Surviving as a Villain at the Academy - Surviving as a Villain at the Academy chapter 170

170 – Anguish.

From Noble mtl dot com

Pope Angelus III felt a throbbing in his head. When on earth should he declare the Holy War?

It was something that had to be done. The Holy War was not simply an ambiguous oracle that had been passed down to the Saintess, but a direct voice of God that the Archangel Michael had heard and conveyed, so there was no room for human will to intervene.

Therefore, it was something that had to be done, but the problem was a matter of timing. Michael had unfortunately returned to heaven as soon as the excommunication trial was over.

In other words, he had no idea when he should bring up the topic of the Holy War.

What on earth was he supposed to do?

His head was throbbing. If only the deadline were clear, he would have made a plan accordingly and moved gradually, but he couldn’t even do that, so he couldn’t prepare for anything.

“What on earth do you want me to do…”

The Pope sighed and lamented.

Also, even if he were to declare a Holy War, there would be a problem. How would he find the followers of evil who were hiding somewhere, and how would he find the demons who did not easily show their faces?

He had been told to throw the wicked into the flames of purification, but it was practically impossible. He felt like shouting to the heavens that it was impossible.

Yet he must. It was God’s will, and it was the duty of the faithful to follow God’s will.

…He had to find a way. First, in order to declare a Crusade, he needed a definite cause, so he had to find traces of evil’s machinations.

In any case, the corruption and decadence within the Holy Kingdom had been eradicated.

Although it had created several administrative vacuums, the Pope’s trusted personnel were filling the positions.

They were naturally talented and pious, men of great integrity… so it wouldn’t take long for the Holy Kingdom’s administration to return to normal.

And once that happened, he would be able to dispatch Inquisition Judges throughout the continent. The Pope was even thinking of secretly giving them special positions.

Positions that could not be infringed upon by any church authority, operating as a thorough investigative organization.

They would only follow the Pope’s orders, traveling the world to find the seeds of evil.

The name of the group… well.

Inquisitors, that wouldn’t be too bad.

The Pope finished his musings, his eyes gleaming. Now it was time to create the group and put them to work.

* * *

The Inquisition Judges were puzzled by the Pope’s untimely summons. It wasn’t as if there were any pressing matters to call them for, since they had just burned the ringleaders of the recent corruption scandal at the stake.

So why had the Pope summoned them again?

“It has been a while since I have seen your faces.”

The Inquisition Judges solemnly awaited his words as the Pope cleared his throat.

“You must be wondering. Since we have just eradicated the corruption that had taken root in the Holy Kingdom, why have I called you here again?”

Several Inquisition Judges nodded.

“There is work for you to do.”

“Is it an important matter?”

“Yes. Perhaps the most important in the history of the Holy Kingdom.”

The Inquisition Judges’ expressions changed when the Pope said that. What could be so important that the Pope would say that? The most important matter in the history of the Holy Kingdom.

“What is it?”

One of the Inquisition Judges spoke up.

“You must prepare for a Crusade.”

“A Crusade…?”

The Inquisition Judges exclaimed in surprise at the sudden turn of events. A Crusade out of the blue. What did that even mean?

“May I ask why? The Holy Kingdom has not yet stabilized, and now a Crusade?”

“That is…”

The Pope hesitated for a moment. But this was a time when he had to be honest.

“It was a divine revelation from Deus.”

“……!”

“To be precise, it was something that the Archangel Michael, who burned the wicked during the recent Excommunication Trial, told me directly. He told me to purge the wicked, stabilize the Holy Kingdom, and eradicate the roots of evil before it arrives.”

The Inquisition Judges’ expressions changed. It had been hundreds of years since the Archangel Michael had directly delivered God’s message to the Pope.

Indeed, it was as important a matter as the Pope had said.

“What do you want us to do?”

“Go to all corners of the continent. Find traces of evil there and report them to the church.”

“……If necessary, may we execute them on the spot?”

The Pope shook his head.

“There are powerful beings in this world. If there are evil and powerful beings, it will be difficult to spare their lives.”

“Life is something that you can cast away at any time. As long as God’s will is with you.”

“Of course, we respect your intentions, but it is more problematic if we miss the traces of evil because of that. Do not act rashly. As soon as you find the traces, report it to the church and take refuge. It is not too late to fight them directly later.”

They nodded at the Pope’s words.

“From now on, everyone present here will operate in secret, and you will not share the details of your activities with each other. Only contact those designated by me in the church and give them information. The devil is an evil being. He may invade your mind and do something terrible.”

It meant that they would operate in a thorough cellular organization.

“We will keep that in mind.”

“Good. And those heresy judges will be called… searchers from now on.”

“Searchers…”

“Those who search for evil and prevent danger. Your role is very important.”

“We will obey.”

The heresy judges, no. The searchers knelt down.

The Pope sighed. He knew that it would not end with simply appointing the heresy judges as searchers.

This was because replacements were needed for the heresy judges who were absent due to their searcher activities. However, it would not be easy. Not to mention other talents, heresy judges were the rarest talents even in the Holy Kingdom.

But what could he do? He had no choice but to follow God’s direct orders.

* * *

Below, at the bottom of hell.

The Great Lord Baal, who could be called the master of hell, muttered in a sleepy voice.

-Oh, I see that Deus is moving when I wake up from my long sleep… Indeed, what will our almighty God do?

He spoke mockingly. The fact that God was moving meant that the war between hell and heaven was imminent. Baal’s awakening was probably a result of that.

-The damage from the last war was severe, and I chose to sleep because I was tired of being bored… But it must have been a great choice. It will be a joyful time for the first time in a long time.

Baal could not hide his anticipation. It was his hobby to tear the wings of angels, tear humans apart, and create mountains and rivers made of flesh and blood.

However, he would not be able to move right away. Even though he had slept for so long, he still had some injuries. He wanted to fight in perfect condition, so unfortunately, knocking on the door of the human world would have to wait a bit.

Of course, since he had woken up from a long sleep, he needed to know what was going on in hell.

Well, nothing much would have changed anyway. The devils of hell always did the same thing. They were probably still sleeping somewhere or playing around with humans.

Anyway, Baal was very happy with this time that had come after a long time. In the not-too-distant future, he would once again step on the land of the human world and stand in the middle of the battlefield.

* * *

Today, Asti could fully understand why there was so much talk about her.

She had always been clinging to Prah’s side with a cynical expression, but now she was smiling broadly as if she had changed into a different person… It must have been quite shocking to the people who saw her.

However, no matter what they said, Asti felt like being like this all day today. This was because her happiness was not a joke.

It was a bit embarrassing to think that she had stamped the seal with just a kiss, and there were many obstacles to overcome before she could progress in their relationship.

But in the end, she had done it and won. She could not have been more satisfied with the way she had stamped the seal that Prah was truly hers.

Now, she could confidently tell the other girls who were after Prah. That she was Prah’s first real woman.

She also thought. Perhaps the other girls would have a much harder time than her.

Because even though Prah already liked Asti, it took this long for them to have their first relationship. Perhaps the other girls would not be faster than her, but slower.

Feeling an unknown sense of superiority at that fact, she even hummed a little tune.