In unison, the pillars of flesh ceased their screaming, casting the area around the man and the White Roses in a chilling silence.

"Why do this? Why go this far? Haven't you been a great asset to Heaven's Roses? Have you been a traitor to us from the start!?" Father Benedict shouted, aggravation welling up in his chest.

"You've known me for less than a week. How could you be angry at me when I'm basically a stranger to you?" The man shrugged. "Aren't you placing too much of an importance on interpersonal relations? After all, when have I ever given you the feeling that I was an 'ally'? Just because I said I was? Aren't your comrades fools for being tricked by me? I was just doing what I must."

His face had all but melted away, revealing a pinkish-grey brain pulsing from behind the sockets of his skull. Flesh writhed at the edges of his jaw, revealing a sinister smile that curled up his lips. The man raised his hands into the air and shouted, "Chosen Beloveds, can you shout my name to the heavens so that Mother may hear us!?"

'A name?' Father Benedict's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Aren't the Nameless supposed to be… nameless?'

The mouths that had been crudely molded into the pillars of flesh began to murmur a name in unison that sent chills down the spines of the Heaven's Roses, as if merely invoking it was enough to have an effect on the physical realm, "Asmodeus. Asmodeus. Asmodeus."

As he listened to the endlessly-stacked cacophony of trembling, pained voices chanting his name, the man in dark robes named Asmodeus erupted into a sinister fit of laughter.

'Doesn't this far exceed the scope of the mission? If it were one Nameless, it would have been far more manageable for us. However, dozens of them at once? How many of us will die before we can cull even half of their numbers?' Ainsworth's usually-rational thoughts were set alight with anger. It was true that he did not consider the man, Asmodeus, as anything more than a 'stranger' in reality. However, he had operated under the assumption that they had both made a promise to the Goddess he beloved. That sanctity, or rather the demeaning of it was something he could not stand by. Moreover, as a Nameless, Asmodeus was a threat to all he beloved.

Father Benedict's eyes shot a glance over to Lumière, who had already drawn his sword and had a confident grin on his face.

'Fuck, why isn't his instinct ever to run? Where does your baseless confidence come from?'
As Father Benedict had ruminated on their situation, the White Roses had sprung into action, preparing themselves for a fight. They had all drawn their blades, and Midas had sliced into his own flesh, using his blood to decorate his arm with runes. At the same time, Nicole had begun to warp the shadows underneath them, his expression filled with a mixture of fear and bloodlust.

'This is way too much… weren't we here to train? I'm scared. I haven't felt like this since I was taken in by the phantoms…' Nicole thought, anxiety welling up in his chest. 'As one of the only magic users here, isn't it my responsibility to save everyone? When did I ask for this? Couldn't I have just lived a normal life?'

His hands shook, and his body seemed to freeze up. The shadows he had been controlling faltered before dissipating back to their original states. At the same time, Asmodeus lifted his hands up in the air as if praising a deity. Then, he shouted into the sky with a deep, unnerving tone of voice that seemed almost inhuman, like an animal trying to mimic human speech.
"The lady cloaked in mist; she who is draped in blood and strife. You are the interwoven fate of the world, the judicature of life and death. You are also the master of stories, the weaver of flesh and blood. You are the champion of those without names, and the rival of peace. Your benevolence is what I seek. Please, take upon yourself these humble offerings. Hear my name and repeat it with your lovely voice; invite me to your kingdom and in turn take my place. This flesh is yours, this body is yours; my mind is yours, my love is yours. Descend to our mortal realm and bless your loyal followers with your presence! I name you, and so you shall gain control-"

"Don't let him invoke her name!" Father Benedict shouted, turning his furious and desperate expression to the White Roses behind him. "Meraline, conjure silence! Drown out his words!"

To an astrologer, whose power came from the influence of the sky, the night could produce an incurable silence that would drown out all noise. Such a spell was possible- the conjuring of silence. She raised her hands, mana flowing through her arms before gathering in the palms of her hands, warping itself into an intricately shaped spell resembling many runic circles. But before Meraline could act, Lumière had begun to move.

Lumière immediately reached into his jacket without hesitation and procured his firearm, Cerces, pointing it straight at Asmodeus. He pulled the trigger, and a loud 'bang' resounded as a bullet cascaded through the air, piercing its way through Asmodeus's jaw and leaving what little flesh remained on his mouth in tatters.

"Shut the fuck up." Lumière said in a deep tone. "You're talking too much."

The tattered flesh clinging to his skull reformed in his sockets, turning into a pair of crude eyes. In unnerving silence, Asmodeus's gaze turned slowly towards Lumière. His eyes were bulging out of his skull, filled with a cold rage that sent a shiver down Lumière's body. Nicole looked over at Lumière at the same time in disbelief.

'A gun? When did Mr. Demon obtain a gun?' Nicole's eyes widened in realisation. 'Right! It's not just us here! We had Mr. Demon beside us all along! Moreover, he said he had pledged himself to protect us!'

Lumière's thoughts were not so optimistic, however. 'Fuck, I didn't think I would be tested so early on. How can I help fight without revealing my hand, while simultaneously propping up the 'Demon of the Garden' persona? It's necessary that it doesn't fail, so that it can be used to abate the madness of Heresy. However, I lose either way. Either I act weak in front of Nicole, and he calls my bluff and realises I'm more likely the servant of an Evil God instead of a demon- or I use the power of Heresy, revealing that I am averse to the beliefs of the church, and simultaneously lose my persona anyway, succumbing to madness. As a black mage, they were able to take in Nicole with far less scrutiny. A heretic- one who goes against the deities would never be allowed near the church. I may even be killed by the Peacekeepers as a way to maintain 'order'. Haven't I gotten myself into too much trouble by accepting to join Heaven's Roses? What is a pathway to gaining information sources if I inadvertently get myself caught?''

Lumière's lips curled up into a grin.

'No, I was thinking about it wrong. I'm a performer, after all. For a liar, there's always a way out.'

Lumière tapped on Nicole's shoulder, whispering in his ear as he passed by. As the White Roses watched in disbelief, Lumière stepped towards Asmodeus with a grin on his face.
"You, you're one of the fledgling Roses, aren't you? You were the one who discovered the clue that led us here. However, I left no such clue behind. I wonder how you managed to find such a thing?" Asmodeus looked at Lumière with hesitance. His mouth had been blown away, but his inhuman tone of voice continued to ring out into the air.

Lumière shrugged before responding casually. "You expected to only be dealing with White Roses, didn't you? Did you ever imagine you'd encounter a Demon?"

"A Demon? Who's a Demon? Are you messing with me now, fledgling?" Asmodeus let out a chilling laugh. "Are you so scared to die that you've become insane in your final moments? This is truly entertaining."

'What step of Ascension to divinity is this Nameless equivalent to? If he believes he can invoke his Goddess, he must be truly powerful. However, it seemed like an unsure plea. Perhaps he is mid-Ascension, at a level equivalent to the Five of Hearts I fought? He may be a little stronger, although this is all just assumption. I don't have enough experience to tell. If this is the case, using 'Despair' may be enough to kill him. However, I haven't accumulated nearly enough fear at this point, despite having played the role of the Demon of the Garden in front of the three magic users in the house of cards, as well as in front of Nicole. Using 'Despair' now would definitely kill me.'

"Have you played as a human too long to be able to recognise me, fool?" Lumière grinned, speaking too quiet for the others behind him to hear him clearly. "Do I look so human to you that you can no longer look past simple flesh?"

Immediately after hearing this, Asmodeus squinted slightly at Lumière, scrutising his appearance. However, he saw nothing strange in particular. Shaking his head, Lumière let out a sigh. "You really are a fool to see nothing wrong with me. However, everyone else is as much at fault for not seeing me as I am. This is just the gift of being a liar."

In front of the inhuman monster, Lumière didn't feel too much fear. After all, he had encountered the servant of an evil deity, and faced death on several occasions. Taking a line from Orion Callister, the nobleman he had encountered earlier, Lumière spoke with a genial smile. "Well, then would you like to play a game?"

It felt like Lumière was soothing an innate desire. To 'perform' really felt great, as if he were satisfying himself with any common vice. He had never begun to understand that innate need to be a performer, but every so often, he would find himself doing so, so that he would not become aggravated when denied the chance to become a spectacle. He had the need to foster reactions from those around him, and receive them in turn. So, as the White Roses watched in disbelief, frozen by their own fear, Lumière couldn't help but grin.

"A game? You really have gone crazy. You would come up to me and demand a game?" Asmodeus scoffed. "What makes you think I would accept? Truly, I wish to know your process of thought."

"You seem like a man who dislikes trivial things. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been angered by our presence, too annoyed by the thought of all your hard work only amounting to the deaths of ants like us." Lumière deliberately raised his voice so that the others could hear him. "So, rather than demeaning all your hard work by finishing us off so quickly, and boring yourself, wouldn't you rather stake it on something where the grounds are more fair? Isn't it much more exciting to risk it all?"

Asmodeus seemed a bit unconvinced. However, he was still intrigued that someone he viewed as an ant would approach him with such zeal. So, he humoured Lumière.

"So, what game shall we play?" Asmodeus asked of him.

Lumière reached into his jacket pocket and procured a familiar ornate box. It was the deck of cards that the White Roses had been playing with prior to the mock patrol.

"Fancy some cards?" Lumière grinned.

"I'm not opposed to it. What shall we stake on it, then?"

Lumière shrugged and replied casually. "I'll bet the lives of my comrades, as well as my own. If I win, then you will stop this ritual and kill yourself and your friends, and then me and my comrades will go about our normal lives."

"This isn't enough. I was already going to take your lives anyway." Asmodeus shook his head. "Isn't the point of stakes to give up something that you wouldn't otherwise lose?"

"You're quite right, although that's a bit grim to think about." Lumière chuckled. "Alright then, how about this? If you win, you will let me live, but I will convert my beliefs and willingly serve your Goddess. As a servant of that Goddess, shouldn't you be looking for every way to increase her number of believers?"

Asmodeus's eyes widened. Moreover, hearing this, the White Roses were in a state of further disbelief.

'Believe in the Lace of Blood? That Blasphemer Goddess? When did Lumière become this insane?' Ainsworth's thoughts raced.

Nicole bit at his lip. 'Why doesn't Mr. Demon just kill this monster? Why is he playing along with it? Is this just the natural inclination of a Demon to seek thrills? I trust him… however, I can't help but feel unnerved.'

"You fucking idiot!" Meraline shouted, finally losing her composure. "What the hell are you talking about! You should be ready to die before saying such a thing, even as a joke!"

Lumière turned towards Meraline from afar and responded.

"Shouldn't I be prepared to do everything to stop this deity, even risking the entirety of my being in the process?" Lumière smiled, before turning back to Asmodeus. "So, are you willing to accept these stakes?" 

The tattered flesh on Asmodeus's mouth writhed as if in pain before reforming itself back into the semblance of a smile, a grin spreading up on his face. "This is really quite interesting. I'll accept your terms. However, if you lose, you'll not only convert to my Goddess's faith, but you'll watch as I turn your comrades into my brothers. Is this a fair deal?"

"Quite. Shall we begin?" A laugh left Lumière's mouth. Watching this, the White Roses couldn't believe that their new comrade could use them like bargaining chips so easily.

Asmodeus beckoned towards a few of the Nameless in the crowd beside him, and they rushed over quickly. They had lost their faces after tearing them off, so they were left with expressionless skulls dripping blood and torn sinew. Asmodeus smiled and placed a hand on each of them individually before whispering "Serve mother faithfully.".

Then, they began to cry out in pain with inhuman tones of voice as they were wrapped in a malevolent aura. Quickly, their flesh began to mold itself as if it were clay. It melted, warped, and then reformed itself as their cries rang out. Bones cracked, and muscle became taut, and soon, the three Nameless had been molded into the shape of a table and two chairs, still resembling flesh and blood, writhing slightly. On the legs and back of each chair, eyes squirmed and mouths trembled. Fingers and toes stuck out, shaking out of fear. Lumière's brow trembled slightly, but he kept his composure and maintained his genial expression.

"You're far too generous, Mr. Asmodeus." Lumière smiled.

"Wouldn't it be far too troublesome to play cards while standing?"

As he sat down in the wet, gruesome amalgamation, Lumière had to hold himself back from spewing out the contents of his prior meal.

'Fuck, have I gotten myself into too much of a mess? This man is really terrifying, as well as abhorrent. However, this is definitely my best plan of action. I'll maintain my persona and hide my powers at the same time. For now, I am a Demon, who is also a performer.'

However, his expression was different from his true thoughts. Lumière grinned and spoke aloud. "So, shall we begin?"