Time of Unity – Part 02
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Translator: Kell
“Why is Lia representing the Church?” I asked.
“A saint is a very high-ranking person in the Church,” Cal, Lia’s personal hawk Beastfallen attendant, answered. “And since Wenias kicked out Church personnel from the kingdom, there’s currently no clergy around who ranks higher than her. Plus, she used the power of her miracles to heal the knights fighting demons all day and night. The Knights Templar trusts her so much that she was allowed to attend the meeting.”
It made perfect sense, but I couldn’t help but be anxious watching Lia sitting there with a look that said “Am I really allowed to be here?” Her miracles were the product of Magic in the first place, so technically she was a Mage.
Then again, the homicidal priest was behind her to offer his assistance. He would probably be the one essentially speaking for the Church.
Zero, Cal, and I were by the wall, watching the meeting. The princess of Black Dragon Island and Raul were outsiders, and Lily would not understand anything anyway, so they were absent.
Normally, Zero and I shouldn’t be here either, but our presence was allowed since we knew everyone except the commander of the Knights Templar.
“First, let’s share information,” the governor said. “What do we know, and to what extent?” He placed a finger on the parchment spread out on the table. “Now, as you know, there is no other place safe from the threat of demons other than here, inside Wenias’ ward. According to the Church, the seven cathedrals scattered across the continent have the power to repel demons. Can you confirm this, Your Eminence?”
Lia turned to look at the priest. He cleared his throat and jerked his chin toward the commander of the Knights Templar.
While Dea Ignis was a part of the Church, they were an object of contempt within the institution. In this case, Lia should be seeking for the commander’s counsel first before the priest’s.
“I-I’m sorry,” Lia said. “I don’t know much about the Church yet. Do you mind, Lord Eudwright? I have not even been to any of the cathedrals.”
The commander nodded gravely. For a human, he was almost as big as me, and he gave the impression of a ‘walking castle wall’ with his armor and helmet on.
Since he was meeting with dignitaries, he had taken off his helmet out of courtesy, but it was probably better if he donned the helmet to hide his intimidating gaze.
The man was in his mid-thirties. His vicious face seemed to be carved from stone, covered in black hair and mustache like an overgrown forest.
The fact that he didn’t look dirty with his appearance could only be attributed to a divine miracle.
“Then, on behalf of the saint, I will answer the question,” the man said. “As I am but a member of a secular organization, I am not that knowledgeable about the Church.”
“R-Really?” Lia said. “We should ask Father, then.”
“Pardon me, Your Eminence. I was simply expressing humility. I am proud to say that I, Eudwright, am quite knowledgeable about the Church. The Seven Cathedrals are structures that were built by the Church as bases for its war against witches. They have a track record of countering the power of witches—demons, essentially—in the Great War five hundred years ago. If demons are the ones wreaking havoc at the moment, there is a good chance that the people in the cathedrals have survived.”
“I think that’s most likely the case,” Albus agreed. “I’ve been reading documents we gathered from the churches all over the kingdom, and apparently the wards they use against witches are almost identical to the wards witches use against demons.”
I glanced at Zero. She had told me something similar before. Back in the old days, the Church was there to protect the people from those who misused Sorcery and brought chaos. The witches who preferred peace even cooperated with the witch hunts. I could see the Church using wards as powerful as what the witches used.
“Wonderful!” The governor clapped his hands loud. “That means we are not the only survivors in this vast continent. If only there was some way we could reach them. Cal scouted from the sky and found that the demons near the mountains have all retreated and started to head north.”
Sept’s expression changed. “Wait… to the Altar?”
“Well-deduced, Your Majesty. The Altar of the Seven Cathedrals’s prophet is located on the island of Generos in the northern part of the continent. I’m not very well-versed in history, but I know that the Church was founded in this land. If I were the head of Cestum, I would first overrun this land and make it my stronghold if I had to.”
Lia let out a concerned gasp. Fabric covered both her eyes, but according to Cal, her vision was gradually returning. “What do we do? The prophet is alone at the Altar, aren’t they?”
I shot Cal a questioning look.
The hawk Beastfallen flapped his wings a little. “Apparently,” he said. “The Great Cathedrals are big and fancy, but the Altar where the prophet lives to convey the Goddess’s will is small and simple. Only the Bishops of the Seven Cathedrals are allowed to get close to the Altar. The island is also off-limits to ordinary believers, including the Knights Templar.”
“Sounds awful.”
“If it’s warded, then there’s a good chance they’re still alive, but with no contact from the outside world, who knows how long their resources will last?”
“Food won’t be a problem for a while,” Eudwright said in a firm, deep voice. He apparently overheard our conversation. “Food is delivered to the Altar once a year, and given the time of year, they should have delivered the supplies recently. In addition, there are livestock and a garden there.”
The governor clapped his hands in joy once more. “Absolutely wonderful! Then at best, they will survive for a year. As a devout believer, that makes me glad. If the demons are headed to the altar, then we will have to charge into the den of thousands of fiends to rescue the prophet. Your Majesty?”
Sept shook his head grimly. “I’m sorry, but Wenias cannot send troops. It’s true that the prophet is an important figure in the Church, but dispatching a thousand soldiers to save one person means we lose the opportunity to save ten thousand others. Our witches and Mages have already been assigned missions to provide aid to neighboring countries. We haven’t even decided how to send troops to Knox Cathedral up in the north, much less the Altar.”
“You make a great point.” The governor turned to Eudwright. “Commander, if my memory serves me right, there are about fifty thousand knights in Wenias currently.”
There were originally eighty thousand knights laying siege to Wenias, twenty thousand assigned to each of the four tunnels in the north, south, east, and west.
The knights up north were all wiped out.
The eastern tunnel was abandoned early, and those who escaped barely made it to the southern tunnel. It took several witches to open the tunnel, and only thirty thousand managed to take refuge inside the kingdom.
The knights in the western tunnel—the one that Zero blew open—was commanded by Eudwright himself. About eighteen thousand knights survived, and civilian deaths amounted to less than a hundred.
There were two major factors that contributed to their incredibly high survival rate: Lia’s healing, and the fact that Eudwright did not spurn the witches.
The older witches could not use Magic, but they could perform powerful Sorcery, which required time, and time, the Knights Templar bought plenty.
Both parties shared the same goal. Eudwright’s subordinates objected the idea of servants of God defending witches, but the commander intimidated them to silence. He joined forces with the witches to save the common folk.
“I am planning to send thirty thousand to the Seven Cathedrals,” the commander said, “and another ten thousand will be dispatched separately towards Knox Cathedral and the Altar. I believe it is best to leave the remaining ten thousand to guard Wenias. After witnessing the power of witches, I feel their support is indispensable. If no witches accompany my troops, more than half will lose their lives in the middle of their mission.”
“I understand what you mean,” Sept said. “For our part, the help of the Knights Templar is essential in searching for and escorting survivors from neighboring countries. I think we can work together to dispatch personnel to the Seven Cathedrals, but I can’t help you with the Altar. It takes time, it’s too dangerous, and the success rate is extremely low. And I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but…”
“You don’t see the necessity in saving the prophet?” the priest said sharply.
Sept smiled. “To put it bluntly, to the common folk, the Church only extends to the priest who resides in the nearby place of worship. Once you become more religious, you learn that there’s a Bishop on top. But most believers don’t know that there are Seven Cathedrals in the world, and that there is an Altar that supervises them all.”
“That is ludicrous!” Eudwright barked. Lia’s awkward grimace stopped him, however.
“I’m sorry,” Lia said, lowering her gaze. “I was an orphan and ignorant of society. It wasn’t until after I was recognized as a saint that I learned of the prophet’s existence.”
“If I may add,” the priest cut in, “I don’t necessarily agree with His Majesty’s opinion, but before I was recruited to Dea Ignis, I knew very little about the Church. It may be hard to believe for you, Lord Eudwright, since you have studied the Church since you were young, but the only people who are knowledgeable about the Church are the people of the Church themselves.”
Well, if they’re hiding out on an island that’s inaccessible to ordinary believers, it’s no wonder they’re not well-known.
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