The Yessar Church and Man-made Gods

"Oh, my handsome little fellow, you're finally back!" Mina waved dismissively at Jemison upon seeing Du Chen. "No more painting for me; I've spotted someone far more interesting!"

"How can this be? No one interrupts my art!" Jemison cried out in alarm, rising to restrain Mina.

"What do you think you're doing? Trying to get fresh with your elder sister!?" Mina shot him a fierce glare, then seized Du Chen's arm and strode toward the path alongside the Water River. "Don't be nervous, handsome, I have some serious business with you this time!"

"Serious business about what, precisely?" Du Chen asked, glancing back at the two 'door gods,' a smirk playing on his lips.

"It concerns the Dark Rituals you inquired about last time!"

A flicker of realization crossed Du Chen's mind. He remained silent, no longer bothering with the two figures at the entrance, and followed Mina into the dock district, heading for 'Tiger's' tavern.

It was the same small private room as before. When Mina called for 'Tiger' to bring drinks, 'Tiger,' who had recently gotten along quite well with Du Chen, entered, carrying a tray concealed by a red cloth. He lifted the cloth with a smile and said, "Big Sister, all the information you requested is right here."

Mina took the stack of documents, several centimeters thick, and tossed them before Du Chen. "Everything I know, everything the Holy Church's intelligence system could unearth about rituals related to Flaying, is right here. However, you cannot have copies of these; you'll have to read them here!"

Du Chen was momentarily stunned. "Many thanks," he murmured, picking up the documents and beginning to leaf through them.

Time flowed by, little by little. Mina watched Du Chen peruse the documents while silently sipping her wine.

"Ramepatisu."

Du Chen spotted this phrase in one of the documents. According to Helen, it was an ancient language, one Philip had once written in during a moment of extreme emotional distress!

The Yessar Church! The documents revealed that long ago, a religion called Yessar had used this language as its official tongue, and its punishment ritual for traitors and captives was none other than the Dark Sacred Punishment!

However, this church had long vanished amidst the smoke of history.

Du Chen placed the Yessar Church documents before Mina. "I want its detailed information!"

"Certainly, but what will you offer in exchange?" Mina's cunning gaze fixed upon Du Chen. Ever since she learned of Du Chen's interest in the Dark Sacred Punishment last time, she had gone to great lengths to find these documents, precisely to prompt Du Chen to exchange information sooner.

Du Chen smiled. "Philip's Alchemy Laboratory has eighteen floors, and an unknown nineteenth floor…"

A sharp glint flashed in Mina's eyes as she spoke in a deep voice, "The Yessar Church first appeared in Godslayer Year 27, primarily composed of disabled veterans from the Godslayer War, and a few Titled Battle Gods who miraculously survived! Their core doctrine was to restore the glory of the gods, but the god they referred to was not the Titled Battle Gods worshipped by the Holy Church, but a very strange god I'd never heard of, named Yessar! Their organizational structure was extremely strict, and among them, the four executioners who performed the Dark Sacred Punishment were known as Yessar Saints, enjoying extremely high status. The first generation of Yessar Saints were all Titled Battle Gods!"

Having said this, Mina closed her mouth, gesturing for Du Chen to reveal more information.

"Recently, Philip obtained a very important experimental subject from Roland, and after acquiring two crucial subjects in a row, his experiment is nearing success!" In truth, besides Arthur, Helen's father, there was a third vital experimental subject – Du Chen himself. But he did not reveal this.

Apart from matters concerning himself and Phil, Du Chen divulged everything else he knew.

Mina pondered for a long moment, then slammed the table. "Battle Qi Inheritance, altering talent… Damn it, when you put these things together, it seems that rumor was indeed true! Francis, you've rendered a monumental service to the Holy Church this time! His Holiness the Pontiff will reward you handsomely!"

As she spoke, Mina's face broke into a wide smile. "Hehe! Handsome, Big Sister finds you more adorable by the minute now! Thank you for this information; my promotion and raise this time are all thanks to you! But can you tell Big Sister why you're interested in this ancient religion, the Yessar Church? Although its founders were also Titled Battle Gods worshipped by the Holy Church, sharing the same roots, His Holiness the Pontiff still doesn't particularly favor religions that worship inexplicable gods."

"That is my private business!" Du Chen coldly rebuffed Mina's question, then asked, "Within the Yessar Church's organization, do these four Saints have any specific characteristics? Such as gender, appearance, or strength?"

"That's not very clear, given how ancient it is. Oh, right, a few ancient texts record that every generation of the Yessar Church is guaranteed to have a Saintess. Whenever the Yessar Church is to punish a criminal, it is usually the Saintess who pronounces the judgment, and then the four executioners carry out punishments like Flaying and Tendon-Severing."

A Saintess who announces crimes? Phil's notes indeed contained much on this subject. Could Phil herself be this Saintess?

In that case, everything largely became clear. Even if Philip wasn't a member of the Yessar Church, he certainly had connections to it. The four executioners, Phil – all were members of the Yessar Church.

And Philip was using a Yessar Saintess as an experimental subject… That made him a traitor to, or an enemy of, the Yessar Church!

Which meant he was Francis's enemy!

"For now, this is all I know. If you want more detailed intelligence, I can certainly investigate for you! But it will have to wait until this business with Philip is over; Big Sister is too busy lately. Boss Mars will be arriving at Battle God Isle soon, and handsome, you also need to keep a close eye on that damned Philip!"

Du Chen smiled. "Alright, I'm not in a rush. But can you tell me what exactly Philip did to incur the Pontiff's wrath? Uh, if it's classified, you don't have to say."

Mina shrugged. "Little one, just think about Philip's experimental projects and connect the dots. You're on the tenth floor, correct? Altering talent on the tenth floor, then receiving Battle Qi Inheritance on the eleventh… Doesn't that sound like a complete process? Big Sister will also tell you a rumor from Zigurd's own mouth: he said that once Philip's experiment succeeds, humans and other intelligent races will no longer have to fear extinction, because they will have enough guardians!"

Du Chen's mouth fell open. Following Mina's implication, he blurted, "Man-made Advanced Battle Gods?"

"Exactly. Think about it. The reason His Holiness the Pontiff is His Holiness the Pontiff is because countless races across the Three Continents worship the God he represents. Yet Philip actually wants to create Man-made Advanced Battle Gods…"

Du Chen nodded silently. This was easy to understand. In his previous life, if someone called the Vatican and told the Pope, 'Hey, buddy, I'm planning to create two Jesuses for fun, what do you think?'… the entire Papal Curia would surely go mad!

Mina continued, "Philip's experiment is one of the reasons for the schism between the Holy Church and the Battle God Academy. Since you're involved in the plan against Philip, you're entitled to know a few things. Boss Mars intends to interrupt him at the most critical juncture of his experiment. As you said, he will dissect Subject Number One on Mount Tianshan, so you need to find out when he plans to go to Mount Tianshan."

Du Chen's heart gave a lurch. "You're not suggesting that the Holy Church plans to make their move while Philip is en route to Mount Tianshan, are you?"

"The final plan will be decided by Boss, but in my experience, this is the best time to strike, and Boss must think so too!"

Du Chen was caught between laughter and tears. Poor Philip, Helen wants to deal with you on the way to Mount Tianshan, and now the Holy Church wants to deal with you at the same time!

Oh, right, Pied and Roland are going to Mount Tianshan on the third of March. If Philip dares to conduct his experiment on that very day, things are going to get chaotic.