The church that had stood as a false sanctuary had, in truth, been nothing more than a gateway for the enemy.

Riley exhaled sharply, his teeth gritting together so hard they nearly cracked. 'So it was them all along…' he thought, his anger simmering beneath the surface.

In his past life, the Church of Fire had been relentless in its pursuit of players.

Where the Church of Light had extended a warm hand, promising healing, hope, and unity, the Church of Fire had taken a different path.

They had scoured the cities and fields, actively hunting down players, pressing them to join their ranks with promises of power, strength, and fiery dominion.

Their preachers had filled the streets with booming words, their zealots had stalked the dungeons, always with the same message: join us, embrace the fire, and rise above the weak.

At first, many players had done so. Desperate, confused, uncertain of what paths to walk, they had fallen for the promises of flame.

The Church of Fire had made itself appear as a stronghold in the chaos, a force that would guide them when no one else would. They had fought alongside players, handed out blessings of flame, lent strength when others faltered.

Or so it seemed.

But when the war against the demons fully began, their mask had slipped. Their fire had burned not for humanity, but for themselves.

Riley's jaw tightened as the memories pressed harder against his thoughts. 'When humanity needed them the most, they abandoned us. No… not abandoned. They betrayed us outright.'

The players who had joined them had been discarded like ashes after the flame. Left to die, their blessings withdrawn, their powers stripped.

Many of them had even been handed directly into the claws of the demons they thought they were fighting against.

That was the cruelest truth. The Church of Fire had not simply walked away—they had sold their followers to the enemy, all while pretending to stand for strength and glory.

Riley's hands curled into fists so tight that his nails dug into his palms. A cold sweat lined his back.

'And I was blind to it all. Even after my rebirth, I didn't realize…'

He clicked his tongue in frustration, his lips curling into a faint grimace.

For all his knowledge, for all the advantage his second life was supposed to bring him, he had still missed something so obvious.

He had been so focused on the bigger picture—the Demon Lord, the invasions, the grand battles to come—that he had overlooked the rot festering right beneath his nose.

'Embarrassing,' he thought bitterly. 'To think I failed to see what was right in front of me. To think I gave them that much credit.'

In his past life, he had believed the god of fire's submission came later—when the war reached its breaking point, when the weight of the Demon Lord's might had finally crushed even divine pride.

That had been the story most believed: that the god of fire, like so many others, had only bent the knee when faced with inevitable destruction.

But that was a lie.

The truth, now burned into him from Juer'lo's memories, was far more sinister.

The god of fire had already been in cahoots with the Demon Lord before [Apocalypse] had even been launched.

The betrayal was not a matter of desperation or survival—it was deliberate, premeditated, and carefully hidden.

The Church of Fire had never been a sanctuary. It had always been a parasite, a dagger driven into humanity's back before they even realized a battle had begun.

Riley's eyes gleamed with cold, merciless light as he stared at the dark church in the distance. His chest rose and fell in steady, controlled breaths, though his body trembled with suppressed rage.

The demons had their gate, their opening. 'And I… I didn't see it. Not in my first life, not even after rebirth. Not until now.'

He ground his teeth once more, fury searing through him, but beneath it all, a grim determination began to form like iron cooling into shape.

'But now that I know… I'll burn them out. Every last one of them.'

Riley stood still, his thoughts dragging him deeper into the shadows of memory and revelation.

Now, with Juer'lo's memories carved into his mind, he finally uncovered the method behind it all—how the demons managed to infiltrate Apocalypse.

It hadn't been through some hidden system bug or a loophole in the world's creation. No, the truth was much simpler, and therefore, much more dangerous.

It was through the church of fire!

His eyes flashed coldly, a sharp glint slicing through his usually calm exterior.

The bitterness in his heart only deepened as his teeth ground together.

He had always despised that church in his past life, but he had never known the full depth of their treachery.

He had thought them misguided zealots, opportunists preying on the desperation of players. But in truth, they were a conduit, a gateway for demons themselves.

In his past life, the church of fire had been the one to hunt players most aggressively.

Riley remembered it clearly.

But when the war against demons fully erupted, their true nature was revealed.

How could he not have seen this sooner?

He had always wondered, always turned the question over in his mind during the long, bloody nights of his past life.

How had the demons managed to seep into the game's very core? How had they built such a strong presence without anyone noticing until it was too late? He had tried to reason it out, but the truth had slipped past him.

And now, the answer was right here. Right before his eyes the entire time.

He felt his ears burn with embarrassment. He hadn't realized it earlier.

He thought—no, he believed—that the god of fire had only bent knee to the demon lord once the war truly began, swayed by the demon's overwhelming strength.

But now he knew that was wrong.

He drew a slow, steady breath, the fire in his chest settling into cold steel resolve. He still had one thing, one undeniable weapon that no one else could match.

[Gluttony]!

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