Inside the sacred cathedral, a fierce gust of fanaticism swept through.
No longer was it filled with calm serenity—now the air burned with passion, a surge of fervent faith.
The colored light streaming from stained glass fell across the challengers’ faces, their eyes gradually hardening with resolve, as though touched by divine power.
“Praise be to the Goddess of Fate! If I am a damned heretic, a traitor, then may my destiny be led to destruction!”
“Resurrection cultists, betrayers—may their entire families perish! I swear this upon the Goddess of Fate!”
Regardless of whether they were believers of the Fate Church, everyone began to imitate Lan Qi and repeat his words!
Ordinarily—no nation or priest of the Fate Goddess would ever waste time forcing everyone to declare praise for the goddess as proof of loyalty.
Such behavior would either be sheer harassment of cultists or outright blasphemy.
After all, it ran directly counter to the teachings of the Fate Goddess: never force any being to submit to fate.
Such coercive preaching was something even cults rarely dared; no priest of the Fate Church had ever done it.But right now—
The urgency of the situation went far beyond ordinary logic. This was about life and death for everyone present, about whether the Shadow World’s failure would unleash catastrophe upon the world, and whether they could root out the hidden cultists endangering all of existence!
Faced with such stakes, there was no room for sentimentality or notions of what was “petty” or not.
For innocent challengers, standing before the Shadow World Recording System and proclaiming praise for the Goddess was harmless. Even swearing the most venomous oath, they could do so with a clear conscience.
But for a Resurrection cultist—
Once they sincerely praised the Goddess and made such oaths under the ever-recording Shadow World…
No matter how many years they had spent carefully hiding in the mortal world, no matter how much credit they might earn within this Shadow World run, all of it would be meaningless!
Their path to advancement within the church would be forever severed.
Within the cathedral, emotions twisted together into a rope of unity. The challengers were ignited by a feverish, almost sacred passion.
They prayed loudly, their heated words reverberating through the hall, voices merging into a tidal wave that struck every soul.
“Did everyone say it?”
“Who hasn’t spoken yet?”
The merchant’s young master eagerly checked. Besides Lan Qi, he was the least afraid of attracting hatred.
Even the three clergy began helping oversee the declarations, despite the moral and doctrinal contradictions.
Anyone who refused to speak up stood out immediately.
At that point, any excuse was useless—they would inevitably be restrained by everyone together.
“Shall we do another round?”
“This time, let’s unify our wording. Repeat exactly what Lawyer Lan Qi said.”
And so, right there in the cathedral—
After Lan Qi set the “bad precedent,” everyone grew more and more fired up, swearing venomous oaths to the Goddess!
Under this strangely purposeful fanaticism, the challengers’ faces burned with fervor.
Their hatred toward traitors twisted into devotion toward the goddess, and they swore themselves into a frenzy. Each word resounded with power, echoing endlessly through the cathedral.
Hearing the mix of solemn oaths and people gradually enjoying themselves—
“If you feel like laughing, just laugh. Don’t hold it in,” Lan Qi suggested, feeling that this Shadow World’s theme ought to be joyful and harmonious.
“…Surely no one here is unable to laugh naturally?”
Huperion quickly caught on and fanned the flames.
Yet inside, she was on the verge of tears. She could feel her karmic merits crumbling again.
This… this wasn’t what the goddess had intended prayer to be used for!
Back in the Demon Realm Shadow World, with all demons present, she hadn’t even realized it.
But now she fully understood—Lan Qi was like a carrier of some infectious mental illness. The more one interacted with him, the more even normal people started to turn abnormal!
“Lawyer, you really are wicked!”
The merchant’s young master laughed with undisguised schadenfreude.
Everyone knew—inside this cathedral, at least two people were practically bleeding inside, yet still had to force themselves to join the group laughter.
Holding up such extreme “acting” opposite their real feelings—every passing second was sheer torment.
“All things are blessings from the Goddess. We bear no sin.”
Even the three priests of the Northern Continent, fully aware that they were engaging in immoral, heretical behavior that would surely earn punishment from the Fate Church later—couldn’t stop laughing.
When everyone else is laughing, you yourself feel the urge too—it’s almost impossible to resist.
The mix of guilty transgression and the satisfaction of trampling cultists left them giddy and unable to forget.
Such an opportunity might come only once in a lifetime. Since they would be punished anyway, they might as well enjoy it.
Thus, beneath the cathedral’s stained-glass windows, people were consumed by a mysterious, unsettling fanaticism.
In the reflected light of the golden murals, they chanted ceaseless praise for the goddess’s endless grace—yet at the same time spat out cruel, venomous oaths. Their faces warped into sickly grins, eyes blazing with madness as they stared at one another, seeking a strange sense of communion.
This entire scene began to transform into something indescribable.
The twisted joy and cruel laughter echoed in the silent cathedral, clashing harshly with its solemn sanctity.
It no longer seemed like worship of a goddess—rather, it had grown more terrifying, more grotesque.
At Ikerite Academy, inside the Sage’s Council meeting chamber.
Though the room’s decor was gentle in tone, the atmosphere was deathly still, frozen solid in that closed space.
Every teacher wore a grave expression, their eyes averted from the magical screen at the room’s center, none daring to speak.
For the dean—who was also a High Priest of the Fate Goddess Church—Loren, sat silently at the head of the table.
Staring at the bizarre scene on the magical display—
“…?!”
Loren’s eyes widened.
His lips parted, but no sound came out.
Their dignified, lawful, good-aligned church—
Had been turned, by Lan Qi’s antics, into something resembling a pack of cultists corrupted by an evil god, performing a deranged ritual.
Even the Resurrection Cult would have to admit—this looked like heresy!
Onscreen, priests, inquisitors, and paladins laughed and carried on with Lan Qi, as though they had discovered a “new method” of exposing cultists.
Loren didn’t know how the cultists’ blood pressure was doing, but he felt his own was about to explode.
This Shadow World recording would inevitably deal irreparable damage to the Fate Goddess Church’s image in the mortal realm!
“These three priests—I’ve memorized their faces. Both continents will be informed of their disgrace.”
After a long silence, Loren finally spoke.
And from now on, he resolved—every priest must be warned to stay far away from Lan Qi Wilfort.
Especially the young ones, whose minds weren’t yet strong enough.