The day after I delivered Lamia, I finished my preparations and slipped into the Church Headquarters.
I clutched the rosary I’d received from Lamia in my hand. With this, I could finally unmask the mastermind.
"Even in the middle of the night, there are signs of people all over the place. It's better than the daytime, at least," Grimo muttered.
"Some of the more devout followers come to pray after they finish their work. The Church cannot simply be left empty... But Master Lloyd, are you certain you have a lead on the mastermind? To storm the Church so suddenly..."
"We'll know soon enough," I replied to Jiriel as I sprinted through the darkness.
Protected by Magic Isolation, I reached my destination with ease, completely unnoticed. I had arrived at the Main Hall, located in the deepest part of the Church Headquarters. Specifically, I was headed for the residential wing in one of its corners.
I opened the door and stepped inside. There, sitting in the dim light, was an old man—the Pope.
"My, my. A most unusual guest."
The Pope welcomed me with a gentle smile. His profile, illuminated by the moonlight, slowly turned to face me.
"Good evening, Pope."
"You are... ah, yes. The boy who performed the opening act at the concert. Lloyd-kun, was it? Whatever could you need at such a late hour? Would tomorrow not have sufficed?"
"Sorry, but this is urgent. Are you aware of the recent disappearances that have been troubling the city? The ones blamed on monsters?"
The Pope’s shoulders gave a small twitch at my words. However, he immediately narrowed his eyes, his expression shifting to one of deep sorrow.
"Well... I am not fully acquainted with the details, but it seems terrible things are happening."
"Isha was kidnapped recently. I followed the trail and ended up in the sewers. I found a laboratory there where someone was conducting research into the synthesis of monsters and humans."
"...How horrific. To commit such an act without fearing God... it is a terrifying tale."
"I found this there."
I pulled the rosary from my pocket. The silver chain caught the moonlight, glinting brightly.
"This is something members of the Church wear. It even has a serial number engraved on it. If we look it up, we can find out exactly who it belongs to."
"...That may be so."
"Isha was taken right after the concert. The mastermind likely suspected I was the one who defeated the monster possessing the Priest. Looking at the whole picture, the person who was at the Church that day is the culprit behind everything. As for who that person is... I think you might know, don't you?"
"...Well now, I wonder who it could be?"
The Pope wore a smile that looked like a mask pasted onto his face. For a moment, silence filled the room.
"Enough! This is far too tedious!"
Jiriel was the one who finally snapped. Along with his shout, my left hand erupted in a brilliant light, and two pairs of wings extended from it. The light took the shape of an angel as he manifested. This was Jiriel’s true form.
"My name is the Heavenly Messenger, Jiriel! Pope—no, Gitan! Your wicked deeds have been exposed! Know that there is no escape and no room for further excuses!"
Burning with rage, Jiriel glared at the Pope and called him by his real name.
"This light... could you be the great Lord Gillian...?"
"Indeed. It has been a long time, Gitan."
The two of them locked eyes.
"Looks like those two go back a bit," Grimo noted.
"He probably granted him his Holy Magic in the past."
A person trains for years, and upon being recognized by an angel, they are granted Holy Magic. As the Pope, Gitan would have naturally had that opportunity. In fact, that was likely the only way he would recognize Jiriel.
"Hahaha! ...But why is Lord Jiriel in a place like this?"
"I have come to pass judgment on your crimes. You are the mastermind behind those incidents, Gitan! Confess your sins!"
Gitan fell silent for a moment, appearing to contemplate his options before finally lowering his head in resignation.
"...Yes, quite right. I cannot speak lies in your presence. I shall confess. Everything was my doing. You did well to see through me."
My eyes widened at Gitan’s admission. Well, I’ll be. It really was this guy.
I had honestly only thought that the Pope, being at the top of the Church, might be able to identify the culprit from the rosary. I was actually quite surprised that I had stumbled onto the perpetrator so directly.
"As expected of Master Lloyd! To conclude he was the mastermind with so little evidence. I figured it was someone in the Church, but I couldn't pin it down. What was your reasoning, exactly?"
"A-Ah... well, it’s a secret."
I couldn't exactly tell Grimo that I had just come to ask a few questions and the guy had confessed on his own, so I kept my answer vague.
"Hmph. It would be impossible to deceive the eyes of my master, Master Lloyd. I do not know what madness possessed you to commit such acts, but you shall be judged by the laws of men and repent," Jiriel declared.
"Master Lloyd, let's just bag him already," Grimo added.
"Yeah, let's."
Well, now that the culprit was identified, I figured I could just hand him over to Albert or someone similar. With that thought, I started toward Gitan.
"...Lloyd-kun, was it?" Gitan suddenly spoke. "What do you think of me? A servant of God, kidnapping people, capturing monsters, and attempting to create new life... What do you think of my actions?"
"I don't really have an opinion..."
I wondered if he had some special motive other than pure curiosity. As I tilted my head, Gitan continued with a self-mocking laugh.
"It was because I began to doubt the power of God. I was born in a poor farming village. We worked desperately hard, day after day, just to survive. Then, one day, bandits raided us and stole every scrap of food we had harvested. Those who fought back were slaughtered—my parents, my young sisters... all of them. I realized then that the powerless are simply robbed and killed. Driven by that realization, I joined the Church in search of Holy Magic. I had once seen someone use it to purify a villain and make them repent. I believed that with this power, I could defeat any evil without ever having to shed blood. I studied with everything I had and mastered Holy Magic. I became a priest. I even gained a new family. I was happy... until that day. Heh... heheh."
Gitan’s shoulders shook with dark laughter.
"I will never forget it. Five years ago, a bandit broke into my home. He was a pitiful man, so starved that his cheeks were sunken and his ribs were visible. I thought the time had finally come to use my Holy Magic. To save a lost soul and protect my family... that was why I had learned it. However, the light of Purification did not reach him. I realized only later that the light of Purification can only reform a heart filled with 'evil.' In the eyes of the scriptures, evil is defined as envy, wrath, or contempt—emotions where one looks down on another. But that man, starving as he was, didn't have a trace of those emotions in his heart. He was simply hungry. There was food in front of him, and he tried to take it as a matter of basic survival. It was a purely rational, desperate will to live... and so, the magic had no effect."
I see. So Holy Magic works by neutralizing the target's negative emotions. Conversely, if the motive isn't driven by those specific emotions, the spell won't trigger.
"The light of Purification only heals the specific 'evil' emotions dictated by the scriptures."
"So it's useless against someone who's backed into a corner or someone who doesn't even view their actions as wrong," Grimo surmised.
It was magic that only operated on 'evil' as defined by religious texts. There are many spells that influence emotions, but they usually carry very heavy restrictions. Without those constraints, such magic would allow someone to control others' minds at will.
"The bandit must have thought I was attacking him. He flew into a rage, stabbed my wife and child, and fled. I tried desperately to save them with Holy Magic, but they never opened their eyes again. The blade had passed between the ribs and pierced the heart; they died instantly. I lamented. 'Oh, God! How powerless is Your strength!' I hated God, and I feared Him. I feared that despite all my faith and training, I would die without a single blessing of protection, just like my wife and child."
"And that’s when you turned your attention to the power of monsters," I said.
"Precisely. I had long been fascinated by the abnormal life force monsters possess. I took that opportunity to begin my research into fusing monsters and humans to create a new kind of existence. Through years of work, massive amounts of coin, and many precious sacrifices, it has finally been completed...!"
Gitan reached into his robes. In an instant, an incredible heat erupted from his withered frame.
"W-What is this...? Gitan! What are you doing?!" Jiriel cried out.
"I would hate to lose my position as Pope, so I’m afraid I’ll have to remove you by force."
Thick smoke began to billow out, filling the room. Gitan’s silhouette within the smoke grew larger and larger. When the haze finally cleared...
...He had transformed into a creature made from a patchwork of different monsters.
While the base of the form was humanoid, his four arms ended in sharp, beastly claws. He possessed a powerful, muscular build covered in thick fur, compound insect eyes, a chitinous carapace, avian wings, and a beak. He was a collection of traits from across the monster kingdom.
"This is the ultimate being, possessing the advantages of every monster. Yes... let us call it a Divine-Monster Lifeform. Heh... hehehehe...!"
As Gitan let out a distorted chuckle, Jiriel gasped.
"What a hideous thing... Gitan, you wretch! Have you abandoned your very humanity?!"
"The human vessel is a trivial, fragile thing. Well then, Lord Jiriel, thank you for your long years of service. I shall now depart from the path of man."
Gitan tensed his legs, preparing to leap. His thighs, which had swollen to three times their original size, braced to launch him—
"!? W-What is this...?"
—But he couldn't jump. He couldn't move at all.
I had already deployed a Barrier, trapping Gitan firmly inside.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to keep you right there."
After all, that body of his was an incredible convergence of magic. To synthesize all those monster traits, he had woven together and combined countless spell formulas I had never even seen before.
I wanted to take a very long, very detailed look at how he was put together.
"Brat... you intend to stand in my way until the end, then...?"
Gitan glared down at me, his gaze full of venom.