Chapter 144: Divine Beast

A few days later.

Several people arrived at the rocky mountain on the outskirts of Panir, where the traitorous priests had settled.

They could not hide their bewildered expressions.

One side of the rocky mountain, which had been intact until not long ago, had completely collapsed.

“What happened here?”

The man standing at the front was Redius, the second-in-command of the Black Crescent Moon.

There were also several men in priestly robes beside him.

In response to Redius’s question, Haran, the head priest who had accompanied them as the supervising priest, stepped forward and spoke.

“Something must have happened. We should first check the condition of the cave.”

“Surely nothing has happened to the offering, has it?”

“We must confirm it first.”

They hurried to head toward the cave.

At that moment, the cries of other priests who had been examining the surroundings rang out.

“Head Priest! Please come this way!”

Redius and Haran arrived there along with the other priests who had scattered around.

The moment they saw the corpse lying on the ground, they could not suppress their shock.

Beside it, several other priests’ bodies were also strewn about.

Haran’s voice trembled as he recognized who it was.

“Fa–Fargodas!”

“This man is Head Priest Fargodas?”

The corpse had been torn completely in half, its muscular body destroyed to the point where it was difficult to even identify who it had been.

And yet Haran recognized him immediately.

“May the servant who has departed to the side of God find peace……”

Haran immediately fell to his knees and began to pray.

The other priests around him did the same.

Redius, on the other hand, clicked his tongue at the sheer brutality of the scene.

More than that, he could not understand.

“Do you have any idea how Fargodas ended up like this?”

“I do not know. I never even imagined there could be anyone capable of doing this to Fargodas.”

“Was he strong?”

He had assumed that no matter how strong he had been, he was still just a priest.

At that, Haran once again took a prayer stance.

“Head Priest Haran! I offer my life to you! Grant me the power to resist your enemy……!”

At that moment, pitch-black energy erupted from Haran’s entire body, and his frame swelled slightly.

Redius could not help but flinch in shock at the sight.

And that was not the end.

When Haran finished his prayer and extended his hand, the pitch-black energy burst forth and annihilated a portion of the forest.

Swaaaaaa!

The bushes and trees crumbled into dust and vanished.

“Is this the power of the One the Head Priest serves?”

“It is. And while Fargodas was weaker than I, compared to others, he was a force not easily defeated by anyone.”

Redius compared Haran’s power, which he had just witnessed, with Fargodas’s torn body.

“I will take Fargodas’s body to the temple. I should first check on the offering.”

Haran, along with Redius and several other priests, entered the cave.

The cave entrance carved into the sturdy rocky mountain was intact up to a certain point.

But then they found that the path leading to where the temple’s offering had been kept was blocked.

“How could this……!”

“Has the temple’s offering been buried?”

“That is not it. I cannot sense the offering’s energy. The presence of the One has vanished!”

“Surely it did not disappear after being buried, did it?”

“That is impossible! The temple’s offering is the One’s sole nourishment and cannot be erased by anyone!”

Even though Haran had remained composed despite his comrade Fargodas’s death, he now looked devastated as he stared at the wall of collapsed rocks.

“Are you certain it is gone?”

“I am certain. It is impossible for us not to sense the One’s presence.”

Redius paused in thought before speaking.

“Could someone have stolen it?”

He had considered various possibilities.

But from Haran’s perspective, none of them were possible.

“Who would dare steal the temple’s offering? Whoever it may be, they would meet death from the offering’s own energy.”

“Then perhaps among the priests here, someone betrayed……”

At that moment, an aura of murderous intent surged from Haran’s entire body—so intense it was hard to believe he was a priest.

“Do you truly think there could be betrayal among those who serve God?”

Redius swallowed hard as sudden terror washed over him.

“M–My apologies. It was a mistake.”

“Please refrain from insulting God’s servants ever again.”

“Y–Yes, of course.”

Haran turned his gaze back to the wall.

No matter how many times he tried to sense the temple’s offering, it was useless.

Raion and his companions, who had set off once more, arrived in the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

After safely passing through the gates, they headed straight toward where Turklan’s wife was staying.

The Great Temple of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

Though normally a place where only priests resided, at times they would accept large donations and shelter those suffering from incurable or chronic illnesses.

“Is she here?”

“Yes. I will go inside and bring her out immediately.”

“We should all go in, just in case.”

The Black Crescent Moon might have tried something.

They all entered together.

A priest of the Great Temple greeted them.

“What brings you here?”

“We have come to see Xenia.”

Hearing that, the priest checked a registry placed to the side.

“My apologies…… Lady Xenia left the temple seven days ago.”

Turklan’s expression hardened at those words.

Raion stepped forward and continued the questioning.

“Did she leave with someone?”

“With her guardian.”

“Did she leave any message here? A letter, perhaps?”

If the Black Crescent Moon wanted Turklan alive, they might have left some kind of trace.

Upon hearing that, the priest searched through the lower shelves of the registry cabinet.

Finding something, he lifted his head and handed them a letter.

“There’s a letter under Lady Xenia’s name. It is addressed to someone called Turklan.”

“I am Turklan.”

The letter was handed to him.

As Turklan read through its contents, his expression hardened.

“What does it say about where they took her?”

There was no way the Black Crescent Moon would leave Turklan’s only family alone.

He had fully expected something like this.

“It says she was taken to the branch of the Black Crescent Moon faction in the Mineta Kingdom.”

By coincidence, that was also their next destination—though the danger was extremely high.

“Let’s head out immediately.”

“No, Master. I will go there alone.”

Thinking of Xenia, whom the Black Crescent Moon had taken, Turklan seethed with anger.

Even so, he did not want to trouble Raion and the others.

“Will you be all right?”

“This is about saving my wife. And the fact that they knew I would come… it means they have surely prepared a trap.”

The Black Crescent Moon considered Turklan’s wife to be his shackle.

And they had not even been sure whether Turklan was still alive.

Yet they had prepared all of this.

“I thought they were fools, but they’re surprisingly thorough. Besides, we’re heading in the same direction anyway. And I wouldn’t mind seeing the faces of people capable of doing all this.”

Regina’s voice flowed from the Foster connection.

—The offering of the Dark Temple did appear in ancient records.

“What is it?”

—It only states that it is an offering to be presented to the pitch-black existence. But… why are you looking for this?

Regina had searched this information by fully mobilizing the Blue Sun’s intelligence network spread across the entire continent.

Because the records were so old, even she had found it suspicious.

“When I passed near the Dior Empire’s Panir Territory, I found traces related to it.”

—Did you discover an ancient ruin?

“Well… something like that. There’s no major problem, is there?”

—The records are mostly explanations. And they’re practically mythic. The same goes for divine beasts. If it were a dragon, maybe, but the divine beast called Grapios is practically treated like a cursed aberration. If such a thing had truly existed, the continent would have been in chaos.

As she spoke, Raion’s gaze paused in the air for a moment.

Grapios, who had just come out of Raion’s arms, was fluttering its tiny pair of wings and flying around.

“Ah… is that so?”

—It says that the appearance of Grapios, the offering of the Dark Temple, is a sign that the continent is heading toward destruction. No one would dare summon such a thing.

Her tone made it clear she was certain such a thing would never happen.

Raion felt slightly guilty.

“Is there any unusual news from the royal capital or other territories?”

He had heard things intermittently.

Up until recently, nothing had happened, so he assumed things were fine.

—Actually, something has come up, and I was about to report it.

“What happened?”

—Someone arrived saying the Danas Federation is sending a diplomatic envoy.

The Danas Federation was east of the Canel Kingdom and formed one of the two major continental powers alongside the Dior Empire.

Until now, they had engaged only in trade, and diplomatic envoys were almost unheard of.

So Raion found it even more suspicious.

“What is their purpose?”

—For now, they only stated that they are a delegation for trade negotiations. The true purpose will only be known once they arrive.

The Danas Federation and the Dior Empire shared a border.

Naturally, in any situation, each would be wary of the other.

And when dealing with surrounding nations, they would never reveal their true intentions openly.

“If anything noteworthy happens, tell me immediately.”

—Understood. But… are you really planning to enter the Mineta Kingdom?

“Thanks for the information.”

The Mineta Kingdom was currently under the control of the Dior Empire.

Turklan’s wife, Xenia, had been taken hostage there.

Preparing thoroughly was necessary, so Raion accepted the intelligence.

The Foster connection ended.

Patrick, who had been standing beside him, quickly offered him a teacup.

“Did your conversation go well?”

They were taking a short rest on their way to the Mineta Kingdom.

“Thanks to you.”

[Me? Me?]

Grapios, who had been flying around nearby, approached Patrick.

“Lord Grapios’s drink is here.”

When the cup was set on the ground, Grapios landed and took a sip.

It could consume not only mana but ordinary food as well.

[Tasty! Tasty!]

“Thank you.”

“Seeing that, you really do look like a butler.”

“I am merely fulfilling my role.”

What Raion meant was the type of butler who served a cat or a dog.

“Impressive.”

Saying that, Raion stood and walked to the edge of the cliff.

Far in the distance, the royal capital of the Mineta Kingdom appeared faintly.

They had already reached its vicinity and were resting for the moment.

“How should we handle that….”

“It is now aligned with the Empire. A careless move could be taken as a declaration of war.”

Meaning they could end up making an enemy of the Dior Empire.

“We’ll need caution. But they’re enemies we’ll have to fight sooner or later anyway.”

In the future he remembered, the Dior Empire had driven the entire continent toward destruction.

Ever since leaving the kingdom, Raion had begun to see the outlines of how that future would unfold.

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