"Shall I check it out?" the Maid asked Lambard. "For a Church to seal an entire Empire... It definitely isn't a small thing."
"No need. Just wait and see," Lambard replied, not giving her permission. "For something like this, the Church would've definitely needed Lerian's permission. It's quite possible that he's inside the Empire itself. If you pass through his domain, he could probably sense you. It's not safe, especially since it's him..."
"My Lord, do you know what this could be about? I don't think the Church of Flames have made such a big movement in the past. Could it be related to that matter...? Did Lord Lerian find out about the secret of Arecia?" the maid asked, frowning. "If that's the case, wouldn't it be troublesome for us?"
"I don't think he knows anything yet. How could he even know? Even I only found out recently. Moreover, if he knew, the other Churches would've been there as well. It's quite possibly something very personal to him... Something like..." Lambard went silent for a moment, as if losing himself in deep thought. "If I'm not wrong, didn't he use to have a daughter? It should be because of that matter."
"His daughter?" the maid grimaced. "That matter...? Do you think he knows about our involvement in that matter?"
Lambard didn't answer immediately. He just silently observed the mirror.
****
"My Lady, should we really not stop Lord Lerian?" Inside the Holy Church of Earth, the Head Priests also seemed very concerned about the situation.
"If Lord Lerian destroys Arecia, the reputation of all the Churches will take a hit. Hundreds of years of our work will vanish in an instant," another Head Priest added.
"Let him play around," The Holy Priestess of Earth calmly answered. "There's no need to interfere in the matter. It doesn't matter if there's one less Empire in this world, as long as it calms his heart. It might just force the other Empires who haven't allied with any Churches to change their stance..."
"Just let it play out. Arecia isn't under our protection," she added. "Moreover, even if I go there, I doubt he'll listen. That little girl... Even I'm upset about that matter..."
****
"That guy... He really doesn't think before he acts." One of the three oldest Holy Priests, the Holy Priest of Wind stood on his balcony, looking in the distance.
"Then again, if he ever wanted to do it, this is the perfect time since the Lord of Light is in the Lost City of Gods. I doubt anyone would interfere in this matter..."
After a moment of silence, he turned around and went back, not thinking much about it. The world had many Empires and many citizens. The disappearance of one Empire wasn't a matter of concern for him, especially if the Empire wasn't under his protection. He didn't want to go to war with Lerian over such a useless matter.
The other Holy Priests had the same reaction. After the last Holy Priest of Light died, the Holy Priest of Flames became the second most influential person in this world. Over a miniscule Empire, they didn't want to interfere.
Most of the Holy Priests also took this as an opportunity to remind the world why a Holy Church should never be offended. The world had been peaceful for far too long after all.
Amongst the Holy Priests, there were only two who had a different thinking. The Holy Priestess of Water didn't want to watch an Empire be destroyed, but she was also the weakest. She didn't have enough courage to step forward to protect Arecia. Her strength wasn't enough to stand before Lerian and she knew it.
As for the second person, it was the Holy Priestess of Summoning. She was someone who wasn't scared of Lerian. If she wanted, she could've easily stepped forward. However, she decided to stay out of it, primarily because she had already told Gabriel that she wasn't going to interfere.
Moreover, she was also curious to see if Gabriel could even succeed in his plan. This was a very bold plan after all. He was literally taking Lerian head on, establishing a life long enmity.
She was outside the Empire of Arecia, standing on her Flying Beast, observing the situation inside the Empire.
"Six hours is indeed not enough. Young man, if you can really pull it off successfully, it'll be a miracle..." she muttered, looking in the distance in the direction of the Holy Church of Flames.
She had sent her Shadow to follow Gabriel since she wanted to see how he was going to handle this situation and what tricks he had. However, she only failed.
It was as if Gabriel knew what she was doing. He already created some distance between him and the shadow that was secretly following him, making sure that the shadow Beast was outside the black flame tower, unable to pass through.
Since the shadow beast couldn't pass through the flaming tower, it couldn't enter the Church of Flames to spy on Gabriel.
The only thing that was worth the interest that Avilia could find was watching Gabriel summon Raphael which stunned her. She didn't know that Gabriel could summon as well. She really wanted to see more, only to be blocked. Now she could only wait for the flaming tower to disappear...
****
The Two Head Priests of Flames rushed out of the ground floor to check the situation, only to find the smell of blood in the air. They only saw bodies littered all around the Church, belonging to their members.
Most of the bodies looked as if life was sucked from them. There were no wounds on those bodies! The sight looked as if someone was really trying to kill while also trying to keep the bodies intact.
Amongst all the bodies, there was one body which still showed signs of movement.
"One is still alive! He should know what happened!" The Head Priest rushed toward the person who showed movement.
"What happened! Who attacked you all?"
"I did," A calm voice came from the distance as Gabriel appeared, standing calmly. He had already killed many ordinary Priests in the Church. As for the ones who were left, he sent Raphael to finish the work as both split their work.
At present, he was the only person here.
"You! Who are you?! How dare you attack us!" The Head Priest turned to Gabriel who was empty handed.
"Two nice people taught me a lesson. It's that you really shouldn't turn your back on the enemy. Did no one teach you?!" Gabriel asked, tilting his head to the side.
"What do you mean?" The Head Priest frowned. He had already checked that there was no one here other than Gabriel. So what did he mean?
"You think that distraction will work? Brat, you came here alive but you won't leave aliv-" The Head Priest exclaimed, only to stop mid sentence as his eyes widened.
His face turned pale as a knife passed through the back of his neck.
The second Head Priest was about to attack Gabriel when he heard the painted grunt of the other first Head Priest.
He turned around, only to be shocked as he saw the person who was supposed to be dead, standing behind the first Head Priest with a bloody knife in his hand. His eyes looked lifeless and his face pale, but he still showed movements!
The Undead once again stabbed the first Head Priest who already lost most of his strength after his throat was stabbed.
"Didn't I tell you not to turn your back on enemies?" Gabriel repeated his sentence, but this time the target was different. The second Head Priest felt as if the voice came from behind him.
"Dark Suppression!" Gabriel cast the spell of Darkness. Chains made of Darkness came out of the group, wrapping around the wrists of the second Head Priest and his legs, pulling him on the ground. Another chain came out which tied his mouth.
"Now be a good boy and don't move... Let me feast," Gabriel calmly stated as he placed his hand on the shoulder of the Head Priest. "Drain Touch."
