At that time, one of the twelve, an evil woman named Judah Iscariot, went to the Cardinals and said, “I will hand over the Son of Deus to you, so how much will you give me?” They weighed out thirty silver coins for her, and she decided to betray Luke.
—
In the capital of the Nova Empire, Orias, at the first branch of the Baal cult, in the office of Cardinal Beriar, the highest bishop in charge of the branch.
Judah entered, guided by a Holy Knight.
Bowing low, the Holy Knight closed the door.
“Yes, you wished to see me.”
Cardinal Beriar turned his chair toward Judah and spoke.
“Judah Iscariot, the noble lady of the Iscariot family and the governor of the city of Debea.”
Judah appeared shocked to hear her identity acknowledged.
“And you are also the disciple of a fraud who is impersonating the Son of Deus.”
Judah clenched her fists tightly before releasing them, as if about to lash out.
“Does the term ‘fraud’ not sit well with you?”
Squeak.
“But the fact that you came here alone means…”
Cardinal Beriar rose from his seat.
“There must be something you dislike about him. Or am I wrong?”
Beriar smiled slyly at Judah.
The ‘Son of Deus,’ who had performed numerous miracles and won over the people of the Nova Empire, was a troublesome existence for the Baal cult.
In his initial appearance, he had purged Capernaum itself, and attempts to eliminate him had failed due to his swift movements.
In his second attempt, through a debate in Debea, he sought to dismantle his followers, but the ‘Son of Deus’ displayed an astonishing miracle there as well, leading to another failure.
The third attempt involved using sacred relics of the cult to secretly summon monsters to ambush him, but lightning from the heavens obliterated the monsters, resulting in yet another failure.
Lastly, another cardinal attempted an assault using the secret assassination group Jevoub, operating under the authority of the Pope’s deputy, but all members of Jevoub disappeared, marking all means of attack as a failure.
Consequently, by the Pope’s command, all dealings concerning the ‘Son of Deus’ were prohibited.
As a result, all cult members could only watch in disappointment as the ‘Son of Deus’ entered Orias with a huge throng.
In fact, even within the cult, many had begun to turn against Baal and support him, causing significant unrest.
The Pope, whom they had trusted, showed no signs of action.
They did send watchers to monitor the ‘Son of Deus,’ but there was little they could do in reality.
Then, news arrived from one of the watchers.
One of his disciples had secretly left the building with the ‘Son of Deus’ and had requested a meeting with Judah.
As thoughts crossed his mind about just marching in with the Holy Knights to take the ‘Son of Deus’ down, his disciple came directly to him instead!
And she did so without others knowing?
This could only suggest one thing…
Internal strife.
The fanatical love the disciples had for the ‘Son of Deus’ was a well-known tale, recognized by everyone in the Nova Empire, from children to the elderly.
He had long suspected that among them, there would be possibilities for internal conflict.
He never thought they would come looking for his help!
“…Then.”
Finally, Judah Iscariot spoke.
Though it was surprising for a disciple of the ‘Son of Deus’ to visit, the fact that it was Judah specifically was the most unexpected.
According to information, she had been born into a high noble family and lived without lacking in anything, yet here she was, following the ‘Son of Deus’?
Considering that all the other disciples came from humble backgrounds, her actions were utterly incomprehensible.
By coming to see him, it was clear she disliked the notion that commoners were taking away her love!
“Simply seeking me out means you need my help, doesn’t it? For that, your attitude is not quite right.”
Crunch.
Judah ground her teeth in frustration.
“Yes, I can imagine why you have sought me out.”
Beriar stepped closer to Judah.
“The Son of Deus.”
“!!!”
“You want to make him yours, do you not? Your very own.”
Judah’s eyes began to quiver.
Oh, this is easy.
Young women are simple to handle.
They easily become consumed by the emotion of love.
Foolish, inferior beings.
Look at them, swayed by just a mention of love.
“I can help you. I can make him yours. Yours, whom no one can touch.”
In reality, he had zero intentions of fulfilling her wish.
He only planned to use her.
He would be just as satisfied getting rid of her, but why go to the trouble of allowing her to elope in love?
There’s no reason to do that.
“To accomplish this, there is just one condition.”
So, you see…
“You just have to do a few things for us.”
Betraying the ‘Son of Deus’ is all it would take.
Blinded by love, leading her love to destruction.
“…Can you truly grant what I desire?”
“Of course. If you cooperate with us.”
Checkmate.
“…You will truly fulfill my desires?”
“Indeed.”
“Truly, truly, what I am currently wishing for?”
…Strange.
Why is her reaction so different from what I expected?
“How dare someone like you say you can fulfill my wishes? A fake cardinal like you?”
“Y-Yes!”
Beriar took a step back in shock at Judah’s twisted, terrifying expression.
Clack, clack.
Judah approached him slowly.
Beriar felt an instinctive fear as he started backing away.
“Ha. To say you can fulfill my wishes, do you even know what I want?”
“Of course, it’s about connecting with the ‘Son of Deus,’ is it not?”
The image of Beriar, who previously had the upper hand like a predator, had vanished, leaving only the fleeing prey behind.
“While that is indeed one of my desires, it is not what I want right now.”
Thud.
Beriar, stepping back, hit the wall.
There was no way to escape Judah now.
“What I want right now is to save my lord from the destined future of destruction. That he does not become a sacrifice for us, but truly rule as the rightful sovereign of this continent.”
“W-What on earth are you talking about!”
“Of course, I didn’t expect someone like you to understand just because I said that.”
Crack!
Judah grasped Beriar’s head with one hand.
“Aipotai (υποταγή).”
Boom!
The mana released from Judah seeped into Beriar’s mind.
His eyes turned cloudy.
“Did you plan to make me betray my lord?”
Judah muttered as she read Beriar’s memories and thoughts.
“How dare you even think of betraying my lord… No… that isn’t right. Betrayal…”
Judah, with her head bowed deep in thought, could see the situation clearly.
“But that… No, that’s right. For the lord. It is what he requires or not, that which I must do. Certainly.”
Resigning herself, she lifted her head.
“Today, I sell you out, my lord.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Beriar responded politely to Judah’s command, like a well-behaved puppet.
“Tonight, I will save my lord. Oh, my lord, forgive this dirty woman.”
—
*
For our son to become a rightful saint, certain trials were necessary.
To create those trials, a useful woman was required.
The moment she drinks from our Luke’s chalice, I will intervene and manipulate her mind.
So she can see a different reality.
To appropriately serve as a betrayer who can test Luke.
It seems she’s more competent than expected.
This might exceed our forecasts.
The climax has just begun.
It can’t be! Our Luke needs to save the world!
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