"Hahaha. Burn the entire mountain down?" A laughter came from inside the Church of Summoning. "I would appreciate it if you don't misquote me, old man. I can never say something like that."
The voice was filled with the strange power of natural laws. No magic was used, yet the surroundings started turning warmer as the footsteps resounded.
"Oh? Then what did you say?" Avilia asked, realizing who this voice belonged to. She remembered meeting this person a few times... The Holy Priest of Flames, also considered one of the strongest four.
It was clear that her people weren't lying. This person had personally arrived here... The man whose arrogance knew no bounds. However, he was also skilled enough to back that arrogance with strength.
A young man came into view as he finally stepped out of the Church of Summoning. Not the hands of the man were in his pockets as he walked as if he had no care in the world. A grin was spread across the lips of the young man, who looked to be in his late twenties.
The man had short flaming red hair that could easily make him stand out in a crowd.
"I clearly never told him that I would burn this mountain down if you didn't meet me," the man repeated, taking a proper glance at Avilia. "What I said was that I would burn down this entire Mountain Range if you didn't meet me. I'm hurt that they would change my words to malign me. You should really train your dogs so they can hear better next time."
Even though all the mountains in this mountain range were covered in a twenty-inch thick layer of snow, the Holy Priest of Light still couldn't care less. If he wanted to destroy all these mountains, it was like child's play for him, after all.
Unlike Elora, who was the newest addition to the Holy Priests, considered to be the weakest, and Lira who didn't have Ancestral Staff or peak tier magical strength, the Holy Priest of Flames had everything.
He was also one who had his abilities the longest out of the current generation of elemental rulers. He looked like he was in his late twenties, but in reality, he was much older.
"If you want to try, I won't stop you," Avilia answered. "But I will certainly tell you one thing. The day this mountain range gets engulfed by flames, the very next day, all members of the Church of Flames will be inside my beasts' stomach. Oh, and that includes you."
"You're just like I heard," the Holy Priest of Flames smirked. The threat in those words was as clear as day to him. However, it wasn't enough to intimidate him. "An aggressive one with a big mouth. People with those characteristics tend to have a really short life span, young lady."
"Anyway, since it's our first meeting, I'll let it go," he added.
"Oh, how kind," Avilia sarcastically responded. "Since it's our first meeting, I'll let it go as well. Just tell me why you're here. Or is it your hobby to go to places without being uninvited?"
"When you're strong, there is no place where you're uninvited as long as one wants to be invited," the red-haired man responded.
He didn't get angry at Avilia's responses. If anything, he found them childish. In his eyes, the girl clearly hadn't seen what true strength was. If she knew, she would've been a lot nicer to him. According to him, dealing with Avilia's beasts was child's play with the help of his flames. There was nothing his Holy Flames couldn't burn after all!
"Anyway, I'm not here to waste time. My time is very important. I came here to bring you," the Holy Priest of Flames said, turning around. "For some reason, those idiots decided to assign the babysitting task to me. So get ready. We'll be leaving in an hour."
"Bring me where?" Avilia followed the Holy Priest of Flames.
"The Meeting of Saints has been called," the Holy Priest of Flames answered. Since you're the most stubborn of the bunch, I was tasked to make sure you attend the meeting. So don't make it harder for yourself than it has to."
"The Meeting of Saints?" Avilia asked, slightly surprised. From what she heard about the Churches, the Meeting of Saints was a meeting that was attended by all Holy Priests. It was a meeting that couldn't only be called when something really important had happened, that could affect not only the peace of this world but all the Churches as well.
The last such meeting was called decades ago when she wasn't even born yet. To call the Meeting of Saints, at least four Priests had to give their permission and believe that a meeting was needed.
'No wonder those idiots sent this guy here. This time, they really want me to come to meet them. I wonder what happened? Is it related to Gabriel? It looks like I'll really have to attend if I want to know more.'
Usually, even if it were a meeting of Saints, Avilia wouldn't have bothered to attend. However, now that she believed the meeting had something to do with Gabriel, even she wanted to attend and see just what had happened.
"I will attend the meeting," Avilia declared.
****
"We have reached the meeting place."
The Duke's Carriage stopped, and a man stepped out of the carriage.
Duke Callum opened the door and stepped out of the carriage, followed by Gabriel.
"The meeting isn't being held at the Royal Palace?" Gabriel inquired as soon as he looked at his surroundings. When he heard about the meeting, he instantly assumed it would be held at the Royal Palace.
Instead, this place was more like a garden... A garden that was spread as far as the eyes could see. On the boundary of the garden, many exotic flowers could be seen.
"Apparently, the Emperor doesn't want the meeting to be held at the Royal Palace since he claimed you were unworthy. So the meeting was shifted to the Royal Garden of Enlightenment."
"Royal Garden of Enlightenment?" Gabriel asked, slightly intrigued. With this kind of name, he had a feeling that this place definitely had some great history. "Any reason it's called that?*
"Of course." Callum nodded. " I'm sure you heard the story of the Saint Knight and the army of Undead?"
"What about it?"
"It is said that this was the exact place where Saint Knight had been fighting his enemy when the army of Undead arrived. This was also where he was given the Mythical Sword. It was the place where he gained enlightenment as to what it means to be a true Knight. This place is deeply engraved in the history of this Empire."
"The place where the Army of Undead stood once upon a time?" Gabriel muttered. "Interesting history, for sure."
He took his fist step inside the garden, only to stop abruptly. He couldn't help but glance at his right hand.
For some reason, his Ring of Necromancy had suddenly started shaking as soon as he entered the garden. This feeling was similar to what he experienced when he entered the Museum of Elements. It was as if this garden had something that the ring craved for. As for what that was, even he had no idea.
So far, he couldn't find anything significant in this garden other than some beautiful flowers.
In the distance, he could see some seating that had been arranged. All the Nobles were already at their seats. Each Noble brought their strongest guard with them. Only the Emperor was yet to arrive.
Gabriel was more interested in the ring though.
'Just what does this ring want? What's the secret hidden in this garden that can even wake up this ring...?'
