Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Kotomine Risei, the church member who led the group back then, adopted this living saint as his adopted son, renamed him "Kotomine Shiro," recruited him into the Eighth Secret Society, and taught him to become an agent.

Samael was so impressed by this living saint because Father Kotomine was not a very honest type and attempted to achieve "salvation for all mankind".

The so-called "salvation of all mankind" is to use the third magic to make all mankind ageless and immortal, thereby freeing them from the desires and suffering brought about by birth, aging, sickness and death.

Leaving aside the problems brought about by Yidao's thinking, the fact that all life forms are immortal is something even the most prosperous age of gods could not achieve.

Therefore, such wishful thinking is destined not to become a reality.

But this somewhat paranoid living saint always held strong hope for this unrealistic fantasy and secretly sought an opportunity to take action.

Simply put, he has a knack for causing trouble. If left out in the open, he might just start his grand plans for "the salvation of all mankind," which would then create a whole host of problems.

Before the events on Eminmego Island were even over, Kotomine Shiro had already targeted Natalia and nearly killed Samael's teammate.

To save trouble in the future and avoid constantly nagging him, and considering the grudge they had just formed, Samael really intended to secretly get rid of this troublemaking saint and throw him back into the Throne of Heroes.

By the way, based on the "excellent" family tradition, this Father Kotomine also has a sworn brother named Kirei Kotomine, who is also a troublemaker and a pleasure-seeker, and was also blacklisted by Samael early on.

This thing is valuable?!

Upon hearing this, Natalia's blue eyes lit up, her gaze becoming intense as she looked the living saint of the church up and down with ill intent.

Chapter 41 The Attack of the Dead Apostles

Being "enthusiastically watched" made Kotomine Shiro feel like a pig tied to a table, waiting to be slaughtered. This strange feeling made him feel a little nauseous.

What terrified him even more was that his slightest movement attracted the stares and auras of the six pairs of eyes opposite him.

There's no way to escape!

The overwhelming sense of oppression, coupled with his intuitive reaction, caused a cold sweat to break out on his forehead.

"Gentlemen, I had no ill intentions. I only wanted to eliminate a threat to this village. Using force against this lady was a last resort..."

Seeing that he seemed to have become a fish on a chopping board, Amakusa Shiro couldn't help but explain with a wry smile.

“It’s alright, we have already forgiven you. However, it seems that only God is qualified to hear the confession of saints. We can send you to see God, don’t be shy.”

Samael smiled, his expression full of malice.

Is it inevitable that we'll have to fight to the death?

Amakusa Shiro was both amused and exasperated by the teasing remark, but his gaze turned serious and cold, and his body, which had relaxed to show his sincerity, tensed up again.

"It's best to have someone with you when you go to see God."

Just as Samael was pondering how to eliminate Amakusa Shiro without revealing his identity, a cold snort came from behind him.

"How about I give you all a ride together..."

At the same time, a petite, dark-haired gothic lolita girl slowly walked out of the thick darkness, her silver teeth grinding as she spoke, her scarlet eyes fixed on someone.

"Tch, no, a bastard like you would never go to heaven. Hell is more suitable for you!"

The Black Princess Altruki, who had followed the trail, hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and changed her words, venting the deep resentment in her heart.

Goodness, it's so lively tonight! Everyone who should be here and everyone who shouldn't be here has gathered.

Hearing the curses of the victim behind him, the ancient snake raised its hand to its forehead, feeling utterly helpless.

As Arcueid and Samael shifted most of their attention to the newly emerged target, Amakusa Shiro, whose nerves had been stretched to the limit, felt the immense pressure finally ease.

But an invisible vortex has drawn the three parties together, leaving them looking at each other, undecided on what to do.

rustle……

Just as tensions were rising and the atmosphere was gradually freezing, a rustling sound came from behind Amakusa Shiro. A slightly plump figure with unsteady steps walked out of the forest with his back to the moonlight.

Amakusa Shiro turned slightly, his peripheral vision catching sight of the silver cross swaying on the figure's chest, and he frowned helplessly.

“Father Simon, this is not a place for you. Didn’t I tell you to leave?”

As this living saint pondered, he stepped forward, his upright figure cutting off the three people's gaze. Six black keys reappeared in his ten fingers, ready to be used.

Samael glanced at Amakusa Shiro, who had reacted so strongly, his brow furrowing and swaying as if he were deep in thought.

"Go find my father. I can handle things here..."

Just as the living saint gave the order in a deep voice, the slightly plump, unsteady figure behind him twitched his nostrils, then his body jolted, and he suddenly stomped his feet and accelerated, like a cheetah hunting its prey, lunging forward with a flexibility disproportionate to his size.

"Ho ho..."

At the same time, amidst the wheezing sound as if thick phlegm were blocking the trachea, a pair of scarlet eyes flickered eerily in the night.

Dead Apostle transformation? How could that be!

Upon hearing the commotion, Amakusa Shiro turned around instantly. Gazing at the hideous, aged face under the moonlight, and the bloodied, mangled neck revealing a pale, broken throat, his expression darkened. He slowly raised the black key in his hand and sighed silently.

I'm sorry, Father Simon...

"puff!"

With a dull thud as a blade pierced flesh, a blue-black key, capable of cleansing the body and returning life to dust, pierced the skull of his former comrade, extinguishing the remnants of his consciousness driven by the desire to feed, causing him to fall heavily to the ground, returning to stillness.

Amakusa Shiro remained silent for a moment, then turned his back to the crowd, stood up and stepped forward. He first prayed for the victims, then took Father Simon's cross pendant from the bloodied and mangled neck, put it in his pocket, and carefully preserved it.

At the same time, the crackling sound of burning wood could be faintly heard.

Everyone instinctively looked up and stared, only to see that the crimson flames illuminated half the sky, with billowing smoke rising in the air. The cacophony of wails and screams, carried by the night wind, echoed intermittently in their ears.

"Ah! Monster! Monster!"

"No...don't come here!"

"Help, help! Help... Waaah..."

That's the direction of the village!

problem occurs!

Samael's eyes, reflecting the firelight, flickered eerily. He looked around and murmured to himself.

"Gentlemen, it seems we need to put aside our differences for now and work together to eliminate this calamity."

After exchanging silent glances for a moment, the group nodded in tacit agreement, and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

Whether it's the living saint in the church who loves humanity, the two remaining princesses in the Thousand-Year City, Samael, the maintainer of order, or a certain compassionate half-sleep demon, none of them want Eminmego Island to become a living hell because of the calamity of the power of the Dead Apostle.

Compared to their insignificant personal grudges, eliminating the disaster and investigating the cause of the matter are clearly the most urgent tasks.

"Your Highness, I remember you have the ability to materialize illusions? Please seal off the entire village to prevent the transformed Dead Apostles from becoming a source of infection and spreading further!"

"Ok!"

"Altruchi, I heard you're the King of the Dead Apostles? Do you have a way to control these rioting Dead Apostles?"

"Those who transform while alive might be okay, but individuals who are resurrected after death have lost their consciousness and are now nothing more than walking corpses driven by the instinct to eat. They are completely beyond saving."

“Father Kotomine, right? Contact your church as soon as possible and clear out those hopeless infected people immediately. We will take care of those who have not yet become dead people and send them to a safe place for temporary shelter.”

"The church has a protective spell that can withstand it for a while; this is the secret code for unlocking it."

After a few concise words of contemplation, the previously clueless trouble was sorted out in an orderly manner, and everyone subconsciously followed the instructions and took charge of their assigned tasks.

"By the way, Father Kotomine, take this with you and tell Kotomine Risei not to move those wounded who haven't been converted yet. These are people the council needs. If we're short one, I'll fill in with one of your colleagues. I hope you've brought enough colleagues this time."

As he was about to leave, Samael handed the living saint an emblem with an ouroboros symbol, pondered for a moment, and gave him a stern warning with a chilling gaze.

Amakusa Shiro felt a chill run down his spine, a strange, inexplicable tension rising within him, and he nodded solemnly involuntarily.

Watching the living saint of the church walk away, Samael, along with the two princesses of the Millennium City and Natalia beside him, hurried towards the burning village.

Under the cover of night, Samael gazed at the desolate flames, then looked at Charlotte sleeping soundly in Arcueid's arms, his eyes flickering with a question surfacing in his mind.

Strange, the child was clearly under control, so why did the Dead Apostle crisis still break out? What's going on?

Chapter 42 The Conspiracy of the Infinite Reincarnators (1/3)

On Aiminmego Island, in a village, houses made mainly of dry grass, mud, and wood burned fiercely, accompanied by crackling sounds of burning. The blazing flames illuminated the night sky, and thick smoke billowed into the air.

Beneath the flickering flames, bodies lying in pools of blood rose from the ground like marionettes. Their necks were bitten off, and their heads, supported only by flesh and bones, turned stiffly like rusty machines. Their pale eyes rolled back, revealing pupils that had turned scarlet, staring intently at the struggling and fleeing figures around them.

At the stairwell, a young woman wearing a brown-red vest and bright gold earrings quickly became the focus of attention. Overwhelmed with fear, she watched as figures stiffly walked out of the firelight and darkness, desperately covering her mouth and retreating in terror.

However, her stiff and numb hands and feet were completely unresponsive, and after a few steps, she stumbled and fell down in front of the steps.

"Don't come over here, don't come over here!"

The woman, slumped on the ground, her pupils contracted sharply, and she let out a mournful cry as she struggled to get up, trying to muster the courage to escape this hell.

But in the darkness, a figure with half its face torn apart swayed and emerged from behind her, its scarlet eyes gleaming with a cruel light.

"boom!"

At the critical moment, a muffled gunshot rang out, and a sharp, whistling bullet, carrying a faint white light, shot out from the darkness, piercing the skull of the murderer and saving the young woman from the brink of death.

As cold blood clots mixed with pale brain matter splattered onto her face, the woman, whose SAN value had dropped to zero, gasped, about to let out a hysterical scream.

"Buzz!"

At that moment, a tremor came from the air, and a milky white halo, like a light rain, sprinkled on the woman's forehead. The indescribable sense of security made her relax and her out-of-control emotions gradually stabilize.

In the darkness, a man wielding two guns, one black and one white, gracefully approached, extending his fingers towards the young woman and whispering gently, guiding her towards the light, like an angel descending from heaven.

"It's okay, you're safe now."

While comforting the still-shaken survivor, Samael drew protective runes on her body and gave her a subtle hint.

"Go to the church, it's safe there."

For no apparent reason, the woman's previously cold and stiff hands and feet suddenly regained feeling, and a strong will to survive and courage surged within her. "Going to church" became her driving force to live.

Immediately, the woman nodded hastily and scrambled towards the shelter.

Tsk, it's been so many years since you last took action. This time you're breaking the rules by cleaning up some infected Dead Apostles. I wonder if you're lucky or unlucky.

Samael gazed at the mutilated, staggering zombies gathering around him, sighed softly, calmly inserted his pistol into the wall case, shook his head helplessly, and seeing that no one was around, raised his right hand and began to chant softly.

"I declare: I control killing, I control life, I wound, I heal, nothing can escape my grasp, nothing can escape my gaze, I will destroy, I will recall the crippled, the aged..."

Accompanied by solemn chanting of divine words, a milky white halo rippled outward from Samael as its core.

Any of the Dead Apostles who came into contact with the ripples stopped moving. The blood energy emanating from their bodies dissipated instantly, like snow exposed to the blazing sun. Their resentful and sinister expressions gradually softened under the glow of the light.

As their last vestiges of hope dissipated, and they seemed to see something, a satisfied and joyful smile appeared on their lips.

Immediately, the corpses, having lost their support, disintegrated and turned to ashes, drifting away with the wind, dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

Under the control of this hidden true god, the baptismal chants originally intended for one person were transformed in his hands into a collective purification that spreads light, sweeping away the wandering dead on the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye.

However, it remains to be seen whether those soothed souls will go to hell or heaven under this purification.

Or is it a hell disguised as heaven, or a heaven that was once hell?

However, these are no longer issues that Samael needs to consider.

Just as things were gradually calming down, Samael sensed something, his brow twitched, his eyes snapped open, and he casually took a step, instantly walking a hundred meters to an ancient well in the center of the village. Looking at the half-full bucket of well water remaining in the bucket and the wisp of scarlet blood floating in the water, he suddenly realized what was happening.

No wonder that even though Patient Zero Xia Lei was brought under control, the death crisis on Aimingmego Island still inevitably broke out.

It turns out that the ley lines and water bodies have been secretly polluted. If anyone drinks from them, or if someone with a weak constitution comes into close contact with them, they will easily be eroded and thus transformed into a Dead Apostle...

Samael frowned in thought, his gaze turning to the plaza where the blood-red lines hidden beneath the ashes of the corpses twisted and intertwined, forming a strange and bizarre magic circle.

Sensing the almost nonexistent wisp of remaining scent in the air, the ancient serpent's gaze turned icy, and its eyes surged with murderous intent.

However, even though he immediately closed his eyes and focused his thoughts, spreading his divine will throughout the entire island, he still couldn't find the owner of this aura.

That guy has already escaped.

Roya, that scumbag!

Samael frowned, his face darkening.

Previously, he had not been without suspicion of Emiya Norikaze.

But upon closer reflection, in his recollection of the entire incident, it seemed that from the moment Xia Lei secretly ingested the bottle of Dead Apostle potion and began to transform, Emiya Norikazu was single-mindedly focused on destroying the research data and running away immediately.

If his son, Kiritsugu Emiya, hadn't ignored his advice and gone to the village at dusk, Norikasa Emiya, who didn't need to wait for his son's return, would probably have been killed long before the church and association's pursuers arrived.

Therefore, he clearly did not have the time, energy, or sufficient raw materials to pollute the water and ley lines, causing chaos on the entire Aiminmego Island.

Currently, considering the deeds and special skills of that reincarnated Infinite Being, as well as the sacrificial runes and lingering aura on the plaza, the true culprit who caused this anomaly is about to be revealed.