Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse-Chapter 194: That’s correct

"So, you were just planning to make an appearance and leave? You didn’t intend to cause any trouble, so now you’re asking for your life?" Justin asked.

"Yes, that’s correct," Elias nodded calmly at Justin’s words, his face serene.

Justin frowned at the expression on Elias’s face. "Then why is your face like that? You don’t look the least bit sorry."

"That’s not it. It’s because my followers are watching. Please, understand my situation," Elias explained, stretching out his hand with a soft smile.

Despite the benevolent look he gave, his words were nothing but pitiful. His outstretched hand, though saintly in appearance, was an act of sheer desperation.

"If I start groveling now, their faith will waver, and I might be ousted as their leader. The moment I’m overthrown, I’ll be killed by my own followers. I’m doing this because I want to survive."

"Oh, so you’re begging for your life while also trying to keep your position intact? You’ve got a lot of nerve. You know, greedy people like you should just die," Justin remarked dryly.

"No, no. I’m sorry. Please spare me, just this once. I beg you," Elias pleaded, bowing his head slightly, all the while maintaining his smile.

The mismatch between his desperate words and his calm face made Damian click his tongue in disbelief.

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this. His voice is trembling, but his expression doesn’t even twitch," Damian commented.

"It’s all a matter of technique. It’s similar to ventriloquism..." Elias began explaining.

"I don’t care. I don’t need to know," Damian interrupted.

"Yes, I’ll shut up now." Elias smiled brightly and swept his hair back as he closed his eyes, adopting a meditative pose. His serene demeanor made the two men shake their heads. The absurdity of his actions seemed to be enough to drain any remaining anger from them.

"What should we do?" Damian asked.

"What do you want to do?" Justin shot back.

"I’m not sure. He seems like a bad guy, being a cult leader and all, but it feels a bit extreme to kill him right here..." Damian replied hesitantly.

Elias beamed even brighter at Damian’s hesitation, clearly trying to show his happiness for the benefit of his followers.

Justin, however, scoffed and turned to Damian. "What are you talking about? What does being a ’good’ or ’bad’ person have to do with anything when it comes to killing this guy?"

"Huh?"

"You should be thinking about whether or not he’s a threat to us. Did you forget we’re here for the main quest? This guy’s a competitor, one of our rivals," Justin pointed out.

"...." Damian fell silent at Justin’s blunt but truthful words.

Justin clicked his tongue, clearly frustrated with Damian’s naivety. "And who says he hasn’t committed any serious crimes? Do you even know how this guy has lived? You just met him, and now you think you can judge whether he’s worth sparing?"

"Well, that’s..."

"Just because you haven’t been harmed doesn’t mean he’s a good person. What about the other people he’s hurt? Does that not matter to you?" Justin pressed.

Damian’s face turned bright red, and he hung his head in shame. He realized now that his judgment had been completely selfish, based only on what he had personally experienced.

This wasn’t Earth anymore, with its laws and systems of order. In this world, Elias, as a cult leader, had likely done much more than just extorting money. There were endless possibilities for how he could have abused his power.

Without considering any of that, Damian had judged him solely based on the way he had been treated personally, assuming Elias hadn’t committed any crimes deserving death.

"I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly," Damian admitted.

"There’s no need to apologize to me. If anyone should feel wronged, it’s the people who’ve been hurt by this guy, not me," Justin replied coldly.

"...."

Damian, having nothing to say, slumped his shoulders even further.

Elias, sensing the conversation taking a dangerous turn, quickly spoke up.

"I’m not as bad as you think! If you get to know me—"

"Shut up. I don’t care whether you’re good or bad," Justin cut him off sharply.

"Yes, sir," Elias quickly closed his mouth, sensing the murderous intent in Justin’s tone.

Justin tapped his staff on the ground a few times as if deep in thought before speaking again. "After thinking it over, I’ve decided it’s better to kill him here and now."

"...!" Damian was taken aback.

"This guy has strong healing abilities. On his own, he’s not much of a threat, but if he forms an alliance with someone strong, he’ll be a real headache. If we’re unlucky, we might end up in a bad situation because of him," Justin explained.

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"No, no, that’s not true! I would never—!" Elias protested.

"And besides, look at him. He’s such a coward. Even if we don’t kill him, someone else will eventually force him to switch sides. He’ll end up making our enemies stronger if we let him live."

Justin made a casual throat-slitting gesture with his thumb, and Elias’s eyes twitched with fear. Justin’s actions may have seemed playful, but his gaze was dead serious.

More than anything, the instincts that had kept Elias alive until now were screaming at him—if he said the wrong thing now, he would die.

There was no time to hesitate. With even the gullible Damian no longer offering him protection, Elias knew that the Warlock in front of him could end his life with just a flick of his hand.

Frantically thinking, Elias blurted out before Justin could lift a finger.

"I’ll join you! I’ll serve both of you and handle all the healing!"

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Elias, the cult leader of the Heavenly Gospel Church, stared bleakly at the massive door in front of him. How tall could it be? At a glance, it seemed made not for humans but for giants.

’Would it even open if I pushed it?’

He had been told to open the door, but Elias doubted whether it was even possible.

As he hesitated, an impatient voice came from behind him.

"Hey, how much longer are you going to stand there? Hurry up!"

"That guy keeps stalling...!" one of the followers grumbled as they turned to glare at Justin.

Ready to rush at him at any moment, the followers’ frustration was palpable, and Elias was terrified.

’These idiots! Calm down already!’

Every time his followers acted without thinking, Elias felt exasperated. If they were going to charge in, they needed to assess their opponent first. Instead, they behaved like rabid dogs, ready to bite indiscriminately.

And they didn’t even realize that if they attacked, not only would they die, but Elias would lose his head as well. Their obliviousness drove him insane.

However, he couldn’t voice these thoughts, so he forced a smile and tried to calm them.

"Please, calm down. He simply lacks faith at the moment."

"But no matter how you look at it, he’s gone too far."

"Yes, this is beyond ignorance."

"Just say the word, and we’ll fix his attitude!"

Fix his attitude? Yeah, right. The moment you attack, all of you—and I—will die, Elias thought bitterly.

"God’s love and mercy are infinite. Of course, those who take advantage of that mercy for too long must eventually be weeded out, but wouldn’t resorting to violence without any attempts at reconciliation go against God’s will?"

"But!"

"We must be careful when interpreting God’s will. Otherwise, we might distort His teachings to suit our own desires. For example, using God’s name to justify violence...."

"I-I’m sorry!"

At Elias’s cold gaze, the followers quickly bowed their heads in shame. They understood now that Elias had been referring to them as those who were justifying violence under the guise of righteousness.

"There’s nothing to apologize for. You haven’t done anything wrong. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing," Elias said with a calm smile.

"Yes, Lord!" his followers responded loudly, and Elias turned around with a satisfied expression. However, the moment his face was hidden from his followers, he let out a weary sigh.

’Damn, this is exhausting. How many times now?’

Bringing only his fanatical followers to prevent possible betrayal had been a mistake. While there was no risk of betrayal, these fanatics lacked any sense of rational judgment. Elias constantly had to worry that they might recklessly provoke that monster and endanger everyone, including themselves.

’How did things end up like this?’

It had all started as a simple scouting mission. With no other second-tier pioneers besides himself, who specialized in healing, Elias had wanted to assess the other party’s strength and see if he could recruit them to his side. He had even hoped to convert one of them into a follower if things went well.

But the result was worse than he had imagined.

’I ran into a complete lunatic.’

Any leader would typically try to avoid combat between pioneers if possible. Whether you won or lost, there would always be casualties, and the damage would often outweigh the benefits. Yet this lunatic had been willing to jump into a fight without hesitation, not even knowing Elias’s job or abilities.

Worse still, the lunatic was at least 10 levels higher than Elias, making him a terrifyingly powerful monster. And instead of exploiting Elias’s healing abilities for himself, he had opted to kill him just to prevent Elias from becoming someone else’s asset.

Though Elias had barely survived by offering his healing skills, even that hadn’t been enough to satisfy Justin, who added more conditions.

"You think you can get away with just staying safe in the back and using healing skills? Not even close." "T-Then what do you want me to do?" "You’ll handle all the small tasks. More specifically, you’ll use your followers to do all the dangerous scouting and reconnaissance. Got it?" "W-What? That’s too much...!" "Don’t like it? Want to die here?" "...It would be an honor! Thank you for the opportunity!"

The more Elias thought about it, the more it made his skin crawl. He had told his followers they were traveling together to guide others and set an example, but in reality, they were nothing more than cannon fodder.

’Please, let there be no traps,’ Elias thought as he stood in front of the massive door and shouted.

"Alright, let’s open it! By the guidance of the gods!"

"Do you think this door will really open, Lord?" one follower asked.

How would I know? Elias thought bitterly.

"Everything will happen according to God’s will!" he replied, his tone smooth, as he pushed against the door.

Schrrrr...

"...!?"

To everyone’s surprise, the massive door slid open slightly without a sound.

The enormous iron door only opened a little, but it was enough for dozens of people to enter side by side. Justin stepped through the entrance, past the beam of light emanating from the doorway, and into the space beyond.

Of course, he didn’t forget to send Elias in first, using him to check for traps.

"So, no traps right from the start, huh," Justin muttered.

"...." Elias, full of thoughts, could only glance at him with a complicated look, but Justin gave him a quick glare, and Elias promptly turned away.

As Justin surveyed the dark interior of the massive temple, a system message rang out.

"Ding! Main Quest: ’Forgotten Ancient Ruins’ has been completed."

"Ding! As a reward, the quest ’Forgotten Ancient Ruins’ will change."

"Ding! New Main Quest: ’Treasure of the Ruins’ has been updated."

"Ohhh!"

"The voice of the gods!"

"The gospel is upon us!"

As soon as the system message played, Elias and his followers immediately closed their eyes and began praying fervently. Justin, Damian, and the other pioneers could only look at them with exasperation. How could they hear something divine in that cold, mechanical voice?

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Justin opened his status window to check the updated quest.

"Treasure of the Ruins"

Type: Main Quest Details: You have arrived at the place where the legacy is hidden. However, among all the relics of various races, you may claim only one. Choose one of the doors before you. Once chosen, no re-selection is allowed, and you may only obtain the relic that lies beyond your chosen door. Reward: The quest ’Treasure of the Ruins’ will change to the ’Ruins Exploration’ quest.

’What is this?’ Justin thought, puzzled. They had just entered a massive door, so what was this about choosing doors again?

As he was still trying to make sense of the confusing quest, a blinding light illuminated the entire temple.