Chapter 133: Lance Begins To Lead the Members of the Clergy Astray

A whirlwind of intense fervor swept through the sanctuary. The atmosphere was no longer one of tranquility. Instead, it was charged with passion and a powerful surge of faith. Light streaming through the stained-glass windows illuminated the challengers' faces. Their eyes grew increasingly resolute, as if stirred by the divine might of the Goddess of Fate.

"Praise be to the Goddess of Fate! If I am a damned cultist or a Traitor, let my destiny be steered toward ruin!"

"Death to the cultists of the Church of Resurrection and their entire families! I swear this, with the Goddess of Fate as my witness!"

Regardless of whether they were actual followers of the Church of the Goddess of Fate or not, everyone began to emulate Lance and repeat after him!

Under normal circumstances, no nation or cleric of the Goddess of Fate would be this overbearing to force everyone to proclaim praise for the Goddess just to prove their innocence, or simply to spite cultists.

Doing so would violate the very tenets of the Church: that no living being must ever be coerced into submitting. No cleric of the Church would ever engage in such forced proselytization, which was an act more extreme than the cultists' own methods.

However, in the current situation, the urgency of the matter was extraordinary. It was a question of everyone's lives, of whether the world would suffer a catastrophe due to a Shadow Realm challenge failure, and of whether they could apprehend the cultists threatening the world!

With such a righteous cause at stake, there was no room for personal sentiment or concerns about propriety. For an innocent challenger, publicly proclaiming praise for the Goddess of Fate before the Shadow Realm Recording System cost nothing. They could swear the most dire oaths with a clear conscience.

Unfortunately, for a member of the Church of Resurrection, once they publicly praised the Goddess of Fate with apparent sincerity and swore that oath... All the painstaking effort they had put into years of deep-cover infiltration in the real world, and all the merits they earned in this Shadow Realm, would become meaningless. Their path to future advancement within the cult would be utterly destroyed!

Waves of intense emotion coalesced into a unified bond within the sanctuary. The challengers were ignited by a sacred, passionate fervor. They prayed aloud, their impassioned words echoing through the sacred hall. Their voices merged into a mighty wave that surged against the hearts of all present.

"Has everyone said it?"

"Who hasn't spoken up yet?"

The young master was keenly observing the crowd. Aside from Lance, he was the person least afraid of drawing ire from others. Even the three clergy began scrutinizing the group, casting aside their usual ethics and moral standards.

If anyone showed resistance or failed to join in, their true colors would be glaringly obvious. At a moment like this, any attempt at making excuses would be futile. They would inevitably be subdued by the collective force of the entire group.

"Shall we go for another round?"

"This time, let's align our wording and repeat exactly what the Lawyer said."

Following that, after Lance set the tone, the crowd grew increasingly enthusiastic, swearing all sorts of solemn oaths to the Goddess of Fate. Driven by this fanatical, artificially motivated fervor, the challengers' faces became flushed with passion.

They channeled their hatred and loathing of the Traitors into faith to the Goddess, swearing oaths with ever increasing intensity. Every word was imbued with power, echoing endlessly through the sanctuary.

Listening to everyone chime in with their oaths made Lance start to genuinely enjoy the process. Feeling that a joyful, harmonious atmosphere was exactly what a Shadow Realm challenge with this theme called for, he then suggested, "If you're happy, go ahead and laugh! There's really no need to hold it back."

Hyperion immediately caught his drift and helped stoke the fire. "Surely there isn't anyone here who can't manage a natural smile, right?"

Although she was playing along with his mischief, she was inwardly weeping. She could distinctly feel her accumulated merit points slipping away yet again. That's not how the Goddess is supposed to be prayed to!

Back in the Demon Kingdom Shadow Realm, which was populated entirely by demons, Hyperion hadn't quite realized this fact. But now, she finally grasped the truth. Lance had an innate kind of contagious mental affliction. Spend enough time interacting with him, and even a normal person would gradually lose their sanity!

The young master laughed out loud, reveling in the spectacle. "You're absolutely wicked, Lawyer!"

Everyone knew there were two people in the sanctuary whose mental states had likely completely shattered. They were bleeding internally, yet forced to laugh along with the crowd to fit in. Maintaining such an extreme performance, one diametrically opposed to their true inner feelings, was a form of excruciating torture for these actors with every passing second.

"Everything is a gift from the Goddess. We have committed no sin." Even the three clergy from the Northern Continent, who knew full well that their actions were immoral, contrary to their doctrine, and would surely incur severe punishment from the Church of the Goddess of Fate upon their return, were grinning from ear to ear. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

When everyone around someone started laughing, it was truly difficult to keep from joining in. The blend of guilt born of necessity and the sheer thrill of ruthlessly tormenting the cultists created an experience they would never forget. An opportunity like this might come only once in a lifetime. Since punishment was inevitable either way, they might as well have a blast while doing it.

So, beneath the blazing kaleidoscope of colors from the sanctuary's stained-glass windows, the people were gripped by a mysterious and unsettling frenzy.

Bathed in the radiance reflected from the sanctuary's gilded murals, they sang ceaseless praises to the Goddess for her boundless benevolence. Amidst their prayers, they uttered cold, cruel, and venomous oaths. A morbid glee began to spread across their faces, and their eyes burned with a feverish madness as they stared at one another, as if seeking some arcane connection.

It all gradually devolved into an indescribable religious rite. Their twisted euphoria and cruel, savage grins echoed through the silent sanctuary, creating a stark contrast with the hallowed hall bathed in such radiance. It transcended the bounds of reverence, spiraling into something increasingly terrifying and grotesque.

***

Inside the conference room of the Sages' College at Ikerite University...

Despite the room's soft, soothing decor, a deathly silence hung heavy in the enclosed space. Every instructor present wore a grave expression. They averted their eyes from the central screen, not daring to utter a sound.

Lawrence, the dean of the college and high priest of the Church of the Goddess of Fate, had fallen silent in the seat of honor for quite some time. He was staring at the bizarre scene playing out on the magical screen.

His eyes were wide with shock. His lips parted, yet no sound escaped them for a long moment. They were supposed to be a church of good. Yet, thanks to Lance's antics, they looked exactly like a group of corrupted zealots whose minds had been invaded by an Evil God as they were performing a frenzied, deranged ritual.

Even the Church of Resurrection would call them a cult! On the screen, the three clergy, a priest, an executioner, and a paladin, were having a blast with Lance. Apparently they had mastered a "novel technique" for identifying cultists.

Lawrence didn't know what the cultists were feeling, but he felt like his head was about to explode! This recording from the Shadow Realm challenge would undoubtedly deal an irreversible blow to the Church of the Goddess of Fate's reputation in the real world!

After a long pause, Lawrence finally intoned, "I have noted down these three clergy members. They will face a formal reprimand across both the Northern and Southern Continents."

Furthermore, he resolved to warn all clergy members to steer clear of Lance Wilford, especially the younger ones whose mental fortitude was not yet fully tempered.