The sacred right side of a certain manga Chapter 019

The seventh Campione has appeared.

According to the ‘King’ himself, his name is Roy Crowley. After investigating all individuals worldwide with the same name, no past records of the new King were found, suggesting it might be an alias.

The first person to witness the new King was a magician from the Greenwich Council of Sages, who encountered him on Mount Moriah, the heart of ancient Jerusalem.

Based on discoveries made during an investigation of the area around Mount Moriah, within a secret Jewish mystical society’s magical workshop in Israel, it is speculated that the god slain by the new King was the Archangel Michael.

Michael, the most renowned archangel in the Abrahamic religions, is mentioned in religious texts such as the Tanakh, the New Testament, and the Quran. He stands at the right hand of God, renowned for his meritorious deeds, symbolized by ‘fire’. He is the supreme commander of the angelic army, the angel of ‘victory and war’, and the only angel to hold the title of Archangel.

Due to Michael’s shining achievements, the new King’s acquired authorities cannot be speculated upon.

(Note: Under no circumstances should the new King’s authorities be probed. He is one of the Demon Kings who stands above us.)

— Greenwich Council of Sages’ Investigation Report on the Seventh Campione, Roy Crowley

…

Vatican City, in the northwest corner of Rome, Italy, is the stronghold of Christianity.

Roy sat in the Vatican Library of the Roman Curia, perusing the various secrets and magical texts accumulated by Christianity over two millennia. As the heart of the most famous Christian religion in the world, the Vatican has collected books of knowledge unimaginable to other magical societies and organizations.

“Among the other six Campiones besides myself, there are magicians, but none have dedicated their entire lives to the magical arts. Some Campiones even came from humble backgrounds, accomplishing their great feat of god-slaying purely by chance.”

“…While this proves the saying ‘the highest-ranking magician is not necessarily a Campione; the relationship between magicians and Campiones is merely superficial,’ it also indirectly proves that Campiones are a bunch of ignorant fools, a bunch of shortsighted idiots!”

Roy closed the book in his hand, speaking with a hint of mockery.

He wore a red cardinal’s robe, with a silver cross on his chest. This cardinal’s robe was extremely luxurious, woven with gold and silver threads, imbued with mysterious runes symbolizing Christianity, and even adorned with meticulously micro-carved mythical stories from the Bible in intricate detail.

This cardinal’s robe was specially designed with a pouch woven from holy shroud on the right side of his body. Roy usually kept his right hand in this pouch, using the properties of the holy shroud to conceal the anomaly on his right hand. This cardinal’s robe also gave Roy a more charlatan-like demeanor.

“However, I can understand the thoughts of those Campiones. No matter how much knowledge these mortals learn, they cannot contend with Disobedient Gods. Therefore, they treat this magical knowledge as useless dross, unaware that even Pandora’s Dark Ritual is merely a sufficiently complex grand magical ritual involving the essence of this world.”

Roy seemed to be talking to himself, but he was actually chatting with Aiwass, who was behind him. Although Aiwass was not a good conversationalist – the ‘Holy Guardian Angel’ could be a bit sharp-tongued at times and didn’t much care for constant talking, preferring to observe as a bystander.

After leaving Jerusalem in Israel, Roy unhesitatingly marched all the way to Rome, Vatican City. He had expected the Vatican, as the two-thousand-year-old stronghold of Christianity, to resolutely refuse to surrender. Roy had even prepared to use force to compel their submission.

However, the actual situation somewhat exceeded Roy’s expectations. Upon learning Roy’s identity, the Vatican Curia not only offered no resistance but immediately revered him. Especially upon learning that the god Roy had slain was Michael, these church personnel shamelessly bestowed upon him the title of ‘Holy Son’.

It was only then that Roy fully understood the status Campiones held in this world. For magical societies, pledging allegiance to a Campione was not an insult but an honor, even for a religion as large as Christianity.

Christianity in this world was not as powerful as imagined, simply because of the existence of Disobedient Gods. For the ‘monotheism’ of Christian doctrine, the existence of Disobedient Gods was the greatest blow to its tenets, especially since those pagan Disobedient Gods were incredibly powerful. Even if Christianity poured all its resources into it, it could not defeat even one of them. Only Campiones could fight against Disobedient Gods.

In such circumstances, with a Campione willing to protect them, the Christian internal certainly willing, especially since the authority Roy wielded belonged to the holy Archangel Michael, not some pagan god. For Christianity, this was undoubtedly the Lord’s blessing.

Because Christianity possessed too much information and knowledge, they were even more aware of the irresistibility and power of Campiones. After Roy, as the ‘Holy Son,’ reigned over Christianity, he also learned some secrets.

For instance, about two hundred years ago, the oldest Campione, Marquis Voban, had caused a great disturbance in the Vatican. If he hadn’t left out of boredom, finding nothing useful to him as a Campione in the Vatican, it’s possible the Vatican would have been destroyed two hundred years ago.

This shows how tragic it is for organizations without Campione protection in this world, especially large organizations like Christianity. They can only act with extreme caution, fearing they might inadvertently offend a Demon King.

Footsteps echoed in the quiet library. Roy sat on a luxurious chair in the library, putting down the book in his left hand. He looked up at the warm sunlight streaming through the transparent glass roof of the library, and said rather languidly, “…Is something the matter?”

This library was Roy’s favorite place to be, so no one would dare disturb him here unless it was an important matter.

“Holy Son, there is news of the heretical Archangel Metatron.”

The newcomer was a young cleric. He dared not look up at Roy on the steps, merely standing respectfully at the boundary between dappled sunlight and shadow.

“Oh? Where is Metatron?”

Hearing the good news, Roy stood up from his chair and turned around, asking from his elevated position.

Christianity was indeed worthy of being the religion with the most followers; its intelligence sources were abundant. If Roy had to find Metatron himself, he might never find him, but by utilizing the power of Christianity, he had news of that Disobedient God within days.

“Reporting, Holy Son, according to intelligence sources, the heretical Metatron has been found within Italian territory.”

The young cleric quickly said.

“Ha, how audacious! The highest angel of Judaism dares to come to the land of strongest Christian faith.”

Roy scoffed, then continued, “…Just tell me the exact location. Italy is vast; that’s not the answer I want.”

“This…”

Cold sweat appeared on the cleric’s forehead, his face filled with trepidation, even fear.

Campiones generally had extreme personalities, and the ‘Holy Son’ before him embodied the words Campione and Demon King to the fullest, acting with utmost capriciousness and without any taboos.

This was Roy’s greatest principle of conduct: always act in a manner befitting his identity. If he were a magician, he would hold himself to a magician’s standards. Now that he was a Campione, he naturally used a Campione’s behavior as his guide.

“No need to be afraid. I am not a demon from hell. As long as you can give me a satisfactory reason, I will not vent my anger on you.”

Roy’s comforting words did not reassure the cleric. ‘Capriciousness’ was also one of the labels of a Campione. In fact, this cleric felt that his ‘Holy Son’ was somewhat similar to the king of all Demon Kings, the oldest Campione, Marquis Voban.

“Although the Vatican is located within Rome, the most powerful force in Italy is the magical society alliance known as the ‘Seven Sisters.’ If you wish to know Metatron’s exact location, you may need to utilize the power of the ‘Seven Sisters.’ The Curia only knows that Metatron is currently in Italy, but cannot pinpoint the exact location.”

Roy frowned. This was the most troublesome aspect of Christianity in this world. Although its influence was far-reaching, its depth of influence within each country was insufficient. Because there were too many magical societies in this world, a strong dragon found it hard to overpower a local snake.

“Since the ‘Seven Sisters’ can find Metatron for me, then go and notify them. Tell them to come and see me.”

“This…”

The cleric wanted to say something more, but when he looked up and saw Roy’s eerily calm double pupils, he immediately swallowed his words and replied, “…Yes, Holy Son! I will go and notify the ‘Seven Sisters’ now.”