Upon entering the Guild, an attendant very quickly came towards us and asked us to follow him. Leading us through a door to the side, we went down a corridor before arriving in front of a heavy stone door. The attendant placed a token into a groove on the door and it opened. As it opened, the attendant grabbed the token back and gestured for us to enter.
Entering the room, I saw everyone who would be participating in attacking the Church. Bloom’s team sat with Xeno, while Lin, Bloom and Summer stood around a separate table that was covered in papers, seemingly discussing something. Elise and Marty stood to the side while Xander and Roland stood at the front. My eyes met with Roland’s and he gave me a small nod.
Sitting down with Xeno, he gave me a small nod while glancing at Elizabeth and Jessica. “Seems you found some more help.” He then glances at Olivia, who had her nose in the book I had given her. “Is she doing okay?”
“Better. She spoke yesterday.” As I responded, I settled next to Xeno as the others found somewhere to sit.
“Our team will be official after this mission. For the life of me I can’t think of a name, so I decided to leave it to Summer. She’ll be our leader, if you have no qualms about that.”
I agreed with that. I didn’t know how to lead others, so having Summer who had experience in leading would be the best option. Making small talk with Xeno who had invited me to dinner with his Husband, about twenty minutes had passed as Roland stood forward.
“Adventurers, by now you should know who I am, for those that do not know then allow me to introduce myself. I am Roland, Captain of the Royal Guards. Tonight we will be working with you adventurers to launch an assault on the Church of the Moon Goddess. There is sufficient proof to show they are guilty of hoodwinking fellow adventurers and using them to attack fellow adventurers.”
Roland looks at Lin and gives him a nod. Lin picks up one of the many papers on the map and throws it onto the wall, where it sticks. The map showed a birds eye view of a cluster of buildings, with a large one in the middle. There were red circles around the roads leading into the area with the buildings.
“The Royal Guard will be setting up and blocking the roads an hour after this meeting has concluded. Five minutes after we have set up we will erect a barrier, preventing any interference, magical or otherwise, with what occurs inside. This is the extent that the Royal Guard will do to assist as this is seen as a Guild matter. We will however detain any who may try to flee the scene, but they will be turned over to the Guild.”
Roland stands back as Xander steps forward.
“You will be moving into the main church and separating into two teams, one led by Summer while the other is led by Bloom. One team will stand outside of the Church’s doors, their mission is to ensure no one enters or leaves the Church, while also detaining any innocents that may reside in the Church or those that surrender themselves. This team will be led by Bloom, and those that join him will be Xeno, Alice, Xia, Elizabeth and Leon.
“The second team will be led by Summer. Your mission is to clear through the Church and apprehend or kill the Archbishop of the Church, who we have confirmed to be hoodwinking our adventurers and plotting the death of those connected to the Church. You have permission to kill your way through the Church if deemed necessary, any excessive force used on those that surrender themselves or are innocents is not permitted and will be met with punishment.
“This team, led by Summer, will be joined by Alisha, Amelia and Jessica. We have information on the Church as well. Currently there have been movements within the Church and it appears they are readying themselves to attack, rather than defend, and we believe they are planning to go on the offensive in the next few days, so our timing is good. Currently there are numerous individuals who have crossed level 50 within the Church and the Archbishop, Elanor, is level 64.
“The Church of the Moon Goddess is one of the smaller Churches in Vale, meaning there will not be many worshippers tonight. There are no defensive barriers within the Church. While waiting for the Royal Guard, you will be on standby in a small house here.” Xander points to a small dot near the big building. “You will enter the alleyways in pairs and will wear hoods to prevent your identities being known early. If you are stopped and questioned, you are simply meeting with others to pray and nothing more. I will be personally overseeing this operation in place of the Branch Master, everything else will be handled by all of you.
”The completion of this request has changed. You will receive ten Mithril coins and in addition to this you will be awarded with the opportunity to have a hunting zone for yourselves, as a group, temporarily. Any materials from that hunting zone will belong entirely to you.”
As Xander finished speaking, he stepped back as Summer pointed to me, Jessica, and Amelia. “Come with me, we’ll discuss our plan before we move out.”
***
Leaning against a wall, we were all waiting in the house that had been pointed to us. According to Summer, the Royal Guard would begin their operation in five minutes, meaning we needed to wait ten more minutes before we moved. I had convinced Olivia to wait with Elise, who had been happy to sit with her. Olivia had only been reading the book I gave her and had been slowly reading it. I told Elise about her condition and knew I could trust Olivia to her.
No one here had been stopped on the way to the house, with all of us safely making it here. There were many people on the streets and alleyways, none seemed to be concerned or preparing for an attack which was relieving news for all of us. As we waited in silence, ten minutes passed quickly. A surge of mana could be felt in our surroundings, and looking out the window a green light lit up the sky, indicating that everything had been prepared.
“It’s go time. We’ll move as one and separate at the Church’s doors. Remember the plans for each of your teams, do not deviate unless the leader says so.” Summer jumps off a bench and looking at us all, she nods. “Don’t underestimate the opponent, even if they’re just a bunch of church goers they can still be dangerous. Don’t die.”
Following Summer out of the building, the streets in front of us had gone from organised and calm to panic filled. As we walked, without our hoods on, people parted for us as their eyes looked us over, mutters happening around with a few seemingly having connected the dots.
“They’re here for the Church!”
“By Celestia’s name! They mean to attack the Church! Stop them!”
Though they screamed that out, no one moved to block or stop us as we continued to walk straight towards the doors to the Church. The citizens continued to part for us and as we approached the already open doors, we walked in. Rows of seats ran down either side of a narrow path that led up to a lectern, where a Deacon, from the robes he wore, stood, preaching to those who sat in the seats. We parted with Bloom’s team before entering, and with the Deacon seeing the four of us, he smiled warmly.
“Welcome, we are in the middle of a sermon if you wish to joi-”
“Sorry, but we’re not here for that. By the order of the Guild, this Church is now under detainment and all of those within her will be detained. We are here to arrest the Archbishop of the Church, please comply with us.”
The Deacon looked confused as those that sat in the pews began whispering to each other. The Deacon looks over Summer carefully, then Jessica, Amelia and then me. Once he saw me his eyes narrowed.
“I see, you have brought the False Blessed, a monster, into our divine church.” The Deacon looked at us with hostility as he stamped down a foot.
“Lunar Imprisonment.”
Chains sprang forth from the ground as those that had been praying either fled or stood, preparing to attack. They moved in quickly, without giving us time…or so they thought. The moment the chains wrapped around us, I destroyed the magic circle with Celestial Eclipse mana as Amelia created a dozen magic weapons around us. Quickly checking everyone here, no one was above the level of 50 and thus were easily killed by Amelia. Looking at the Deacon, he had the level of 51 but he seemed to fear his current position.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Why are you here?! Are you not satisfied at stealing a Sister’s bracelet and thus want more?!” The Deacon, in rage, points at me and screams. I sigh and shake my head as I walk towards him, my anger and bloodlust rising. I had been holding back the last few days, many times I had a thought of just coming here and massacring this place.
“I’ll ask you this once. Where is the Archbishop?”
Instead of answering, the Deacon spits. Dodging the spit, I smile as I stare him down.
Stepping quickly, I arrived before the Deacon as silver orbs surrounded him, as if guarding him. Letting the orbs hit me, they did nothing to me as they had been made by Lunar magic. The Deacon had a panicked look on his face as I began using Flowing Strikes on him. I wanted to kill him so badly, but I held my punches.
We didn’t need him to tell us where the Archbishop was, we simply wanted to shorten the time this would take so getting the location would make things easier. Otherwise we would simply massacre our way through. In a futile attempt to fight me, mostly due to only ever using Lunar spells, the Deacon very quickly laid at my feet.
“Where is she?” Looking down at the Deacon, I watched as he raised his head and spat at my feet. With a smile, I smashed my fist down on his head, killing him easily.
You killed Kyle.
Gained 200,000 Experience.
Gained 5,000 Class Experience.
Turning to the other three, we nodded as we looked towards the doors here. Three doors, four people.
“Can you sense anything that might help us, Alisha?” Amelia turns to me as I shake my head.
“The entire place just feels like Lunar magic to me, I can only sense stronger magic coming from down there.” I point towards a door at the back. Summer nods.
“We’ll go down there first, I refuse to have us separate. This place is locked down so no one is escaping, plus it appears we’ve been noticed by those deeper within.” I could hear and smell people coming from a passageway to our left. “Let's head in now, perhaps with the stronger Lunar magic from there it will lead us down to the Archbishop.”
We moved through the door and down the stairs behind it as the sound of fighting came from behind us. Guessing that those that had come out went outside first and encountered Bloom’s team. I knew they would be fine, considering how many of Bloom’s team focused on defence there would be very little they could do, and with Bloom’s firepower along with Leon and Alice being a menace with their Darkness magic there would be very little others could do against them.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, we go through into a room with a dozen people there, all of them kneeling towards us. Frowning slightly at this sight, one of those that knelt spoke.
“Welcome, Blessed of Celestia. The Archbishop is further within.” Checking all of them here, I found most were level 1, not having levelled at all. Two of them were level 10 but they too were kneeling.
At first I doubted, then Summer spoke. “They’re not lying.” Tilting my head towards her, she sent a confused look back. “You can’t tell?”
I shook my head. “I’ll teach you later.” Turning back to the kneeling group, Summer crossed her arms. “Is she expecting us?”
“No. In fact, you’ve caught her completely off guard. She has recently been preparing most of those at higher levels to hunt the Blessed that stands with you. They are not here in the Church, though they would have reacted and would be attempting to enter.”
“Is she alone?” I step forward to ask. The man trembles slightly.
“Y-your Grace, she is not alone. Four others are currently with her. As for their levels, I do not know, I only know they are above level 50. The Archbishop is over level 60.”
Looking at the door on the opposite side of the room, I look around at those who were kneeling, the sounds of people coming from the stairs we had just come down. Jessica unsheathes her swords and faces the doors. “I’ll handle them, you guys go on.”
“Y-your Grace.” Looking at the man, he trembled once again. “May this fool ask of you a single request?”
“What?”
“Please, spare those that fight against you, they have simply been misled.”
“No.” Giving him a single word, I looked at Jessica. “Kill them all.” Jessica gives me a nod as I turn and walk with Amelia and Summer down the passageway. Jessica would be fine, though I still worried as she still had to face an unknown amount of enemies.
As we continued walking down the passageway, the Lunar magic coming from down it became stronger all of a sudden, but there was something mixed in it. Something sinister, a presence of sorts. I couldn’t figure out exactly what the presence was, but my instincts told me it was dangerous. Looking at Amelia and Summer, they too had serious expressions on their faces.
We continued walking down the passageway and soon, screams entered our ears. They were blood curdling screams, as if one was screaming for their life. The smell of blood entered my nose and my heart started beating faster. Whatever was happening in the next room was bad news.
Following the screams that had grown by one, then two, we quickly entered a large room. In the back, a statue of the Moon Goddess sat, holding a moon to its chest that had a dull glow to it. My eyes moved to the middle, where a hooded figure stood with its back to us. On the walls to the left and right were four people, two to each wall. They had been pinned to the wall, crucified as they bled to the ground.
An altar stood before the hooded figure who I assumed to be the Archbishop. The altar radiated with a strong power, the same power we had been feeling on our way here. Lunar magic with a sinister feeling to it. As we entered, the hooded figure spoke without turning.
“So, the False Blessed has arrived at long last. Come, lay on this altar and be sacrificed to Her. She will reward me for your death.”
A strange magic infiltrated my eyes but quickly stopped as I identified it as Lunar magic. Frowning, I knew she had attempted to seize my mind, attempting to lure me to the altar. Wordlessly raising a hand as Summer and Amelia prepared, a sigh came from the Archbishop.
“A shame, it appears Lunar magic has no effect on you. Did you know, False Blessed? Her words have reached me, telling me I am to be Her Blessed once you have been sacrificed. It’s rather amazing what I have learnt from Her words. Her true nature is not the night sky, but rather the divinity of all creatures of the night. That divinity is found in the blood of all creatures, and by using it I can obtain even more power.”
The Archbishop turns to face as and removes her hood. I felt horrified at the sight. She had no eyes, her hair looked dead and her face filled with scratch marks. She flung her hands outwards as she shouted. “The Moon Goddess has made me powerful, False Blessed! You will be sacrificed in Her name, an offering that will give me more power! I alone will conquer you as all others have failed! Praise Her true name, False Blessed! Praise Karnage, the Goddess of the Moon!”
As those words left her lips, a powerful surge of mana erupted from the altar behind her. The blood of those pinned to the walls raced to the altar, coming from them directly. I could sense the sinister power from that blood as it mixed with the Lunar magic…no, it was no longer Lunar magic, but something far more sinister. That power visibly entered the Archbishop from the altar.
Not being a fan of waiting for my enemy to become stronger in front of me, I summoned a hundred Astral Ice Spikes and sent them flying all at once, aiming at the Archbishops head but they shattered before hitting her, meaning there was a protective barrier.
“Hammer.” A simple command from Amelia came as a massive magical hammer appeared above the Archbishop and the altar, but it too shattered as Summer threw a bottle of liquid towards the Archbishop. I knew the liquid was a potent poison to magic, but it too shattered with the contents evaporating. Before I could move in myself, the ground started shaking as the strange power got stronger.
Warning! Warning! World Class Magic Detected! Warning!
Alert! World Class Magic Failing!
Danger! High level Mutation is occurring to Elanor!
Laughter came from Elanor as the power only grew stronger. “Yes! This is what I want! All I need now is you, False Blessed and I will become even more powerful!” Soon, a cocoon of rose-red covered her and within seconds it grew. Once again attempting to attack, we were blocked by the barrier.
Danger! Elenor has Mutated into ???. Attempting to identify!
“Even the System doesn’t know?!” Summer yells as we fall back. The cocoon cracks as it falls apart, revealing what could only be described as something from a nightmare. A large monster stood there, broken wings coming from its back, two pairs of arms from either side, its flesh covered in a sticky red liquid that I could only assume to be blood and a gaping maw where its eyes and mouth should be. It released a roar that nearly deafened me.
Failed to identify! Traces of Blood Magic that originate from the Blood God mixed with Lunar Magic that originate from the Moon Goddess. Naming the being ‘Failed Monstrosity of the Gods’. Level unknown.