Chapter 57: Even the Worst of Men Have Red Hearts

—I am going to establish the Axis Church State!

"Hahaha, this is even crazier than what I used to do during Night Raid."

Bratz laughed heartily, yet said with firm conviction, "Still, if this is the future Kobayashi saw, I'd be more than happy to help. I can trust you, right?"

"Of course, you can always trust me." Kobayashi gave his assurance.

Sheele also mumbled vaguely, "I trust Kobayashi."

"I don't really mind either way." Liver touched the ring on his finger, seemingly making up his mind as he said, "If this can save my master, General Esdeath, I am willing to temporarily offer everything I am."

"Then I truly appreciate it."

Although Liver's [Water Dragon Incarnation] had no effect on Kobayashi, it was a Teigu after all, and could serve as a means of intimidation and suppression later on.

"Still, I didn't expect there really to be no wanted posters here." Bratz walked along the bustling street.

The passing pedestrians did not scream and run away upon seeing his uncovered face, nor were there giant portraits of him plastered on the notice boards.

He had thought his subsequent actions would be hindered. Now it seemed there was nothing to worry about.

"After all, this place is very far from the Imperial Capital, and nominally speaking, you're already dead." Liver explained casually.

Yet all of them knew the real reason was simply that the rulers here neglected their duties.

"So, what should we do next?"

"We need to go find someone. I imagine he will give us a very warm hospitality."

To swiftly bring someone to submission and force them to switch sides, one naturally had to employ overwhelming force with thunderous momentum, instantly shattering their mind so they would maintain eternal awe while staying loyal.

Moreover, he had already targeted his candidate.

The Peace Church.

It was a religion that claimed doing many good deeds would bring happiness and longevity, enjoying deep devotion among the common people.

Its spread was unimaginably vast, with even some remote small villages aware of its existence, gradually forming a massive force over the span of a decade.

Among them were two extremely important figures.

One was a religious leader with incomparable personal charisma, and the other was deeply trusted by the leader but actually acted as a spy planted within the Peace Church by the Prime Minister.

"That's right, it is I, Perik!"

Laying back against the luxurious and soft sofa, he gulped down a cup of expensive fruit wine, his hands and gaze constantly wandering over the beauties draped against his body. That debauched appearance showed not even a shred of the sanctity and dignity a clergyman ought to possess.

"That church leader is truly a fool."

Perik laughed smugly and triumphantly, "That guy—as long as you put on the act of a loyal and righteous puppet in front of him, he will trust you without the slightest reservation... It's simply hilarious, hahahaha—"

However, he would not be satisfied with just that.

He was going to replace the leader and become the leader himself.

That way, he could control a vast number of believers without being manipulated by anyone else, and could even go toe-to-toe with the Prime Minister who was pulling strings behind his back!

That's right!

As long as he became the leader...

"Lord Perik! Someone wants to see you!"

Just as he was lost in pleasant fantasies, a tactless servant barged into his room, reporting to him with unusual panic.

"Someone wants to see me?"

If it were the church leader, he shouldn't have been panicked, yet right now the servant looked so flustered and entirely uncomposed.

Perik asked with a puzzled frown, "Who is it?"

"An unknown person."

"Hmph... Fine, let them have an audience."

He waved his hand dismissively, already assuming the attitude of the church leader.

However—

"I don't really like the word 'audience', because it's generally used by inferiors coming to see the supreme authority. You should say 'an interview'... or perhaps 'a grand arrival'."

Before the servant could summon them, the uninvited guests had already broken into his palace.

The one leading them looked quite young, a smile hanging at the corners of his mouth that inexplicably made him feel uneasy, while the two men and two women following behind him all exuded the aura of powerful fighters.

Of course, what made them look especially formidable was the bloodstains coating their bodies.

Perik frowned irritably and interrogated them, "Who are you people? Why have you barged into my palace?!"

Dignity increased along with one's position.

He was, after all, the assistant to the church leader; if just anyone could casually stroll right in, what face would he have left?

Perik shouted loudly, "Guards? Where are the guards?!"

"L-Lord Perik... Everyone in the palace has been... has been... killed."

The servant who came to make the report stammered out these words, making it entirely clear why he had been panicking since earlier.

Yet Perik did not panic, for he still held a trump card, and he asked once more:

"Just who on earth are you?"

This time the tone lacked interrogation, and he finally deigned to pay them some heed.

"Hmm... Self-introductions?"

Kobayashi stroked his chin in feigned contemplation, "You can call me Kobayashi. As for my identity... an emissary of the goddess. How do you like that title?"

"An emissary of the goddess?"

Upon hearing this, Perik was slightly stunned, before immediately bursting into loud laughter.

"Hahaha—to actually call yourself an emissary of the goddess, to actually call yourself an emissary?! Hahahaha—"

His laughter grew louder and more frantic.

The beauties leaning against him chimed in with giggles, looking at them like some arrogant and foolish clowns.

And rightly so.

If someone walked up to you and claimed to be a god, you would undoubtedly think they had lost their mind.

Especially Perik, a clergyman who knew full well that no gods existed!

"If there were gods, I would have been struck by divine punishment long ago! To call yourself an emissary of the goddess—and here I thought you were someone of great importance. Turns out you're just a lunatic who's lost his mind."

Perik waved his hand dismissively, seemingly losing interest.

Just as he was about to wave them away, his gaze accidentally landed on the alluring Sheele and the pretty Yuri, and wicked lust instantly flared up in his heart.

"You trespassed upon me, which ordinarily is something I would never forgive. But..."

Pointing at the two women and licking his lips, Perik said, "As long as you leave the two of them behind, I'll be magnanimous and let the rest of you go."

He actually dared to covet Sheele and Yuri?!

That revolting gaze roved back and forth over the two women, and Kobayashi's eyes turned dangerous.

"Oh my." Bratz supported his forehead with one hand, unable to help offering a silent moment of sympathy, "You just said something you absolutely shouldn't have. Looks like someone's about to get angry."

"A foolish man," Liver briefly concurred.

Perik seemed not to realize the severity of the situation. He lightly snapped his fingers, and in an instant, four figures striking bizarre poses appeared before him, subtly forming a protective formation around him.

"These were specially dispatched by the Imperial Capital to protect me—the physical incarnation of violence for me to control the religious order, the Rakshasa Four Demons of the Imperial Fist Temple."

His triumphant expression looked as though victory was already in his grasp.

Yes, low-level villains were always like this.

Kobayashi irritably scratched his head, "Ahhh, I can't hear this, I can't hear this! So annoying, grasshoppers just keep hopping out one after another! And you actually dare to covet the people most important to me... Yuri, I leave it to you."

"Understood, I obey Lord Kobayashi's command."

Yuri respectfully hitched the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly, yet delivered a毒舌 remark all the same, "However, Lord Kobayashi, aren't you relying on me more and more frequently lately?"

"Sorry, does it annoy you?"

"No, this is precisely what I desire. Please continue to make use of me often in the future."

Hopefully she meant in terms of combat, and not *that* aspect.

"That aspect is fine too, you know."

Yuri seemed to see right through his thoughts, expressing her willingness to accept everything about Kobayashi.

"Ahem, well..."

Kobayashi flushed awkwardly amidst the teasing gazes of the others.

Perik grew somewhat displeased and said coldly, "The only time you have left to joke around is right now. Rakshasa Four Demons, get them!"

"............"

"Rakshasa Four Demons, what are you waiting for? Start already! Rakshasa Four Demons?!"

Perik glared furiously at the four motionless figures ahead of him, not expecting his orders to fail. Failing to obey in front of outsiders was a massive blow to his pride!

"Start? No, it's already over."

"What foolish nonsense are you...?!"

Before Perik could issue another order, he saw thin lines of blood gradually welling up across the bodies of the Rakshasa Four Demons. Following a crisp tearing sound, the limbs of all four scattered in pieces across the ground.

A massive volume of crimson liquid stained the pristine wool carpet, creating a deeply shocking and gory spectacle.

"Ahhhhh—!!!"

The beauties leaning against him shrieked in terror at the sight, deafening Perik's ears and leaving his mind blank.

Whether it was from the shrieks or the gruesome carnage before his eyes, he couldn't tell.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's exaggerated."

Bratz couldn't help giving Yuri a thumbs up in high praise.

Liver swallowed hard, unable to resist making a comparison, "The ability to transcend time—even my master couldn't achieve this degree."

Esdeath had not yet encountered Tatsumi at this point, nor had she conceived the new technique she would later develop solely to keep Tatsumi near—[Mahapadma].

Therefore, for now, Kobayashi was indisputably the strongest single entity!

Perik could not accept this reality.

The beauties in his arms scattered in all directions, and Perik tumbled backward off the luxurious, soft sofa, still daring to believe this wasn't real.

Yet the pungent smell of blood and the stark reality of his senses told him this was undeniably true.

"N-No way! In an instant, merely an instant... Those were people who had even killed Teigu users, yet they were dispatched in an instant...!"

"That's right, just an instant."

As if to deal him an even heavier blow, or perhaps seeking praise, Yuri tilted her head slightly and said, "The moment Lord Kobayashi gave the order, I completed the task."

"Well done, well done."

Kobayashi affectionately patted her little head.

Then he walked toward Perik, who had fallen to the ground and was frantically scrambling backward in panic, stopping only when Perik's back hit a pillar.

"Do you have any last words?"

"D-Don't kill me! Please, don't kill me!" Perik shook his head in terror, crying out for mercy, "Money, people, status—I can give you anything, I can satisfy any demand! Please, don't kill me! Please!"

Hearing this, Kobayashi cursed angrily, "Fool! Once I kill you, all of those things become mine anyway!"

"Ah, ah... No, no! Please!"

Tears streamed down Perik's face and mucus dripped from his nose.

There was not a shred of his earlier arrogant and haughty demeanor left in this abject, groveling plea for mercy.

It seemed Yuri's impact on him had been too profound; the moment his trump card was obliterated, his psychological defenses had completely collapsed.

"It looks like you don't have any other tricks up your sleeve."

Kobayashi slowly reached out toward him.

Regardless of Perik's frantic dodging and pleading, the hand pressed firmly against his chest.

With a single pull.

A fresh, crimson, beating heart was gouged out.

"Tch."

Kobayashi clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight.

Perik stared blankly at the constantly beating heart in Kobayashi's hand.

He knew that was his heart.

"Heart... mine! M-My heart... That's my heart... Mine..."

He reached out, trying to snatch it back.

Yet without the heart to pump blood and supply oxygen, his body gradually lost its strength, and his consciousness blurred away.

Amidst the haze, he heard these final words.

"Sure enough, even for someone whose darkness has reached its absolute extreme, the heart is still red. Sometimes, gods really are unfair."