Asia fainted on the spot!
The moment she heard those words—"God is dead"—she lost consciousness.
Because deep down, Asia already fully trusted Vitan. She would never think he'd lie to her.
"God is so powerful. How could He possibly die?"
"What are you saying? We receive responses to our prayers every day!"
Irina was already in a panic, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Then let me ask you—why has the Church, which should solely be praying to God, suddenly produced humans who can use the light powers that only angels and fallen angels should be able to wield?"
Xenovia frowned.
"That's not unusual. It just means God is granting humans the power to protect themselves."
"Pff—!"
"How ridiculous. The only reason Heaven is doing that is because they no longer have enough angels to continue fighting devils and fallen angels to maintain order in the human world."
Irina's pupils dilated. Being sharp-minded, she seemed to start piecing together what Vitan was about to say.
Rias and the others were also frozen in shock as Vitan calmly continued.
"You all know that the Three Factions' War was like a ruthless meat grinder. After that war, the populations of all three factions dropped by more than half. Devils maintain their numbers through reproduction and through the Evil Pieces system.
But angels are supposed to be created by God. After the war, couldn't they just make more angels?
Why would Heaven need the Church to act as their enforcers?"
Looking at the two girls from the Church—staring blankly as if their souls had left their bodies—Vitan's lips curled into a smirk.
"The answer's simple. God is dead. He can't create angels anymore. And unlike devils or fallen angels, angels can't reproduce. So they're forced to have humans pick up weapons instead."
It was a simple truth, one that could be easily deduced with a bit of thought.
But from ancient times to now, the people who were kept in the dark never thought in that direction.
"No... No way... God is powerful..."
Even now, Irina was still shaking her head, clearly unwilling to believe what she had just heard.
However, Rias, Akeno, and Sona had already completely accepted Vitan's explanation.
Although they still wore expressions of disbelief.
"Well then, let me put it in simpler terms. Have you ever wondered why Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, a Sacred Gear created by God, can heal God's enemies—devils?"
The head that had been shaking like a rattle drum suddenly came to a halt.
"That's because it's a system designed to manage human faith. Over the long passage of time, it developed a few loopholes. Don't you feel that the number of heretics and believers being abandoned is increasing?"
That's the reason why even a devout saint like Asia was cast aside.
If God were still alive, such a thing would never happen.
…
The church duo left like walking corpses.
It was only natural they ended up like that.
As servants of God, their mission was to serve Him. They had dedicated their entire lives to that purpose, even willing to die for it.
That... is what it means to be a believer!
So when they found out the Lord they had been serving was dead, for devout followers like them, it was no different from losing the meaning of life itself.
"Vitan-kun really doesn't mince his words, does he?"
Sirzechs stood up from the sofa with his usual elegance.
Vitan didn't respond to that. Instead, he reached out and pulled out a talisman inscribed with a magic formation.
After inputting something into it, he handed it over to Sirzechs.
"What's this?"
After glancing at it briefly, Sirzechs asked with some curiosity.
"There's something I want to say to Big Sister, but it's inconvenient for me to return to the Underworld right now, so I'd like to ask you to pass it on for me."
After saying that, Vitan lightly coughed into his fist.
"I understand. Is it urgent?"
Sirzechs placed the talisman carrying the message into his pocket as he began drawing the magic circle to teleport back to the Underworld.
"Not urgent. Just give it to my sister when you all start your discussion."
"Well then, we'll take our leave. Vitan-kun, make sure to get some rest."
After Sirzechs left, Sona also took her peerage and departed.
She still had a lot of things to take care of. Although they had used a barrier to isolate the area, preventing normal people from approaching or seeing the battle just now…
She still had to restore and repair the battlefield. Originally, she and Rias were supposed to handle it together.
But seeing how worried Rias looked now, she decided she would take on the extra burden herself.
"Do you want to go upstairs and rest for a bit?"
As soon as the others left, Rias immediately sat down beside Vitan and asked with concern.
How should one describe it?
If before, Rias had been physically enamored with Vitan...
Then now, she was completely and utterly devoted to him—both body and soul.
Rias had always been someone who admired strength, so it was only natural for her to feel this way after witnessing Vitan's battle with the White Dragon Emperor, Vali.
"Then, would Vitan-kun like to rest in my room tonight? After watching the way you fought today, my heart is already…"
Sitting across from Vitan with her legs together, Akeno held her chest with one hand and squinted her eyes slightly after hearing Rias speak.
"Akeno, don't fool around at a time like this. What Vitan-kun needs right now is rest. If you want to flirt, save it for later."
Now that's what you call a true best friend! Rias didn't hold back in the slightest when snapping at Akeno.
"Um, Mr. Vitan… Is Asia going to be okay?"
Among everyone present, the one closest to Asia was probably Koneko. After all, they were of similar age, and Koneko was Asia's first friend her age.
She was always by Asia's side and knew well how kind-hearted her friend was, and how devout her faith in God had always been.
After hearing the news, Koneko could easily imagine the emotional blow her dear friend was suffering.
Vitan stood up from the sofa, reached out, and gently lifted Asia into his arms by placing one arm under her knees.
"Don't worry. I'll be the one to talk to Asia and guide her through this."