Chapter 1027: Mold the world to my will.
"Hmm..." Victor stroked his chin as he analyzed the entire administrative process his Disciple had undertaken.
Currently, there were only two Archbishops near him. Rena, a Werewolf with light chocolate-colored skin, more common in Latinos. However, she was Egyptian with white hair and sapphire blue eyes.
Despite not having a surname, Victor knew well the origins of this woman. She hailed from the Lykos Clan Lineage, likely a descendant of his Wife, Maya, who had chosen not to follow the Clan's footsteps.
He also knew the other woman well. Her name was Lizbet Greygrave. She was a dark-skinned Elf with pointed ears and golden eyes and was directly affiliated with the Norse Pantheon. Specifically, she was associated with the Dark Elf Race currently under the command of Dragon Nest.
The two women stood like statues to the left of the table where Victor was seated. Their pure nervousness was clearly evident in their expressions and behavior as both were covered in cold sweat for several reasons, the biggest of which was the deliberate silence Victor was imposing.
Victor could have long since calmed the nerves of the two women, but why would he do that? It's more fun this way.
["I feel sorry for these girls. Darling is being sadistic with them,"] Roxanne spoke.
["It's okay, right? It's not like he's doing anything too much. And even if he did, who would stop him? Technically speaking, he owns them,"] Amara said.
["He doesn't own them, Amara,"] Roxanne narrowed her eyes.
["To become an Archbishop, you need to devote your entire existence to the God Emperor, and the same applies to other important positions like the Shadows, and Victor's personal army that works in the light. All these positions need to devote their existence to the Emperor... So yes, Roxanne. Darling owns them,"] Amara said.
["Oh, you're talking about that kind of 'own'... Yes, in that case, you're correct,"] Roxanne nodded. For a moment, she mistook Amara's words as these women belonging to Victor in a more personal sense, like being a lover or Wife.
Amara rolled her eyes at her jealous sister.
Placing the reports on the table, Victor nodded satisfactorily. "Mhmm, as expected of my Disciple, she is very competent. She deserves the reward I gave her."
These words visibly shook the two women present in shock. They knew very well what the Supreme Priestess desired, as did the Archbishops present. Both of them worked closely with Valeria, so it was not uncommon for a friendship to form between them.
'He brought...' Rena swallowed hard. 'He revived someone from the dead.' As someone who was well-versed in Divine matters, she knew very well the restrictions placed on Life and Death.
It was an absolute rule that if someone had been dead for a long time, it would be impossible to bring that Being back. This was common sense for the Gods, but here was someone who proved those words wrong.
'Incredible... As expected of the Emperor, he is above all those Pagan Gods!' Her faith in her God grew even stronger. Rena never doubted her God's words for a second, and why should she? He was the God she chose to follow and dedicate her life to! He was always right!
Lizbet, who had been silent, was having the same thoughts as Rena as the eyes of the Dark Elf shimmered with fascination and fanaticism.
Victor looked to his left, and a small violet portal appeared. When the portal opened, the two women saw a woman with long black hair and Draconic Horns on the other side.
Kaguya, who was not currently wearing her maid outfit due to being on a mission, suddenly stopped moving and looked at Victor.
[Darling?]
"Kaguya, tell me what you're currently doing."
Listening to Victor's tone, Kaguya realized that Victor was speaking in a professional tone, meaning she needed to change the way she addressed him.
"Yes," she spoke with a serious and emotionless face. "Under the Empress's command, we are using Dragon Nest's influence to increase Your Majesty's influence with all Beings of this planet."
"Mhmm," Victor nodded. He already knew these things the moment he set foot on this base. His senses spread across the entire planet, and he noticed that several of his forces were in motion. It was easy for Victor to understand what was happening, as simple as if he were adding 2 + 2.
His Wives had taken advantage of his small experimentation with his Powers to further increase his influence. 'As expected, they are amazing.' Victor nodded internally, satisfied; he was also very pleased with Violet's maturation; she had become an incredible Empress.
"Rena, Lizbet."
"Y-Yes!?" They responded in unison, a little too loudly, completely surprised to have been called suddenly.
"What do you think we should do now?"
Victor's sudden question not only left the two poor Archbishops in a panic but also made Kaguya's eyes twitch slightly.
Kaguya looked at the Elf and Werewolf with a neutral gaze, wondering what her Husband was doing. As a Maid who always sought perfection, she always tried to be in tune with her Master's desires.
'I only feel sadistic amusement coming from Darling... Is he just playing with them?' Kaguya thought internally. 'No, knowing Darling, he really wanted to ask that question. He's having fun, but he's also testing them. If their proposal is good, he will probably make the entire Faction move according to the proposal.'
Lizbet and Rena felt as if the weight of the world had suddenly fallen on their shoulders. Not only was their God, to whom they dedicated their faith, looking at them, but the woman, who was clearly a Dragon Goddess, was also looking at them.
It was common knowledge in their Faction that Beings called True Blood Dragons and Dragon Gods were related to the Emperor himself. It can be said that they were all part of the Emperor's Family.
Although they didn't know who the woman was, they knew she was important.
Due to Kaguya's growth in acquiring a more mature and maternal aura over the millennia and her not wearing the Maid clothes she always wore, the two Archbishops didn't immediately recognize Kaguya despite her having appeared personally a few times with Valeria. She even had citations in the books about the Gods, which talk about all the Gods and Goddesses who were part of Victor's Pantheon.
Another reason they didn't recognize her immediately was due to the turbulent emotions they were feeling now.
"I-I... I-..." Rena tried to form words, but she just stuttered and couldn't calm down!
Lizbet tried to say something. "I-... Ugh." But she bit her tongue.
Seeing the state of the two usually cool and calm women, Victor's face lit up with a small smile. Despite having a lot of fun watching them, he could tell that he needed them to calm down so they could answer his question.
"Calm down." A supernatural voice echoed around the room and forced the two women to calm their disturbed feelings.
The two women swallowed hard and visibly became calmer.
As a Progenitor and, at the same time, a God of Beginnings, the Power of his 'voice' could compel even Beings other than Dragons and Vampires. As long as he was stronger than an individual, with just his voice, he could compel anyone to move according to his desires.
A rather troublesome Power, but it was just one more among a long list of Powers he had; after all, as someone who could literally distort Reality and release enough Energy to reduce planets to atoms, this was nothing.
But Victor didn't only use that Power.
By also using his Home and Nature Divinities, he made the whole place more comfortable with his aura.
'... The smell of the forest...' Lizbet unconsciously thought as she felt her whole body at ease.
'It's like I'm back home...' Rena thought in a similar state to Lizbet's.
"I ask again," Victor spoke, drawing the attention of the two women to himself. "What do you think we should do now?"
Rena was immediately going to suggest following Valeria's plan, but she shut her impulsive mouth and said nothing. Now that she was calmer, she realized that her God had asked this question for a purpose... He was testing them!
Lizbet reached this understanding quicker than Rena, but unlike Rena, she understood the purpose of the test a bit. 'The God Emperor doesn't need our opinion. The Supreme Priestess's plan is perfect, and with the other Gods further assisting this plan, it's guaranteed that nothing will fail. He's testing our capabilities.'
Lizbet answered Victor's question by saying, "The best way to attract more Beings to the glory of the God Emperor is through a Display of Power. Something that the God Emperor has already done by showing everyone his majestic form." Lizbet's eyes sparkled as she remembered the image of the immense Dragon; that sight was something she would never forget... Just like the sight of the Emperor himself in front of her... He was much more beautiful in person!
She couldn't describe how beautiful he was. Her own ability to use adjectives to express the Emperor's beauty was something her limited vocabulary could not do. If she dared to do so, she would kill her voice and remain silent forever!
If they asked her, "How beautiful is the Emperor in person?" She would answer with a single, simple word: "Yes."
Victor displayed a small smile. "Go on."
Waking from her momentary reverie by the Emperor's voice, Lizbet began to process her other ideas.
"Incentives and Rewards are a good idea, too." She shivered slightly. What she was saying could be considered sacrilege due to how kind the Emperor was to his faithful, and the greatest proof of this was the older faithful themselves—all of them, without exception, were beautiful people, whether they were men or women.
This was a 'minimal' reward for those who demonstrated such devotion. The greatest of them was strength, as even if she was just an Archbishop, she could fight on equal footing against an Elder Vampire, all thanks to the Emperor's Blessing.
With the resources of the Blood God's Religion, she could even kill a Lesser God. After all, the Emperor spared no expense in arming his most devoted faithful.
Rena looked at Lizbet as if she were crazy. 'How dare she speak of this in front of the Emperor!' She was boiling inside, but since the Emperor himself said nothing, she remained silent.
"Interesting... Continue."
Lizbet swallowed hard once again and continued, "Offering tangible incentives, such as Blessings, Divine Protection, or material prosperity, can motivate other Beings to join us more easily."
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