Salat Church was the largest Ostun Church in Canfoer City. Its bright dome, towering statue of the Holy Son, and devout worshippers kneeling in prayer all displayed the authority of a bishop's church. Cardinal Labrador usually handled the daily affairs of the Canfoer Diocese of the Ouston Church from this church's confessional.
"May the High God bless you..."
"And may the High God bless you as well..."
Sister Latmimi and Cardinal Labrador offered their highest respect to Mr. Abelato, the priest who was heading out to suppress the monsters. The brightly lit church was filled with magical candles called Tatuqi. Their cool, radiant light illuminated the entire hall as brightly as day.
"Mr. Abelato... how were the slums outside the city? Were the people there safe?" Cardinal Labrador asked kindly, holding the domed cross emblem of the Ouston Church. "Did the martyrs kill all those fiends?"
"Oh, my dear bishop..." Abelato half-knelt and kissed the bishop's right hand. "The martyrs were exceedingly devout. They used their flesh and blood to resist those undead monsters, but the fiends' power was simply too great. Even when the martyrs sacrificed their lives, they could not eliminate them. Those monsters were far too rampant, far too terrifying... As mere mortals, we are already powerless... We can only pray here for the High God's divine radiance to destroy evil..."
"Heavens—how terrifying..." Sister Latmimi covered her face and wept. "What kind of dreadful demons would reach their hands toward those innocent people...? Mr. Abelato, please tell me where those damned fiends are! As the High God's most devout believer, I definitely... definitely will not let them roam free! I will use the fiends' blood to offer sacrifice to the High God's mercy!"
"Oh, Sister Latmimi, please do not act rashly..." Abelato said through tears. "Those fiends deserve death, but their strange witchcraft is too powerful. Even those carefully trained martyrs were killed. How could a gentle, compassionate nun like you possibly handle them? Besides, countless citizens within Canfoer still need your help. Oh, my dear sister, please... please... do not act rashly..."
"Mr. Abelato... please do not worry... I am the High God's most devout believer... Trust me! I can destroy those fiends!" Latmimi knelt before Cardinal Labrador and spoke piously. "Please grant me permission to eliminate those undead monsters. I will bring new hope to this old city of Canfoer."
Hearing Latmimi's words, Cardinal Labrador was so moved that tears filled his eyes. "Dear sister, you are willing to make such a great sacrifice for people you have never even met. I am truly ashamed of myself... But you are a nun sent from the royal capital. I cannot allow you to fall into danger... Please remain in this church for the people of Canfoer and pray alongside us. The High God's grace and might will help us through this crisis..."
"Your Eminence..." Latmimi rose from the ground. "I came here this time in accordance with the High God's will. Please do not trouble the High God with prayers over such trivial matters anymore. If we devout believers cannot even deal with fiends like these, then what face will we have when we enter the High God's divine kingdom after death?"
"Sister Latmimi..."
"Mr. Abelato, there is no need to say more. My mind is made up—" Sister Latmimi spoke with firm conviction as the holy nun walked toward the pitch-black world outside the church.
"Oh, what a devout believer..." After Sister Latmimi had gone far away, the cardinal wiped the murky tears from the corners of his eyes. "Our plan is proceeding very smoothly... Mr. Abelato."
"Not smoothly enough... my dear bishop..." Abelato replied. "The Spider Demons originally meant to ambush Sister Latmimi were all killed. Even the martyrs I brought were killed by those undead monsters. We have now completely lost control over the slums' black market. Your Eminence, what should we use to deal with Sister Latmimi now?"
"Ah, my dear Mr. Abelato, do not be anxious..." The shrewd Bishop Labrador sat upon the throne beneath the statue of the Holy Son. Only the two of them remained in the vast Salat Church. "Although the undead monsters were beyond our plans... that may not necessarily be a bad thing..."
A frenzied wind blew toward Canfoer from beyond the mountains. As Denolan walked along Doanwa Street, his heart pounded like a drum.
It'll be fine... It'll be fine... I've tried for three days already. This time, I'll definitely succeed! Denolan thought. I've memorized the entire process for refining Dragon Blood. As long as... as long as I can sell myself... then I'll have money to bribe Alderbu's city guards! For Fanafuna, for the people who died in the village... I have to... I have to keep going! Keep going! Keep going! I'll definitely leave this city!
"Ding-a-ling—" The bell of Oyana's magic shop rang once again.
"Ms. Oyana, I have a sure-profit business opportunity for you!" Denolan shouted, gathering his courage.
"Then I'm afraid you'll have to wait in line, friend—" Pervi said from inside Oyana's shop.
The magic shop, which should have been deserted, was now unusually lively. Rosa Kevin, Lord of Decay, stood before Oyana and tirelessly explained her grand scheme for getting rich. Yalila was registering the magic scrolls that had just arrived at the shop, while Lanta polished his and his brother's weapons nearby.
"Lucky witch, do you know who you're doing business with? This is the ancient Elder Evil God—Rosa Kevin! I'm telling you, you've hit the jackpot today, you know that? I, the ancient Elder Evil God Rosa Kevin, personally came here, to this shabby little shop of yours. I'm not here for anything else. I'm here to bring you good fortune, I'm telling you!"
"Oh—" Oyana said as she puffed on her water pipe. "And then...? What else did you want to say?"
"My plan is the Labi Village reconstruction project. Although that little place called Labi Village has been burned completely to the ground, as long as I... as long as I, Lady Rosa Kevin, am here, I guarantee that little village will one day become a temple like Qi's. First, let me tell you about the land acquisition plan around, um, Labi Village..."
"Who is Qi?" Yalila asked as she recorded the scrolls.
"The Father of the Northern Gods," Lanta answered.
"What is Qi's temple, then?" Yalila continued asking.
"Qi's temple is the dwelling place of the Northern Gods. According to legend, the gods originally lived among the clouds in the sky, but Qi, the Father of the Gods, found the heavens too empty. So he invited several hundred craftsmen from the Mortal Realm to the sky to build residences for him and the gods. Those craftsmen mixed gold and fine wine to make the temple's pillars, inlaid its corridors with jewels and roses, then used pearls and coral to erect statues for the gods. Once the temple was complete, the gods used the peak of Mount Timirola as a staircase to send the craftsmen back to the Mortal Realm. That is why people in the north often use Qi's temple to describe magnificent and luxurious buildings."
"You know so much—" Yalila said with an admiring expression.
"I know a little." Lanta paid little attention to Yalila and simply continued with his work.
"Now then... I've already made ample preparations for the Labi Village reconstruction project. I'm only missing the next step. Um... witch, you're in luck. All I need now is a tiny bit of startup capital. If you're willing to give me, the Demon Lord, a little assistance, then once Labi Village is rebuilt, I'll allow you to open a luxurious magic shop a hundred times grander than this shabby shack!"
"Ah..." Oyana gave Rosa Kevin a deeply impatient glance. "Is the old witch done talking yet?"
"More or less..." Rosa Kevin replied.
"Uh... I seem to recall that you sold me a Twin Lantern before, didn't you..." Oyana cast a spell and transferred the ledger Yalila had been recording into her own hands. "I remember writing it down here..." Oyana flipped through the pages one by one.
"That's right. I sold you a Twin Lantern a week ago. That lamp was a divine artifact!"
"You mean this?" Oyana took a broken lamp covered in dust from the ledger. "A few days ago, I could still vaguely sense fluctuations of magic power from it... but now... it's just trash..."
"Maybe it ran out of magic power..." Rosa Kevin said, stroking her chin. "That's just how this thing is. Whenever you want to use it, it usually has no magic power, which is why I sold it."
"In that case... what was the point of me spending three silver coins on a piece of junk?" Oyana's face turned livid, as though she could erupt at any moment.
"And? It was a mutually agreeable sale... Don't tell me you want a refund?"
"That is exactly what I intend to do—" Oyana narrowed her eyes, and the smoke she exhaled gradually formed an enormous magic circle.
"You wasted my dinner time talking so much nonsense... and now you actually dare to talk to me about mutual agreement... Hey—old witch, I'm guessing you've never died before!!!"
"Teacher Oyana... is... is angry..."
The magic circle behind Oyana began to reveal its colors. Using the emblem of the Ouston Church as its core, it spread outward, with the true names of the Fourteen Witches inlaid around an inverted domed cross...
"In the name of original sin..." Oyana's red lips began to chant. "I hereby summon... a demon from purgatory... a being without substance..." As Oyana chanted, the smoke from the water pipe began to disperse, revealing the magic circle's true form before everyone.
"Oh~" Rosa Kevin let out a long sigh. "So this is what witches' magic circles look like now... How ugly~"
"Wait—" Denolan shouted. "Ms. Oyana, please wait! I'm willing to pay for that Twin Lantern!"
"Huh?"
Everyone in the shop turned to look at the inconspicuous boy, Denolan, in unison, then fell into collective silence.
Yalila thought, Isn't that the useless human we ran into at the black market last time?
Oyana thought, A sucker has arrived...
Lanta thought, The man who got beaten up at the black market before...
Pervi thought, When will this boring farce finally end...?
Rosa Kevin thought, Do I know him?
Denolan thought, C-crap... I only brought two silver coins. I wonder if that'll be enough...
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