"H-Hey everyone, how’s it going?" Orvyn asked, trying to make conversation. He knew he had no chance of escaping and only tried to stall for time. He and the demon followers were working on something secret, and he needed them to finish on time.
"Hey, Orvyn. How are you?" Zion asked
"P-Pretty good, man. Just been carrying out orders. You know, the usual." He chuckled in fear.
"Ha, yeah, I hear ya. Doing a good job?"
"W-We’re on track. And we even sped things up after you provoked Lord Azmorath. He was really upset with you."
"Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. It’s so obvious that he wants to kill me, but he can’t. At least for now. He’s waiting until the demon ranking tournament."
Orvyn corrected Zion. "I-Its not a tournament."
Zion slapped the shit out of Orvyn, knocking him into a wall and severely brusing his cheek,
"Oh, shit! My bad, man. I just lost my cool for a sec there. We good?"
"Y-Yeah, no w-worries. I get it. I-It happens sometimes." In truth, Orvyn was pissesd beyond reason. He wanted to kill Zion. No. He wanted to kill everyone there, but he couldn’t. He was weak, far weaker than any of them there besides the king. Because of that, he was scared.
"Sweet. Belwyn, make an announcement. I want everyone gathered so we can show them their new way of life."
Belwyn could feel the gray hairs growing in his mane. He couldn’t believe that he stooped this low as a king. But he had no choice. Well, he did, but if he decided to act on it, he and his people would be killed. At least, that’s what he assumed.
He gathered some officials and ordered them to relay the information, informing the kingdom of his upcoming announcement.
In the meantime, Zion and his girls headed to the church of Cerrounos, where they proceeded to kill everyone there using demonic energy and made sure the church was radiating the energy.
Was it cruel? Yes. Was it necessary? No, but it would make things easier to believe.
After that, he took Sylveth’s headless corpse and pumped it full of demonic energy. This way, everyone could feel and see that their Apostle was not on their side.
Finally, Zion’s men located where the rest of the demon followers were.
"They’re at the nexus pool, master."
Zion thought about his next move. The best option was to stop them from whatever they planned on doing, but then, another idea popped in his head.
’What will happen if the nexus pool is pumped full of demonic energy?’
’Well, if that happens, the demons will have access to that energy source, and the entire world’s energy will shift. The nexus pool in the middle world is mana, in the underworld it’s demonic energy, and in the upper world it’s holy power. Having two nexus pools of demonic energy will greatly put the world off balance.’
Zion smirked. ’What if I replicate what I did with the World Tree?’
’You don’t intend to-’
’That’s right. Your power in the middle world has increased drastically because of the world tree containing your divine power. Because of this, not only are you anchored to this world, but the other gods have weakened in their power because of that. So, what if the nexus pool becomes a nexus for your divine power?’
’I’d literally be able to control the middle world.’ She concluded
’That’s right. This place will be your domain. Well, kind of. We would still need to get rid of the other two apostles and convert the masses to worship you, but yeah, you get the point.’
’Do it!’ She demanded in excitement.
’Oh, I will, but I have to wait for the right moment.’
’Why? Can’t you do it now?’
’Sure, I can, but if I wait until it’s ’contaminated’ with demonic energy, then purify it with your energy, then everyone will think that you’re watching over them. Classic manipulation tactic.’
’Hmmm. Fine. Just don’t wait for too long. If Azmorath learns about the nexus pool being demonic energy, he will be able to cross over.’
"Everything is ready, Apostle Zion."
"Cool. Let’s get to work."
The following few hours were a mix of confusion, anger, sadness, betrayal, and hope. Belwyn gave his speech about how he and everyone there were tricked into doing the bidding of the demons.
He explained how Sylveth was actually a demonic beastman and proved it with his corpse, which was spewing demonic energy. He then brought out Orvyn, who confirmed everything.
Maybe it was because he knew he was going to die, but Orvyn let out all of his emotions, calling the people weak, useless, trash, and how they should be slaves to the demons.
Of course, no one took that well, and they all booed him while throwing tomatoes at the man. Poor guy.
After that, Zion beheaded him.
Zion then went on to explain that he sensed demonic energy in this kingdom and put the dome over the land to ensure their safety and drive out the demons.
Just then, the nexus pool erupted, and the normally white pillar of intense mana was transformed into a dark purple pillar of demonic energy.
Belwyn, acting his part, got on his knees and begged Zion for his help. Of course, Zion hesitated, saying that his goddess only gave him permission to purge the demons, not save their land.
But just as he expected, the people also begged him, no, they begged Luminera. They even started praying to her. Because of this, Luminera decided to also play a small role, sending down a phantom version of herself to accept their request.
So, Zion, alongside his girls, rushed over to the Nexus Pool and used their holy power to purify it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, even with Aryah helping them out. So, as a benevolent goddess, Luminera empowered them with Divine Energy, helping Zion and his girls purify the Nexus Pool.
Obviously, they were all acting, and Zion alone could have purified it, but they had to sell the performance.
After that, the nexus pool erupted once more, but this time, it was pure golden energy. This energy wrapped around the entire world, empowering anyone who followed Luminera and healing all sicknesses, injuries, and diseases.
The people were crying. They were on their knees, thanking Luminera for helping them. They felt so betrayed after hearing that their god and apostle were working with demons, the people who attacked their land a few times, so after seeing this spectacle, most of them were convinced that Luminera was a great goddess.
Finally, they killed all of the demonic beastmen and purified the land of any demonic presence.
"Thank you! Thank you, Apostle Zion! Praise Luminera!"
"Praise Luminera!" The people shouted.
Zion smiled, spreading warmth and comfort with his holy power to everyone there.
’Haha, fucking suckers.’