Blood Knight(6)
"N-no, no... DON'T COME ANY CLOSER..."
Chreg fell to the ground as he stumbled with a terrified look on his face as Morsan got near.
"I said to not move, didn't I?"
"D-don't... come..."
He took out the rosary of the church as he shouted at Morsan. Almost all the believers of the Cult had a rosary of The Church of the Three Heroes, which consists of the symbols of Bow, Spear, and Sword.
"You... are you one of the followers of the church?"
When Morsan asked he halted his steps after seeing the rosary in his hand, this gave a new hope to Chreg. He mistook it as a fear. With a newfound hope for his escape, he gripped his rosary even more tightly with a disgusting smirk appeared on his face.
"Yes, I am one of the most devoted believers of the church, even the devil like you can't escape unscratched if y-huh?!"
He cut his speech in half as he felt something splattered in his face. He saw the rosary in his hands was somehow lying down on the ground. As he tried to see what was the thing that splattered on his face, he realized both of his arms were gone.
They turned into minced meat, there is nothing there where his arms have existed. He didn't feel anything wrong this whole time, he didn't know how his arms exploded, and he didn't even feel any pain.
Indescribable deep fear rooted in his heart made him even forget to scream.
Chreg's eyes became vacant as Morsan inquired, and he made no attempt to resist after his arms were immobilized, as if he had surrendered to everything.
Unbeknownst to anyone, his eyes turned a shade of purple, and he began divulging everything he knew in a detached and emotionless manner, withholding no information.
At that moment, he resembled more of a puppet than a human.
Morsan employed one of the royal incubus powers, 'Mind Manipulation'. Similar to the 'Blood Incinerate' ability, it also depleted a portion of his Soul Power (S.P). However, unlike the former, this magic had numerous prerequisites to be fulfilled in order to be executed.
Morsan deliberately attacked Chreg's arms using his 'Blood Burst' to induce a deep shock and weaken his mental defenses before employing the Mind Manipulation ability.
If he hesitated even for a moment and allowed his target to recover from the shock, his magic would have failed, resulting in a significant waste of his Soul Power.
Once a person's mind is manipulated, they can never return to their normal life. This magic completely scrambled their thoughts, causing them to permanently lose their ability to reason.
Due to its stringent requirements and adverse effects, Morsan always refrained from using this magic. He didn't even employ it on those bandits whom he had deemed worthy of death.
However, when Chreg produced the church's rosary, Morsan realized that the situation was far more dire than he had anticipated, prompting him to unleash the magic without any reservations.
As Chreg continued to share more details about the ongoing events, the absurdity of it all became increasingly apparent to him. He began to question whether these individuals even possessed functioning brains.
In recent times, Prince Egone has exposed numerous wrongdoings and despicable acts committed by members of the church, causing many ordinary people to doubt and abandon their faith in their respective religions. In comparison to the church of six years ago, it has now become significantly weaker.
Alongside the nobles of the Queen faction, many commoners have also started treating demi-humans with more respect and demanding fair treatment for them.
This has greatly angered the churchmen who hold a condescending attitude towards demi-humans, often referring to them as impure and devilish creatures. Over the past two years, their situation has become even more unbearable.
Consequently, they have resorted to capturing these commoners and selling them to Siltvelt to expose them to the true horrors of demi-human creatures.
Presently, the church of the Three Cardinal Heroes is divided into three distinct factions.
Prince Egone has secretly placed his supporters, who harbor no animosity towards demi-humans and shield heroes, within the church, effectively creating a separate faction known as BLUE. This faction worships four cardinal heroes instead of three.
The BLACK faction, comprised solely of churchmen, harbors a deep-rooted hatred for demi-humans, with many of its members having been affected by the war with Siltvelt.
Lastly, the RED faction is directly under the leadership of Biscas T. Balmus, the highest priest of the Church of the Three Heroes.
The BLUE faction is currently the weakest, while the RED faction holds the most power. However, with each passing day, the BLUE faction grows stronger while the RED faction weakens.
All members of the BLACK faction were once part of the pope's following but separated from them due to their failure to assist their fellow believers who were unjustly accused in recent years. They are also the ones behind these recent kidnappings. Chreg also told about slave traders who were involved in this incident as they used their connections to export humans to Siltvelt.
Morsan was also enlightened about the hooded individuals who had previously attempted to attack him. These individuals belonged to the sect of Shadows, which is associated with the BLACK cult.
The RED faction, facing a decline in support and resources, was unable to maintain control over these shadows. Consequently, the BLACK faction took over.
Morsan diligently gathered all the pertinent information about these shadows and their current locations using a magical crystal ball.
As he effortlessly extracted the information, his comrades, who were lying on the ground, impaled by blood spears, became anxious and uneasy.
"I-it's a form of mind control!!! T-that Devil is manipulating him with mind control!!" they exclaimed fearfully, upon catching a glimpse of Chreg's enchanting purple eyes.
Disregarding their cries, Morsan stared coldly at Chreg and inquired, "Where are the individuals you and your group kidnapped? Have they already been sold to Siltvelt?"