Divine Artifact (Part One)

Boom! Something was battering the stone door.

"They actually made it here! Those relief monsters didn't hold them back?" Andalu, archbishop of the Radiance Church, was stunned when he heard the noise outside.

He clearly hadn't expected this. The turn of events caught him off guard.

Still, he was an archbishop, and he had experience handling a crisis.

"Don't panic. They've already been worn down badly. Even if they've found us, there's nothing to fear!" Archbishop Andalu said.

"Everyone, ready yourselves! Prepare for battle!" the bishop of the War God commanded.

The massive stone door shook under the blows from outside. Heavy bangs echoed through it without pause.

The temple had been built to last, but it was still a ruin, long neglected. Under the relentless assault, cracks spread across the door, and debris began to fall from the ceiling.

"Lord Romon, why are they so determined to find us?" Meimi had noticed something was wrong. "Do we have something they desperately want?"

If there weren't something it wanted badly, the Demon Baron wouldn't still be so intent on finding them.

The others seemed to have reached the same conclusion. Several high-level professionals wore complicated expressions as they looked at Archbishop Andalu, searching for an answer.

What could drive so many demons into a frenzy?

The party contained people from many factions, and all of them cared deeply about the answer.

"Perhaps something very important." Romon glanced at the people bustling around and rose from a stone chair. With the Shennong Horn, he had little interest in other treasures.

"Of course it's important. The question is, what is it?" Meimi was dissatisfied with Romon's vague answer, though at a time like this, she could only press him so far.

The pounding outside grew louder. Magic reinforced the door, but with