Chapter 195: The Truth of the Abyss

“Moen and Altes are together?”

The situation was reasonable enough.

Although Sophie felt some surprise in her heart, she could still understand this pairing.

Moen was a radical within the Holy Land.

He had always advocated using high-pressure methods to deal with anyone who might become a heretic.

If even the slightest sign appeared, even without solid evidence from the Holy Land, they needed to eliminate it in advance to prevent the birth of heresy.

This would ensure the human world remained untainted by the abyss.

Such a stance naturally drew considerable opposition.

Many believed Moen’s ideas were too extreme and could easily provoke public backlash.

Of course, there were also many in the Holy Land who supported Moen.

The Holy Land’s influence had been declining in recent years.

Even during Sylvia’s time, it had failed to reach the peak of its historical glory.

To restore that former splendor, ambitious individuals needed to employ special measures.

Moen happened to possess exactly that kind of ambition, and his abilities as a cleric were outstanding.

As a result, opinions about Moen within the Holy Land were extremely polarized.

Any controversy surrounding him was usually suppressed by Altes.

“Pope, regarding the Abyssal Eye, I have uncovered the truth recently,” Moen reported to Altes.

“This is a cult that has existed for a very long time, traceable to an extremely ancient era.

They worship an omnipotent Abyss God.

They believe humanity has become thoroughly corrupt.

In the future, the Abyss God will descend upon the world to purge the fallen humans.

Only those who receive the Abyss God’s blessing and become demonized will be able to survive in the purified world.”

“Unlike ordinary cults, the Abyssal Eye should possess control over abyssal power, correct?”

“Yes.

Historically, there have been instances of demons assisting the Abyssal Eye.

This allowed them to master abyssal power and continue passing down the method of demonization to this day,” Moen explained.

“They have always operated in the shadows, subtly corrupting the human nobility.

Now they are no longer satisfied with staying beneath the surface and have begun creating various atrocities, such as the previous incident in Kado City.”

“I see.

So that’s why I found it strange that humans could master a stable demonization method.

It turns out they had assistance from demons.”

“Pope, allow me to take action.

Lead the Holy Knights to execute all the nobles who have come into contact with the Abyssal Eye.

Every single one of them could potentially fall and become demons,” Moen requested.

“No need.

Just let them continue what they’re doing,” Altes replied disdainfully.

“Why?” Moen expressed considerable confusion.

“Are we to tolerate heretics?”

“Moen, let me ask you something.”

“Please speak, Pope.”

“You have also conducted some heretical experiments, transforming Holy Knights who once fought abyssal beasts into demonized individuals, correct?”

Upon hearing this, Moen fell silent.

Because one of the demonized individuals in Kado City had been a Holy Knight he had transformed.

“Pope, so you have known all along.”

“Of course.”

“As expected, nothing escapes your notice.”

“Do you think you are any different from those nobles?”

“I am,” Moen replied righteously.

“My experiments were all conducted to better understand those demonized individuals.

Only by studying the abyss can we fight the abyss.

To achieve our goal, a price must be paid.”

“Are you not afraid of being tempted by the abyss yourself?”

“I am not.

My faith is firm enough.”

“Heh.” Altes chuckled.

Moen had thought Altes was about to criticize him, but he soon sensed something was off.

“Moen, how many times have you seen an angel now?”

“Pope, does this mean… you didn’t stop my experiments back then but secretly approved of them?”

Altes answered Moen’s question directly without denial.

He raised his head and looked at the angel before him.

“This is the third time.

To be honest, I never expected that angels truly exist within the Holy Mountain.

In that case, the legends of angels protecting humanity and fighting against demonkind must also be true.”

“They are true.

Angels possess unmatched divine power and Mythical-tier combat strength.”

“Mythical tier…”

“With Mythical-tier strength, let alone ruling the human world, sweeping across the entire Theia Continent would be no problem,” Altes said with a look of yearning.

“If one could master the power of the angels, they could stand above all life and become—a god.”

“Pope, I don’t understand.

Since humanity once possessed angels, why didn’t we unify the entire Theia Continent?”

“This is the limitation of angels.

Angels are not weapons of conquest.

They are the final line of defense for protecting humanity.

Their range of activity is restricted to the human world where people believe in the gods.

They will not take the initiative to attack.

Most importantly, they can only awaken under specific conditions.”

“Specific conditions?”

Moen thought for a moment.

Based on the legends of angels, he had some speculations.

“Could it be that angels only awaken when humanity falls into crisis?”

“Correct.

Then do you know how angels determine whether there is a crisis?”

“This…” Moen found himself stumped.

“This has always been a secret research topic within the Holy Land.

This puzzle has persisted for thousands upon thousands of years.

Every Pope has made many attempts to solve it, but… I was the one who finally unraveled this mystery.”

“What is it?”

“Proportion.”

Altes uttered the two extremely cold words.

“When the human population drops to a certain proportion, the angel will determine that humanity is in crisis.

To protect the continuation of the human race, it will awaken on its own.

Once the crisis is resolved, it will fall back into slumber.”

“So that’s how it works?”

Moen was very surprised.

Recalling the legends, it did seem to match—when humanity faced a great crisis and was on the verge of destruction, the angel would awaken to protect them.

“Now that we know this, can we make use of the angel’s characteristics to awaken it?” Altes pressed.

“Or to put it another way, what method could cause the human population to decrease drastically?”

Moen was stunned for a moment.

The answer had already surfaced in his mind.