The Martial Unity

His response shocked his peers.

None of them, not even Sage Sariawar, had expected him to openly defy who they had all accepted as the Antithesis in their hearts.

“…Heresy!” Sage Kair, who originally pledged loyalty to Rui, spat with contempt.

“This is sacrilege!”

“How dare you defy Lord Virodhabhasa?!”

And yet, none of them put their money where their mouths were to attempt to use force against him, gazing at him warily.

Martial Pontifex Sage Mahamel, known as the Reverser.

A powerful peak Sage with a counter-offensive Martial Art.

Attacking him was nothing short of self-harm. “You may or may not be the Antithesis.” His words were calm and composed. “And yet, even if you are truly Lord Virodhabhasa… you have not reached the promised state of divinity yet. Far from it. You are merely a Godling in your current state. You cannot deliver us from this apocalypse singlehandedly. And thus, you are not entitled to the Divine Authority that the Antithesis is bestowed with. Not yet.”

Rui glared at the man with frustration.

This was why he hated the Virodhabhasa Faith.

Their irrational nonsense was not only irritating, but it impeded him at every turn he had ever interacted with this annoying religion.

Why couldn’t they just apply common sense and understand that the rational and sensible Solution of Harmony that his father had proposed was the only way to save human civilization from the Beast Incursion?

He didn’t know why, and he had long given up on trying to make them see reason. He was sure that his father had tried everything possible. The fact that it was still not solved by the time he arrived at the Virodhabhasa Theocracy meant that all of his attempts had failed.

The worst part was that the one person that Rui needed the most was the one person who was least willing to help. The problem of the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters was one that was supposed to be led by the peak Sages. For only they were equipped to lead such a dangerous and perilous attack.

Just like how ordinary Masters could not deal with the more powerful quasi-Sage beasts, the same was true for Sages and quasi-Transcendent beasts. He needed peak Sages in particular to join the attack, otherwise it would still lead to problems.

In fact, it was potentially even worse. Sages without a peak Sage were much likelier to suffer heavy losses. In that regard, the Republic of Gorteau was the one that was in the greatest jeopardy, though there was nothing he could have done in that case due to the fact that the nation had simply lost its peak Sage at the hands of the Devil.

“…What the hell do you want from me?” Rui’s tone was tired and exhausted. “What will it take to get you to, for once, act with some rationality?”

He let his real feelings on this whole affair slip.

Fortunately, the Martial Pontifex was not as unreasonable as he seemed.

“I answer to two authorities at this moment.”

His words were clear.

“One is the Antithesis, in his true Divine form where he has the mandate of my absolute loyalty.”

He uttered those words pointedly, reminding Rui of why he refused to submit to him. “And the other is the Transcendent Prophet.”

“Then…” Rui’s eyes lit up with a hint of optimism.

“I offer you one compromise,” the Martial Pontifex continued as his powerful eyes peered into the depths of Rui’s. “Obtain the acknowledgment and approval of the Transcendent Prophet, and I will submit to you.”

Rui’s eyes widened with shock. “You mean…”

The Martial Pontifex gestured to a distant mountain obscured by clouds.

Rui understood what he meant.

Mt. Virodha was the mountain upon which the Martial Transcendent had been enlightened upon his prophecies delivered unto him by the world after he broke through to the Transcendent Realm. He remained atop the mountain forever.

His followers formed settlements, a village, a town, and eventually, a nation around the mountain.

This became the Virodhabhasa Theocracy.

“The Transcendent Prophet will be able to discern whether or not you will go on to become a full-fledged God,” the Martial Pontifex continued with a calm and composed expression. “If you earn his approval, then I will know that I am making the right choice for this nation, my people, and this world by submitting to you.”

Rui fell into thought with a severe expression as he contemplated the ultimatum that the Martial Pontifex gave him.

He was in a pickle.

He was confident that he could dazzle Sages with his breakthroughs and Hellbringer, but he had absolutely no idea if he could impress a Martial Transcendent. The worst part was whether the Martial Transcendent would see through his trickery and realize that he was simply pretending to be the Antithesis.

Surely, a Martial Transcendent would not be so easy to deceive.

On the other hand, it was this fellow who started the religion in the first place. It was entirely possible that he was the most delusional of them all, making him especially vulnerable to Rui’s Antithesis pretense.

Still, he found it hard to believe he could get away with fooling Martial Transcendent.

Perhaps his only relief was that he wouldn’t die since Transcendents almost never moved.

However, if the Transcendent exposed him for simply deceiving him, then it was possible that he would lose all the Sages he had converted into his believers, undoing everything he had worked for in not just this nation, but also other nations prior.

The consequences of failure and fiasco were high. And yet, what choice did he have?

He needed to get this done, or else the entire mission and humanity’s survival could be destroyed; in the worst case, he would just hear to beg the old Transcendent to recognize his ‘Divinity’ for the sake of the world so that he could these crazy Sages to partake in the Solution of Harmony.

“Fine.”

Rui’s tone was defiant.

His eyes blazed with determination as he gazed at Mt. Virodha.

“I accept your ultimatum.”

An air tingled with tension.

The fate of the Virodhabhasa Theocracy and the fate of the world were to be decided by the outcome of this sacred convention.

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