He walked over to his desk, holding a rather dusty book in his hands.

  An emotionless mask sat on the table, within reach.

  The room he found himself in was spacious, its walls tiled with shelves and bookcases overflowing with ancient volumes. It looked more like a library or an archive, rather than the chamber of the highest authority in the Theocracy of Reia: The Twelfth Cardinal.

  He sat down at the table and opened the tome he was holding, beginning to read the ancient scriptures. The man moved the index finger of his left hand along the line of a sentence, as if to better understand its meaning, when...

  “-Ahhh! Damn!”

  A sharp pain struck his limb, forcing him to retract it. The Twelfth Cardinal's face contorted in pain. It was already the fifth time it had happened that week. The spasms were becoming increasingly painful and unbearable.

  "Damn you! Damn you!"

  The man opened the secret drawer in his desk, revealing a stash of soothing potions. He grabbed one and aggressively uncorked it, drinking the green liquid in one gulp.

  "Better…"

  The magic was working. His pain wasn't entirely gone, but it was much more bearable now. It was then that someone knocked on his door.

  “Supreme Cardinal? It's me, Axel…”

  “Axel? Just give me a second, boy!”

  With a quick snap, the man put on the mask he had on the table. He could not allow anyone to see his true face. There were things about the Twelfth Cardinal that were kept secret even from the Captain of the Scriptures of Discord.

  “Now you can come in!”

  The door opened and a young man in his twenties stepped forward. He wore gleaming green and gold armor and long brown hair. In his right hand, he clutched a spear - a relic of the gods.

  “Sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty the Cardinal. I see you are very busy.”

  The boy said, bowing his head in respect.

  “Nonsense! I'm always free for the leader of the Scriptures of Discord, my private militia. Besides, you're a child of the gods! It would be disrespectful to keep you waiting.”

  His tone was friendly, like a father's with his own son. In truth, Axel had been raised by the Twelfth Cardinal, so he saw him as a father figure. His real father was one of the Twelve Gods, but he never had the chance to know him, as his birth had taken centuries to occur. Producing a demigod was extremely complicated. It could take more than three centuries, which is why the Theocracy only had two at their disposal.

  “What brings you here, boy?”

  “News. I have received the reports you requested, Supreme Cardinal.”

  “Oh! Very good! Tell me everything!”

  Axel's face became serious and he sighed.

  “The Scripture of the Split Sun has been destroyed…”

  A deathly silence fell upon the room. The Cardinal's smile beneath his mask completely broke.

  "What?"

  "They're all missing. We found nothing at the site of their last sighting, and the recalling spells aren't working. Bork and his men have vanished without a trace."

  “How did the Seventh Cardinal take it?”

  A small smile spread across Axel's face. He looked pleased for some reason.

  “Not well. He had a seizure and we had to sedate him. Watching him thrash around was… funny.”

  “Don’t laugh, Axel.”

  The Twelfth Cardinal admonished him hypocritically, since he too was smiling under his mask. He had done it more for formality. If it had been up to him, he would have thrown himself to the ground laughing, ruining his reputation.

  "But why? We've known about his plans for years now! To be honest, I don't even know how he managed to get himself elected Cardinal, given that all that scum wants is power! He doesn't care about our sacred doctrine!"

  Axel clenched his fists, visibly furious. To him, the Seventh Cardinal was the disgrace of the Theocracy. They were God's servants, and as such they had to be superior to temptations, such as power, money, or carnal pleasure with a woman who was not the wife.

  “Sovereign Cardinal. May I ask you why you haven't gotten rid of him yet?”

  "Because it was useful to us. That fool is so eager for my approval that he would do anything for me! I could have entrusted you with the mission of eliminating Gareth Stronghold, but why risk losing my best men when I can risk others?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “You're right…”

  “Don't worry. When he's out of use to us, I'll get rid of him. Is this clear? Happy now?"

  Axel sighed and nodded, agreeing with the Cardinal.

  He's just like when he was a kid: hanging on every word I say! With him and the other girl on my side, my plan is guaranteed to succeed!

  The Twelfth Cardinal stood up, with a wicked grin beneath his mask. Axel was like a son to him, but he remained a expendable pawn in his grand plan.

  “What about the other matter? Any news?”

  “No, unfortunately. There is still no trace of the monster that eliminated Zurg. However…”

  Axel fell silent, lowering his head slightly. It was clear he was deeply undecided whether or not to reveal the dubious information he possessed. Lying to a father is always difficult.

  “What do you have to tell me? Continue…”

  “It remains only a theory, but we have found circumstantial evidence that may link Archdemon Zurg to the Cult of the Immortal Demons.”

  At this news, the Cardinal simply nodded. Axel raised a doubtful eyebrow; he would have expected a stronger reaction from his mentor, but instead he seemed completely indifferent to the matter.

  The Cult of the Immortal Demons was one of the Theocracy's many enemies. It was a highly secretive sect that operated primarily in the Bashad Federation, but had its hands in various other areas of the world. Its goals were dubious; however, it was said that they wanted to resurrect the Archfiend Emperor, the most powerful of the Seven Great Sins, those who had killed the Twelve Gods.

  “I see. Indeed, that would explain how Zurg got his filthy hands on the D?monFinsterer. From the information I've gathered, it seems it was one of the books possessed by the Seven Great Sins, which would explain its enormous power…”

  “What do we do now, Supreme Cardinal? The creature is at large…”

  “It depends on how she behaves. How's the hunt going?”

  Axel sighed, visibly dejected.

  "Not well. We can't find her, we only know that she's on the southern edge of the Nexian Empire. Also, it seems this giant woman is being followed by some winged women."

  “Winged women? Is this information reliable?”

  “Yes. Some of my men spotted them, but they couldn't follow them.”

  The Cardinal raised a hand to his chin.

  So Zurg summoned more than one creature? That complicates matters…

  “Is something wrong, Supreme Cardinal?”

  Axel asked him, visibly worried.

  “Huh? Oh, no! It’s all right! Don’t worry, my boy!”

  He put on a cheerful front, followed by a few giggles.

  “Rather, these winged women…Could they be Valkyries? Could the creature have allied itself with May Freya?”

  “Do you mean one of the Twelve Archdemons? The Queen of the Harpies?”

  “Exactly! She’s always been an opportunist! What do you think?”

  Axel shook his head.

  “I don't think so. The feathers of the winged women I spotted were black, while those of the Valkyries are white. The same goes for the harpies.”

  “Yes, but they come from another world. The rules aren't always the same.”

  It was clear that the Twelfth Cardinal knew more than he was letting on, but Axel didn't notice.

  “You are right about that, Supreme Cardinal…”

  The boy fixed a lock of his hair, then turned and put a hand on the door handle.

  "I'm going to see if my men have found anything new. Call me if you need..."

  He nodded, returning to his chair. The man felt the soothing potion's effects slowly wearing off, but he couldn't drink one in front of Axel, or he'd start questioning him.

  “Before you go, could you tell me where your sister is?”

  Calling that girl "sister" was something Axel didn't like. They weren't related, yet they'd been treated as such since birth. The boy had nothing against her, but he wasn't a fan of her personality either. Calling that girl "weird" would have been reductive.

  “She's out, as usual…”

  The Cardinal sighed. He could never count on that girl. If she hadn't been a child of the Gods, she probably would never have made a career in the Theocracy.

  “All right. Go back to your duties, Axel. And be careful, my boy! Be careful of Him!”

  The young man nodded seriously. When the Twelfth Cardinal used the term "Him" with that tone, he was always referring to only one person. The primary enemy of the Theocracy, whose name was considered a federal offense to even speak out loud: The Golden Lyon Lord.

  “Of course! I'll be careful.”

  With that, Axel closed the door.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Left alone, the Twelfth Cardinal slumped. It was difficult to put on the mask of a man who cared about his people, or of someone who always knew everything. It exhausted him.

  Damn Zurg. If only he'd followed our directions...Why did he also ally himself with those crazy cultists?! First Pandora and now I had to lose Zurg too! He was my last puppet left among the Twelve Archdemons!

  He took off his mask and brought his hands to the forehead, sighing harshly.

  “It’s also my fault, for trusting that damned Witch of Vainglory!”

  His thoughts turned to the boy who had just left the room, his favorite pawn.

  “If Axel had children, I'd have an army of demigods at my disposal! My plan could finally be realized after nearly a thousand years…”

  He snorted, remembering the young man's various complaints. For some reason, Axel seemed completely uninterested in pursuing a serious relationship. Maybe he was just shy, or maybe he wanted to enjoy life. The Twelfth Cardinal didn't really care; sooner or later he'd just dispose of him.

  “Young people today only think about having fun!”

  He groaned, before returning to reading the tome. But his mind kept going back to the bad news Axel had given him.

  The cult of the Immortal Demons...I must be careful with them. The leader of those madmen wants to revive the Archfiend Emperor to exploit him, but they can't control that kind of power!

  The Twelfth Cardinal had seen the creature's power with his own eyes. He knew it wasn't truly dead as legends claimed. History was easy to manipulate as centuries passed.

  According to the real story, the Archfiend Emperor was not destroyed, but rather locked away in a specific section of the Spirit Realm by the Twelve Heroes.

  Three of these twelve, in particular, played a key role in the demon's downfall, so much so that they were celebrated and admired within the Federation. It was said that they were even able to sever one of the infamous monster's arm.

  Maybe I should have someone infiltrate the Glorious Ordeal? That event could give me a lot of information...

  Those three heroine were so famous that, every year, an event was held in the Kingdom of Ordalia, one of the most religious in the Bashad Federation. It was called the Glorious Ordeal.

  The Twelfth Cardinal didn't know much about it, but from what he'd heard, it seemed like some sort of event centered on summoning spirits from the past.

  The Bashad Federation...Besides being under the influence of the Holy Empire, it is also the lair of those fanatics of the cult!

  Spying in that territory was really complicated, even for him. The world was a dangerous place; outside the Theocracy, he would no longer be safe behind a thousand defenses and as Axel. The twelfth Cardinal had to think carefully about his next move.

  No matter how long I have to wait, I'll get what I want! One way or another.

  His reading was interrupted again by another spasm in his left hand, followed by a shooting of pain.

  “God, if it hurts!”