Chapter 2356 – Outrageous Bishops
After a moment of silence, having fully processed the massive amount of information, one Yellow King believer asked, “Are everyone on this list from the Deep Sea Church?”
“They should be, otherwise they wouldn’t be listed here. And some of them are indeed known for supporting marine welfare and environmental protection,” said the Troupe Leader, unexpectedly knowing some of their deeds.
“If this list were handed over to the Judges, it would be a huge scandal, causing a great earthquake!” A Yellow King believer immediately realized the crucial problem.
Those on this list were all influential figures, many of them important people from the Iberian Empire. If it were confirmed that they were all traitors to the Deep Sea Church, it would mean a major reshuffling at the high levels, possibly affecting many.
“Perhaps not necessarily. A group of suspicious individuals, presenting a list saying these people are traitors, would the Judges believe them?” one Yellow King believer questioned.
“Aren’t the Judges inclined to believe something exists rather than not? Their principle is to rather kill ten by mistake than let one go,” another Yellow King believer retorted. As an official demon hunter organization, the way Judges acted was identical to that of demon hunters.
“Even if they could kill them. Those important figures, the Judges might not be able to afford to offend. Without conclusive evidence, they can’t even investigate them. That’s the limitation of the Judges; a mere list is useless.”
The Deep Sea Church, explicitly defined as a cult by the Iberian Empire, was always strictly prohibited and severely suppressed. Even its believers would be exiled. If so many noble figures were believers of the Deep Sea Church, and they couldn’t be investigated or arrested, it would pose a great threat to the prestige of the Imperial Authority.
Generally, there are a few types of cults. The first type is simply not recognized as a legal religion. They are not allowed to preach or establish churches without permits, but people spread their beliefs privately without interference. Even if you believe in them, it’s not illegal.
The second type, while also not recognized and permitted to preach, possesses property. For example, the Church of the Death Trinity owns a cemetery and is permitted to engage in industries and work related to cemeteries, such as helping people summon spirits, exorcise ghosts, or perform funerals. You can state your church and the gods you believe in when helping people, and you can establish small chapels within your property, as no one interferes. This is better than the first type.
Then there is the most unfortunate type: a cult that is explicitly banned. Of course, a legitimate church in other countries may be strictly forbidden in one country; rival churches are common. For an explicitly banned cult, not only is preaching forbidden, but even believing in these gods or joining the cult is illegal. This means not only can you not preach, but you cannot even believe, and all religious texts must be destroyed.
The Deep Sea Church is one such church strictly banned by the Iberian Empire. One can imagine the great disaster the Deep Sea Church once brought to the Iberian Empire.
Having concluded that the list was likely useless for now, the Yellow King believers continued to discuss the information revealed in the diary. It contained a wealth of information, but many complex terms that ordinary people might not understand.
“Divine Envoy, ‘Great Silence’ might refer to that ancient massive flood, recorded in the legends of many places and civilizations. Humans all experienced that great flood and survived through water management or building arks,” the Troupe Leader explained to Jayad.
“If a great flood really submerged the land, it would be a paradise for sea monsters. So they don’t even care who caused the flood? Do they think Sea Monster Cells can assimilate even Deep Ones?” Jayad mused.
“Heh, they underestimate the Deep Ones and their masters too much. We’ve fought for so many years to know this: never treat Deep Ones as fools or weaklings. Since they dared to agree to this cooperation, they definitely wouldn’t be afraid of the expansion of the Sea People,” the Troupe Leader chuckled dismissively.
Yellow King believers, Deep Ones, and human cults that worshipped the Lord of R’lyeh had been in a long-term confrontation. It lasted longer than any human civilization, and they had been warring since the barbaric era when otherworldly beings ruled, hundreds of thousands of years ago. After the Divine Punishment, countless otherworldly beings went extinct, and humans rose. However, the two cults continued to exist, hiding within human society and continuing their eternal struggle. They had launched countless grand schemes against each other, yet none could completely eradicate the other. After all, as long as gods could still respond to the mortal realm, believers would be endless.
Therefore, they understood each other the best, knowing how resilient and troublesome their old rivals were. Those who thought they could use or control them would end up being their own undoing due to their arrogance.
“At least, we know some of the Deep Sea Church’s scheme. They want to summon the power of the Lord of R’lyeh to flood the continent by sacrificing the corpses of sea monsters to the Deep Ones. These Deep Sea Bishops don’t seem very loyal,” Jayad said playfully.
“That’s also normal. Even if they share the same faith, the differences and conflicts between races cannot be bridged. The Deep Ones and the human believers of the Dagon Cult are not of one mind,” the Troupe Leader stated.
“Even so, trying to sacrifice their own kin or colluding with enemies is beyond ordinary internal conflict. No matter how you think about it, it’s too outrageous,” Jayad said solemnly.
He had received favor from many gods. Although he didn’t like all of them, at least the believers of those gods treated him quite well and got along fine, even the Hastur cult, known for its bizarre, terrifying, and mysterious nature outside. Jayad could hardly imagine a Bishop of a church who would unhesitatingly trade the lives of a large number of their own kin with outsiders, even if they weren’t intelligent beings.
“Yes, it is indeed outrageous. This is not what believers should do, and they each have their own personal agendas. Their motives for joining the cult are impure, and their internal conflicts are deep. The church rules and management of that Deep Sea Church have significant problems,” the Troupe Leader agreed. This was indeed absurd; normal churches were not like this.
“The Bishop who wrote this diary, and the two Bishops he mentioned, the three of them have three different viewpoints. The Bishop who wrote the diary actually does not want humans to merge with the sea and become sea monsters. He only wants humans to evolve faster through symbiosis with sea monsters. We can call him the Coexistence Faction.”
Jayad slowly spoke, contemplating the diary’s content, “The Tide Bishop tried to bring about a world-ending flood and let sea monsters rule the world. We can call him the Arrival Faction.”
“And the last one, the Algae Bishop, hopes to transform all humans into sea monsters. We can call him the Transformation Faction.”
