After the priests separated from Daniel, they went above the city to carry out his orders and looked down at the people from the sky.
They didn’t quite know what kind of strategy they should use. Moreover, if they didn’t act quickly and the Grand Priest noticed something was wrong, he would immediately have them arrested and they wouldn’t have any chance to confess the truth to the people.
In the end, they decided to take a direct approach. They split up, and each of them went to the most crowded parts of the city.
At first, the people were shocked when they saw the priests and couldn’t understand why they suddenly appeared in the sky. The priests noticed their murmurs but ignored them and proceeded with their mission.
Without wasting any time, they began confessing the entire truth about the former hero, or rather, the Evil himself. In simpler terms, they repeated exactly what Priest Morvain had said and what had already spread among the people.
They even visualized parts of their memories and showed them to everyone.
At the end, they expressed deep remorse, saying that until now, they didn’t dare to speak out because the Grand Priest had threatened to kill them if they revealed anything.
They also claimed that after Priest Morvain’s suicide, they decided to stop hiding the truth and confess everything, even if it meant death.
They explained that everything that happened last night was nothing but a staged performance.
"Then Priest Morvain’s words were really true? The Grand Priest is a fraud?"
"Oh God! So all this time, we’ve been worshipping the real Evil as our idol!"
"That fraud tried to deceive us again even last night!"
"We must find the Grand Priest and punish him! It’s the only way to calm God’s wrath!"
It didn’t take long for the rumors and words of the priests to spread throughout the city. The result was predictable.
At first, people couldn’t believe it, but when five priests confessed and Priest Morvain had already taken his own life out of guilt, there was no way left to deceive themselves anymore.
They could only accept the bitter truth, that they had been used as mere pawns all this time, and the true Evil had been ruling over them.
They picked up their weapons again, scythes, axes, swords, spears, and anything sharp they could use, and began marching toward the temple.
Now that they knew the truth, they couldn’t allow such an Evil to remain in power. No matter what, he had to be punished for his deeds.
The priests also declared that they were willing to help and fight alongside the people to bring that Evil to justice, and afterward, they would accept any punishment that awaited them.
And so, an enormous and furious crowd began to move toward the temple.
Meanwhile, inside the temple, in the main hall, several figures stood together, all of them staring at an old man who was gazing at a headless statue.
"So, old man, what do we do now? It seems your plan didn’t work," said a young man with a handsome, regal-looking face, staring at the Grand Priest with a hint of anger.
There was no respect in his tone, it was clear he didn’t care in the slightest about the old man’s position as the Grand Priest.
"We did exactly as you told us last night. We pretended to attack the temple, even got ourselves wounded because you said it would make things look more real. But apparently, these people aren’t as stupid as you thought," another young woman said coldly, her tone filled with mockery and disdain.
The Grand Priest didn’t get angry when he heard their words. Instead, he slowly shifted his gaze away from the statue and looked directly at them.
The moment his eyes met theirs, the group of young people felt a heavy, oppressive force pressing down on them. They clenched their teeth tightly and struggled to endure it.
No matter what, they refused to show even the slightest sign of submission or respect before this old man.
The Grand Priest didn’t push them too hard. After all, he still needed their help to calm and control the current situation. Once the problem was dealt with, he could decide what to do with them.
"Unfortunately, it seems I underestimated the power of the person who’s plotting against me from behind the scenes. They even managed to turn five of my priests against me," he sighed. He was clearly frustrated by the situation.
He had thought that whoever was behind this wouldn’t dare to act again so soon, especially after the previous night’s events. He assumed he’d at least have some time to make new plans and figure out who that person was.
But it seemed he was completely wrong. That person didn’t even wait a few hours before making another move. It had been a long time since he last felt such pressure.
"How do you know it’s one person? Maybe all five of those priests are behind this together. Maybe they want to take your power from you," another young man said. His face wasn’t bad-looking, but what stood out most about him was that he had no hair, and a single horn protruded from the center of his forehead.
Hearing his words, the other young people exchanged glances. Considering how confident the Grand Priest sounded, it seemed he was certain that someone else was responsible.
"What about those two you mentioned, the outsiders? Couldn’t it be their doing?" the same cold young woman asked again.
"I suspected them at first, but they’ve already undergone the divine bath. If they harbored any bad intent toward me or the temple, I would’ve sensed it immediately. It’s impossible that they’re involved," the Grand Priest answered after a brief pause.
"How can you be sure? Just to be safe, maybe you should let us investigate them," she insisted.
"Do whatever you want. But in this situation, I can’t afford to lose two capable people," the Grand Priest replied calmly.
Just as their conversation ended, a guard suddenly burst into the hall, falling to his knees in panic.
"Sir! The people have surrounded the entire temple, they’re demanding your presence!"