Chapter 144: Shadows in the Council Hall
I suddenly recalled a story I heard back in the academy.
It was the tale of a young man named Patrick who encountered the Mother God of Abundance in a dire moment, a story tied to the origins of human society.
“So, this is the founder, huh?”
Carlos stroked the inscription, then stood up, tilting his head to gaze at the statue’s half-hidden face beneath its hooded cloak. After a pause, he mused, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Little Shay…”
“Hmm?”
Noticed what?
I raised an eyebrow at him. Carlos looked around, sighing dramatically, “This is the first church in human history, the origin of faith and all that. But as we strolled through, did we see even one statue?”
“……” I was struck by realization.
Right.
Not a single statue in sight!
As the oldest Temple Church, the center of the Holy Church’s power, the very foundation of faith, yet the clergy here worship not a deity or divine image, but past popes—now that’s irony! It’s a truth laid out in front of us in stark detail.
“They actually know everything…”
Carlos murmured, the dim light making it hard to discern his expression. “And the Teacher knows this too…”
I fell silent.
The atmosphere grew quiet for a moment, then Carlos pulled himself together. “That up there is the Council of the Temple Church. Little Shay, do you think we’ll run into someone alive?”
I shook my head.
I wasn’t sure if there were any living souls, but the putrid stench of decomposing corpses hanging in the air was getting worse, not better.
The second-floor hall was vast, but aside from some decorations, all that filled it were these popes’ statues, making the place feel particularly empty. So, we spiraled up the granite staircase hugging the walls at the far ends of the hall, which I had spotted the moment we entered.
Carlos and I climbed on opposite sides and quickly reached the third level. The light here was even dimmer, and we could barely make out a circular area. Across from the stairs, a passage seemed to lead on, with a faint glow shimmering at the far end. But what caught my attention first was another statue of the Sacred Tree in the center of the room.
This wasn’t the statue held by the first pope but appeared to be the original Sacred Tree itself. It was what the church used for baptizing, allowing believers to accept the sacred water infused with Gidales’ power, receiving faith’s strength in return.
I stepped closer, inspecting it for a moment. Touching it revealed a simple sculpture, gilded and all, but despite looking divine, it wasn’t the actual Sacred Tree—the World Tree or the branch of the White Tree. This statue bore no divine power; it wasn’t even a relic.
“Huh? What is this…?”
Suddenly, I heard Carlos’s voice.
Almost simultaneously, flames erupted with a roar from behind us, appearing like two flaming serpents racing toward our line of sight. The lanterns hanging from the walls ignited consecutively, exposing an entrance to the passageway that stretched seven or eight meters wide. The passage itself lit up, the lights continuing until the end of our vision, where two grand doors adorned with intricate engravings stood slightly ajar, as if waiting for someone.
What lay beyond was a golden light that flowed like water.
“What the hell?”
I turned quickly to see Carlos staring, astonished, standing against the wall with his right hand resting on a depressed stone brick, as if he still hadn’t grasped what just happened.
“What did you do?”
“I… thought there was something behind this wall?”
“……”
We hesitated for a moment, but nothing happened.
The entire third floor remained eerily quiet, but the sudden light exposed bloodstains on the walls, corpses behind the Sacred Tree, and more bodies in the distance—some long dead, rotting and oozing, while others were fresher but still decayed…
These people had met various gruesome fates, undoubtedly perishing in a chaotic battle. Some were locked in an embrace, swords plunged into each other’s chests, a scene of mutual destruction that suddenly unfolded before us, prompting us to gasp collectively.
“f*ck!”
Carlos cursed loud enough for both of us to hear. I exchanged glances with him, and in that moment, it became clear: this was likely the final battleground of a civil war, a futile struggle that had consumed everyone, leaving no victors behind.
It had to be that way.
“Well, we’re here now,” Carlos said, his right hand resting casually on the sword hilt, his voice lowering instinctively. “Let’s take a peek. Behind that door lies the council meeting hall…”
He pointed toward the glow of the door, “Even if no one’s alive, there must be something.”
Can’t argue with that.
Just hope it’s not something utterly horrible.
“Be careful.”
We crept past the bodies, moving forward. I heard Carlos taking deep breaths beside me; his nerves were on edge. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that what had merely been resting on the sword hilt was now tightly grasped.
I instinctively reached for my “Dragon Claw” at my waist, then realized it might not be necessary.
The short sword that Viki gifted me, which I always kept on hand, probably wouldn’t see much use with my strength as it was. And in special situations—like facing enemies even I found tricky—those foes likely wouldn’t qualify as ‘human.’ So, the Dragon Claw wouldn’t be needed at all.
Suddenly, I remembered that Viki had originally given it to me in case I faced heretics and found myself without a weapon, but later on, Captain Gray was burnt to a crisp. Thanks to the Goddess of Sin, it had “evolved” into something new, while the Dragon Claw had remained a constant ‘companion.’
She probably knew I wouldn’t be wearing the luxurious sapphire necklace she once gave me; I hadn’t worn it even once.
The Dragon Claw, however, was always by my side.
It had even been there more often than Captain Gray. Rather than a weapon, it felt more like a “protective charm.”
As these tangled thoughts flitted through my mind, I decided to draw the Dragon Claw, but the white light on my chest flared suddenly, pulling it back into the Dragon Realm.
From now on, I couldn’t afford to break or lose it.
“What’s going on?”
When I retracted the Dragon Claw, it startled Carlos, causing him to jump in surprise, looking at me with wide eyes. I shook my head dismissively and gestured forward, urging him to continue.
As we entered the passage, there was less and less solid ground beneath us—stepping either meant a corpse or the stinking juices oozing from them, slippery and utterly mind-boggling. But at this moment, no one seemed inclined to dwell on such repulsiveness.
The passage was spacious but felt even more confined without windows. Every footstep echoed clearly in the silence. Suddenly, Carlos halted, kicking at a nearby corpse. “Look, it’s an owl man!”
I glanced down and saw a long-decayed body, probably that of an old man, with gray hair and an elaborate, excessively flamboyant mask adorning his face.
Even now, tarnished and filthy, the intricate craftsmanship of the mask could easily be recognized, reminiscent of the one Viki had procured through special channels back in the Empire.
“Attackers? Defenders? People from St. George? Or…” Carlos frowned, holding his nose; even he was having difficulty with the stench here.
“Not too long dead; must be from St. George’s crew.”
“Doesn’t necessarily mean that…”
“But it’s safe to say the outcome was total mutual destruction; there were no survivors.” Carlos stepped over the corpse and continued forward. “Let’s try to guess who’s waiting for us behind that golden light…”
“No need to guess; we’ll find out when we go in.”
The corridor wasn’t long. We followed the fire light without encountering any danger, arriving promptly at the entrance to the council chamber.
The lavish golden doors were half ajar, shrouded in shimmering golden light from within, obscuring our view.
A fog door!
The thought hit me, and I instinctively reached out to touch the light, but as soon as I raised my arm, Carlos intercepted me with lightning speed.
“Hey, hey, hey! Are you really that thick-headed?”
“Thick-headed? I’m not the one who just stuck a foot in a corpse!”
“…huh?”
“Never mind.” I shook my head, mumbling, “What is this? A Sin Barrier? But it doesn’t seem like it. This light wall looks like it’s not only blocking the entrance but enveloping the entire council hall, protecting or maintaining something…”
Turning to Carlos, he shrugged. “If you’re asking me, I have no clue…”
With a ‘clang,’ he unsheathed his sword, and the blade hummed with an arc of electricity as he experimentally thrust it toward the shimmering barrier. The moment the sword tip touched the flowing golden light, a soft ‘hum’ sounded, the flow momentarily stalling before resuming, unbothered.
“……”
Carlos gripped the sword with both hands, getting into a stance as if he were about to hack through!
I quickly pushed him back. “I thought you had some clever plan—step back and watch my magic!”
I focused on the light, raising my hand again.
As my fingertips touched the shimmering barrier, I felt a slight resistance. Taking a deep breath, in the next moment, Dead Smoke erupted forth, black mist swirling from my fingertips, enveloping the golden glow.
Sssss—
A tremendous reaction followed, with the black mist intertwining and clashing with the golden light, producing a shrill sound. The mist expanded outwards for several seconds, only to face a counterattack from the golden light. The moment I felt the pressure increase, my brows furrowed, and I pushed the chaotic energies harder.
The Dead Smoke began to consume the light, tearing a rift open, but it seemed I needed more effort to break through the golden flow.
Just as I thought this, the pressure on my hand suddenly lightened, the golden flow instinctively parting around me, deteriorating into countless little points of light that vanished. I blinked in surprise, quickly retracting the now-agitated Dead Smoke into my body. When I looked up, the scene behind the door came into view.
Chairs.
Inside the dimly lit council chamber, there were no tables, just a few chairs. Before I could comprehend anything else, I instinctively walked closer, entering through the door.
Then, I saw it—the grand chair at the highest position directly facing the entrance, where the last wisps of golden light slowly dispersed. In the shadows, a gaunt figure propped itself against the chair and began to rise slowly.
