Chapter 183

: The Path to Salvation

By the time the two senior Church officials sat down and talked in detail, they finally understood the whole situation. Previously, the reinforcements had left the city too hastily not knowing exactly what was going on. It was the same with the scouts as well. They were sent out in a hurry to scout for news. When they reached Templar Fort, they were greeted warmly by the crusaders who were stationed at the entrance before being taken to see the commander of the fort.
However, the few grass-roots unit soldiers could not explain the whole situation clearly, and all they knew was that the fort was under attack so Grand Cross Roland was bringing over the reinforcement troops to Templar Fort. The moment the fort heard that, they found the situation absurd sothey immediately asked the scouts to bring the elderly Archbishop, who was not an administrative leader, to have a talk with the Grand Cross. Since the elderly Archbishop was already old and could no longer walk fast, it took them a long time to arrive at the camp.

We were indeed under attack but that was just an ordinary small-scale attack that we face all the time. We were able to deal with that. However, it seems like the devils have a new trick that allows them to block the communication spell from functioning properly. That’s why it’s harder for us to maintain contact with headquarter.


Then, why 
did you light the emergency flare for?
The Grand Cross asked.

That was a mistake by a newly recruited soldier. Because the communication spell was blocked, in accordance with conventional practice, we have to light the black flare stating that we are in the midst of a battle. However, that kid mistakenly lit up the red flare instead,
the Archbishop explained.
But, didn’t we send a messenger to pass a message to the city after that? Why did all of you come over with such a big troop?

Hearing that, the Grand Cross almost went crazy. He clutched his hair as he snapped loudly,
But the news that the Holy City received was ‘A plague has broken out, and Templar Fort is under a massive attack at the same time! We’re on the verge of death!'


H-How’s that possible? Who would dare to spread a plague in our territory?!

The moment the words left his mouth, horror dawned on their faces. They knew that things were not as simple as it seemed.

Somebody deliberately tried to send us away!
The Grand Cross announced in a low voice, his face was gloomy.
This news is fake. The messenger is also fake. I’m afraid the soldier who lit up the flare did that intentionally as well.


B-But, for what?
 
The Archbishop continued to ask,
D-Don’t tell me that their main target is the Holy City?


Impossible!
 
The Grand Cross shook his head in denial.
Although I brought a large number of soldiers from the Holy City with me, there are still many strong men left in the city. Coupled with the secular army force, nobody 
would dare to lay siege on the Holy City.


Perhaps, this is a prank?
The Archbishop wondered,
C-Could it be that…
The image of the worst scenario flashed across his mind.
In truth, not every ruler believed in the Church. In the long run of history, there were many times when the Church clashed with the secular regime and wars even broke out between the two. However, those idiots who dared to attempt such a feat had all been annihilated in the course of history while the Church was still standing strong.

No, this is impossible!
The Grand Cross knew what he was about to say. Quickly, he explained,
The Walthart royal family has good a relationship with us. In fact, it was all thanks to us that they managed to ascend the throne so successfully. They would never 
do such a stupid thing.

In the end, the two of them couldnot think of any other plausible reason and all they could do was report their finding back to the Holy City, not knowing that the core of the problem had now shifted towards the Mage Tower that Baiyi was in.
The judicial paladins had managed to transfer the entire carriage filled with Octuplet Twin Crystals to the magical workshop located on the highest floor, the 13th floor. A few teachers were busy feeding the magical furnace with the crystals, one by one, charging the furnace with more power. A hint of unwillingness could be seen onthe faces of those who were present. All of them were unwilling to see such a high-grade crystal wasted on the antique furnace.
That was the restricted area that the Apprentice had mentioned earlier. Well, actually, the word ‘restricted area’ was not quite accurate. By the time it had reached President Rhansey’s presidency, the place had been turned into a storeroom that was used to store waste or used materials. Like the previous president, it appeared that the current president had a habit of dumping all the waste to the highest floor as well.
However, the workshop no longer looked like the storeroom that it once was, rather, it had a brand new look and not only that, it was arranged in a way that was very similiar to the Church. The window glasses were replaced with enamel stained glass, the wals werel painted white and on the four walls, hung a variety of religious murals. All of them were the inscriptions of the people who had been already been ‘saved’ by the True God through salvation.
All the trash that was originally dumped there had all been cleared out, replaced by two rows of standard Church’s benches with a bright red carpet on the aisle. If it wasn’t for the out-of-place magical furnace placed at the end of the carpet, the entire room looked exactly like a standard Church.
In a small rest area next to the workshop, Archbishop Nicholas was tidying up his outfit. Today, he was dressed much simpler and plainer than he was during the anniversary celebration. He only wore a plain-looking priest robe. Apart from other the holy scripture pendant that was hanging from his neck, he was not wearing any accessories at all, not even the archbishop’s miter that he usually wore with his priest attire.
Stroking his right chest, the Archbishop could feel the majestic and powerful heart that was beating loudly in his chest. He shut his eyes and prayed. Suddenly, a series of knocking could be heard from the door. It was the disciple that he was most proud of who was rapping on the door and disrupted his prayer.
After getting permission, the Chief Judge entered the room that had been decorated in a religious and sacred manner. He bowed towards his teacher before he said in a low voice,
My beloved teacher, the furnace is now ready and the choir is already gathered by the bottom of the tower. For safety reasons, they’re not allowed to come up. I hope you’ll forgive me, my teacher.


It’s alright,
The Archbishop shook his head generously before glancing at Lord Haart with a kind look,
My child, why do you look so sad? As the sole witness of my journey to salvation, you should be happier.


T-Teacher…
The Chief Judge lowered his head and stopped concealing the sadness on his face. It should be a matter joy to witness the Archbishop’s brilliant moment of salvation. However, to Lord Haart who was an orphan, Nicholas who had taken him under his own care and raised him up was not just a simple teacher figure…

Don’t be sad, my child. This is the path that I seek,
The Archbishop walked to the Chief Judge, and he reached out to stroke his face like how he used to do when the Chief Judge was younger. A look of bitterness appeared on the Archbishop’s face,
I’m just worried that after I’m gone, you’ll be left alone again. Perhaps you should have listened to my advice earlier and find a wife to accompany you.

Actually, Lord Haart was only a little over 50 years old. As a powerful man, he should look much younger but from his appearance, he appeared to look as old as Nicholas was. Perhaps it was caused by the stress and pressure from the judicial work. It was also for that reason that he did not choose to marry and stayed single his entire life.
If Baiyi knew about that, he might take a dig at this old virgin man, right?
Listening to Nicholas’ last fatherly advice, all that Lord Haart could do was nod his head,
I understand.


Also, remember to thank President Rhansey. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be able to obtain such a wonderful furnace,
The Archbishop added.
Just as he finished his words, a melodious hymn flooded the room through the window. The choir below that was made up of knight trainees and novice nuns had already started to sing the Holy Song.

It’s time, let’s go.
The Archbishop Nicholas announced in a soft voice. He stepped out and started to walk on the red carpet leading to the antique magical furnace.
Everybody else had already been cleared out of the room. Only Nicholas and Lord Haart were in the workshop that had been transformed into a church. The elderly Archbishop gently walked towards the magical furnace while whispering his last prayer to God. By the time his prayer had ended, he pressed a hand on the furnace and slowly, the furnace unfolded its lid automatically.
If it was a normal big sized furnace, the opening would be quite small. However, the designer for that furnace probably had a wild ambition of wanting to fit a dragon in, therefore he had made the opening very wide. It was so wide that a grown man could fit through it.
However, such a foolish design drew a satisfactory smile on the Archbishop’s face. In a few moments, the furnace would be ignited, and it would be flooded with high heat and magical currents that no ordinary man could withstand. That was exactly 
what he wanted, it was the choice he made to go on the path of salvation.
The whole process and the plan were absolutely perfect. Although there was a small accident in the southernmost region, it did not affect him at all. The biggest flaw in the whole plan was probably the fact that the choir could only stay at the bottom of the tower, and the volume of the hymn was a little too faint for his liking. The next flaw would probably be that his only witness, Lord Roland, who had been raised like his own son, would not sit on the bench obediently and insist on following behind him instead.
However, those were trivial matters. The Archbishop did not care much about that. He knew that his disciple-cum-son was merely feeling sad and reluctant about him leaving. In a soft and kind tone, the Archbishop turned towards his disciple,
My child, according to the ceremony, you have to sit righ…

He could not even finish his last words. That was because a hand had already pierced through his chest and pulled out a living, beating heart as he was speaking. Lowering his head, he could see the purple-black heart that was covered in tiny snake-like blood vessels. Moreover, evil energy was constantly emitting from the little bloody thing.

The one walking on the path of salvation is not you! It’s ME, 
my beloved teacher!
Lord Haart spat out the word coldly behind the Archbishop, who was like a father figure to him. Then, drawing his hand back, he used another hand to tear open the shirt in front of his chest, exposing a tattoo of a devil’s head.

But, this 
is not your method of salvation!
A ferocious smile crept up onto Lord Haart’s face. With no signs of hesitation, he pressed the heart into his chest. The heart instantly melted and turned into a blob of disgusting purplish black goo before it merged with the mark on his chest.
He did not even look back as he entered the magical furnace and slammed the door behind him loudly.
A moment later, the furnace began to light up with raging fire.