Carlyle White.
His nickname was ‘Baldy’.
He was the brother of Sean White, the president of the Sean Chamber of Commerce.
The origin of this nickname was naturally due to the fact that he had lost his beautiful hair at a young age. He now possessed a large, bald head that reflected light until it shone.
It was said that this was because of an alchemy experiment he performed when he was young. In his youthful arrogance, Carlyle had added too much mummy powder into the crucible. This resulted in a massive explosion that burned off all his hair.
He swore that from then on, he would never touch anything related to alchemy again. Having cut off his path as an alchemist, Carlyle became the vice president of the Sean Chamber of Commerce. He managed the chamber alongside his brother, Sean.
However…
The daily interactions between the two brothers were anything but pleasant. Terms like ‘brotherly love’ were far removed from them. Carlyle had always been dissatisfied with his elder brother, Sean.
‘Isn’t that guy Sean just a few years older than me? Does that give him the right to look down on me?’
Consequently, Carlyle opposed him at every turn regarding the chamber’s decision-making.
Carlyle also harbored a secret that no one else knew. In truth, he was a cultist.
In the beginning, Carlyle only wanted to treat his baldness by faith in a Demon God…
But after being a cultist for a few years, he suddenly realized that he had actually become a Bishop!
At this point, someone might ask: How could a mere merchant become a Bishop?
Carlyle would apologetically tell you that it was because he had donated a massive amount of money to the church. Of course, the money was taken from the Sean Chamber of Commerce through falsified accounts…
As long as you were willing to provide funds for the Advent Church’s activities, the church was more than happy to let these generous benefactors take charge of insignificant cities with few cultists, like Ma’en City.
They let you do whatever you wanted. If anything, it was better if you made a mess of things. After all, they were followers of the Hellish Demon Gods. The Demon Gods loved nothing more than chaos and destruction.
And so, Carlyle became the Bishop of the Advent Church’s diocese in Ma’en City…
A few days ago, he sent a subordinate to find Sean to test his brother’s attitude toward the Advent Church. If possible, Carlyle hoped to develop Sean into a member of the Advent Church. That way, he could use his status as a Bishop and his years of seniority as a cultist to lord it over Sean.
One week ago, the subordinate he sent back brought news: if Sean’s request to help him eliminate the Blue Whale Chamber of Commerce was fulfilled, Sean would be willing to join the Advent Church and help pave the way for the advent of the Holy Lord.
Upon hearing this news, Carlyle could not sit still for even a moment.
‘This is great! I must fulfill his request immediately, no matter the cost!’
The thought of that fool Sean bowing his head and respectfully calling him ‘Lord’ made Carlyle’s body tremble uncontrollably. Joy surged from the depths of his heart.
‘My tiny wish is about to be fulfilled!’
To destroy the Blue Whale Chamber of Commerce, he assigned a demon to lie in wait in the wilderness to attack the Blue Whale merchant team that he had lured into a trap. And today was the day he would inspect the results of the operation!
Carlyle opened a hidden compartment under the carriage floor and took out a twisted icon. He placed it respectfully on the table, then knelt devoutly and prayed in a low voice.
‘Come forth! Servant of the Demon God of Wrath, the backbone of the Hellish Legion — the Rage Demon! Tell me, have you completed the task assigned by the church?’
As Carlyle’s prayer ended, a violent tremor shook the earth. A giant, humanoid demon burst forth from underground. This Rage Demon was the strongest force under Carlyle’s command. After attacking the Blue Whale merchant caravan, it had remained hidden beneath the desert, silently waiting for its next assignment.
But after the Rage Demon was summoned, it did not report the mission results to Carlyle immediately. Instead, it turned around and looked at something behind it.
A string of doubts flashed through Carlyle’s mind.
‘What’s going on? You demon, don’t you know to greet the great envoy of God? These new demons really lack manners…’
Immediately after, Carlyle saw two black shadows leap out from behind the Rage Demon. They began hacking away at the demon with reckless abandon.
He focused his gaze and looked closer…
‘What the hell!’
‘It’s the Paladins of the Glimmer Church!’
Alarm and terror instantly washed over his face. Carlyle turned and ran. He bolted into the merchant carriage and scrambled to hide everything related to the cult.
‘O Holy Lord, you must win, Rage Demon!’ he prayed in his heart for the demon fighting out in the wilderness.
A moment later…
“Argh!”
A heaven-shaking scream echoed from outside the carriage. The sounds from the outside world gradually died down. The battle in the wilderness seemed to have ended…
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Carlyle stealthily opened a small window on the carriage. He cast an expectant look outside.
Unfortunately, the Rage Demon he had placed so much hope in now had a massive hole torn through its chest. He watched as the Rage Demon slowly collapsed to its knees. Following a few low wails, the Rage Demon gradually lost its life.
Along with it, Carlyle’s last hope also died.
‘It’s all over! There’s no hope… and I haven’t even… seen the respectful look on Sean’s face… I can’t accept this!’
The light faded from Carlyle’s eyes, leaving him looking like a Living Corpse that had just crawled out of the earth. He slumped down in the carriage, his strength gone. After sitting in a daze for a long while, Carlyle suddenly stood up and slammed his fist into his palm.
In a moment of desperation, he had thought of a brilliant plan.
‘That’s it! Why don’t I just disguise myself as an innocent merchant party being attacked by a demon!’
At that thought, he took a deep breath and tried his best to steady his uneasy heart. At that moment, the sound of a conversation suddenly drifted in from outside the carriage.
“Who is the leader here? Please have him come out.”
“It’s me, it’s me!”
Carlyle quickly pushed open the carriage door and stepped out.
Three figures stood outside. One was a petite girl with black hair wearing a short black skirt. Her face was full of exhaustion, and her arms hung powerlessly at her sides as if she might collapse at any second.
Beside her stood a tall Orc. The armor the Orc wore was stained with large patches of red and was covered in shocking cracks. Yet, he appeared calm and composed, as if the injuries were not his own.
In front of the two was a Paladin. He still held a longsword burning with golden flames tightly in his hand. The Paladin was currently interrogating a surviving merchant guard.
Carlyle’s expression shifted instantly, his face becoming a mask of relief as if he had just survived a disaster.
“May I ask what you need from me, Lord?” Carlyle said with a low, submissive smile.
“We are the Church’s Demon Hunting Squad. I suspect you are involved in cultist activities. Please come with us,” Nolan said, producing a brass badge and showing it to Carlyle.
“Of course, of course! I will definitely cooperate fully!” Carlyle said, patting his chest.
“Ah~ so troublesome~” Vivian let out a dissatisfied groan, murmuring in a sluggish voice. “Why don’t we just treat him as a cultist, kill him directly, and bury him here…”
The effort she had just expended had drained a portion of her strength. Already starving, Vivian was now so hungry that she felt dizzy. She was on the verge of losing her reason and had completely run out of her usual patience.
Just moments ago, Vivian had even taken out the small copper mirror she carried with her. She had used a hypnosis spell on herself to make herself drowsy, all to prevent herself from going on a rampage and hurting others.