Chapter 26: Hidden Currents (II)
Yes, it’s not just men…
That man named Argus BartClanfieldeld…
And behind him, there must be a very powerful evil organization. Alas, that’s what’s most concerning…
It’s a pity about that boy, Lonsy…
He was a diligent and honest boy who could have taken over from Little Wells, ending the decade-long vacancy of the cardinal position in the Church. He even could have taken control of the Church and become pope… but…
Argus BartClanfieldeld…
The pope successor trained by the Church for ten years…
“What a shame…” Father Andrew sighed with regret as he looked at the devastated village after being attacked by wolves. He likely felt sorry for both the innocent villagers and that cardinal candidate named Lonsy.
Argus BartClanfieldeld definitely wouldn’t be an opponent who could be easily dealt with!
Father Andrew could still remember those eyes—the eyes hidden deep within that man’s soul. After using psychic magic to invade his mind, just one glance from those unknown eyes shattered the magic…
What kind of being possessed those eyes?
Also, from his observations, the power that man used wasn’t pure darkness. His power contained something else… Yes! A negative emotion. Just like those unknown eyes, it could awaken the evil side in others. Yes, that was…
Hm?
Suddenly, Father Andrew seemed to sense something, and his thoughts were interrupted. He glanced toward the village entrance and saw three Inquisitors coming from there, led by Brother Chesho, the captain of the six Inquisitors.
“Father.” Since Saint Charles George disappeared, the enemy organization, the [Inquisition Bureau], had been taken out of the cardinals’ control and placed directly under the pope’s authority. So they weren’t in a hierarchical relationship, but Brother Chesho still showed the utmost respect to this renowned cardinal.
“The lost sheep have been sent to our Lord, to receive His forgiveness and mercy… The Lord is with us. Amen!”
“Amen!” Father Andrew slightly bowed his head, then glanced at Brother Chesho, only to find that he seemed to want to say something, which puzzled Father Andrew.
The so-called Inquisitors are, in simple terms, killing machines trained by the Holy See. Driven by fanatical faith, their attitude toward pagans is far more cruel than that of the empire’s professional soldiers. At least the empire’s soldiers sometimes show mercy, but Inquisitors never will—never!
In the Inquisitors’ view, those who possess holy light power are their comrades; everyone else is a pagan!
Therefore, Inquisitors never show hesitation. But today…
“Brother Chesho, what happened?”
Brother Chesho hesitated for a moment before speaking in a calm, steady voice, “Father Andrew, two miles north from here, there’s an abandoned mine. That’s where the werewolves came from…”
“North?” Father Andrew glanced doubtfully at the valley to the north of the village, then frowned and asked, “And where is the villain who caused this tragedy?”
Brother Chesho shook his head and said softly, “We encountered a mage from the Empire’s Magic Academy. Perhaps he dealt with all the werewolves underground. We can sense no remaining evil forces, not even that evil pagan!”
“AGeras?” Father Andrew frowned in confusion. “You met that man?”
“No,” Brother Chesho shook his head and explained, “I sensed that pagan’s presence. He was in that mine underground. I could feel that powerful and evil force. But by the time we arrived, he had left. I can’t determine his direction from the scent…”
“Hmm.” Father Andrew nodded as if relieved. To be honest, that man named AGeras gave him an inexplicable sense of foreboding: if pushed too far, he might cause irreparable tragedy—a scenario Father Andrew didn’t want to see. Until he thoroughly investigated the forces behind that man and the one who granted him such extraordinary power, he didn’t want to provoke him.
Since receiving his assignment for this mission, Father Andrew had had a bad feeling. He sensed that man named AGeras might do something that would shock the world. Moreover, by following in his footsteps, they might uncover clues to a dark world…
A hidden dark world…
A hidden dark history…
That man might even overthrow the entire world…
Such things…
“Sigh!” Father Andrew let out a soft sigh, narrowing his eyes as he spoke gently, “It’s not the right time yet, Brother Chesho. If that man could escape from our nine of us, it means his strength far exceeds that of each of us. But it’s definitely not just his own strength—perhaps there’s some unknown and terrifying being behind him, the one who grants him power…” He paused, recalling the current situation of the Church, and sighed again.
For over a decade, the Church had been just as powerful as the Empire. But now, after all these years, the Pope and the eleven cardinals, who form the core of the Church, have all grown old. The issue of successors has plagued these twelve elders. Considering that the Empire’s chief royal mage spent a whole decade searching for a suitable apprentice, we should understand how important an excellent apprentice is to an old mage.
Perhaps for the Empire, communicating and reconciling with the Church was a political compromise by King Saxon XIII. But for the Church, it wasn’t that simple. Of course, this doesn’t refer to the Holy Knights—it was merely a partnership. What really mattered to the Church were still people, more precisely, apprentices suitable for learning magic.
Perhaps it was due to the origins of magic, or maybe the children of the Empire had greater innate talent for learning magic—this was what left the Church helpless.
As the Empire’s chief mage, Veston, said, even a child with average talent, no matter how hard he tried throughout his life, might only reach the level of a mage and never ascend to that of a grand mage, let alone a holy mage. Throughout hundreds of years in human magic history, compared to the Empire and the Church, the North had always surpassed the South in terms of the number of mages and the number of grand mages—this was an undeniable fact.
That’s why the Church planned to break the centuries-long stalemate between the two nations by recruiting some outstanding children to become white mages, thus sustaining the Church’s legacy. Otherwise, when the current generation of Pope and cardinals lost their strength due to old age, the Church might be annexed by the Empire…
This was absolutely unacceptable!
Unfortunately, through centuries of education in the Empire, Salonia had always been portrayed as the villain, especially after the [One-Year War] over a decade ago. Although it was the Empire that launched the attack, the Empire’s people who lost their loved ones in the war hated Salonia deeply.
And now, the emergence of orcs has given the Church a favorable opportunity!
Just as a thousand years ago, the empire’s territories bordered the orcs directly, with the Holy See in the rear. Yet even the empire alone could not confront those ferocious races from a thousand years prior. So, the empire sent an invitation to the Holy See, aiming to unite their forces to fight against the orcs. As part of this political cooperation, the empire would inevitably “rehabilitate” Salonia and could no longer stop the Holy See from recruiting apprentices in its territories—just as churches appeared in imperial villages and towns, a sign of the Holy See’s influence seeping in.
Perhaps in the end, the two nations would merge into one, or perhaps Salonia would be absorbed by the empire. But no matter what, conquest is unacceptable! How could the [Holy See], which has endured for hundreds of years, simply be swept away by the tide of history? This is the one thing the Pope and every cardinal refuse to compromise on. Let’s not discuss that for now.
For the Holy See, the most urgent matters, aside from the evil forces that have begun to emerge due to that man named Agus, are the succession of the Pope and the cardinals—and it’s time is running out. The Pope’s health has been poor in recent years, and although the eleven cardinals still possess great power, they are gradually finding it difficult to cope. They urgently need successors… and the more, the better…
But then again, what good is finding a suitable and excellent apprentice? The Pope’s health shows that he no longer has ten years to train a proper successor. After all, the power of holy light comes from accumulated faith and devotion. Even the best apprentice in the world might need a year just to be exposed to holy light, followed by years of training to develop perseverance and mastery of various white magics. Of course, the apprentice’s morals and character must also be constantly taught. Even the slightest oversight during this process could mean he’s not qualified to succeed the Pope!
To be honest, morals can be advised, taught, or even purified through spiritual magic. But if a successor lacks strong, potent holy light power, how can the current Pope and cardinals entrust the Holy See, which has lasted for hundreds of years, to him?
Worse still, prophecy magic confirms that the current Pope only has five or six years left, maybe even less…
If only holy light could, like the primal elements, produce children who are naturally drawn to it, and who are also intelligent, kind, and possess excellent morals…
Ah!
As he thought about it, Father Andrew was amused by his own thoughts—how could such a thing exist in the world? Holy Light wasn’t just an ordinary magical element!
“…I met a very special child, about twelve years old, with a natural, strong fluctuation of Holy Light energy…”
“Huh?” It seemed he had only just noticed the words spoken beside him. Father Andrew froze for a moment, then his somewhat cloudy eyes gradually sharpened. Frowning, he looked at Brother Cheše and said softly, “What did you just say? Naturally attuned to Holy Light?”
“It’s not just attunement,” Brother Cheše continued, ignoring Father Andrew’s expression. “That child absorbed Holy Light on its own—actively absorbed it! And he wasn’t hurt at all!”
“Absorbed Holy Light… without being hurt…” Surprised, Father Andrew’s half-closed eyes became unreadable. Frowning, he shook his head and said, “Good heavens, how is that possible?” He didn’t doubt the credibility of Brother Cheše’s words. As a most fervent believer in the [Lord], in the [Supreme God], a Inquisitor could never lie—especially about something like this…
Yet still, it was hard for Father Andrew to believe. After all, Holy Light wasn’t an ordinary magical element—it was a combination of light energy and faith. Even those with a natural affinity for light energy couldn’t avoid its harm, for the power of faith was equivalent to spiritual magic, something impossible to resist!
People naturally attuned to Holy Light simply didn’t exist. All white mages achieved a certain level through years of training and discipline—naturally…
Seemingly realizing the gravity of the matter, Father Andrew’s expression grew serious. He looked at Brother Cheše and said firmly, “Brother Cheše, please tell me everything about what you encountered—everything!”
“Hmm,” Brother Cheše slightly lowered his head and began to recount in a solemn voice, “While chasing those werewolves, I suddenly sensed that pagan’s presence. Following that scent, we arrived at a mine shaft, where we discovered that the werewolves emerged from beneath that mine…” As he spoke, Brother Cheše told Father Andrew every detail of what had happened.
“Oh?” It seemed Brother Cheše’s words filled Father Andrew with both shock and delight.
A child who could absorb Holy Light’s power? Father Andrew had never imagined such a thing could truly exist in the world…
“What’s that child’s name?”
“…” Brother Cheše fell silent.
“Oh.” Seemingly understanding Brother Chesho’s meaning, Father Andrew nodded with a hint of disappointment. But Brother Chesho’s next words brought a smile back to Father Andrew’s face.
“Riokes! That boy is a student of Heliriokes!”
“Oh, from Riokes Academy? Well, that’s a bit problematic, hehe…” Father Andrew laughed as he glanced northward, but neither his tone nor expression suggested any real concern.
Meanwhile, in an unknown dark room, five mysterious figures wrapped in black magical robes were gathered around a round table, whispering to each other. The only light came from five white candles lit at each corner of the table’s pentagram. The flickering flames and the surrounding darkness made the room appear deeply sinister.
“Argus, Argus BartClanfield… that man is about to reach the level of a Sassen…”
“Hmph! If he could escape from a cardinal and six inquisitors, it seems he indeed deserves to work with us…”
“I don’t trust that guy!”
“I don’t like him either, but… this man isn’t ordinary. Everyone, I think we need to be more careful working with him. He gives me a very bad feeling…”
“There’s no need to worry, my companions. That man’s goals are aligned with ours for now… And I don’t think he can hinder us… Let him draw attention away from us…”
“Hmm… Then, let’s vote. Final decision on whether to work with Argus BartClanfieldeld…”
“I have no objections!”
“Agreed!”
“Agreed!”
“Agreed!”
“Good. Then, for now, he’s one of us. Send someone to assist him…”
“Hmm…”
“Agreed!”
“Agreed!”
“Agreed!”