142 The Painful Mask of the Rebirth Church
Lord Rampard watched Dekan deceive in the reception hall, cradling his head in agony.
To be honest,
He had already spent enough time indulging Dekan’s antics these past two days.
He could say he had staked both his fortune and life on Dekan.
The results were, however, favorable.
All of Dekan’s seemingly reckless gambles had paid off.
As Dekan’s assistant, Lord Rampard not only protected his territory but also achieved fame and wealth.
He would surely have his name inscribed in the historical records for the great deed of destroying the Destruction Archbishop.
But Rampard had noticed something odd about Dekan.
He was prone to exceedingly rash actions.
He actually tricked an eighth-level strength champion of the Norton Kingdom to act like a young maiden, singing and dancing!
And from Dekan’s conversation with Judith, Rampard seemed to have overheard even more disturbing plans.
The Ice Snow Princess… would she become an idol as well?
When had she fallen into Dekan’s clutches?
These two were the highest battle forces in the Norton Kingdom.
If His Majesty the King learned that these two protectors of the nation had run off to engage in artistic performances, the King would be restless for at least a month!
Furthermore, when it came time to distribute honors, the King would not only cast strange glances at Dekan but might very well look down on Rampard, as a co-conspirator.
Rampard suddenly realized,
His alliance with Dekan was less like a pact between friends and more akin to a contract with a demon…
It seemed he was in too deep now.
“To save the ever-declining Kuran Territory, three legendary maidens form an idol group debuting soon. Let’s use this concept for our opening promotional strategy,”
Dekan freely discussed with Chloix, completely unperturbed by Judith standing close by.
“I think it’s great. At that time, I can also ask my father to promote it more in the Kuran Territory. We can start preliminary planning for the first live performance.”
Chloix nodded in agreement.
“Wait! I lack such experience. You can’t make me perform so quickly!”
Judith quickly waved her hands in refusal.
“Don’t worry. In this month, you and the Ice Snow Princess only need to complete the preliminary recording for the first dance song.”
Dekan smiled gently,
“You two just need to practice the dance, and your singing can be decent. There’s a young child who’ll take the leading role.”
“Hmph…”
Judith slowly calmed down.
The more calm and focused she became on Dekan’s words, the more alarming they seemed.
The image of her future actions brought a flood of shame that even flushed her cheeks.
She couldn’t figure out how she had foolishly agreed before.
Reality had somehow become worse than her worst fears initially.
“By the way, when the time comes, the King will surely honor us. You and the Ice Snow Princess are the main contributors to defeating Evans, and you naturally will be honored in the Capital. You can stay there to complete the recording.”
Dekan interrupted her chaotic thoughts.
“Alright…”
Judith, biting her lips, reluctantly nodded.
Dekan, somewhat exhausted, stretched his limbs, made a brief small talk with Lord Rampard, and then headed upstairs to his room.
Judith, however, remained motionless in the reception hall.
It would take her time to process everything that had occurred in this short day.
“Madam Judith, will you stay at the castle tonight? I can arrange guest quarters for you.”
Rampard politely asked.
“That would… be trouble.”
Judith thought of making some complaints but decided against it, considering etiquette.
She noticed that Lord Rampard, for some reason, seemed perfectly suited to this role, acting like a seasoned hotel manager?
…
The first night after the battle of Tristin City fell silent.
Somewhere on this great land,
There was no moonlight or sun.
The stars adorned the skies, but strangely they were dark spots, as though the starscape was being eroded and polluted.
In this area stood an ancient Temple.
Surrounded by a pale blue light curtain, making it appear mysterious yet beautiful.
And except for the temple, everything was enveloped in black chaos.
Inside the temple,
In contrast to its artistic exterior,
Its interior was chillingly cold, and every corner exuded a suffocating atmosphere due to the oppressive vibes from the six walls made of black stone slabs.
There wasn’t a single living guard within the temple; only the relentless, death-like stillness and eerie silence pervaded the atmosphere.
Each space of the temple was enclosed within a protective barrier; any who dared to intrude here without permission would be lost forever.
Suddenly,
The structure of the temple began shifting like a magic cube, with the stones rotating and grinding with an ominous sound.
The structure of the temple shifted into an unknown pattern, and before long, several colossal black geometric entities appeared in the main hall, their tops flat.
These bizarre black geometric entities were suspended without support.
These strange forms were adorned with many cryptic runes, faintly glowing with a sinister light as if innumerable eyes, cold and somber, observed all.
Unknown to any, there were shadowy figures standing on these black geometric entities.
Their forms seemed to be woven from black mist, wavering and intangible.
Amidst the hazy shapes, a pair of eyes remained prominently visible, one for each of the entities.
“Seven Bishops have arrived. Not bad.”
An uncertain voice murmured, laced with frustration and seriousness.
He was usually the leader of these meetings.
Visible on the geometrical figure beneath him were runes, spelling out—
Illusion.
The Rebirth Church held an emergency session of the Bishop Council, with seven bishops present, indicating a dire situation.
This space could only be accessed by the Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church through a spiritual link activated by the Bishop’s Certificate.
Or it was the Rebirth Church’s special means of ultra-long-distance communication.
No matter where they were,
Once the Bishop’s Council convened, anyone could connect to their specific geometric body using their Bishop’s Certificate.
“Hmm? Evans, what a waste of a man.”
A lunatic voice echoed through the chamber, filled with brash arrogance and uncontainable pleasure.
He was lounging on the “Frenzy” geometric figure with an unbridled demeanor.
“Ah, are you better than him? Probably, you’ll end up failing just like him.”
The voice of the “Pestilence Bishop” questioned him.
Frenzied Bishop: “Do you want to die?”
Pestilence Bishop: “I’ve long wanted to wipe you out.”
Corruption Bishop: “Fight on! Fight on! And I’ll be there to collect your bodies…”
Two bishops started arguing instantly, with another chiming in to fan the flames.
End Bishop: “Silence.”
For a long while, a shadow remained silent, but its voice finally broke the quiet.
Even though his blurred form remained, his deep eyes resembled stars, and his presence was both tyrannical and malevolent.
His tone was calm but filled with an order-like authority.
“What authority do you have to command us? Do you wish to be the Pope?”
Both the Pestilence Bishop and the Corruption Bishop fell quiet, but the Frenzied Bishop still seemed discontent.
“Because even all of you combined cannot match my power.”
The End Bishop responded indifferently.
“Hmph.”
Even the most arrogant Frenzy Bishop fell silent, and the meeting became strangely harmonious.
“So how did Evans lose?”
A mesmerizing voice rose, a mixture of boyish and girlish tones that caused discomfort among the other Bishops.
No one knew how many civilians this guy had tormented.
The Silent Bishop enjoyed manipulating and experimenting on civilians with extreme cruelty, and his acts made him the most detested figure in the world.
However,
No one offered an answer or analysis to this question from the Silent Bishop.
“It was due to Dekan’s interference.”
As everyone remained silent, a shadow suddenly spoke up.
“Minos, your intelligence network is incredibly impressive.”
The leading member of the meeting, the Illusion Bishop, praised.
Shadow Bishop Minos, the most skilled cardmaker in the Rebirth Church, and arguably as talented as a top-notch cardmaker.
“Hahahaha! Are you trying to make fun of me? How could Evans lose to a mere third-tier fighter?! Evans will be my comedy act this month.”
The Frenzy Bishop was holding his belly laughing, as if the defeat of Evans wasn’t his concern.
He could imagine just how enraged Evans would have been when his plan was disrupted by a dark figure.
Shadow Bishop Minos: “He not only lost, but he died.”
“…”
In the next moment, all the Bishops fell silent.
Even the Frenzy Bishop’s laughter died as he frowned.
They realized the seriousness of the situation.
If Evans could die,
Would they too be in grave danger when facing the same circumstances?
“Evans is dead? Minos, such jokes aren’t funny.”
“Believe me or not.”
“Then who defeated him? The Grand Knight Commander of the Sun God Church? Or the Great Sage of the Norton Kingdom? Or perhaps the Ice Snow Princess who he completely countered?”
“No one among them.”
Shadow Bishop Minos shook his head.
“Who then?”
“Still Dekan.”
“…”
Shadow Bishop Minos’ revelation left the room in silence once again.
“Minos, I need confirmation. Are you sure everything you said is true?”
“Sure.”
“Is this guy really third-tier?”
“He has a unique trait that, under strict conditions, can induce a rank-defying control.”
“Of course, we know that. But can he really hold up against an eighth-tier figure akin to a calamity?”
Shaking his head, the Shadow Bishop replied, “Even though he cannot match an eighth-tier, he will utilize every resource to his advantage along with his unique abilities and bottomless tactics that even someone as powerful as Evans fell to his designs.”
“In other words, Dekan managed to take down Evans mainly with external aid and a degree of luck?”
Self-talking, the Corruption Bishop leaned his chin on his hand.
After all, perfect battlefields and eighth-tier helpers wouldn’t always be available.
“Regardless, Dekan’s frontal combat and active combat skills are pathetically weak.”
“Meeting him requires caution, nothing else. Over-analyzing the situation will only lead to falling into his traps.”
“Indeed, the best method to deal with him is to avoid any information exchange whatsoever.”
“Some of my subordinates evaluate Dekan as ghost-like. I would love to see him myself, but he will never dare to raise a storm before us.”
“I will create a hole in his heart the moment he dares to leave the borders of the Norton Kingdom, despite the risk of being pinpointed by the seers.”
“Hmm, a lowly worm. He shouldn’t think he could sit equal to us, should he?”
The Bishops severely criticized Dekan.
Despite some cautiousness towards Dekan, they mainly showed disdain.
“Since this effort failed and lost us one Bishop, what should we do?”
The Silently Bishop, concerned about the broader picture, asked the Illusory Bishop in a soft voice.
Illusion Bishop: “Move forward with our plan. It’s still within our tolerable range. Seers are tightly watching us while simultaneously probing secrets of the Tenth Level Shadow World; we must seize the initiative before the Pope returns.”
“What’s the Tenth Level Shadow World?”
At this moment, a voice humbly inquired.
“Are you joking? The Tenth Level Shadow World is a critical point for the complete rebooting of our world—how many of our Bishop’s meetings have you skipped?”
It seemed that even the Frenzy Bishop, who was busy criticizing Dekan, couldn’t help but question whoever had just asked the foolish question.
“Sorry, it’s the new guy.”
“Newcomer?”
Suddenly, all present noticed something amiss, and they fell silent in unison, all their gazes focused on this individual.
Was there a newcomer among the Bishops?
What a laughable joke!
All present were scrutinizing the blue-eyed figure intently.
In their memories, none of the Cardinal Bishops had blue eyes.
They roughly counted.
There were originally seven.
Now, there were eight.
Another had appeared without a sound!
“Who are you?!”
All present had discovered.
The shadow figure stood where Evans had once stood.
This interloper had evidently been listening for some time.
“Are you Dekan?”
Shadow Bishop asked, being the first to identify the identity of this uninvited guest.
“Indeed, it is me.”
Dekan freely nodded in acknowledgment.
Following this,
The entire chamber fell into an absolute silence…
An indeterminate amount of time passed,
“Hell! How the hell are you here, you son of a bitch!!!” The chamber erupted with anger mixed with shock.
