Astrea and Moriganne spoke about the prophecies that had been passed down from generation to generation. Nobody knew about them until they revealed them at that moment in the hall. At first, everyone who didn’t know what happened thought this meeting was to discuss the prophecies until they found out the prophecies had come true.

Moriganne showed the reports about the missing people, including Ermaine. The dead bodies and countless corpses of demonic beasts that the templars found.

Astrea revealed the expedition that she did with Moriganne and the others to the Blackcliffs. She told them what had happened, and the gruesome experience they had over there. Everyone was baffled when they heard that and couldn’t believe they went there and survived even though they fought countless of Corrupted.

“We wouldn’t survive if it wasn’t because of Sanya,” Moriganne revealed as she looked at her hands on the table.

“Sanya? May I ask who that is, Your Holiness?” Julius asked in his soft and gentle voice.

“An Orthias…” Moriganne answered and looked at everyone at the table.

Everyone’s eyes were wide open and shared a look at each other. All the Swordmasters furrowed their brows and narrowed their eyes, especially Arandil when they heard of that ancient race. All the council members turned their heads to look at Arandil, and they had a valid reason for it.

Lenin glanced at Arandil to see his reaction, but his cold and stoic expression was hard to decipher. He was the very person who executed Aristoria with her own sword after the rebellion that Erglade did.

The doubts on everyone’s faces were visible to the naked eye. They didn’t like the idea of another Orthias appearing that might cause chaos for humankind. They didn’t want to make the same mistake again for letting them live among them.

“Like it or not, if it wasn’t because of her, we wouldn’t be here by now,” Lenin said, her voice echoing throughout the hall. “Your fear of Orthias will pale in comparison to what you’ll hear soon,” she added with a serious expression.

Everyone went quiet and looked at Moriganne and Astrea.

Astrea continued where the story had left off and revealed their encounters with Aris. Nobody could believe the depiction of brutality and the power of Aris in her story. But the moment they heard how Aris despised humans and the reason behind it, they were anxious.

“After the conflict, we had with her, that was when we met Ermaine, the third saint, the false prophet. A woman who could use both divine power and demonic power at the same time…” Astrea revealed.

Everyone made the same expression, their eyes narrowed and their brows furrowed.

“What do you mean by that, Your Holiness? How can someone who’s supposed to be evil use divine power?” Charles asked with a confused look.

“Because there was a powerful being behind her, a being that could kill us with a simple hand gesture,” Arthor answered as he clenched his fists in anger and frustration. “A being that powerful enough to withstand Saint Moriganne’s divine power and both Orthias at the same time.”

“We were powerless, and we survived because we were under that being’s mercy…” Astrea added, ashamed of herself as a Saint.

“Mercy? What do you mean, Your Holiness?” Ligardis asked with concern and fear in her voice.

Knowing both Astrea and Moriganne were ashamed and frustrated, Lenin decided to answer the question.

“An offer to spare our lives in exchange for Ermaine’s freedom, including the demons, and that powerful being. We chose to survive, to fight another day while those demons gain influence from the people and make them their followers,” Lenin answered as she looked at everyone in the room.

“We all chose to accept that offer. If we all died back there, a big chunk of power would disappear and it would be impossible for anyone here to stop them. And it wouldn’t change anything if we died back there or accepted the offer, but at least we all live now to warn everyone,” Lenin added without any guilt in her words or expression.

Nobody argued with her statement because it was true. There was no point in sacrificing oneself when it wouldn’t change a thing. Even if they wanted to argue that Lenin and the other should’ve gone beyond the Blackcliffs, it would only make things worse because they would be clueless by now.

“This meeting, we will be discussing what we should do about this situation,” Lenin said as she walked toward the table.

“Before that, Great Sage. There’s something that everyone here needs to hear,” Anastasia said as she stood up from her seat. Her face was calm, and yet there was a hint of concern in her voice.

Everyone looked at Anastasia, silently waiting for her to speak.

“There has been a rumor that’s going on around West Neva, the Moskva Kingdom to be precise,” Anastasia said as she looked at Astrea and Moriganne. “A rumor about a savior that cured a whole village from a deadly plague. A young woman who brought two kids back to life…”

Astrea and Moriganne’s hearts stopped for a moment. They both felt so weak that they almost collapsed, but thankfully both Arthor and Julius grabbed them and held them respectfully.

“We must find her and kill her…” Tristan said firmly as he slammed his hand on the table.

“We heard a similar rumor from Republic Lineva. A man turned a wasteland into a fertile land that can grow any kind of fruits and vegetables. We heard it was the truth and the land became vigorous again even though it had been a wasteland for hundreds of years…” Amalfrida said as she looked at Thalior. “It was said it happened a month ago,” she added and looked at the council members.

Slowly the other members revealed similar rumors that had happened in the East and Central Neva. Figures that helped the unfortunate and turned their lives into a better one. Slowly they realized those rumors that happened weren’t a coincidence since they all happened almost at the same time.

“One in West Neva, two in Central Neva, one in South Neva, and one in East Neva…” Lenin muttered as she crossed her arms and stared blankly at the table. “Everything happened in the past month…” she added.

“And soon there will be more of them all over Neva…” Moriganne added as she nodded.

“There’s a similar rumor in the North as well,” the old man said quietly.

Everyone looked at the old man who had stayed quiet the whole time. Moriganne and Arthor looked at him with their brows furrowed, not knowing something like that had happened in the North.

“What do you mean by that, father?” Arthor asked.

Everyone in the hall looked at the old man with their eyes wide open when they heard Arthor call the old man father. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they finally saw the strongest man in North Neva, the Northern Black Star, Lazarus Wyverncrest.

“Before we left two weeks ago, one of the elders informed me there was a young man that can bring cattle back to life. He helped the farmers, healing the livestock from all kinds of illnesses, even the incurable ones,” Lazarus answered with a gentle voice.

Everyone began to feel anxious knowing how fast those demons had made their move. They were concerned by the demons’ miraculous acts that would affect the people, believing those demons as the people’s saviors.

“What’s the best way to deal with this situation?” Tristan looked at all the members. “We should eliminate them before it’s too late.”

“It’s not easy,” Lenin shook her head. “They can change their appearances as they please. They will disappear before we can make any moves, and if we do it in front of the people, they will be suspicious of what’s going on,” she explained.

“The Great Sage is right, we cannot let the people panic. We cannot let them know about what’s going on. Panic creates fear and conflict, and that will make them rely on something that can comfort them. That will only give Ermaine a better chance to spread her religion,” Julius said as he looked at everyone in the hall.

“We should focus on ourselves right now. We need to prepare and use our resources to monitor their movements secretly. We need to gather information before we can make any move,” Thalior added.

“For how long? For how long do we have to prepare ourselves? And what if we took too long to the point it would be too late to stop them?” Volos asked Thalior. “Right now they play in small villages, what will happen once they gain influence and support from a whole nation? Should we wage war against that nation?”

Everyone found Julius and Thalior’s statements to be valid and right, but on the other hand, Volos’s concern was also valid. They were all in a dilemma and worried that if they chose the wrong move, the lives and the future of the people would be in grave danger.

“The moment a nation acknowledges the new religion, wars will be unavoidable…” Moriganne muttered. “I have thought about this, and I believe Lady Astrea can try this method that I’m going to use,” she looked at Astrea with her cold and stoic expression.

Moriganne revealed her plan to teach and warn her believers about the end of time, a cataclysm where a false saint appeared and brought the believers astray. She planned to plant that idea on her believers to avoid believing power that didn’t belong to the Sancticus or the Angelis.

Everyone found that idea to be a perfect approach without instilling fear in the people. Since Astrea was a Saint, it would be great for her to spread this method across East, West, South, and Central Neva.

“Thank you for the suggestion, Lady Moriganne. I believe that’s the best first step to avoid uncontrollable chaos…” Astrea nodded and then looked at each other, looking at their reactions.

Everyone at the table and on the sides nodded their heads, agreeing and supporting her decision.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep