"Praise The Light!"
Hearing the zealot cry, Kole turned around with a small frown.
He had barely stepped inside the room when he saw the priest dashing towards him.
Spirit Energy surged wildly around the priest as a bright light flashed in his eyes.
Kole heard him murmur, "Sword of Dyrnwyn!" [1]
A bright blade bathed in what seemed pure white holy fire materialized in the hands of the priest. It was similar to how Kole created spears of Ice, however, the priest had used Light.
At the same time, the priest's agility increased by many folds. All his concentration was on this single attack. Everything else seemed irreverent to the man.
This happened so suddenly, that Lucy couldn't get herself to react.
Why was a priest of Tempest chanting the name of Light? And why was he attacking Kole in the first place?... These questions made her freeze on the spot.
On the other hand, Kole calmly saw the sword appearing right in front of his chest, attempting to pierce it with the bright blade.
His eyes turned dark. Spirit Energy in his body stirred like a torrent.
He didn't even need to do anything as he secretly activated, and muttered under his breath: "<
The last words came out like a slur, but Kole could feel he was close and could make out the pronunciation!
Focusing back on the cultist, Kole was fully confident that it was enough to protect himself.
Judging from the denseness of the Spirit Energy, Kole knew the priest was merely a Tier 1-B with a few magical spells up his sleeves.
But.
It didn't matter to Kole.
As long his power level didn't exceed the basic functional range of <
For him to succeed, he had to be closer to the level of Faneia, who couldn't be influenced by Kole's low-level skills.
Kole's lips curved upward in a mocking grin as if he was looking at a fool.
Looking at Kole's expression, the priest felt dark clouds looming over his head as if death had arrived for him.
He wondered why he felt an ominous premonition the moment he was so close to achieving his goals — To create turmoil and glorify the Light. After all, from information he had received from his channels, the exceedingly handsome young man, son of Duchess Akerse, was merely an ordinary human being.
He didn't care about his life and what will happen to him afterward.
He was sure that he would be captured by the Tempest Hounds. But he didn't care as the Light of zealousness flashed in his eyes.
He had been lurking as an agent of Light in the Tempest for so long, waiting for this golden opportunity to assassinate the highest-level noble scions of Treon Kingdom.
But still, the moment he thrust the Sword of Dyrnwyn forward, a question popped into his mind.
How could a common man instill such a level of dread?
But it was already too late.
With a swoosh, the priest 'slipped' mysteriously, and due to his declining balance of self, he 'missed' the target that was right in front of him.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of misery for him.
Under his very eyes, even the sword 'slipped' from his hands.
It tottered away and landed in such a direction that the moment the priest was about to crash into the tiled floors, he was met by the sword's sharp blade!
In a panic, the priest tried to dematerialize the bright sword, since it was created by his Spirit Energy.
But.
Even that took time!
Splushhh!
A geyser of blood spurted in the air as the priest impaled himself on the bright blade.
"Ughh!!!"
His heart was pierced by a white sword as Spirit Energy filled with the power of Light wreaked havoc in his soul. The light from his eyes faded away rapidly.
Light was mainly related to the Soul Domain!
As such, even if the priest were to be stabbed somewhere else less lethal, he would've still died by the potent force of Light!
Pftttt!... Kole almost laughed out loud as a clown-like smile stretched over his lips. Seeing the man walk into his death in such a silly way was too hilarious for him!
Forcefully dominating his emotions, he regained the impassiveness on his visage as his mind raced with thoughts.
Step. Step. Step.
Kole heard several footsteps from outside and noticed the commotion had attracted the officials of the Church!
Before they arrived, Kole quickly vanished from the spot and entered the Subspace to scavenge all the Creation Seeds he could.
Lucy blinked.
And before she knew it, Kole appeared in the same position he was in.
Am I hallucinating?... She had no idea Kole was an Ascendant and could use Subspace as easily as breathing.
She thought, perhaps she was affected by her chaotic emotions and was seeing things that she shouldn't.
Hah~ Even I might need to get help from an Ascendant of Mind Domain to suppress the madness... Living the life of an Ascendant isn't easy...
Kole turned around and looked at her gently. Smiling, he told her what to do next.
"You saw that he tried to kill me but had an accident, right?"
Lucy nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Remember, he died by accident."
"Yes." Lucy was too confused and could only agree with whatever Kole said since she didn't find anything wrong.
She was just too overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events.
In the next moment, some priests and nuns appeared in the room, looking at the scene in front of them with sheer shock and bewilderment.
Before they could make inquiries, three figures walked inside.
A beautiful mature woman in pure light blue robes with a gentle expression led two people behind her.
One was dressed in a navy-blue uniform with a cap, and the other in a white pantsuit with a blindfold.
Kole's eyelids twitched, seeing the last two individuals.
How and why did they appear here?
However, his expression quickly shifted to one of extreme horror as if he had seen a ghost. He must act!
"Head nun Teressa, it seems like Light is even hiding in the church, huh?" Ryan made a snide remark. It was clear for all to see the priest of Tempest was actually a cultist of Light, because of the bright sword that was slowly fading away since the source of power had died.
Ryan was just taking a dig at what happened a few weeks ago in Mark Moore's case.
Since the Church, had thoughts of turning the Semi-Autocratic Treon Kingdom into a Theocracy, they needed to answer for what was happening under their roof.
They weren't as stable as they looked from the surface!
Teressa didn't say anything and pursed her lips as confusion etched over her face. Not only was this incident a massive blow to the Church's reputation, but if the news were to be made public, it would create unrest among civilians.
After all, people who believed in the Tempest would be very confused, if they thought priests of the Tempest Cathedral were dangerous cultists of Light!
Ignoring the silence of Teressa, Ryan looked at a terrified Kole and a stunned Lucy.
"What happened here?" He asked the maid.
Lucy stepped forward and explained how the priest wanted to kill Kole but slipped and died.
Eleanor breathed out a heavy sigh, "Light is famous for its notoriety. I am unsurprised that they even hid a rat in the Tempest Cathedral.
"And the moment they found an opportunity, they made their move by attacking the son of the Duchess in the hopes of creating more turmoil!"
Suddenly her lips curved up in a meaningful smile, as she cast her 'gaze' over at Kole, "What I am more surprised about is how Heir Akerse can face so many things in one day and not only survive everything but even stand straight with firm steady feet."
What a sly detective… Kole's lips twitched.
He swore in his heart he would ravage this beauty if he ever got the chance!
"I've seen too many things in one day, which has increased my mental fortitude to an exaggerated degree…" Kole replied as his eyes shined with an enigmatic light, "As for surviving, it must be my devotion to the Goddess, who couldn't see me dying unjustly at the hands of a cultist and delivered divine retribution!"
Eleanor's lips also twitched.
She couldn't deny any of the reasons provided by Kole.
Everything was reasonable!
Letting out a low breath, Kole calmed his turbulent emotions and asked the detective, "Anyways, I wonder why you two are here as well…"
Ryan scoffed, "Of course, for Miss Alice!"
Kole's eyes narrowed.
…
[1]: Dyrnwyn — Sword of Rhydderch Hael in Welsh legend; When drawn, it blazed with fire; if drawn by a worthy man, the fire would help him in his cause, but its fire would burn the man who drew it for an unworthy purpose.