The internal purge of traitors in the Eternal City had temporarily come to a halt. While Dr. Whitehall was indeed involved in the affair, the deeper cause lay in the discontent toward Solomon within the conservative faction of Hydra. The Malik family, who led those individuals, did not rely solely on faith to exert control—Europe's history was riddled with secret societies worshipping all sorts of strange things, even fabricating demons like Baphomet in the process. Many of these secret societies evolved into modern international financial institutions, political alliances, conglomerates, and military-industrial complexes—forces capable of shaping global structures from behind the scenes.
If it weren't for Gideon Malik employing shrewd methods in his youth to lead the old families in continuing to amass wealth, even Hydra's rigidly hierarchical system would have eliminated the Malik family long ago. Now, with the Eternal City expanding rapidly, even though Solomon had no concern for worldly wealth, certain secular resources he required were still tied to it. This meant that some of the more commercialized Hydra families were not making money as quickly as they used to, failing to meet the expectations Gideon Malik had promised. According to interrogation results, these factions within Hydra also rejected the monarchy of the Eternal City, attempting in secret to sideline Solomon and implement a parliamentary system in its place.
Solomon wasn't particularly surprised by their ambitions.
Capital has always despised autocratic monarchy. A regime where a single word from the sovereign could determine life or death, standing above all commercial interests, posed a significant threat to any economic enterprise. However, overthrowing a monarchy doesn't imply that capitalists will evolve; once they accumulate enough wealth, they often aspire to become final proprietors, returning to a feudal estate system—claiming all fruits of labor, turning workers into de facto serfs through loans and inflated prices.
Corporations are the land, banks the stewards, and serfs are perpetually indebted to their landlords, forced to work endlessly to repay ever-mounting debts until death. This is the reality of the modern West: so-called white-collar workers are essentially no different from homeless people on the street. Once a white-collar worker's credit collapses and they can no longer borrow, they too become homeless. Welfare only dulls their will, turning them into spherical humans riding motorized shopping carts. In addition to this, racial politics, women's rights, and LGBTQ issues are tools used to pit them against each other and prevent the serfs from uniting against the ruling class. The ultimate result of capital holding power is a return to serfdom, where ordinary people must pay even to breathe clean air. In comparison, a dictatorship under a brilliant, immortal monarch would result in higher societal productivity.
This is the final objective of modern secret cults: to become final proprietors within a system of coexisting monarchies driven by wealth acquisition. Solomon had infiltrated this group and witnessed firsthand their staggering stupidity—he could not comprehend how people who didn't need to labor to obtain status and wealth could lead such failed lives. Letting them continue would ultimately doom humanity on Earth, and escaping the solar system would become a distant fantasy.
Tita had been unknowingly influenced by subordinates of these sly old foxes, prompting Solomon to completely overhaul the Sisterhood's system. Now, all prospective members would be placed under confinement, and the Sisterhood had also organized an internal force dedicated to self-inspection and resisting corruption.
"I'll take care of this problem, my liege!" Stephanie's face was flushed with anger, as this incident reflected a lapse in her duties. She had hurriedly flown back from Moscow in a Quinjet, abandoning even the vacation Solomon had granted her. She dared not take time off now, fearing the end of her vacation would also signal the end of Solomon's trust. The Archmage thought briefly and approved her request to return to duty in the Eternal City. By the time she returned the next day, the Hydra members who had contacted Dr. Whitehall had already been decapitated by Solomon himself—their heads stripped of flesh and bleached, embedded with miniature anti-gravity engines and mechanical claws, and now floated above a bookshelf as skull ornaments and tools. Stephanie could even faintly hear their screams emanating from the skulls' eye sockets, where azure flames burned. Victoria Hand was still investigating how they had contacted Whitehall through coded signals, but Stephanie's assistance was indispensable.
Secret societies commonly used code signs to indicate the presence of allies, a practice consistent across the globe. However, each society had completely different code systems—Hydra's was entirely distinct from the Freemasons'. To uncover how Hydra had contacted Whitehall, Stephanie had to disclose Hydra's internal code rules. She regarded this as a test of the monarch's renewed trust. In her mind, if the monarch truly wanted the answer, he could have simply captured the traitors' souls and forced the truth from them, or threatened Whitehall with death. There was no need to take a roundabout path by requesting the Malik family's cooperation—this was the monarch granting them one last chance, with the implied demand that the Malik family fully rein in the conservative faction of Hydra.
"Give me a squad, and I'll eliminate the problem completely," she repeated. "My father may still be considering ways to unite them, but it's clear now that the Malik family has already given them enough chances. The Malik family now represents your authority, and you must deliver punishment. I will erase those families and offer their wealth and status to you."
"And while you're at it, get rid of the annoying CIA." Solomon lazily waved his hand, and the pale skulls floated toward Stephanie. "They are your assistants now," he said. "From now on, the heads of the guilty will be turned into tools or modified into Malbus mechanical servants. They will spill the last drop of their blood for the Eternal City, without exception."
After Stephanie left, her face full of shame, Solomon received the next visitor to his office. He looked visibly irritable, as some of his subordinates had gone too far to the extreme, causing a major headache.
"Stop this pointless atonement, Tita," he snapped, cutting her off with a sudden wave of his hand before she could speak. "I've already forgiven you, and I still need you to lead the Sisterhood. Going into battle without armor is an unforgivable act, a waste of the very purpose I created you for. Did you really think that dying in thin clothing would atone for anything? I want you to work harder, to ensure the purity of the Sisterhood. Do you understand? I don't want ceremonial gestures—I want real, concrete efficiency!"
Tita kept her head lowered, refusing to speak. Her actions had undoubtedly been seen within the Sisterhood as a sign of impure faith. Even as a commander personally appointed by Solomon, she had still faced silent condemnation from the other artificial beings, placing her under tremendous psychological pressure. She had withdrawn from her duties, spent long hours repenting alone in her quarters, and even resorted to painful self-flagellation as a form of punishment.
Before entering the office, she had already bandaged her wounds and used incense to mask the scent of blood, hoping the monarch wouldn't notice what she had done. She knew such behavior was forbidden. Due to Solomon's disdain for deification, all religious faith within the Sisterhood was practiced in secret.
"As you command, my lord."
"Come here, girl." Tita hesitated, then cautiously stepped forward. Solomon reached out and gently touched her short white hair. "I love you all, Tita. You're all my daughters. Don't blame yourself. There's still so much you need to learn. This was just a minor mistake. Isn't it better to make it now than to repeat it in the future?"
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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