Uneasy Presence

Salat Church was the largest Ostun Church in Canfor. Its bright dome, towering statue of the Holy Son, and devout worshippers kneeling in prayer all displayed its authority as a bishop's church. Cardinal Labrador usually handled the daily affairs of the Canfor Diocese of the Ouston Church in this church's confessional.

"May the Supreme God bless you..."

"May the Supreme God bless you as well..."

Sister Latmimi and Cardinal Labrador offered their highest respects to Abelato, the priest heading out to subdue the monsters. The brightly lit church was filled with magical candles called Tatuqi. Their low-temperature light illuminated the entire hall as brightly as day.

"Mr. Abelato... how is the slum outside the city? Are the people there safe?" Cardinal Labrador asked kindly, holding the domed cross emblem of the Ouston Church. "Have the martyrs slain all those fiends?"

"Oh, my beloved bishop..." Abelato knelt on one knee and kissed the bishop's right hand. "The martyrs were exceedingly devout. They used their own flesh to resist those undead monsters, but the fiends' power was simply too great. Even when the martyrs sacrificed their lives, they could not destroy them. Those monsters are far too rampant, far too terrifying... We mortals are already powerless... We can only pray here for the Supreme God's radiance to destroy evil..."

"Heavens—how terrible..." Sister Latmimi covered her face and wept. "What kind of horrifying demon would stretch its hand toward those innocent people...? Mr. Abelato, please tell me where those damned fiends are! As the Supreme God's most devout follower, I will... I will never let them remain at large! I will use the fiends' blood to sacrifice to the Supreme God's mercy!"

"Oh, Sister Latmimi, please do not be rash..." Abelato said through tears. "Those fiends deserve death, but their strange sorcery is far too powerful. Even the carefully trained martyrs were killed. How could a gentle and compassionate nun like you possibly handle them? Besides, countless citizens within Canfor still need your help. Oh, my dear sister, please... please... do not be rash..."

"Mr. Abelato... please do not worry... I am the Supreme God's most devout follower... Believe me! I can eliminate those fiends!" Latmimi knelt reverently before Cardinal Labrador. "Please grant me permission to destroy those undead monsters. I will bring new hope to the old city of Canfor."

Hearing Latmimi's words, Cardinal Labrador became 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 such danger... Please remain in this church for the people of Canfor and pray with us. The Supreme God's grace and might will help us overcome this hardship..."

"Your Eminence..." Latmimi rose from the ground. "I came here this time in accordance with the Supreme God's will. Please do not pray to the Supreme God over such trivial matters anymore. If we devout followers cannot even deal with fiends like these, then what face will we have to enter the Supreme God's divine kingdom after death?"

"Sister Latmimi..."

"Mr. Abelato, there is no need to say more. My mind is made up—" Sister Latmimi declared firmly. The holy nun walked toward the pitch-black world beyond the church.

"Oh, what a devout follower..." Once Sister Latmimi had gone far away, Cardinal Labrador wiped the cloudy 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 of the slum's black market. Your Eminence, what should we use to deal with Sister Latmimi now?"

"Ah, my dear Mr. Abelato, do not be anxious..." The scheming 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 outside our plans... that may not be a bad thing..."

A frenzied wind blew toward Canfor from beyond the mountains. As Denolan walked along Doanwa Street, his heart thudded nervously in his chest.

It'll be fine... It'll be fine... I've tried for three days. This time, I'll definitely succeed! I've memorized the entire process of 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 get out of this city!

"Ding-a-ling—" The bell of Oyana's magic shop rang once more.

"Ms. Oyana, I have a business deal for you that will make a fortune!" Denolan shouted, gathering his courage.

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to get in line, friend—" Pervi said from inside Oyana's shop.

The magic shop, which should have been deserted, was now unusually lively. Rosa Kevin, the Lord of Decay, stood before Oyana, endlessly explaining her grand plan to get rich. Meanwhile, Yalila registered the magical 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? The ancient evil god—Rosa Kevin! I'm telling you, you've struck it lucky today, you know that? I, the ancient evil god Rosa Kevin, personally came all the way here, to this shabby little shop of yours. I'm not here for anything else. I'm here to bring you wealth, I'm telling you!"

"Oh—" Oyana puffed on her water pipe. "And then...? What else do you want to say?"

"My plan is the reconstruction plan for Labi Village. Although that little place has now 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 become a temple as magnificent as Qi's someday. 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 Gods in the north," Lanta answered.

"What is Qi's temple, then?" Yalila continued asking.

"Qi's temple is the dwelling place of the northern gods. Legend says 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 human world to the sky to build a residence for him and the gods. Those craftsmen mixed gold and wine to make the temple's pillars, embedded jewels and roses into its corridors, and used pearls and coral to erect statues of the gods. After the temple was finished, the gods used the peak of Mount Timirola as stairs to send the craftsmen back to the human world. That is why northern people often use Qi's temple as a metaphor for a splendid and magnificent building."

"You really know a lot—" Yalila said with an admiring expression.

"More or less." Lanta did not pay much attention to Yalila and simply continued with his work.

"Now then... I have already made ample preparations for Labi Village's reconstruction plan. All I lack is the next step. Um... witch, you're in luck. I only need a little startup capital now. If you are willing to give Lord Demon King a little support, then once Labi Village is rebuilt, you'll be allowed to open a luxurious magic shop a hundred times grander than this dump!"

"Ah..." Oyana cast Rosa Kevin an extremely impatient glance. "Are you done, hag?"

"More or less..." Rosa Kevin answered.

"Er... I seem to remember 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 it was written here..." Oyana flipped through it page by page.

"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... But now... this is just trash..."

"Maybe it ran out of magic power..." Rosa Kevin said, rubbing her chin. "That thing is just like that. Whenever you want to use it, it often has no magic power, which is why I sold it."

"If that's the case... then what was the point of spending three silver coins on a piece of junk?" Oyana's face turned livid, as though she might explode at any moment.

"And? It was a mutually agreed-upon deal... Don't tell me you want a refund?"

"That is exactly what I intend—" Oyana narrowed her eyes, and the smoke pouring from her mouth 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 a mutually agreed-upon deal... Hey—hag, I'm guessing you've never died before!!!"

"Teacher Oyana... is... is angry..."

The magic circle behind Oyana began to reveal its colors. With the Ouston Church's emblem as its core, it spread outward. The inverted domed cross was encircled by the true names of the Fourteen Witches...

"In the name of original sin..." Oyana's red lips began to chant. "I summon here... a demon from purgatory... a being without physical form..." As Oyana chanted, the water-pipe smoke began to disperse, revealing the magic circle's true appearance before everyone.

"Oh~" Rosa Kevin let out a long sigh. "So witches' magic circles look like this 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, then fell into collective silence.

Isn't that the useless human we met in the black market last time? Yalila thought.

A sucker has arrived... Oyana thought.

The man who got beaten up in the black market... Lanta thought.

When will this boring farce end...? Pervi thought.

Do I know him? Rosa Kevin thought.

Oh... oh no... I only brought two silver coins. I wonder if that's enough... Denolan thought.