The belief of Atrum Pestis is widely regarded as the worship of the Demon God Atrum.

Unlike the Holy Nation, which holds absolute faith in the sole deity, the Apocalypse God.

Many beliefs, like Giovanni's, embrace the existence of the Heavenly Path.

It holds that there are countless other deities besides the Apocalypse God.

However, what they yearn for is the return of their own god, not the end.

No one knows when this will happen in the long stretches of history.

There was an era known as the Age of Demons.

During that era, demonic entities ruled the world.

The Demon Gods and Yaoguai Gods took turns in wielding power.

For a long time, the Heavenly Path became the Demonic Path, under the control of demons.

Humans at that time were akin to livestock. Raised to be slaughtered or enslaved.

Part of the reason humanity persisted was because they were reared in large numbers like cattle.

Just as cows and chickens cannot go extinct while humans still exist.

So was humanity back then.

Among those countless demonic beings, there was a Demon God called Atrum.

His title was Atrum, Color of the Outer God.

Atrum means black.

Legend has it that even if one were to ask his true name, no one could read or comprehend it.

Thus, people referred to him by what they saw when this Demon God ascended the throne.

Fear.

Terror.

Madness.

The moment Atrum took control of the Demonic Path.

All the demons in the world were nearly wiped out.

The survivors went insane.

Those who lived to tell the tale said they saw a strange color.

To their eyes, it appeared black!

But their minds screamed.

No! It was not black!

It was another color!

A color that had never existed.

A color that awakened madness and worship deep within them.

They screamed, clawing their eyes with their own hands, flaying their own skin.

It was telling them, whispering in their ears, countless inconceivable things.

The secrets of the world.

Truths that should not be known.

That no one should know.

Atrum stood then in the sky, with blood-red light shining from the dark sky of nightmares.Signs of the one who held the Demonic Path.

But that was in the eyes of the demons.

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Humans - mere cattle at that time when they looked up to the sky.

Regardless of whether they knew the Heavenly Path or the Demonic Path.

They instinctively knew, this was not the Demonic Path.

Then, like all beings in the world, they went mad or died.

It is difficult to describe Atrum's clear form.

Thousands looked at Atrum, and thousands described different shapes.

But the ancient books left by Atrum Pestis describe it as follows.

Above his head hovered a crown, at first glance it seemed to be made of thorns.

But upon closer inspection, you would see it resembled dried organs, with many sharp bones protruding.

Yet, it continued to move constantly, as if it were alive.

His head was covered with numerous layers of scales, growing like hair.

At the tips of these scales, countless "sharp teeth" appeared.

On the face, where there should have been features.

There was nothing.

Only when he spoke did the muscles on that face move,

Turning the spot that should have been the nose into a circle, moving as he spoke.

His voice was a sound that everyone clearly understood the intent of.

Yet at the same time, they could not identify what language it was.

They simply understood.

Atrum's body was a color of "black."

It was that color which no one truly knew. People could only identify it as black.

When Atrum took control of the Heavenly Path, transforming it into that spectacle.

His words resonated throughout the world.

"Not the Demonic Path, not the Heavenly Path."

"Bring the Color of the Outer God upon the White."

"From now on, you will know the concept of the Outer God."

"Behold the path of the Outsider."

According to ancient books, after those words were spoken.

The White Night occurred.

But when it happened, the "mad ones" of that time still stood by Atrum.

He led them to the world after the White Night.

Continuing eternal life at his feet.

Initially, they called Atrum the Outer God.

But Atrum simply said.

"Do not call me that, I am not the Outer God. The true Outer Gods are beyond your understanding."

"Consider me the Demon God, now and in the future."

"I am merely a messenger of the Outer God, introducing their colors to this world."

Giovanni is the leader of Atrum Pestis.

Atrum Pestis ranks its members according to colors.

Members are White.

High-ranking members are Gray.

The highest beneath Atrum is Black.

Those who become Black are purified in the "Waters on the Day of Atrum God."

Legend has it that on that day, when Atrum took control of the Heavenly Path.

All the waters of the world turned black.Many followed him on the journey after the White Night, scooping up the water to drink out of thirst.

At that moment, they saw everything.

What happened on that day.

The water that exists from the day the Atrum God seized the Heavenly Path gives them a vision of that day when consumed.

And when this water mixes with normal drinking water, it turns it black.

Its properties remain unchanged, undiminished.

It never becomes diluted.

In the church of Atrum Pestis, many barrels of this water are stored.

Giovanni also drank this water and witnessed the events of that day.

He did not die, but many believe he went insane.

And he heard Atrum's words on that day.

"The White Night must happen. Only when the White Night occurs can this world continue to exist."

Thus, the members of Atrum Pestis exist to carry out the deity's wishes through generations.

To ensure the occurrence of the White Night.

Among the three leading figures causing this chaos, Lucas is the only one not aligned with any divine worship.

He is an atheist.

Since childhood, he learned about the Heavenly Path.

He realized the impossibility of the Heavenly Path.

But he did not call those who controlled the Heavenly Path deities.

He believed that if deities truly existed, they would stand above even the Heavenly Path.When countless individuals dreamed of becoming one with the Heavenly Path, he was obsessed with becoming something that surpassed even the Heavenly Path.

This obsession led him to seek out the cult that worshipped Demon God Ventura. He joined them to gain immortality.

Demon God Ventura is a vampire, one of the Demon Gods from the Age of Demons, granting his followers the immortality of a vampire.

Lucas joined this cult, even though he did not worship Ventura. He received the Blessing of Ventura. His body stopped aging, making him nearly immortal and indestructible. Typically, those with the Blessing of Ventura suffer extreme pain when exposed to sunlight and prolonged exposure can lead to death.

But Lucas did not.

He was part of a royal bloodline bearing the King's Mark. The illegitimate son of Emperor Charlie and Sun Saintess Olivia, he possessed the Sun Holy Body.

This constitution nullified the inherent weaknesses of Ventura's Blessing, allowing him to craft his own immortality.

Since then, he established a tradition within the Lucas family. In each generation, a child would bear the title of Count. To protect this child from being harmed by other forces, they would be hidden until reaching adulthood.And each would be named Lucas with a numeral following it.

Lucas II, Lucas III, Lucas IV.

And so on.

To deceive the world about his immortality.

For hundreds of years, there was only ever one Count Lucas.

Until one day, he received a title.

He wouldn't have known about it if not for the players telling him.

No one knew who gave it to him, but above his head, it read:

[The Dreamer Who Want To Surpassing Even the Heavenly Path]

Many emotions washed over him upon learning of this title.

But ultimately, he smiled.

At that moment, he understood.

He was right.

There existed something that transcended even the Heavenly Path.

And that existence was even mocking him.

This only excited Lucas further.

He wanted to find it.

He wanted to claim the throne of the true God!