Infinitus Anathema: Chapter 2 – Ruthless Righteousness

 

Chapter 2 – Ruthless Righteousness

The dropship shakes as it takes fire from the anti-air canons on the surface, and yet, we are still as our feet are firmly planted on the floor with our weapons ready and our focus on our commander as he stands up.

“Brothers and sisters, this is the time of retribution. There are no innocent souls on this planet other than the ones destroying it. Execute every last sinner you see. We are the adopted sons and daughters of God. Let the Lord guide your weapons! Let righteous fury be your psalm of praise! We are the wrath of God, and our enemies shall fall before us!”

As soon as the commander finishes his speech, we land, and the landing door drops. We’ve landed inside a small house and run over its inhabitants when we landed. A hail of laser fire and explosions greet us as we exit the dropship. The grace of God and our armor protects us as we charge through it into the city we are assaulting. More dropships fall from the sky and onto the battlefield with some dropships landing in the city or in the skyscrapers, buildings, and homes with no consideration for the sinners inside. Tanks and infantry face us on the ground with their ineffective weapons as we charge forward tearing them to shreds with our heavy weapons. A single shot from our weapons can tear a person in two and can go right through armor and can only dent our own.

Above us are defense towers that try to rain down fire and missiles, but our weapons cut right through them. We then charge through the walls of the city and continue our assault by spreading out our forces. I go off on my own and charge into a building and run over and crush a sinner in the process. I then use my explosive minigun to tear apart everyone. The building falls on me and I come out without a scratch on my armor.

“Zakai, we’re moving down below the city to route out any filth beneath it,” a squadmate says.

“Roger,” I respond.

A detachment of our forces moves to the lower city where we find more sinners trying to make their escape or hide. The rich are mixed up with the poor down here, and they will all share the same grave just as the heathens and the heretics share a similar fate in Hell. As I destroy and shoot down every sinner I see, I’m reminded of the pope executing the traitors and his assassins. I remember the corrupt leaders in our government and the ones outside of it. Neither of which got the justice that was coming to them until now. While the pope’s trusted soldiers cleanse the Church from the inside, we clean the outside.

The ceiling above us begins to come crashing down as the battle shakes the planet and we destroy the pillars beneath this city to make it come crumbling down. We evacuate the lower city and emerge back on the surface to find another wave of sinners approaching the city. A mix of tanks, infantry, and air support is part of this wave as it appears that they’re throwing the last of their forces after us. Another two waves come at us from the sides, so we take up positions in the city. Once they get closer, we effectively take them out in ambushes that make their numbers look like nothing. The two skulls that comprise our helmet allow us to see behind us and a special function can turn on heat vision so we can see through the smoke they’ve deployed.

I’ve been in intense battles like this before with my back against the wall. Some of these battles were fought for petty politicians who wanted planets. I’ve had to kill innocent people for them because of my duty as a soldier. In these battles, my squads were outgunned, underprepared, and unequipped to deal with our enemy. I can hardly remember how I survived and why I was the only one to survive at times despite my injuries. It was all to prepare me for this as far as I know. Things are different now as we are blessed with real weapons, armor, and a pure purpose.

The Divinus Carnifex is God’s hammer of judgment. Only the most elite soldiers from the various groups in the Church are invited to join it. We can’t shoot pillars of fire and put planets in Purgatorial states forever, so we are that cleansing flame instead. Our equipment and faith outclass every other empire out there and this army attacking us is no match for us as we crush it without losing anyone. These heretics and traitors that we face don’t even believe in what they preach since the holy images on our armor are charred by laser fire and explosives. A true follower of God wouldn’t aim for these holy images. We continue on from the city to a neighboring town where the sinners are retreating to.

“Ready your launchers!” the commander says.

The men with missiles line up and take aim at the town in the distance.

“Fire!”

A barrage of missile and laser fire engulfs the town and leaves a little crater. The squads around me cheer at the display and praise God.

“It’s not time to celebrate yet, brothers and sisters. We’re just getting started!”

“Isn’t that reason enough to celebrate?” I ask.

“You have a point there, Zakai. Let us give our works to the Lord above if you aren’t already and praise Him! Praise Him with every shot you fire! Praise Him with every sinner you deliver to His judgment! Praise Him! Praise Him for all eternity!”

We yell out as we continue our march on the planet as we activate our recovery systems in our suit to recover our energy. These suits based on the armor of St. Michael the Archangel’s Legion also allow us to do conserve and replenish our strength in what would otherwise be superhuman activities. Praise be to God and the makers of these suits for their creation. More squads of us fly ahead of us to the next neighboring city that’s already burning and crumbling down. This is only the start of a great day and an even greater war.

Just like our ancestors who purged the Holy Lands of heathens before claiming their inheritance, we will clean the galaxy, claim what is rightfully ours, and save souls. No more will they oppress us. No more will they kill and steal from us because of our beliefs. They will learn to fear God and His Holy Church for we are His Holy Wrath, and the time for gentle mercy is over.

Infinitus Anathema: Chapter 1 – From Mercy to Justice

 

Chapter 1 – From Mercy to Justice

“Brother, I told you to keep an eye on the pope. He turns into a child when he’s near them,” my brother says.

“Yes, brother, I know.”

My brother, Celesto, and I are supposed to be the pope’s guards. Two people specifically picked out because of our skills. You wouldn’t know that if you looked at us now since we look like fools. The pope is such a tall and muscular man that you’d think it would be impossible for us to lose sight of him. It’s probably those old tricks that he learned as a child.

“There he is!” Celesto says.

Celesto shows me what he sees from his viewpoint as it pops up on the screen. My specially designed helmet allows me to see both in front of me in many directions and I have the same for the eyes in the back of my head, and yet, I didn’t see the pope?

“He seems to be having fun with the kids,” I point out.

“That’s because he is one. I’m going to need an extra set of arms to pray for him more.”

“The Kingdom of Heaven does belong to the children-wait. Do you see those people?”

I switch the vision on my eyes to clearly see four people on the rooftops below us sneaking towards the pope.

“I see them. You take the two on the right. I’ll take the two on the left.”

“Got it.”

We take out our rifles and make our extra arms form into a rifle to knock out our targets with knockout rounds then bring them down to the pope. Both the children and he are shocked by our sudden appearance.

“Oh, don’t be afraid, kids. The man in red is Brother Cremiso and the man in blue is Brother Celesto,” Pope Dolce V says.

“Excuse me, your excellency, but you can’t keep doing this, especially when people like this come after you,” Celesto says.

“That’s why God gave you two to me. You’re like my guardian angels and you’re doing a wonderful job.”

“Tch. What should we do with these four?”

“Call for the guards to pick them up for interrogation.”

“Interrogation? These men were meaning to kill you.”

“So? God is merciful and I will follow His example.”

“Okay, I understand.”

While Celesto calls for the assassins to be picked up and interrogated, the two children cautiously approach me. One is a boy and the other is a girl.

“Brother Cremiso, this is Valoro and Veraca. They’ve been entertaining me with their stories of adventure through the city. It’s okay, you two. You can talk to Brother Cremiso. He’s a good guy,” Pope Dolce V says.

Valoro points to my mechanical arms and asks, “Are those really your arms? Were you born with them?”

“No, these are mechanical arms that can transform into whatever I want them to, but mostly I have them in a prayer position since I’m always praying for the pope,” I answer.

“Why do you look so scary?” Veraca asks.

“To intimidate the enemies of God. This appearance is inspired by the seraphim with their many eyes.”

“Wow,” both the children say.

“Aren’t these two wonderful? I can spend hours talking to them,” Pope Dolce V says.

“I know you can, but we have to get you to safety. There might be more people after you.”

“If they are, then I trust that you will take care of them. Just promise me that you’ll protect the children too.”

“I will, your excellency, but we still have to ensure your safety for the sake of the Church.”

Celesto joins the conversation after the assassins are arrested by the guards and sent back to the station for immediate interrogation.

“Your excellency, we have to call off your surprise visit to the orphanage. If more assassins are after you, it could endanger the lives of the children,” Celesto says.

“That’s a good point, but I at least want to escort these children back to the orphanage. It’s not safe for them to be out here by themselves.”

“But sir-”

“That’s an order.”

“Yes, your excellency.”

With the two children accompanying us, we walk to the orphanage. The orphanage itself is dedicated to the pope’s childhood friend, Onoro, who sacrificed his life to save him from criminals. Ever since, the pope has treated everyone as if they were his best friend. The soldiers he cared for when he was a field medic and now the many faithful under his rule. It’s said that God made him so big so that his big heart could fit in his body. Still, he can be a bit too generous and get himself into harm's way when he needs to think about his own safety.

He's put the main focus of the Church on the children, orphans, education, and law enforcement. This has been good for us so far, but the mercy he shows to our enemies could use a bit more work. Executions are rare since he has raised the number and kind of sins a sinner would need to commit to warrant one, and the only battles we’ve fought have been in self-defense from heretical empires. I’m honestly not sure if he’s truly making the right decisions, so I’m just trusting in God to guide him down the correct path.

“We’re here, and we’ve got trouble,” Celesto says as he shares with me a view of what he’s seeing.

“Tell me what you see,” Pope Dolce V says.

“The orphanage is taken over by a group of people who are wearing similar outfits that your previous assassins were wearing. They have the place locked down tight,” I say.

“My scans are reading bombs planted in the building on the upper and lower floors, but I can’t pinpoint them all or the amount. We’re dealing with experts here,” Celesto adds.

“This is horrible. You two have to do something about this while I distract them.”

“They might just shoot you on sight,” Celesto says.

“I don’t think so. I think they want to make it public. I am the visible head of the Church in the universe after all. Broadcasting it would cause more distress than not just like the previous execution of Venerable Fortier II.”

“Or they may broadcast you being shot on sight.”

“Listen to me. I’m not going to sit around here and do nothing. You two must take care of every hostile in that building and disable those bombs. Understood?”

“Yes, your excellency.”

“You start from the basement, Cremiso. I’ll take the ones on the rooftop.”

“Will do, brother.”

Celesto and I quickly infiltrate the orphanage before Pope Dolce V starts walking towards it. I transform one of my mechanical arms into a blade and the other into a silenced rifle while separate my rifle into two so that I can use the dual pistol function of it. With a silencer attached to my pistols, I head in and move as fast as I can through the basement of the orphanage. I eliminate fifteen hostiles and find ten bombs in my area. These sinners may be professionals, but they don’t expect a blade and silent laser fire coming through the walls.

“Are you done on your end, brother?”

“Yes, Cremiso. I’m clearing the second floor as we speak.”

“Good. I’ll be clearing the first floor.”

I do as I say and clear out the sinners and bombs. I’m starting to wonder who sent these people because of their equipment and their ability to hold an orphanage hostage without alerting anyone outside.

“Cremiso, the pope has entered the building.”

“I can see that. There’s only one more left and he has all the children and staff with him.”

Pope Dolce V comes in by himself with his hands in the air. It’s a good thing that the two children didn’t come in though I hope they’re not nearby.

“Welcome, your excellency,” the man in the center says with a bomb trigger in his hand.

“I know what you’re up to. It’s not too late to stop and repent,” Pope Dolce V says.

“No, it is too late. I have nothing to repent for. This is the beginning of the end for your Church, and there's nothing your bodyguards and you can do about it. Even if they were to take me out, there’s a secondary switch to the bombs tied to my heart and the hostage.”

“Save the pope, Cremiso!”

I quickly head over to the pope and shield him with my armored cloak as the man activates the explosives. When the dust settles, we see that more bombs were on the man and on the hostages. Pope Dolce V stands to look at the massacre in worrying silence. Celesto and I remove our helmets and prostrate ourselves before him.

“Forgive us, your excellency! We’ve failed you and these poor innocent souls!” we say.

“No. You did your job in protecting me. You did your best.”

Pope Dolce V walks out of the orphanage as people gather around to see what happened. The media has arrived along with more guards to escort the pope back to the Papal Palace on this planet. We interrogate the four assassins who came after him first to discover that they were working with the people who took over the orphanage. They headed out on their own to get the “glory” of killing the pope by themselves. They then tell us that they were apart of a secret alliance of people from enemy empires. Heretics and heathens working together doesn’t surprise me much. What does surprise me is that the equipment they used was from the unknown regions and that the bombs on the hostages were made from materials from those regions. That’s why we couldn’t detect them and why they were so powerful. Another surprise we learn is the names of the people who told them about the pope’s secret visit to the orphanage. The guards immediately head out and go to arrest these people while we bring this news to the pope.

“I see. I’ll issue orders to further our investigation in the unknown regions,” Pope Dolce V says.

“Are we declaring war on the alliance?” Celesto asks.

“No, I will make a public message to them. We will be merciful and tell them to repent of their sins.”

“You’re letting them…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“It’s-it’s nothing.”

I can tell Celesto wants to object especially after what happened, but he’s holding his tongue because of our failure.

A public announcement is hastily put together at the Papal Palace. The media attends the announcement along with the inhabitants of the city with the area being more heavily guarded than usual. Pope Dolce V moves to his throne, but when he turns around to sit and make his announcement, a sniper shot comes from a far away building and hits him directly on the head. His head jolts backward, however, his helmet has protected him, and he swiftly recovers from the shot, changes his Papal staff into a long range sniper, and shoots the assassin. Both the public and media are in a panic as the guards and army forces are dispatched to further secure the area.

Pope Dolce V holds up his hand and says to everyone, “There is no need to panic.”

For some reason, the crowd is calmed and even the guards and soldiers slow their pace.

“I was going to announce a message of peace and mercy to my assassins from the alliance of empires, but now I see that isn’t the right thing to do,” Pope Dolce V continues, “The universe has been in a constant state of war and violence ever since man established itself in the stars. I have tried to use mercy and prayer as my primary weapon against it. My capacity for mercy has run dry because of recent events, so I will replace mercy with merciful justice. I’ve let our enemies continue in their sin for too long. Now, I will put them out of their misery so that they cannot warrant a worse sentence in Hell. I declare everyone outside the Ecclesia Aeternam to be Infinitus Anathema. Infinitely Cursed. You will either submit to God and His Holy Catholic Church or face immediate execution just as these sorry sinners do.”

The assassins and the traitors that worked with them are brought out by the guards.

“Repent! The Wrath of God is at hand!”

Pope Dolce V raises his hand then lowers it to signal their execution. The crowds of people cheer in praise for God and the pope. I didn’t expect Pope Dolce V to do this and when I look at my brother, he appears to be in shock too. Pope Dolce V is checked for injuries both physical and spiritual but doesn’t seem to have any. In fact, he seems to be more aware than ever. The next day comes around and we hear no word from our enemies. I guess they didn’t take the pope seriously enough, so he makes another public announcement.

“I see that my message wasn’t taken to heart. So be it then. Let your death come to you by your word.”

Pope Dolce V raises his staff to the air as thirty different Catholic ships with a small escort are shown warping to different non-Catholic planets. These ships unleash a large pillar of laser fire that eradicates the planets’ defending forces and the planets themselves as the entire surface is engulfed in fire and become black. The ships then carve either the image of Our Lord on the cross or His Divine Face on the surface. Watching this and hearing the crowd around the pope cheer makes it feel like the entire universe is shaking. Is this truly God’s Will? I can only hope it is.

Fides Aeternam Timeline: Judgment: 1200RCC

Judgment: 1200RCC

Knowing the Ecclesia Aeternam's weakness and their ability to rally and come back from defeat, the alliance from the unknown regions does something unexpected. Using unstable technology that can only be made using materials from the unknown regions, the alliance sends out various suicide ships with a small escort that explode themselves into the suns of galaxies to wipe it out in its entirety. This happens for every galaxy that the Church owns as untold numbers of people are wiped out in a single instant. By the time the Church catches on to what is happening, the Milky Way Galaxy is the only one left and is under siege by the entire population of the alliance. It is announced to Church what has been done and that they should submit to the alliance or face death.

Most of the faithful are in a panic, but Pope Vengaza V reassures them that God has not yet abandoned them and rallies them to fight back. Everything that the Church has left is deployed. Everyone who can fight joins in the battle while those unable to fight pray their rosaries instead. The resulting battle is one that is devastating to both sides. It seems that the alliance might be getting ahead once they start deploying their planet-killing weapons inspired by the same ones the Church used to put planets in a Purgatorial state. To counter this, the Church reveals its special defense of mechs that rise from the churches in the ground. The mechs unleash their barrage of lasers and missiles on the ground forces and the ships above as choirs sing hymns of praise to God. What happens is mutual destruction as both the Church's forces and the forces of the alliance are destroyed, however, the people on earth are still alive. The other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy are inhabitable now because of the damage done to them. All the futuristic technology that humanity has enjoyed is destroyed and beyond repair. The age of the future is over as humanity to confined to living on Earth again. Despite this, the faithful raise their voice in prayer and praise to give thanks to God.

"Veritas Aeterna! Catholicism est ut Aeternum! Truth is eternal! Catholicism is eternal! Praise and glory be to God for all eternity!"

Fides Aeternam Timeline: War in Heaven: 1001RCC - 1200RCC

 War in Heaven: 1001RCC - 1200RCC

Infighting within the Church reaches a boiling point and one side separates itself from the other. The Fidelis ad Dogma are the traditionalists who want every heathen, heretic, and traitor to the Church executed if they haven't yet repented while the Fidelium in Ecclesia want to be more merciful and open to them while still educating the non-Catholics to convert. Pope Chaleureux IV takes the side of the Fidelium in Ecclesia and because of this, he is declared an anti-pope by the Fidelis ad Dogma and they elect their own pope who is called Pope Arcanus. The Dogmatists are the first to strike and the Ecclesia are forced to retaliate. Both sides fight and pray against the other in a back and forth war that dominates the majority of this era.

Because of the civil war, crime increases along with the influence of the alliance from the unknown regions. The Church's enemies from the outside steal precious resources and convert stray souls to their cause while the faithful are busy killing and discriminating against each other. After years of fighting, Pope Chaleureux IV challenges Pope Arcanus to a duel of swords that he wins. Because of this defeat, the Dogmatists are forced to submit back to the Church and do penance for their rebellion. Pope Chaleureux IV passes away shortly after and his successor, Pope Venganza V takes his place and continues where his predecessor left off. As the Church licks its self-inflicted wounds, the alliance from the unknown regions mobilizes its forces.

Fides Aeternam Timeline: Stability and Order: 701RCC - 1000RCC

 Stability and Order: 701RCC - 1000RCC

This is an era of relative peace. Despite having control of the known galaxy, the Church still has battles to fight within. Petty politics and useless debates about Church teachings weigh down the Church's attention in caring for their own and the possible threat from the unknown regions. Groups of the Church continue to explore the depths of unknown space to find mostly inhospitable planets, shattered remnants of dead empires, and hostile wildlife. There is even a planet that is a living organism that the Cleaners destroy. Technology continues to advance in complexity along with discoveries in medicine though it seems that the advances will reach a dead end as the newly discovered materials in the unknown regions are mostly unusable or too toxic to be used for anything good.

Pope Extollo III continues the hard work of his predecessor and Pope Fèngxiàn II continues to do the same but doesn't continue the practice of immediately executing heretics and heathens who refuse to submit to the Church. Instead, they are sent to jail to be evangelized and if they prove to be loyal to the Church, they are allowed to live as normal citizens. This stirs up controversy and further divides the faithful even though the opposing side begrudgingly accepts this new ruling. From there, Pope Chaleureux IV takes over. By this time, the infighting of the Church has gotten worse despite the pope's best efforts to calm them down. One side wants to be more gentle on the non-Catholics while the other side wants them either executed, in jail, or put on their own planet. Meanwhile, the remnants of the other empires have formed one alliance and have people within the Church to spread their lies and cause more infighting.

Fides Aeternam Timeline: Gentle Extermination: 549RCC - 700RCC

 Gentle Extermination: 549RCC - 700RCC

Pope Dolce V was already tired of the wars and crimes going on in the universe and the assassination attempt on his life and the destruction of the orphanage dedicated to his friend pushes him over the edge. He publicly declares that everyone who isn't submitted to God and His Holy Church is infinitely cursed. They must either submit or face execution. To show that he's serious about this, he executes the assassins that came after him and their co-conspirators. He then warns his enemies that their planets will face immediate destruction if they don't submit the next day. His message isn't taken seriously and because no empire submits themselves to the Church, he sends out specially armed space ships with a small escort to thirty planets and put them in a Purgatorial state that eradicates all life on the planets while also craving the face of Jesus or the cross with Jesus on it on the planets. This attack couldn't be countered and even the planetary defenses and groups of defense ships were destroyed by these ships and their few escorts. The fire that these ships rained down pierced through everything in its path and everything around it.

This is just the start of what is known as the Gentle Extermination by non-Catholics and Catholics alike as the Ecclesia Aeternam is on a relentless assault. Whoever refuses to convert is executed. The enemies of the Church try their best to fight back only to be crushed or win a small victory only to lose their winnings and more the next day if not the next hour. Civilians and soldiers alike start converting out of fear of the Church and fleeing their empires. With so many losses happening consistently across the many years, the other empires are forced far into the unknown regions of the galaxy where they struggle to find shelter. The Ecclesia Aeternam has essentially conquered the universe with every galaxy and planet bowing before God and His Church. Remnants of the other empires and heretics are constantly hunted down if they haven't fled while special groups within the Church hunt down and capture survivors of their enemies in the unknown regions while also keeping an eye on them.

Finally, peace is established in the universe. Pope Dolce V works with the construction workers and laborers to build back destroyed orphanages and schools in penance for the sins of his enemies, the sins of the Church, and any sins he might've committed through this war. When Pope Dolce V passes away, it's in the garden in the orphanage dedicated to his childhood friend. It is said that flowers were growing around him and still grow around him near his grave. Pope Extollo III takes his place and continues in his predecessor's ways. The known universe may be at peace, but in the unknown regions, the enemies of the Church make their next plot as they always do.

Fides Aeternam Timeline: War and Peace: 381RCC - 549RCC

 War and Peace: 381RCC - 549RCC

Not wanting to be made fools of, the enemies of the Ecclesia Aeternam go back to their tactic of pretending to want peace while infiltrating the Church with their lies. Pope Kanja is quick to act against them and wages an undeclared war against its infiltrators, traitors, and the outside threats. Because of this, small wars take place for territory, influence, revenge, and justice. The events of Good vs Right take place as this a time of passive-aggressive and aggressive action. There are small periods of peace and war to the point that the populations of all empires can't keep track of them all and the reasons behind them. It is assumed that war and conflict are the norm. It is even said that this is a time of pseudo-peace since there are no large scale wars going on.

Meanwhile, Pope Kanja and the faithful under him stay vigilant and fight their many foes and try to keep their steady stream of progress going. Hundreds of billions of rosaries are continuously said throughout the Ecclesia Aeternam as more and more planets fall to them. Because of the Church's ever-growing progress while the other empire decay, a secret alliance is formed between the several enemies of the Church. This alliance is formed by Protestants, the Orthodox, Jews, and people of other faiths from the unknown regions. As Pope Kanja passes away and Pope Dolce V takes his place, they see their opportunity to strike.

Pope Dolce V is a kind and gentle man despite being so large and his history as a field medic. Blessed Archibishop Cadmen is credited as one of his influences in the way he thinks and acts. Another influence is the death of his childhood friend, Onoro, who sacrificed himself to save him from criminals when they were still children. This event made Pope Dolce V focus on caring for orphaned children, children's education, and law enforcement. His focus on these things has made other crimes and corruption slip by. It also allows the alliance to act without worrying too much and gather what they need to attempt to assassinate the pope.

This assassination takes place when the pope visits an orphanage named after Onoro. Most of the assassins take over the orphanage in secret and rig it with explosives while a small detachment tries to assassinate the pope by themselves. Even though they fail and are captured by the authorities, the pope still falls into the trap set by the alliance though he is not killed in the explosion. Instead, all the orphans and staff are killed. Despite this attempt, the assassins who were captured aren't executed nor does the pope declare war on the alliance. Instead, he tries to be merciful to them and tries to publicly broadcast this message of mercy, but is then shot in the face by a sniper in a far away building. His helmet protects him and he quickly changes his papal staff into a sniper and takes out his assassin by himself. The people around him were panicking and the guards were trying to get him to safety, however, Pope Dolce V wanted to continue the broadcast with a different message. A message of war. A message that immediately ended this era.