Chapter 128
Oracle of The Goddess (1)
After going through the documents one by one, Hollien stamped her approval.
“Then, next.”
Merida, the head of the maids, handed over another document.
“Here you go, your Majesty, my Queen.”
“Is it still this much? I think we’ve got more work to do these days.”
“It’s in-between seasons. There’s a lot of work to be done in the palace.”
Hollien the Transcendental reigned as Latna’s strongest Spiritist, but her official status was the Queen of the Fairy Kingdom.
The Queen was responsible for the kingdom.
The commoners thought that the country’s Queen was spending her day eating without shame and holding a tea party or dancing gracefully in balls.
But in reality, she was never free.
The Queen was the royal court’s hostess, who was in charge of all the royal court’s household affairs.
She didn’t use her own hands, but she was in charge of all kinds of administrative affairs, such as governing numerous royal servants and maids and managing the receipt and disbursement of supplies.
Tea parties and ballrooms were also important events to govern aristocrats by opening up political and social gatherings, so she was not playing. It was an extension of work.
The Queen’s image in the eyes of the common people was no different from the life of a king’s concubine.
‘Anyway, I’m way more free compared to Garhan and Genovia.’
She was working as usual when a servant posted a report from outside.
“Your Grace, the Grand Duke of Atransas is here.”
“Send him in.”
A handsome blond Elf came into the office.
Hollien ordered Merida out.
“I’ll take care of the rest later.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
Hollien asked him a question when they were left alone in the room.
“What happened, Roacell?”
Roacell Eli Atransas, the first prince of the Atransas Family and heir to the Elven Tribe, answered politely.
“Five denominations of believers have arrived in Scotaskia.”
“Really? What about Leon Hart?”
Roacell shook his head.
“Nothing has been identified about his whereabouts. At least he hasn’t officially returned to Scotaskia.”
“Then you don’t even know about the incarnation?”
“We don’t know about her for now.”
“Is that what it looks like…”
Hollien frowned and clicked her tongue.
The three most powerful people had eyes all over the continent.
Of course, they planted information sources in the Church of Darkness.
Thanks to that, they found out that Leon Hart had returned to Scotaskia with a group of hunters.
It had also been confirmed that they were the group of the incarnation.
Now that she knew their location, Hollien could come forward and clear the situation.
But she didn’t do that.
The very day after her arrival, the group of Leon Hart and Incarnation left the main mountain.
They left the mountain openly, showing publicly that they were going down the mountain.
Many people saw the scene, and among them were Hollien’s informants.
To put it simply, such a message was sent to the Top Three.
-We’re not here! Please don’t mess with us!
Roacell smiled wryly.
“If we’re in their position, that’s a natural move. There’s no way they don’t know how dangerous it would be if we find a trace. The problem is that we don’t know if they really left or if they just pretended to be gone and stayed…”
“They must’ve left, I think. There’s no reason to pretend to leave and stay at the main mountain.”
Why would the incarnation’s party take such a risk and stick to their position?
All for the sake of a warm meal and a comfortable bed?
Such a thing was possible anywhere on the continent with money.
Strong guards of the Church?
Anyone was weak when faced against the Transcendental anyway.
“We can’t persecute the Church of Darkness for no reason when we’ve got no dirt on them.”
Externally, she was still one of Latna’s heroes.
She had accumulated a lot of honor and reputation, but she couldn’t just go to the Church of Darkness and kill them all and run around saying, ‘tell us the location of the incarnation!’
Of course, if that were the only way to ensure that she could kill the incarnation of Darkness, she would’ve done it.
Once she had earned the Goddess title, nobody would be able to touch her no matter what the world said in the first place.
However, as long as she didn’t know the incarnation’s whereabouts, it would only be a rash and hasty action.
“So instead of coming forward, I thought I’d sneak a few high-level Aliens into their alliance…”
If the incarnation of Darkness stayed in the headquarters and they capture her alive, everything would be fine. If not, the evil Aliens would just run wild, so there won’t be much damage to Hollien.
But even that wasn’t a good solution.
The Church of Darkness had already solidified its defense.
Strong individuals from all parts of the Church gathered in Scotaskia in the name of saving Leon Hart.
Their levels were around 60 to 70 at most, but there were too many of them.
With that much power, there was little possibility of digging into the Church’s inner circle if she sent Aliens.
They would be blocked before that.
“We don’t have to waste Aliens on useless things.”
As Akhtarun had more than hundreds of Aliens, they weren’t valuable, but it wasn’t so worthless as a resource that she could consume them meaninglessly.
Hollien grumbled.
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but they’ve prepared quite well.”
“It’s not a coincidence. The Church of Darkness isn’t incompetent.”
Anyway, for this reason, they had not been able to control the Church of Darkness.
But things had changed now.
“Now that the five missionaries are gathered in Scotaskia won’t the incarnation of Darkness return to the main mountain? She has to prove herself, after all.
The envoys and the incarnation of Darkness didn’t necessarily meet in the main mountain.
When considering their safety, it was best to meet separately in a secret place.
“But that won’t be possible.”
The believers of other denominations who doubted the authenticity of the incarnation wouldn’t listen so easily.
“Wouldn’t you be able to move now, dear Hollien?”
She still had an envious look on her face.
“How do you know when the incarnation’s party will be back?”
“What? If we keep waiting around, one day…”
“I’ve been hiding as a homeless person all this time in the valley. There’s no decent village near Scotaskia.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Being wild in the rough mountains would not be a pleasant experience for her, who had lived as the Queen of a country all her life.
Hollien shook her head.
“Of course, I can bear it if that’s the only way I can catch the incarnation. But that’s not true.”
The incarnation of Darkness should return to Scotaskia at least once.
But she didn’t know when it would be.
“If she sneaks back among the envoys, then finishes the business and disappears again, how am I supposed to know that if I’m not inside it?”
The Church’s intelligence community couldn’t even grasp the secret activities of such top leaders.
Roacell was speechless.
She was certainly right.
“… What would you do then?”
Hollien, who had been agonizing for a while, grinned.
“Let’s wait and see.”
The incarnation of Darkness, which had been hiding with only a few colleagues, gained the Church’s trust.
In other words, there was a secular force that could compete against the Top Three.
“Then she’ll be moving, right?”
In that situation, the incarnation could choose one of two options.
She would define the Top Three as enemies of the Goddesses and start a holy war to fight against them head-on…
“Or she will try to assassinate us secretly to avoid confusion.”
Either way, Hollien wouldn’t lose anything.
If they were going to wage an all-out war, Hollien would crush them with her military force.
There was an absolute gap between Allendia, a Continental Top Three member, and the six Churches.
Even if the incarnation wanted to assassinate Hollien, there would be no problem.
“It’s like giving us a lead of her own will, isn’t it?”
She could grab the incarnation and make her spill useful information.
It was much simpler than looking for the incarnation themselves.
She was the Transcendental and one of the absolute rulers of Latna.
No matter what the weak did, she had the power to destroy them.
Hollien shrugged.
“What do you think? Let’s wait and see, and things will work out.”
Roacell nodded.
“I feel the same way, but…”
But unlike her, Roacell didn’t look at the situation too brightly.
“What’s wrong?”
Staring at the curious Hollien, Roacell calmly opened his mouth.
“I can fully anticipate that kind of outcome, but do you think the Churches don’t know that?”
* * *
Kibie had already proven herself to be Kybriel’s incarnation to the Church of Darkness.
The situation didn’t change to different churches.
At the center hall of Scotaskia, the Hall of the Stars, the five Churches’ envoys knelt before the black-haired beauty.
Having already seen the evidence, their attitude was extremely courteous since they had confirmed that she was truly the Goddess of Darkness.
“Althea’s first sword, Sabine Asil, acknowledges the incarnation of Kybriel.”
“I am Frederick Kartel Mercatz, the commander of the Sorondi Knights.”
“I, Yessen’s first hammer, Palmer Lomberst, proclaim that you deserve to be served.”
“Rhamniana’s Templar Lord, Angelica Hayd Han, greets the incarnation.”
“I am Merdil Kenneth Brought, the breeze of Preleu.”
Their titles were slightly different, but their positions were all the same.
Everyone was the Knights’ commander of each Church.
The strongest members of the five Churches had gathered there as they had promised.
It was not a coincidence.
It was more of a necessity.
Checking the authenticity of the incarnation was usually not a big deal.
It was an important matter that controlled the Church’s future, so they couldn’t send just any cleric to confirm it.
They should be at least the highest priest of the papal level.
However, it was difficult for the Pope, the head of the Church, to move directly.
Because they were so busy with their work and their actions were heavy.
The saints were not really in a busy position, but they couldn’t move swiftly.
Many Aliens were still targeting the saints of the six Goddesses.
In particular, in recent years, high-level Aliens had suddenly appeared on a large scale.
It was too dangerous to leave the headquarters because the government tightened the saints’ security more than usual.
In the end, only the Templar commanders of each denomination were able to verify the authenticity of the incarnation.
In the first place, it was their duty to walk all over the continent since they had enough power to protect themselves, and they were priests whose ranks were high enough to decide the Church’s course.
Looking down at the five Templar commanders kneeling down before her, Kibie smiled calmly.
“Rise, faithful believers.”
She pointed to the group behind her back.
“Let me introduce them. They are my helpers.”
The silver-haired girl smiled and bowed her head.
“Hello, I’m Effir Venetian. I’ve been introduced earlier.”
She had already shown them her Wyvern to demonstrate her intelligence to confirm the authenticity of the incarnation.
A handsome Mage with red hair followed.
“This is Artis Amphitier Ragnar Walker, a Fire Dragon. Among humans, I use the name Artis Venetian.”
The Templar commanders were also slightly surprised.
“… Wasn’t he human?”
“Dragon?”
The notoriety of Dragons on the continent of Latna was not just prejudice but rather filled with truth accumulated for many years.
Nevertheless, everyone remained calm.
Kybriel was the creator of the Dragon race, so they could trust the Dragon she chose.
However, they could not help but be surprised by the next introduction.
A black-haired giant man carrying a greatsword pointed to himself and spoke proudly.
“I’m Ryu Han-bin from Earth. In this world, I am a Valtara warrior named Felard Bean.”