"I am not Tyrannus."
"If you are not Tyrannus, then who are you?"
"My name is Norton. I have no surname."
"Tyrannus, is this the new name you have taken for yourself?"
"You have mistaken my identity."
"Tyrannus, your habits haven't changed in the slightest. Just as before, you enjoy entering the church in the guise of a newly initiated believer to test whether the rules you laid down are reasonable."
"I apologize, but Tyrannus has already been suppressed by me."
Silence fell on the other end.
After a long pause, a brief, simple response drifted back:
"Heh."
"Augurev, in the name of the High Priest of the Church of Order, I command you to intercept the gods behind you beyond this era."
"If Tyrannus had spoken such words, I might have listened. But you, High Priest... Ah, on what grounds are you naive enough to think you can command me—to command a great god?"
"The Church of Order recognizes only one God, and that is my Lord. Aside from my Lord, all others are mere 'Lords.' Augurev, you are not a god, and according to the doctrine, the High Priest's decree commands everything within the church's system except my Lord. You ought to submit to my authority."
"And what if I refuse?"
"For apostates, the church has its own prescribed measures."
"An apostate? The true betrayer was the Lord."
"Sigh, I shouldn't have harbored such extravagant hopes for you—for all of you. I was wrong; I shouldn't have clung to any wishful thinking."
"Listen to me. Guide us back. I am not the only one returning. You cannot stop this. Guide our group back first, and we will protect the Church of Order."
"I will never permit you to taint the church. My Church of Order will forever remain the most devout followers of Order." Pausing, the High Priest added, "And the most steadfast followers of my Lord."
"The Lord will return as well. Even the Lord grows weary. The Lord will realize that everything He did was meaningless. We bear no resentment toward the Lord's actions. When the Lord returns, we will gather at His side once more."
"The Lord has no need for you... betrayers."
"The first thing I shall do upon my return is crush you, an insolent and ignorant brat, between two fingers. Never before have I seen a High Priest of the church dare speak to us like this."
"Your threats carry no weight with me."
Just then, two more voices rang out—presumably the two chief gods of Life.
"Legions of the Church of Order, withdraw from the Garden of Life immediately."
"Church of Order, cease this desecration of our lineage of Life at once."
"Desecration?" The High Priest gave a cold laugh. "How dare you utter such words, you truly foul filth!"
"When I return, I shall repay the Church of Order in full for everything done today."
"When I return, the Church of Order shall cease to exist. The wrath of Life will incinerate the Holy See of Order."
The High Priest spoke: "Augurev, did you hear that?"
Augurev replied, "It does not matter. We will establish a new Church of Order."
The High Priest nodded.
"I will fulfill the regret my Lord left behind all those years ago and bring down the Tree of Life. Let us see how you return then."
"Insolence!"
"How dare you!"
"Augurev, before long, I will issue an order to revise the *Light of Order*. Your title as one of my Lord's Four Retainers will be rewritten into that of an apostate to Order. Every praise of you will be erased, and every mural bearing your likeness scrubbed away! You are no longer worthy of receiving the prayers of Order's faithful."
"You will regret this. The church will perish by your hand."
"I safeguard the true Church of Order," the High Priest said. "I will not allow your return."
Augurev's voice echoed back:
"You cannot prevent it... I shall inevitably return."
Norton stepped back two paces, looking somewhat worn.
Ukonga spoke up then: "Who were you communicating with just now?"
Norton waved a hand dismissively. "You have no need to know."
"Fine, I couldn't care less anyway."
The High Priest glanced at the root before them and ordered, "Destroy it. I want to see it crumble."
Ukonga bowed his head. "By your decree. However... it will take some time. It is far too enormous. Even if most of it has rotted and lost its vitality, every single root stem is a divine kingdom, still penning inside a vast number of humans. If you agree to annihilate them along with it..."
"Undo the restrictions on the divine kingdoms."
"Then how are they to be settled? That population is unfathomably massive."
"There is no need to settle them. Lift their confinement. Let them turn from reared livestock back into human beings."
"Then they will starve, freeze, and slaughter one another. Very few will actually survive and carry on the bloodline. In many of those divine kingdoms, the Church of Life deliberately stifled their civilizations. They are... like a tangle of curled-up eels."
"It does not matter."
"It doesn't matter?" Ukonga countered. "Then what was the point of storming this place, toppling the Tree of Life, and shattering the divine kingdoms' seals?"
The High Priest looked at Ukonga, his tone stern and grave.
"The point is that we will not allow more people, nor those of the future, to suffer the same fate."
With that, the High Priest pointed toward Karen. "Did you understand?"
"Yes, I understood."
"Then instruct this teacher of yours. Having slept for a thousand years, he may have forgotten the *Light of Order* entirely."
"Yes, High Priest."
A halo appeared beneath the High Priest's feet once more. As he was lifted away, he left his final instructions:
"Three days from now, I will summon the Hierarchs of various churches here to discuss carving up Life's assets and heritage. I expect to see the collapse of the Tree of Life at that gathering."
Ukonga clenched his fists in silence.
Once the High Priest was gone, Ukonga flew into a rage:
"Damn it! Even Tyrannus wasn't that arrogant back in the day! He actually dared order me around like an adjutant!"
Karen kept quiet.
Ukonga fumed on, "Would you believe it? If he truly pushes me too far one day, I'll punch him right in the face."
Karen reminded him, "That would violate a taboo."
"As if I've never violated a taboo before."
"Taboos are not all the same."
"Isn't he just relying on being Tyrannus's successor? Isn't he banking on the temple refusing to tear down all pretense? Without that layer of Tyrannus's identity, what is he?"
Karen was sorely tempted to remind Ukonga: *He suppressed Tyrannus.*
Just then, Ukonga suddenly went quiet. He leaned closer to Karen, pressing his face right in front of him, staring with sharp intensity.
Karen asked, "What is it?"
Ukonga lowered his voice. "You heard it, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You heard. I know it."
"Even you couldn't hear it. How could I?"
"Nothing is impossible. Across more than a millennium, you still ended up as our roommate."
"Those are entirely different matters."
"I have no proof, but I have my intuition. You could hear it. I don't need to know the contents, but I want to know: who was he just talking to?"
"You ought to ask the High Priest himself."
Ukonga reached out and grabbed Karen's shoulder. "My dear son, are you certain you won't show the slightest filial piety?"
Karen said nothing.
Ukonga's tone turned menacing. "Don't think I'll be nice to you without any limits. I told you, I've known for a long time that you carry secrets that interest me. Once I return from that place, once I obtain what I want... I will shatter and sweep out your secrets bit by bit."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Yes, precisely."
"I feel doing this will damage our friendship. I value it greatly."
"Really? I haven't felt that from you. Listen, there is no relationship in this world that demands endless, unconditional giving from one side. My patience with you is nearly at its limit. Count them up—just how many good things have you gotten from me? How much care have I shown you?"
"Does almost ruining my career count as care too?"
"That's because I know that even if he steps down and you take the High Priest's seat, you would only ever be his puppet. You could never become a High Priest like him; he would never hand real power over to you. He wants to walk my old path again—he intends to govern the church for at least a thousand years! What's the point of becoming a High Priest like that? I was helping you!"
"Thank you for your good intentions, but next time, I would appreciate advance notice."
As Karen spoke, he brushed aside Ukonga's hand from his shoulder.
"Hahahaha!"
Ukonga suddenly leaned back and roared with laughter.
"My son has grown up; he's got temper now."
"Heh."
"Of course, if you don't like being a son, you can be a grandson instead. I don't mind."
"You will see what a true grandson looks like."
Karen turned and walked toward the root to examine it closely.
Ukonga remained where he was, tapping his forehead with a finger.
"Hey, what did you mean by that? I didn't catch it."
"Grandson."
"Fuck!"
***
Inside a bedroom within a villa complex, Piaget and Bede were hiding under a bed.
Violent explosions continuously resounded all around them. From time to time, colossal stars crashed down, sending terrifying shockwaves through the air.
Ordinarily, the aftershocks alone would have been enough to jolt them to death—just as ants need not touch the fire directly to be charred by proximity to a torch.
Yet they happened to be hiding beneath an exceptionally precious bed. As long as their luck wasn't so terrible that the area took a direct hit, the ceaseless tremors couldn't actually harm them.
Piaget remarked, "Mr. Bede, hiding under the bed truly was a wise decision. How did you think of it?"
"Those of the Church of Life have remarkably high appetites for that sort of thing, so they place tremendous importance on the quality of their beds. You know, when engaged in that kind of business, if the bed collapses, it's quite a mood killer—it might even leave an indelible psychological trauma. You're an expert on this subject."
"So simply out of fear that the bed might collapse, they built it this sturdy and even fitted it with defensive arrays?"
"Not just that. You have to consider the demands. The upper crust in particular are no longer satisfied with ordinary encounters between humans. They will experiment with monster beasts that have taken human form for a different sort of thrill. That makes the bed all the more crucial."
"I see."
*Boom!*
A massive collapse occurred, flattening the building housing the bedroom.
A squad of knights marched up. The leader raised his head, glancing at the falcon knights circling above.
"There are living creatures here. Search."
*Clack, clack!*
Two hands reached out proactively from beneath the rubble.
Mr. Bede shouted, "Praise Order!"
The knight commander tasked with purging all signs of life in the sector had heard countless desperate flatteries. He simply waved a hand to order: "Crush them."
"We are spies dispatched to the Church of Life by Karen Silva, Head of the Whip of Order's Disciplinary Department! We're on the same side, on the same side!"
"Halt! Take the two of them back first."
Piaget whispered, "Why didn't you just say you're Karen's future father-in-law?"
Mr. Bede cursed under his breath, "Do you think that knight would believe their Lord Karen would send his own father-in-law here as a spy? Are you trying to get us killed faster?"
Bound by two Chains of Order, the pair were hauled out of the rubble and tossed onto the back of a golden-armored dragon turtle.
Piaget murmured, "We're saved, aren't we?"
"Yes, presumably so."
Within the Garden of Life, adjoining the area of the Tree of Life, there had originally stood an imposing and exquisite complex of divine temples. Now, only devastated ruins remained, along with numerous small squads of knights scouring the area for any sign of life.
The two of them were among the lucky ones, having managed to stay hidden until the very end.
Piaget sighed. "Why is it that every time we meet Karen, we look so pathetic?"
Mr. Bede cast a sidelong glance at him. "You two are friends, and you gave him his first job when he arrived in Wien. With that bond between you, what do you have to worry about?"
"I'm worrying on your behalf, Mr. Bede."
"What about me?"
"Most men wouldn't dare get married after seeing a father-in-law like this, would they?"
"You can shut up now."
"Is the reason you're terrified of going home because you're scared of being clawed to death by the black cat in your house?"
"Damn it, shut your mouth!"
***
Piaget and Mr. Bede were indeed fortunate. Under normal circumstances, even if prisoners claimed to be spies of the Whip of Order, the report would never make its way up the chain of command to Karen. His rank was far too high, and he had recently been staying right beside the High Priest.
However, Karen had not forgotten about Dalivenro's matter. He had sought out a mid-level commander of the knight orders and asked for a small favor: to visit the Dalivenro family manor, collect whatever corpses could still be found, and prepare them so he could pack them up and take them away.
In truth, Karen could have approached a vice commander or even the commander himself, but he felt embarrassed bringing up such a minor chore to figures of that stature.
While coordinating that request, the other party mentioned the two captured spies.
Karen's initial impulse had been to say: *Impostors.*
When the war began, Order's spies had long since been pulled out. Even as the fighting broke out, there had been ample opportunities to evacuate; they certainly wouldn't have fled from the Holy See straight into the Garden of Life.
The diplomatic priest delegations from the various churches had also remained in the Holy See waiting to be received by the Knights of Order, rather than venturing inside.
Therefore, in theory, there should have been no friendly personnel at risk of being killed by mistake.
Fortunately, the two had reported their real names. Upon hearing them, Karen couldn't help but marvel:
*Why are they everywhere trouble happens?*
***
"My Lord, please."
"Thank you."
The soldier lifted the tent flap, and Karen walked inside. There sat his prospective father-in-law, wolfing down food.
As for Piaget, he was fast asleep in a sleeping bag.
Seeing Karen enter, Bede promptly wiped his hands and stood up. "Haha, Karen, you're here!"
Toward this prospective son-in-law, Bede had always felt conflicted, a sentiment that only intensified as Karen's standing continued to rise.
"You have suffered. Are you injured?"
"No, I'm fine, I'm fine. Haha, not a scratch. The bed was remarkably sturdy."
"I will arrange for a military priest to give you a thorough examination shortly."
"No, that's unnecessary."
"Please do not refuse."
"Uh, very well. Thank you."
As a prospective father-in-law who constantly caused trouble, Mr. Bede knew he ought to behave himself at times like this.
Karen stepped over to Piaget and asked, "What happened to him?"
He didn't appear to be injured.
"He was perfectly fine earlier, but about an hour before you arrived, he suddenly felt an urge to draw. After finishing a sketch, he fell into a deep sleep."
"Where is the drawing?"
"Clutched in his hand. I didn't pry it loose, fearing it might get ruined."
Karen looked down. Sure enough, Piaget held a crumpled ball of paper in his fist. It wasn't drawing paper, but looked more like a page torn haphazardly from a notebook.
However, when Karen reached out to take it, Piaget's fingers relaxed on their own before Karen applied any force.
Karen smoothed the paper open. The fold marks were distinct, and the sketch had been drawn in fountain pen.
The style was remarkably similar to the two sketches he himself had drawn in the carriage using Little Kanna's notebook paper and pen.
No—not only were the material and style similar, but the subject matter was identical.
For Piaget had also drawn the Tree of Life and Augurev!
In the drawing, the Tree of Life had begun to wither, and alongside it, its various nodules were withering as well, their contents bursting open.
Karen knew full well that inside those nodules of the Tree of Life rested the gods returning together.
Did this scene mean that as the Garden of Life fell and the Tree of Life was on the verge of being demolished, the returning gods had turned to mutual slaughter, using their fellow deities as nourishment?
To expedite their return, the powerful gods had begun hunting the weaker ones, bringing forward the divine war that was meant to occur only after their return!
Upon Augurev's shoulders bloomed two vivid flowers.
Augurev himself, previously depicted in a floating, drifting posture, had now risen upright, showing a distinct transition from passive to active.
Physical posture reflected the state of consciousness.
Furthermore, Karen noticed a very sloppy scribble in the bottom right corner of the sheet—so crude it was merely a series of circles drawn repeatedly with the fountain pen.
What did this represent?
Could it be... Augurev Fortress?
The Church of Order's assault on the Church of Life had been intended to stall the return of this host of gods, but reality might be... that this action had provoked them into taking the most extreme measures, vastly accelerating the process of their return instead!
Augurev's parting words to the High Priest during their communication echoed in Karen's mind:
*"You cannot prevent it... I shall inevitably return."*
Chapter 882