The Main Hall of Saint Elliott Cathedral echoed with melodious hymns.
Amelia sat idly, listening to the choir’s rehearsal with nothing better to do.
Today, the church was particularly quiet—everyone had run off to attend the grand Triumphal Parade.
She itched to join them, but as the Archbishop’s assistant, she had to remain at her post—what if her teacher had an important task for her?
Out of sheer boredom, her little head started mulling things over again: just how could she dig up some dirt on that fiend, Allen de Laval, to “rescue” her dearest friend Marianne from his grasp?
“Everyone, please make way!”
Just then, a familiar voice called out at the entrance. Amelia looked over in delight—sure enough, she spotted Marianne!
“Marianne! Over here!” She forgot all about the no-noise rule in the cathedral and waved as she called out happily.
But when Marianne saw her, she forced a weak smile, and soon her face was shadowed by anxiety and worry.
Huh? What’s wrong? Amelia felt puzzled.
It was only then she noticed that behind Marianne followed a stranger—a Red-haired Nun. On the nun’s shoulder… was she actually carrying a black-haired boy?!
The sight of a petite girl lugging a boy was a bit comical, but upon a closer look—wasn’t that Allen de Laval?!
What kind of mischief was he up to this time?
Amelia wanted to go over and see what was happening, but her gaze was drawn to the Black-robed Cleric walking beside the Red-haired Nun.
Wait… That outfit didn’t look like ordinary clergy robes—the cut, the air about him…
Could he be an Inquisitor from the Inquisition?!
There was almost no contact between the ordinary church staff and the Inquisition.
Amelia, ever guileless, had often heard other clerics gossip in private that people from the Inquisition were difficult, obsessive types—rumor had it they even arrested their own!
So she always felt a bit afraid of Inquisitors.
She’d once complained about the Inquisition to her teacher in secret, but he only told her that the Inquisition was a “necessary evil”—the Church couldn’t do without it, nor it without the Church; light and shadow, entwined and interdependent.
She understood that logic, but Amelia still felt that even if it was necessary, evil was still evil! Shouldn’t the Church convert the world with love and mercy?
Yet, even the Inquisitor was now with that troublemaker… Had he finally caused a catastrophe?
Wait?! Didn’t that mean Marianne would soon be free?
But I haven’t even made a move—could things be resolved so easily?
Lost in wild thoughts, the little nun suddenly saw her always-calm and composed teacher—the Archbishop of Lucien—stride in, his face unusually clouded with worry.
“Your Excellency, I’ve brought him.”
Judge Victor’s voice was taut, the aftereffects of the Delirium Potion—slight nervous disorder—had begun to show.
Anna, on the other hand, was physically special, and was still lively after the drug’s effects wore off, carrying Allen with steady steps.
Luthien, the Archbishop, frowned at the feeble Allen. “You didn’t give him any medicine?”
“He… is still under our surveillance. Administering drugs would violate the rules,” Victor replied, bracing himself.
The Archbishop glared at him. “You’ve already broken so many rules—what’s one more? Have you forgotten the Emergency Exception Principle?”
The Archbishop’s words startled Victor. Suddenly, he realized—the matter of his secret alliance with Allen de Laval, the Archbishop must have known all along!
“Your Excellency, I…” Victor broke out in a cold sweat.
But the Archbishop continued, “Since you’ve chosen to trust him and to save humanity, then you should have the resolve to match. Half-hearted determination will achieve nothing.”
Victor was completely dumbfounded. The Archbishop not only knew he had seriously violated rules and secretly allied with a Potential Heretic, but… even tacitly approved and encouraged it?
The Archbishop of Lucien seemed to trust Allen de Laval even more than Victor did!
That recognition sent a surge of wild joy through Victor—his last concerns evaporated.
“Your Excellency, I don’t need your weird medicines.”
At this moment, Allen finally recovered a little and spoke with difficulty,
“I’m not mentally corrupted, just exhausted. But I have something of utmost importance to say. There are too many ears here. Please, take us somewhere absolutely secure.”
The Archbishop nodded. “Take him to the Sanctum.”
Victor glanced at Marianne and Anna, hinting to the Archbishop that they did not have clearance to enter the Sanctum.
But the Archbishop only shook his head, saying gravely, “Their fates are now entwined with his. They have the right to know these secrets.”
“Understood.” Victor turned to Anna, solemnly reminding her, “Anna, whatever you see or hear next, you absolutely must not tell anyone.”
“Huh?” The airheaded Anna still hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation.
Allen chimed in at just the right moment, “He means, whatever you see in a moment, just forget it all. After you forget, he’ll buy you Little Cake.”
“Uh…”
Victor subconsciously patted his empty pockets—he really was broke. But seeing Anna’s eyes light up with anticipation, he realized maybe this trick would actually work.
He nodded helplessly, “That’s right. Be good, Anna.”
“Okay! I wouldn’t remember anyway!” Anna grinned happily.
Seeing her smile, Victor secretly resolved: Even if he had to borrow money from Allen de Laval, he’d make sure Anna ate Little Cake to her heart’s content!
Far off, Amelia watched all of this, completely baffled.
In this situation, she dared not go up and ask. Her teacher had told her there were many things she wasn’t ready for yet.
One day, she would bear true responsibility and fulfill the Mission entrusted by the Lord.
That’s why she always looked forward to growing up, so she could share her teacher’s burdens.
Suddenly, the blue-haired little nun had a strange thought: Allen de Laval… just what sort of person was he?
Why could someone so “evil” come and go freely in a sacred place like the Cathedral, and even cause such a stir among the Inquisitors and the Archbishop?
It made no sense.
Amelia decided she had to get closer to this mysterious guy and uncover all his secrets! Maybe, she wouldn’t even need to wait until she grew up to earn the right to learn the truth!
Under Amelia’s curious gaze, the group left the Main Hall and walked towards the hidden passage deep within the church.
All the way, Marianne anxiously kept her eyes fixed on Allen.
He had suddenly collapsed just now, nearly scaring her to death.
The last time that happened, he had almost died! If it happened again, her heart couldn’t take it.
At that time, Allen’s makeshift good brother Hugo was also very worried, but Allen forced himself to reassure him it was just a physical problem and he needed to rest.
He quietly told Hugo that he must sneak into the Thieves’ Guild headquarters ahead of time and hide on June 28th.
Because June 29th was the “Clearance Day” Allen had chosen.
On that day, the Thieves’ Guild would close its doors and conduct its Quarterly Financial Reckoning.
All the gang leaders under their control would have to report to headquarters to pay protection fees and present their work.
Based on the results, the Guild would redivide the territories for the next quarter. Even the field agents would return to take part in the “Welfare Event” held by the Guild—
Usually some sort of debauched, hedonistic revelry, including public torture and execution of traitors, or Slave Gladiators fighting for the bloodthirsty entertainment of the members.
Finn didn’t qualify for such events (the Wild Dog Gang could only pay protection fees to their higher-ups), but he knew the inside story and provided Allen with this vital intelligence.
Allen’s plan was straightforward and brutal: strike from within and without while the enemy was gathered and security relatively lax—wipe them out in one fell swoop!
Hugo, Finn, and selected members of the Dawn’s Children would infiltrate ahead of time, while Allen would lead the Lily Guard in an external assault.
Other than the slaves forced to stay, everyone there deserved to die—no mercy required.
Originally, Allen had worried about running into a Markbearer, but now, with Hugo joining, that was no longer an issue.
Hugo’s strength was enough to crush those Pseudo-Mark Knights.
And if that Blood Priest dared show up, he’d face the long-prepared wrath of the Inquisition, eager to avenge their past humiliation.
After hearing Allen’s detailed plan—even in a delirious state—Hugo was full of admiration. His good brother was bold and meticulous, truly worthy of trust!
Allen finished, nearly fainted, and only left with Victor’s help. Marianne
had to ask Hugo to explain to Bernard that Allen was just suffering from heatstroke and needed rest, so Hugo didn’t come along.
Luckily, after arriving at the Cathedral, Allen seemed to recover somewhat, and Marianne’s heart could finally relax a little.
But she was so focused on Allen that she didn’t notice they had passed through countless hidden doors and now stood before what looked like an ordinary yet unusually heavy metal door.
When Allen saw this door, he nearly burst out laughing. It looked mysterious, but on closer inspection—wasn’t it just an elevator door!
He had thought the Church’s technology would be much more advanced, maybe some teleportation device or such, but the entrance to the core Sanctum was just an elevator?
Alright then, plain and simple worked too.
The elevator was quite spacious.
During the descent, Allen felt better and better—he could even stand unaided now.
Marianne and Anna were both fascinated by the elevator; Marianne pondered the force that powered the platform, while Anna simply enjoyed the slight weightlessness.
Allen silently calculated the speed and duration of the descent.
When the elevator finally opened, he estimated they were at least several hundred meters underground, far deeper than the Thieves’ Guild headquarters’ emergency shelter, which was only a few dozen meters below ground.
At this depth, they could withstand nearly all physical attacks—of course, if someone brought a star-destroyer class weapon, nowhere would be safe.
Could this place be the legendary “Ark”—or the “Holy Land”?
Allen could now walk freely. Under the guidance of Luthien, the Archbishop, the group exited the elevator.
Allen, Anna, and Marianne were all stunned by the scene before them.
This was an underground chamber of unimaginable scale.
Enormous metal structures supported a lofty dome; walls and the transparent floor were laced with dense metal piping, like veins, glowing faintly.
The air was tinged with the scent of machine oil and ozone, mingling with an ancient and solemn aura.
At the very top, a dynamic Star Map shone, much like the Main Hall of Saint Elliott Cathedral.
Only here, amid the deep night sky, the golden Starspike Emblem gleamed, illuminating the entire chamber.
Countless thick cables connected rows of rectangular pods—like Low-Temperature Cryo Pods—ultimately converging on a colossal, ancient Coffin at the very center.
Floating around the Coffin were massive metal monoliths, silent and grand, forming a strange and dignified ritual space.
If Saint Elliott Cathedral could be explained away as a “miracle” dropped into this era, this underground space revealed, without pretense, that the Church had truly inherited the technological Relics of a previous civilization.
It was like a mechanical heart, still beating—filled with a hard-edged, near-steampunk blend of industry and mysticism.
What Allen felt most was—so the Inquisition wasn’t the only one, there really was a Mechanical Order!
Don’t tell me the Church even has Gene Seeds and the Nineteen Human Modification Procedures!
Still, this place did indeed possess a sacredness unlike any above-ground church, a weight of heritage and sacrifice from civilization that could be seen and felt.
The Archbishop called this place the Sanctum.
Allen guessed that those who slumbered here were the saints and core leaders of the Church from generations past.
Marianne, her worldview rooted in the medieval, was so frightened by the scene that she instinctively clung to Allen’s arm.
Not even the bloody scenes of the Crimson Spiral Cult could scare her, because at least those were within her understanding. But everything here was utterly beyond her imagination.
Humanity’s greatest fear comes from the unknown.
Allen gently patted her hand in reassurance, “It’s alright, Marianne. This is the resting place of humanity’s guardians. Don’t be afraid—it’s these heroes who protect us and keep evil at bay.”
Allen’s words struck Victor deep in the heart.
Luthien, the Archbishop, kept his gaze locked on Allen.
“Lord Allen, how do you feel now? Any lingering weakness from evil’s influence?”
“Thank you, Your Excellency. Here, I feel much better than before. There’s something about this place… so ‘real,’ as if the world was always meant to feel this way.”
The exhaustion from Allen’s overuse of Future Sight had vanished. Even his sanity, shaken by the Star Listener, had returned to normal.
Clearly, the Sanctum was protected by some kind of Blessing, capable of repelling evil’s effects.
But Allen also understood—being brought here with Marianne meant it was time to lay his cards on the table.
Truthfully, he’d wanted to stall a little longer, play the part, do a bit of three refusals and seven captures.
But with the Star Listener—the one who probably didn’t even have a brain—jumping in and dropping massive spoilers, there was no point in hiding anymore.
He had already been foretold of his death.
Usually, prophecies like this are a pain. If you believe them and fight hard, you might only help fulfill the prophecy; if you ignore them, you might stumble toward it anyway.
But from another angle—if death is “written in,” then before that day comes, doesn’t that mean he’s basically got a temporary “immortality” buff?
He could gamble that the evil gods wanted to keep things interesting and wouldn’t let him die easily, and thus he could make bolder, riskier choices.
Besides, after dying 999 times, death was old hat for Allen. He didn’t need any psychological preparation.
As long as he could leave behind as much of a Relic as possible before dying, humanity would rely on its own indomitable spirit to fight for victory in the end.
For now, he simply needed to march forward, regardless of the cost.
The confrontation with the evil gods had come too soon. All he could do was grit his teeth and go for it!
Allen took a deep breath, entering the unfathomable state of God’s Messenger.
It was time to show his true skill.
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