“As of now, this case is beyond the jurisdiction of the imperial court and under the authority of the Holy Empire’s Vatican second cardinal, I officially request Chief Justice James to open a religious trial here.” Father Basel announced.

Father Basel looked serious as he made the announcement and Ito Sota must be panicking right now. The fact that he became a desecrator was undeniable, but as he mentioned, this only happened because of his ignorance.

‘Dumbass...’

He was ignorant because had no idea the potion contained holy water and he called the fantasy potion a drug because he didn’t exactly know what it was made of. Considering that it was a mistake, the court could take his circumstances into consideration, but the problem was that Father Basel had the authority to open a religious trial.

Obviously, I didn’t meet with the higher-ranked priests just to be friends with them. There was no reason for me to work so hard just to be friends with those people. Of course, being close to them wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but meeting with those priests had been a good opportunity for me.

‘A good opportunity for me to bring you down.’

Gifting wine made out of holy water and making him see an illusion wasn’t difficult and the wine I gave to Father Basel was an item I made myself. It had the same effect as the cheap fantasy potion, but it was a special brand that couldn’t be compared to the potions.

[Sacred Wine - Epic Rank]

[It’s a wine made out of holy water known as the gift from god. This wine is a mixture of various complicated ingredients and it permanently increases the player’s holy magic when drinking for the first time. It also allows the players to recover their depleted holy magic. It sometimes shows special effects.]

‘There’s nothing more I need to say about this.’

I needed about 8,000 gold to make one bottle and even though making it wasn’t complicated, the process was a bit difficult. I no longer had to worry about the fantasy potion since it was being made in the alchemy factory in the Blue Guild, but obtaining the necessary ingredients for the Sacred Wine wasn’t easy. If Ito Sota wasn’t being questioned, it could have been impossible to obtain them; no, it would have been impossible.

After making the Sacred Wine, my task was very simple because I just needed to eat with Father Basel and drink the wine together with him. I worked hard on creating the illusion that Father Basel was going to see after drinking the wine.

‘Hahahahaha...’

What he saw was probably going to happen 20 years from now. The illusion showed Ito Sota signing a contract with a demon summoned from hell and the scene I showed Father Basel was the sad story of a man who struggled to protect the Benigoa goddess and the Holy Empire. Naturally, the villain the man was fighting was none other than Ito Sota, the demon worshiper. As the one that signed a contract with the demon the moment he stepped foot on this continent, he walked inside the Vatican slowly and cautiously. The current scene was five years from now and not only did he intrude on the Vatican, but he was also strong enough to defeat the Holy Empire’s pope with his own hands. In the illusion, Father Basel was basically our hero and the Vatican’s only hope of fighting against Ito Sota.

‘This is great.’

The fight between Father Basel and Ito Sota lasted a long time and like any other apocalyptic story, Father Basel lost everyone he loved and experienced a very miserable and painful death. He cried as the Vatican was surrounded by demons from hell and as he watched Ito Sota tearing apart the goddess statues, a sword pierced his heart.

I couldn’t forget the face Father Basel made after seeing the illusion. He seemed to question whether the illusion he saw was divine revelation, but the next day, he became confident in his theory and acknowledged that he received the goddess’s will.

‘Since he’s a religious person…’

He was a different type of regressor and revelator who had seen a glimpse of the future, so to Father Basel, Ito Sota was an enemy he had to get rid of right now.

‘Just like the time Hyun-Sung saw Jung Jin-Ho for the first time.’

There was no way Ito Sota could escape because this was the last insurance I prepared. I did prepare a few more, but the one I had right now was the best way to bring Ito Sota down.

“Chief Justice James?”

“Understood. I accept Father Basel’s official request. As of this moment, this case is no longer under the imperial court’s jurisdiction and as the Holy Empire’s imperial chief justice, this case shall be closed.” He declared.

I saw Ito Sota reveal a shocked and frustrated expression.

“Honorable Father Basel, I understand how you feel, but I-I don’t quite understand the current situation. Even if I didn’t know the details of the fantasy potion, it had never been my intention to insult the Benigoa goddess. The one who should be getting punished is none other than Lee Ki-Young!” Ito Sota yelled.

“Why should I be the one to receive the punishment, Mr. Ito Sota?” I asked.

“Mixing weed with the goddess’ holy water is a disrespectful thing to do,” he answered.

The fact that the bastard started talking nonsense was proof that he was in danger.

“How is that being disrespectful? I merely applied a purification process because the goddess’ great power can purify anything, even that rude mind of yours.” I pointed out.

“Th-That’s not all, Father Basel! Lee Ki-Young of the Blue Guild used the goddess’ gift to get an unfair advantage and receive all the benefits for himself!” Ito Sota exclaimed.

“A portion of the fantasy potion profits are being offered to the Vatican, so you don’t have to worry about me getting an unfair advantage and another portion of the profit is going to be used to help the actual drug addicts with their rehab. The item was made with the goddess’ gift so I wouldn’t use it for myself because I’m not a criminal like you, Ito Sota,” I explained.

“How dare you call me a criminal…”

“I mean, you did get caught in the act and if the fantasy potion isn’t a drug, then everything you’ve said so far is a lie. You confessed your own sins, so even if a religious trial isn’t going to be conducted, you would have still been convicted. Oh, if you regret the statement you made just now, there’s something I want to ask. Is the fantasy potion a drug or not?” I asked.

“...”

“Our lovely Mr. Ito Sota of the Yamato Guild, please answer my question. Is the fantasy potion a drug or not?” I asked again.

“Your question isn’t worth answering…” he mumbled.

“So?”

“There’s no way the goddess’ gift is a drug, so asking that question is disrespectful to begin with! Chief Justice, Father Basel, this is a trap and I’m being framed. I… I would like to officially request another trial, no, I would like to request for a recess, Your Honor!” Ito Sota shouted.

He desperately called out to them, but of course, they weren’t going to accept his request because this was now a religious trial and Father Basel held the right to decide.

“I no longer have the authority over this case. Defendant, you can request for recess and appeal after the religious trial ends,” the judge remarked.

“Then… Father Basel, I’m being framed and this is the dirty work of Lee Ki-Young of the Blue Guild who’s trying to make me fall for his trap. If you can give me some time, I’ll bring solid evidence to you…” Ito Sota desperately defended himself.

I couldn’t understand why people like him always defended themselves in desperation by saying that they were being framed, but the way he acted was proof he was that desperate. He was telling everyone this was unfair, but of course, everyone only looked at him coldly because he had already lied in his testimony. As such, it was only natural that they wouldn’t believe what he was saying now. Actually, I was sure that this attitude of his was making Father Basel even angrier at him. After all, in the future that the Benigoa goddess showed him, Ito Sota’s specialty was his tongue.

“Silence!” Father Basel yelled.

“Father Basel?”

“Silence, you dirty heretic!” he exclaimed once more.

“I-I’m not a heretic. Father Basel, Sister Helena, I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding here, I’ve never done anything to betray the Benigoa goddess,” Ito Sota said desperately.

“Don’t lie, you dirty heretic! Do you really think we don’t know about your evil intentions?!” Father Basel yelled.

“This is unfair,” Ito Sota complained.

“I felt something strange the moment you kept visiting the Vatican,” Father Basel said.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Ito Sota said.

“I told you to be quiet, you dirty heretic! Do you really think that I don’t know about the fact that you colluded with the demons from hell?!” Father Basel asked, yelling.

“Excuse me?”

“I received a revelation from the goddess that showed you trying to take over the Holy Empire with the demons you signed a contract with the moment you stepped in here,” Father Basel answered.

“That’s…”

“You dirty demon worshiper!” He interrupted.

“What do you…”

“The goddess told me that you would take over the Holy Empire from the inside little by little and in the end destroy the Vatican and everyone in it!” Father Basel added.

“I-I think there’s a misunderstanding. I have never colluded with any demon. I understand that you’re angry, but…”

“No matter what kind of excuse you give, it doesn’t change the fact you tried to assassinate Lee Ki-Young because you didn’t want his potion made out of holy water to be distributed within Japan,” Father Basel stated, interrupting Ito Sota.

“As I’ve mentioned before, we never tried to assassinate him. The ones that tried to assassinate Lee Ki-Young were the Kage Guild,” Ito Sota explained.

“Are you saying there’s conflict between the guilds?” Father Basel asked.

“Th-That’s not what I meant. The Kage Guild probably tried to assassinate Lee Ki-Young because they didn’t want his potion made out of holy water to be distributed within Japan…”

“Your testimony changed,” Father Basel said, interrupting him again.

“It’s because I was ignorant.”

“You have always been like that. What are the heresy inquisitors doing?! Helena! Helena!” Father Basel called out.

“We’ll make preparations right away,” Helena responded.

“Capture that demon worshiper immediately, then interrogate and judge him! There’s no need for a religious trial! Holding a trial for that heretic is a waste. Also, capture all the dirty group of demons as well as the dirty heretics in the Free City of Celia,” Father Basel ordered.

“Yes, sir!”

“Send the heresy inquisitors as well as the holy knights to Celia immediately and cut down all the dirty demon worshipers!” he added, exclaiming.

I guess Father Basel got a bit excited after recalling what happened in the past and of course, I understood his feelings. The person that was going to ruin the Holy Empire in the future was right in front of him, so I was sure that he wanted to get rid of Ito Sota right away.

‘I didn’t expect there to be a trial…’

Regardless of whether the trial happened or not, it was an undeniable fact that Ito Sota was going to suffer and die, but I wanted to play this game a bit longer. Ito Sota seemed defeated, but I still wanted to see what else he had prepared. He would eventually be ruined because of the insurance I prepared, but it could still be entertaining. Even though the court was in chaos, I saw Ito Sota looking at me.

‘You’ve caught on...’

He seemed to have understood just a little of what was going on, how he ended up here, and why Father Basel was so worked up. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t because logic never worked when it came to religion.

‘And I’m sure that bastard knows that as well...’

“Tie that demon worshiper to a stake right now!” Father Basel ordered.

“Kill the heretic!”

“Execute the desecrator this instant!”

Ito Sota was eventually cornered and now, he only had two choices. First, he could accept the heresy inquisitor’s interrogation, which was no different from a witch hunt, or resist and run away from this unfair situation. He would have a higher chance of living if he went with the first choice. Of course, he would suffer and would get beaten up pretty badly, but there would still be a sliver of hope. The second choice was a different story, altogether. The moment he resisted, his status as a so-called demon worshiper and heretic would be cemented. The fact that he resisted the Vatican would be proof that he was a demon worshiper.

‘What will you do?’

I was really curious to see which one he was going to choose, but unfortunately, the latter seemed to be his only option. Why? Because I saw the holy knights and the heretic inquisitors chasing after him.

‘Bingo.’