It was only a day later that she reached a city. It was not the first she saw on her run but the second. She did not take a rest in the first one for she felt it was too close to the mountain. The second city was already quite far and she probably would not be in a state to go any further anyways.
After she rented a room in the first inn she found, she dropped like a log in her bed. She took out a few healing pills and began to meditate as she healed her injuries.
It was only a day later that she felt better. Her injuries were still in the midst of healing but she was out of danger.
She unsheathed her sword and, as she looked at it, the feelings came rushing. She began to weep as she whispered: "I avenged you...Master...brothers and sisters... I finally...I avenged you..."
...
A day after Rihillon died, the array stopped working. Not because there was a lack of energy supplied but because the priests manning it were ordered so. A man of great status arrived on scene.
Bishop Kentoros stood over the corpse of the Inquisitor Rihillon. The corpse was badly burnt and unrecognizable. It also had a deep hole where the heart was supposed to be. Yet the Bishop knew who this was. After all, even though the man was dead and visually unrecognizable, the 'aura' that was unique to his soul remained.
The Bishop had remained here for a few hours already.
A dozen subordinates stood respectfully behind him in silence.
Then, one subordinate of a lower rank appeared and kneeled.
The Bishop turned to him and the subordinate spoke with his head still lowered: "Respected Bishop, as per your instructions, a perimeter was established and everything has been accounted for. 26 Priests died and 4 are in a critical state. Of the wandering cultivators, only eleven are supposed to have escaped as their corpses have not been found. Of the dead, nothing of worth has been discovered"
The Bishop sighed. He nodded at the subordinate and let him leave. He turned back towards the corpse and sighed again. Then, he looked at one of his subordinates and stated: "Neville, I promote you to become the new 24th Inquisitor"
The man in question, Neville, moved forward, kneeled and thanked the Bishop. The Bishop nodded and stated: "I believe that you won't tarnish the Church's reputation like your predecessor. Never forget that we exist to spread the light of God on our lands and not to shame it"
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"Yes, Bishop!"
One of the other subordinates moved forward, bowed and asked the Bishop: "Should we give chase after the demon, Your Excellency?"
The Bishop pondered for a moment:
"Two grade 3 treasures are indeed tempting... However, she is a cunning one. Her next move will probably be to go there... If we were to make another fuss so soon, it might attract the attention of the royalty or the other high-ups...If a pope were to learn of all this shit, I might be...Hmm...But if I let her go, she will probably join the royal guards. She will earn power and might retaliate towards the Church...However, she does not know me. Her retaliation would be towards the Church...It might create an opportunity to rise up... Risks are involved if I give a chase but I would not lose anything if I did not. However, I might reap some benefits down the line if she attacks others. She would probably go after Archbishops, Popes or even the Supreme. I'm too low a character for her to notice me."
He sighed and said: "Forget it. She is going to run to the capital and join this year's selection. We should not tarnish the Church's image further"
The subordinates nodded and bowed. The Bishop was the highest figure on-scene and they had to follow his judgements. Another subordinate asked: "How would you like us to handle the situation, Your Excellency?"
The Bishop did not think too much this time as he stated: "As usual. The demon was vanquished, sacrifices were made, the light triumphed over the darkness. Organize a mourning ceremony for the wanderers"
"What about those wanderers that escaped?"
The Bishop snorted and stated: "Minor characters like them are not worth our efforts"
"Yes, Bishop!"
The priests bowed as the Bishop left. As he walked, he wondered what the other bishops would say once they learnt that Rihillon died so foolishly. He chuckled at the thought.
...
Jin woke up refreshed.
Three days had gone by and he was going down for his breakfast inside the inn. He rushed straight to the second city after he escaped the mountain without looking back. He stayed there until things calmed down and in order to hear about the latest news regarding the incident. The Church was a big force and its movements would create waves regardless of how big they were.
Today too, as he ate, he learnt that no pursuers were chasing him overtly. Instead, the Church was organizing a mourning for the heroes who valiantly fought off the demons...
Bullshit.
That's how the world worked though. The darkness was hidden and replaced.
He was too powerless to change things anyways so he simply skipped such thoughts. What concerned him was whether a chase was on. And there were none. Of course, bar rumors were not enough to give him certainty. But the fact that they were preparing a ceremony to honor the deaths did.
He did not believe that the Church would send assassins after him. He was a minor thing. Not worth attention. What if he told people the truth? No one would believe him. The Church was distorting the truth and their lie would become the truth. They did not need to care about his 'voice' that had no weight. As such, there were no reasons to go after him.
At the very least, he believed that such a strong force would not bother doing so. If they did, it would show how thorough they were but lofty groups rarely went through such hassles. He was 'worthless' to them, not even worth the effort of killing.
As such, he sipped his Frone in a relaxed manner. Unaware that he had already been spotted. A beautiful red-head woman was staring at him from her table.