, Muen would be standing in the most suitable place to strike.

Although he did not know how much it could increase the success rate, looking at it now, this idle move was indeed extremely necessary.

Any action that could increase the success rate by even the slightest margin was absolutely necessary.

“Still, setting aside where this story will go in the end, this high-ranking member of the Salvation Society who betrayed the Church is about to offer prayer and repentance to the Goddess. Thinking about that scene really is a little ironic.”

Muen tugged at the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile.

“Archbishop Ision” naturally could not hear that mockery, but amid Muen’s silent, mocking smile, he finally stepped... forward.

“Woo—”

The low horn sounded again, followed by the heavy pipe organ.

However, those musical sounds were only a prelude. Holy Light descended from the sky, turning into countless firefly-like points of light, decorating the entire hall of the Ritual Hall like an immaculate sanctuary from a story in scripture.

Muen restrained his expression, his peripheral vision sweeping to the side.

To be honest, reciting the sacred hymn was not as simple as he had previously imagined. Even if he had the Black Book to cheat, the posture, expression, and tone while reciting—every one of them was crucial.

If even the slightest thing was off, among this crowd of outstanding clergy, it would be easy for someone to notice the abnormality.

Fortunately...

“What I’m best at is controlling my body.”

His peripheral vision took in the posture of the person beside him. Muen controlled every tiny muscle in his body, making all his movements and bearing perfectly replicate the person next to him.

He even used the other person’s throat vibrations and mouth shape to imitate the tone without the slightest discrepancy.

Finally, Muen continuously pictured An in black stockings, an upperclasswoman in black stockings, Celicia in black stockings, Liya in black stockings, Ariel in black stockings... making himself display heartfelt praise and reverence.

Perfect.

Whether on the surface or in spirit, Muen felt that he had perfectly merged with the clergy around him.

Like a drop of water entering the ocean, a grain of sand falling into the desert, a tree planted in a forest. If someone could still discover something abnormal like this, then he would...

“Archbishop Ision,” who had just taken a few steps, suddenly glanced toward Muen.

“!”

Muen’s heart instantly clenched. The turn was so abrupt that his expression nearly collapsed, but fortunately, he stabilized it through his powerful control.

Had he been discovered?

No.

“Archbishop Ision” did not show any sign of having noticed anything abnormal. He only looked at Muen kindly, then nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a bit of praise and encouragement.

“...”

Damn it.

So he was following up on their meeting in the garden not long ago and encouraging this newcomer during his first “performance”?

Muen relaxed slightly, while his heart could not help beginning to greet this “Archbishop’s” closest relatives, if he had any.

At the same time, he expressed sincere admiration.

What fine acting.

Muen felt that his current performance had already reached perfection. Even the finest performer would only be able to sigh in inferiority before his performance, which went deep into every muscle.

But very obviously, this “Archbishop Ision” was on a level that had even surpassed Muen’s.

His performance was no longer purely on the level of physical control. Instead, every tiny detail, every thread of emotion revealed, was done without the slightest flaw.

It was as natural as mountain spring water or the splash of a waterfall.

A single look had raised the level of the performance by an unknowable amount.

What was professionalism?

This was professionalism.

And as Muen praised him inwardly, “Archbishop Ision” had already withdrawn his gaze and continued forward.

Muen focused completely. He did not dare expand his perception and only pushed every sense into its sharpest state. Although his eyes looked straight ahead, he could still clearly detect “Archbishop Ision’s” movements.

Tap, tap, tap...

One step, another step, then another.

The heavy, ornate cloak dragged behind him, and the ritual vessel in his hands radiated an intoxicating light.

With steady steps, “Archbishop Ision” brushed past Muen and finally arrived before the statue of the Goddess.

He presented the ritual vessel before the statue of the Goddess and filled it with Holy Light, making the entire Ritual Hall shine even more brilliantly. There was even an ethereal whisper, as if it came from the Goddess Herself, echoing within every line of the sacred hymn’s praise.

After doing this, “Archbishop Ision” clasped his hands together and slowly knelt before the statue of the Goddess.

“Supreme, most holy, most exalted Life Goddess above, I, Church Archbishop Ision, pray to You. I pray for the world’s serenity and peace. I pray for all evil to vanish and retreat...”

He began to pray.

Just as he had carried his performance through earlier, even while praying to the Goddess he loathed, he revealed not the slightest flaw.

And Muen finally seized this chance to quietly draw the godslaying sacred weapon hidden in his sleeve—

Absolution.