‘He’s here.’

It wasn’t a sluggish voice, but a low, resonant voice that even a man would find cool. It was the kind of voice one could immediately deduce as belonging to the main villain. It was completely different in quality from that creepy Hypnosis Guy’s voice.

‘Yeah, this is the kind of voice you need to call someone a real mastermind.’

It didn’t quite reach the level of Jung Jin-Ho’s voice that echoed as if it came from inside a cave, Ito Sota’s sly yet piercing tone, or even Bahamut’s growl that felt like a wild beast such as a lion or tiger, but even so, it carried enough charisma to make me feel tense.

It made me wonder whether I had gotten dragged into something big just because I came to the Republic to grab a meal with Jin Cheong.

‘Don’t tell me there are still villains left on this continent...’

The Templars’ secrets in the Mole Saint’s Cozy Sanctuary had already been exposed, but could the dark forces within the order be casting their shadow over the continent once again?

To be fair, that was always the kind of role a religious order played, but it still made me question what exactly was wrong with the Benigoa Order that it kept trouble like this one?

Considering that it was all part of the butterfly effect of the sacred democracy I had written, I wasn’t really in a position to complain, yet I couldn’t help but wonder whether I needed to thoroughly purge the entire order like rooting out rats.

“...”

“...”

The unidentified man in front of me was treating Benet like a rat.

“I asked you about what you think you’re doing, Priest Benet.”

‘His charisma is no joke...’

“W-Well, you see...” Benet stammered.

"..."

‘He can’t even move a muscle, and he’s even using formal speech toward a guy like that...’

“I clearly told you that showing disrespect to the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival wouldn’t be tolerated,” the man said.

“T-that’s not it, it’s not... How could I ever be disrespectful to the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival? I was only—”

“Shut your mouth, Benet. I feel like tearing you apart right now,” the man interrupted him.

“...”

“He’s the son of Benigoa. I’ve told you several times that he has briefly strayed down the wrong path.”

Benet flat on the ground in front of me was trembling uncontrollably. The unidentified man even seemed to be reinforcing the claim that the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival was the son of Benigoa. He even seemed somewhat friendly toward me.

He probably looked like a villain, too, and even I felt a bit conflicted about how this world seemed to judge villains by their looks, but strangely enough, the ones who did big things on this continent always tended to be good-looking bastards.

It was enough to make me think that the system, Benigoa, or even the administrators were all obsessed with appearances. Even that pathetic Song Soo-Kyung could pass as a pretty boy. Wait, perhaps that was just the laws of nature.

Imagine if the one who founded a group like the Murder Brigade wasn’t the large, charismatic killer Jung Jin-Ho, but that overweight hypnosis guy. Picture the hypnosis guy shouting, “Are you watching me, young death?!” or swinging a sword while yelling, “This is the poem and song I dedicate to you—cough! What do you think?!”

Then imagine him bawling his eyes out like what Jung Jin-Ho had done at the end while muttering, “Hngh... heuk! What a shame... I couldn’t take any more with me... It’s so frustrating... heuk... ahhhhhhh! Just a little more, I should’ve killed just a little more... ah... ahhhhhhh!”

‘That’s seriously... unbelievably creepy... There’s no way I can tolerate that...’

It would be a thousand times creepier than what Jung Jin-Ho had shown me back then. The Murder Brigade was a group full of psychos, but if that hypnosis guy were their leader, people would avoid joining it.

Most importantly, I could guarantee that First Life Ji-Hye and First Life Ki-Young would never join that group. The twins and that Domiro would probably stay away, too.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think that perhaps the laws of nature dictated that all decent villains had to have decent looks. It was sad, but no one would want to follow that hypnosis guy. That was exactly why I couldn’t help but focus even more on the unidentified man who suddenly appeared before me.

‘Just what kind of darkness is hiding inside the Benigoa Order, damn it...’

All sorts of possibilities ran through my head. Now that I had come into contact with this mysterious man, I could probably dig up their secrets one by one. When he cautiously reached out and grabbed my hand, I nodded inwardly to myself.

“Are you hurt anywhere, Saint of Sacrifice and Revival...” the man asked.

“Haa... hmm...”

‘Ah... this is a bit off...’

Even I thought calling it "disappointment" was a bit ridiculous, but...

‘S-something isn’t quite right. It doesn’t really feel like there’s any darkness or anything...’

Before I knew it, I had no choice but to lower my internal danger level by about five levels.

“...”

“...”

The most noticeable thing was his large nose, then his slightly sly-looking eyes, and above all, those unsettling pupils of his. It looked like he hadn’t taken care of his skin in ages because it was all flaky, and his lips were completely chapped.

‘Put on some lip balm, damn it.’

It felt like he could improve a bit with some proper care, but perhaps that was exactly why he seemed even less trustworthy. Ugly villains could exist, sure, but villains who didn’t take care of themselves and didn’t even have any distinct presence could not possibly exist.

‘Seriously, take a shower. Both of you, damn it. That’s the biggest problem.’

“Saint of Sacrifice and Revival...?” the man asked.

‘Weirdly, his voice is nice.’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The way he stared at my reddened cheeks, which the hypnosis guy had been enthusiastically tugging on, felt creepy.

‘M-Maybe I should just go home.’

Saying the wind had been taken out of my sails didn’t quite fit, but it still felt like the wind had been taken out of me. Even the fact that he instantly put Ahn Ki-Mo under hypnosis didn’t feel all that impressive.

If anything, it made me think that Ahn Ki-Mo had just been way too careless, or perhaps the guy just had some oddly specific trick up his sleeve. It really looked like that was the only thing he had going for him.

I felt like he just got lucky and found a decent artifact somewhere and was using that here. For all I knew, there could be some unranked dungeon like Cave of Hypnosis out there.

I did briefly wonder whether this bastard in front of me wasn’t the main one and that there was something else behind him or even further behind that, but my disappointment was so big that it was immeasurable.

It was to the point that I couldn’t bring myself to expect anything more.

‘Then again, what was I expecting from a group that left stupid posts on the Benigoa Net and even got baited by Hyun-Sung... I'm probably just worrying over nothing. I guess it's just like dealing with internet trolls...’

Of course, they were still dangerous. If they had a little more time, a more charismatic leader, and a bit more skill—or to put it plainly, if they had about five more years, then a crisis comparable to the 27th Legion Summoning Incident would have really happened.

At this point, however, it didn’t feel like something a group on the level of the Blue Guild needed to step in and deal with seriously. If one were to frame this as a talented rookie hero party stumbling into the Benigoa Order’s Republic branch and uncovering its secrets, it would make for a pretty story, but...

‘No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t feel like something I need to handle personally.’

“...”

“...”

As expected, even the stats of the new guy didn’t look like much. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that my laws of nature theory could actually be right. If I had to compare, he looked about as strong as a high-tier adventurer.

He wasn't weak. At his level, he’d still be revered as a powerhouse on the continent, but if someone like Belier were to stand against him, he wouldn’t be able to handle them. On top of that...

‘It also looks like his hypnosis has its limits.’

The way he kept going on about “common sense," trying to build things up step by step, and even the fact that he couldn’t properly control Ahn Ki-Mo, who was supposedly hypnotized, made that pretty clear to me.

Anyway, things were going to resolve themselves regardless of my will.

‘I made a mistake.’

I wasn’t used to my current form yet, so I ended up making a mistake. Naturally, I started talking to them, saying, “Thank you for your concern. I’m not hurt anywhere. The prayer room feels cozy... It’s nice. It does smell a bit, though. Of course, that’s coming from you two.”

“Pardon?” the man asked.

“But this is really fascinating. There weren’t any signs beforehand. When did you cast it?” I asked.

“Wait, is it not a spell? Well, I didn’t see any mana or holy power move. I don't see any mind-type trait, either... and if it were some kind of potion effect, I'd certainly notice it—Ah, it must be an artifact after all. I’m right, aren’t I? It’s an artifact, right?” I asked.

“W-What are you talking about right now, Saint of Sacrifice and Revival?” Benet asked.

“Ah, you stink, so keep your mouth shut, Hypnosis Guy. And you, don’t move either. I guarantee it, if you take even one more step, you’re dead,” I threatened.

“...”

“...”

“I said, if you take even one more step, you’re dead,” I repeated.

“...”

“Just stay right there for five seconds. Then you might live,” I told them.

The two of them were visibly sweating from the tension. Forget the hypnosis guy, even the man with the big nose couldn’t move, frozen in place. He could twist my head by taking just a few more steps forward, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

I could see fear in his eyes as well.

“W-Who are you?”

Judging by the fact that he was spouting something like that, it looked like I had successfully seized the initiative.

“The Honorary Cardinal of the Democratic Country, the Blue Guild’s Sub Guild Master, the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival,” I answered.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“And the Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep,” I added.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

In the end, the big-nosed man charged at me. At the same time, a deafening boom echoed, and a hole was blasted through the ceiling. Someone descended, and I heard a sickening crack afterward as the big-nosed man before me was slammed straight into the ground.

‘I told you that you'd die if you take one more step."

Sunset-colored wings wrapped around me, and the air itself seemed to be trembling.

‘See, I told you I messed up...’

I carefully leaned on the wings before saying, “Our souls are connected, Hypnosis Guy.”

“...”

“...”

As the dust slowly settled back to the ground, Kim Hyun-Sung’s voice rang out. “Are you alright... Mr. Ki-Young?”

‘He got here faster than I expected.’