Delizio truly didn’t know when his obsession with the Eldritch began.

  Was it when his village succumbed to a plague, albeit a naturally occurring one? Was it when his friend wasted away from illness? When he had to beg on the streets of the capital?

  Perhaps when he met his mentor, a dark mage who delved into the deepest corners of the arcane. Or the day he gained his first skill—Dark Divinity—a power that let him perceive Eldritch entities, to comprehend beings that clearly existed, but shouldn’t be messed with. He knew they shouldn’t be touched, yet they existed, unlike the Church of the Light’s precious goddess.

  Delizio didn’t know exactly when he began down this wretched path, but he knew he was too far gone.

  No human god truly existed—not the goddess, not a demigod—unless, of course, you counted the Eldritch abominations he served and sought to further empower. But even they did. It was better to make the lower followers of the Cult believe there was a figure to worship after all—better an evil human than an incomprehensible monster.

  There was no kind god, no one who embodied pure divinity, none worth being a true symbol of faith.

  So he was completely unprepared when, as he prepared to begin extracting information from this S-rank, a being of pure divinity appeared right behind the intruder.

  One moment he was contemplating whether to kill the S-rank immediately or slowly use him in rituals, the next his gaze was captured by this unbearably pure being, looking at Delizio with stern calm.

  It peered into his soul, into the darkness within him, and Delizio could only freeze.

  What was he supposed to do when faced with such overwhelming divinity? How was he meant to react when confronted with the evidence that everything he believed in was wrong? That he'd searched in the wrong direction?

  Like the Eldritch, darkness existed… but so did light. Someone like this—a being of pure light—could only be a god, a benevolent one.

  How was he supposed to deal with that revelation? Delizio didn’t know.

  Step by step, the being approached him.

  Delizio's sword faded. Any impure thoughts, any unclean emotions, evaporated. All that remained was reverence.

  He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face without thought.

  "Oh divine being," he murmured, looking up at the demigod. "Who are you? Why have you graced me with the opportunity to see you? Am I to be sent to hell?"

  The unfathomable divinity looked down into Delizio’s eyes for a moment. "I have come to change the world, Delizio,” it murmured. “I have come because a threat looms over this world—because someone wishes to destroy it. I have come to prevent it. Will you join me?"

  Delizio immediately bowed, his head hitting the ground at the being's feet. "Anything for you," he said, desperation in his voice. "Anything to lessen my sins. Anything to redeem myself. Anything that will allow you to show grace on this world. Anything, so those Eldritch beings don’t truly pour into this world."

  His deepest secret, the reason he held his power so aggressively. Unlike his more unhinged followers—his Cardinals, the people who wanted the world’s destruction—Delizio wanted reform.

  Most humans should die, certainly, but he wasn’t quite down for total annihilation. He didn’t want the Eldritch beings to invade this world. If not for him, his Cardinals would have already succeeded in bringing them here.

  Now, before him stood a being capable of stopping those Eldritch horrors.

  Perhaps his Dark Divinity specialization pierced the veil of normality this being maintained to allow him to sense the divine presence of this person. Or his finely honed senses developed after years of encountering abominations and horrors beyond human comprehension.

  Regardless, in that moment, all Delizio could think about was how blessed he was that such a being existed, that there was a barrier against the horrors of the world.

  Dominic considered the confusing man before him. This Delizio had clearly seen through the barriers designed to prevent mortals from either going mad or worshiping Dominic with blind reverence, but was taking it surprisingly well.

  For someone like him to exist in this world was amazing. Normally, it took immense development and exposure to gods before someone like this appeared. But here, in this primitive world, was someone who could witness a fragment of true divinity, see through it on his own, and not go insane.

  It was remarkable. This world was brimming with talent.

  Gabrielle was a talented and skilled assistant. Calvin was a strong-minded individual and a true talent, who would one day ascend beyond the world entirely. But even he would be overwhelmed if Dominic weren’t restraining his deific presence to the maximum.

  This Delizio was somehow already forged and tempered to the Divine. Setting aside his lowly S-Class rank, the man had genuine potential. Dominic was seriously tempted to take him on as another disciple, push this man’s natural limits and see what he could truly comprehend.

  If not for the deadline on Gabrielle’s world being invaded, if he had a few decades instead of a single year…

  But the man’s strength was only an S-class. Unless Dominic trained him, he likely wouldn’t be able to face the challenges Dominic wanted him to. And Dominic could train him—he would have—but he had to develop this world within a year. It had to be fully prepared for any potential invasion.

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  If he took on this man as a disciple as well, he wouldn't be able to focus properly on him, which would be unfair to the man. Right now, he had his plan in place. He would help Calvin break through his internal mental barriers, and once that was done—hopefully quickly, though there was no rush—he could always slow down time. Afterward, he would begin developing this world, turning it into a true utopia, one that no one, at least no normal administrator, could easily destroy. Perhaps, once that was done, he could take this man under his wing and allow his talent to bloom naturally.

  He was curious about how this would unfold. "What is your name, believer?" he asked.

  Without looking up, the man replied, "My name is Delizio, Your Holiness."

  "Delizio... good name. I shall meet you soon. I do not know how long this ‘soon’ will be, for there is a disaster engulfing this world. But until then, I expect you to do better, to redeem yourself for your sins."

  Delizio nodded fervently, looking up at Dominic—though not daring to meet his eyes—he raised his head just slightly. "Yes, Your Holiness, whatever you wish."

  "Alright then," Dominic said, turning to his disciple. "Does this count as your anger being satisfied? Calvin?"

  Calvin nodded. "I beat them up pretty satisfyingly, even though I got defeated by this guy in the end."

  "Yeah, you got caught off guard. You were a tiny bit too cocky, I think."

  Calvin nodded, surprisingly humble. "I realized that when I was talking with the bartender too. I'm becoming a little too overconfident. I’ll keep that in check and work on it."

  Dominic barely suppressed the urge to coo. How humble, how innocent, how precious.

  If this had been Dominic when he was younger, he would have claimed there was nothing wrong with being cocky, that he had every right to be arrogant, and would never have acknowledged his own flaws. "Can you convert your men, Pope Delizio?" he asked.

  The Darkness Bane Pope looked up and nodded firmly. "After seeing your divinity, Your Holiness, I’m confident that by simply describing you, by showing my memories, all my followers will convert. We shall worship you, who clearly deserves it more."

  Dominic scratched his head. "Well, I wouldn’t say I deserve it more, but sure, I don’t mind you worshiping me. Before that, though, I’ll need to inform the king and the Pope—that is, the Pope of the Church of Light—that you've converted. That way, they won't waste unnecessary time or resources on chasing you."

  That’s a good idea, Mister Dominic. Even though Delizio has negotiated a peace treaty with the king, it’s quite precarious. The only terms he successfully negotiated were that none of his followers will be hung—nothing else. And because capturing his followers has become pointless, as they can’t be killed and will eventually break out, no one invades his territory or even attempts to find it.

  But still, a significant amount of resources from the Church of Light and the kingdom are invested in monitoring and preventing anything the darkness being called does. After all, they are a menace.

  (>?<)

  Delizio nodded. "Yes, Your Holiness, that would indeed be ideal. They don’t need to continue increasing the guard to prevent our attacks."

  Dominic waved a hand. "Yeah, so come along with me. Let’s go tell them you've fully converted. Then you can come back here and convert your followers completely."

  They reappeared in the cathedral meeting room, where Hannah, Pope Lathan, the Cardinals, and King Nohl had gathered around a circular table. The benches had been rearranged, and they were discussing something deeply, with papers and maps in front of them.

  The conversation around the table continued for a moment before they realized they had visitors and fell quiet.

  Dominic needed only that glance to tell, they were planning where to build orphanages, shelters, and food donation centers. He felt a deep warmth seeing how dedicated these people were already.

  Before he could greet Dominic, King Nohl’s eyes widened as he noticed who was standing next to him. "Your... Your Demigodness... Your Godliness," the king whispered, staring at Delizio. "Do you... do you know who he is?" Then he seemed to realize the silliness of his question and amended it. "Does that man perhaps know who you are?"

  Dominic nodded. "My disciple showed him a taste of his powers, then I showed him a taste of mine. Now he's a loyal follower."

  The king seemed gobsmacked. The Saintess, not recognizing Delizio immediately, skimmed her eyes over his uniform—the black robes, the crimson skull logo—before it finally hit her.

  "The Darkness Bane Cult?"

  "No, no, Saintess," Delizio corrected. "We are no longer the Darkness Bane Cult. We will now be the Demigod Worshiping Cult."

  Dominic turned to the man. "The Demigod Worshiping Cult? Doesn’t that name feel a bit too basic?"

  "That is true.” Delizio considered a moment, then, “What is your name, Your Holiness?"

  "I am Dominic.”

  Delizio nodded firmly. "Then we are now the Dominic-Worshipping Cult," he said without a hint of doubt.

  Dominic wasn’t sure how to feel about that name, but everyone else, even Calvin, nodded as though it made perfect sense.

  The king gritted his teeth lightly before taking a deep breath. "I cannot so easily forgive that man, Your Highness," King Nohl murmured, looking at Delizio. “The things he has done…”

  Dominic couldn’t help but smile at the king’s inability to settle on a term to call him. One moment he'd refer to him as "demigodness," the next as "godliness," and now he was calling him "Highness," as though Dominic were the king instead of him.

  "But…” the king grimaced, seeming barely able to force the words out. “I understand that forgiveness is crucial. If you had chosen not to forgive me for my callous neglect of my people, I wouldn't have been given this opportunity.”

  The three cardinals merely looked guilty and sad at the king’s words.

  Dominic nodded along with an encouraging smile. They seemed to be figuring things out for themselves just fine, didn’t even need him to start flashing around miracles or anything. He only needed to stand here long enough to ensure no one would attack each other, and then he could leave them to their collective work of improving the lives of those in the kingdom.

  "And so, I will forgive him." King Nohl drew himself up even more stiffly and managed a curt nod in the cult leader’s direction. "And I hope he forgives me for anything I might have done against him."

  Delizio had no such reservation. He bowed in humble acceptance. "Indeed, Your Majesty, I understand why you've ruled for so long. You truly possess the mindset of a ruler—wise, kind, and magnanimous. I accept your apology and, in turn, I apologize for anything I've done. I promise to correct my actions."

  Just when it seemed everything would be resolved peacefully, however—

  "What about the people you've killed?" the previously inconspicuous priest spat, rising to his feet with his fists tight on the table. "What about my family? My relatives? What about all those sins? Can you take them back? Can you fix it with a simple apology?"

  Before Delizio could respond, Dominic cut him off. "If that’s the only problem, I could always revive the dead, you know."