Demon Queen Rebirth: I Reincarnated as a Living Armor?!

Chapter 193 - Side : Insane Religious Fanatics

-----

As Ervas and Veronica discussed their new course of action while slowly preparing for the inevitable battle that was approaching, the Duke of the Duchy of Sapphira, Frank Aquaria, Grandson of the King of the Port Kingdom of Aquaria was sweating heavily as his thin legs trembled with fear and concern.

??

In front of him, there was a figure that should be of lower authority than him, but due to how the church of the Bright Gods and the Faction of Bestellen Extremist held such power in the Kingdoms of the Continent of Anir Hands, he was left without many options other than to expect that fate or luck were at his side… not even him could run away from the punishments done by the members of high ranks in the Church of the Bright Gods, the Battle Popes.

"Duke Frank, what's with the bitter face? Did you swallow a bug, by any chance?" asked a stern and stoic man, seemingly on his fifties, his body was large and muscular, resembling a boulder. He wore white and gold pope clothes covered in white and heavy armor while wielding a long golden staff decorated with colorful jewels and a pope hat atop his head. He had many colorful rings on his hands and his presence exuded an air of greatness and divine judgment. His hair was completely white, and his eyes were yellow gold, shining with a magical hue.

"N-No, my lord! I am… I am just a bit nervous…" muttered Frank while gnashing his teeth, he glanced at the man in front of him as if he were looking at death itself…

This man was part of one of the strongest and most famous Battle Popes Groups inside of the Church of Bright Gods, part of the extremist faction of Bestellen, which aproved the total extermination of demons and beast-men. He was part of the Five Constellations, Lord Graham Gold.

"I have not come to instill fear in you, my son. I am but a humble servant of Bestellen-sama, our lord and savior that managed to fend off the deadly and savage demons and beastmen hundreds of years ago to secure our safety. How do you think that I would pay such a benevolent lord, a god with such a large heart, capable of caring for all of humanity? I have to do my duty, Frank. And now, due to your incompetence, you believe that I will punish you? That is not the case. I actually thank you for bringing forth a new trial to challenge my faith," said Graham Gold with a bright smile.

"…Eh? R-Really?" asked Frank.

"Indeed! I will make sure to complete it and ANNIHILATE that insolent half-demon with my bare hands and holy staff! I thank you, Frank! For bringing forth the trial I needed to finally break through the wall that has interrumpted my progression. I am one of the only ones within the Five Constellations that have not reached a strength equivalent to an S-Rank Adventurer, and through this trial, I will be able to finally achieve it while also reassuring my faith, so my lord Bestellen can look over me more and bless me with his holy light!" said Graham with passion on his words.

Frank heard Graham's story for the twentieth time this week, as the Battle Pope would come to visit him every day to tell him about his faith and duty as one of the Five Constellations, the strongest Battle Pope group in the entirety of the Bright Gods Church, such popes were directly given the Divine Protection of Bestellen or one of the Bright Gods or their subordinate Gods, becoming direct heroes and champions of the Gods.

Their strength was at a minimum compared to an A-Rank Adventurer, having gone through more than twelve Job Changes, and having awakened at least over three Skills. They both possessed outstanding physical capabilities, enormous magic talent, and the power of calling forth over the Spirits created by the Gods, enhancing their powers even further in battle.

They were part of the squadron of Popes dedicated to battle, to exert their faith and the words of their lord Bestellen through violence and power, the holy strength given to them by Bestellen and the Bright Gods. They were annihilators of Demons and Beastmen and were feared even amongst Adventurers themselves.

And because they were being backed by such enormous organization that covered the entirety of the Continent of Anir Hands, they had a strong authority to the point that they could even be permitted to 'exert judgment' in the name of Bestellen to anyone who had violated the law or the divine words of their god.

Such authority went even to the point of letting Graham Gold kill Duke Frank, the grandson of the King of Aquaria, at any time if he desired, in the excuse of exerting divine judgment in the name of Bestellen…

Thankfully for Frank, Graham Gold was not a man that enjoyed slaughtering humans, and had a compassionate heart, to the point of being capable of forgiving those that had sinned as long as they repented… this is why Graham had come every day to glance at Frank and make sure that he truly repented of his miscalculations, ignorance, and incompetence.

"I see… my lord, I am… very honored to have you here every day, please, serve yourself some tea, there are also snacks if you want any-"

"FRANK!" roared Graham while hitting the desk where Frank was trying to pour tea into a cup for him, spilling the tea all over the place, although Graham did not seem to care about this.

"Gyyyhhh…! Y-Yes, my lord…?"

"I have made sure to come every day since I reached the duchy. And I have decided that you have indeed repented, my son. I can truly see it in your face that you truly fear the might of our lord Bestellen, meaning that you do see his power, almighty, and holy! NOW! Let me tell you something! I will make sure to clean your name, my son! We cannot simply let the future Demon King do as he pleases inside of our holy continent! Nor we can let it escape! Although it might have an army of fiends now, we have our own army of holy crusaders. I am confident in the blessings given to me by my lord. Are you confident in me, Frank?!" asked Graham, approaching his golden eyes towards Frank Aquaria as he gleamed eerily, he was completely devoid of any reason. Even Frank Aquaria, who was a detestable fool could not help but find Graham incredibly obnoxious and dangerous.

"Yes, I have faith that the blessings of Bestellen-sama will give my lord the power to defeat the unholy Demon King and its detestable and fiendish spawns!" said Frank while kneeling immediately due to sheer fear.

"GOOD! GOOD! I can feel it within you, my son! This is what I wanted to hear, Frank Aquaria! You are a good example for this Kingdom! Make sure to always walk through the path of holiness and righteousness, my son, as Bestellen-sama will watch you dearly every day!" said Graham, with a tranquil smile, finishing his insane blabber and leaving the room once and for all.

The moment the door was closed, and the footsteps of Graham reached the outside of the manor, Frank finally gave himself a moment to relax, resting over the floor like a pathetic slug.

"Haaaahhh… Is he… gone? Oh… Ugh… my back… This is… At least… I've saved my life… Thanks, Bestellen-sama… Ugh…" muttered Frank, who had become truly faithful since Graham instilled so much fear into his head, even praying to Bestellen after Graham was no longer at his side.

Graham walked outside of Duke Frank Manor as he moved towards the territory of the Miller Family of Knights, where a young man in his early twenties awaited him in the entrance, Percy Miller, Duke Frank Servant, alongside an older man, his father, Albert Miller.

"Graham-sama, it is nice to meet you today as well," said Percy.

"It is also a blissful day for us all, Percy. Bestellen-sama must be giving us a beautiful day to enjoy the last month before departing into our long and arduous crusade. I hope that you train and prepare yourself fervently for that moment! As I cannot simply wait any longer!" said Graham with a smile while releasing a chuckle.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Graham-sama… But are you certain that we should wait any longer? The Demon King is a vicious creature that should not be underestimated after all! Can we simply sit idle and wait?" asked Albert in concern.

"There is no rudeness in your words but utmost faith, Albert. I admire your concern and I do think the same as you, but the world will often not go as we plan, even after the help of our Lord and savior Bestellen-sama… Many preparations are needed for such trial and crusade, but I am confident that whenever we are finally ready to go, our victory will be guaranteed! Even more, after we had discovered through the divinations of one of the Nine Shadow Eyes that the boy and his family of monsters are still residing in the Devil Forest! This must be fate!" said Graham.

"The Nine Shadow Eyes Divination Master…? So Graham-sama even knows such a woman… Then there is nothing for me to worry about, we have already won this battle, and we all have to thank is to our lord Bestellen-sama" said Albert.

"Indeed, Albert! Let us go instill more faith into the masses of this poor duchy," said Graham, walking with Albert and Percy who tailed around the two fanatics with a bit of sweat dripping on his neck.

"To think that the world is run by such insane people…" he thought.

-----