Truth Astronomy.
An illegal, clandestine organisation entrenched across Europe and Africa, with members spanning the globe—a veritable behemoth of the mystic side.
According to SDS internal records, Truth Astronomy boasts over five hundred named factions, each containing at least one Hero Rank individual.
These factions wage war and ally with one another, mirroring the political landscape of European alliances in the mystic realm.
Among these five hundred factions, the Desire Faction is one of the main branches, with its core members predominantly witches.
Thus, with the Seven Deadly Sins as its nucleus and female Demon Warlocks as its wings, the Desire Faction is also known as the Witch Faction.
Considering the nature of the Witch Faction, Luo Shu couldn't help but make a bold conjecture:
"Is the Desire Faction planning to debut their own members as idols?"
Hearing this audacious idea, Nia Honjo gave Luo Shu a strange look before retorting:
"While I did peek at a similar proposal, for now, the Desire Faction seems focused on recruiting established cults and active idols."
"According to Raziel's investigations, many religious groups and idols in Korea have already secretly joined the Desire Faction, even beginning to manipulate the powerful within the scientific community."
"As for Japan, it's likely just the prelude to their plans."
This news didn't particularly surprise Luo Shu.
Korea—land of cults, idols, and explosive scandals—was practically ripe for the Desire Faction's taking.
But...
"Nia, you mentioned earlier that the Desire Faction is gathering faith. What's their end goal?"
"Are they trying to create a god?"
Nia immediately refuted this:
"While faith can indeed create gods, the strongest they could manage would be Demigod-level at best, with severe limitations. It wouldn't hold practical significance in the short term."
"Moreover, given Korea's scale, it would take over a decade to cultivate even a single Demigod through faith alone."
"And the Desire Faction isn't aiming for something so useless."
Here, Nia raised her right hand, splaying five fingers with deliberate emphasis:
"Their goal is to weave a net—one capable of elevating someone to Demigod status."
Luo Shu arched a brow:
"An advancement ritual?"
"Close, but not quite." Nia lowered her hand and shook her head. "You haven't been in touch with Aya much lately, have you?"
Luo Shu's expression turned peculiar: "What kind of 'in touch' are we talking about here?"
Beside them, Miku Izayoi instantly perked up, staring at Luo Shu in shock.
Luo Shu hurriedly clarified: "Don't misunderstand, Miku. Aya and I are barely more than temporary non-enemies. Our relationship is pretty neutral."
"Oh, is that so?" Miku smiled sweetly, nodding as if convinced—though whether she actually believed him was another matter entirely.
Watching Luo Shu's blunder, Nia stifled a laugh and teased: "I meant normal communication, obviously. What were you thinking, Luo Shu?"
Rolling his eyes, Luo Shu pressed on:
"So, what does this have to do with Aya?"
Nia Honjo had a solid justification for this:
"Of course it's related. Although Aya wasn't a member of the Desire Faction before, she was the one who led it."
"Or rather, the core inheritance of the current Desire Faction was all facilitated by Aya."
As she spoke, Nia Honjo's expression became playfully suggestive:
"And this core inheritance naturally includes the advancement ritual for the Witch Class."
"Luo Shu, you must have heard some of this from Aya, right?"
"For a Demigod Rank advancement in the Witch Class, one needs to capture and absorb a pureblood demon. The stronger the demon's power and the purer its bloodline, the better the effect. Capturing a Demigod Rank, Class-holding orthodox demon would yield the best results."
"One could say that the birth of every Demigod Witch is built upon the sacrifice of a high rank demon."
Hearing this, Luo Shu began to grasp the crux of the matter:
"The Desire Faction's need for faith is related to demons? Can faith actually summon demons?"
In response, Nia Honjo wagged her finger and countered:
"Quite the opposite. Faith is a tool developed by the Desire Faction to weaken high rank demons."
"Since you don't follow celebrities much, Luo Shu, you might not understand the logic. Let me explain simply."
"Take Miku as an example."
Nia Honjo glanced at Miku Izayoi, blinked, and said with a smile:
"Suppose Miku, under the stage name Yoimachi Tsukino, debuted as a super-popular idol singer..."
"Further suppose that Miku gained immense popularity among fans with her persona as a pure songstress, an elegant and noble young lady from a prestigious family, a 16-year-old active high school idol, and an unattainable princess."
Hearing this, Miku Izayoi couldn't help but retort:
"I can't help but feel there's a lot of malice in your hypothetical scenario, Nia."
"Besides, I wouldn't call myself a super-popular idol singer right now, would I? I've only held three concerts, and my social media following has just barely passed 500,000... And because of my age, I haven't even revealed my appearance publicly yet..."
Luo Shu nodded repeatedly in agreement. In Japan, entertainers who debut before adulthood may choose not to reveal their appearance during performances, especially underage singers, who often adopt this approach to avoid excessive exposure.
Simply put, they would conceal their identity behind masks or virtual avatars while performing. Miku Izayoi had opted for the virtual avatar route.
Given the stark contrast between the hypothetical and reality, Miku Izayoi sensed strong malice in Nia Honjo's words.
"Ahem, let's not dwell on those details for now."
Nia Honjo brushed it aside, motioning for Miku Izayoi to quiet down before continuing:
"In any case, these personas, this adoration fans have for their idol—let's collectively call this 'faith.'"
"Of course, such faith is inevitably chaotic and lacks any clear direction."
"After all, you can't expect a bunch of teenage boys to have particularly pure faith."
"Terms like 'pure songstress,' 'high school idol,' or 'unattainable princess' are essentially subtle hints that she's single and, therefore, potentially within reach."
"With these hints and personas in place, the tone of this faith is essentially set."
"The pure songstress, the elegant noble lady, the active 16-year-old idol, the ethereal princess – these settings became the basic consensus within that chaotic mass of faith."
"And once these consensuses are violated..."
"For example, if Miku suddenly announced on social media that she's become your girlfriend, Luo Shu."
Nia Honjo revealed an amused smile:
"Then what would happen?"