After Lili left, Lucius finally had his well-deserved moment of silence.
He was about to indulge in his own thoughts, coming up with a few plans while arriving at several conclusions regarding the direction he wanted to take as the new overlord of a Cult he barely understood.
Of course, to effectively function as a leader, he had to understand how the belief system of the Cult worked.
To do that, he needed information.
'Unfortunately, these people don't have a bible or some sacred book that I can read to understand their worldview.' He sighed aloud.
When he asked Lili for one, she told him something along the lines of—
"We do not believe in the inscribing of such sacred words on mundane pieces of paper. Rather, we engrave your teachings in our minds and tie it to the very fabric of our souls."
Lucius immediately called bullshit on that, though he didn't tell her.
'Just admit you're too broke to afford a proper book to write on.' He shook his head. 'The Printing Press doesn't exist yet, so books—even blank ones—must be crazily expensive.'
The Cult could have used stone slabs, or some other method, though… so perhaps they indeed believed the nonsense Lili told him about engraving his words in the fabric of their souls. All of that was still very shady to him, though.
'After all, it's easy to manipulate oral traditions, since they're incorporeal and heavily subject to interpretation.'
The human mind could be deceptive as well as fragile. Someone could be gaslighted into remembering certain events in a different way from how they took place, or to even completely forget about others.
'As long as Lili holds the position of authority in the Cult, as long as she's not careless, it's possible for her to twist the perceptions of the followers using the supposed 'word' of Lord Mors.' Lucius smiled.
'It's not so bad for me either, actually…'
Since there was no written word to be contradicted, he could just bullshit his way through almost anything. He had the authority to do so.
"Lord Mors, I am back." Lili's voice suddenly echoed through the creaking wood that was his door, causing him to raise his head a little.
'So fast…'
It hadn't even been up to an hour since he sent her on an errand, and yet she was already done with it. He couldn't help but admire, but also slightly resent how efficient the Cult Leader was at her job.
"Come in." He spoke softly, though his voice was loud enough for her to hear.
~CREAK~
"I am humbled to be in your presence."
Lili bowed as she approached him, once again stopping a few meters from his bed and kneeling.
"So, is everyone ready?" Lucius asked, moving past the pleasantries.
"Yes, Lord Mors." Lili answered very sharply. "Legion and Luca are waiting for you in the conference room."
He nodded upon hearing that.
The errand he had sent her on was to gather those two, as well as organize the rest of his followers in the compound, since he was going to address them once he was done with the meeting.
Of course, this seemed like a simple task, but only without factoring in the condition he gave her regarding letting the workers finish their tasks before telling them to gather. Since, according to Lili's words, the Headquarters was going through renovation, Lucius assumed that it would take time for everyone to be done with their task.
How could he have foreseen this outcome?
"Well… let's not keep them waiting, shall we?" He rose from his bed, instantly generating sandals on his bare feet just from a single thought.
The footwear was pitch black, same as the shirt, trouser and long cloak he created upon standing upright. The bed-wear that previously covered his body vanished into the darkness, replaced by his new aesthetic.
Lucius looked in Lili's direction and found her staring at him with sheer admiration. Her cheeks were flushed with bright pink and her eyes seemed to sparkle.
"How do I look?" He couldn't help but ask after noticing her silent approval.
"Magnificent, my Lord!" She exclaimed, clasping both hands together. "You look magnificent!"
"Is that so…?"
"Indeed!"
"...." Lucius didn't say anything for a while, instead suppressing the proud smile that tugged at his lips.
"Let's go!" He flapped his coat, treating it as a cape as he turned towards the door.
He could hear Lili's cooing sound, and for a moment… he felt rather cool. This was something he had always wanted to do—and he was glad to see it was well-received.
********
"By the way, Lili… what do you know about this?"
Lucius and the faithful Cult Leader walked in the empty and narrow hallway until he brought forth something from the darkness that clung to him.
This was a new trick that he somehow learned—the ability to keep and retrieve items in some sort of special space that existed in another dimension. Anytime he activated the ability, it seemed like he was pulling the item from a thin layer of darkness.
The same thing occurred when he brought out this weapon to show Lili.
It was a lightly glowing sword still in its scabbard.
"T-this is…" Lili whispered as she observed the Blessed Weapon that was in his grasp. "... A Blessed Weapon?!"
Her eyes widened as she saw it.
"Lord Mors, you can not hold that!" She made to reach out for the sword, but hesitated and stopped halfway.
'Whoa! She's never reacted that way before…' Lucius was slightly taken aback by Lili's frantic behavior. 'As expected, this thing must be able to harm me…'
He had been tempted to cut himself with the blade, but the aversion he felt towards the item made him decide against it.
What if a single cut caused irreparable damage? What if he couldn't heal from said damage?
It was best not to take any chances.
"Forgive me for my impudence, Lord Mors. I-I… didn't mean to raise my voice…" Lili said in a whimper, clearly remorseful for her spontaneous actions.
Lucius knew her outburst was only because she cared about him, but he was also aware that he had to play the role of a superior who didn't tolerate any form of disrespect or defiance.
"Hmph. As long as you understand…"
"..."
Lili's troubled face would have made Lucius feel guilty if he was human, but from where he stood, she just seemed like a wounded animal.
It was adorable.
After watching her sulk for a few more seconds, he finally decided to intervene.
"Here." He handed over the weapon to her. "Now speak."
As the Blessed Weapon fell into her hands, she looked at him with a mix of shock and relief.
'Is she surprised that I handed her a weapon that can hurt me? Well… if she makes any sudden moves, I can just kill her quickly before she attacks me.' Lucius still remembered how he killed the Knight who tried the same thing.
'Besides, she's the Cult Leader. If there's anyone I should be able to trust… It's her.'
"Thank you for your trust… and your forgiveness." She bowed her head once more. "This Weapon is harmful to Lord Mors, since it contains Holy Power… and it can not be wielded by an entity like yourself."
"An entity like myself?"
"As you already know, you are a Principality, Lord Mors… a being fallen from Divinity—hence you are vulnerable to the Holy Power that courses through weapons such as this."
'I see… I see.' Lucius pretended as if this wasn't all new information, maintaining his poker face.
"This Blessed Weapon seems quite lacking in Holy Power too, so it must be a defective or low-ranked one."
'I guess that's why I only felt slight heat and not pain.' He thought, looking at the faintly glowing thing. 'I won't let my guard down when I encounter stuff like this in the future.'
Fortunately, he had a special sense that alerted him of danger.
That was why he didn't feel any form of aversion when the regular soldiers attacked him with normal blades but was instantly alerted when he was in the presence of the Knight who had the Blessed Weapon.
'Now that I know what it is, and what it can do…' Lucius stretched out his hand towards the sheathed weapon still trapped in Lili's grasp.
"L-Lord Mors…!"
Completely ignoring her words, he reached for the item and touched it with his index finger.
Then, he activated [Death Touch].
~FSHUUUU!~
Instantly, his corrupted energy spread through the weapon and rapidly infected its every crevice.
Within a few seconds, the weapon showed signs of decay—rust and black veins appearing all around its silvery white surface.
A few seconds more, and it was destroyed.
'Looks like it takes longer to destroy a Blessed Weapon with [Death Touch]' Lucius's thoughts flowed as he watched the whole thing crumble into dust and float away.
He observed Lili's stunned face and smiled.
"Do you disapprove?"
"N-no! Not at all, Lord Mors!" She responded, a bright smile now forming on her face.
'Looks like destroying it was the right course of action…' He told himself. 'I can't allow a weapon that can hurt me to be roaming around, even if it's with Lili, and I know she'll be overly concerned if I keep it in my possession.'
In essence, eliminating the item was the only reasonable option.
'It's a shame, though. I wanted to study it a little more.' From Lili's reaction to the Blessed Weapon, it didn't seem like he would be able to control it.
Still, it was worth trying out, right?
'Maybe another chance will come. Hopefully, I know a lot more than I currently do…'
For now, he had to focus on other more urgent matters.
"Let's go, Lili." He turned away and kept walking down the dark and dreary path before him, and Lili scrambled on her feet in order to keep up with his flowing cape.
He couldn't see her face anymore, but there was no doubt that she was beaming.
"Yes, Lord Mors!"