Chapter 574

"As expected, you know."

"I know."

"Okay, let me ask to make sure. You went through it too, right?" Ultel didn't specify what he was talking about, but Zich was able to easily make a guess.

"You are being extremely careful. Are you talking about regressing?"

"As expected." Ultel placed two glasses in front of him and poured wine into them. "Please understand. You must also know that it's not good for even the concept of regression to be leaked. There would be swarms of people willing to sacrifice everything to get their hands on the power once they know about its existence."

"You are talking as if you aren't such a person. You are part of the swarms of people."

"That's true." The two glasses were filled to the brim with wine. Ultel lifted one glass and threw it at Zich. Surprisingly, the liquid inside the glass didn't spurt out and the glass smoothly flew toward Zich with all its contents intact. Zich snatched the glass from the air, and the surface of the wine shook slightly but regained its calm a moment later.

Zich took a gulp of the wine.

"Though you are a cult leader, you sure drink some good stuff."

"Don't forget that we are the biggest secret organization in the world. That's why we can afford this luxury."

Zich and Ultel each took a seat. They took up knives and forks and began to eat the food in front of them. Though it would've been reasonable for Zich to be suspicious of the food his enemy offered to him, there was no hesitation in his movements. Steam rose from the steak, and Zich took a big bite of it and chewed it slowly.

"This is also tasty."

"The chef's skills are good."

"Lubella will be seething in anger if she sees how the Bellids are eating."

"Don't tell her. Even I'm a bit scared of the current Saintess. Let's keep this a secret between us." Ultel winked, and of course, Zich's response wasn't positive. Then, the room was filled with the sounds of the two eating.

"Yeah." Ultel wiped his lips with a napkin and said, "There's no need for me to talk in a roundabout way. I will get to the point. How did you gain the power of regression?"

Zich didn't answer. He was busy shoving deliciously cooked chicken legs into his mouth.

Ultel waited. He was the one who had prepared this meal, after all. No matter how rude his guest was, he needed to wait for his guest to finish eating. Yet, Zich showed no signs of stopping even when all the food in front of him disappeared. Zich got up and moved the food that he couldn't reach from his seat to his plate, then proceeded to shove it into his mouth as well.

Ultel's calm eyes soon filled up with annoyance. The corners of his eyes trembled, and he pressed his lips tightly together. However, Zich didn't even glance at Ultel and continued eating like a starved castaway. When Zich's fork reached for the well-cooked ribs—

Bam! A knife flew from Ultel's area and stopped the trajectory of Zich's fork. Zich raised his head and stared at Ultel.

"Why don't you stop eating so we can talk?"

"Tch, you invited me to a meal but don't even let me eat. This is why cult leaders are so..." Zich grumbled and flicked away the knife blocking his fork, moving the ribs onto his plate. Then, he jerked his chin for Ultel to continue.

"I asked you how you gained the power of regression."

"Somehow."

Ultel scowled, but Zich continued to leisurely rip apart his ribs. Ultel let out a deep sigh. "Okay, then let me skip over that issue. How many times have you regressed?"

"One time."

"Just once?"

"Yeah."

"Amazing. Just once was all you needed to reach the truth about me. That idiot hero didn't grow suspicious of his power no matter how many times he regressed."

"Are you really comparing me to that guy?" Zich said, sounding offended. As if he had lost his appetite, he threw down his half-eaten rib back onto his plate.

"Please excuse me. I have said something really offensive. I apologize." Perhaps, even Ultel thought he had gone too far to compare Zich with Glen and immediately apologized.

"I hope that you will think hard before you speak. I almost lost all my appetite."

"Isn't it about time for you to stop eating anyway?"

Yet, Zich ignored Ultel's words and once more began to munch on the ribs he had just placed down. Anger shot up inside Ultel's heart again, but Ultel repressed it.

"If you just answer my questions well, it won't matter if you keep eating."

"Don't worry. I will answer all your questions sincerely." This was rich coming from somebody who answered Ultel's first question about how he gained the regression ability with 'Somehow.'

"Then, let me move on to the next question. How much do you know?"

"Everything." It was a simple answer, but what it implied wasn't simple at all.

"Everything...that's an abstract answer. An arrogant one too. Could you explain how I should accept this answer?"

"It's as I said. Specifically, all information regarding regressions and some things beyond that too."

"I still don't get what you mean."

"For example, I know that you Bellids started from a cult belonging to an ancient empire."

"...I didn't think you would also know that," Ultel said in surprise. "Could you first tell me the information you know and I will try to match them with the history of the Bellids that I know of?"

"That's not too difficult." Zich discarded the rib leftovers to the side, and a few more bones were added to the existing mountain of bones.

"Near the end of the ancient empire, many factions formed in the time of chaos. There were cults among this group, and one of the groups was the Bellids."

With his hands, Ultel gestured for Zich to continue.

"At that time, there was a rebel army that worked against the empire. This army didn't hold back from using any means or methods to defeat the empire, or more specifically, the emperor. Thus, they also didn't refrain from joining forces with whatever organization as long as it helped defeat the empire. This obviously included cults. Naturally, they stretched their hands out to you guys, the Bellids."

"..."

"In the end, the empire fell. However, the rebel army didn't fare well either. They were destroyed as well. After the fall of both the empire and the rebels, only greedy people were left, and they ran wild to devour the empire's land."

"And you're saying that one of those groups of people was us?"

"That's right. However, the Bellids weren't that big during that time, so they couldn't do too much. However, you guys were able to get your hands on one of the various powers of the empire—the holy power that you guys claim as Bellu's energy."

"This is difficult information to accept as a faithful believer of Bellu."

"I told you before. I already know that you don't have even the slightest faith in Bellu. No, not just you, but all of your predecessors who were Bellid popes. Your perception of Bellu has never gone beyond the figurehead god of a cult that benefits by misleading and tricking people."

"It seems like you really know us well."

"That's what I've been telling you. Do you want me to say more? Back in those days when all kinds of forces were in conflict, your predecessors and the first Bellid pope chose to hide underwater again instead of participating in the power struggle between forces after obtaining the so-called holy energy. You then continued to expand your power as a cult. You were weak, but you kept building up your strength through the power of the empire. Since it was such a chaotic world, it was a very good environment for a cult to flourish. In comparison, those who tried to devour the empire's corpses and fight each other were slowly losing their powers one by one. Eventually, most of the empire's brilliant civilization and powerful forces disappeared, and even the remaining traces were completely covered by time."

Zich cut a piece of cake and put it on his plate. Then he stabbed the strawberry on his cake with a fork. With the strawberry on it, he pointed at Ultel with the fork and said, "Except for you guys. I'm not calling you guys cockroaches for no reason. You guys really have one hell of a life force."

"I had no idea there was such a deep meaning behind you calling us cockroaches," Ultel said sarcastically.

Zich continued, "Like you said, the Bellids became the most powerful cult in the world and lived a plentiful and bountiful life sucking out people's blood and tears. Yet, that wasn't enough for you guys, because you had information about a world that had already disappeared."

"About the absolute power to live countless times—the ability to regress," Ultel intercepted Zich's words and continued, "You're right. We continued to search for the regression ability. No matter how great a force we've built, we aren't a real kingdom or empire. Even if we wanted to stop hiding and go out into the sun, people will never want to be ruled by the likes of us—mere cult members, as you said. Of course, they'll resist and rebel. On top of that, it'll become even more difficult if we consider the interference of various countries and the Karuwimans."

"I guess you know your place somewhat."

"Accurately assessing your position is one of the most important factors in planning. With our forces, we will be able to occupy a country, and we might be able to capture a stronghold powerful enough to be called an empire. However, the only fate we would have left is to be destroyed by a combined attack from the other countries, led by the Karuwimans."

"However, if you guys acquire the ability to regress, it'll be a completely different story. Isn't that right?"

"That's right." Ultel gulped down the last wine he had in his glass, then filled it once more. "However, we couldn't find it even after looking for it for a very long time. The power of regression was the power of the empire, it was the imperial family's secret weapon. Of course, the security was extremely tight. Therefore, from some point on, we stopped desperately looking for signs of it."

"You were different, though."

"You really know everything. That's correct. It's because I'm different. Isn't that obvious? An ancient empire that ruled the world, and the absolute power that sustained such a glorious empire. Besides, I thought that the existence of that power was highly credible. I searched for any remaining traces, looking through all kinds of records. That's when that thing appeared!"

"Serpina."

"Yeah! The Brushel System's Core!" Ultel's voice had been calm so far, but he shouted excitedly, "Do you know how I felt at that time? Its existence proved that the overwhelming power that is nothing short of a miracle exists! I was excited! I was beyond elated! With this, it would be more than enough to fulfill our—my desire!"

Ultel slammed the table with his fist, but that lasted only for a moment. He soon suppressed his excitement. "However, that power wasn't immediately mine. I needed to steal it. Fortunately, that thing, now called a Demon Lord for the mass destruction it caused, was completely enamored with another matter—the resurrection of the empire. In addition, another threat emerged to fight against it."

Ultel's eyes landed on Zich. "The hero, Zich Brave."

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