Lowly Ascent

With his newest puppet behind him, Cain navigated through the city's streets. He repeatedly needed to ask Xavier for help in locating the building his subordinates were staying in.

After searching for a while, the pair found it. The building had six floors. Each floor belonged to the inn, with the first floor acting as a bar and the rest as rooms for clientele to stay in.

Upon entering this fine establishment, Cain could easily see his people as they were taking up half the bar.

A group of people in cloaks was drinking and eating like it was a buffet. Never-ending food came to their table, and they inhaled it at an even faster speed. This wasn't surprising. This group was composed of the best of the best, 4th generation super soldiers created by Yonio's virus.

These man-made soldiers had almost unlimited stamina and even recovery abilities close to Cain's. Each of them was a highly trained killing machine who could kill hundreds without breaking a sweat. However, even so, the virus was still not perfected and susceptible to 'burnouts' when the body was overused.

With this limitation holding back a mass-produced army, the Church used them as expendable soldiers. Each one of them was an orphan who became a fanatic under the Lord's grace, making them extremely useful for tasks like guarding Cain.

Seeing their God enter the building, the group reacted happily and excitedly. They swarmed Cain and his puppet as if they were curious children.

"Lord, who is that?"

"Lord, how was your trip?"

"Lord, will you drink and eat with us?"

Cain was bombarded with questions by tens of men at once. It wasn't anything annoying, but it was a hassle to get them to calm down.

"Calm down. Calm down. This is Xavier. He will be coming with us to some ruins to explore and decipher some information I need. We will be departing for these ruins tomorrow, that's all."

Quieting down, Cain walked past the crowd and talked to the manager overseeing his group's feast.

"How much is the bill, as well as the rooms for our stay?"

The man scoffed, "Pay? These thugs came in here and treated the place like it was theirs! You have to pay not just for the food but for the damage they caused!"

Cain looked around, confused, and returned his gaze to the man in front of him. "I don't see any damage, just some rearranged tables with empty plates and glasses. What damages are you talking about?"

The man's face turned beet red as he screamed in Cain's face, getting spit and slobber all over his clothes. "Not physical, you dunce! They made a racket which caused other customers to leave and avoid my establishment!"

Realizing what was going on, Cain put on a nice smile and apologized. "Ah, I see. I didn't know they caused such a commotion. A commotion that should usually be expected with big groups. I apologize for ruining your day. I hope this can make it up to you."

Cain then took his hand and plunged it through the manager's neck. All that could exit the manager was bubbling blood and gurgles. An astonished look on the man's face appeared as he died.

"Hehehe, the Lord seems to know how to have fun!"

Cain turned around and looked at his men with bloodlust, his eyes beaming with malicious intent. "Kill everyone in this building, make a commotion. I still need to meet the leader of this city."

With that, the faces of these cheerful people turned vicious as they quickly moved into the deeper parts of the building. As per Cain's orders, they caused a ruckus.

Pleas for help and bloodcurdling screams rang through the building as passersby stopped and looked for the origin of the noise.

Blood seeped through the windows, and some bodies hung or leaned on them. Seeing such a scene, many people's faces turned shocked. People ran away, and a small few went to contact the local authorities.

Cain sat down in a chair at the bar. He waited for the one in charge of this place to meet with him, even if he had to make the streets of the city rivers of blood.

He didn't have to wait long as soon the building was surrounded by knights.

The crests on the knights were foreign to Cain, but he knew that the group that kicked out his church was called the Order of Truth Seekers, which was probably these people.

He was surprised to hear about such an order. Most people choose to live in ignorance and refuse to seek truth which makes them a rare sight.

A small group entered the building, and the knights followed behind a woman in silk clothes with red hair.

Cain was astonished to see the woman. "Hahaha, who knew it was you in control of this place! I must say I'm quite interested in this order you made."

Alex already knew it was Cain that did this, she had long prepared for it.

"I control nothing here. I let the people act freely as long as they do not harm others."

"Now, now, we both know that's not true. If you really let people act freely, even if they didn't harm others, this place wouldn't be the city it is now. People need rules to bind them; otherwise, they act out of control. If you set no limits, people will keep testing if they're really there."

Alex frowned. "Why did you kill these people? They did nothing."

"They did, but that's not what's important. I want to know if your group truly seeks truth. It's a hard and arduous path. So how come this place seems to advocate truth? Within the depths of their fears, people often shy away from the truth, seeking solace in ignorance."

Alex tried to speak, but Cain just spoke over her.

"Truth is unyielding, demanding resolve to face, all while ignorance is like a sweet lullaby. I bear no grudge against the blissfully ignorant. But those who embrace ignorance are compelled to impose it upon others, stifling the voices of those who chase the cold hard truth. Which is why it is hard for me to believe you lead an order that seeks truth, as I fear what you truly seek in reality is not the truth at all."

Cain's voice and argument were compelling. Among Alex's men, memories surfaced of instances of themselves snuffing out the truth due to ignorance and complacency.

A childhood friend finding a quicker way to cook food only to have the recipe destroyed, an old classmate wearing their clothes differently only to be made fun of, a friend speaking of a different worldview only to be brutally beaten.

All these people were silenced by the majority, and although minor, it was already enough proof to show the existence of ignorance in everyday life.

If someone acted differently than the majority, they were shunned or 'corrected' for acting that way.

Many of Alex's people began to feel unworthy of their title as those who seek truth. When they themselves once silenced someone seeking it. Cain's words hit them in the heart, and their morale was shaken by only a few sentences.

Alex ignored this and stared Cain in the eyes. "So do you seek truth? You clearly only seek destruction."