Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 953: Sin (4)

“Faith?”

Hearing Scathach's words, Lucifer once again scrutinized Bucky lying on the ground. This time, the Queen of Hell furrowed her brows deeply.

Scathach said, “What do you think? Can you see it now?”

Lucifer shook her head helplessly and said, “Although I retain my memories and knowledge, my current body is no different from that of an ordinary human. I experience biological needs and even get hungry. But the most ironic thing is that my blood still contains power.”

“What an incredible method of confinement,” Scathach remarked with a shake of her head. “This appears to completely separate your spirit from your power while combining them into an independent entity.”

This was Lucifer, one of the highest-ranking rulers of Hell aside from the Abyss itself, yet she had been confined so easily…

Lucifer fell silent for a moment. She could explain almost anything in this world, but even she could not fathom the true nature of the power that bound her abilities.

She couldn’t—and perhaps even He couldn’t.

Maybe He knew more; otherwise, back then, He wouldn’t have…

“What are you thinking about?” Scathach’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “Or did something come to mind?”Lucifer replied calmly, “Just recalling some old memories, nothing more… Let’s get back to this guy. Scathach, what’s your take on him?”

As a summoned spirit, Scathach was often bound to obey her summoner’s will. Of course, history recorded instances of summoned spirits rebelling and succeeding, but those cases involved overambitious summoners calling beings far beyond their rank.

As for Lucifer… this Queen of Hell ranked higher than Scathach herself.

“Take a look at this.”

Scathach seized Bucky’s arm as she spoke. “On the way here, I examined him thoroughly. The reason he can use holy magic is thanks to these two rings on his hands. Additionally, he wears a concealed magical crown on his head. This crown is quite interesting—it absorbs faith continuously and seems to contain a small, growing subspace…”

Lucifer examined the rings on Bucky’s hand, her expression growing serious. “These artifacts aren’t something modern magical techniques could create. Judging by the engravings, they resemble relics from ancient Babylon… Scathach, can you reveal the crown on his head?”

The Queen of the Shadow Kingdom said nothing. She simply extended her hand and tapped Bucky’s forehead. Instantly, a green laurel crown woven from olive branches materialized on his head.

Lucifer tried to remove the crown but failed.

“I’ve already tried to take it off for further study,” Scathach said. “But it seems entirely bound to his soul. While it’s possible to forcibly sever the connection, my intuition tells me that doing so would lead to trouble… Lucifer, do you recognize this crown?”

Lucifer’s expression darkened ominously as she stared at the crown. In a low voice, she said, “You must be kidding. This thing was supposed to be… Babel Tower!”

“Babel Tower?” Scathach exclaimed, puzzled. “The Tower of Babel? Are you saying this crown is the legendary tower itself?”

Lucifer nodded. “It’s an old story. Mortals once sought to build a path to Heaven, constructing the Tower of Babel. Its existence angered Him, and Heaven’s wrath descended… Back then, I was the one who carried out the judgment.”

“You destroyed the Tower of Babel, and now it’s reappeared?” Scathach frowned. “Could it be that what you destroyed wasn’t the real Tower of Babel?”

“No, I personally destroyed the Tower that reached Heaven,” Lucifer replied, shaking her head. “The Babylonians were clever and even touched upon the Forbidden Zone of the divine. But as individuals, they could never surpass beings like us. This crown’s internal subspace likely contains another Tower of Babel—a replica or an incomplete backup… Bucky, oh Bucky, I granted you a blessing of fortune back then, but I never imagined your luck would bring you this far. Or perhaps… is it my luck?”

“Lucifer?” Scathach called softly, noting Lucifer’s increasingly manic expression.

“I can hear you, Scathach.”

Lucifer took a deep breath and sneered. “A force that can nullify my contract, grant Bucky another Tower of Babel, and even allow his half-demonic body to naturally wield opposing powers… not to mention the punishment I faced when pursuing him. Isn’t it obvious by now?”

“As expected.” Scathach sighed and shook her head. “This is probably the worst-case scenario, Lucifer. Guests under His protection will always be sheltered.”

Lucifer chuckled indifferently and stepped on Bucky’s face, her eyes narrowing. “Who said I wanted to deal with Bucky? I made a contract with him because he was useful, but compared to his current state, his soul means little to me now… A Tower of Babel—a path to Heaven. Bucky, you’ve brought me something wonderful. How should I reward you?”

“A Tower of Babel… I see,” Scathach murmured, her tone indifferent. “So, the target is Heaven?”

“Queen of the Shadow Kingdom, as a demigod, immortal and undying, do you have the courage to challenge the apex of the divine pyramid?”

After a long silence, Scathach replied, “It’s worth trying.”

“Ah… a plan is starting to take shape in my mind.”

Lucifer stomped on Bucky’s face a few more times. “Let me refine it further. Scathach, shall we send this lucky fellow back? The Tower of Babel was born from the faith of the masses, and this one won’t grow without enough faith either.”

“It will need an enormous amount of faith,” Scathach remarked. She understood this would be a long process. But for beings like her and Lucifer, time was meaningless as long as the goal had significance.

“Then let’s feed it to its heart’s content…”

Lucifer smirked. “How about creating a new religion in this world, one that rivals His legacy? Let’s elevate Bucky to a true god!”

Blissfully unaware that two ancient beings were plotting around him, Bucky rolled over in his sleep, scratched himself, and drooled, completely at ease.

...

“Achoo!”

Bucky suddenly sneezed, shivering as he woke up. Looking around, he realized he was on a rooftop.

Meanwhile, all his clothes were gone, leaving him only in his boxers. Yet, given the current heat, it shouldn't feel cold, right?

It felt as though he'd been thrown into an ice cellar for hours. But why on earth was he stripped of his clothes and left on a rooftop? Looking down, he realized this seemed to be the rooftop of the hotel hosting the birthday banquet.

The rooftop... Bucky glanced around and suddenly shivered, not from the cold but from a deeply unpleasant memory.

He vaguely recalled being abandoned on a rooftop before, left freezing and starving, nearly losing his life. Could it be... was this once again the doing of that eerie maid?

Shuddering, Bucky leaped up and frantically scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming no one was around did he cautiously relax.

Suddenly, a phone started ringing in the dim light. Bucky jumped but quickly spotted a phone on the ground—his phone.

This left Bucky utterly baffled. He had no idea how he had lost consciousness, who had stripped his clothes, or why they left his phone behind.

“Envoy! Envoy! Can you hear me?”

The moment he answered, it was Mr. Besong’s voice. Frowning, Bucky asked directly, “Besong, what’s going on?”

“What happened? Saint Francis told me you were discussing life with Miss Cossini tonight and felt a bit tired afterward, so you rested. But since it's late now, I figured we should return and decided to call you.”

Discussing life? What nonsense.

Wait... He hadn’t even laid a finger on that woman! He had meant to interrogate her, but then everything suddenly went dark. That woman had been under a charm spell and shouldn’t have resisted.

Instinctively touching the back of his neck, Bucky felt a slight discomfort. Was this the result of lying down too long?

“Where is... Saint Francis now?” Bucky asked abruptly.

“Oh, he’s still at the hotel. He probably drank too much during the banquet and is resting,” Besong replied. “By the way, Miss Cossini came back later and said she was deeply moved by your guidance and is very willing to join us.”

What? What was going on?

Could it be that Doflamingo was behind all this?

Reaching for his face, Bucky felt a thin film on his skin. This strange item was applied using a certain power, and most people wouldn’t even notice it, let alone remove it.

Since the disguise was intact, his identity hadn’t been exposed. Or had it? If someone managed to knock him out without a trace, it was beyond ordinary means. Could Doflamingo have undergone a transformation similar to his own?

If he had these abilities, why couldn’t Doflamingo?

Thinking this through, Bucky abandoned the idea of confronting Doflamingo directly and using charm magic on him.

“Envoy? Envoy?”

“Stop yelling! Come get me immediately!” Bucky snapped. “I’m on the hotel rooftop! And bring me some clothes!”

“Yes! Right away!”

Not long after, Bucky was speeding back to his manor in the car he had arrived in.

---

At the same time, news of the "Divine Envoy" briefly appearing and leaving in a hurry reached Saint Francis, who was resting.

“We don’t know how much this envoy has learned from you, but I’ll need to meet him myself,” Saint Francis said to Cossini calmly. “Perhaps we can discuss cooperation.”

“But will he agree so easily?” Cossini asked skeptically.

“Starting a church, gathering wealth from believers, and enjoying the female followers... aren’t his motives clear enough?” Saint Francis said indifferently. “If he can help me ascend to the throne of this nation, I’ll give him all the space he needs to expand. It’s mutual benefit. A wise man wouldn’t refuse.”

“Should I still go?” Cossini asked.

Saint Francis chuckled and lightly grasped her chin. “Of course. I’ll personally send you to him.”

---

Bang!

The door to the "Divine Envoy’s" bedroom flew open as the envoy himself stormed in, driving out the waiting women and slamming the door shut.

Drawing the curtains and checking every lock, Bucky then dove under the bed, pulling out a hidden compartment to retrieve his club-issued tablet.

Entering the special inquiry section, he began typing: Is Doflamingo an ordinary human?

“Damn it... 50 units for this question? What a scam!”

Despite his frustration, Bucky paid for the answer. The result: Doflamingo was an ordinary human.

“That’s odd... If it wasn’t Doflamingo, then who?”

He typed another question: Who knocked me out and left me on the rooftop tonight?

The answer required 100,000 faith units.

“What? This trap is too obvious! I know it’s you, you scheming maid! Trying to drain my faith? No way!”

I, Bucky, will not fall for this!

Bucky looked up—and promptly slammed his head against the bed frame.