Cedric sheathed the Equilibrium onto his back.
He sighed before turning away from the sizzling, ashen remains of the Bishop.
Every time he had to deal with such filthy and despicable demons, he felt filthy.
However, he was also willing to keep his hands dirty so that Christians may remain safe.
While the Bishop was dealt with, it did not mean that the Church was on the verge of collapse; on the contrary, if his guess was correct, the false church would mimic Christian clergy.
As such, he assumed the Cardianls existed and, as such, are to be eradicated as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, it's likely that they had an equivalent to Pope.
His fists clenched.
In hindsight, he should have asked the Bishop and extracted information, but his existence was intolerable as such he needed to attain the information in a different way.
He turned his back towards the ashes of the Bishop before returning to the Cathedral.
While the Bishop was quickly taken care of, he still wished to make sure every single Paladin that possibly could remain would perish by the righteous blade of Christianity.
Civilian infidels had a chance to convert, but those who dared fight in the name of Chrunus would be cast back to hell like demons they were.
He approached the cathedral door and with ease pushed it open.
While the Bishop was dead, he would have to meet with Queen Aurelia soon, once the prisoners were secure.
As such, it was truly miraculous that God had decided to grant him access to the filthy demon that was the Bishop.
Of course, finding the Cardinals was the next major hurdle, but soon that too would be done.
First, Aurelia had to denounce the Church of Chrunus for their misdeeds.
Once they are denounced, the new official religion could be chosen.
However, that was easier said than done.
Church of Chrunus would resist, and its believers would fight tooth and nail to keep their false faith.
'Suppressing that church seems to be the best path forward.' He nodded as he stepped into the hall.
The plan had 4 steps.
First, they would need to find a way to discredit the church.
Second, they would need to denounce the Church of Chrunus for their crimes.
Third, Aurelia would pronounce the Church of Chrunus as false.
Fourth, the state religion would be switched from the false faith of Chrunus to Christianity.
While straight up removing the church just was not possible by force, it did not mean they couldn't weaken it.
If they pushed them too far without cause, they would discredit Christianity itself.
After all, humans were prone to being tricked, and once tricked, they would be stuck in the wrong state of mind.
Cedric exhaled loudly as he turned to Marius, who was deeply invested in his bible.
The exhalation caught his attention as the young soldier turned to him.
"Lord Cedric! You are back so soon." Marius lifted a brow as he asked a question.
Cedric crossed his arms. "The Bishop is dead. But there is still much to do."
Marius shut the bible closed before widening his eyes in surprise, "Already? How is that even possible?!"
Cedric chuckled, "With God, everything is possible. In his infinite mercy, he had sent the Bishop straight at my blade."
The young soldier's eyes sparkled for a moment, "God truly is great!"
Hearing those words filled his heart with pride.
He was right about the young soldiers when he first gave them the holy scriptures.
"Indeed, he is. God is the only reason we as mortals live after all. He is the light that we must follow; only then may we find truth." Cedric smiled as he turned towards the exit where they had brought Marius from.
Marius nodded.
"I suppose we should go and meet Aurelia. There is nothing in the Cathedral for us. Let's go." Cedric gestured for Marius to follow.
"Yes, sir!" With a bow, Marius rushed after the great hero, making sure to keep a respectable distance.
As they made their way towards the catacombs, Marius asked, "Sir Cedric, I meant to ask the first time we met."
"Go on."
"Where did you come from? I could swear I saw you fall from the sky, but I credited it to a random natural phenomenon." Marius rushed forward, catching up to the great hero.
"Ah I suppose I only told my origin to Aurelia." His words made Marius tilt his head in confusion.
"I was sent from my original world by God himself to purge the demonic filth and guide humanity to the light." He spoke with pride.
"Different... world?" Marius blinked.
"In a manner of speaking, but we are all united as creations of God, as such, it is not right to call it a different world." Cedric smiled.
Marius nodded, "I see..."
In mere minutes, the duo made their way towards the battle scene.
"I see Aurelia had made someone pay here..." He brought his hand to his helmet before scratching where his chin should be.
The walls were ruined, multiple tunnels made by a body being launched with immense force.
"Aurelia... did this?" Marius's lips twitched in anxiety.
"She is a lot more powerful now than you can comprehend, young soldier." He gestured once again.
While to most, navigating the catacombs would be a difficult task, he could see exactly where everyone was with [God's Eye]
Cedric stepped through the dark tunnel, his steps heavy and echoing through the empty catacombs.
For a moment, he was tempted to make a hole through the wall, however, he wished to keep the cathedral intact if possible.
'Might be a bit too late for that with Aurelia purging the paladins.' his hand traced the wall.
Marius kept close, his lack of vision forcing him to trace exact steps that Cedric took.
But for Cedric himself, this darkness was insignificant.
God had granted him the ability to see in such petty environments.
Soon after, Cedric's hands pushed in a loose brick.
Crack
The walls moved, revealing a massive chasm protected only by a railing.
"Let's go find Aurelia."