146 - Oracle (1)
TL/Editor: raei
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: none
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In the heart of the City of Light, Lezero, there's a plaza surrounded by buildings exuding a sacred atmosphere.
"Wow! All the buildings are white? How much money did they pour into this place?"
Rat, the leader of the Rat rcenary Group, muttered in amazent as he looked around at the buildings that created a solemn environnt. It was his first visit to the City of Light, and having never seen such a sight before, his astonishnt was inevitable.
"Don't look around so loudly. Everyone's staring. It's embarrassing; we look like country bumpkins."
Ember, another mber of the rcenary group, said this as she stepped a bit away from Rat, trying to avoid the stares of people around them.
"Haha, well, it's my first ti here, so I guess I am a bit of a bumpkin. Let's go to the Church of Light later. I heard they allow inside tours."
Despite Ember's words, Rat continued to excitedly look around.
Watching him, Ember shook her head and turned to Elysis, who was silently following behind, and asked, "So, Ely, why did you want to co to Lezero? Isn't it about ti you told us?"
The reason they were in the City of Light was because of Elysis.
A few days ago, she had expressed a desire to visit Lezero, and ultimately, Rat and Ember followed her here.
Of course, they didn't forget to accept a commission upon arrival to cover their travel expenses.
"Um… I'll tell you a bit later."
Elysis hesitated and then trailed off in response to Ember's question.
Truthfully, she didn't know the exact reason why they needed to be in the City of Light either.
A few days ago, soone whispered the word "Lezero" in her dream, and upon waking, she felt a strong intuition that they needed to head there, but that was all.
Therefore, she couldn't explain it to her companions.
"I think I know why. Aren't you planning to participate in the Saintess competition?"
Rat, who had finished looking around, approached with a grin and spoke up.
"Ah, how could I possibly participate in that…"
Elysis waved her hands dismissively in response.
To participate in the Saintess competition, one fundantally needed exceptional talent in handling divine power.
For a novice priestess like her, it was an unattainable competition.
"Why not? I think Ely has enough potential. After what happened in the Angelosh territory, your skills have improved trendously. You've put in a lot of effort, too."
Ember said this, and Elysis smiled in appreciation, naturally recalling the image of soone in her mind.
'Prince Zion...'
Every ti the events in the Angelosh territory were ntioned, his na inevitably ca up.
The truth was, her efforts to improve her skills were all for Prince Zion.
To repay the debt of her life, she needed to reach a level worthy of him.
Despite her hard work, she was still far from reaching that goal.
'How much more do I need to strive before I can reach him...'
A hint of bitterness touched Elysis's lips at the thought.
"...Huh?"
Her eyes flickered upon noticing sothing.
A man walking through the crowd in the distance.
'Prince... Zion?'
Even though she could only see his side profile, the man's appearance closely resembled that of Prince Zion she had seen before, even down to his black-dyed hair.
Without realizing, she found herself running towards the man.
"Ely? Where are you suddenly going!"
Ember's call ca from behind.
Elysis was so focused on the man that she couldn't hear her friend's voice.
However, by the ti she reached where the man had been,
"Ah..."
The man was already gone, vanished without a trace.
---
After Zion entered Lezero, the first thing he did was et with the Moon's Eye.
Originally, he should have testified to the paladins gathered at La Morde station about the attack, but he had left everything to Olivia and slipped away before that.
"Your Highness Prince Zion, it's an honor."
"It's been a while."
Zion smiled faintly at Narie, a top-class informant of the Moon's Eye, who greeted him with a nervous bow.
Despite the months that had passed, fear of him still lingered in her eyes.
"Have you been promoted in the anti?"
Zion asked, scanning Narie's surroundings.
It seed she was the only one present, which likely ant she had taken over as the head in Lezero.
"Yes, after being promoted to head of the region, I was stationed here."
"I see. How did the task I assigned go?"
Zion nodded once at her response and got straight to the point.
"You're referring to the church entry, right? I've reserved the highest grade tour under the na 'Zion Harness', so you should be able to enter smoothly."
"And?"
"I've spoken to a few high-ranking officials within the church in advance. As you tour around, they'll contact you discreetly. If you follow them, you'll be able to enter deeper into the church."
Of course, even if he managed to get into the deeper parts of the church, reaching the place where the God of Light bestowed his oracle was another matter entirely.
From that point on, it was up to Zion himself to decide how to proceed.
'I might need to reveal my identity.'
In truth, had he disclosed his identity from the start and visited the Church formally, it would have been much easier, but there was a risk of his location being exposed to enemies.
Therefore, Zion intended to reveal his identity to only a few people during this journey.
"If there are any further instructions, please call
anyti. Then…"
Narie bowed her head slightly, noticing Zion's cautious gaze.
At that mont,
"The additional instructions are for now."
Zion interrupted her and spoke again.
"What kind of additional instructions…"
"There's sothing you need to find out for ."
"Do you an sothing related to the Church of Light?"
Narie asked,
"No, sothing else."
Zion responded in a cold voice.
The Agnes Empire's imperial palace is known as the center of the empire and the most magnificent building in the world.
There is always one place ntioned in the sa breath as this palace for its comparable architecture.
That place is the Church of Light.
The Church, embodying the vast sanctity and rcy of the God of Light, was as grand as the imperial palace, and its appearance was so beautiful it could be called a work of art.
"Lord Zion, please co this way."
Guided by Rubeto, a priest personally assigned to him, Zion was touring the interior of the Church.
"This 'Corridor of Light' contains paintings that depict myths, the history of the Church of Light, and the origins of the church."
Rubeto began to explain each of the hundreds of paintings lining the corridor walls. As the guide for the highest grade tour, his narration was interesting rather than dull, but Zion let it go in one ear and out the other.
He wasn't particularly interested in the history of the Church of Light; after all, he hadn't co here for a tour.
'When will the people Narie ntioned co?'
Although there was ti to look around the Church, Zion wanted to hasten this affair as much as possible.
The attack on the solar train before coming to Lezero.
And the demons of Lezero related to that incident.
He had a bad feeling.
As if sothing was about to happen at any mont.
If the event Zion was anticipating really occurred, the city and the church would be thrown into chaos, making it much more difficult to enter the oracle site.
'It's better to deal with it before that happens.'
Of course, even if he managed to enter the oracle site, whether the God of Light would bestow an oracle was uncertain, but Zion was almost certain it would happen.
He recalled the oracle once told by the first prince, Rubrious.
It ntioned only his na, which seed odd at the ti, but now he had so guess as to its aning.
'It was calling for .'
It wasn't just a simple ntion of his na but a call.
Thinking this way made the oracle's content make sense.
The God of Light was waiting for him to co.
Then,
"It seems you like this painting."
Mistaking Zion's stillness in front of a painting for interest, Rubeto approached and began to speak.
"This painting depicts the origin of the City of Light, Lezero."
He naturally proceeded with the explanation.
"In the distant past, unrecorded by history, an angel who served the light rebelled. In response, the Light sent other angels to punish the rebel and then sealed it on earth. After countless ages, fearing the weakening of the seal, the Light bestowed an oracle to its followers to build a city above the seal. That city is..."
"This place, Lezero?"
"Oh, you are well-inford!"
He couldn't help but be.
This story was also recorded in the Chronicles of Frosimar.
"Of course, it's very ancient and currently unprovable, so it's not precisely accurate. It's just one of many theories."
Rubeto said, but Zion knew this origin story was true.
Indeed, a fallen angel lay beneath, and the entire City of Light served as a restraint to seal the angel.
The chronicles describe how the seal on the angel was almost broken due to demonic magic but was ultimately thwarted by a group of heroes.
'If it had been released, the empire might have perished in a war against demonic magic before the war even began.'
An angel that dared to rebel against the god must have possessed unimaginable power and authority.
'And perhaps this ti...'
As that thought crossed his mind, recalling the additional instructions he had given to Narie,
"Hey! Zion! That's you, isn't it!"
A loud voice ca from the side.
Turning towards the voice, Zion saw a woman rapidly approaching.
A beauty with platinum blonde hair and striking features.
It was Olivia.
"Where on earth did you disappear to all of a sudden? You were here?"
Her face, asking Zion this, looked incredibly tired despite her loud voice.
That's because she had just been released from testifying about the solar train attack in the church's reception room.
"Is the testimony over?"
"No, there's still a lot left. I just stepped out for a break."
In response to Zion's question, Olivia sighed deeply with an expression that said she was on the verge of death.
The case was so serious that the testimony was bound to be lengthy.
It was related to the major event of the Saintess competition, and the attackers were demonic magics.
Moreover, Olivia was the only survivor of such an attack, making her role crucial.
"The whole church is in uproar. Not just the paladins and battle priests, but even the inquisitors are likely to be mobilized on a large scale."
The Church of Light was among the groups in the empire that despised demons the most.
Given that it was revealed demons were involved, such a response could be seen as natural.
"But... While I'm here dying from giving testimony, you were leisurely touring the church?"
Olivia's eyes turned half-lidded as she noticed Rubeto standing beside Zion, recognizing him as the priest responsible for the tour.
Of course, it was all in jest; Olivia didn't truly bla Zion.
He was the benefactor who had saved her life.
When Zion suddenly disappeared a mont ago, she was only worried because she hadn't yet expressed her gratitude; there was nothing more to it.
'Even if I were mad, just looking at his face would make it all dissipate...'
Once again, it must be said, Olivia was severely partial to good looks.
"Did you really co here for a tour?"
"No."
Zion shook his head at her question and slowly continued.
"There's sothing I need to ask."
"Sothing to ask?"
At that mont, Olivia looked at him, puzzled.
"You're here!"
Once again, a loud voice echoed through the corridor.
Along with it, a group of priests appeared.
At the forefront of these priests was a middle-aged man who appeared to be a high bishop, looking at them with an intensely emotional expression.
'Have they co to et ?'
Olivia thought as she saw the approaching priests.
Her family wielded enormous influence within the Church of Light.
So, it wouldn't be strange if they had co to greet her upon belatedly realizing she was inside the church.
'But it's the first ti I've seen soone of bishop rank co to greet .'
The bishop and other priests approached and bowed their heads.
And at that mont,
"We have co to escort you, Chosen of the Light."
Olivia realized her assumption was mistaken.
The priests were not bowing to her.
They were, in fact, bowing to Zion standing beside her.
'Exactly, who are you…'
With Olivia's gaze wavering, the attention of those around naturally shifted towards them.
'It doesn't seem very secretive.'
Ignoring those gazes, Zion rembered what Narie had said earlier and thought to himself.
---
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