Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Gin's first thought was that their meddling with the ring that was on Skullius had called upon the unholy image before him as he made up his mind to kill Skullius if the current circumstance was somehow averted.

This monstrosity before him should not be allowed in this world!

It looked like a wriggling mass of black flesh but ultimately it was simply the squirming darkness that formed the rough and unsettling image of a large face!

The monstrosity in question took a few seconds to understand what was going on.

From his perspective, all the darkness around was rising and coiling to lift him up constantly as he felt strength continue to surge into him like a storm!

The notifications he had just received cleared up what was happening quite a bit.

'So this is one of the uses of that thing,' Skullius analysed.

Crude World Projection.

His affinity to Evil Darkness had once again returned to him after it was taken by Fulgardt that time.

This brought a bubbly sense of joy to the Discount Human.

This experience also proved to him that he didn't need mana to fuel the Fruit of World Myths which was insane to him.

But now what?

The audience was looking warily at him, waiting for him to do something that would actually prompt an appropriate response as this wasn't an open space.

The reason why they didn't attack immediately was unknown to Skullius but he would soon know that he had steered the fate the of many by simply appearing in this form.

Skullius decided to probe.

"Humans..."

Gin frowned even deeper when he heard the monstrosity speak.

That one word caused his thought process to become reversed. Perhaps he was wrong? Was this another separate event, after all?

Skullius grinned inwardly at seeing how disturbed everyone in the room was.

If it was like this, then it was time... to bullshit once more.

"You...are all doomed... W-"

It was unfortunate, but before Skullius could continue, an immense pulling force dragged his consciousness down to where his real body was, the Discount Human barely being able to see anything from the time he was pulled to the time he sank back into his body!

His physical body jerked as he returned to the cell where he was being held, the guards noticing this and focusing on him.

'WOOOW! That was insane bro!' Skullius thought as his cosmetic body took in large gusts of air.

He shifted his gaze to look in front of him where the Fruit of World Myths was and found it right there, serenely bobbing up and down.

A devastating sense of exhaustion bore down on him immediately and he collapsed on the ground, his body refusing to move.

Above, where Skullius left, there was a lot of commotion as Gin rushed to inform the other Knights, leaving the petty matter of Skullius' ring.

His suspicions led him to believe that something bigger was afoot.

This wasn't just about those heretics, the Green Neolists anymore.

It was about another group that the Purity sought to eradicate the most!

***

Inside the Palace, the light that came from the sun peeked through the windows and illuminated the figure of a heavily built man with long brown hair and sharp, hazel eyes who sat on a luxurious chair with plates of delicious food before him.

He sat at an elongated wooden table with two other figures present with him in the vast room where pieces of art adorned the walls with a marvellous mason-worked floor.

Of the other two, one was a man with greying hair donning a white robe while the other was a beautiful dark skinned woman who wore a sturdy, lean golden armour.

A conversation had been brewing while all three ate, though the aforementioned two did not take in much food.

As they had issues that bothered them, they merely accepted the Lord of the city's generosity out of courtesy.

"So, you tell me that you were attacked by a cultist from the Green Neolists and now he's in my city? Why haven't you disposed of him?" the city lord asked with a coldness seeping from his girthful body.

"I wanted to see if I can get extract soke intel from him before proceeding with his disposal?" Elita replied with a calm visage.

"That's reason enough to risk such a dangerous individual coming into my city?"

"He has been restrained and I aim to conclude that matter after this conversation."

"Would you say you take FULL responsibility then?"

"Naturally. That's why I'm here in the first place, city lord," said Elita without a shift in her tone, portraying her confidence.

The fat man munched on a large slab of meat while gazing unblinkingly at Elita for a few seconds and then he continuing to speak.

"You see, I drove away the Guilds and their supposed desire to create employment, and better my city because there were no threats that plagued this city. The Capital Knights were enough and I didn't want to be pumping out funds for no reason. However, even if its in the name of communion, I cannot accept you bringing trouble to my doorstep," the city lord said with a threatening tone.

The Grand Priest was appalled.

Enraged even.

He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Do you mean to tell me that even though there is a long line of men and women that seek the blessing of the Deities, you will deny those same Deities any form of respect?!"

The city lord's expression remained the same as he calmly offered his opinion.

"Grand Priest, I know the Purity truly believes that they are seers that have things revealed to them by the Deities and can somehow sway their decisions but my view is different. For thousands of years, there has been darkness in the hearts of man and their counterparts."

"All of them receive blessings all the same. There is no need for tribute or offerings. We don't see this divinity you speak of. I only allow you to enter my city because you bolster morale not because you make a goddammn difference."

"You yourselves wonder why there is a another group that follows a Deity known as the Traitor but is not punished don't you? Isn't that the source of most of your headaches? In my opinion, the Deities prefer for us to solve our problems ourselves and don't give a damn about us at all."

The Grand Priest turned red with rage but Elita quickly intervened before he said something out of line.

"No one here can harass you for your opinion, city lord but please do allow me to handle this. I will make sure that there won't be any problems."

Seeing the confident and firm expression of Elita, the city lord did not go on and merely nodded which made Elita sigh in relief inwardly.

Right then, a Knight walked up to the Elita and whispered something in her ear.

Her expression didn't change from what she heard but she did take in a deep breath while in her mind, she officially confirmed that her inferences about the blank-faced criminal she had seen were true.

"If you would excuse me, I would like to deal with that problem I brought into your city," the Paladin Champion said.