BXBX NOVEL Chapter 22 - Zenith Church (5)
Chapter 22: Zenith Church (5)
On their way back to the mansion.
Jamie looked at Lars, who still had a serious expression. After seeing that full-body-armored paladin, he remained speechless.
‘Something is going on.’
The weird holy power from the paladin that Jamie felt earlier.
“I heard from Ricky earlier.”
“Hm? Uh, yes. What did you talk about?”
“A friend from the same orphanage was taken by God Zenith.”
“Oh. It isn’t a strange thing.”
In fact, there were often cases where Gods chose people.
It wasn’t shocking seeing how even Lars was also chosen and turned into a paladin.
“So yesterday, he went to the main church.”
“Right. If chosen by the God you worship, you need to go to the place closest to the God.”
“And he told me that he wants to become a priest once he gets chosen too.”
“Haha. I hope it happens. Ricky looks like a good boy.”
Jamie looked at him.
The desired reaction wasn’t coming out. Was that enough?
Jamie thought about it for a bit and then opened his mouth, remembering something.
“Two months back.”
“Huh”
“The biggest criminal organization in Haiss called Lival was caught trying to traffic people, and my family’s army subdued it.”
“…?”
“It was said that they were viciously trying to do human trafficking on our estate, of children especially.”
Lars stopped walking.
Jamie walked ahead, pretending not to know, and then glanced back.
“What is wrong?”
“Really?”
“Yes. We were glad that it was found out in advance because it was a disaster. Ah, Ricky said that he was in Lival for a while.”
“What?”
“By the way, was Zenith Church originally a religion which did good to other people?”
Jamie mumbled to himself.
Lars’ complexion darkened.
“I don’t think so. Right?”
“… Zenith Church.”
Pyro was once close to Zenith.
So, they knew the tendencies of the Zenith church to some extent.
‘I forgot about that.’
Jamie was right.
Zenith Church never did anything good for the sake of others.
The same went for orphanages.
‘They would never look after orphans.’
He should have realized it before.
Of course, it didn’t mean that they never helped. But Zenith Church in Haiss was different from the Church in other estates.
And then looked at Jamie.
‘It’s as if he wanted the conversation to head this way, like he realized…’
“What is it?”
Jamie titled his head, looking at Lars.
‘No way.’
He knew that Jamie was a great kid and a genius. But he was still a child. It had to be a coincidence.
‘He doesn’t even know what is going on.’
It had to be a delusion.
But if that was true.
‘No, he can’t have that in-depth insight.’
He was still 7 years old.
Lars shook his head.
However, it was true that Jamie’s words were helpful to him.
He smiled and patted Jamie’s head.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just, everything. This brother will give you a ride on the neck. Come on!”
“Brother, you don…ack!”
Lars lifted him and put Jamie on his shoulders.
And ran towards the mansion at full speed.
“S-stop!”
Jamie’s mournful screams echoed through the streets.
After the meal, the Count and Lars met separately.
Lars reported what happened.
“Jamie said that?”
When he told what Jamie had informed him on the way back, the Count was surprised.
“I think it might be just a coincidence.”
“… right.”
Count Welton knew that Jamie was a genius, but he thought it would be difficult to have such insight without knowing the entire situation.
On the other hand, he thought that if it was Jamie, then he would arrive at the result feeling the weird energy.
It was too high of an evaluation for a 7-year-old child, but it was difficult to conclude that it wasn’t, considering what Jamie had shown everyone.
But that wasn’t the point.
“Lival and the Zenith Church.”
“A kid named Ricky in the orphanage has been in Lival before.”
“It is certainly suspicious. I thought that Zenith Church’s actions were simply social activities to get more believers.”
Even the Count knew about Zenith’s ideas.
However, everything changed, and then the Church was having a positive influence on the estate, so he let it be.
“If what you say is true, then it would be a different story.”
It couldn’t be overlooked that Zenith Church, which was in Haiss, had demanded children from Lival.
But there was another problem. They had no physical evidence.
No matter how famous and strong Count Welton was, Zenith Church had people and influence all over the world.
“We need proof.”
“I know.”
Lars was a knight before becoming a priest, so he knew how important the proof was.
Lars thought for a moment and said.
“I will find evidence.”
“Before leaving the church, I saw a paladin with the bishop.”
“What are you getting at?”
When it came to bishops, the paladins were always around like escorts. There was nothing strange about it.
Lars’ eyes looked serious.
“I don’t know much.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if he was the paladin of Zenith.”
The Count frowned.
If the paladin with the bishop wasn’t from their Church, then where did he come from?
Before that, Lars said that he didn’t know much. A paladin of Lars’ level would have an understanding of distinguishing the holy power of other religions.
“No way.”
“I am not sure, but I think that it is a ‘chimera.’”
“Does this mean that the chimera maker has already started experimenting?”
“Looks like it.”
The Count rubbed his forehead.
“And strength?”
“… I think that I will have a bit of an edge.”
“I’ll give you three men.”
As soon as Count said that, three shadows fell from the ceiling.
Lars was shocked.
Three swordsmen or assassins, all of them in black clothing.
‘I didn’t even hear a footstep!’
It was clear that the people had reached a level higher than him. But they had long swords tied to their waists. Assassins usually prefer smaller weapons because they ambush the targets.
The long sword was the worst weapon for an assassin.
“They are shadow knights who have existed and protected the Weltons since ancient times. They are at the level of Expert, so they will be of great help.”
“Knights…?”
“Well. Now.”
The Count smiled.
Lars knew that the Welton family was one of the top swordsmanship masters on the continent.
Even so, he never thought that he would see assassins with the power of an Expert class knight.
“I will definitely uncover the truth.”
“Live a sinless life.”
He thought that the Count would be unaware of the Pyro greeting, and Lars was shocked.
Then he smiled and drew his sword.
“Mercy which isn’t harsh.”
“Mercy which isn’t harsh, bullshit.”
Jamie scoffed in the air as he pulled out his finger from the right ear.
“A chimera maker.”
He was eavesdropping into the Count’s office.
Just in case the Count would notice, with Black’s help, he installed eavesdropping magic.
“This is bigger than I thought.”
Worrisome tone.
But Jamie was smiling.
Right, his thoughts weren’t wrong.
Zenith. That bastard was still a bastard.
“Chimera experiments with little children. Disgusting piece of shit.”
Now he understood why young children were being targeted.
The chimera maker had to be one greedy man.
Children were pure. Everything was clear and pure because of their lack of experience. And children had trouble distinguishing between good and evil.
They were perfect for the experiment.
‘Perfect for human experiments.’
He wasn’t sure how the holy power worked, but the holy power in their body was optimal.
A chimera could be made.
‘As Lars said, if the paladin was a chimera…’
The experiments could have reached a high level. But it wasn’t complete.
Although Chimera wasn’t his area of expertise, a part of it was common with black magic.
‘Unstable holy power.’
It was so unstable that even Jamie could notice it.
And Lars was able to grasp it perfectly.
It was highly likely that the goal of the Zenith church was to make a chimera paladin that couldn’t be distinguished from the holy power of Zenith.
“Black.”
Kik!
Black, who was sitting on the bed, looked.
Jamie tied a letter to Black’s leg.
“Go to Raiza.”
Kik!
Black spread its wings and flew.
Jamie looked as Black moved away and closed the window.
‘I need to be perfectly prepared.’
He could feel it.
The end wasn’t far away.
And there would be a huge fight.
He wasn’t sure how huge, but he should be ready to cast a huge spell.
“Memorize.”
Jamie’s eyes turned purple.
The mana flowing through his body began to fluctuate.
Azad yawned.
As he turned into an Undead, he lost the need to sleep, but when he would get bored, he would yawn.
“How long do we have to be like this?”
“Until they start acting odd.”
Raiza, who was next to him, said while watching the Church.
An hour ago, they received a letter from their Master, Jamie.
The content was simple.
If any suspicious movements were to be detected in the Church, report immediately.
In addition, if you see a full-armed knight, keep an eye on it.
“We do what we are asked to do.”
“I am bored. Bored.”
Azad grumbled but then looked at the Church as that was the order of his Master, and Master’s orders were absolute.
They were Undead, and even if they didn’t move, their wretched energy couldn’t be felt by others.
Another few hours passed.
Although people were going around the Church, there were no suspicious actions or the paladin.
Azad groaned and stretched.
“What, there is not…”
“Dodge!”
Raiza suddenly pushed Azad out of the way with his foot.
Thud!
A creepy sound.
A line was drawn on the stone where they were sitting.
The two jumped up and saw the opponent who aimed at them. Azad’s eyes widened.
“B-brother that…!”
“Right.”
A knight, fully armored in white, was standing with a sword in both hands.
“Did he sneak up behind us, and we didn’t even feel it?”
“…”
As they turned into Undead, all their abilities were enhanced.
Still, they were unable to feel the paladin until he attacked.
If it wasn’t for Raiza, Azad would have certainly died.
Because holy power was the most vicious energy for the Undead.
“Need… to kill.”
The paladin fixed the sword.
Through the helmet, dazzling eyes could be seen.
“Brother.”
“I will stop this. Inform the Master immediately!”
“Brother you go! I will stop… kuak!”
As Azad said, the paladin drew his sword.
With great speed and destructive power.
If there was a normal human around, they would have died in a moment. Raiza clicked his tongue and ran towards the paladin.
The paladin swung the sword. The tip of the sword barely passed his neck.
‘This is too much for us to handle!’
Raiza made the decision.
He passed by the paladin with all his might.
The sword followed him, but Raiza was well aware of the terrain.
He grabbed a pie and jumped up.
The paladin smashed the ground. The sword fell and radiated holy power.
“Go!”
Raiza landed next to Azad.
“Brother!”
“Go to master…!”
Slash!
A pure white sword energy went for Raiza.
“Need… to kill.”
Thinking that he was killed, the paladin immediately jumped up.
“Where!”
Despite being caught, Raiza slipped past it.
His left arm was cut severely, but he still had two legs and a right arm.
He held the paladin’s ankles to get up.
This time, the paladin swung the sword without even looking, the slash filled with holy power.
His eyes went wide.
It was time to die-
“I didn’t think that you would find my men and attack them.”
Darkness swallowed the light.
The light resisted fiercely.
“Noisy.”
Kkjjj!
Black cogs began to spin.
[Dark Dimension]
“I’ll bury you in here.”
Jamie, who was covered in Black, smiled.
The world was filled with Darkness.