I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 600 (Patreon)

Chapter 600: The Marvelous Uses of Simulated Divinity and Clerical Deceit

On an autumn day at the Royal Magic Academy in the Eternal Star City, Jonny, now a tutor, looked up from her book into the azure sky, a spectacular sight framed by the beautiful evening glow.

A massive silver chain flowed across the heavens, seemingly splitting the sky in half. Under the effect of the "Far Sight" spell, Jonny could clearly see the mechanical beauty of the massive curtain and the continuously flowing runes of magic above it.

This enormous celestial construct had been under construction since three years ago and was now nearly complete. Its purpose, however, was a topic of much debate within the council.

Some wizards believed these ring-like structures were personal abodes built by the Star of Magic herself, palaces meant to assert her uniqueness and greatness high above the skies. This theory was hardly plausible, as from any angle, these structures did not appear to be dwellings.

Thus, many alchemists speculated that the council intended to establish a vast global electromagnetic rail system, with endless electricity cascading from the heavens in the future!

Jonny herself was unclear about the reasons, as she had long left the inner circles of her school.

Although she had reached the limit of a Third-Ring Wizard in her twenties, just waiting for a slot to access the Magic Web to promote to a Grand Wizard, her prowess was already exceptional. However, the situation had since changed drastically.

Previously rare, wizards capable of serving as high-end combat forces for a kingdom were now emerging in great numbers like radishes. Today, those who had successfully broken through to Grand Wizard exceeded a thousand.

These new Grand Wizards were not even sure to be elected as council members, as rigorous selections were required.

Jonny was well aware of her own talents, which were commendable but not among the top tier, making it hard for her to provide much assistance.

However, in today's Magic Kingdom, everyone could shine if they wished. Jonny chose to stay in education, sharing novel and interesting knowledge, which she found most fulfilling.

A gentle smile played on Jonny's lips when suddenly, a hand lightly tapped her shoulder.

Startled, the witch shuddered and, cursing her lowered guard, swiftly turned her head to find it was her friend Debra who had touched her.

"Jonny, did you see the movie the other day? Dave was so clever, managing to sneak twenty apprentices right under the nose of a cardinal and even making the local lord question his faith in the false gods..." Debra chirped excitedly about the movie's plot, her face flushed with excitement and still not fully recovered from the thrilling scenes.

Being raised in the Land of Wizards, Debra was not very familiar with the kingdom's history or particularly interested in the disputes between wizards and the church. But the movie had opened her eyes to the malevolence of those involved.

The clergy, along with the nobility, not only enslaved the poor but also fabricated the so-called heaven, which was actually using the souls of the faithful as nourishment for their god!

During the movie, Debra felt righteously indignant, wishing she could jump in and fight alongside Dave with her magic until Dave finally avenged his fiancée, which somewhat eased her mind.

Her anticipation for the sequel was even greater now, having heard that it would involve the Star of Magic!

But with several months to go before the next film's release, Debra could hardly wait and turned to Jonny, the only one she thought might know anything!

Jonny sighed in resignation; since last night, many had asked her the same question, but in truth, she knew nothing and had to repeat the same fabricated story she and Lynn had agreed upon nearly a thousand times, even beginning to doubt its veracity herself. By now, probably no one believed that the famed Star of Magic had been just a wizard apprentice who had studied magic for only six months during her time in the empire.

Jonny's thoughts drifted further, recalling the days of her escape from the empire, the deceased Kent, Bax, the White Dove, and their teacher, Coru.

After the council's counterattack against the empire, Jonny had sought news of her teacher, only to sadly learn that Coru had been burned at the stake in front of a crowd of faithful followers in the Holy City...

A slight melancholy enveloped Jonny, but it quickly dissipated as the dark reign of the church had ended, and no one would be burned at the stake for pursuing knowledge anymore...

As Jonny and Debra recounted past events, "Dave's Story II: The Secret of the Moon God" was stirring up a storm throughout the kingdom, with the lead actor suddenly becoming the hottest figure in the Magic Kingdom.

The plot of the movie caused a huge uproar for its exciting storyline and revealing the true nature of faith: the so-called heaven of the Moon God was actually a complete scam!

All the poor who believed in

 the Moon God would have their souls stored after death to nourish the ascent of a false god...

With the first movie laying the groundwork, Dave's experiences resonated with the masses, and the sequel's reveal had an unexpectedly positive effect, especially since most commoners, limited in their understanding of sophisticated acts such as acting, took the events as truly happening before them. The sinister faces of the priests and bishops were displayed vividly, and the horrifying soul sacrifice rituals undeniably sparked widespread panic among the kingdom's poor.

Some peasants, still clinging to the habit of prayer in private, rushed home in terror to smash the statues of the Moon God they had secretly worshipped, even crying out for the wizards to save their souls.

Meanwhile, the council's wizards had already prepared baptismal potions. These potions were not miraculous enough to erase beliefs outright, and these shallow believers did not need psychological therapy.

The potions had two effects: promoting physical health and invigorating the spirit, but only after experiencing intense pain.

This was a small benefit but also a punishment, as suffering taught a lasting lesson.

Anti-faith became the mainstream in the kingdom, targeting remnants of the church on one hand and preventing malicious wizards from replicating Aila's divine ascension method on the other.

This was not baseless speculation; over the years, the council had arrested many wizards attempting to turn back history, either to enhance their powers due to inadequate talents or out of a delusional ambition to become gods.

However, as the council's control over the kingdom strengthened and the Magic Web became widespread, the number of wizards taking such risks decreased significantly.

As "Dave's Story II" swept through the kingdom, the council also issued orders to round up followers of the Moon God.

Thanks to prior arrangements, this was essentially a dragnet operation to cleanse the kingdom of any church and noble remnants trying to cause trouble.

Tirral and others, outraged and frightened by the airing of "Dave's Story," had no time to plan their next steps before being arrested en masse. A group that had just established a musket workshop saw it immediately nationalized.

They were not the unluckiest; a member of a Moon Worship organization only realized when captured that out of thirty people in the organization, twenty were undercover agents, including the founder, making it a complete sting operation...

The total count of followers, quickly reported to Lynn, was 316,340.

"This is more than I imagined," Lynn murmured as he flicked through the register filled with names and identities, all the information instantly appearing in his mind.

These were the unrepentant devout or traitors who had been stirring up trouble in the shadows.

Considering the previous battle with the church, where Aila had sacrificed all her devout followers, it was surprising there were still so many.

After a moment's contemplation, Lynn realized that their radical transformation plans for the continent had offended too many, who, unable to oppose the council with their own power, saw the revival of the Moon God as their only hope to regain their former rights, naturally solidifying their faith.

"Lord Speaker, how should these people be handled?" the wizard reporting to him asked cautiously.

"Keep them detained for now; they still have some use to me," Lynn said dismissively, without revealing his intentions.

He had kept these followers within the kingdom to make Aila's escape appear more natural and to attract the attention of gods from the main world at the right time to help them resist threats from the universe.

Now, there was a new use for them, as Lynn had designed the death of a god in a foreign land and seized his divine office, known as Deceit. He had only experimented with its disguise effects so far, but the laws could even mimic the powers of other gods!

If used well, this was undoubtedly a powerful trump card. Lynn intended to employ it on Aila's followers.

However, how to utilize the connection between faith and divinity to further strengthen his control over the situation was a matter that required careful consideration.

Fortunately, the number of test subjects was sufficient to withstand some experimentation...

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