From within the wagon ca a suppressed roar.
"I'm not sick, damn it! You're all crazy!"
Ignoring the shouting, Stan looked at the others who were standing frozen in confusion, then steeled himself and shouted again.
"What are you still waiting for? Hurry up and pack your things!"
Hearing the Guard Captain's command, the others no longer hesitated. They hastily extinguished the campfires, collected their belongings, and returned to the wagon, driving the pack horses southward towards the direction they ca from, deeper into the southern part of Silver Pine Forest...
...
"...Honorable Priest, how is our employer doing? Is he any better?"
At the church in Silver Pine Town, a dense crowd stood before the statue of Saint Sis.
Watching the Priest perform the Holy Light Technique, Stan asked nervously about the results of the treatnt.
After leaving Silver Pine Forest, the first thing he did was bring his employer here.
Father Matt, expressionless, turned off the Netherworld Language flashlight in his hand. After a long pause, he sighed softly and said slowly.
"Your employer was never in much danger... and as you've seen, there's no trace of Evil Power emanating from his body."
Hearing this, the crowd was stunned, exchanging bewildered and incredulous glances.
No corruption by Evil Power?
How could that be possible!
Stan also found it hard to believe, yet standing before a Priest wearing a glowing cross on his chest, he instinctively couldn't question the authority it embodied.
Especially under the sacred gaze of Saint Sis, he couldn't even begin to entertain the thought that the Priest might be deceiving him.
And yet, he couldn't shake the unease that gnawed at his heart—sothing just didn't feel right.
"But..."
Looking at this lost lamb struggling in doubt, Father Matt spoke in a gentle tone.
"It's true that Hell is the enemy of the Church, including those demons who have willingly fallen. This is written in the *Holy Word Book*. However, the *Holy Word Book* does not define the identity of the Demon King. Many tend to assu the Demon King is an enemy of Saint Sis, but in truth, Saint Sis has never said such a thing."
As soon as these words fell, everyone turned astonished eyes toward him.
Even Socduo, who was lying before the statue, opened his mouth in disbelief, wide enough to fit a fist.
The *Holy Word Book* doesn't define the identity of the Demon King?
Really?
He had actually read the complete scripture and faintly recalled that the term "Demon King" was indeed not ntioned.
But even if it wasn't ntioned, that wasn't unusual.
After all, when the *Holy Word Book* was written, the Aus Empire had only just driven the Netherworld God's servants into the Underworld. The book's primary purpose was to label them as demons and reinforce the Empire's legitimacy. The reverse—Hell's forces using this narrative to attack the surface world—only happened later.
Therefore, Father Matt hadn't lied; at most, it was a clever sophistry.
But even if it was sophistry, no one could expose it.
Socduo, at least, had read the original text of the *Holy Word Book*. The caravan guards he hired, however, couldn't string together even a few words, let alone form independent opinions. All their knowledge about Saint Sis ca from the mouths of Priests.
Seeing everyone frozen in place, Father Matt continued speaking in a warm voice.
"A Demon King is rely the Lord of a Maze—or, if you will, a secular title no different from the lord who rules Silver Pine Town... and that's all."
"The only reason most Mazes are under Hell's control and governed by demons is why we assu Demon Kings are as evil as demons."
"But what's the difference?" Stan couldn't help but ask. "Forgive , I don't an to question you... but by your logic, aren't Mazes always ruled by demons? Doesn't that make the Demon King our enemy?"
"Most Mazes, yes. But not all," Father Matt replied, his gaze steady as he offered a faint smile. "The Demon King who used to rule the Maze beneath us indeed brought great suffering to Thunder County, but that demon is already dead. The one who rules it now is no demon, but a human like us."
"But... can you prove he's good just because of that?" Stan still couldn't accept this reasoning, but a clear struggle now played across his expression.
If Mr. Socduo weren't influenced by Extraordinary Power, but instead judged based on his wisdom and experience...
Given that man's intelligence and foresight, it was unlikely he'd be so easily deceived.
If that were the case, perhaps it was Stan himself who had gotten it wrong...
Seeing the guards in front of him start to waver, Father Matt spoke again, his tone calm and asured.
"rely being human can't prove soone is good, of course. But can we definitively assu he's evil now? If I were you, I'd use my eyes and ears to see and hear the truth, rather than rely on subjective intuition."
"Moreover, as the *Holy Word Book* teaches, we can accept demons who return to the embrace of the Holy Light. No matter their unforgivable sins, as long as they undergo the baptism of Holy Light and Holy Water to cleanse their soul, they can receive Saint Sis's forgiveness, ascend to paradise, and escape Hell's cycles of tornt."
"Since we can welco those demons who turn to the Light, why can't we accept a fellow human? Clearly, such prejudice is exactly what servants of the Divine should avoid."
"Saint Sis above... forgive for my sins." Fully enlightened, Stan turned to face the statue and confessed his repentance aloud.
Even so, a vague feeling of wrongness still lingered in his heart, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
As reverence welled in his heart, he quickly suppressed this unease as a form of sinful distraction.
The other guards did the sa.
No one dared to question the Priest's authority—at least not here, where Father Matt's exegesis was irrefutable.
But Socduo, lying before the statue, revealed a peculiar expression after hearing Father Matt's explanation.
He hadn't even ntioned that the Demon King was human—so how did the Priest know?
Could it be that he had seen them too?
No, that was impossible...
After all, this was Saint Sis's church.
If the Demon King's influence had penetrated even here, that level of infiltration would be far too terrifying...
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