Within the sacred sanctuary, a fierce wave of fervor swept through.
The peaceful ambiance was gone, supplanted by an impassioned, intense rush of faith.
Beams of colored light slanting through the stained-glass windows illuminated the challengers' faces. Their eyes gradually filled with unwavering resolve, as though stirred by divine majesty.
"Praise be to the great Goddess of Fate! If I am a damned cultist or traitor, let my fate be steered to ruin!"
"May the families of the Resurrection Church cultists and traitors perish! With the great Goddess of Fate as my witness, so I swear!"
Whether they were devotees of the Church of the Goddess of Fate or not, everyone followed Lanqi's lead and repeated his words!
Under normal circumstances, no country or priest of the Goddess of Fate would ever be bored enough to force people into reciting praises of the Goddess to prove their innocence, or simply to disgust cultists.
Such an act flew directly in the face of the Church of the Goddess of Fate's doctrines: never compel any living being to submit to destiny.
No priest of the Church of the Goddess of Fate had ever engaged in coercive proselytizing that was more cultish than an actual cult.
Yet under the current circumstances, the urgency of the problem transcended ordinary standards. It directly concerned everyone's lives, whether the mortal realm would suffer a catastrophe triggered by failing the Shadow World, and whether they could catch the cultists endangering the world!
When the greater good was at stake, personal feelings or debates over underhandedness mattered little.
An innocent challenger had nothing to lose by openly declaring praises to the great Goddess of Fate in front of the Shadow World Recording Program; they could swear the most venomous oaths with a clear conscience.
For a Resurrection Church cultist, however, sincerely praising the Goddess of Fate and taking such an oath in a live Shadow World broadcast—one that would be permanently recorded—meant that no matter how painstakingly they had hidden in the mortal realm for all those years, and no matter how much merit they earned in this Shadow World, it would all be for nothing!
Their path to advancement within their church was effectively ruined.
A surge of powerful emotion bound the sanctuary together in unity. The challengers seemed ignited by a holy passion.
They prayed at the top of their lungs, their fervent declarations reverberating through the sacred hall. Their voices converged into a tidal wave, battering against everyone's soul.
"Has everyone said it?"
"Who hasn't said it yet?"
The merchant scion watched keenly. Aside from Lanqi, he was the least afraid of drawing hostility.
Even the three clergy members cast aside their pastoral ethics and began supervising the group.
Whoever showed reluctance or failed to recite along with the rest would instantly expose their allegiance.
At that point, excuses would be utterly meaningless.
They would immediately be pinned down by the collective effort of the entire room.
"Another round?"
"Let's standardize our phrasing this time and repeat Mr. Lawyer's exact words!"
And so, right there in the sanctuary, after Lanqi had set a terrible precedent, everyone grew increasingly energized, swearing all manner of vile oaths to the Goddess of Fate!
Under the sway of this ulterior, fanatical devotion, passion overtook the challengers' faces.
They channeled their hatred and persecution of the traitors into reverence for the deity, offering oaths in pure abandon. Every single word seemed charged with immense power, echoing endlessly through the sanctuary.
Listening to everyone chiming in and even starting to enjoy the recitation, Lanqi made a suggestion:
"If everyone feels happy, feel free to smile. There's really no need to hold it in."
He felt that a Shadow World with this theme ought to have a joyous, harmonious atmosphere.
"Surely... no one here is incapable of smiling naturally, right?" Hyperion chimed in at once, catching his drift and fanning the flames.
Even as she played along with the mischief, she felt like weeping inside. Her accumulated karmic virtue was completely done for.
The Goddess was not meant to be prayed to like this!
Last time in the Demon Realm's Shadow World, everyone was a demon, so Hyperion hadn't noticed. Now, she finally realized with absolute clarity that Lanqi carried something like an infectious mental affliction: spend too much time around him, and even the most normal person would gradually lose their mind!
"Mr. Lawyer, you are wicked!" The merchant scion laughed aloud in outright schadenfreude.
Everyone knew there were two people in the sanctuary whose minds were likely on the verge of shattering. Their hearts were bleeding, yet they still had to blend in and laugh alongside the crowd.
To maintain an extreme performance diametrically opposed to their true feelings was sheer agony for those actors with every passing second.
"All is the great Goddess's grace; we commit no sin."
Even the three clergy from the Northern Continent could not stop grinning from ear to ear, even though they knew full well they were doing something unethical that violated church doctrine and would surely be severely punished by the Church of the Goddess of Fate upon their return.
When everyone around was laughing and one already felt elated, it was truly hard to keep a straight face.
The thrill of transgression forced by circumstances mingled with the sheer joy of mercilessly tormenting the cultists, leaving them an unforgettable rush.
An opportunity like this might come only once in a lifetime. Since punishment awaited them either way, they might as well enjoy it to the fullest.
And so, beneath the sanctuary's kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows, the crowd was swept up in an uncanny, somewhat unhinged frenzy.
Bathed in the reflections cast by the sanctuary's gilded wall reliefs, they sang effusive praises of the Goddess's boundless grace on one hand, while spitting cruel and venomous curses in their prayers on the other. Morbid grins spread across their faces; their eyes grew burning and wild as they stared at one another, as if searching for some mysterious connection.
The whole spectacle gradually morphed into an indescribable religious gathering.
Twisted merriment and savage smirks echoed through the otherwise quiet sanctuary, creating a grotesque contrast with the glorious, sacred hall.
It seemed to have spiraled far beyond the realm of piety, turning increasingly terrifying and deeply unsettling.
...
Inside the meeting room of the School of Sages at Ikerite Academy.
Despite the meeting room's soft, tasteful decor, a tomb-like silence hung frozen in the enclosed space.
Every instructor wore an extraordinarily grim expression. They averted their eyes from the screen at the center of the room, none daring to make a sound.
Dean Loren—who was also a high priest of the Church of the Goddess of Fate—had not spoken a word from the head of the table for quite some time.
Staring at the bizarre scene on the magical projection, Loren's eyes were wide.
"...?!"
His lips parted slightly, but not a sound came out for a long while.
Their Church was a textbook lawful good institution.
Yet through Lanqi's manipulations, the scene looked exactly like a bunch of fallen cultists whose minds had been invaded by an evil god, performing a manic, raving ritual.
Even the Resurrection Church would call this an evil cult!
On the screen, the priest, executioner, and paladin were having the time of their lives alongside Lanqi, seemingly having mastered a brand-new technique for identifying cultists.
Loren had no idea what the cultists' blood pressure looked like, but he felt his own was about to burst.
This Shadow World recording was bound to deal an irreversible blow to the public image of the Church of the Goddess of Fate in the mortal realm!
"I have noted these three clerics," Loren finally managed after a prolonged struggle. "Both the Southern and Northern Continents will issue a joint formal reprimand."
Furthermore, he resolved that every member of the clergy would be warned in the future to steer clear of Lanqi Wilfort—especially the younger ones whose minds were not yet steadfast.
Chapter 131