Chapter 206

Chapter 206

The Pope and Judas did not receive the reaction they were hoping for. Only the front rows of the congregation politely cheered. However, someone soon sensed something amiss. Before the Pope could think of a solution, a figure hastily climbed up the steps from the audience and approached Lane, feeling his neck and pulse.

After a moment, the man's voice trembled, "I-I... It's a human. He's dead."

Upon this declaration, the crowd erupted in commotion. The Pope, realizing the gravity of the situation, quickly interjected before Judas could speak, "What human? He's a demon! A demon!"

The medic attempted to say more, but the Pope, now fearful, hurriedly signaled for nearby believers to remove him from the stage. At that moment, another uproar arose from the crowd below.

Looking down, the Pope saw the crowd part once again as several figures with curved ram horns and covered in white cloths emerged from the throng.

"You... You all..."

Not only the Pope, but everyone was stunned. These individuals appeared identical to Lane at first glance – the same curved horns, white hair, and even sheep's legs. The white cloths covering their faces were also the same.

What on earth...

The Pope's mind was in disarray, unable to comprehend the situation. In a moment of instinct, he declared, "They're all demons. The demons have risen."

"Silence." Judas rebuked the Pope with a grim expression, then turned solemnly to the figures emerging from the shadows.

Divinity on Earth first removed the horn decorations from their head and the white cloth, revealing a somewhat pale face. They confronted the Pope, "To you, anyone who opposes you is a devil? And who grants you the right to commit murder in public?"

"We stand here, go ahead and make your move."

The others followed suit, removing their horned masks, white cloths, and the hoofed costumes that concealed their human form, just like the figure that had fallen earlier. Once stripped of their demonic attributes, they were revealed to be mere humans.

Judas could no longer ignore the truth; he had been deceived.

"There are no devils here. To this church, anyone who opposes them is deemed a devil," Divinity on Earth turned to address the crowd, "And just now, they killed an innocent human. Do they have the right to do so?"

"No!" The dissenting forces and players, who had already hidden among the crowd, promptly echoed in unison.

"They claim divine protection, so I'll expose their deceit," Divinity on Earth stepped onto the stage, and the awe-inspired believers, including the Pope, hesitated to intervene. Divinity on Earth approached the food cart, pushing it aside to reveal the mechanism beneath, "See, it's merely a trick! The empty space beneath the stage is filled with food!"

A commotion erupted below. An NPC, unable to contain their curiosity, rushed up. The stunned believers and Pope, having made no preparations for hidden food, were initially nonplussed by the revelation and failed to stop the intruder.

The NPC reached Divinity on Earth's side and, indeed, saw the abundance of food beneath the stage. They exclaimed in amazement, "What they said is true!"

Now, Judas finally understood what Lane was up to, and his lips twitched uncontrollably.

Of course, the miracle of the five loaves and two fish just now was genuine – Judas knew he himself had orchestrated it. There were no hidden mechanisms on stage, nor were there any provisions beforehand. That meant that the moment this person stepped forward, an Old God had employed its power to conjure these items out of thin air.

In essence, it was still a divine miracle, but these people were forcefully interpreting it as a mere illusion.

The crowd began to stir. The believers looked at the food in their hands in confusion, while the Pope turned to Judas anxiously, only to see him expressionless, as if victory was already in his grasp.

On stage, the performance of the God on Earth continued. Their purpose for coming here was to expose all the Church's miracles as mere "tricks."

"Not only that, look at those who claim to be healed. How many of them are merely acting, and how many have genuinely recovered?"

Those in the crowd who had believed themselves healed were instantly shaken by the God on Earth's words. In that instant, the warmth they had sensed within their bodies seemed to vanish, replaced by an unbearable itch in their throats; some even involuntarily coughed.

Undoubtedly, their faith had been shaken.

The Pope looked urgently to Judas, hoping he would do something. Judas, living up to expectations, sneered coldly. "Heh, so that's your plan."

They aimed to brand the Church as frauds, erode the people's faith in him, and attribute everything to the guise of science.

But didn't they realize that such tricks would only be laughed at in the face of true power?

Judas moved steadily toward the God on Earth. He had already decided this man's fate: to turn into a pillar of salt before everyone, a most incompatible ending for a clown, wouldn't you say?

The God on Earth continued addressing the crowd with confidence. He was a natural at grand spectacles, explaining one by one the miracles previously performed by the Church through magic tricks, and his explanations were plausible. The ritual of the Holy Mother and Son had been witnessed by only a few; it could be attributed to hallucinogens. The healing of the masses with blood bottles was due to the Church's monopoly on medicine.

He faced away from Judas, seemingly oblivious to his actions. In the next instant, Judas laid a hand on his shoulder and silently summoned the power of dreams. However, he couldn't help but reveal a look of astonishment the following moment.

He couldn't move.

Impossible.

Judas struggled to control the body. The young soul within should have been sleeping deeply under his command in the realm of dreams. So why was it still able to awaken and resist him?

"Good morning, betrayer 'Judas'," a mature male voice, distinct from Amos's childhood tone, emerged from within the body. "Can you refrain from interrupting our Lord's faithful during their performance?"

Somewhere along the way, the white puppy had vanished without a trace.

Judas was perplexed. Why could this consciousness also inhabit this body? Why did it seem to have precedence over his control of it?

Judas turned his head with great effort, only to find that the fallen Lane had vanished without a trace. None of the onlookers had noticed, as their attention was captivated by the divine sermon.

"The Messiah's Church is not our savior. On the contrary, it has been deceiving us all along, and they're involved in the abuse of children."

With these words, the God Amongst Men seized Judas's hand from his shoulder, feigning deep concern as he pulled the boy into his embrace. "Look at this child, and then at the so-called holy water of the church."

Unnoticed by all, the Blood Acolyte had stealthily climbed up from behind the stage, shoving aside the believer standing next to the large jar of holy water, toppling it over.

The believer, startled, instinctively took a few steps back, missing the chance to avert disaster.

The jar of holy water hit the ground, and as the concentrated sulfuric acid inside came into contact with the wooden stage, a chemical reaction began – a sight clearly visible to everyone below.

The entire audience fell silent.

This so-called holy water was, in fact, sulfuric acid that could corrode flesh and bone.

"No, no," the Pope's face drained of all color, as white as a sheet.

"Not?" The God Amongst Men sneered, directing a cold gaze at him. "Then perhaps His Holiness would like to stick his head in and see if the divine will favor you?"

The Pope opened his mouth, then closed it. His regal robes trembled as he instinctively gazed at Amos, whom he had pulled into his embrace.

No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go!

Why, why wasn't God saying anything?

Judas was bitter within.

Did he not want to struggle? He was fighting fiercely against the other soul within him. Normally, the Old Gods overwhelmed humans, but this soul was peculiar. It seemed to fit this body perfectly, and with Lane's suppression, Judas was powerless for the time being.

Worse still, as God spoke on Earth, Judas could sense his faith dwindling. The very foundation of this dream was gradually slipping away from him.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Despite Judas's struggles, to the onlookers, he appeared as a child obediently leaning against God on Earth, as if finding solace.

Judas: Vomit.

The crowd's gaze at the Church grew increasingly menacing. Suddenly, a person in the midst of them began to cough loudly. Those around him instinctively stepped back, creating an empty circle. As the man continued to cough, dark red blood spewed forth.

"It's the Plague! The Black Death!" someone beside him shrieked in terror.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, only to be engulfed by an even greater chaos shortly after.

The Church had never considered isolating the infected when summoning people. Or perhaps, in their view, as long as they could harvest the faith of the entire city, the subsequent plague and death would be of no concern. But now that the Church's faith was crumbling...

The fear of the plague returned to people's hearts. They suddenly realized that the so-called holy medicine was merely an ordinary drug, implying that there was no divine protection. With the plague's high mortality rate, even with medication, people would still die – likely themselves.

For if the Church's vial of blood wasn't a cure, it was the perfect conduit for plague infection!

"Ugh, ugh!" Some believers came to their senses and couldn't help but vomit at the thought of drinking human blood. This vomiting was misconstrued by others as a symptom of the plague, spreading panic like an infectious disease. Everyone lost control, frantically rushing towards the exits, trying to escape the source of contamination.

"Stop! No, don't leave!" the Pope yelled desperately, attempting to halt the frenzied crowd. If the Church's Holy Feast ended in such a disaster, everything would be over. They had arranged for a broadcast to the whole city, and now everyone within had heard the 'exposure' of their deity on Earth, realizing that the Church was a fraud and murderer.

"All of this is a lie! We have God's protection! This is real!"

No one paid attention to him. The Pope's desperate gaze swept over the bishops below, who had all witnessed the miracles firsthand. If they stood up...

Under his gaze, the bishops lowered their heads. Some stood there, unsure of what to do, while others, quick-witted, realized that the Church was doomed. They removed their bishop robes, bowed their heads, and blended into the chaotic crowd, slipping away unnoticed.

"Wait, don't go." The Pope instinctively tried to intercept, stepping forward, but was knocked to the ground by an unseen force from behind. His face landed on the sulfur-coated stage, causing him to let out a shrill scream.

Adding to his misfortune, the one who had knocked him down was one of the believers on stage. They, too, had abandoned their faith and, without hesitation, trampled over the Pope as they fled.

Wails, screams, and chaos spread throughout the square. The overcrowded area turned into a stampede once panic set in. Players scrambled to maintain order while the believers scattered in all directions. For a moment, Judas was the only one left standing on the stage.

No, there was one more person.

Amidst the chaos, Judas sensed his control over the dreamworld slipping away.

Not just due to the waning faith, but also the relentless solidification of the dream that drained his strength relentlessly.

He had lost.

Fixing his gaze ahead, Judas noticed another 'demon' figure had appeared on the stage, though it would be more accurate to call him a Faun.

"It's your victory," Judas said solemnly, looking at the chaotic scene below. "The demon has triumphed over the divine. Claim your spoils of war."

His countenance, split in two, bore a familiar fervor on one side that Lane knew well: "My Lord, strike now! Kill me!"

In the midst of humanity's greatest chaos and despair, with Lane slaying Amos and manifesting the divine miracle of the Shepherd, the entire city's faith would be his. The dream would solidify, and upon returning to the present, New Port would become his new domain, a divine kingdom.

He would triumph immensely.

Lane stepped forward towards Amos. At this point, Judas was on the verge of collapsing, squeezed aside by both the adult and child versions of Amos. Though they shared the same face, their expressions were starkly different: the mature Amos radiated fanaticism, as if he had long awaited this moment, while the youthful Amos appeared bewildered, his eyes flickering with confusion. After a moment, a joyful smile spread across his face:

"Did Mr. Demon win? That's wonderful. What a pity, I seem to have dozed off and missed witnessing it myself..."

He watched Lane approach with a broad smile on his face. "The final act is to slay me? Very well, if it's your wish."

Lane stepped before Amos. Neither of the two Amoses seemed to object to meeting their end at Lane's hands. The younger Amos closed one eye, while the older one continued to fix his gaze intently on Lane, as if he wanted to witness Lane's rise to greatness even in death by treading on his corpse.

Yet, the end didn't come as expected.

Both of them felt a tap on their shoulders. The younger Amos instinctively opened his eyes to see Lane's lips curve upward. The white cloth covering his face was blown away by the chaotic wind, revealing his emerald-green eyes shimmering with youthful audacity. "Look up."

Both the adult and the young Amos, along with the resentful Judas within them, involuntarily lifted their heads to stare at the sky.

A hot air balloon was ascending steadily into the sky.

...

Six hours earlier, in the farthest corner from the square, the Science Student had sneaked to an NPC's residence under the cover of darkness and knocked on the door.

Someone immediately answered, asking, "Are you the one Anthony and Fors sent over?"

"Yup, that's me. When do we start?"

"We'll build it indoors first. Once the sun comes up and the Church holds its so-called Holy Feast, we'll launch the hot air balloon." The engineer spoke with some unease, "Are you sure this method will work?"

Although the Church had withdrawn its management of the quarantine, they had never ceased their efforts to cut off all communication between the city and the outside world. All means of communication were futile, and some even attempted digging tunnels, but these endeavors typically ended in failure due to unforeseen circumstances.

As time passed, people couldn't help but wonder if there might be supernatural interference at play.

"Certainly!" The Science Student thumped his chest with his thumb, "We must have faith in science!"

"Science is the light that illuminates humanity!"

...

As everyone's attention was fixated on the commotion caused by the Church, none of them noticed a colossal hot air balloon rising from the heart of the city.

Emblazoned on its surface was the universally recognized distress signal,

'SOS.'

On the reverse side, it read,

'The Church has taken control over us!'

The message was visible to all within and beyond the city limits.

Outside the city, a journalist put down his binoculars and instructed the cameraman beside him, "Did you get that?"

The cameraman replied, "Got it, sir."

"Excellent, there's bound to be a huge story unfolding in the city!" The journalist's face was flushed with excitement. "I've already contacted headquarters, and they're leveraging their connections to reach out to influential figures in politics and the military. This major news story will undoubtedly belong to the Orland Times!"

Not just the scent-seeking journalists, but also the ever-present Doctors Without Borders and the media with their watchful eyes on the city, were all drawn to the spectacle.

The moment the hot air balloon ascended, the city could no longer shield itself from external scrutiny.

Everything the Savior Society did would be under the gaze of outsiders, including their attempts to manipulate public sentiment and the group that sought to expose them.

Judas was utterly perplexed by Lane: "Why push away faith that's right in front of you?"

With external forces poised to intervene, if Lane didn't act, the outcome would be a wasted opportunity. Even the Old Gods knew that the best time to reap faith was when humans were at their most vulnerable and desperate.

"Because I'm not like you," Lane said coolly.

The minds of the people here would now belong to freedom and science. Apart from that, the outside world would inevitably intervene, investigating the cult issue thoroughly. The fate of this city was likely to undergo a dramatic transformation.

" Foolish," Judas declared.

"We'll see about that," Lane replied.

In that instant, a hole tore open in the clouds, and sunlight flooded down, bathing the stage in a radiant glow.

The square had emptied significantly, save for a few players who had witnessed Amos and Lane's confrontation and were now looking up expectantly.

However, they only saw the figure of a child left up there.

Amos stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded. The other two voices within him, along with Lane, who had just been standing before him, had vanished.

He looked up and saw the hot air balloon ascending higher and higher. The scientist was cheerfully waving at the ground below:

"Look, we're flying so high~"

"This is the charm of science; we've conquered the skies!"

The scientist was ecstatic, while the engineer was despairing: "Stop shouting! The fire's too big, it's about to burn everything! Come help me... Where are you???"

In the blink of an eye, the scientist had disappeared. The engineer anxiously looked down, only to find no one in sight from any direction.

"Am I seeing ghosts?!"

A journalist in the distance captured this scene. In the still image, the engineer was seen frantically yelling from the hot air balloon. Though the distance made it impossible to discern his words, he must have been thrilled!

As the sun's rays illuminated more of the land, the players' silhouettes faded from sight.

The dream had come to an end.