Hearing this, Karnak asked curiously, "You said the empire’s Church of Twilight, right?"

"Correct," said Desteran.

Karnak asked, "Then you must know of Maloka?"

"I once attended a mass and listened to her sermon. Though I only observed from a distance," responded Desteran.

"Which means you never revealed your identity within the church?" questioned Karnak.

Desteran nodded. "Elder Maloka still doesn’t know my true identity."

That certainly explained why she had made no report.

Desteran murmured with a look of deep emotion. "After I met the Goddess of Twilight, it felt like I was born anew. So when I attended the mass, I wanted to stand before her only as a single, humble worshipper."

But once the Diogres incident occurred, he could no longer afford to hide his identity. An archmage of the empire being purged by another archmage of the empire and a martial king was certainly a delightful turn of events. It wasn’t anything he needed to become involved in.

But if Diogres were to be forced into the Cult of the Black God? That was absolutely unacceptable.

Desteran said solemnly. "I had to risk my life to stop it. Is that not the duty of one who serves Lady Serakal?"

The other followers of the Twilight Church lacked the strength to intervene, so the best way they could serve the goddess and the faith was by assisting Maloka in gathering intelligence. But he was different.

"My original plan was to inform Elder Maloka of my identity and formally enter into sacred service. But by the time I sought her out, she had already left," said Desteran. At the time, Maloka had already departed for the Seven Kingdoms to report to Karnak. "So I decided to resolve the matter myself, however I could. Fortunately, I had the strength and influence to do so."

He had mobilized Search Black to grasp the unfolding situation, then set out for the Tower of Dawn to rescue Diogres Kolon.

"Though I still find that man distasteful..." Desteran glanced toward Serati with a solemn expression. "But what meaning do worldly emotions have, when it comes to serving the goddess?"

Then, in a reverent tone, he recited a passage from the Twilight Church’s teachings. "Lady Serakal said this herself. That for the world to be set right, someone must choose to fall into hell."

Varos, watching from the side, wore a peculiar expression. So that’s how Sir Desteran ended up in the Church of Twilight...

Desteran had always held a deep hatred for the Church of the Seven Goddesses and a longstanding fascination with necromancy. Even in his past life, he had eventually come under Karnak’s command for similar reasons.

Varos nodded. The Church of Twilight embraces necromancy, after all. It makes sense that he’d be drawn to it.

Still, something about the way he was acting now felt awkward. This wasn’t the typical behavior of someone who merely had an interest in the church.

No matter how well Maloka had developed the doctrine, could someone like Desteran—the head of the massive underground organization and a silver knight—really be this naïve and this easily swayed?

But after hearing his earlier recitation, Varos understood. That’s exactly how he talked in his later years.

More precisely, it was the same excuse he always used after committing atrocities. Even after all the people he killed, he would recite that same line with shameless confidence. It was no wonder he’d gotten along so well with Karnak. It was his personality.

And Maloka, for all her brilliance in administration, was no religious visionary. Though she was credited with building the church’s doctrine, very little of it was truly her own creation. She had merely cobbled together impressive-sounding teachings from heretical ancient scriptures deemed incompatible with the mainstream goddess faith.

Any missing pieces, she filled in with bits of her usual pseudo-philosophy picked up over time. Now, what did Maloka, once one of the four governors of the Necropia Empire, hear and see on a daily basis? Nothing but the words of Karnak’s subordinates. And among them, of course, were the old sayings of Desteran.

So in the end, Desteran had been influenced by his own words. They weren’t words he’d spoken yet, but the ones he would say in the future. They were words that, more than anyone else’s, resonated with his personal beliefs.

He heard things that sounded like him. Of course it felt convincing, thought Varos.

Desteran continued his story. "Of course, it wasn’t easy to take on both the martial king and an archmage. But luck was on my side."

Dreltein had withdrawn from the scene, believing Elezar had already subdued diogres. It had been a reasonable decision as a commander. The battle at the Tower of Dawn wasn’t over yet, and having accomplished his objective, Dreltein needed to quickly regroup and wrap up operations.

As a result, Elezar had been left behind alone. And Desteran, who had reached the realm of the silver knight, was just barely able to match her.

"She had sealed away her magic and was relying solely on necromancy. An archmage is fearsome, yes, but as a necromancer of the Cult of the Black God, she was manageable," continued Desteran.

He had managed to deceive Elezar’s eyes and smuggle Diogres away. After that, he had continued to protect him while evading pursuit from both the cult and the empire.

"And that’s how I ended up all the way in the southern seas. Along the way, I encountered these folks and received some help," said Desteran.

Leven glanced toward the other pirates and asked, "How did you come to know them? And what kind of help did they give you?"

Desteran smiled faintly. "I reached out to fellow worshippers of the Church of Twilight."

Leven frowned. "What? I mean, you contacted the Church of Twilight, but why did pirates show up?"

One of the pirates scratched his head and spoke sheepishly. "We’re part of the Terrister branch, sir."

"Excuse me?" Serati turned to Karnak in disbelief.

They weren’t just pirates who happened to believe in the Church of the Twilight. They were the actual members? Serati immediately accused Karnak.

—Wasn’t the Church of Twilight supposed to oppose things like piracy and wrongdoing? So what’s this supposed to be?

Karnak responded with a sheepish shrug.

—That’s what happens when a group gets too big.

Indeed. What had begun as a necessary evil meant solely to fight the Cult of the Black God had, like every other growing organization, reached the point where rogue factions acted independently.

Serati voiced her disbelief.

—This feels like we unleashed something worse onto the world in the name of fighting evil...

Karnak answered her.

—Well, they’re useful, for now.

Desteran continued, "I had been thinking it was about time to get in contact with the church anyway. To think I’d run into all of you first... Truly, the will of the goddess is beyond the grasp of a humble soul like mine."

Then, as if overcome with emotion, he pressed his hands together and prayed. "Lady Serakal has stretched out her hand of grace and united us even across this vast sea. Surely this is her divine guidance..."

It was clear this wasn’t his first time praying. The words flowed effortlessly from his lips.

Karnak and Varos could only cluck their tongues in response.

—Wow. Look at him. He’s actually reverent.

—I know, right? Hard to believe this is the same guy.

***

Afterward, Desteran and Diogres borrowed the pirates’ ship and set sail for Dragon Isle.

"They say you need a dragon’s bones to reclaim lost magic. He went on about the theory behind it like a proper mage, but it all went over my head anyway," said Desteran.

That was when he heard rumors of mysterious outsiders arriving at Port Terrister. Desteran had already heard that the cult’s so-called Holy Sword was pursuing them with elites. Then, he further discovered that the group of outsiders was led by a silver knight, a powerful mage, and a priest.

"Of course I assumed they were pursuers from the cult. The thought that the Church of Twilight might’ve sent reinforcements never even crossed my mind," admitted Desteran. He turned to Serati and made the sign of the cross. "Lady Serakal, forgive this sinful servant for doubting your power."

If nothing else, his piety was almost absurdly devout. And from the way he behaved, it seemed he held Serati in even higher esteem than Karnak. In their version of the church, the saintess clearly ranked above the high priest.

Serati turned to Karnak.

—How did the doctrine spread so differently from the main church, Lord Karnak?

—Beats me. Let’s just play along for now, Serati.

Meanwhile, the other pirates were chatting with newfound ease.

"So we were family all along, huh?"

"No wonder they were so strong!"

"Truly, the blessing of Lady Serakal!"

What did their strength have to do with Serakal’s blessing? Who could say? But zealots had a way of attributing everything in life to divine will. In any case, the mood was as harmonious as ever.

The people who had just been fighting to the death were nowhere to be seen. They were replaced now by the joy of reunion between old friends. The half-destroyed ghost ship was filled with laughter and fellowship. Of course, not everyone was sharing in the merriment. Some were trembling in fear at the sudden turn of events.

"Ca-captain?"

"What the hell is going on here?"

The voices belonged to the crew of the Osprey's Roar. They had believed Karnak’s party to be trustworthy allies and shields until just moments ago. With power like theirs, surely they’d take care of the troublesome pirates. They had believed without question. But now, after just a bit of conversation, they were suddenly siding with the pirates.

The captain clenched his teeth. "We’ve been duped. They were all in on it together!"

But that was the extent of his resistance. What could he and his crew possibly do now? All they could do was tremble in silence. Milia and Lapicel were just as taken aback.

"The Church of Twilight? And Captain Karnak is the high priest?"

"And Sister Serati’s the saintess?"

After making Milia a vassal, Karnak had explained a few things, but he hadn’t gotten around to explaining the whole Church of Twilight thing. He hadn’t deliberately kept it from her. He just had so many other secrets that it had slipped his mind.

Still, Milia accepted it surprisingly easily. I mean... I did always feel like something was off.

She hadn’t thought so at the time, of course. Back then, she’d just thought of him as the capable boss who bought her food often. But after becoming a vassal, looking back, Milia had to admit that there had been a lot of suspicious things.

Lapicel, on the other hand, was simply overwhelmed. What... is even happening right now?

She wasn’t angry or betrayed. She just stood there with a blank expression, blinking in confusion. And there was a reason for that.

They were always with me. So when exactly did they become the high priest and the Saintess of Twilight?

If one was going to suspect their partner of cheating, they’d at least have to disappear now and then, or sneak off somewhere. But if someone had been by your side 24/7 and then suddenly one was told they’d had an affair—wouldn’t one think the claim made no sense? Suspicion needed some kind of context.

"Um... What do you mean, sis? Lord Karnak is the high priest of the Church of Twilight?" Lapicel asked with a frown.

"Well, that’s, uh..." Serati hesitated, flustered. She hadn’t realized it, but this situation was dangerously close to triggering adult Lapicel mode.

How do I even explain this?

Thankfully, Varos cut in quickly. He and Karnak had already gone over this exact situation.

—Young master, What are you going to do if Lapicel finds out about the Church of Twilight?

—Good point. Let’s come up with a cover story in advance.

Varos approached her, lowered his voice, and whispered, "It’s a covert operation against the Cult of the Black God. The details are classified."

It wasn’t entirely a lie. "The whole high priest title is just for appearances. Just go along with it."

Again, it was not exactly untrue. It wasn’t exactly the whole true either, but close enough. And for Lapicel, that was all she needed.

Ah-ha! She assumed it must be some top-secret mission from King’s Order, and nodded firmly. Got it! I’ll be discreet!

Once she was reassured, Karnak turned to Desteran. "Now then, would you take us to Master Diogres?"

"I’ll guide you to Dragon Isle." Desteran nodded, then looked around with an awkward expression. "Ah, but..."

"Is there a problem?" Karnak asked him.

There definitely was one.

"Would it be alright if we hitched a ride? Our ship is, well, about to sink," said Desteran.