527 "Angel King" (1/2)
Octave opened his mouth and was about to speak, when gentle, holy light suddenly illuminated inside his body, swallowing both his body and his soul.
After the light disappeared in spots, all the traces that suggested Octave's previous existence were gone, just like what had happened to Lend, captain of the night watchers.
”What is this?” Richard frowned, unable to stop Octave's death.
His hands inside the pockets of his long cloak, Lucien said gravely, ”For them, 'Angels on the Ground' is not just a 'grace' that can increase their strength for a short while, but also an incurable 'poison' at critical moments. It should be a precaution in case they are captured and confess their secrets.”
After knocking out Octave in one punch, Lucien did not feel anything yet, but the battle where Alferris teased with Lend on the other hand had great changes. Suddenly receiving the enhancement from 'Angels on the Ground', Lend had the overwhelming advantage. If Lucien hadn't finished his battle so quickly and offered help in time, Lend would've probably escaped. Even though the man failed to do so, Lucien could only watch him be swallowed by the power of angels without being able to do anything.
It was for that reason that Lucien did not try to move or wake up Octave, so that the guy could be brought back to Allyn for interrogation, but obtained his intelligence directly via Dream Casting while the power of angels was suppressed by the Silver Moon and the mysterious existence of the World of Souls. Otherwise, Lucien would have preferred to ask for the help of Atlant, the Eye of Curse, or Stanis, the King of Nightmares.
Richard found it unacceptable and shook his head. ”How could the Lord's envoys do such things to the Lord's servant?”
It was almost the same as what demons and devils did to their worshipers. Also, since even he, a level-eight cardinal, was unable to do anything about, it was obvious that the enemy was no ordinary angel. The pure holy light just now convinced him of the source of the power.
”Angels are just God's messengers, but they do not necessarily represent God. The pope that Octave described as corrupt is still able to use God's Arrival. Perhaps, this is a test of the God of Truth.” Taking advantage of Richard's bewilderment, Lucien directed him to what he wanted the man to think about.
Richard looked at the ground where Octave disappeared with the typical blue eyes of Holm and mumbled, ”Was that 'prophet' really 'Angel King'? Could he really accomplish the religious reform through the pope and the Grand Cardinals?”
”At least based on Octave's subconsciousness, he was convinced that the Angel King had arrived through certain things.” Lucien was more or less confused about that. When he first heard 'great prophet' from Octave in the dream, he thought that the Lord of Hell, his old friend, had come again, and was certain of God's relationship with Sard. However, Octave's unsuspicious attitude towards the prophet made Lucien doubt himself, because the Lord of Hell could not steal the power of the God of Truth on his own but had to count on the senior-rank believers.
Therefore, the Angel King, who was only second to the God of Truth in Mountain Paradise and had arrived for real, while not as strong as the Lord of Hell, couldn't have been deceived by the Lord of Hell directly.
Perhaps, the great prophet was just a puppet that the Lord of Hell introduced, and there were other masterminds such as Sard?
While thinking about those things, Lucien went on, ”Also, Bishop Richard, you have announced that the right to the interpretation of Cannon should be returned to the devout believers. Then, why do you have to rely on the pope and the Grand Cardinals to perform a top-down reform? You should encourage your believers, count on your believers, and use their overwhelming strength to crush the obstacles that stand in the way of faith. Perhaps, that is the purpose of the God of Truth's test, and the reason why he did not stop the schism of the Church.”
Richard turned around and looked at Lucien, stunned. He had never considered why the two parts of the Church both had divine powers after their separation from that point of view. Thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, ”The pope and the the Grand Cardinals are in possession of the extraordinary powers that the Lord grants. The reform will be pointless if I count on the weak believers alone, unless the Lord recalls the divine powers and grants every believer enough strength.”
”Bishop Richard, you definition of believer is too narrow. Are nobles believers? Are radiant knights, gold knights and legendary knights believers? As long as your reform meets their wish to communicate with the Lord directly, so that you can make them join your cause, plus part of the conscious members among the Grand Cardinals, it will be possible to experiment on your reform on a small scale.” Lucien did not elaborate on it but offered a simple tip. ”By then, you will be the unique saint in the history of the Church. Chances are that you will be favored by the God of Truth and become his real spokesperson on earth.”
Lucien did not have any god-related faith and naturally could not understand a pious bishop like Richard. Therefore, he habitually allured the man with power, fame and a position on Mountain Paradise after death. In Lucien's eyes, it was hard to push forward Richard's reform without the boost of interests.
Hearing what Lucien said, Richard's eyes suddenly shined. ”Yes. I have to count on and activate the believers. They are the foundation of Mountain Paradise and the targets of the Lord's grace!”
Lucien couldn't help but wipe his cold sweat. As a non-professional who was mixed up with too many things, he found it impossible to imagine what the guiding principle and roadmap that Richard came up with in the end for his religious reform would be like.
They did not waste any more time. Fearing that the death of Octave and Lend would raise the wariness of the great prophet, Lucien and Alferris asked Richard to turn on the divine power circle and left the Salvation Church.
Alferris walked next to Lucien, grieved, with the translucent, amber eyes filled with sorrow. It repeated nonstop, ”My trophies, my trophies…”
Lend was swallowed by the holy light without leaving anything, and most of the valuable items on Octave were destroyed by Lucien's Elemental Order. Therefore, Alferris caught no treasure at all.
Lucien patted it in a smile. ”I'll keep the scroll of 'Orb of Ultimate Destruction'. The rest of Octave's items will be yours.”
Alferris immediately turned around and lunged at Lucien. Extending the tongue, it licked his hands enthusiastically, ”Boss, sign me up for another hundred years!”
Where else could it find such a rich, generous and prize-winning partner?
Alferris almost wanted to lock Lucien in its house and urge him to write papers every day!