"The Goddess told me that Lundan is too filthy, where evil runs rampant, criminals gather in droves, and the already unfair world further degenerates. It’s less a realm of humankind, more akin to Hell."
Wayne lowered his head and glanced at Ah Bo: "A few days ago, I awakened my servant on the banks of the Themes River. He was an upright and fearless Lundan Police Officer in life, killed for exposing certain injustices..."
"After he awoke, he continued to fight against evil, successfully thwarting... Justice was promoted, sins were punished, and the unbalanced scales of injustice were slightly evened."
"The Goddess’s Divine Decree is fairness. As believers of the Goddess, you must always carry out this concept. Any act of bullying the weak or exploiting power for personal gain is a desecration of the deities. You must not only constrain yourselves but also supervise others..."
"The Goddess requires you to establish new bases in Lundan’s five districts, creating an organization open to the public, to help them attain the fairness they deserve. Justice can be delayed, but it must never be absent."
As Wayne slowly articulated these words, the believers gaped in amazement, and the guests were dumbfounded, questioning if they had misheard.
Take, for example, the Asylum Director Plunk, hidden within the Dark Church faction; he believed the Death Knight had gone mad, quite seriously at that.
Wayne’s Glamor Lady teacher felt similarly. Hefei looked on in utter shock, hearing such radical doctrine for the first time. Although well-intended, it begged the question... what does this have to do with Death?
With all this idle effort and resources wasted, they might as well focus on expanding their flock. After all, there are only a handful of the Goddess of Death’s followers in Lundan. No matter how hard they worked, it was impossible...
Upon this realization, Hefei felt a sudden pang of understanding.
At first glance, the Divine Decree relayed by the Death Knight seemed inane, nothing but grand empty words, fraught with difficulties in execution and unlikely to succeed due to opposition from all sides.
But on second thought, it could also be a cunning method to draw in believers.
People yearn for light and thirst for justice. If the Death Knight manages to make even a small achievement, the Goddess of Death’s reputation in Lundan will take a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. People might not believe, but they won’t permit others to slander the fairness and justice associated with Death.
Success or failure is not important. What matters is that the followers of Death attempted it!
Hefei’s heart raced with cold sweat, realizing the sinister intentions of the Death Knight, and internally lamented the complexity of the situation.
True to his reputation as the well-established Death Knight, his manipulation of human hearts is indeed formidable.
Hefei couldn’t believe the Death Knight had honest intentions. The initial cleansing was surely for the sake of a large-scale sacrifice later on. Retreating ten thousand steps, this was a blatant strategy – using goodwill to deceive the public and raise prestige to the peak, thereby expelling other faiths from Lundan.
Plunk: The Death Knight has truly gone mad!
A stern shout interrupted Wayne as a middle-aged man in a white robe from the Heavenly Father’s Court faction stepped forward. He was the Archbishop of the Lundan area and unapologetically declared: "I’m not sure if what the Knight speaks is truly the Goddess of Death’s Divine Decree, but I do know that the mortal world has its own laws. All churches have signed a pact, and we cannot interfere with the world using our powers willy-nilly. That is true fairness."
"As far as I know, the Heavenly Father’s Court was once the greatest contributor to the world’s injustices. You’ve held all high powers, and the Papal State stands as the prime example of this. If you hadn’t interfered, the Papal State would have adopted constitutional monarchy long ago." Wayne scoffed sarcastically.
The Archbishop’s eyes twitched. While true in principle, the Papal State had its own hardships with great responsibilities and complexities.
Besides, the Papal State has been quite restrained. The current Pope is indeed considering the separation of church and state. With the tide of the era rolling in, even the Heavenly Father’s Court must evolve.
Mentioning the pact, the upper echelons of the several present churches were well aware; too intense a conflict drained everyone involved. They moved the open struggle to the shadows, waiting until the accumulation of power reached a certain level, or friction escalated to its peak, to ignite another grand war of faith.
"I came to Lundan for only three things: fairness, fairness, and damn it, fairness!"
Wayne taunted the Archbishop and then addressed the believers: "You must try your utmost to maintain fairness, adhering to the requirements of the pact, without employing extraordinary powers. If you face insurmountable resistance and cannot achieve fairness, seek my servant. If he can’t handle it, he will come to me."
Afterwards, he surveyed the believers: "Any other questions?"
The believers exchanged looks, full of doubts. Finally, one stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said: "Knight Lord, we trust you, but... is this really a Divine Decree from the Goddess?"
"What, do you think you understand Death better than I do?"
Of course not, after all, you’re actually dead.
"The wisdom of mortals cannot fathom the Goddess’s Divine Decree. I won’t blame you, but don’t keep displaying your ignorance before me. Go forth, follow the Divine Decree, and time will prove everything." Wayne ordered.
And with that, his words were not mere talk. He could say with responsibility that, though the Divine Decree was feigned, Death is nonetheless peaceful and fair.
Such insight stemmed from his understanding of Death. To quote the warning motto of the Nelson Family: a wife is best when belongs to another, children are sweetest when your own.
Deities are neither inherently good nor evil. Each has dual aspects, and it all depends on the believer’s interpretation. Wayne found tranquility and fairness in Death. As a Death Knight, he declared it a Divine Decree, and so it is.