While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly-Chapter 76: Kakarim’s Fall

The earth was stained like blood, and a foul mist blotted out the sky.

This was the Netherrealm.

A new soul had just fallen upon this desolate, wild land.

His name was Kakarim.

"Success..." Kakarim lowered his head and clenched his hands. That inhuman sensation made him absolutely certain that he had arrived at the place where his son’s soul resided.

After confirming the location, Kakarim immediately looked up at the sky. From here, he could not see the heavens—only an infinite, deep fog stretched before him.

"Time is limited. I must find that brat before the resurrection."

Kakarim confirmed the time limit.

He had not killed himself because he was out of options; on the contrary, his suicide was part of a desperate plan.

To resurrect his son Kakayather, Kakarim, as a Cardinal, had spent the past few days devising countless methods.

He had considered using cultists to recover the soul all at once, but he also knew the powerful Demon Huntress Nun might expose him.

If that happened, then the emergency plan would come into play.

A Cardinal’s suicide and fall from grace would certainly cause a huge uproar between the forces of good and evil. This influence, wielded openly, would force the Demon Huntress Nun to resurrect him.

It was important to understand that the position of Cardinal was already the third highest rank within the Holy Cultivator Guild. Above him, there was no concept of branch offices or Chapters—only the central headquarters remained.

The only ranks above him were the Archbishop of headquarters and the Pope.

In other words, at the local level, the rank of Cardinal was as high as one could get.

At the same time, such a high rank symbolized immense faith.

Objectively speaking, he should have been deeply devoted to the Divine Mother Goddess. Whether from the path of righteousness or evil, all were supposed to hold him in awe.

But he had killed himself—and before doing so, had cursed. This would go down as a dark stain in the history of the Holy Cultivator Guild.

By himself, he had tarnished the faith in the Divine Mother Goddess, and smeared the Guild’s light, justice, and greatness.

The higher-ranked a righteous figure’s fall, the more eagerly the evil god would welcome them with open arms.

If the Pope himself fell, the evil god would surely bring the Pope along to publicly humiliate the Divine Mother Goddess.

Though Kakarim was still some distance away from the Pope’s level, as a Cardinal, his status was still significant.

To prevent the Divine Mother Goddess’s reputation from being sullied, the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns—direct enforcers of the Holy Cultivator Guild—would inevitably try to resurrect him.

This was Kakarim’s calculation.

The only thing he needed now was to race against time. As long as he found his son Kakayather’s soul before they could resurrect him, his plan would succeed.

"Kakayather!!" Kakarim began calling out across the red wasteland.

Visibility here was less than a hundred meters. Walking in such a place, it was extremely easy to get lost.

Besides environmental hazards, many Restless Souls and Demons wandered here.

Kakarim brazenly shouted his son’s name, naturally attracting the attention of many entities.

"Gurgle..."

"Another poor newbie has arrived. Let’s have some fun."

"Ugh! Wait, this one isn’t an ordinary human. This one is..."

"This is fucking hilarious. Isn’t this the Cardinal who sentenced me to death?"

"Cardinal?! Gurgle gurgle, the Cardinal has fallen to Hell! Gurgle gurgle, the Cardinal actually went to Hell!"

The Demons and Undead couldn’t stop mocking him.

As a believer of the Divine Mother Goddess, someone who climbed all the way to the rank of Cardinal—never mind becoming a god after death and securing a place in Heaven’s hierarchy, at least they should ascend and receive special treatment after death, right?

So how come he ended up in Hell after dying?

"Ahahaha! Cardinal, how did your god abandon you?" From within the rotten mist, countless indistinct Undead sneered with sarcastic tones.

Kakarim was not discouraged by this. Instead, he asked, "Who here has seen Kakayather? Where is his soul? Tell me!!"

His tone was not one of desperate submission, but carried the authority of a Cardinal.

Even in death, he did not fear the mere Undead and Demons here.

Soon enough, a twisted Undead answered, "Your son? Oh, that damned brat—he’s one of us now, probably licking the ass of some big Demon right now! Ahahaha! I never thought you, a Cardinal, would raise such a fallen offspring."

Kakarim ignored the Undead’s taunts and quickly moved toward the voice. He tried to grab the Undead hiding in the mist but could never catch it.

He stepped forward, and the Undead would retreat one step.

"Tell me where he is," Kakarim said flatly, no longer pursuing but demanding an answer.

"Heh heh, if you trust me, just follow me," the Undead said, then swiftly moved in one direction.

Without hesitation, Kakarim strode after it.

He firmly believed that as a Cardinal who had willingly fallen from grace, some dark power would surely take notice.

Therefore, this guide could not be a coincidence.

Sure enough, under the Undead’s lead, he quickly passed through layers of mist and crossed chasms after chasms.

He arrived at a bustling encampment.

The camp had the style of a primitive tribe, but the buildings were mostly tall and spacious, dozens of times larger than human houses.

Within the camp were no longer hidden creatures lurking in the mist, afraid to be seen.

Instead, there was a group of Demons, all bare-skinned, with varying colors and shapes.

When Kakarim, the Cardinal, stepped into the camp, the Demons immediately fell silent.

They all turned to look at him—some had one eye, some multiple eyes, some blood-red eyes, and others completely hollow.

"Welcome, my honored guest."

A red-skinned Demon with the head of a ram and the body of a man leapt out from deep within the camp.

His effortless leap covered over a hundred meters.

With a loud thud, he landed straight in front of Kakarim.

This Demon was unlike the others who were bizarre and twisted in form. He stood about two meters tall, with a strong, muscular build.

"A Cardinal, one who devoted his life to the Divine Mother Goddess. Our god has heard of your willing fall," said the red-skinned, ram-headed Demon. "My name is Shava. Is this sincere enough for you?"

The name of the evil god didn’t really matter whether it spread or not.

But a Demon’s true name was a huge taboo. Once revealed, it would be very difficult for that Demon to continue invading the human world.

Moreover, this was in front of a Cardinal.

To dare announce one’s true name so openly showed just how much sincerity the visitor brought.

Kakarim nodded slightly; he knew he had come to the right place.

"I have only one request; I will comply with everything else," Kakarim said.

The ram-headed Demon shook his head and replied, "I know, I know. Your son Kakayather’s soul—I only need to give one command, and he will be brought here immediately. But before that, you must prove your willing fall—now, with your former faith, humiliate the Divine Mother Goddess, and then choose the new god you will serve!"

As he finished speaking, the ram-headed Demon actually pulled out a statue of the Divine Mother Goddess!

For a Demon, a statue of the Divine Mother Goddess was like poison.

However, this particular statue was different—its head had been removed.

In essence, the statue was disabled, already broken, and would not have any real effect.

It served only a symbolic purpose.

Shava threw the statue down at Kakarim’s feet.

Seeing this,

Kakarim knew what he had to do.

He looked down at the decapitated statue of the Divine Mother Goddess. Memories surged in his mind—from the day he entered the faith as a child, starting as an ordinary Devotee, gradually rising step by step, all the way to his wedding day. After his wedding, he continued to be promoted, until now, holding the high rank of Cardinal.

His story, if written as a novel, could even become a bestseller in "Kakase," the most popular introductory book in Cultivator Guild history.

But—

He had reached the turning point in his story.

Looking back on his life, he didn’t know whether he was lucky or unlucky, or perhaps the duties of the clergy had drained all his luck in life.

Crack—

Kakarim stepped down hard, fueled by an unnamed rage in his heart, crushing the decapitated statue of the Divine Mother Goddess beneath his foot.

The force was so great that the statue shattered instantly.

Seeing this, Demon Shava rejoiced greatly.

"Ah! What a profanation! My honored guest, my brother, welcome to the embrace of my god! Now, reach out your hand and receive the blessing of my god!"

Kakarim had no turning back now; he silently extended his hand.

The next moment,

A blood-red crack split open on his arm and palm, blood-red energy pouring in.

With the infusion of this blood-red energy, Kakarim’s human soul began to sprout horns like those of a goat on his forehead.

His faith was extinguishing, and his power was completely transforming into Evil Power.

Suddenly,

A strange light pierced through the rotten mist of the Netherrealm, shining down on Kakarim.

The gathered Demons were startled, thinking someone was coming to snatch him away.

But only one person knew—the time had come.

Kakarim endured the excruciating pain of what felt like a human body being transformed and snarled urgently, "Shava!! Bring me my son’s soul!! Right now!!"

Shava naturally had to keep his promise. The energy from this fallen Cardinal was immense. Since they would have to work together in the future, he could not afford to break his word.

So,

He threw back his head and let out a roar from deep in his throat. Immediately, a bound soul was hurled from afar.

Kakarim looked up and recognized his worthless son.

"Kakayather!"

"Fa—Father?!"

Kakayather’s expression was withered and weak. As the son of a Cardinal, he had endured great torment here.

He never even imagined that he would see his father in this place.