--

"He’s the only one there? No other important people?"

"None that I sensed," the Crimson Tyrant replied to the Azure Saint. "I made sure to check thoroughly, too. Why? Should there have been someone else?"

"There was a small chance that another Cardinal might go with him. Well, it’s no big deal. We can deal with the others later."

It wasn’t a big deal for her. Of course, it would’ve been preferable if Crimson Tyrant had managed to kill two of the cult’s Cardinals, but it’s fine even if there’s only one.

"Have you already dealt with the body? What did you find out? Anything you could tell me?" Crimson Tyrant asked because he was curious.

"Nothing much, just more confirmation of what we discovered so far. The cult’s ’Retribution Day’ was the biggest and most ambitious project they ever did," Azure Saint stated.

"The clues I discovered so far say that they’ve been planning this since the day of their foundation. It might’ve been the reason why the cult was formed in the first place."

"But they had to accumulate a lot of wealth and resources just to even start the plan. Funding it requires even more; that’s why it took them almost five decades before they started raising spies and planting them in our civilization."

"They took advantage of us leaving for the frontlines to make their move, and they succeeded. If it weren’t for the mysterious whistleblower, we would’ve been left in the dark completely. They might’ve even succeeded completely."

"What does this ’Retribution Day’ do exactly? How bad are we talking about here?" The Crimson Tyrant looked serious here; it’s because the Azure Saint was treating this matter with utmost importance, that’s why.

"You already know that they worship the patriarch of the Gold Saint Race, right?"

"Yeah. That much was obvious when I saw that guy using ’Miracles.’ The poor fool had no idea that he was just being used as a tool and was reduced to a slave."

"The Retribution Day is the grand plan of that old man to subdue our race completely," the Azure Saint revealed. "I’ll spare you the small details; you won’t remember them anyway, but basically, he plans on replacing martial arts with miracles instead."

"He’s targeting the archstones of this world. Anybody who enters will eventually be planted a parasite that will slowly change the origin of the Chakra Seed, turning it to a ’Miracle Seed,’ which is no different from the ones used by the Gold Saints."

"This will allow that old man to slowly but steadily project his intent and control the human race, eventually turning him into Humanity’s overlord."

"The Retribution Day is when they plan on unveiling the ’majesty’ of miracles. They will stage a grand event where all spies they planted will experience ’salvation,’ spreading the faith and belief of the cult. The more people that are convinced, the more his influence and power over our race increase."

"Gee. He’s that crazy, huh?" The Crimson Tyrant was nearly speechless by Azure Saint’s explanation.

"Desperate, more like," she sneered. "He’s the biggest sinner of his kind. He practically drove them to extinction, but he himself doesn’t want to die. He’s trying to create a way out for himself, and his biggest chance is no doubt the cult and that pope of theirs." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"And the Zerg Queen’s Essence? Was that his doing too? Last I checked, weren’t the Gold Saints and the Zerg mortal enemies?"

"That’s exactly why he used them," she sneered again. "It’s a little ploy on his part, a poor and stupid attempt to minimize his actual role in this whole thing."

"He’s expecting us to find out about the Zerg Queen’s Essence; he wanted to use it as a distraction, to take our attention away from his real scheme, which is Retribution Day. And because the Gold Saints and the Zergs were mortal enemies, he wants us to think that there’s no way he’d stoop that low."

"If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have doubted it. But it’s that old man. He schemed his way to his throne. He didn’t stop even if it meant dooming his own. There’s no way I’d trust any crap he spews."

There was a brief silence here for a bit. There’s just them here. The others stayed on the frontlines. It’s not that they didn’t want to rush back to check the situation. It’s because Azure Saint was here that they could continue staying out there.

Only she was known to be around, and only a select group of people knew that she returned. They had no idea that Crimson Tyrant was here, too. And that was on purpose. She wanted it that way, just in case.

"So, with everything we did so far, will everything be okay? Did we escape trouble?"

"No." She shook her head and started massaging her temples. Him mentioning this reminded her of the headache that she’s yet to deal with.

"How come?"

"The cult creates more contingencies than necessary," she clarified. "It’s probably their pope’s idea or that old man’s. Regardless, they set up a lot of traps and schemes all over our world to slow us down, preventing us from interfering with their main goal."

"I could confidently say that the ’Retribution Day’ will never happen. I made sure of that. But that doesn’t end there, I fear."

"That traitor, Terrence, turned out to be the Pope’s successor. And he knew a lot. He revealed a lot when we were done with him."

"The schemes of the cult have been seeded and quietly growing for more than three decades, and most of them were concentrated and aimed at our Archstones."

"Long story short, there will be a period of chaos and unrest as we begin untangling this mess. And I seriously doubt the cult will stay silent about this. They wouldn’t give up, especially since they’ve been planning for this since they were founded."

Azure Saint stood up from her seat and walked to the nearest glass window to see the world outside. Her eyes revealed sharpness but also exhaustion.

"It was timed perfectly, too. Just as we were on the time limit, that old man came, claiming to be our savior."

"The odds are stacked against us. I’m afraid that we will be forced into a difficult period for the time being."

**

The strict security and lockdowns remained a thing, and it doesn’t seem to be lifting anytime soon.

Even though many people protested and complained, the arrangements were final, and they don’t have a say in it. This made the atmosphere of the world turn a bit tense and stifling.

Still, people were trying their best despite the sudden change. Humans are good at adapting to their environment, after all.

It’s a bit difficult, but they’re managing. The authorities didn’t make it difficult for them. So long as everybody follows the rules, nobody will be in trouble, just as how it should be.

The strictness and surprise inspections did stifle the Green Tea Party at first, but eventually, they adjusted to them.

Things that were normally not permitted in the past are now the norm, just because of this unseen viral breakout that’s happening; at least that’s what they said.

But it’s fine; the party adjusted accordingly. Despite needing their party inventories opened and scanned whenever they leave or enter the plaza, no other alarming incidents occurred.

The inspectors weren’t the corrupt ones, either. They weren’t the type to snatch a few items from the bags they were inspecting for extra profit. They may be strict, but they were professionals about it, at least. Which made it a little more bearable.

Despite the difficulties, the Green Tea Party continued their activities.

By now, they’ve pretty much cleared Stage 30—the last stage of the beginner level dungeons.

Today was the last day of their stage 30 grind. Meaning that they’ve been clearing stage 30 for a whole week now, every single day.

They’ve endured the curse of the Corrupted Forest. They’ve been blinded, turned deaf, unable to smell or taste anything, weakened, exhausted, burdened, etc.

All while needing to fight against the nightmares within this cursed forest. They fought feral and oversized animals, insects, corrupted plants and flowers, trees...even the ground itself tried to swallow them whole more than they’d care to admit.

But in the end, they triumphed.

Sure, they’ve been wiped here and there, but that’s to be expected. The dungeons will only get increasingly dangerous and unpredictable moving forward.

Done with Stage 30, the party was in high spirits.

Moving forward, they wouldn’t be ’rookies’ anymore. They’d enter the ranks of experienced parties. Sure, the dungeons they’d encounter moving forward will be more difficult, but that’s to be expected. With this team, though, they’re ready for anything.

To celebrate, they plan on applying for a week off. They think that it’s necessary before they tackle stage 31 and onwards. Besides, they also need to upgrade their gear since they are insufficient for the dangers that lie ahead.

And so, the party went to Sir Justin’s office, wanting to make the request together.

When they arrived, they saw the look on their party manager’s face, and they instantly regretted coming here.

"Bad timing, guys," he told them before they could even utter a word. "But since you’re already here, I see no reason to keep you in the dark anymore."

Sir Justin looked at the party, his gaze lingering on Ren just a little longer before he said the following:

"Ren won’t be moving on with the Green Tea Party."