The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 171

EP.171 Visit to the Phoenix Guild (1)

“The novice priest will be under Kaleido’s care for the time being, High Priestess.”

Matthew bowed his head as he reported to Sharia.

As the night deepened, the Twilight Order building was enveloped in silence.

The fervent followers who had been chanting the High Priestess’s name had already returned home, and now only the High Priestess and her confidants remained.

“The Apostle said that Edwin will be sent out like Drakon once his brainwashing is complete.”

There was a cold tone in Matthew’s voice.

Edwin would wander through Kaleido’s illusions for several days.

Matthew too had been brainwashed through Kaleido’s illusion magic to become a faithful follower of the Twilight Order.

However, Edwin, being from the White Order, had higher utility value.

Wasn’t that why they didn’t brainwash Drakon, the holy knight they had brought in from the mountains, who also had high utility value?

Unlike Edwin, Drakon’s role was not to be loyal to the Twilight Order, but to feed false information to the Order.

Soon, chaos was expected to descend upon the Order.

“I see. Good work, Matthew. You may go now.”

Sharia waved her hand dismissively as she responded to Matthew’s report.

Her voice was tinged with indifference.

In truth, Edwin was not of much interest to her.

Already addicted to the pleasures of the arena, he was now firmly in the grasp of the Twilight Order.

This was like a fish already caught, requiring no further effort.

“Then, High Priestess, I hope you rest well.”

After Matthew withdrew, only Sharia and Lucas remained in the room.

They were the leader and deputy leader who had once led the dark wizard organization called Eclipse.

However, they had completely changed after a fortuitous event in the Silent Mountains.

“As expected, the Apostle is cruel. But that cruelty is precisely the merciful grace for us.”

Lucas’s voice was filled with sublime reverence.

The being he referred to as the Apostle was none other than the fortuitous event they had encountered.

The Apostles, who served the evil god, were far from ordinary.

The First Apostle Celia and the Second Apostle Necros.

Even just these two possessed tremendous power.

The Apostle had shown Sharia and Lucas a new path.

Not only that.

They had provided unwavering support to help them reach their goals.

With that grace, Eclipse was able to be reborn as the Twilight Order.

“Yes, without such cruelty, we couldn’t achieve our grand mission.”

Sharia nodded, agreeing with Lucas’s words.

“Lucas, how is the work on the doctrine progressing?”

Sharia asked in a stern voice.

She tried to exude the dignity of a High Priestess, suppressing her naturally playful demeanor.

When she first established the Twilight Order, she had been prone to mistakes.

While she showed genius in dark magic, she was terrible at being a High Priestess and proselytizing to others.

However, by preparing scripts and casting Kaleido’s illusion magic on the followers, she had now become a proper High Priestess.

“Yes, High Priestess. We are faithfully incorporating the teachings of the Apostles, so you need not worry.”

The creation of the Twilight Order’s doctrine.

Compared to the White Order with its long history and tradition, the Twilight Order was little more than a newborn.

They couldn’t continue to preach in the underworld forever.

When the time came to step into the light and confront the Order, they needed to refine the doctrine of the Twilight Order in detail.

“Good. So, how’s the atmosphere in the inner circle?”

The inner circle referred to the executives of the Twilight Order.

All the dark wizards who had been part of Eclipse were now members of the inner circle.

As they were still short-handed, the inner circle was engaged in proselytizing activities outside and handling minor tasks, serving as the pillars of the Twilight Order.

“Yes, High Priestess. They are quite satisfied with their current lifestyle. They’re wondering where you suddenly got all this money from.”

Sharia smiled at Lucas’s witty response.

The dignity of a High Priestess was fine, but before that, Sharia had been the leader of Eclipse.

Back then, they were always short on money, living on moldy bread.

There were many days when members went hungry, and even when sick, they couldn’t provide proper treatment.

She had always felt uneasy about that.

But now, that was all in the past.

Now, when hungry, they could eat delicious food to their heart’s content, and when sick, they received proper treatment.

Not a single member was dissatisfied with the much-improved environment compared to the past.

“I’m glad everyone feels that way. Let’s continue living like this.”

Sharia nodded her head.

However, just because they were former Eclipse members didn’t mean they shared all the secrets of the Twilight Order.

First and foremost, the existence of the Apostles was kept strictly confidential.

Only Sharia and Lucas knew about the existence of the Apostles.

They planned to disclose this information someday, but not yet.

This wasn’t because they didn’t trust their subordinates.

On the contrary, it was for the sake of their grand mission.

“Lucas, we must not forget our ultimate goal.”

Sharia’s voice became solemn.

Sensing the atmosphere, Lucas agreed.

“Of course, High Priestess. We will do our utmost for the resurrection of the Great One.”

The Twilight Order is a religious organization.

It was no different from a group that naturally turned followers into devotees of the evil god by increasing their numbers.

But looking deeper into its core, there was an abyss.

This place didn’t move solely for the purpose of proselytizing.

“Good. Shall we select our first fanatics now?”

Sharia picked up another stack of papers on the desk.

It was labeled “Fanatics,” and they planned to select some from among the followers.

This was the idea of the First Apostle, Celia.

Fanatics.

The name alone might make them sound like followers deeply devoted to the Twilight Order, but the meaning was different.

Rather, they were closer to livestock.

Fully raised livestock are eventually slaughtered.

And it’s only natural that they end up on human dining tables.

The same goes for the fanatics.

These were followers who no longer had any use as devotees.

The followers chosen here would be sent to the Silent Mountains.

And there, a fate awaited them to become sacrifices of their own volition before the Apostle.

Becoming one with the Great One by being a sacrifice wasn’t necessarily bad for them.

Rather, it was a glorious moment.

In a way, they were no different from livestock, but considering that they offered themselves as sacrifices, Sharia elevated them by calling them fanatics.

And this information too was unknown to the inner circle.

There was no need to tell the members the truth, after all.

“There will be many sacrifices ahead.”

Lucas took a deep breath and chimed in.

They were dark wizards from the beginning.

They had only been hiding their claws due to unfavourable circumstances, not abandoning their predatory nature.

But now, the situation had changed.

With the Apostles behind them, what was there to fear?

It was time to awaken the cruelty of dark wizards once again.

“…But what awaits us at the end of that path is eternal glory.”

The cold night air seeped through the cracks of the window.

In their conversation, the livestock to be led to the slaughterhouse were selected.

But they felt no guilt whatsoever.

They only moved forward, unconcerned with the blood spilled along the way.

====

***

====

At the same time, the story of the holy knight Drakon was conveyed to the White Order.

The grand conference room at the highest center of the Order was filled with tension.

The emergency meeting, suddenly convened, was attended by all the cardinals, the highest archbishops, and high priests.

“Hmm…”

A heavy and gloomy atmosphere flowed through the conference room.

The attendees looked at each other with troubled expressions, maintaining silence.

After a moment of stillness, the Highest Archbishop Aurel was the first to speak.

“As you all well know, various threats have been appearing on the continent recently.”

At his words, some of the attendees swallowed nervously.

Among them, Cardinal Valentine spoke with a trembling voice.

“His Holiness the Pope is deeply concerned about this situation. A calamity has struck the Sael Kingdom, and we have suffered painful losses with the deaths of Archbishop Titan and the Commander of the Holy Knights. And now Eclipse has reappeared… If this situation continues, I wonder if people will still believe in and follow the Order.”

Highest Archbishop Aurel frowned at Cardinal Valentine’s words.

Hidden in the Cardinal’s words was a rebuke: ‘What have you been doing all this time?’

‘These old men who do nothing but talk…’

Aurel glared at the Cardinal, suppressing his anger inwardly.

But he couldn’t openly refute him.

After all, the person before him was second only to His Holiness the Pope in power.

Instead, he decided to subtly change the subject.

There was a need to shift the target of the Cardinal’s criticism.

“Analyzing Brother Drakon’s testimony, it appears that the Free City Alliance is supporting Eclipse. He says that other holy knights were also killed by their hands.”

The conference room buzzed at Aurel’s statement.

Eclipse was an organization composed of dark wizards.

Eclipse, which they thought had disappeared long ago, had reappeared.

They were shocked by the idea that the Free City Alliance was backing Eclipse.

“Moreover, it seems highly likely that the recent dungeon rumors spreading in the Sael Kingdom are also their scheme.”

The rumor was about a treasure in a dungeon somewhere in the mountains.

However, the fact that numerous adventurers who set out to find the dungeon had gone missing in the mountains raised suspicions of Eclipse’s involvement.

“Hmm, we need to hear Drakon’s statement in more detail.”

Cardinal Valentine muttered, stroking his beard.

Of course, everyone here, including him, was unaware that Drakon had been brainwashed by illusion magic.

Even if they used an artifact to discern the truth, it would be meaningless because Drakon believed his story to be true.

Seizing this opportunity, Aurel pressed his argument.

“This is clearly a challenge to the Order and a heretical act that insults the Goddess! We must summon the Holy knights immediately!”

The argument was reasonable.

Many agreed with his proposal.

Exterminating the heinous heretics trying to resurrect the evil god was indeed a righteous act.

However, most were lukewarm about the actual call to summon the Holy knights.

At that moment, one of the high priests raised his hand and spoke.

“I also sympathize with the Archbishop’s opinion. However, with the recent passing of Archbishop Titan, the Inquisitors have suffered a great blow. Moreover, with the Holy Knights having lost their Commander, it seems difficult to expect full military strength.”

Archbishop Titan, who had fallen in the calamity that struck the Sael Kingdom.

He was from the Inquisition and was the archbishop overseeing the Inquisitors.

It was natural to be shaken by the death of such a pillar of support.

Moreover, with the Holy Knights having lost their Commander, the situation was not good.

But someone else shouted in response to the high priest’s statement.

“No! Are you saying we should just sit idle? At times like these, we should take a firm stance-!”

“Let’s face reality. Hasty decisions will only harm the Order.”

As the debate heated up, the conference room grew noisy.

Cardinal Valentine watched the situation silently, while Aurel also carefully observed the atmosphere.

In fact, Aurel did have another option.

The Chimera, which was being raised deep underground in the Order even now.

If they mobilized the Chimera, they could surely defeat the Free City Alliance.

But it was too early to play this card.

As he was pondering, another person raised their hand.

“Archbishop Emily?”

Archbishop Emily, in charge of administration, stood up from her seat.

“Then how about this method instead?”

Everyone focused their attention on Archbishop Emily’s words.

“To be frank, many incidents have occurred recently. Starting with the death of Priest Yuel, holy knights and Archbishop Titan have gone missing or lost their lives. And then the 7-star calamity along with the appearance of Eclipse….”

A series of incidents.

Just investigating these incidents was already overwhelming.

And now they were talking about recruiting Holy knights on top of that?

It was obvious that the Order’s power would be spread thin.

That’s why Emily had come up with one clever move.

“So, I would like to make one suggestion. Let’s request help from Queen Elena.”

Aurel asked in response to Emily’s words.

“Queen Elena?”

“Yes, Queen Elena is the one who repelled the calamity. She’s also being called the next Saint. If we borrow the power of the Sael Kingdom to check the Free City Alliance, we won’t need to expend the Order’s strength unnecessarily.”

It was quite a good idea.

Perhaps that’s why many nodded in agreement.

Already, Queen Elena’s status was rising day by day after repelling the calamity.

While the existing support base for Saint Helisa remained, a faction supporting Queen Elena was also emerging within the Order.

“Hmm. Queen Elena…”

Aurel fell into thought for a moment.

If they received help from the Queen, the price would not be small.

‘If that happens, the Free City Alliance will become the Sael Kingdom’s.’

If that happened, the Sael Kingdom would gain power rivaling the Empire.

In the long term, this wasn’t a particularly welcome development from the Order’s perspective.

Although she was being mentioned as the next Saint, she wasn’t officially a Saint yet.

On the other hand, the voices supporting the current Saint Helisa were still strong.

Aurel’s deliberation continued.

‘What should I do….’

The Order’s situation wasn’t favourable enough to mobilize the Holy knights.

But leaving Eclipse and the Free City Alliance alone?

That would cause the Order’s image to plummet in an instant.

As Aurel continued to ponder, suddenly a good idea occurred to him.

‘Then what if Queen Elena becomes the real Saint of the Order?’

If that happened, the Sael Kingdom would essentially be in the Order’s embrace.

Then even if the Sael Kingdom became an empire, it wouldn’t matter from the Order’s perspective.

‘In that case, we need to reduce Saint Helisa’s voice first.’

As Archbishop Emily suggested, they would entrust this to Queen Elena.

If Queen Elena handled this matter well too, Saint Helisa’s position would naturally become weaker.

‘Not bad.’

From Aurel’s perspective, it was a plan that could both keep Saint Helisa in check and bring the Sael Kingdom into the Order’s hands at the same time.

Of course, Queen Elena’s intentions were important too, but surely she wouldn’t refuse the will of the Order.

Having organized his thoughts, Aurel finally spoke.

“As Archbishop Emily suggested, let’s first send an envoy to the Sael Kingdom. If the Queen agrees, with the permission of His Holiness the Pope, we will designate the Free City Alliance as heretics and entrust all authority to Queen Elena.”

The meeting was reaching its final stages.

However, one more problem remained.

The Order was pointing to Eclipse as the mastermind behind this situation.

Above all, they needed to block the dungeon rumors in the mountains that had brought about this crisis.

“And please send an official letter to the Adventurers’ Guild as well. We should inform them that the rumors are false and warn that it’s Eclipse’s scheme. This way, we can prevent innocent people from falling into danger.”

The attendees agreed with Aurel’s proposal.

If the Order took direct action, they could significantly deter adventurers from heading to the mountains.

A day later, the Adventurers’ Guild received a letter sent by the Order.

And as its contents spread among the adventurers, interest in pursuing the rumors gradually began to decrease.

====

***

====

– Adventurers’ interest in the dungeon ‘Nest of the Evil God’ decreases. –

– Adventurers’ interest in the dungeon ‘Red-Headed Tribe’ decreases. –

– Adventurers’ interest in the dungeon ‘Remnants of the Abyss’ decreases. –

– Adventurers’ interest in the dungeon ‘Village Shrouded in Mist’ decreases. –

“What’s this now?”

Following the notification that the existence of dungeons was becoming known to adventurers, now there’s content saying that interest is decreasing.

“What on earth is happening on the El Dorad continent?”

Well, whatever the case, it was beneficial for me.

This was much better than the situation where adventurers might rush into the dungeon and get annihilated.

“Thanks to that, I’ve gained some abilities too.”

I acquired some decent abilities from the sacrifices Celia offered.

Venom Explosion and Spirit Affinity.

An A-rank skill and a B-rank trait respectively, if used well, they were abilities that could bring me great benefits in the future.

Still, I felt much more at ease now.

Until now, I had been on edge because the existence of the dungeon had become known to adventurers.

But with the alarm showing that adventurers’ interest was decreasing, I felt more relaxed.

“Now I can visit the Phoenix Guild without worry.”

I had been on standby just in case, but now it was time to visit the Phoenix Guild as an advisor.

Translator Note:

Apparently, I made a mistake in translating some term on civil war of Sael Kingdom chapter. The one with Commander Gerard is not High Priest but it is archbishop Titan. I was confused with the word Titan, and though that it was supposed to be translated as High.

Hope that this will clear the confusion from the previous chapter.

Thank you