****
Izen left the Academy and flew toward the Church of Light, being accompanied by Eliana who looked like a little girl, creating a stark contrast with her position and real age.
Izen hadn't flown for a long time before he slowed down. Even his expressions changed to some extent.
"This aura, it feels familiar..." he mumbled as he increased his speed.
Eliana was initially confused as to why Izen would suddenly slow down. However, before she could ask anything, Izen increased his speed again.
The two of them soon reached the Church of Light, landing at the entrance. While Eliana observed the entrance of the Church of Light, she noticed that Izen wasn't focused on that. On the contrary, Izen was looking elsewhere.
"Is something wrong?" she asked Izen who glared at a person in the distance with a frown on his face. His hands were behind his back as if he was a worldly expert.
Izen didn't explain much to Eliana right away. He just started walking in the distance, keeping his eyes on one particular person.
In the distance, a person stood without much care in the World. It was clear that the person had also noticed Izen.
Izen stopped on the other side of the road in front of the young lady. "Holy Priestess of Summoning... I had a feeling that it was a familiar aura. May I know what you're doing here?"
As Izen spoke, he didn't forget to observe the surroundings. There was no way this girl would come here for no reason. She didn't even leave her home until there was something worth her attention after all.
"Can't I take a walk outside?" Avilia responded. There was not much reaction on her face. However, in the inside, she was somewhat relieved, looking at the entrance of the Church of Light.
'He's really lucky, it seems. Saved by a few seconds. Otherwise...'
****
A few minutes ago...
Gabriel stood in the line. It's been hours and even though the line had been moving quite fast, it felt extremely slow with how many people there were. There were already over five hundred people behind Gabriel in line now. It was said that Light Mages were somewhat rare, but if one was to look at the City, they never would've thought that.
Avilia was standing in the distance. She had been quite calm all this time, but for some reason, she currently had a frown on her face as she looked into the distance.
"Looks like it's time to leave," she muttered as she walked toward Gabriel to inform him of something. However, she had only taken a few steps before stopping as she noticed an old man in the distance who was observing Gabriel.
The old man had the Mark of Light on the back of his hand. He was none other than the old man who they had seen sitting at the entrance of the City. The old man initially didn't pay much attention to them as far as she had seen.
However, now that he was returning to the Church after finishing his task for the day, switching his position with another Head Priest, he was more focused on Gabriel who was in the line.
"You." He stopped before Gabriel who had over a hundred people before him in the line.
Gabriel looked back at the old man. Initially, he thought that the old man noticed some flaw in his illusion, but from the man's reaction, that didn't appear to be the case.
"Come with me," the old man coldly told Gabriel. It was as if even though he paid attention to Gabriel, he still didn't think that Gabriel was worth his respect for the time being. It was just that he felt that Gabriel had the potential for the time being after the spirit sphere's reaction to his pure aura.
When Gabriel was tested, no one knew that the man who appeared to be sleeping at that time was also paying attention.
Gabriel didn't resist. The old man was strong, but he wasn't a threat, at least to him. If anything, the old man could be used.
Gabriel stepped out of the line and followed the old man who took Gabriel straight to the front at the entrance of the Church. Since the man had seen Gabriel's potential, he took the young man directly to the Church to get him tested.
As he was accompanied by a Head Priest, no guards dared to stop him from entering the Church. Moreover, for the time being, not a single person noticed who he really was!
Gabriel took his first step, entering the Church of Light. As soon as he entered, he actually felt as if he had stepped inside an entirely different world! The aura of Light inside the Church of Light was incomparably pure.
Just being present inside the Church of Light was beneficial to him as he felt his Element of Light being stimulated and his strength increasing.
'No wonder this place is called the Holy Land for Light Mages.' He thought, not realizing just how close he was to getting caught by an old acquaintance.
Merely a few seconds after he entered the Church of Light, Izen and Eliana arrived outside the Church of Light. The two sides missed each other only by a small gap.
Since Gabriel was inside the Church of Light, Izen couldn't sense him. Instead, he noticed Avilia who was still staying there, in case of an emergency.
Avilia didn't explain her reason for being there and Izen knew that it was impossible for him to get an answer out of her. Despite her not answering, Izen knew that her presence had something to do with the Church of Light.
Curious, he glanced back at the Church. He already had a feeling that something was wrong with the Church selecting a Holy Child in the absence of the Holy Lord of Light.
Avilia's presence only confirmed his suspicions even more. Something else was going on here... Something that was enough to attract the attention of this demoness!
A calm smile appeared on his face, hiding his real thoughts. "Eliana, you shall take a look inside as well. It's not bad to become a Holy Child after all."
"I don't want to be a Holy Child," Eliana responded. She was already quite old and experienced. In fact, she was comparable to a Head Priest already. Wasn't becoming a Holy Child something similar to being demoted in seniority at this point?
"Do as I said. Enter the Church and investigate. I want to know everything that's happening inside. And if you really end up becoming a Holy Child, it's not bad either. The Holy Lord of Light really knows some decent spells that would be beneficial for your growth."
Izen didn't let her reject. He couldn't enter personally, however, if it was Eliana, there was no problem. The Church didn't place any restrictions on who could try after all. With Eliana's capabilities, he was sure that she was the best person to investigate.
With Izen's persistence, Eliana couldn't reject it. Even though she was still confused, she understood that Izen wanted her to investigate with the excuse of applying for the position of a Holy Child. This way, she could get an easy entry inside.
The Holy Priestess of Summoning didn't care who Izen was sending inside. As long as he wasn't personally going inside, everything else was fine. Despite how capable Eliana was, Avilia believed in her beast and its disguise skills. No one under the Holy Priest level could see through!
She just stood back and watched as Eliana entered the Church of Light. Since she also had a special position, she wasn't stopped from entering either. If anything, the Head Priest who had taken Gabriel inside also noticed her.
