Humans seeking out dungeons themselves, and on top of that, they dream of the Master’s advent.
The warlocks before her piqued her curiosity.
Celia greeted them with a smile.
“Well, you’ve had a long journey. Shall we have a talk first?”
Sharia felt relieved as Celia welcomed them.
Even if they served an evil god, they were still its apostles.
She had worried they might be driven out or killed if things went wrong, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.
“Thank you for your hospitality! First Apostle of the Great One!”
Sharia gasped for breath and immediately knelt. Her eyes flickered with excitement for a moment, but then they became reverent as she bowed her head.
As the leader of Eclipse knelt, Lucas beside her quickly lowered himself as well.
“First Apostle?”
Celia tilted her head at Sharia’s words about being the first apostle.
“Yes, as you are the one who serves the Great One closely, I determined you to be the first apostle. Please forgive me if I am mistaken.”
“No, your intention is quite good. What Sharia said is true.”
Celia smiled with pleasure.
Come to think of it, what the human said wasn’t wrong.
If she was the first to be chosen by the Great One, wasn’t she naturally the first apostle?
“You must be tired from coming all the way here, so let me prepare some refreshments while we talk.”
As Celia clapped her hands once, Skeleton Knights moved busily.
“……”
Seeing that, Sharia, a genius warlock, instinctively knew.
That the being in the red dress was the strongest among the apostles.
No, perhaps there was no one on the continent who could surpass that being?
The power she felt was on a different level.
In conclusion, that being was indeed the first apostle closest to the evil god.
“…And this dungeon is the same.”
Sharia glanced inside the dungeon.
This was the central part, located in the deepest part of the dungeon.
“Everything here was amazing.”
She had seen many things on her way here.
A Dullahan mumbling while wandering through the mountain range.
And even a Goblin Lord carrying a strange, long staff.
Even a powerful Vampire was sowing seeds outside the dungeon.
“I’m sure of it. This is definitely the will of the Evil God!”
Sharia’s heart pounded.
Otherwise, how could such incredible beings be gathered in one place by chance?
It was so unnatural that even a child would find it suspicious.
“What’s more important…”
The most important thing was separate.
It didn’t matter that powerful beings were gathered in one place or that the dungeon was large.
“They’ve already started enslaving humans…”
The most surprising thing upon entering the dungeon was that humans were being enslaved.
Sharia was shocked to see humans working everywhere with pickaxes and shovels.
“The Apostle has already prepared everything for the Evil God’s resurrection.”
At the same time, she felt enough reverence for the apostle.
Sharia was a warlock and the leader of ‘Eclipse,’ an organization formed by warlocks.
She thought it would take a considerable amount of time to achieve the great feat, the descent of the Evil God, which had been the long-cherished wish of Eclipse.
But seeing it now, the preparations were already sufficient.
If they took action, it seemed they could conquer the El Dorado Continent before the Evil God descended.
“……”
How joyful it would be if Eclipse could join that great endeavor.
Sharia bowed her head once more.
“Although we may be lacking, we want to be of strength to the First Apostle.”
Celia’s lips curved at Sharia’s sincere words. She nodded and approached Sharia and Lucas.
“Please rise, Sharia. And you too, Lucas. I believe in your sincerity.”
At Celia’s gentle voice, the two slowly raised their heads.
The Celia before them looked down at them with a posture as if she were a goddess.
“Then what must we do to be of great strength to you, Apostle?”
Lucas asked with eager eyes.
Like Sharia, he had felt the immense power of the apostles.
The little bit of doubt that remained melted away like snow.
It wasn’t that he distrusted the apostles.
He simply lacked the faith to believe they could bring about the Evil God’s descent and conquer the continent together.
But the being before him was different.
‘First Apostle, Celia…’
She introduced herself as Celia.
She could not even predict how much power she possessed.
With her, not only the Evil God’s descent but also the conquest of the continent would be smooth.
While Lucas was thinking of a hopeful future, Celia also fell into thought for a moment.
“Hmm.”
The question at hand was their usefulness.
In fact, the joining of warlocks here wouldn’t be a particularly strong addition.
However, Celia considered one possibility from them.
“…Religion.”
Until now, she had dealt with priests and paladins of the White Church.
They were merely humans, but under the Goddess’s teachings, they advocated faith and salvation.
Faith and salvation had driven them to madness.
What was truly frightening about that madness?
It was the fact that the target was not set.
It could be proselytized not only to the White Church but also to ordinary humans.
Celia knew well.
That there were many humans longing for salvation.
And if they used warlocks to win over such humans, their future plans would become smoother.
“We need to gather followers.”
Celia’s eyes gleamed as she muttered softly.
Followers who only looked at the Great One.
Followers driven by a madness that would, at times, gladly sacrifice their lives for him.
If there were such followers, would there be a need to spread rumors and attract adventurers like now?
Wouldn’t it be simpler to turn adventurers into followers and have them offer themselves as sacrifices?
Celia decided to use the organization Eclipse to carry out this great plan.
However, Eclipse couldn’t be kept as it was.
“Sharia.”
“Yes, First Apostle!”
Sharia exclaimed at Celia’s call.
“From now on, discard the name ‘Eclipse’.”
“……!”
Sharia and Lucas looked surprised at the sudden announcement.
Discarding the name was no different from discarding Eclipse itself.
But Celia only said that and then began to write something diligently.
“……”
She didn’t know what she was writing, but it was the First Apostle’s command.
Sharia had no choice but to obey Celia.
“I will write down the tasks you will be doing from now on. In the meantime, please have a simple bite to eat.”
Clink- clink-
As Celia spoke, Skeleton Knights appeared.
One Skeleton Knight offered them a teacup on a silver tray.
Following that, another Skeleton Knight offered plates filled with juicy, freshly grilled meat and well-baked brown bread.
Normally, food for humans was unnecessary in the dungeon.
But as the number of humans in the dungeon increased, these were ingredients received from the royal family.
Although the menu was simple because they were received from the royal family, the quality was certain.
Sharia and Lucas’s eyes widened at the sight of the steaming bread and meat.
For them, who were always hungry and for whom even a piece of bread was precious, the scene was like a dream.
“C-can we really eat these?”
Sharia asked in a trembling voice.
Seeing the cautious humans, Celia replied with a kind smile.
“Of course. Please, eat. You will have many tasks to do from now on.”
Celia said nothing more and continued to write diligently.
At the First Apostle’s confirmation, Sharia and Lucas picked up the food.
As the tender meat and well-baked bread melted in their mouths, the two were moved to tears.
“…Delicious!”
Sharia closed her eyes at the taste of the meat and let out a euphoric sigh.
Instead of eggs or sausages on the bread, she was eating incredibly juicy meat.
It was a taste she had never experienced before.
It was the moment when her second long-cherished wish came true.
* * *
After the satisfying meal, Celia handed what she had written to Sharia and Lucas.
“…Twilight Church?”
At the top of the paper Celia handed over, ‘Twilight Church’ was written.
Sharia slowly began to read the text.
[Twilight Church]
From this moment on, ‘Eclipse’ will be reborn as ‘Twilight Church.’
– Appoint ‘Sharia’ as the Church Leader of Twilight Church.
– Appoint ‘Lucas’ as the Deputy Church Leader of Twilight Church.
– Establish the decision-making body of Twilight Church, ‘Inner Council,’ and appoint existing Eclipse warlocks to the ‘Inner Council.’
– Followers will be granted four ranks in descending order: ‘High Priest,’ ‘Priest,’ ‘Acolyte,’ ‘Follower.’
[The doctrines of ‘Twilight Church’ are as follows:]
1. The Great One is our Master and Savior. His descent is our salvation.
2. The current world is a place dominated by suffering and injustice. This is an order created by false gods.
3. On the day the Great One descends, the false order will crumble, and a new world will arrive.
4. We must follow His teachings.
5. Sacrifice for the Great One is inevitable. All who stand in His way shall be eliminated.
“This is…!”
It was tantamount to founding a new religion.
Founding a new religion is an act of being designated a heretic.
If their identities were revealed, the Church would likely dispatch inquisitors.
However, Sharia was not worried.
Instead, she was so excited that even her hands trembled.
“Now, Sharia, show me your abilities. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
Yes.
This was an opportunity and a test from the Apostle.
She had to show she was useful here to move forward together.
However, there was also a point of concern.
“First Apostle, we currently lack the power to protect the Twilight Church.”
As Lucas said, even if a new religion was founded, the power to protect it was insufficient.
Why had the White Church become so powerful?
Although they claimed to follow the Goddess’s teachings, fundamentally, they possessed overwhelming power to control the continent.
Who would dare to provoke them when Inquisitors and Paladins acted as the Church’s swords?
“You are certainly right.”
Celia agreed with Lucas’s opinion and gestured.
Then, Skeleton Knights armed in heavy armor lined up behind them.
“Let them serve as the swords of the Twilight Church. The name… I shall call it the Twilight Knights.”
Saying that, Celia summoned Necros.
“Now, Necros, I would like you to help them settle in.”
It was the founding of a new religion.
As such, it would be safer to base themselves in the Sail Kingdom, where Celia’s influence reached.
Of course, they planned to operate in the shadows, as they couldn’t openly act in the light.
Shadows meant the underworld.
Currently, Necros managed the underworld of the Sail Kingdom.
“Exactly…”
However, Necros was currently busy.
With most of the underworld almost completely seized, the Monster Coliseum was also booming.
Furthermore, he was managing dungeons.
Was that all?
With the conquest of the underworld imminent, he not only had to find the Master wearing the ‘Black Mask’ but also had to earn more money through new businesses.
“Necros, you will be in charge of their finances.”
“Exactly?”
“Support the Twilight Church and manage the offerings made by the followers.”
“……!”
Necros’s mind raced.
Support the Twilight Church -> Twilight Church’s status increases -> Twilight Church’s followers increase -> Offerings from followers increase -> What’s better than money is more money.
“!”
Necros knelt and bowed his head towards Celia.
This was genuine respect.
Thus, a new religion, ‘Twilight Church,’ was born on the continent of El Dorado.
