Saint

The deck fell silent.

In the eyes of the servants and crew, young Master Yug was still just a child. As the eldest son of the sitting Speaker, he had made his first voyage with the fleet when he was seven.

Yug was easygoing and could get along with anyone, leaving a good impression on everyone he met.

But they all felt that the young master might be better suited to becoming an adventurer sailing freely across the sea than a senator. This was the first time they had heard him comment on another country's domestic affairs—and the sort of comment that left people speechless.

A civil war was about to break out in the Empire.

They could imagine the shock his report would cause in the Council.

They only thought that the young master didn't yet understand what it meant to be an ambassador. Every word he said to the Council after this voyage could have a profound impact on its future policies.

The captain hurriedly said, "No, no, no, young master, you can't joke about that. How could a civil war possibly break out in the Empire?"

"Within a year of His Majesty Henry's death at the latest."

Yug was unmoved. Resting his chin on his left hand, he continued, "Lily, when the Lofik Consortium and the Pope met with us, they both asked the same question: which would the Deep Sea Council prefer to establish a long-term partnership with, the consortium or the Church?"

"That's only natural, young master. Several years ago, both of them told the Council that they hoped to establish trading houses and churches in our coastal cities."

Lily said, "Since sea travel became possible, the ties between civilizations have grown much closer."

"As far as I know, the Empire's laws of succession differ from the Council's. They place greater importance on bloodline, and the next heir to the throne can only be one of His Majesty Henry's descendants. And yet they haven't mentioned any of the potential heirs even once."

"Succession disputes have always been like that in the Empire."

The captain said, "His Majesty Henry himself only inherited the throne because the Netheriel Holy Church supported him after he distinguished himself by slaying a dragon. Whatever happens, the unrest will only be temporary."

"That's true, but unrest creates opportunities for others. Times have changed. In this age, even an ordinary person equipped with weapons made by Imperial Military Industry might be able to kill a well-trained soldier of the Kingdom Army."

Yug remained seated, facing off against the captain and Lily, yet not a single crew member had joined his "side."

After all, his prediction sounded utterly absurd.

Lily shook her head bitterly. "A rebellion like that wouldn't last more than three days. Once the Empire sent out a Saint, the rebels wouldn't stand a chance."

The Empire had established the system for classifying supernatural beings. Once a human entered the realm of the third tier, they became an existence beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Yet two higher ranks existed above the third tier. No matter their path, anyone who reached the fifth tier would be granted the title of Saint.

Like a deity walking among mortals.

That was how people described Saints.

Though the Empire had been severely weakened by its battle with the Winter Witch, even setting aside the ailing Henry IV, it still maintained close ties with at least three Saints.

Her eyes suddenly dimmed. She lowered her head and said, "In the face of a Saint, the struggles of mortals are meaningless."

Even if the young master's prediction came true, she could already see how this fierce struggle would end: they would be crushed like ants, their heads cut off and hung on the city walls as a warning to those who came after.

Their names would also be written into the history books as unforgivable sinners, nailed to history's pillar of shame.

Noticing Lily's change in mood, Yug changed the subject. "By the way, the last time my father visited the Empire, the Containment Bureau hadn't been established yet, had it?"

The captain picked up the cue and smoothly continued, "Oh, I've heard of them. They're supposedly an agency dedicated to handling abnormal cases in the Empire. They were founded only in the past few years. Their previous director was an extraordinary figure—he was awarded the title of Fourth-Order Scholar by the Enlightenment Society when he was just thirty. It's a pity he met with an accident. Otherwise, the Empire might have had another Saint in a few years."

Yug said, "I think 'dealing with Evil God Cultists' would be more accurate than 'handling abnormal cases.' After all, most of the cases they investigate are created by Evil God Cultists. It's a game of naming strategy."

"Naming strategy?"

"Leave 'Evil God' out of the name, and the situation seems less serious. Don't you find it strange? Ever since the Fourth Epoch, Evil God Cultists have never disappeared. So why has the Empire now established a special department to deal with these kinds of incidents?"

Yug deliberately paused for a while. Seeing the captain's hesitant expression, he knew the man already understood the answer; he just didn't dare say it aloud.

"It means there are more and more Evil God Cultists in the Empire—so many that the Empire has had to establish a special department to respond to their activities... Do you think Evil God Cultists grow out of the ground?"

Yug took a Parchment Book from the inner pocket of his coat. The cover read Understanding 100 Dark Creatures. "I bought this at a bookstore in the Imperial Capital. The author is an experienced old hunter. While reading this book, I kept coming back to a question I couldn't figure out.

"The old hunter says that the faith of an Evil God twists people's bodies and souls, turning them into inhuman monsters. They lose the ability to think and develop all kinds of perversions, like becoming addicted to drinking blood or eating human flesh. Even the people closest to them fear them. The Empire hunts them down, leaving them in constant terror. Wherever they flee, they're no better than rats in a gutter."

No normal person would want their life to turn out that way.

And yet, more and more people in the Empire were falling into the ranks of Evil God Cultists. There had even been an unprecedented case of a Saint falling into corruption.

It was only when Yug visited a factory run by Imperial Military Industry and saw the way the workers looked at them that the question buried in his heart finally found an answer.

The Empire had always done a thorough job of warning people about Evil Gods. Even ordinary people in remote cities knew the dangers of worshipping them:

"Worshipping an Evil God will turn you into a monster, destroy your family, and send you plunging into the abyss... But I think perhaps the Evil Gods have never denied any of this to their followers. They promise them only one thing: if you abandon all of it, you can gain power."

It was a burden too heavy for life to bear, and the most wretched life Yug could imagine.

Until he realized that, for some people, it didn't seem like much of a price.

Because—

"So many people are already there."