The group from Goddess Helena's church stood still while Raven mounted her night stalker stood in front of the entire group holding an emblem, when we got within a few meters of the group I finally understood why I couldn't 'see' the priests, templars and the church bishop.
A golden barrier covered the entire area around your group completely isolating their mana and elemental energy to the rest of the valley, as I passed through the golden barrier, I also realized that this barrier was not a simple rune formation.
There was something disturbing inside her, an energy that behaved almost like the element of fire, but its color was golden. This must be divine power coming directly from the goddess Helena who is known as the goddess who wields the flames that destroy and purify evil.
This isn't the first time I've seen divine power but I still can't help but be surprised and annoyed by it, all divine powers are different and can screw me up a lot. The fact that they are mostly invisible to me also doesn't help me to be comfortable around divine power, but the power within this barrier obviously doesn't come directly from the goddess or an artifact.
As these golden flames were in contact with so much mana and elemental energy, I was able to see their source without much difficulty, the mage I believe to be a bishop for his more elaborate robes and which contains more than one golden flame emblem which is carried by members only. of the church, were like several ropes of golden fire coming out of its red core and covering the entire barrier.
Amazing how a mage alone seems to be able to sustain such a complex and huge barrier without giving even a sign of what he's doing, without my eyes he looks like a statue standing silently between the templars and priests, he doesn't even look like he's breathing like the rest of his subordinates.
There isn't even an artifact or large fluctuation of mana being expelled from him while he maintains this barrier, he doesn't even seem to be using some sort of staff or divine artifact to aid his magic.
This group is pretty weird.
Raven stopped when the distance between her and the first paladin were around four meters, when she got off her mount, she didn't retrieve the death element warrior but two books and an envelope from her saddlebag. At this distance I couldn't see the book covers well, I have no idea what kind of books they would be, maybe one of them is the death mage's diary?
The templars led the way for Raven who ended up delivering the books and envelope directly to the bishop, I have to admit I was a little surprised. With the air and fame that high-level church members have, I thought they wouldn't allow Raven to get that close to the bishop, but Raven isn't such an ordinary person either.
Raven's personality and manner makes people think that she is not an extremely important noble, from a family famous for killing cultists and destroying anything that comes from an evil god or goddess. Thinking about it now, it makes a lot more sense for the templars to respect you, Raven.
The bishop took the envelope and began to read silently, but that didn't stop Raven from walking away from him and giving the signal for the team to begin unloading some of the loot. As I hadn't even received an order or carried anything important for the mission, I ended up getting mounted watching the interaction between the two groups.
Unlike Raven, the rest of the team didn't seem as 'comfortable' or 'appreciated' around the templars, apart from Little Flame who looked like a teenager who had found her idol, she almost jumped off her mount to be near the templars and the bishop, it seems that this group is anything but common.
To my lack of surprise very few items were delivered to the templars, the corpse of the mage who leads the cult in the underground base, not a surprise there, but when they delivered only the death element warrior to the templars they left the earth element mage and the life element mage trapped atop the mounts, I was surprised.
It shouldn't be all of them or perhaps the other way around, the death element warrior stays with us to be interrogated further by Raven and the other two must stay with the templars where they can patiently remove all of these two's secrets. Maybe even try to redeem them.
After that some boxes were also left with the Templars, but after transferring almost everything that was taken from the base of the cult, Raven started talking to the bishop who by that moment had already finished his reading. I have no idea what they were talking about, not only did the sound not reach us but Raven was on her back, so even if I could read lips, which I don't, it's impossible to figure out what the two of them are talking about.
When the meeting ended it was a little over an hour after we entered this clearing, a huge rune formation appeared beneath the group of templars and priests. The space element covered their entire barrier, but it was quite different from the small amount that is usually gathered when using rune formations to travel through the regal realm.
It was like all the space around them was breaking away from the rest, before I could even try to see the runes or energy channels, the group of templars and priests disappeared as if they were never here.
"Well, it looks like we're a little unlucky. The bishop basically told us to go after the cultists who wield the power of destruction."
"Are we going to do this?"
"No and Yes, Lightning."
Little Flame almost jumped on Raven now, she has more self-control than I fill.
"We'll do recon and perhaps sell the location and identity of the swordsman who's been wielding the power of destruction. You better control your temper, Little Flame, if you keep looking at me like this, I will knock you down and tie you up until the end of the quest."
"You shouldn't talk like that about the great bishop!"
"Silly little girl, you don't even know which bishop and which one else scream like that."
Before Little Flame could continue screaming, she was struck by lightning and enveloped in a cocoon of earth. That was pretty aggressive.
"Troubled youths, I thought she had more control or some sense of her situation."
Now I'm scared, isn't doing this the same as sending a church to shit?
"Remember that none of the information that I'm going to give or that we're going to do now is going to be anything other than forbidden information, this mission has just become extremely secret. Officially we're not here anymore, whatever we do or say doesn't leave here, kill the two cultists, Light, they are inconvenient witnesses.
"The bishop has made it very clear that he wants to know who is wielding the light of destruction, but as we are not members of the church he cannot ordain us directly, he has to send the order to the capital which he will forward to us."
Nobody paid attention to the two knocking sounds that happened during Raven's explanation, but now the bodies of the cult's mages are being swallowed by the earth where they will rot until some animal or magical beast digs them up. At least it was a painless ending.
"Bureaucracy always sucks, but this time it saved our ass, without it we would be forced to not only attack the swordsman but also kill every cultist close to him, which is no small number."
"According to the bishop, there are rumors that two orange priests have entered the kingdom to help the swordsman, which makes my suspicions that he is not part of this cult stronger."
"The cult is trying to use this swordsman as a distraction for the warring realms, according to the information I retrieved from the death mage journal, the swordsman seems to be trying to make a new rebellion in Mirue.
"But the bishop or the church of goddess Helena doesn't care about a small matter like that, the bishop basically politely ignored my report and intends to use us to deal with the swordsman, but because of bureaucratic protection he will have to send a group of inquisitors who specialize in retrieving troublesome artifacts, to stand a good chance of retrieving the white sword."
"Yes, that's the name of the sword that was a divine artifact of that damn elf god, but here comes our position. Obviously, a rebellion in the current scenario can only result in defeat, the military power of Mirue Kingdom is very concentrated and organized, but this rebellion can still help us by messing up internal logistics and moral in Mirue Kingdom."
"I've already sent a message to the capital reporting what I've found, it won't take long for the battle to resume on the border. Obviously, we have to go after the swordsman as we have been ordained, but I intend to use this emblem to mark the cult members and not the rebel slaves."
"Our excuse will be that the swordsman was in negotiation with the cultists when we tracked him down, but for some unknown reason the divine power of the Judgment Emblem didn't work on him. What a shocking event, the emblem that was supposed to work didn't! It seems that the power of destruction ended up mutating in an unexpected way."
"Will they understand? Okay, tidy it all up, and that includes leaving the pesky little brat trapped in a comfortable way, after all she's still an ally and should see our efforts to find our target. Wolf, accompany me, I have to discuss your next task."
Raven started to distance herself from the group and I followed her, I wonder what she wants to talk to me about in secret. It's not like her giving us orders to deceive and thwart a bishop's plans wasn't already dangerous information.