The Abyssal Church, a religion founded by the Aegir.
There's nothing new under the sun; every country and organization inevitably has loyal and steadfast Patriots, as well as disloyal and opportunistic traitors.
The Aegir are no different.
No matter how advanced and developed they are, as long as their people cannot transcend their human bodies, then in the face of the great enemy, the Seaborn, there will naturally be brave warriors like the Abyssal Hunters.
Of course, there will also be excellent collaborators and traitors.
The Abyssal Church is such an existence.
As Aegir, they betrayed their race, betrayed their faith, and even wanted to betray the very bodies they possessed.
They wanted to become… one of the Seaborn.
"You failed? That was a powerful weapon bestowed upon us by the emissary, and the large firearms our Church has accumulated over decades since entering Iberia—and someone even died!"
In the gloomy underwater grotto, Quintus, holding a staff, was furious in front of several of his subordinates, whose heads were bowed, faces full of apology.
"Before, even that mad shark, we successfully subdued her, didn't we—they are nothing but mixed-blood abominations who delusionally try to control the power of the True God!"
His emerald eyes blazed with fury, his seaweed-like hair seemed to be alive, wriggling in the air. The Abyssal Priest Quintus was not satisfied with this result, and he slammed his hard staff against the wall.
"And now, our experiment on that bastard has revealed their weakness—the best example is right there, why did it still fail?!"
After The Great Silence began, Quintus, as a priest of the Abyssal Church, infiltrated the land.
With powers bestowed by his god, he killed a Laterano priest who came to Saltwind City for disaster relief, threw his body into the sea, and took his identity. As a believer in a heretical false god, he traveled to northern Iberia, where he continuously developed the Church's influence.
For Quintus, who believed in the Mother of the Sea and yearned to embrace the ocean, this was indeed an unbearable process.
"Alright, I overestimated you monkeys on land! You lowly terrestrial species! Your stupidity is even less capable than a clam!"
The Aegir already despised terrestrial life, and the Abyssal Church considered themselves even a step above the Aegir.
Staying with these inferior monkeys on land, dressed in human skin, was even more unbearable for Quintus than being with snails.
"If that body is discovered, the entire city will be turned upside down by the Inquisitors—you actually left your brother there! Useless! Inferior breed!"
While Quintus usually acted refined and gentle, now he expressed his contempt and denigration for these devout followers without any restraint.
After all, the opportunity to capture an Abyssal Hunter was quite rare; losing this chance would make it difficult to catch one again.
Just by capturing that foul-mouthed shark, Quintus discovered the Abyssal Hunter's greatest weakness—Ore.
Although they were immune to Ore, once liquid Ore was injected into their bodies, their bodies would drastically reduce various functions to combat the radiation, making them… weak. This was not only the weakness of Abyssal Hunters but also the weakness of all Aegir war machines.
Quintus believed that with this achievement, he would surely win the competition and become a bishop-level member of the Church!
If he could capture a second Abyssal Hunter who fell into his trap, he could even defeat the other two bishops and become the most favored by the Sea God, completing the final evolution!
Therefore, based on the research results from the previous period, Quintus specially made a batch of bullets that could inject liquid Ore.
Although their power was far inferior to other types of bullets, they were absolutely the most suitable for combating Abyssal Hunters.
And the firearms used to fire the bullets were the largest caliber weapons available, not even inferior to an Inquisitor's hand cannon—if discovered by the Laterano Inquisition, an army would probably be sent to encircle and suppress them directly.
This operation was originally foolproof, but… it still failed.
"Yes, Priest, we are indeed inferior, unworthy of the True God's greatness. Only by redoubling our efforts can we cleanse our original sin."
And to Quintus's undisguised denigration, the followers, who hid their expressions, had no objections.
They devoutly believed in the Sea God and equally loathed their terrestrial bodies, which lacked scales and tentacles, considering themselves the lowest of inferior breeds.
"Priest, in fact, our attack was almost successful, but the Abyssal Hunter's companion blocked the attack for him. Our Ore bullets all hit his body, and his counterattack killed one of our brothers."
Bowing their heads, the Abyssal Church members reflected on their dereliction of duty. They also yearned for the Sea God's favor, but their bodies were inferior and full of sin.
Only by relying on the Priest could they have a chance to cleanse their original sin and achieve ultimate sublimation.
"He, a terrestrial beast, actually dared to hinder our great endeavor, truly…"
And suddenly, the Priest's anger abruptly vanished, his twisted face once again becoming handsome and calm, revealing a nervous smile.
"Ah… this is not surprising, is it? A tiny terrestrial animal, injected with enough liquid Ore to suppress an Abyssal Hunter. What a pity I couldn't see him crystallize all over, break into pieces, and explode into dust."
Imagining the scene of that overconfident "hunter" who accompanied the Abyssal Hunter, eventually tearing into pieces due to acute oripathy, Quintus's mood improved slightly.
"Foolish terrestrials, finally dying from their destined original sin—is there any better ending than that?"
Although he originally thought that the nameless hunter was an incompetent terrestrial lowlife, Quintus's mood improved quite a bit when he heard that he had been injected with liquid Ore.
"Well, I wonder how that little Skadi the Singer is feeling now. If she wants to bury her friend, then we'll have plenty of time to prepare—Alright, confession time is over."
A small setback would not trouble Quintus. He was preparing to continue dealing with the citizens who were going mad from hunger.
With just a small sacrifice, he could bring ample nourishment to the sea and gain the most loyal subordinates. Why wouldn't he?
And just as Quintus had composed himself and was about to leave the secret gathering place for the church on the surface, a Church member responsible for monitoring suddenly called out to him in a low, fearful voice.
"Priest, you must come and see this…"
"Ha—"
Walking to an expensive monitoring device purchased by the Church members, Quintus looked at the screen.
He saw a red-dressed girl holding a harp and a young man holding a staff of civilization, walking slowly and leisurely towards the church above him.
In front of them, a lively little girl was actively leading the way for them.
"—It seems someone lied."
Quintus gently beckoned, and from an opening in the underwater cave near the seawater, several Terrorfish crawled out onto the shore.
"Wait, Priest, we are sure we hit him, please give us another chance—"
Soon, accompanied by screams and the tearing of flesh, the Seaborn found more nourishment for their kin.
The surrounding Church members did not react; in their eyes, this punishment merely allowed them to atone for their sins in advance.
"Interesting, this beast is luckier than I imagined—but everything is still under control."
The Abyssal Hunter was in the open, Quintus in the shadows. He believed that his existence was completely unknown to anyone.
"Let me welcome these guests, ha ha ha."
He even began to straighten his cassock, preparing to greet the two lost lambs as an Inquisitor of Iberia.
His acting was so good that even the Grand Inquisitor would not discover his true identity.
Footsteps sounded, and Quintus smiled, looking at the figure emerging from the shadows.
"After all, we still have our most devout… Nona Nun."
The white-haired nun smiled, calmly looking at the Abyssal Church she once most detested.
"Lord Bishop, do I need to attend today's service?"
Outside the high-pressure waterproof porthole, in the dark deep sea, a huge shadow slowly glided past.
Quintus had many trump cards. He believed that his chances of victory were one hundred percent.
— — — — — —
"Goki, are you saying that you'll negotiate first, and as soon as you give me a look, I'll act directly?"
Clutching the weapon case in her hand, Skadi adjusted the cyan triangular hat on her head and nodded seriously, her bright red eyes full of Battle Intent.
"Exactly. Of course, I also hope it doesn't come to a fight."
Leaning on his staff, stepping up the stairs leading to the church one by one, Goki shrugged at Skadi.
If that priest called himself Quintus, then this church would soon become lively.
Rather than truly becoming investigators, constantly searching for clues, questioning NPCs, and ultimately uncovering the truth, as Kal'tsit's commission hoped.
Goki and Skadi preferred to be the 'kick-the-door' type—just get it done!
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