—Central Church Babel Branch
"What... did you just say?"
Standing before the magic communication device, Cardinal Pandora—whose face was usually set in an unyielding, pristine smile—asked back, her voice strained and pitched high.
"His Holiness the Pope has just passed away. Cardinal Shii as well."
"Pardon? N-No, but... how could that happen?"
Sinking unsteadily into her chair, she pressed for an answer while desperately struggling to maintain her composure.
"They surely incurred wrath."
Holding a spherical bundle in both hands, the liaison on the other end of the transmission replied with chilling indifference. Seeing the calm conviction in his demeanor,
"Whose wrath could they have possibly incurred?"
she demanded immediately. Even as she asked, she already had a fairly clear idea of the cause. Nine times out of ten, it was intimately tied to Lumine.
After all, Cardinal Shii had been the one to receive the Divine Revelation that Lumine's Gift would bring ruin upon their God. And acting upon that revelation, His Holiness the Pope had been the one to decree her elimination. Given the timing, this was almost certainly about Lumine.
Yet, setting aside the Four Great Archbishops revered as the scions of God, those two were among the absolute strongest within the Central Church. Ending both of their lives would be impossible through ordinary means—
Pandora's thoughts were abruptly cut short.
"Whooo?"
The liaison stood up and broke into a shrill, cackling laugh.
"What is the meaning of this?"
She stepped back from the communication artifact. Archbishop Schnee's usual mask of feigned ignorance completely dissolved, replaced by a look of sheer, unprecedented horror as he stared fixedly at the device.
"Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Boo-boo-de-bab-de-boo♩ Maggoty-waggoty, stinky-winky, the fly among flies, the king of flies♬ That is Bab-uu♫"
With a sickening series of snaps and crunches that turned the stomach, the liaison's head twisted around at an unnatural angle. His body, too, began to dance a bizarre, grotesque jig to the sound of splintering bone and tearing flesh.
At that moment, the spherical bundle held in the man's hands unraveled—.
"Lady Pandora! This is extremely bad!"
Archbishop Schnee yelled, heavy beads of sweat clinging to his brow.
"I know that! Cut the transmission at once!"
She didn't need him to tell her.
The sphere was the severed head of a man with a brown buzz cut. With blood streaming from its eyes and nose, the severed head itself had its jaws wide open, singing along.
"Cut the connection!"
"I can't! I've been trying this whole time, but it won't even respond!"
This defied all reason. She had been trying to sever the link for several moments, yet the device refused to react.
Across the transmission, the faithful liaison's dance of death rolled on.
"Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Boo-boo-de-bab-de-boo♩ Bab is the faithful servant of the Supreme Great Oneee♪ The Great One's joy is Bab's joyyy, the Great One's displeasure is Bab's displeasureeeeee♩ Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Beelzebub-de-boo♪ Boo-boo-de-bab-de-boo♩"
The man's physical form had already warped into that of a giant fly.
Then, ceasing its song without warning, the creature snapped upright.
"Our Supreme Great One is very, veeeerrry displeased-dechu. Therefore, punishment was delivered unto those deeply involved in this matter-dechu. If any further displeasure is caused, punishment shall be dealt unto them as well-dechu!"
With that shrill declaration, the transmission abruptly went dead.
"Were we... spared?"
As the suffocating tension broke, Pandora's legs gave out, and she sank directly onto the floor. She had truly been frightened out of her wits.
"It appears so."
Archbishop Schnee nodded in agreement, dropping to one knee as he drew ragged breaths. Showing such a disgraceful display of weakness was likely a first in his life, just as it was for Pandora.
"That was surely an ultimatum."
Pandora had survived only because she had not been deeply involved in the plot to eliminate Lumine.
Her presence in this land was for an entirely different matter. She had merely agreed to act as the intermediary for the Central Church headquarters as an afterthought. It was solely for that reason that her life had been spared.
"It seems things in this world have taken quite a dangerous turn."
Lumine. Pandora had previously wondered why Cardinal Shii and His Holiness considered a mere girl to be such a dire threat, but now everything was crystal clear. The Supreme Great One that the fly spoke of had been enraged by the attempt on Lumine's life, executing Cardinal Shii and the Pope in retribution. In fact, it was safe to assume that everyone intimately involved in the assassination plot was already dead.
(If anything, perhaps we should rejoice that the damage was kept to this level.)
That entity was unmistakably an enemy of God, a menace to all mankind. The sheer depth of malice radiating from it was staggering. The price the Central Church paid to discover its existence had been the lives of His Holiness the Pope and Cardinal Shii. In terms of personnel, replacements could easily be found. While it was a considerable blow to their military might, it was far from fatal.
That presence was undoubtedly far beyond a Demon King. Compared to it, a Demon King was likely nothing more than an ant crawling in the dirt. One brush with its aura was enough to understand the absolute depravity it possessed. It was a being that could never be allowed to roam unchecked in this world.
Even so, the only one capable of vanquishing such a monster was their God. Yet if their God could descend into this mortal realm so easily, they wouldn't be facing such hardship in the first place. Throwing the entire fighting strength of the Central Church at it right now would yield the same result: total annihilation at best.
If that was the case, they had to accelerate the plan. Once Pandora and the Four Great Archbishops attained divine power in the truest sense, they should certainly be able to stand on equal footing against it.
(No, even that might not suffice.)
The Hero's party. If they were granted divine power, they would gain tremendous strength. She had originally intended to dispose of them once the Demon King was defeated, but circumstances had changed. It wasn't just the Hero. Unless they utilized every single asset at their disposal, they stood no chance of defying that terror.
"I shall make contact with the Hero. In the meantime, summon the Four Great Archbishops to headquarters."
Her intentions were communicated without needing words. Archbishop Schnee, who would normally offer at least a grumble of complaint, simply gave an obedient nod and left the room.
(In this war, there is no way we, the children of God, can allow ourselves to lose.)
Pandora tightened her right fist, sealing her resolve in absolute silence.