Chapter 809

〈 Chapter 809: Part 3, Chapter 1, Section 11: The Church of Blazing Flame 〉

An intruder appeared in the shrine master’s quarters!

When the shrine master cried out about the attack, the Eight Divine Guardians were thrown into an emergency. Just moments ago, it wasn’t exactly peaceful…there had been a commotion when someone escaped from prison, but they believed the palace security was still on high alert.

But now, an enemy had appeared right in the shrine master’s chambers. Panicking, the shrine master shouted, and the Eight Divine Guardians dropped everything to rush to the chamber.

And then everyone froze, unable to say a word at what they saw.

“What? Why!”

The shrine master turned red as they screamed in outrage over the unconscious interrogator sprawled atop them. Both were stark naked, locked in each other’s embrace, while the interrogator looked lifeless like they’d just performed some intense ritual.

And surrounding them, a blue flame burned brightly, revealing their scandalous act to the world like a translucent blanket barely covering them.

The problem was that the flame completely enveloped them, leaving both the shrine master and the interrogator trapped under the blanket with no way out.

“Can’t you do something about this immediately?!”

“Hmph…”

A Garura, who had transformed into human size to enter the room like any ordinary person, sighed deeply.

“So the rumors were true after all.”

“Ugh…”

Garura glared at one of the people who entered the room. Others also gave disapproving looks, and the person under scrutiny nervously backed away.

“I, I was following the shrine master’s orders…”

“Even if ordered, you should have mentioned something like this.”

“Who would have thought the shrine master had such a relationship with the interrogator?”

Given the scattered clothes and atmosphere, it didn’t seem like someone had set this up—it was clear that the shrine master and the interrogator had been having sex when they were attacked.

The intruder must have mocked them by binding them with blue flames before disappearing.

“Is anything missing?”

“Nothing. Nothing is gone.”

“It’s neither assassination nor theft…what could be the purpose of the enemy?”

All eight guardians were confused.

“Could it be that Garura got hit by the enemy, and this great enemy sneaked in here just to expose this illicit affair?”

“This must be a spy hired by an enemy nation! Clearly trying to disgrace the shrine master and insult the Kingdom of Vishnaya and its deity!”

“It’s not a spy. Their statement was filled only with praise for their own deity.”

The half-dragon man snickered.

“They’re insane, claiming the sun is blue. There’s no way they’re sane.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. As the Eight Guardians discussed the situation, the shrine master, still lying there in the compromising position, screamed in shame.

“What are you doing?! Undo this immediately!”

“We cannot.”

The Eight Divine Guardians exchanged glances and shrugged. Even those who were somewhat sympathetic shook their heads.

“Why!”

“This blue flame is no ordinary flame. We don’t know the principle behind it, but this flame can burn magic power. If we approach, our limbs will vanish entirely.”

“The worst possible attack against spirits. Oh dear, this is serious. Since all of us Eight Divine Guardians are spirits, we can’t touch this flame. At least the shrine master and the interrogator, being human, can survive. Heh heh.”

The blue flame covering the shrine master possessed a force that even spirits couldn’t tamper with. Though they wanted to help, there was nothing they could do to resolve this embarrassing situation immediately.

Thus, all they could do was contemplate why the enemy did this.

“Garura, what do you think the reason is for the enemy coming here and attacking the shrine master?”

“Hmm…”

Garura glanced around cautiously.

Though political relations within the Eight Divine Guardians were complicated, Garula hesitated to speak openly about what they had seen.

The presence of ‘her’ held by the male intruder.

Mentioning her existence could instantly tip the balance between the shrine master faction and the ‘princess faction,’ whether for good or ill.

Garura understood the influence of their words and actions due to their immense power, so they remained silent without jumping to conclusions.

They weren’t sure themselves.

Was the princess simply kidnapped by a heretic, or did she willingly reveal secret passages to humiliate the shrine master?

Without hearing directly from the parties involved, misunderstandings could arise. Garura maintained their silence as usual.

“According to Delphia, he said he came to purify the chaos of the world. Perhaps he came to confirm that.”

“Are you defending the actions of someone whose identity and purpose we don’t know? They could have easily killed the shrine master!”

“That won’t happen. The shrine master always carries the light of the deity.”

“Then what? Are you saying the deity stood idly by while the shrine master was attacked? Hah!”

“Not exactly…!”

“It might be true.”

In Garura’s silence, the others began offering their opinions. Garura pointed to a long staff lying next to the shrine master.

“Perhaps the deity allowed this because it was something the deity approved of.”

At these words, the shrine master went pale and gestured angrily at Garura.

“How dare you presume the will of the deity?”

“Isn’t this the only explanation that makes sense? If the deity intended to protect the shrine master, there would be corpses of heretics littered here. Isn’t the shrine master, blessed by divine power, far stronger than us?”

Garura’s words left the Eight Divine Guardians speechless.

“If the shrine master had surrendered willingly, the deity would have surely smitten the attacker.”

After all, the shrine master was directly connected to the deity. For the shrine master to be attacked by an unknown enemy without divine intervention carried many interpretations.

One of them being that the deity abandoned the shrine master…

“Who was the attacker? Was it the black-haired man?”

“T, that’s correct.”

“Did he say anything unusual?”

“…No. After the attack, he left us like this and disappeared. But…”

The shrine master shouted furiously.

“Fix this quickly!”

“And how exactly…?”

A woman, who had been quietly observing, giggled and pointed to the edge of the blanket. The blanket, which had been flickering like fire, began to slowly fade from the edges.

“This seems to be a small barrier that will naturally deactivate over time. Just wait. The further the alcohol leaves the system, the weaker the barrier becomes? Heh, they’ll escape once it’s done. Cheers, sex break over!”

“You!”

“It might be. Maybe it’s punishment for the shrine master’s immorality—remarrying less than a year after losing a husband.”

“Kinna-ra!”

The blonde woman Kinna-ra smirked and pointed toward a corridor.

“Yes, yes. Understood. Let’s chase after the enemy then. We’ll find the rude guy who interrupted the shrine master’s pleasurable time! Pow!”

Swoosh.

Kinna-ra vanished. The remaining Eight Divine Guardians exchanged glances, hiding their true feelings or sighing deeply.

“…”

“Why the long face, Garura?”

“Gandharva.”

Garura quietly showed two fingers to Gandharva and pointed to the corridor floor.

“…Surely not. That….”

“Shh.”

Garura conveyed their suspicion to the leader of the princess faction.

And.

After a bit of time passed, the Eight Divine Guardians silently waited, watching each other.

Crack.

The moment the blue flame’s binding barrier dissolved, the interrogator, who had collapsed on top of the shrine master, vomited something onto the shrine master, but everyone decided to ignore it.

For the honor of the Kingdom of Vishnaya.

* * *

Long ago, there lived a beautiful princess in the kingdom.

The princess had a very close older brother. The brother was the king of the kingdom, fell in love with a woman, shared love, and even had a child together.

But one day, the brother died.

The princess couldn’t accept her brother’s sudden death, but someone had to take over the throne.

The guardian deity of the kingdom handed the throne to the brother’s wife.

The queen became the ruler.

But when the queen dies? The next throne belongs to the princess.

The queen’s child was just learning to walk, and the princess possessed abilities comparable to her brother.

So the queen tried to imprison and kill the princess.

As the imprisoned princess lay dying, she saw a ray of light.

Yes.

The prince on the white horse came to save her—

“I see. I’ve heard your story well.”

“You’re talking about me!”

Hari blushed and fumed as she spoke. I walked alongside her on the mountain path, listening to her tale.

“Are you even listening to my story?!”

“I am.”

“You’re just listening!”

“Indeed. Just listening.”

I found a rock to rest on. Hari sat on the rock, and I followed suit.

“So what do you want to say to me? Do you want me to help overthrow the queen because I understand her disposition? Or solve the problems of this country? Or maybe you want me to take responsibility for your tragic experience as a princess?”

“You wouldn’t give me all that anyway.”

“Exactly. So I’m just listening.”

I handed Hari a water flask. If asked where it came from, let it suffice to say there are always thieves who steal things wherever you go.

“I’m not a herald of the god of light you believe in. I’m merely a passing apostle of my own deity. If I were a herald of the light god, I might have helped solve your problem. But I’m not.”

“Then who is your god?”

“The blue sun burning in my heart.”

I wasn’t lying.

This avatar, after twenty years on Earth, isn’t much different from the monster Phoenix.

The blazing flame in my heart is the driving force that allows me to move in this world, and this power undoubtedly comes from Shin-ra.

“You seem skeptical.”

“It’s impossible not to be. The sun shines golden in the sky…”

“The sun is blue.”

“So that’s why you were labeled a heretic.”

Hari kicked the rock in frustration.

“A heretic here, but not everywhere else.”

“How does a man not get angry at all?”

“No reason to yield.”

Not Shin-ra, not Harang, not Yuna.

“So stop trying to manipulate me into solving the affairs of your kingdom. I’m already busy enough fulfilling my own mission.”

“Then, let’s make a deal! I’ll hire you!”

“…Oh?”

A deal.

Someone suddenly came to mind.

“To hire me, you’ll need to pay a hefty price. What will you offer?”

“If you make me queen, I will be the first to spread the worship of the blue sun!”

“…How ridiculous. Do you really think such words will persuade me?”

I raised both arms high and faced the sunset.

“If you truly wish to worship the Blazing Phoenix…”

“Blazing Phoenix Revival!”

“…”

“Is, is this enough…?”

Before I even asked, Hari raised her arms high towards the sunset at a 45-degree angle.

“Incorrect. You shout ‘Glory to the Sun’ at that moment.”

“…”

After entering this world.

I made my first disciple of the Church of Blazing Flame.