Lady Liline quietly sobbed, looking so delicate and sorrowful that it stirred deep pity.
They were all people who had endured Chaos corruption.
They understood the danger of Chaos, knew that in the face of that power humanity longed to save but could do nothing, and in the end could only collapse into despair, shouting: "There's no way…!" "Not a single one can be saved…!" "Kill them all!" That kind of hopelessness. When Lady Liline had executed those who had been corrupted, the pain in her heart was unbearable.
If it was so hard even when facing strangers, what about her own homeland?
Sister Maria truly was a steadfast and noble nun, worthy of compassion. Indeed, that pain was like a knife stabbing deep into her chest, a wound that would never heal with time. In the silence of the night, she could still recall that moment of despair and helplessness.
And yet, Lady Liline was so sentimental.
Perhaps it was the divine mantle of the Lady of the Lake that made her emotions so sensitive and abundant. Her tears, though slightly embarrassing for Maria, also gave her a strange comfort.
It was as if that wound on her soul had been soothed a little.
But…
"This was something I had to do. Please, let us not speak of it again."
It was the sin of her father, lured into corruption, and as his daughter she had no reason not to make amends. Maria was no untouchable saint, she, too, was willing to bargain in order to erase her father's sin.
Just then, Arthur returned to the front hall with a bundle of scrolls in hand, catching sight of Liline's sobbing and Maria's lowered, dim face. It seemed something had happened while he was away. Silent, Arthur set the scrolls down before the two of them.
"Whew, finally starting!"
Like an innocent child, Lady Liline quickly wiped away her tears once Arthur's presence caught her attention. Her gemlike eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Scrolls, see, team."
What the hell! A miracle! , the mute has spoken!
At last, the priest had opened his mouth. Uneasy, he tugged at the high collar of his coat to cover his moving lips. His voice was harsh and grating, like wood being sawed, in the dead of night, such a sound would easily be mistaken for the growl of a beast.
Maria, blind to it all, picked up a scroll, quietly sneaking glances at this so-called miracle. If she and Liline had both been recruited into the Radiant Church's squad for resolving Chaos corruption, surely the priest must have been as well. Just how had this priest of the God of Justice dealt with Chaos corruption? That was something to wonder at.
This was a squad formed precisely to cleanse corruption from Beyond the World.
They were to remain pure while contacting and studying what Chaos really was, what its purpose was in invading from beyond the world, and what forces made up the Warp. All information they gathered would be reported directly to their patron deities; no one else had the right to know.
At this point, Maria stole a glance at the other two.
They seemed to already know much from divine revelations. Arthur read with solemn care, while carefree Liline tossed her scroll aside with a yawn.
The problem is, I don't serve any deity… Should I really pray to the Lord of Sunlight?
An obstacle right from the start, Maria couldn't help but feel troubled. To be honest, her thoughts toward the Radiant Lord were strange, perhaps strange enough to earn His wrath.
No helping it, she would fall back on her old method: acting.
She could always pretend. After all, who would dare verify her prayers with the Radiant Lord? Even if someday He noticed something amiss, surely He wouldn't make a fuss over such a triviality. Worst case, she could push the blame onto Gehrman.
Arthur, silent again, read swiftly. The thin, annotated scroll was quickly finished. His speed was slower than Maria expected, she and Liline had already been waiting for his explanation. Reaching into his coat, Arthur produced another fresh scroll.
"Finally, work at last." Liline stretched lazily, her full curves accentuating the motion, her dark flowing hair cascading like silk, a sight most pleasing.
"Chaos?"
At the word, Maria's expression darkened. Thanks to Chaos, she had lost nearly everything she could lose. Since Chaos desired her so much, she had no qualms about using that fact to strike back at its fiends.
Arthur nodded, gesturing for her to look at the new scroll.
The squad's first mission was, of course, tied to Chaos. A certain seal guarded by the Radiant Church showed signs of Chaos corruption. It was a critical seal, and they were tasked with handling it.
Priests specializing in sealing had already been dispatched; they were waiting for this squad to arrive.
"What seal is it?" Maria asked out of habit after finishing the scroll.
"I know! I know! It's the Lord of Cinder!" Liline shouted in excitement.
A casual question had revealed news of the Lord of Cinder. Maria reflexively touched her own face. Perhaps her ill fortune had finally run its course, was her luck now turning?
"Arthur told me before, it's that place. The resting place of the Lord of Cinder. A forbidden Lord of Cinder, denied the divine oracle of Lordran, banished by the Church, the only Lord of Cinder to slumber in the mortal world."
A forbidden Lord of Cinder, erased along with his name.
It was said that he had linked the Flame twice, but in his second time, disheartened, he abandoned his duty as Lord of Cinder and instead sought the path of the Ancient Dragons. In the holy land of Lordran, dragons were not taboo in themselves, but for a sacred Lord of Cinder to be entangled with them was utterly heretical. Thus he was banished, branded with the mark of the forbidden, his tomb sealed and guarded by the Radiant Church ever since, to prevent disaster.
Yet disaster had come all the same.
By chance, a power from Beyond the World had invaded the seal. Though Arthur had done all he could to contain it, part of the seal was still tainted by Chaos.
As for the Lord of Cinder who slumbered within…
What he had become now, whether Chaos had roused him from his sleep, none could say.
That was why this squad, seasoned in confronting all forms of Chaos, was being sent with the support of the Radiant Church to investigate the seal.
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