As they exited the rectangular building where some of the Spiritual Church's top experts rested, Minos and Maximillian came across two individuals standing outside.
One was the level 99 Demigod, who had run away from there earlier, and the other was the man investigating Minos at the behest of Vico Travisani.
After passing through the City of a Thousand Races, that man had received tips from sea beings who had seen Minos fleeing to the central area of the Ancestral Sea. Following those hints, he had once again noticed the spiritual fluctuations of the young emperor of the Black Plain and came to this place.
He had just arrived there when the level 99 being was about to flee. But upon meeting such a beast, this level 97 man had shown no fear and immediately made a deal with it.
The two wanted to meet the same person, and together, they might have a better chance of getting what they wanted.
The beast wasn't sure if they could beat that human, but its new companion could quickly finish Minos as long as it distracted it for a few fractions of a second. That's why it was there even though it had run away earlier!
"Hmm? Are you still here, beast?" Maximillian looked at that creature in its humanoid form, ignoring the mere level 97 Demigod.
Meanwhile, Minos was watching that person watching him intently, wondering that he must have left traces behind even though he had been careful.
'Damn it! Someone knows I came to this place!' He thought as he clenched his fists.
But Minos identified where that person was coming from by his armor. "Senior Maximillian, this human belongs to the Eastern Empire, an enemy of the Spiritual Church in the present times. He is here to kidnap or kill me because I came here to free you."
"Oh?" Maximillian looked at that human, the first enemy of his Church he had encountered since he fell asleep in that place.
Meanwhile, that level 97 Demigod was extremely shocked by Minos' company, finally believing that beast's words.
'Where did this person come from? Does he belong to the Church? Impossible, I know all the elders of the cursed Spiritual Church, and there is no one like him in that organization!' That man from Vico couldn't understand Maximillian's origin.
There shouldn't be anyone else at level 99 in the Spiritual Church. In fact, in the entire Central Continent, there were only three people at that level.
As much as there were a larger number of level 98 cultivators who could advance to the next level at any time, this man knew the status of each of these experts.
It was not possible that the black-haired, relatively young-looking man was one of these elders, even more so considering where they were!
He then said. "Elder, I don't know where you come from, but this young man has committed a terrible crime." He decided to speak before anything else happened. "He has found a lost item from the Spiritual Church, something that high-level grade-4 seers think would initiate a time of chaos on the continent.
Please don't stand in our way. Our issues are only against him, someone trying to destroy peace on the continent with his petty actions."
Maximillian laughed upon hearing that, imagining that his plans would succeed. Otherwise, the seers would not have predicted the chaos upon the continent.
"It looks like fate is on my side anyway, haha." He commented aloud, liking that very much.
His interest was to command the Spiritual Church. But not only that, he wanted to start expanding the Church to the rest of the continent, something the organization had given up doing even before his time to avoid bloody wars across the continent.
But this man wanted to have this whole world under his dominion and to do this, he first had to conquer the continent he came from!
Those two noticed the strangeness in Maximillian's behavior and frowned.
"Chaos? A little chaos is good for you!" He said to those two as he moved his trident forward, showing those two that supreme weapon.
The two put on their combat positions as they glared at that weapon, noting how special it was.
'What the fuck is that? What's up with that weapon?' The level 97 man wondered, feeling an incredible power coming from that golden trident.
'He didn't have that earlier...' The beast looked at that and felt a little afraid.
Maximillian seemed so strong moments ago, even without that weapon. But with it, he should be much more powerful!
Maximillian looked at Emperor Stuart, temporarily ignoring those two. "Young Minos, what do you think I should do? You are the leader of a state, right? So what would you do in my place?"
"Senior Maximillian, if I were you, I would kill this level 97 man. He will be your enemy one way or another. Allowing him to escape would be a mistake as he would pass this information on to the strongest person on the mainland.
As for this beast, I would turn it into my mount. It is very powerful and can help you in marine actions." Minos replied with sincerity.
"Wretched Stuart!" That man from the Eastern Empire cursed at Minos, seeing how low this fellow was.
"You are a blood-addicted little bastard, Minos! We thought we could be friends, but you want the whole continent for yourself!" He shouted. "Senior, I don't know who you are, but this wretch is not a good thing! Don't believe him. He has for countless times deceived people and then taken over the lands of his deceived ones!"
Maximillian looked at Minos and heard this emperor speaking. "That is true, but the elder of the Travisani family ignores that these people have always been my enemies, senior. I have never acted against an ally out of pure interest.
In any case, I just took advantage of a few opportunities that arose, no big deal."
Maximillian would not feel that Minos was his competitor and that this young man would turn against him one day. That would be absurd to think since this young man was only a Spiritual Saint, and he was already at the absolute peak of the Spiritual World.
If one day Minos became a level 99 Demigod, by this time, he would be a God!
So he ignored that man's protests and decided to act.
Maximillian pointed his trident in that man's direction and made his Soul Avatar appear, showing the unmistakable wings to that man from the Travisani family.
When he saw that, he turned even paler with fear, noticing that the Church had someone so strong hiding and that Minos Stuart really was acting in concert with that organization.
'Shit! I have to warn the...'
