Unspeakable bubbles

Roger looked up and saw that his bishop had a look of bewilderment on his face that he had never seen before.

"bishop?"

"Hmm, I have absolutely no idea about the other one's situation."

Matthew rubbed his forehead: "It doesn't seem like a sudden awakening. Like Yuko, she knows nothing about the mysticism, yet she also stole a considerable portion of the demon spirit's power."

"What's even more unbelievable is that after absorbing the power of the Crimson Codex, there was not a single sign of mutation on her body. If I met her on the street, I would definitely think she was just an ordinary little girl."

"Could he be a master of secret martial arts?" Roger wondered.

Although he wasn't part of their system, he had heard some things about them.

Some extreme demonic techniques can plunder power of mysterious nature.

“Absolutely not.” Matthew said with certainty, “She could never be a master of secret martial arts. She’s too young, and I can tell at a glance whether she’s practiced secret martial arts or not.”

"Well, maybe it's because of a special physical condition."

Matthew remained noncommittal upon hearing this.

There were some things he didn't tell Roger. Based on his observations, the little girl didn't actively plunder power like Misa Ohara's mutated bear monster.

She did nothing from beginning to end; instead, the mist eagerly bestowed its power upon her.

Matthew strongly suspected that if the little girl showed even the slightest intention to plunder power, not only would the demon and the bear monster gain nothing, but they might even lose themselves.

'If it really is a special constitution, then that's truly terrifying.'

Matthew was silent for a while, then said calmly, "This world is vast, and there are many people and things that we cannot understand. There's no need to dwell on it too much."

"After that, as expected, the Seven Rings Tower intervened in the incident. Maekawa Kazuto killed the bear monster that Nakamura's disciple had mutated into, and sealed the demon spirit."

"The Crimson Codex and the Demon Spirit are one, sealing the Demon Spirit also means sealing the Codex together."

“The canon cannot be taken away by the people of the Seventh Ring Tower, so I activated the highest level of authority.”

"After the scripture devoured most of the demon spirit, it used that power to break through the seal bottle."

"Wait, why didn't the bishop take the opportunity to retrieve the scriptures? Could Maekawa Kazuto have destroyed the scriptures under those circumstances? Does he have that kind of ability?"

"Of course, I can take back the scriptures, but wouldn't that expose 'her'?"

"The Seven Ring Tower definitely believes that we were behind this incident. Under the manipulation of the Apocalypse Secret Cult, the Crimson Scripture actually summoned a demon spirit, a bear monster, and a group of resurrected beings before exhausting its power? All of them combined are no match for a single A-rank Chaos creature."

"In this way, the people of the Seven Rings Tower will inevitably focus their attention on the survivors."

Matthew smiled slightly: "So I used the last bit of power from the scriptures to unleash a wide-range destructive spell."

"Of course, that was just for show; the remaining power of the scriptures is incapable of launching any decent attack."

"Then, Kazuto Maekawa's puppet destroyed the scriptures. I guess he thought I was a fraud, haha."

"..."

"I understand what happened, but..."

Roger hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why is the bishop going to such lengths, even abandoning the scriptures, to help her?"

Chapter 75, Section 075: A Black Pot

"Even if we recover the Crimson Codex, who knows how much time and effort it will take to accumulate enough for a sacrifice next time? Besides..."

Matthew asked thoughtfully, "Which do you think is more valuable, the girl or the Crimson Codex?"

Roger replied almost without hesitation, "Of course, it's the secret treasure of our sect."

"No need to answer so quickly. Put aside your identity as a devout believer and think about it again."

This time, Roger pondered for a long time before saying, "The Crimson Codex can summon A-rank chaotic creatures; it's a strategic weapon of the Church, and that girl..."

"Your subordinate is dull-witted; in the end, it seems she did not reach the A-level."

"The Crimson Codex is very valuable, but its limit is to summon A-rank beings."

“Not only are A-rank chaotic creatures extremely difficult to control, their combat power has not met the Church’s expectations.”

“Uh,” Roger was taken aback.

He had only heard of A-rank beings, but had never actually witnessed one.

Rumor has it that even elite armies would find it extremely difficult to suppress A-rank chaotic creatures, so what more could one ask for?

"Bishop, could it be that Rank A chaotic creatures are not as powerful as rumored?"

Roger glanced at Matthew cautiously, and seeing that he didn't seem displeased, he continued, "I've heard that those who reach Rank A are completely comparable to an army."

"With the dozens of A-rank Chaos creatures under the Church's control, they could sweep through an ordinary army, but that would be meaningless."

"With this little power, I'm afraid that great witch of the Seven Rings Tower could take her down by herself."

After a pause, Matthew continued, "This is the limit of the Crimson Codex, but that child is different. If he is properly nurtured, he might be able to break through to a new realm."

Roger's face was expressionless. He wielded considerable power in the city, but within the entire cult, he was only considered to be in the lower middle ranks.

Before he could even feel the joy of hearing that the church controlled dozens of A-rank chaotic creatures, his bishop immediately told him that there was some great witch in the Seven Rings Tower who could take care of them all.

At this moment, Roger felt a sense of helplessness, as if his worldview was collapsing.

“Bishop, I would rather not know these things.”

"Oh, why do you say that?" Matthew looked at him curiously.

In his view, these were all 'well-known' things, and he really couldn't understand why Roger would react so strongly.

Roger's expression was complicated. He said bitterly, "Once they know that the Seven Ring Tower possesses such power, they will probably be afraid to face their subordinates in the future."

"When you have fear in your heart, you will ruin many things that you could have done well because of cowardice."

“...Rogier, listen up.”

Matthew's expression turned serious: "The Apocalypse Cult is trying to keep a low profile in the Federation and avoid conflict with the Seven Ring Tower. That's a grand strategy, but it doesn't mean we're afraid of them."

"If anyone should be afraid, it's the Seventh Ring Tower that should be afraid of us."

"How can a shallow organization with a history of less than a hundred years compare with the Tantric sect? Heh, even if it is that 'Great Witch,' we Tantric sect are only somewhat wary of her."

"Fear? We have nothing to fear except for Chaos itself and the Savior!"

Matthew stared sharply at Roger: "You have such a powerful Apocalyptic cult behind you, tell me, what are you afraid of?"

Roger touched his head to the ground. Regardless of whether he accepted Matthew's explanation, he could only firmly reply, "I understand!"

Seeing Roger's reaction, Matthew's expression softened somewhat.

"Get up, don't overestimate the Seven Rings Pagoda, and don't underestimate Tantric Buddhism."

"Well, it's good that you didn't hide your feelings and chose to tell me your fears without hesitation."

"That's exactly what I value about you, which is why I decided to hand over this city to you completely."

"bishop?"

"Ah, it's alright to tell you in advance. I won't be staying in this city for long, so I'll have to rely on you to keep up the good work."

"...Your subordinate is terrified."

"OK OK."

Matthew stood up and helped Roger up: "So, you understand now, right? That's why I chose to give up the scriptures to cover for that girl."

“She has the potential to reach even greater heights,” Matthew remarked with emotion.

"Please instruct us on the next steps."

After the conversation, Roger realized his limitations.

It's not that they lack ability, but rather that they are at too low a level.

Some things may seem correct from one's own perspective, but from a higher perspective, they may not be so.

"Contract the city's fighting force, suspend missionary work for the next few months, and proceed with caution."

Matthew shook his head, looking rather helpless: "According to the Federation's consistent approach, events that would inevitably cause social unrest once the truth is exposed are always suppressed first."

"The official reports should be about mass poisoning or a gas explosion, and the death toll should be kept below ten."

"But this can't be kept from those who are interested. The parents of the children in that school will definitely do everything they can to find out the truth."

“Ordinary people have no choice but to compromise with the Federation. However, there are some influential figures within the Federation. If they collude with each other, force is not impossible, but there are more tactful ways to do it.”

Roger realized what was going on, and his face turned grim: "So, we're going to have to take the blame?"

"Well, the Federation won't completely break ties with the Secret Church, but the church's influence in this city will definitely suffer a powerful blow."

Matthew thought for a moment and then reminded him, "Prepare early, but don't let your guard down once the storm has passed."

“Parents who have suffered the pain of losing their sons or daughters will not forget us and will probably keep bothering us for a long time.”

“I understand,” Roger said unhappily.

To be honest, he felt that this matter had little to do with his church, and that he should seek revenge on Nakamura.

But nobody believed it.

If he were in Roger's shoes and didn't know the inside story, he would certainly have thought the church was behind it.

“By the way, Bishop, that child…” he subtly reminded him.

Since Matthew believes that girls are more valuable than the Crimson Cult, they need to take action sooner rather than later.

"Don't alert her. Let the Seven Ring Tower take care of her for a while."

Matthew pondered for a moment and said, "With my cover, the little girl can avoid being discovered for her special constitution as long as she is clever enough, but the contamination rate cannot be hidden."

"With such a high level of contamination at such a young age, the guys at the Seventh Ring Tower must think they've struck gold. Hmm, she'll probably be sent to one of those three academies for further studies."

"I will report this to headquarters; you don't need to worry about it."

Matthew appeared confident; the Apocalypse Cult had spies in those three special academies.

With just a little attention, I could find some time to meet that girl, and with my 'talent,' persuading her to join the church would be a piece of cake.

"I am relieved that the bishop has a plan."