Ethan and Dovos parted ways with the master carpenter after they had reached the top floor of the Grand Temple. They told the man to go home quickly since things would get rough soon.

"I know you want to get justice for your wife. But you shouldn't stay here. We will do it for you. We won't kill him. We will bring Templer to the court of justice and make him pay for his crime. We will make sure of that, I promise."

"Then, I shall entrust you with my quest. That Templer's name is Rozeil. He is easy to identify. That perverted bastard always carries around a rose. You will know when you see him."

The master carpenter returned to his home after handing over his personal quest. He got out of the Temple without being checked by the guards because, at that moment, the bell from the palace rang, citing that it was under attack, causing a ruckus throughout the whole city. The crowd of prayers ran back to their homes so he mixed in the group and got out of the Temple safely leaving Ethan and Dovos behind at the Temple.

"Ready?" Ethan asked Dovos.

"Absolutely. I have my kid already," Replied Dovos showing his new sledgehammer. "What about you though? You don't have your sword so will you be alright to fight the Ayeegyee with just these things?"

Dovos asked worriedly after he saw Ethan taking an adze, a chisel and a plummet as his weapons. "Why don't you take the sword from the guard, instead? It would be better than those rubbishes."

"Nah. I heard the Ayeegyee of Midlake was an exceptional sword master before he took in the priesthood. He knows very well how the swords work. I believe the unusual weapons would be better choices."

"But I doubt you could use those things as weapons. I understand the adze and the chisel. But a plummet, why?"

Rather than explaining, Ethan answered with a cheeky secretive smile that you will see later.

After they chose their weapons, they headed to the third floor where the real fight would take place.

Meanwhile, at the palace where Cleo's team was, the situation was still dire. Cleo had successfully killed both the Chancellor and the retainer but they were still inside the palace, trapped in a room on the second floor with the dozens of enemies right outside the door. The soldiers of the Duke were still at large and they controlled the palace guards. The soldiers of Rode were eager about who would take the head of the princess first. If they gifted the head of the heretic princess to the Temple, they would be anointed as holy knights and live in riches for the rest of their lives. Before the reinforcement from Grand Temple came, they wanted to end it fast.

"Get the ram! We are breaking this down," Yelled an officer from the other side of the door. "We won't let the Templers take our prize. Take it down!!" He ordered his men.

Igüan checked the window to see if they could escape through there but an arrow came in so he had to swiftly block it. "We can't get out from the windows either. They have fully surrounded us." He broke the news to Cleo and Luther. Luther walked front and back of the room repeatedly as he thought of a way out. Nervousness had taken over his heart. Cleo told him to calm down and that this scenario was already expected. "Right now, all we have to do is trust in our friends and wait for their victory," Cleo told Luther.

Luther glanced at the Grand Temple which could be seen through the window and impatiently mumbled, "Why are they taking so long? Did they fail?"

"Have faith, Luther. Ethan is the true champion of God. He is the man who will purge out this evil." Cleo replied confidently.

When they reached the third floor, Ethan and Dovos saw another pair of guards standing at the door at the end of the hallway. The door was opened so they could see the inside. Two female servants were attending the Ayeegyee in changing clothes, another was standing nearby with a golden tray carrying a velvet robe.

As soon as the guards saw Ethan and Dovos with a bunch of carpentry tools, the guards thought they were disoriented carpenters who were lost on their way. They unsuspiciously shouted the direction to go back down the stairs. Ethan and Dovos acted deaf as if their hearing was damaged from the constant noise of construction so the guards unsuspiciously approached them impatiently.

"Damnit. Are you guys deaf? Go back down the stairs and you will see another stairs. That's for the bell tower. You shitheads got on the wrong on..e."

A guard yelled but before he finished, Ethan buried the adze into the ribcage while Dovos wrecked another one to the chin with a hammer, breaking the jaw. The fractured pieces went into the hard palate. The force of concussion rendered the brain to a halt.

The servants screamed and ran away in the middle of attending to their master. A girl was so stunned she even forgot how to run. Her feet wobbled in fear.

Dovos and Ethan rushed through the hallway before the Ayeegyee tried to escape through the window. Before they reached the end of the hallway, a door in front of them opened from the side and a Templer came out after hearing the screaming. Ethan told Dovos to take care of the Templer and Dovos quickly got on it. Before the Templer could comprehend what was happening, Dovos slammed his hammer into the Templer's belly. The quick strike got the unprepared Templer to his guts spewing out everything he had had for dinner along with the blood. The powerful sledged ruptured his liver and pancreas in one stroke.

Since Dovos had taken care of the Templer, there was no one left between Ethan and Ayeegyee. Ethan confidently walked up to the Ayeegyee of Grand Temple while Dovos pulled the staggered servant girl out of the room. "Pardon me, young lady. I will lift you from the waist because it is dangerous here." Dovos showed his manners as he didn't want the girl to accuse him of taking advantage of her.

As soon as Ethan entered the room, he noticed the exaggerated glamour of the room. The whole Grand Temple was mesmerizing from the bottom to the top. However, the room where the Ayeegyee resided was exceptional. It is the cream of the crop. The Ayeegyees of Temple preached altruism, humbleness and content with moderation. Yet he lived in riches and jewels, his furniture was the plushiest comfort, the walls were painted in the brightest of colours and the clothes were the luxurious velvets. A big porcelain tub was placed in the middle of the room, even the wash water was milk with flower petals.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. You preach of sharing and caring. But when your devotees return home with empty purses from your temple, did it never occur in your head to share your wealth?" Ethan asked the Ayeegyee.

The Ayeegyee took a glance at Ethan and snorted as he calmly enrobed himself. "Submission to the noble agents of the Lord is a form of good deed. I merely accept their submission because they want me to. How will they get merit from the lord if I reject them? Whether they are broke or rich is their fate. It is my destiny to be chosen as his agent and to have a lavish life. It is my fate. Everything is according to the will of His. I am merely a follower."

The Ayeegyee answered Ethan's question nonchalantly while he stepped away from Ethan and reached for the sabre hanging on the wall.

Ethan continued, "Is that it? You believe whatever he tells you and do whatever he commands. You never wonder if Mordu' might be a fake. Have you not had a consciousness of your own? Where is your conscience?"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Conscience is a misconception. One truth may be wrong elsewhere. The order of the world was never just, never straight. Personally, Ethan, I only believe in one concept. When the rule suits you, you enforce it. No need to look at others."

"Then, there will be no peace eternally."

"I believe I am peaceful enough."

"The oppressed will fight."

"Dare try. You may be called a champion but for me, you are just an angry rebel."

The Ayeegyee tossed the challenge to Ethan. He touched the blade of his highly decorated sabre with love and mumbled to it. "How much must have you been missing me? It has been a decade, hasn't it? Let's dance one more time my love."

The Ayeegyee warmed up his dance. Ethan also took out his secret weapon, a plummet.

Ayeegyee scowled after seeing a plummet and it made Ethan confident that it was the right choice. The Ayeegyee had no idea what devastating weapon he was facing with.

Instantly after Ayeegyee twitched to make the first move, he saw something flying toward him so he dodged by twisting his body like he would dodge a dagger. Then, he noticed a thin rope by the side of his face and immediately knew he made a mistake.

Ethan pulled back the plumb bob, hitting the back of Ayeegyee's head on its return journey. Instead of waiting for its full return, Ethan quickly launched another attack with a swing by spinning his body. Since the Ayeegyee's room was a gigantic room with a lot of open spaces, it was the most favourable place to fight for Ethan. He could handle his weapon in every way possible without needing to worry about getting stuck somewhere.

'Rope dart', was the weapon scarcely found in midland meanwhile some skilful fighters from the eastern continent wielded such weapons. Due to its sharp edge of learning, it was unpopular among the general population even in the East. Ethan's grandfather who was a migrant from the eastern continent (ref: ch.3) brought the weapon to Midland and Ethan remembered he played with it while he was young. It was a hard weapon to wield but for a child Ethan, it was a fun thing to play with. His grandfather switched the sharp dart with a dull weight for him and Ethan played with it every day. However, when he got older, he noticed it was impractical to use in a fight against monsters so he switched to learning spearmanship and swordsmanship. Even so, the moves he did back in the day latent in the deep part of his brain returned as soon as he wielded the weapon. He was ecstatic. Ethan felt like he went back to his youth.

After the bitter experience, Ayeegyee dodged the flying bob at a fair distance. Then, he cut the rope with his blade. The sharp sabre dipped into the rope but rather than being cut, the rope moved along with the blade, the tension pivoted the bob redirecting it back to Ayeegyee. Ethan had reinforced the rope dart with divination so it couldn't be cut easily.

Frustrated by the fact that he couldn't even approach Ethan, Ayeegyee decided to burn the rope instead. "Flamenus inferno!" He chanted. A crescent ring of blue fire burst out of his hands, to devour everything in its path. The blazing blue flame roared across the room toward Ethan. Instead of shielding against the screaming fire, Ethan made a quick decision to cover behind the porcelain tub in the middle of the room. The uninterrupted blaze devoured the door instead of Ethan meanwhile the scorching heat incinerated the floating flower petals along with the water on the surface of the tub. A gush of steam rushed into the air, the humidity blurred the vision.

The Ayeegyee took the chance to get near while Ethan was taking cover. He dashed forward and leapt into the tub. With his two hands on the hilt of the sabre, he powerfully stabbed it behind the tub with a guess where Ethan might be.

However, Ethan rolled out from his spot as soon as he heard the steps. Otherwise, he would be in the next life. Ethan twisted his body and with his back facing the floor, he kicked the tub lip knocking it over. Witbackflipflip, Ayeegyee jumped out of the tub before he was dragged along with it. But before he landed back on the floor, Ethan cast ice age, freezing all the water from the tub pooling on the floor.

"What a cheap trick. I ain't a fool to slip on it."

The Ayeegyee shattered the ice by vibrating his sabre as he landed. But Ethan's intention wasn't to make a slippery floor. It was to reduce his opponent's vision who had already got the pattern of his weapon. The earlier warm humid air was suddenly cooled down by the icy floor forming a thick mist inside the room, blocking all visions.

Other than the Ayeegyee who needed to know where his opponent was to strike, Ethan didn't necessarily require his target's location. With the long rope, he covered a huge area in one swing, the weapon itself located the enemy and grappled on touch.

As soon as he felt a change in sensation at the tips of his fingers, he threw the chisel like a dagger in that direction. With a swoosh followed by a loud thud, Ethan saw the mist near the target turned to crimson. The room became quiet. After a few seconds, the mist had dropped and the lifeless body of Ayeegyee was seen lying on the floor. The chisel penetrated the ribs and ruptured the heart behind it. Then, Ethan heard several people coming up the stairs from the hallway. The reinforcement had come but they were late. The Ayeegyee had already been slain. However, the fight wasn't over yet. The final ending performance still needed to be done. And the main character in it was Dovos.

"Dovos!! Your turn!"

"I am on it already!" Dovos replied with a devilish smile.

While Ethan was fighting the Ayeegyee, Dovos had been focusing only on one thing. The final performance. He breathed in the air till his lungs were full, his chest bulging like a pigeon's. Then, he chanted loudly, "Quakadoladoo!!!"

As the edge of the sledgehammer hit the marble floor, a big tear appeared along the hallway toward the stairs. The rumbling sound roared throughout the gigantic building, dust fell from the roof, and cracks ran across the plastered walls.

"You pig bastard! Are you mad!? Are you trying to tear down the whole Temple!?" A Templer yelled from the staircase after he saw Dovos. The whole group of soldiers halted at the stairs, not sure whether to go up and detain Dovos, or run back down the stairs and escape for their lives. The leading Templer lightly stepped around the cracks, carefully moving up the stairs. He tried to negotiate with Dovos.

"If you destroy the whole Temple, you will also die. Look. You can still be forgiven. If you stand down now, we will testify for your innocence and get you a pardon. Only the Champion of the Devil, the actual perpetrator, will be punished. Alright?" The Templer persuaded Dovos.

What the Templer said makes sense so Dovos listened to it for a while. Then, he noticed something bright, something yellow sticking out of the Templer's pocket so he asked what that was.

"What? Do you mean this? It is a rose. But it is nothing sort of important. Look. You still have the chance. If you die here after destroying the Temple, you will burn in inferno eternally without intermittence. You will never be reincarnated again."

"No, wait. I know you. You are that Rozeil, right?" Dovos tried to confirm his target.

"Yes. So?"

"Oh, why did I even let you talk? Fu*k you, you rapist sadistic bastard. Go to hell."

As soon as Dovos had confirmed that the man was the Templer who defiled the carpenter's wife, he slammed his hammer onto the Temple's floor for a second time. With a thunderous rumble, the marble floor sank in, falling to the level below devouring everyone along with it. The rigorous tremor also hit the chipped pillar of the bell tower and broke it completely.

The bell tower collapsed, rocking the giant bronze bell. The glamorous sound of the Bell of Deva soared the night sky of the capital city. In the fearful ears of the citizens, the ringing sounded like the glamorous echoes of declaration about their liberation to the angels and Lord above.

One by one, the households of Midlake stood out of their homes and poured into the streets, lighting up the dark city as they spectated the historic moment.

The event was witnessed even from the places far from it. From the saddle of Mount Crownback where Arthur and Leila were staying and from the small hill at the east where the army of Revenant led by King Louise was stationed to besiege the crown city. It was also witnessed from somewhere high where the sturdy brick wall ruled, the Palace of Midlake.

As soon as the battling ram tore down the iron door, the officers of the Duke bulged into the room with the palace guards and encircled Cleo's group. Then, they heard a loud rumbling sound followed by the echo ringing of the Bell of Deva so their heads turned to the windows where they witnessed the collapse of Grand Temple.

As if she had practised numerous times, Cleo stood up on a chair with her blade pointed toward the crumbling Temple. She stood tall with her chest high. "I am Cleo Adder Eclair, the rightful heir to the throne, and the great descendant of King Dane Adder the unifier. Obey me or you shall perish like these traitors. Don't think your perilous Temple could aid you for I have brought the true champion of God, the reincarnation of His at my side. I shall reclaim this rightful land of mine and aid in the champion's worldly quest to cleanse this land of the deceptive schemes of the pretender. So, soldiers of Midlake!! Will you follow the perilous path like these traitors or will you march with me, your true sworn master, on the grand quest of the Champion!?"

Cleo declared. Her confident voice echoed into the depth of their hearts; the pride of Midlakers who had never bowed to anyone had once again been beaten like a drum by the call of their rightful master.

A golden cloak tried to kill Cleo before Cleo fully rallied her men but he was a step late. The hearts of the Midlakers became alive again. The purple cloaks dragged the daring golden cloak by the collar and put a blade into his chest. The rest of the Golden Cloaks surrendered immediately.

The throne had returned to the true owner, the Adders, once again.

And so, the golden wheel of Rode was taken down from the walls of the crown city and the flag of horses and shield was raised as the army of Revenant marched into the crown city under confetti and cheers.