"Awaken Stones?" The nun showed a surprised look on her face first and was about to answer but soon froze. At that moment, she suddenly forgot what she had to say.
On the other hand, Charles read a part of her memories and soon frowned.
'Oh? Only the priest and above rank members knew about the awaken stones, huh.' He had long expected such an outcome. But as he was about to say something, his vision turned blurry suddenly and showed a future vision.
In that vision, he saw an old man in his 80s appearing in front of him after he killed a blonde-haired priest and tried to attack him. Although that old man did show extraordinary skills and even cast some mysterious spells during the battle, he was way weaker than Charles. So, Charles didn't find much difficult and killed the old man in a few seconds. The vision ended just as he killed the old man, causing him to raise his eyebrows in suspicion.
'What does this vision represent?' He couldn't help but pause in surprise. In truth, he always knew that these future visions were more like warnings sent out by his future self.
'My future self doesn't want me to kill this old man? But why?' Although he couldn't understand the reason behind his vision, he chose to trust his future self.
After some thought, he looked up at the nun and asked.
"Do you know any old man with long white hair and brown eyes? He should be around 80 to 90 years old."
Upon hearing his words, the nun widened her eyes and asked.
"Does he have a scar below his left eye? And, does he wear a surcoat all the time?"
Charles froze for a moment as he didn't know what the nun was talking about.
After some hesitation, Charles nodded and then spoke.
"It should be him."
"Then, you are looking for former Saint Caster, mister." The nun responded in a stiff smile.
"Go and bring him here." He paused for a moment, shifted his gaze towards others, and added coldly.
"As for you guys? Scram!"
Upon hearing his icy words, the citizens and the other nuns shrunk back in fear and ran away from the chapel. On the other hand, that particular nun also moved towards the right side hallway and soon brought an old man, who appeared to be around 80 to 90 years old. He had long white hair, pale skin, brown eyes, and his face was filled with wrinkles. He wore an old grey surcoat and walked towards him while using a wooden cane for support.
As he arrived before Charles, he raised his wooden stick, gestured the nun to go outside, and then shifted his attention towards Charles. Then, he sized his up and down, used his wooden cane to tap on Charles's right hand, and snorted.
"I assume you are one of those demon skinwalkers? Have we met before?" He asked. His voice contained a trace of chillness.
Meanwhile, Charles showed a surprised look on his face and shook his head.
The main reason for his surprise was not Saint Caster's words but something else.
'He is using the same technique as the demon sorcerer Nash and blocking me from scanning his body.' A cold glint appeared in his eyes. After a slight pause, he stared back at Saint Caster and answered.
"Nope. But I'm not a demon skinwalker, but someone from another world." He paused for a moment as he released his wisdom power, locked all the windows and doors with telekinesis power, and then added honestly.
"I came here to check about how to use the awaken stones. I want to know if those stones could help me improve my physique. Tell me more about this process."
"Oh? You seem to be quite confident in your ability!" The old Saint muttered as he looked at the shutting windows and then asked.
"What if I refuse?"
A smirk appeared on Charles's face. Then, he raised his hand, conjured a small ball of black flame, and let it hover upward.
In the meantime, Saint Caster looked at the black flame for a moment and soon squinted his eyes. Although he didn't know what this small flame ball could do, he vaguely felt an ominous feeling in his heart.
"What is this, demon?" The old man asked in a cold tone.
On the other hand, Charles pointed his forefinger at that flame ball and spoke with a smile.
"You see, this flame ball survives by consuming negative emotions. Fear, sadness, hatred, and anger are the main fuel to this fireball, and this place has too many negative emotions. This ball of black fire will grow bigger and bigger up to 20 to 30 meters in radius and explode when it consumes enough negative emotions. When that happens, the surrounding 5 kilometers of land will turn into a hellish place. Now, what's your answer, old man?"
Upon hearing those words, Caster's face turned deadly serious.
'H-He isn't bluffing!' He used a divine spell to confirm whether Charles was telling the truth or not and got shocked inside!
"What is your motive?" He probed further while sizing Charles up and down with wary eyes.
Meanwhile, Charles let out a chuckle and answered calmly.
"My motive is to find a way back to my homeland. But I'm also interested in learning more about this world's power system."
A heavy sigh leaked out of the Saint's mouth. He then looked up at the small ball of flame and spoke.
"I'll tell you more about how the awaken stone works. But before that, you've to promise me not to kill any of my citizens."
"I may have come from the other world, but I'm also a human being. My earlier actions are the proof, old man. I had the power to kill all the nuns and citizens, but I didn't. I'm a universal citizen of lawful faction, and I consider all the intelligent species as my kith and kin." Charles responded calmly.
On the other hand, Saint Caster showed a surprised look and stared at him with some hesitation.
In truth, he used a divine spell earlier and confirmed one thing.
'He is telling the truth.'
Still, he didn't dare to believe this demon skinwalker, contacted a specific person through a telepathic link, and spoke some code-words in his mind.
It was a special divine spell used only by saint-level Knights. Truthfully, Caster used this spell only two times in his life. The main reason for that was using this long-distance telepathy spell would consume his lifespan.
'I've no choice now. I have a vague feeling that I'm no match against this demon.' He felt threatened inside.
Meanwhile, Charles looked at the hesitant old man and asked.
"Do you think I would cause unnecessary chaos and ends up inviting trouble? Why would I do that?"
