Chapter 142: The Temple in Turmoil

  The events that unfolded during the Northern New Year Festival shook the eemple to its core.

  "This is an utter disgrace to the temple!"

  Standing in the ter of the Radiant Hall, the High Cardinal, dressed in crimson robes, wore a livid expression. His grip on the ceremonial staff was so tight that his knuckles had turned pale.

  Before him, the assembled cardinals, led by Cardinal Karl, stood with their heads bowed, not daring to utter a single word.

  It was no wohe High Cardinal was sed. A sdal during the temple’s New Year Festival was embarrassing enough. But this was no ordinary dispute. One side of the flivolved a well-known Divinely Blessed individual of the temple, while the other adin of the Holy Order. And to make matters worse, the i escated to the point where the Angelic Legion and even the Goddess herself had intervened!

  "What oh happened here?!"

  The High Cardinal gred at the cardinals before him, his aged face trembling with anger.

  " someone expin to me why one of our Divinely Blessed individuals would be fighting a padin? Why did the Angelic Legion appear? And why, in the end, was it necessary for the Goddess to personally intervene? What were you all doing?! What have you been doing?!"

  The High Cardinal’s voice grew increasingly furious. Ordinarily, an appearance by the heavens, angels, or the Goddess would be cause for celebration. But not this time. Instead, the temple had been thrust into the ter of a brewing storm. Outside, rumors were spiraling out of trol, some even spread by insidious cultists g that the Temple of Order had betrayed the Goddess's will. Acc to these rumors, the Goddess sent her messeo punish the temple.

  Normally, such allegations would be dismissed ht. But now, doubt was creeping into people’s minds.

  This was uandable. Many nobles and mages had withe i firsthand. They heard Brand, one of the temple's most powerful padins, accuse Alex of being a cultist. A, Alex summohe Angelic Legion in respourning the accusation into an undeniable tradi.

  Brand represehe pinnacle of the temple's martial strength and, to some extent, the temple’s authority.

  Now, that very representative had accused someone under divine angelic prote of being a cultist. The situatioed into a deadly frontation, with the Goddess ultimately reg Brand's Bde of Justice, an artifact.

  The implications were staggering.

  This all occurred in full view of tless witnesses. Even if the nobles and temple members chose to remain silent, the many attendants and servants present would iably spread the story. The temple uood that suppressing public discourse was a futile endeavor.

  Ohis spread further, and with cultists twisting the narrative, many might genuinely believe that the temple had strayed from the Goddess’s will and sought to kill Alex, her chosen representative. The Goddess, unwilling to tolerate this, sent her Angelic Legion to protect him and recimed Brand’s artifact as punishment.

  "Please, calm yourself, High Cardinal."

  A soft voiterrupted the tense sile the sound of this voice, the High Cardinal, still trembling with anger, immediately turned and bowed deeply toward the veiled figure behind the curtain.

  "But… Your Holiness…"

  "First, let us hear what happened in full detail," the gentle voice replied. "Only then we make a proper judgment. Cardinal Karl, you were overseeing the event. I trust you have a plete report?"

  "Yes, Your Holiness."

  At this, Cardinal Karl stepped forward and began to ret the sequence of events iail.

  Though Karl had not withe i directly, there were guards and attendants in the courtyard where the frontation occurred. Their ats, bined with Brand’s testimony, allowed Karl to piece together what transpired.

  When Karl finished his report, the gathered clergy were left speechless.

  "So… you’re saying that Padin ie believed the angel was somehow bound or trolled by Alex, using magic or some other means, and acted to free her? Incredible… Truly incredible!"

  The High Cardinal no longer even had the energy to be angry. Instead, he was left marveling at the sheer foolishness of one of the temple's padins.

  "Cardinal Karl, in your assessment, did the angel appear to be bound in any way?"

  "No, Your Holiness," Karl answered firmly.

  The High Cardinal sighed deeply, his face a mix of disappoi and frustration. "A, despite having no evidence, a padin of the temple acted on such a reckless assumption… How could this happen under our watch?"

  His words hung heavily in the air, the silence oppressive.

  The gathered clergy uood the gravity of the situation. The temple’s credibility, its unity, and even its e to the divine were being called into question. And now, the intervention of the Goddess herself had made the i impossible to dismiss.

  More thahe temple stood at a precarious crossroads.

  "To be ho, during the battle in the Dark S, I had the privilege of fighting alongside Padin Alex and that angel. From my observations, the arusted Alex deeply, and there was no hint of flict between them. Moreover, the angel pyed a critical role iroying the Hell Gate. Without her, we would never have been able to defeat the six-armed demon Bel or dismahe infernal ritual so effortlessly..."

  “………………”

  Hearing this, the gathered clergy exged uain gnces. Finally, they uood why Alex had reacted so violently and struck out in anger.

  After all, he had goo great lengths to help eliminate a major threat, yet not only did he receive no gratitude, but he was also attacked—over an unfounded accusation, no less. Who wouldn’t be furious under such circumstances?

  “……………And as for Padin ie’s funeral…”

  “We are still deliberating…”

  At this point, Cardinal Karl looked helpless.

  “To be frank, we examined Padin ie’s body thhly. Her soul and life force have been pletely eradicated…”

  “Was it the work of the Angel of Death?”

  The High Cardinal frowned deeply at Karl’s report.

  While ordinary believers might harbor doubts about the power of death, the senior members of the Temple of Order uood it well. In truth, they did not ily oppose darkness or death, as both were integral parts of order itself. What the temple ned was the chaos and suffering these forces could unleash—not the forces themselves. pared to the holy light, the potential harm caused by darkness ah was naturally greater.

  “………And what about Brand?”

  “He remains at home, recuperating. It seems the loss of the Bde of Justice has dealt him a severe blow.”

  “Ahhh…”

  The High Cardinal sighed heavily.

  Brand had brought this upon himself. Not only had he lost the Bde of Justice, but the Goddess had also stripped him of his power. Now, he was no longer a legendary warrior but a frail mortal.

  In light of these events, the temple had already decided to revoke Brand’s title as Captain of the Padins. His as had been excessive, and the Goddess herself had interveo address the matter. If the temple didn’t act decisively, their credibility would be utterly destroyed.

  “And what about Padin Alex? Have we located him?”

  “Regrettably, we still have no leads on Alex’s whereabouts.”

  After the battle, Alex had left immediately, taking the angel Nymph with him. With Malthael and the Angelic Legion proteg him, no one dared to stop them, and Alex disappeared without a trace. Despite extensive searches, including inquiries with Rex and others, there had been no breakthroughs.

  “’t his locatioermihrough the star patterns?”

  The High Cardinal grew more anxious at this reply.

  The only way to resolve this crisis was to find Alex and publicly annouhat the temple bore no hostility toward him. Doing so would dispel the growing rumors. However, with Alex in hiding and no means of log him, the situation was being increasingly precarious.

  In this votile climate, the risk of someone impersonating the temple to attack Alex was high, potentially creating further animosity. Oonio was already enough trouble—if anure of simir stature emerged, the temple would be in an untenable position.

  The immediate priority was to locate Alex and clear up the misuanding. The temple o vey that they bore him no ill will, and that the as of Brand and ie were personal and did not represent the temple’s stance. But Alex’s refusal to show himself rendered even their most sincere efforts futile.

  “I’ve sulted with Lord Oscar, but he said that Alex’s star signs are obscured, making it impossible to determine his true location…”

  “Ahhh…”

  Hearing this, the High Cardinal could only sigh in resignation.

  “Well, perhaps this is for the best. If we ’t find him, theher those with malicious iions… Perhaps this is also the will of the Goddess.”

  But where had that young man gone?

  (End of Chapter)

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