-18-
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Julius’ fist came down hard against the wooden table. His outburst echoed through the stone chamber and down the halls. Stunned, everyone nearby fell to absolute silence.
He was angry—scratch that, he was downright murderous. The intensity in his voice made even me want to sink down as far as I could in my chair and hide.
“You are one of the most valuable assets we have! We can’t afford to let you walk away. Not right now. Need I remind you, that you swore an oath to the Divisionals?”
The target of his rage glared at him from across the table. I was honestly worried that she’d loose a volley of arrows right at Julius if he said another word.
Mei looked like she would scorch your skin if you touched her.
“Don’t make it out like I intend to abandon everyone here!”
“Is that not what you are doing?”
“No! We need allies. The threat of the Renaultians simply cannot be ignored!”
“Nobody here plans to ignore anything! If you leave then we are left with a gaping hole in our defenses. You’re the most qualified ranger we have, worth more than a full party of waystriders.”
“If I am successful then I will be bringing more than enough support to make up for any short-term disarray.”
Mei huffed in her own anger-driven rage.
This discussion had been going on for half an hour. And it would likely continue for the remainder of the night if I didn’t step in soon.
After the memorial service I met up with my party member’s in the command room within the Citadel, with the intent to go over next steps and formulate a plan of action we could all follow…
What had occurred here was not my intention.
Mei believed that her people, the Aestori, would have fled to the forests of Ixia when the Empire fell to the demonic hordes during the Apocalypse.
While the elves who called those forests home were not allied to the Empire, they were on great terms with the Aestori.
The Sylvae Ixi, or Shadow Elves, had maintained friendly relations with the Empire for a long time. Due largely in part to the fact that they did not share any land borders. But with the elves of the Starfall Forest, the Ixi were beloved allies. They had fought together against the incursions of the Noblebourne centuries before humans roamed with world.
It wasn’t unreasonable to think the Aestori would seek out assistance from the Ixi. To add more validity to her claim, there was some surviving literature that hinted at the existence of a complex magickal pathway between the two nations.
If the Aestori had a portal that led directly to Ixia, then they could have moved all of their civilian populations to safety before the armies of demons and monsters rampaged through the old Empire.
Mei wanted to travel northwest, deep into the heart of Ixia, to see if she could find evidence to support her beliefs.
And so, the battle raged on at the command table.
“—my people will honor the alliance they formed with the Empire. Give me permission to search for them. If I find no evidence within a fortnight I’ll return and let the matter be settled. Certainly you’ll be able to survive without me for such a short period of time, yes?”
Julius had fallen back into his chair and was pressing his thumbs firmly against his forehead.
“…”
It appeared that his fire had burnt out for now.
“Two weeks. Not a day more. If you take one of the scouting horses you can make it to the forest borders in less than two days. That’ll give you ten whole days to poke around the woods.”
“Thank you, Juli—Commander Adaemus.”
Julius let out a loud exasperated breath and threw his hands out.
“Yeah, yeah. I trust you, Mei. And you’re right, it would be one heck of a turn up for us if we could get the support of the Aestori in the fight against the Renaultians. But, damn woman… you’re a handful to deal with.”
I expected Mei to take another shot at Julius since she had seemingly won, but was surprised to see her leave it at a playful smirk and a wink.
“I will get ready and leave in the morning.”
Hailey practically jumped out of her seat at Mei’s declaration.
“So soon? Are you sure?”
“The sooner I leave, the sooner I return. We can’t afford in delaying any attempts to secure assistance. No doubt the forces against us are moving as we speak.”
Hailey sighed in resignation.
I shared in her concern. But I also agreed with Mei’s point. When it came down to finding more allies, we need as many as possible, as fast as possible.
Hikita had left a warning. The Renaultians would keep coming after us. This war wouldn’t end until either side was defeated in it’s entirety.
Mei has the Aestori, and I have my own ally to secure.
“Hails, could you find time to go to the Church with me tomorrow morning?”
“Uhm…”
She riffled through a disheveled stack of papers on the table. Finding the right sheet, she frantically scribbled down something and handed it to an attendant.
“Please let the Minister know I’ll need to push this meeting back to the afternoon.”
Hailey turned back to me and nodded.
“I’m all yours!”
----------------------------------------
The basilica church appeared rather modest from the outside. Great care had been given to trimming back the foliage that had been overgrown in the courtyard, but the long abandonment had taken a toll that couldn’t be erased after three days of moderate care.
The stonework remained intact, and the slate-tiled roof seemed to have survived the weathering over the years.
Hailey, Rias, and I hurriedly walked through the church grounds, rushing out of the cold.
All three of us were dressed as warmly as we could be. I had borrowed more of Rias’ clothes; a cotton sweater and a pair of fur-lined boots.
In return, I loaned her a divisional officer’s long coat. It wasn’t particularly thick, but it helped block out the cold a bit.
Hailey wore a matching coat over her outfit, though she stood out as she had her staff secured on her back.
I had insisted on her bringing it with this morning prompting a very puzzled expression, which remained unfazed after my attempts to assuage her.
We pushed the ornamental iron-wrought doors open and stepped into the main hall.
Two of the church’s clergy jumped in surprise when the difference in air pressure caused the doors to slam closed as we stepped through.
“Whoa!”
“Wow!”
Both Rias and I exclaimed excitedly.
Beautiful marble columns ran the length of the church. They supported intricate vaulted arches down the center all the way to the main altar on the far side.
“Blessings of the Goddess upon you.”
One of the priests approached us and offered prayers.
Hailey responded naturally in turn.
“May she enkindle in us the flames of righteousness.”
“Ahh, it warms my heart to see another follower of the Light among us. I am Exarch Anathalo,” the bishop bowed gently, “Please, come in. What brings you to the basilica this morning?”
It was fairly obvious the man either didn’t recognize us, or was very much out of the loop with the divisional core. Civilians tended not to mingle too closely with the military, and most their interactions in the last few weeks had been through the ministers and magistrates rather than with Hailey or I.
“I was hoping to speak with Primarch Karina for a bit. She had asked me to stop by when I was able.”
Anathalo looked a little surprised, but nodded and led us to the northern transept where an office space had been put together.
Rias tapped on my shoulder while the Exarch attempted to track down the Primarch.
“I’m gonna poke around a bit while we wait. This place is so pretty, I wanna check out the altar.”
“Okay, we’ll find you once we’re ready to get started.”
“Started?”
“You’ll see. Don’t fret about it for now.”
“…If you say so.”
Rias ran off in the direction of the chancel, intent to hunt down the altar as soon as she could.
“—Eep!”
Frigid hands pressed lightly against the back of my neck and I let out a shrill yelp. Whipping around I found the culprit, Hailey was barely stifling a snicker.
“Geez, Hails!”
“Are you gonna fill me in on your schemes today or keep me guessing all morning?”
“We’re only an hour into our trip and you’ve already lost faith in me? I’m hurt.”
I feigned a wound to my heart, being as dramatic as I could. My arm raced over my chest and I stumbled back two steps.
“Alas, my time has come. A mortal wound from one so close…”
Hailey crossed her arms and pouted fiercely.
“Hmph! You know I trust you. I just don’t like feeling left out of the loop.”
“Come on, won’t it be more fun to experience things as they happen, rather than know about it beforehand? Let go of your stress for one day and live in the moment.”
My attempt to goad her seemed successful as she relaxed her shoulders.
Convincing her to let go of her stress was pretty hypocritical of me, since I was the one responsible for it.
Before heading to bed last night, I flipped my coin on a whim to let fate decide if I would give Hailey and Rias all the details before we left. Heads I’d give them today’s itinerary, tails I wouldn’t.
I channeled my inner Julius…
But it came up tails.
And so now, against my own better judgment I was spurring the two of them on for the whole morning to trust in me and let things play out.
If I were to be honest with myself. I was kinda enjoying teasing the two of them a little too much.
“My apologies for the wait, My Lady. I hadn’t expected you to come visit so soon, though do not worry as I am elated you’ve come. Good morning to the both of you.”
“Good morning to you as well, Primarch. I was hoping you would have time to speak today.”
“Yes, of course! And please, call me Karina. I can certainly make the time, Anathalo, dear, could you please cover for me while I speak with the Empress?”
“As you wish—Did you say Empress?”
“Yes? This is Empress Airis Vanixi and her High-Commander, Hailey Brooks. Surely you knew that?”
“The—I… No. I was not aware of their identities.”
Anathalo stammered his way through his response but eventually got a fully formed sentence out. The poor man looked as pale as the marbled pillars around us.
“He didn’t say anything rude did he, My Lady?”
“The Exarch was very kind and welcomed us when we arrived. Also, there truly is no need to be overly cordial. We’re here simply as visitors today.”
I flashed a smile to Anathalo, hopefully easing his shock.
It wasn’t my intention to cause a stir arriving unannounced. The current state of my sovereignty was new and hadn’t really been made public knowledge beyond the military and high-standing civilians.
Exarch Anathalo bowed and mumbled something nervously about taking his leave to see to his duties.
With her attention undivided, Karina led Hailey and I into a room off the transept. Another makeshift office had been furnished, sleeping quarters included, judging by her familiarity this was Karina’s personal space.
“I have a number of questions for you, if you’ll entertain them, but I imagine there are some specifics you’d like to discuss as well?”
Hailey’s cold stare sent chills through my body. The time for keeping my plans secret was over, lest I face her wrath in its entirety.
“There is one matter I would like to pick your brain on. You may be the only person qualified to ask about it. So I am hoping you’ve got some details for us.”
“Something only I could answer? Hmm, well please do continue!”
“Are you familiar with the writings of Flameblaze and the Embers of Redemption?”
“Indeed, it’s quite an older piece of literature from the Church—though I must say, it’s veridicality in accordance with the Church’s…” Karina trailed off and she rapped her fingers on her desk as she struggled to find the right word, “…doctrines—No, that’s not quite right. Perhaps… foundations?”
Hailey was fidgeting in her seat as Karina spoke. She looked a little perturbed and jumped into the conversation.
“You’re saying that the ideologies of the Church don’t believe that the story about Flameblaze is true?”
“It is not so simple. Since taking the position as Primarch I have read almost every piece of literature available in the Axian Cathedral. With most of the prominent leaders of the faith being lost with the fall of the imperial capital, a lot of knowledge perished with them.”
“What about any surviving books or notes on an Order of the Light?”
“That one I am familiar with, but it’s only fragments, mostly. Slivers of the whole story. What was available amounted to making the story appear to be nothing more than a parable. A myth of ages long past.”
Hailey was now beyond restless. She had practically leapt out of her chair and was looming over Karina’s desk.
“What about priestesses? Do you know anything about a special group of priestesses that served under the Church? They would have had a unique staff in their possession, protected by the Order.”
Karina furrowed her brow at the mention of a staff.
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“There was something like that. Give me just a moment.”
She cleared a wide array of clutter from an iron-bound chest in the corner of the room, rummaging through it until she found an ornate silver coated tome.
“This was one of the oddities I stashed away while doing my research. You’re in luck, I’d been planning a missionary trip to the outlying villages in the Commonlands just before… Well, the whole incident in Axio. The few clergy members and I had a number of Church doctrine and literature packed up for the journey. This is one of the few texts that contains a detailed account of the Flameblaze mythos.”
“May I—“
Before Hailey could finish her question, the gemstone in her staff’s centerpiece flared. The radiance overwhelmed the dreary candlelight and flooded the room in light.
“I do not take kindly to being called a myth. I would ask that you refrain from saying so again.”
The dazzling light and disembodied voice gave Karina a start. She’d nearly fallen out of her chair when the crystalline egg erupted through the room. Once Ignicorus had started speaking though, she jumped to her feet.
“Overseer of the Divine One’s bastion, provide the Priestess of the Light with the tome. If you would be so kind.”
Karina was frozen in place, clutching the silver tome against her chest.
“Y-you both hear that voice too, right?”
“Uhm. Yes. So, the reason we’re asking about the Phoenix God is because…”
Hailey looked to me for help explaining.
“Because we’re kinda carrying it’s vessel around? And we have less than two weeks to perform a rebirthing ritual.”
Karina’s focus was glued to the pulsating gemstone, but passed the tome over to Hailey’s outstretched hand.
Hailey looked over the cover then flipped it over to the back, and then flipped it back over once more and started shuffle through the first few pages.
“It’s not titled?”
Karina shook her head slowly. “That was something I procured from the taboo collection within the cathedral’s private library.”
Now that most of the metaphorical cats were out of the bag, there was one last thing I wanted to get Karina’s feedback on.
I produced the blood colored diamond-like shard I had been given by Virgo, via the proxy that was Capricorn.
“Ever read about something like this?”
I handed Karina the small shard and she inspected it closely.
“I am sorry, My Lady. I’ve never seen anything that looks even remotely close to a gemstone like this one. Where did you come about it? Perhaps that would give me a better idea of where to start.”
“Technically it was given to me by the Goddess Capricorn. But she was delivering it at the request of the Goddess Virgo.”
“…”
I am so sorry, Karina. I’m sure all of this is overwhelming.
“I’ve appraised it with a skill. It’s called the SHARD OF REKINDLING. But I was not able to gleam anything else other than what the object is called.”
“And you’re sure this has something to do with this, ritual, of yours?”
“Certain of it. The Goddess herself said so.”
Hailey and Karina both flipped through the pages of note in the tome for some time. A few passages would spark interest in the two of them, but some of the religious related details soared over my head.
Because of my family’s position in the Church, I had to make an effort to learn enough about the scriptures and practices to pass the Sacrament.
It was when I learned the few holy aligned magicks I knew. Thanks to those spells I was able to specialize as a paladin, which allowed me some freedoms.
Such as not having to attend the advanced courses that would’ve inducted me into the priesthood.
Hailey was much more immersed in the lore of the Church’s everyday operations due to the qualifications required to hold a priest specialization.
Though, with her family history it was something she was driven to achieve; whereas I had preferred to avoid the Church as much as possible.
Politically, being registered under a specialization that fell under the jurisdiction of the Church was a huge power play. The Church had influence over all the noble houses, and if you didn’t maintain a level of influence within the Church itself… well, your family could be strong-armed that much more easily.
Trying to distance myself from the scriptural rabbit-hole, I found myself wandering the basilica in search of my sister.
As luck would have it, my search ended just moments after it started. Rias was at the altar just like she said she’d be, even though I was prepared to have to look around the entire place to find her.
As I approached I heard the desperate voice of Anathalo pleading with her to step down from where she was.
Rias had climbed atop a grand pedestal and was very closely inspecting a golden statue depicting, wholly inaccurately mind you, the Goddess Virgo.
“Please, Miss! You mustn’t disturb the reliquary.”
His words went unnoticed as Rias kept about her inspection.
“Rias, what are you doing up there?”
Anathalo was caught off guard and turned to me in surprise.
My voice garnered my sister’s attention and she finally tore herself away from the statue.
“Airis! Is this what the Goddess looked like? On a scale of one to… five, how close is the resemblance?”
“Honestly, zero.”
“Ouch.”
“Well, to be fair, the Goddess is hauntingly beautiful. So they get maybe a single point for having the statue’s face look so alluring. But everything else is way off.”
“S-sacrilege!”
Poor Anathalo was visually disturbed by my blatant disregard for what was obviously considered a sort of holy relic.
“Sorry, Exarch. I mean no disrespect. But I have seen the Goddess in person—well, in spirit, but nonetheless I’ve spoken with her face-to-face. And that,” I pointed sharply upwards, “looks nothing like her.”
“You claim to have met with the Celestial Goddess?”
“Two of them actually. One of them actually in person. And technically I’ve also spoken with another Celestial God as well. So, three in total.”
“Unbelievable…”
I patted his shoulder as I passed by to help Rias down from the pedestal.
“I can hardly believe it myself.”
Rias braced herself by grasping one hand around the wrist of the statue and reaching out to me with her other.
“Eeeah!”
“Huh!?—Oof!”
As she stepped down the arm started to swing down with her, causing her to lose her balance and tumble down over top of me.
The off-putting noise of stone grating against stone pierced the chamber as the altar inched forward. Rias has tripped some sort of unseen mechanism, revealing a hidden stairwell.
A sickly and foul smell stung my nose as air seeped out of the darkened abyss. Anathalo retched and took off towards the Karina’s office.
“Well you’ve done it now, the bishops gone to tattle on us. Goddess, what in the Aether is that putrid smell?”
Rias pinched her nose closed and we scrambled to our feet.
“It’s not like I meant to! All I was doing was looking at some statues. How was I supposed to know we’d end up as the characters of an impossible plot story—whoa, what’s wrong?”
I grabbed a bronze tray and jumped in front of Rias and using the metal to shield her as a projectile whistled past us.
Mechanical clicking sounded from the depths of the passage. Followed by the unnatural creaking of animated bone shambling up the stairs.
I grabbed Rias and we ran after Anathalo.
“Undead! Find cover! Move it!”
Shouting through the church I waved the remaining clergy members out of sight.
Hailey and Karina rounded the wing in a rush with the Exarch trailing behind.
I steered Rias towards the safety of the side office, but she resisted.
“I’m sticking with you. I can help.”
I shook my head vehemently.
“No chance. I’m not taking you to fight an unknown enemy. I’ve no idea what’s going to crawl up from that hole. And I can’t damn well seal it back up.”
“I wasn’t asking!”
“Dammit, Rias!”
Hailey pulled at the back of my coat.
“Airis, we might need her help. If things get too wild we’ll need to fall back anyway, it’s better if Rias is with us if that happens rather than hidden away.”
“Aarrrgh! Fine. Yes, it makes sense. I still don’t like it. Hey, Exarch! You fighting?”
“Y-yes.”
“Great. Primarch?”
“Of course, My Lady.”
I pulled up an interface and added them both to our party. Two other robed clergymen rushed to our position and declared they too would fight along side the Primarch.
Full party. Leaning a little hard on the spell caster end of the balance beam.
Without a weapon of my own, I would have to rely solely on my offensive magick.
Five priests, a paladin, and a junior artificer walk into a church. We sounded like the setup for a joke that would get you thrown out of a tavern.
Skeletal abominations reached the final step, their grotesque blackened skulls creaked as they turned to face us.
A bombardment of holy magick lit up the altar and a good number of the initial attackers were vaporized in righteous fire.
I appraised one of the surviving skeletons.
TARGET
STATISTICS
FORSWORN DEAD
HEALTH: [22] / [125]
STAMINA: [45] / [50]
MAGICKA: [0] / [0]
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM AN UNKNOWN EFFECT: [HIDDEN]
My target’s skull was impaled by a jagged lance of pure-white ice. The spell was powerful enough that it continued on and pierced two other skeletons that had barely made it through the our opening salvo.
“Whoa, I got some!”
Rias exclaimed with astonishment.
“Peer past the infinite veil. Let the power hidden within our being come forth, Brilliance!”
A soft purple glow flooded over my party members as I cast ARCANE BRILLIANCE. The melding of magick tingled my skin. I readied a HOLY BOLT in each hand and crossed the chancel towards the altar.
Bones stirred along the reliquary wall and I blasted the would-be ambusher into dust.
I flattened myself against the altar’s side and craned my neck to peer down the stairwell. Firing my charged bolt down the stairs, I used its impact to light up the landing.
Clear. As far as I could see, at least.
Karina and I both started reciting party buffing incantations at the same time.
“Source of light that dwells among the veiled. Journey with us as we make our way in the darkness. Come forth and guide our way, Radiance!”
“Shining light, shield us in all directions! In hands divine, embolden our life, Fortitude!”
My AURA OF LIGHT would illuminate the pitch-black passages below and Karina’s FORTITUDE would provide us with a defensive barrier. If there were any skeletal crossbowmen still lingering down below, none of us would take a fatal shot to the head at least.
“We’re heading down. Stick close and keep a watch on our rear. It looked like there were a number of outcrops along the walls. Let’s not be taken by surprise down there.”
The dank catacombs winded their way underneath the city in complete disarray. Entire sections were collapsed, flooded, or barricaded with debris.
I scavenged a rusted atlen targe, a rounded metal shield with three semi-circles cut out of the edges, and a serviceable long sword.
The sword felt clumsy in my hand. Poorly balanced and heavy.
I’m never leaving home without my blade again.
Only a few pockets of undead were roaming the eerie tunnels. They were dispatched without incident.
While our party may have lacked severely in defensive capabilities, we made up for it in raw power—obliterating the skeletal remains like glass cannons.
“Take the next right!”
Bright light flickered against the stone walls as Ignicorus’ voice echoed from Hailey’s staff.
“Here! Right here.”
“There’s nothing here. Just a recess.”
Primarch Karina quickly examined the passage-way. Determining that it wasn’t one.
The stonework along this particular section did look a little different than the rest of the catacombs.
Centered in the wall was an inlaid symbol—a crest. A cut gemstone with eight feathers flanking it, four on each side.
“Is that…” Hailey held her staff out before her.
As she raised the gem-like egg level with the crest, the ground began to tremble.
Around the crest, the stonework began to disintegrate. Seemingly solid granite blocks turned into dust and were blown away down a newly revealed corridor.
The walls past this threshold were white, as if made of marble, but as we ventured forwards I realized the more macabre truth.
Along the walls the skeletal remains of hundreds were placed neatly and intricately.
As if tunnels filled with the undead weren’t creepy enough.
Karina, Anathalo, and the other two priests stared at the bones wordlessly.
Hailey said a hushed prayer as she slowly walked through the ossuary.
“I recognize this place. We are almost to the sanctum.”
In response to the radiant light I called out after Hailey and Ignicorus.
“Sanctum? Why is this place hidden away? And buried so far from the rest of the church?”
“Airis! Come here, this has to be it!”
My questions went unanswered, and I hurried after Hailey.
A sprawling cavern chamber opened up just past the narrow passageway. It dwarfed the main basilica hall in sheer size as well as trivialized the grandeur marble interior.
This chamber housed an immense marble ring, centered around a strange metallic rigging. The stonework was inlaid with golden veins—which shone brilliantly as Hailey made her way forwards with her staff.
Ignicorus’ gem radiated light brighter than ever before.
“This is the sanctum! Hurry! Perform the ritual and allow me to be reborn!”
“Waah!?—”
Hailey’s staff raced out of her grasp, flying to the center of the marble dais.
Rays of golden fire spread around the staff’s centerpiece like a winged star. The light illuminated the chamber in a blinding brilliance.
The gemstone vessel pulsated at an unnervingly fast rate. Like a heartbeat racing in excitement.
“Do it now! There is no time for hesitation. I long to be free again!”
Ignicorus’ pleading voice rang out through the domed ritual site.
I pulled the SHARD OF REKINDLING from my pocket, holding it up to the light. As the golden rays touched the crystal it reacted. The crimson gem refracted the light, acting as a lens, aiming two concentrated beams at Hailey and I.
Hailey held her arm out to me, taking her hand we both walked towards the center of the dais. The shard floated just ahead of us, suspended in air by its own magicks.
I closed my eyes and turned my willpower internally, to the link between Capricorn and I. The connection of our souls opened and I felt the rush of magicka.
Redirecting my focus to the shard I channeled the power through both the luminescent tether and my palm, straight to Hailey’s tightly gripped fingers.
The strand of light connected to me was altered in hue to match that of the trademark blood-orange of Chaos Magick.
Hailey’s remained a golden hue, but its shine ramped up in intensity many degrees.
As the magicka pathways surged through the shard its shape deformed, coalescing into an orb of thick Aethermist. The interior of the sphere rampaged violently, arcs of energy jumped from its core to the edges like a miniature lightning storm.
The orb transited over top the staff, never breaking its link to the egg-shaped gemstone. Once it reached the apex a massive burst of energy broke the Aethermist’s bond. The dense magicka, now free from its spherical core, enveloped the staff.
A bolt of fiery light ripped through the center and a tear in the space in front of us formed. Beyond the portal lied a sea of flames, a sky that surged in a fire storm of indescribable destructive force.
Violent flames rushed out of the portal, filling the chamber with wild heat. Light bathed the chamber once more as the fiery chaos abated.
The portal blinked out of existence, and in its place remained a silhouette of outstretched wings. Though in reality, it was not just a silhouette—the wings of the creature who had been brought into this world were ablaze in fire.
Ignicorus, the Phoenix God of the old empire had been reborn.
The grandeur summoning ritual had reduced the clergy members who joined us to incoherent babbling. Karina tried to say something, but her voice trailed off after a single word.
Any pretense of the phoenix’s threatening aura were shattered when my arm went flailing up and down as Hailey jumped around in excitement.
“It’s so cute!”
----------------------------------------
Hailey, Rias, and I finally returned to the main street and headed to the garrison district.
We had parted with Karina and the other clergy members at the Basilica. They had been instructed to keep the majority of today’s events under wraps for the time being.
The rebirth of a divine figure of the Church was a big deal, and we needed to handle it in a more delicate manner than just announcing at random that a Phoenix God was summoned into the world by the new empress.
For now we’ll just say it’s a new familiar… or something. Do priests have familiars? Should we say Rias finally specialized? A wizard could pass off a familiar. Ugh!
I sighed, lost in thought.
Ahead of me were Hailey and Rias—who were both fawning over our new addition perched atop the gnarled staff.
We’d arrive at the Citadel soon, and I could get feedback from my companions on how to explain this.
I shook my head to bring myself back to the real world and caught up with the girls.
“—to call you?”
“Flameblaze or Ignicorus is acceptable. I’ve been known by those names for many centuries.”
Rias pouted and stomped her feet as she walked.
“But those names just aren’t cute!”
“I am a manifestation of wrath, a destroyer of kingdoms, the protector of an eternal empire! I am not cute.”