Chapter 696: Decision
Charles's words made Hunt think deeply.
In truth, they had been working on this mission for years and were already 80% close to being successful.
As long as they figured out a way to bypass the 'Time Lock,' they could succeed without relying on Charles's help.
Unfortunately, time wasn't on their side.
'But if Charles somehow fails this mission, our years of hard work will go into dust.' A hesitant look appeared on his face.
"Don't hesitate, Hunt. In truth, our plan to steal the 'S-13' is a reckless one and might cost the lives of countless people. Even if we succeed, most will not survive the Church's mad hunt. On the other hand, Charles promised not only to get the artifact by himself but even to give us time to form an escape route. And even if he fails the mission, I'm 100% sure he can at least escape safely. Although we might lose years of hard work, isn't our life more important than a mission to extend a single person's lifespan?"
Charlotte's words made Hunt fall into deep thoughts.
Upon seeing this, Charlotte shook her head and spoke.
"Well, you guys decided on the plan later. But don't leave in a hurry like last time, Charles. I'll go and prepare lunch now." Saying so, she again went to the kitchen and started cooking.
On the other hand, Hunt also asked a few more questions about his plan and finally agreed. At the same time, he started asking questions about how he lived these days and shared what he went through.
Hunt also talked about what changes had happened within the Life Church and even persuaded him not to seek revenge on the Life Church for a single person's mistake.
Charles could only smile wryly and swiftly changed the topic.
Like this, they kept chatting for the next two hours.
During this time, Charlotte made a grand lunch for everyone and invited them to the dining hall.
After a long time, Charles felt like he had returned to his home in Riverdale City and quietly sat on the guest seat.
Meanwhile, Charlotte took the bowls individually and started serving dishes like Roasted Beef, Chicken and mushroom pie, oxtail soup, Shepherd's Pie, and dessert and fruit drinks.
As they started eating, Hunt suddenly looked at Charles and asked.
"Charles, can you at least help Father Reynolds from his suffering?"
"It's not the right time for him to return there, dear. I know you want to save Father Reynolds, but things will get more complicated if Charles returns to that city. Moreover, that place will only bring him bad memories." Charolette objected to Hunt's request.
Charles also knew no one was there for him anymore and felt lost.
'But should I pay a visit to the old house? I don't want that place to be tainted by these scheming bastards any longer.' He took a deep breath and finally made up his mind.
"Old man, we are going to the Riverdale City once this mission ends. After settling some scores with the Life Church, we will move to the Ember Kingdom." A cold glint appeared in his eyes. At this moment, only a few people or organizations could stand in his way all over the Edhen world.
And Life Church wasn't one of them.
"Are you sure, Charles? Cardinal Albert has already returned to Riverdale City and seems to be pressuring Archbishop Abel to give up on this 'Stormheart Whisper' artifact. I suspect he might scheme something if he knew of your return. After all, your property holds much importance to him right now."
Charles quietly chewed the roasted beef, swallowed it slowly, and spoke.
"Lady Charlotte, that place is filled with memories of my mother. All this time, I was so powerless even to do something. But now, I've enough strength to protect at least that place from being tarnished."
His words made Charolotte fall into silence.
"And I also want to meet that greedy father and help him a bit," Charles said calmly and continued to eat.
Once the lunch was over, Charles and Runeth bid farewell to the couple and decided to leave.
Once both walked out of the single-storied house, Runeth couldn't help but look at him with different eyes.
"You still have some warm side, huh?"
"You know very well how important that place to me is, old man," Charles spoke solemnly and soon looked in the direction where the Sun Church was located.
"Our next destination is to visit the Sun Church and let everyone learn that 'Zepher Silvercrest' has returned from the Star Tombs Dungeon."
"Why do you want to inform Zepher's is still alive? Isn't it better for him to stay in the Rebirth Tower and increase his strength stealthily?" Runeth asked with a frown.
"No. This world is going to enter the Era of Chaos. And it's also the time for Heros to be born." A mischievous smile appeared on his face.
"Runeth, I want to experiment on something."
"What are you planning, lad?" Runeth asked and soon widened his eyes.
"Don't tell me you are thinking of some crazy plan again."
"It's not a crazy plan, old man. While the Thirteen Gods are forbidden from interfering in this world, I want to use this as an opportunity to uproot all the churches from this world using these heroes. Well, I'll leave Sun Church and Night and Day Church and wipe out the rest."
"That's the craziest plan I've ever heard, lad. If you do that, almost all the Gods will descend into this world and come for your head when the era ends."
"Humph, you think I don't know that? But I've got a plan on my own." Charles said as he touched his face and started to shapeshift.
Even though multiple passersby noticed his shapeshifting, they only showed momentarily surprise and panic and soon returned to usual as if they had completely forgotten about it!
"Haa, shapeshifting in the opened area? You aren't even afraid of anything now, aren't you?" Runeth complained from behind and let out a deep sigh.
They continued walking on the paved road and took a carriage.
Before long, the Carriage left El Road, went to the East Borough, and finally arrived at a tall, sturdy stone masonry.
After paying the carriage fees, Charles and Runeth walked out of the Carriage and started walking towards the Church. Soon, the duo walked past the stone gargoyles and decorative walls, entered the Church's interior, and stepped into the Nave.
Then, they walked on the smooth aisle without minding the gazes from the dozens of people from both sides and soon arrived before the golden statue of a young elven man.
"Zephyr?!! You are alive, as Cardinal said! Oh! May the 'Eternal Light' bless you!" A surprised voice came from the left side, causing Charles to turn around with a smile.
The owner of that voice was a middle-aged man clad in a splendid shimmering golden robe. He had fiery red hair, a square-shaped face, a snub nose, and olive skin.
"Bishop Orion!" Charles greeted him.
Then, he graciously raised his right hand, placed it on his chest, and bowed at him while responding.
"Praise the Sun God, the source of Life and Light." He paused for a moment and soon asked.
"How are you, Bishop Orion? How is Cardinal Damian doing?"
Bishop Orion made a deep sigh and shook his head.
"Although he and Tucker returned safely, the loss this time was still a huge, Mr. Zephyr. Not only that, but we only learned very little information about the first layer. So, Cardinal Damian returned to the Holy See of Sun under the order of Pontiff and is training in isolation."
"Can we talk in more detail privately?" Charles asked as he noticed many people were looking in their direction.
"Of course," Bishop Orion hurriedly nodded him and brought Charles and Runeth to the chalice where the vestry room was located.
"Same room?" Charles glanced at artifacts and hurriedly sat on the ornate chair. Runeth, on the other hand, walked towards a spear made of iron-type metal sealed in a glass box and started looking at it deeply.
"Umm, who is that, Exhaled One?" Bishop Orion gave him a polite bow and asked in a much respectful tone.
"Oh, don't mind him." Charles waved his hand and asked.
"Did Cardinal Damian leave something for me?"
Bishop Orion nodded and answered.
"Unlike others, Cardinal Damian believed that you must be still alive and gave me a 'Genius Rank Darkness Affinity' potion to give you." Saying so, he touched his space ring, took out a black vial, and gave it to him.
As Charles caught the vial, Bishop took out an empty notebook, a quill, and an ink bottle and gave them to him.
"He also wants you to write important information about the 'Star Tombs' dungeon."
"Hmm, I have information up to the fifth layer, but nothing else is free, right?" Although he didn't know why Sun God Abium hadn't revealed any information to his believers, he decided to use the information to his advantage.
"What do you want, Sir Zephyr?" Bishop asked.
At that moment, Runeth's voice echoed in Charles's head.
'Kid, tell him that you want this spear.'
A surprised expression appeared on Charles's face.
'You want that spear? Isn't it only a Common Rank spear?'
'Hoho, even your wisdom eye can't see its true worth, huh? It's a nature... No, it inherited the will of some powerful ancient being for millions of years and formed into a nature artifact, lad. Although I don't know how it ended up here or even got created, it's indeed a Nature Artifact weapon. To be precise, this weapon is more like an evolution-intellectual nature artifact.'
