The burly man and his companions were halted by the marching knights outside the sanctuary. One of the knights stepped forward and addressed them loudly, ensuring everyone could hear.
"State your business!" he commanded.
The burly man stepped towards the knight, but another knight from the group swiftly moved to intercept him, warning him not to advance.
"No need to get closer. State your purpose for visiting from where you are," the knight said.
Seeing the gleaming spears of the knights, the man took a few steps back and turned his attention to the lead knight who had spoken.
"We are from the Ascended Theocracy," the burly man replied.
However, as soon as those words left his lips, the knights tensed up, ready to attack him. Realizing the situation was turning serious, the man reached into his pocket and retrieved something.
He held it up in the air so that the knights could see it clearly and continued speaking,
"I am here on behalf of the Head Priest of our theocracy. We come in peace, not to cause trouble. If you wish to investigate, my authority is confirmed by the seal of the Head Priest." He extended his hand, holding the seal towards the knight.
Upon seeing this, the knight who had been speaking with the man signaled to one of his comrades. That knight approached the burly man, accepted the seal from his hand, and then returned to the group of knights.
"We don't have authority over trivial matters like this. Wait here until I contact someone higher up," the leading knight stated while taking the seal from his comrade.
They prepared to depart, but at that moment, the burly man interrupted with a request.
"Could you leave one of the fire torches with us? As you can see, the lanterns in our carriage are clearly insufficient to illuminate the area around us. Since it's nighttime, there might be predators roaming this area," he inquired.
"Don't worry, not all of us are leaving. Do you think we'd allow someone from our enemy cult, who attacked us when we were at our weakest, to wander around in our territory?" the leading knight retorted with a smirk.
Then, he departed with a few knights, leaving others to watch over the carriage and its occupants.
The burly man returned to the carriage.
"They don't seem to be on friendly terms with us," the young girl remarked.
"Why would they be? We're the ones who attacked them when they fell from their peak power," the burly man replied.
"I don't think the Head Priest's thoughts will be fulfilled here. They're clearly anticipating a war," he continued.
The young girl remained silent, her gaze fixed on the outside through the window.
However, due to the darkness of the night, she couldn't discern anything.
Suddenly, the moon, previously concealed behind a cluster of clouds, emerged, casting a brilliant glow across the entire area, illuminating the girl's view outside.
Within the sanctuary, Head Knight Ronald was instructing some knights in swordsmanship. At that moment, another knight approached him, delivering news that instantly shifted Ronald's expression to one of seriousness.
"What? What are they doing here today?" Ronald exclaimed. "I'm going to chop those bastards!" he continued.
"But, sir, he has the seal of their Head Priest, which is why we can't ignore it," another knight pointed out.
"Have you reported this to the higher-ups?" Ronald asked the knight.
"No, after I took the seal, I came directly to you, leader," the knight replied.
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"Good, give me the seal. I'll take it to a superior," Ronald said, extending his hand to receive the seal.
"Here, leader," the knight handed over the seal.
"You can go now. Ensure they don't cause any trouble on the border and enhance security in that area," Ronald instructed the knight.
With that, the knight departed, leaving Ronald to make his way back inside the sanctuary.
As Ronald walked, he took a close look at the seal handed to him by the knight. It bore the authority of the Head Priest and was adorned in a brilliant shade of blue.
At its center was an image of the sun cradled by a giant hand-like structure, with an additional five hands extending toward it. The seal possessed a gem-like quality that gave it a glistening shine.
He headed directly to find Elder Khanel, whom he was familiar with. However, after searching everywhere, he couldn't locate him. He refrained from approaching the Almighty Being's main hall as he lacked the authority to enter there.
So, he began to seek out another elder who could relay the information to the Almighty Being and others.
Wandering through the sanctuary, he encountered Elder Wendor, who stood like a statue, his gaze fixed on an empty space before him.
Ronald approached Elder Wendor, but the elder didn't respond even after several calls. Concerned that something might have happened to him, Ronald carefully maneuvered around what seemed like a strange, slimy substance on the ground.
Eventually, he reached Elder Wendor and tapped his shoulder firmly. At that moment, Elder Wendor snapped out of his reverie-like state and turned his gaze toward Ronald.
Wendor turned to look at Ronald, then cast his gaze downward to where pieces of his precious egg were scattered.
"Damn you, Khanel," were the only words he could muster at that moment.
"Why did you call me, Ronald?" Wendor asked, regaining his composure.
Even though Ronald was curious about what had happened to Elder Wendor, he recognized that it would be inappropriate to inquire further. He returned to the main topic and began to explain their situation.
"You weren't able to find Khanel?" Wendor asked Ronald.
"No, Elder. I searched everywhere for him, but I couldn't locate him," Ronald replied.
"He have a good reason for avoiding me," Wendor muttered to himself, not intending for Ronald to overhear.
"What do we do about this, Elder?" Ronald inquired about the situation.
"Well, if it's not Khanel, I don't know of anyone else with the authority to enter the main hall where the Almighty Beings reside," Wendor responded.
"so, inform them that those with the authority are not present at the moment," he continued.
"But, Elder," Ronald hesitated.
"No 'buts.' Do as I say," Wendor stated firmly.
"Your orders, Elder," Ronald conceded. Being the higher-ranking individual, he had no choice but to comply, and he departed with the message from Elder Wendor.
After leaving the sanctuary, Ronald contacted one of the knights and dispatched both the seal and the message to the representatives of the Ascended Theocracy.
The knight, upon receiving the order from Ronald, swiftly mounted a horse and rode toward the location where the Ascended Theocracy's representatives were situated.
Inside the carriage, the usual silence prevailed. The young girl continued to gaze out the window, her position unchanged. The burly man teetered between a half-asleep and half-awake state, his eyes closed.
Meanwhile, the coachman tended to the horses, providing them with the stored food from within the carriage.
At that moment, the sound of a horse's approach stirred the burly man from his half-asleep state.
The knight who had received the order from Ronald arrived swiftly, and the horse he rode was visibly exhausted from the speed of their journey.
As the knight approached the carriage, the burly man stepped out of it.
"Here, take it. We don't have people with the authority to deal with you at the moment," the knight said, tossing the seal to the burly man.
The burly man caught the seal and inquired, "What do you mean you don't have people with authority? Didn't your Almighty Being awaken just a few days ago?"
"Don't tell me it was all a lie," he continued.
"Watch your mouth, bastard. Do you want me to tear it off for you?" the knight threatened the man, and the tension in the atmosphere escalated.
However, at that moment, the carriage door swung open, and the young girl emerged.
"Forgive us for our rude behavior," she apologized to the knight.
Captivated by her mesmerizing beauty, the knight quickly let go of their quarrel.
"You don't need to apologize; this man was the one in the wrong," the knight replied to her.
The young girl offered a pleasant smile to the knight and asked, "When you mentioned that your sanctuary doesn't have people with authority, do you mean they've gone to the location of the original sanctuary?" She directed her question to the knight.
"I don't know, but our leader said they haven't here, so you might be right," the knight replied promptly. The other knight who was guarding the carriage also looked at her as if charmed.
"Thank you for the information," she replied, signaling to the burly man to re-enter the carriage. The coachman swiftly urged the horses onward, and they departed in haste.
After a few moments of their departure, the knight who had answered her snapped out of his enchantment.
Realizing he had been charmed, he blamed himself. Simultaneously, he glanced at the other knight, who had also fallen under her charm.They both felt embarrassed about their momentary lapse.
Subsequently, they mutually agreed never to speak of that incident again. From that point onward, all the knights at that location held that deep secret that common to them within there heart.