Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 86

After the Archbishop summoned the darkness in the temple, Calliope closed her eyes.

There was nothing to see even if she opened them anyway.

She closed her eyes and focused on her five senses, excluding sight.

The thick scent of blood filling the chapel, the screams coming from outside the temple, and the unknown magical power sweeping over her skin continued to stimulate her senses.

However, Calliope waited calmly, as always.

“Calliope.”

The voice she had been waiting for most.

She returned to her master’s side even though she couldn’t see.

That place was the happiest and most desired place for her.

Her cold heart beat a little faster.

“Gather around me, all of you.”

The scattered familiars gathered around Edar.

Even if they couldn’t see each other, the familiars were connected by thoughts.

They knew each other were nearby and looked only ahead.

They were wary of something rushing at them from the darkness.

– Hehehehehe…

A sneer echoed in her mind.

It was Archbishop Gottloph’s laughter.

– Have you realized the preciousness of light? The existence of light that is always with us but you take for granted. How scary it is to leave your side…

Calliope focused on where the altar would be.

Even if she couldn’t see it, she could feel the flow of magical power.

Thousands of believers had died, their souls offered to the Archbishop.

The Archbishop’s magical power stimulated her senses more intensely than the scent of blood.

Thump, thump, thump…

The magical power fluctuated, causing vibrations around it.

It was being used to maintain the magic the Archbishop cast to summon the darkness.

The souls were screaming, having the magical power extracted from them.

– The darkness will disappear. But when that happens, everything you should have will also disappear. You should not have come to this land.

“Foolish words.”

– Foolish? If you hadn’t come, this wouldn’t have happened? It would have ended with simply re-establishing Therled’s loyalty?

“No matter how much loyalty you offer, you will be abandoned. The eternal kingdom you desire does not exist. The day Tiamar’s power fades and Rod dies, your role will be over.”

– Hmph, don’t try to deceive me with lies!

A voice filled with magical power erupted.

A strong wind struck Calliope.

Blood-stained water soaked her.

“The deception was done not by me, but by the liars you believe in.”

Edar chuckled softly.

“As proof, this is not true darkness.”

Light appeared in the darkness.

– What…

Golden light emanated from Edar, illuminating the surroundings.

– No… how…

“You created false darkness; did you think I couldn’t create light? The darkness you created is just a blindfold. The light emitted by the soul cannot be hidden.”

Edar placed his hand on Calliope’s shoulder.

Light rode on Calliope and enveloped her.

Following that, light spread like branches from his feet, riding on each of the other familiars and enveloping them.

– You are…

Edar smiled at the altar in the darkness.

It was a truly gentle but also sad smile.

“There is nothing more pathetic than committing sins deceived by falsehoods and then realizing the truth.”

Edar walked forward.

With each step he took, the darkness receded.

The darkness fled outside the chapel, revealing the inside of the temple.

The chapel floor was filled with the blood shed by thousands of dead believers.

The hardened blood clung to him as he took each step.

As if trying to hold Edar back.

However, his pace did not slow down at all.

“How ugly, Gottloph.”

Edar’s light shone on the Archbishop prostrate on the altar.

– Don’t look at me.

Archbishop Gottloph was in the form of a wolf with his entire body melting.

The fur had fallen out, the skin was sagging, and dark red boils grew all over his body, oozing pus from the holes.

“Isn’t this the form you wanted yourself?”

It must have been because he used presumptuous power to create darkness.

Not only the souls of the believers but even his own body was sacrificed.

He was barely breathing, with the flame of life flickering faintly.

– Don’t come any closer!

The Archbishop swung his front paw.

Before it could reach Edar, Calliope blocked it.

The severed paw rolled on the floor and quickly withered.

– Do not put me to the test! You are not a god! You are a fake! Horbid [likely a corrupted deity or entity]! Do not tempt me, and save me from falsehood!

A haze rose above the Archbishop.

Horbid reappeared as he had appeared before Bishop Bowler.

“I told you not to interfere with humans.”

Horbid surged fiercely.

No sound was heard, but it was clear he was angry.

Edar twisted his lips into a sneer.

The light he emitted pushed back the darkness emitted by Horbid.

Horbid resisted but was weakly erased.

A mere part of the main body could not harm him.

“This is the second time.”

Edar shook his head.

– Horbid…

The Archbishop sobbed as Horbid disappeared.

Unlike Bishop Bowler, his appearance did not return to human form even after Horbid disappeared.

A soul remained in the gem, giving him strength.

He was maintaining his body with the magical power of the soul.

“Your sin is heavy.”

Edar solemnly declared and gestured to Calliope.

She stood before the Archbishop.

– To punish the darkness… the false light on this land… my soul… Even if it’s not Horbid, give me—

At that moment, the gem embedded in the Archbishop’s forehead burst with red light.

The red light flashed for a moment and then disappeared, emitting darkness.

Unlike the darkness created by the Archbishop, it pushed back Edar’s light.

“······!”

As Calliope stumbled back in surprise, Edar reached out his hand.

He pulled her back and snatched her sword, slamming it into the floor.

Thung!

Whoosh!

Blue flames rose from the tip of the sword.

The fire spread forward, colliding with the onrushing darkness.

“Edar-nim!”

Calliope called her master’s name but could not approach.

Magical power different from Horbid’s was colliding with Edar, and the magical power scattering in all directions settled on the bodies of the believers, causing strange changes.

Crack, crack—

The bodies imbued with magical power swelled up like balloons, making sickening sounds, then tore through the flesh and gave birth to bizarre monsters.

They stood on two feet like humans, but they had scales, their tongues hung down to their knees, and their eyes were larger than fists.

Grrr… grrr…

Calliope and the familiars were wary of these strange monsters.

Because they were monsters born from the darkness that threatened their master.

It wouldn’t be strange if they rushed at them right away.

Grrr?

However, the monsters only tilted their heads for a moment.

They did not fight them but looked around before climbing up the walls.

Calliope, who could not possibly not know what that meant, shouted.

“Stop them!”

The familiars chased after the monsters.

The monsters were not strong, so they were easily caught by the familiars.

However, there were too many of them, so most of them escaped from the temple.

Since the number of bodies was in the thousands, the number of monsters was also in the thousands.

Thousands of unknown monsters spread throughout the city.

“Shall we pursue them?”

“I will protect Edar-nim. Pursue them.”

She gave instructions to the familiars and stood by her master’s side.

The darkness created by the gem disappeared as soon as it created the monsters.

The flames spewed by the blade also died down as the darkness disappeared.

The flame possessed by the souls that had been inside the Archbishop and the gem also went out.

But the darkness cast over the city remained with the monsters.

“Edar-nim.”

Calliope called out to her master, who was not moving, with her sword stuck in the ground.

Edar sighed briefly and straightened his back.

“Horbid, you fool.”

He muttered, looking at the Archbishop crumbling into dust.

“He probably doesn’t even know what he did.”

Edar reached into his clothes and took out a pendant.

A gem was embedded in the center of the eye-shaped pendant as a pupil.

The round gem emitting a blue light vibrated fiercely.

Along with the ring on the hand holding the pendant.

‘A gem containing Tiamar’s soul.’

Calliope recalled the identity of the gem.

Edar looked back and forth between the gem and the ring and opened his mouth.

“The arrogant fools approached, believing they could control her. But they are the ones being controlled. Because they don’t know why she betrayed.”

He hardened his expression and looked out the broken window.

“Let’s go to the highest spire in this city. To a large and high place that can be a lighthouse, so that everyone in the city can see it.”