Beside Souta, Kurumi chuckled softly:
"Ah~ ah~, another failure, huh?"
She gently squeezed Souta's hand and comforted him:
"Don't be discouraged, better luck next time."
"Is now really the time for this kind of talk?!"
Chelsea's voice was filled with urgency.
She was really foolish, truly. She knew Souta might have been bluffing, but she didn't realize he was absolutely bluffing.
Souta patted Chelsea's shoulder, wearing an expression that screamed "As expected, everything is under my control", and said in a relaxed manner:
"I already knew this guy wouldn't be convinced. Talking to him was just a formality. Everything is going according to my plan. Time to initiate Kurumi Plan!"
Are you sure you actually planned for this?!
While Chelsea was still in a daze, the guards had already rushed forward.
But the next moment, they suddenly realized—they couldn't move.
The light from the torches around them dimmed ominously, and a barrier unfolded across the entire bedroom.
—City of Devouring Time.
This was Kurumi's time-draining domain, used to absorb time and immobilize anyone who stepped into its range.
The charging guards, along with the Path of Peace's Lord, instantly lost all ability to resist, collapsing to their knees.
Their faces contorted in pain, their bodies paralyzed, unable to even cry out.
The only thing they could do was glare at Souta and the others with anger.
Facing their piercing stares, Souta shrugged and said mockingly:
"Don't look at me, I was perfectly willing to have a civil conversation. Your dear Lord just doesn't know how to read the room."
As he spoke, he felt a little resigned.
Sigh... next time, I should just charge in first and talk later.
Seems like no one in the anime world actually likes reasoning—it's literally like talking to a wall!
Chelsea patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief:
"We should've done this from the start! Would've saved us all the trouble."
Since Kurumi had full control over the domain, she could selectively exclude her allies from its effects.
So inside the barrier, Souta and Chelsea remained completely unaffected, free to move as they pleased.
"Souta," Kurumi gently tugged at his sleeve, tilting her head.
"What should we do with them next?"
Souta tapped his chin thoughtfully before finally saying:
"Erase the guards' memories from the last few minutes, that should be enough. As for the Lord... let's have him disappear for a while."
"We'll seal him away until the situation stabilizes. By then, he won't have a choice but to cooperate."
Ultimately, Souta decided not to alter the Lord's memory.
Because tampering with someone's memory was essentially erasing their original personality and inserting a new one.
That was way worse than outright killing them!
If it were a true villain, he wouldn't hesitate—but this priest wasn't necessarily evil.
"Alright," Kurumi smiled softly, her gaze warm.
"Then let's do it your way."
"I'll contact Tohsaka Rin first."
Souta took out his system phone and quickly sent a message.
To be honest, he wasn't completely sure if all mages in the Fate world were capable of erasing memories.
After all, in The Witch on the Holy Night, when Aoko Aozaki and Alice Kuonji encountered Shizuki Soujuurou, their first instinct was to kill him—not to erase his memory.
Would Rin Tohsaka really be reliable for this?
Souta: "@Tohsaka Rin, can you upload a memory-erasing item? I need one."
Tohsaka Rin: "...Again?! Souta, can you just tell me everything you need at once?"
Souta: "It's an emergency, my bad. Also, are you sure you can do it?"
Tohsaka Rin: "Of course! This is basic protocol to prevent the exposure of Mysteries."
Souta: "Alright, then I'll leave it to you."
Tohsaka Rin: "Hold on a sec."
Phew, thank god Rin was reliable.
Sure, she messes up at critical moments, but in practical Magecraft, she's definitely better than Aoko Aozaki, who just goes boom boom boom all day.
Soon, Souta purchased the memory-wiping spell from the system shop.
Then, along with Chelsea, he dragged the unconscious guards outside and erased the last few minutes of their memories.
These guards would probably assume they just dozed off on duty.
After that, Kurumi summoned her Angel and loaded a special bullet into her gun—Seventh Bullet.
With Souta's unlimited time supply, she overcharged the bullet with an enormous amount of frozen time.
Enough to stop the Lord in time for an entire year.
"This should be fine. To him, it'll feel like nothing more than blinking his eyes."
Souta gazed at the completely frozen Lord and said:
"Besides, collecting faith shouldn't take that long. We'll free him soon, and by then, he won't have a choice but to submit."
Saying this, he let out a deep sigh.
Judging by this priest's personality, even if he were freed, he'd probably resist behind the scenes and secretly stir up trouble.
There's an old saying—You neither believe in God nor are willing to die, how troublesome!
So for now, it was best to seal him away.
"I'll keep him locked up for now."
Kurumi snapped her fingers, and a shadow portal swallowed up the Lord.
Souta then turned to Chelsea and said:
"Alright, I'll be counting on you next."
"No problem!" Chelsea's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Becoming the leader of a religious organization... I've never played such a noble role before!"
Chelsea suddenly asked eagerly:
"Should we change the name of the Path of Peace?"
"No need," Souta immediately rejected the idea.
Religious names carry historical meaning. Changing it randomly might cause issues.
What, you want me to rename it the Hammer and Sickle Church?
If they successfully infiltrate the Empire and establish divine right rule, would it end up as the Holy Hammer and Sickle Theocracy?
That sounded insanely cursed.
Kurumi then leaned in and asked:
"Souta, what's your plan for establishing yourself as this religion's divine figure?"
"I already asked the system about this," Souta explained.
"As long as my 'divine identity' has direct causal ties to me, all faith will naturally flow into me."
Souta nodded to Kurumi, then turned to Chelsea and said:
"Chelsea, you'll use the Lord's identity to organize a large-scale religious gathering.
We'll claim it's to hear divine revelation, gathering thousands of believers in one place.
Then, when all eyes are on you—I'll descend in a disguise, display a few 'miracles', and establish my image as a god."
Chelsea thought for a moment and said:
"Sounds fine, but what kind of 'miracles' will you show? Your material creation ability doesn't seem capable of anything too flashy."
"Hmm... should I try the Five Loaves and Two Fish miracle?"
Souta casually suggested, then quickly shook his head.
Nah, imitating Jesus wasn't that easy.
"Oh, wait! I could spit into a cup and call it Holy Water!"
After all, his saliva had healing properties!
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