"Well, congratulations, Hel. You will now help me subjugate all the inquisitresses below the mid-level Semi-Holy Rank."
Within the church, the inquisition department may not possess an honorable status, but it was a force to be reckoned with. Although looked down upon due to their line of work, inquisitresses wielded non-negligible power and possessed vast resources at their disposal.
Especially in times of wars against the barbarian continent, their standing and power skyrocketed. Not counting the trainees, there were more than two thousand inquisitresses within the church, and among them, more than four hundred at the Transcendent Rank or above.
In particular, the low-level Semi-Saints, Konrad's current targets, added up to fifty and represented more than a fifth of the church's total low-level Semi-Saints.
How could Konrad let go of such a formidable force?
Obviously, subduing them all by tomorrow was a pipe dream. However, even if he could get his hands on five, it was already a victory. After all, the only Semi-Saint currently at his disposal was Wolfgang.
Konrad's ambition took Hel aback. Subduing all the inquisitresses below the mid-level Semi-Holy Rank? Who did he think he was? The god of lust and domination?
"That's impossible."
"It is, of course, possible. However, that depends on your connections."
Konrad waved his hands, causing the two furiously masturbating priestesses to lose consciousness. In the process, he didn't forget to rewire them into slaves.
"How many of those inquisitresses can you gather in one place tonight?"
Hel did a quick calculation before giving her reply.
"I have three good friends I can gather without problems, and three others that would most likely accept an invitation provided that enough incentive is offered."
Although Hel was born from a human concubine, she came from a prominent duke's family and was herself a Semi-Saint. Therefore, her connections weren't shallow. Still, her impure lineage made it difficult to access the higher echelon.
"That's already more than I expected. What level of authority do you need to access the church's treasure vault?"
"That depends on the vault in question. Each department possesses its own vault. The inquisition department's vault requires at least an archbishop level token for full access while the research and faith defending departments require an exarch level token."
The research and faith defending departments were the two most powerful departments of the church. Their wealth was also the highest, and the resources at their disposal added up to three-fifths of the church's. Meanwhile, the inquisition's only added up to one fifth. Still, the loss of that one fifth was enough to make the church bleed.
"Use whatever excuse and incentive you need to gather those six inquisitresses in your quarters, and I will take care of the rest."
"As you wish."
Konrad used the invisibility skill he'd gained from the system to fade from the scene. Although in that form he couldn't use the tiniest bit of spiritual power, even Saints couldn't track him down. Moreover, his bloodline abilities were still available.
Following his order, Hel sent mental messages to the six inquisitresses, asking them to meet within her chambers to discuss an urgent matter regarding the Kracht case, and after offering some benefit to those reluctant to "leave their duties," she left for her chambers alongside Konrad who remained invisible at her side.
…
The six inquisitresses soon gathered within Hel's chambers. Instead of chambers, it was more appropriate to call it a wing for she possessed both a greeting hall to meet the guests and several rooms for her servants as well as abundant space for various activities.
As the six were welcomed in by Hel's servants, they directly moved toward their assigned seats and comfortably sat within.
"Hel said she was worried about the Kracht girl's submission and was having difficulties breaking the Kracht boy."
"Indeed, she wants us to jointly devise a torture regimen to break the boy as soon as possible and discuss additional means to coerce the girl should the need arise."
While the original plan was to have Iliana publicly reject the quota for a chance to join the church, having Konrad, the original quota owner, do it would send a stronger message. However, the church's high-level inferred that Iliana would be easier to break.
"I think our superiors are being overcautious. Why not directly use torture on the girl? We can use methods that leave no external damage to make sure no question arises."
"Sometimes, it is by targeting the loved ones that you obtain the fastest confession. According to her profile, that girl pays enormous attention to kinship. If she didn't, she wouldn't have spent the last decade trying to muster the resources for her cousin's cure. I believe this approach is the best. Don't forget that her father is also under threat."
"You never know, with the once in a lifetime opportunity to reach sainthood, who is to say she won't change her priorities. I say we jointly torture the two of them to maximize our chances. After all, should they not surrender to coercion, we would be at our wit's ends."
If the celestial faction managed to keep the quota, those instrumental to the operation's success were bound to receive great benefits. Therefore, those inquisitresses took the situation to heart.
As they discussed, Hel stepped into the greeting hall.
"Thank you for joining me on such short notice, if the matter weren't of such capital importance, I wouldn't have bothered you."
Hel began while taking the honor seat, she then joined the discussion, and as the seven discussed the most effective ways to make Konrad beg for salvation, he silently moved behind them, using his Dream-Weaver abilities to rewrite their core needs and desires, and turn them into slaves whose entire existences revolved around serving him.
Unbeknown to them, in less than five minutes, they'd gone from ruthless, unfeeling women to docile puppies eager to please their master.
"What we're saying is wrong. I instead think that we should free master and help him evade persecution."
"Right, how could we allow master to suffer such harm? He's been down there for too long already. It's our duty to rescue him."
"Well said, what are we waiting for? Let's immediately go down there to free him and beg for punishment!"
They all agreed, and in unison stood up. Hel found the scene quite disturbing. One moment they were still talking about the best ways to pull out Konrad's guts and the next, they were suddenly eager to rescue him?
Even calling him master?
What the hell was going on? Then Konrad made some adjustments to her mind, and she realized that serving him was the primal duty of all women in the world. Of course, those inquisitresses were no different.
Why should they be?
Before the loyal inquisitresses could make another move, Konrad appeared out of thin air, standing right in the middle of them. As soon as they saw his face, although they were meeting him for the very first time, they still unceremoniously dropped onto their knees.
"Greetings, master!"
They exclaimed, not caring about how he escaped captivity. After all, as the master, he was an omnipotent existence. Surely, escaping a torture dungeon wasn't that challenging.
And seeing the depth of his Dream-Weaver powers, Konrad was a tad bit terrified.
