"Cardinal Nicholas, may the divine bless your soul."
In the presence of the Cardinal, I lowered my body into a kneeling position and bowed to his eminence. The Cardinal was preparing for his daily prayer to the divine beings. He stood over a smooth stone basin filled with a golden liquid. He dabbed a finger into the substance and sprinkled it over his body, as if he was warding away spirits.
"Archbishop Catalina. It appears that a sickness is spreading rapidly throughout our sacred kingdom."
"A disease?" I queried.
"Yes, a disease. There are humans, specifically two of them, that are running around like rats in a sewer. They are in a hurry to intercept the Apithien. I'm sure you know what I'm getting at…"
The Cardinal clasped his hands together in a sort of prayer while kneeling, whispering onto an altar filled with offerings to the divine. If the Cardinal is confining to me, someone on the lower end of the ladder among the ten archbishops, then that could only mean one thing.
"I will deal with them properly. I will send in the assassination team from Ruin. Have no fear, your eminence."
The Cardinal remained in supplication for thirty minutes without budging from his position on the red rug. His eminence is the most faithful worshipper throughout Aglona. No matter his physical condition, he will prayer to the divine Pillars without fail. If he missed a single day, he would seek to gain absolution from the divine by sacrificing whatever they asked for, be it an arm, leg, or even half of his population.
His mumblings soon stopped, and he rose from his position. "Thank you, archbishop. How are things on your end in Cronas?"
"Progression is coming along smoothly. I feel as if we are closer than ever before."
The Cardinal stroked his chin free of hair as he stared me down. "Archbishop, do you know why we are conducting these experiments?"
"…Because the divine has willed it," I answered promptly. "Understanding their true motives is useless as we mortal beings cannot hope to comprehend their reasons."
"Yes, that is a fine answer, I suppose…"
Cardinal Nicholas strutted to the front of the Church and took a seat on one of the wooden benches.
"We are conducting these experiments with the intention of unlocking The Labyrinth. An area that lies deep within the Wyvern Zone."
The Labyrinth? I have never heard of such a place. The Cardinal's investment of energy and personnel into the Church of Pillars and Ruin implies that the Labyrinth contains knowledge and wealth that the Cardinal seeks. The Cardinal is a man who seeks knowledge above all else.
"That is enough chatter. Go back to your post, archbishop Catalina."
"Yes, your eminence."
Without saying a word, I rose from my seat and opened the large doors of the church, departing.
"As an archbishop, I will do my utmost best. I will not displease you."
****
All the struggles that I have gone through, beginning with the confrontation with Volken, we barely survived until Solgen came to our assistance. The pit with all the zombies and the incomplete Chimera wyvern wasn't difficult at all. My fight with Doukur was fun and exhilarating. And right now, I am not having fun in the slightest! This is comparable to my first battle with Volken! Except, I'm way stronger than I was now.
With the help of an experienced teammate like Myra, it became bearable, at most. Archbishop Catalina hadn't taken a single step from her spot. She pointed her staff at us and a shower of brilliant light flew from it, swirling around like a flock of shining birds. I even figured out that there was a special property about her magic. When Myra notched an arrow of mana into one stream of light, the arrow would fizzle like a piece of paper tossed in a pit of fire. As for me, I couldn't use my [Energy Manipulation] to cancel out her attacks, no matter how hard I tried. During my training sessions with Solgen, I learned that If I can't freely influence an attack created with mana however I please; the wielder is considerably stronger than I am. We are in big trouble…
"Myra, distract her so I can get close enough!" I shouted. Myra understood immediately and instead of aiming her arrows at the beams of light, she focused her attention on archbishop Catalina.
"Pathetic…" Archbishop Catalina blankly mumbled.
She tapped the ground with her staff, and a translucent shield appeared, blocking Myra's projectiles. Not wasting a single second, she waved her staff and directed the beams of light to chase after Myra. The elf was agile herself, so dodging them was a breeze. To kick it up a notch, she would then counterattack by firing even more arrows in quick succession while evading. Myra was pulling in all the aggro as of now. I'll take this opportunity to attack while Catalina is distracted!
"That shield can't hold up forever!" I heard Myra scream.
With my sword out, I swiftly ran at the still archbishop. I was now out of her line of sight, weaving through the glass test tubes filled with dismembered corpses. She was now a few meters away. Raising my sword up, I silently charged at the woman.
Archbishop Catalina whirled her head around with an inkling of a smirk on her lips.
"Fool."
With another light tap with her staff, a horizontal arc of golden light raced toward me. I was able to leap over it, but the woman was not yet done. A ray of the same illumination manifested itself in front of me while I was still airborne.
"Oh shit!"
Gripping the hilt of my sword tightly, I swung at the light in a frenzy. The crystal blade was capable of cutting through them, yet the mana from the blade was beginning to escape. Even though the mana is contained in a medium, her magic is basically saying, 'Who cares about that? It ain't stopping me!'
Upon reaching the ground, I regained my freedom of movement.
"This is a pain in my ass! What can I do in this situation?"
I was racking my brain to the extreme thinking of any plans that would work. A beam of light grazed my clothes when I bumped into something solid behind me. It was one of the tubes filled with that strange blue liquid. Glancing at the tube, an idea hit me like a freight train.
"What if… Screw it! It's worth testing it out!"
I cocked my sword and bashed against the exterior. The glass shattered into little chunks as I retracted my sword away. The liquid oozed out of the compartment like a leak in a boat, and before long, a small pool of the liquid soaked the floor. I raised one of my fingers up, hoping that the plan I had in mind would work.
The liquid mimicked my movements and rose slightly above the solid ground.
"I knew it! This thing is mana in liquid form! I don't know how they did it, but I don't care in the slightest! I can use this to my advanta-"
From above my head, a new hole formed on the glass tube. The liquid mana burst forth from within. Not wanting to get my clothes wet, I sidestepped away from the gush of liquid mana. The archbishop's piercing gaze swept over me.
"And what were you doing over there, human boy?" Catalina snapped. She summoned forth a fresh new wave of light and hurled them at my location.
"None of your business!"
I stood in front of a fresh new tube, beckoning for her to pierce through me if she dared. I dodged the light at the last second, breaking the glass in the process. This series of events continued as the air was filled with splashing and tumbling shards. Catalina stopped her assault.
"Why are you purposely getting those tubes destroyed? Are you planning something?"
I didn't bother to answer her at all. Why would I tell her of my plans?
Peeking behind me, I was standing in front of the table with the paper and jars. Archbishop Catalina was now a few feet away from me. The blue light gleaming from the pods was shining on her pieces of fabric and face.
"It's about time I end this little farce in the name of the Cardinal."
The showers of golden light stopped abruptly, and the room that moments before was full of light was now cast in darkness, except for the faint glimmer from the pods. Myra quietly landed near me, her chest heaving lightly.
"Just so you know, I don't have infinite mana."
"Yea… I've noticed," I mumbled. Myra couldn't use the daggers strapped to her hips,hips, as it would've been useless in that situation. What's the use of close-combat tools if you can't get close to your enemy?
Archbishop Catalina twirled her staff around, the bell reverberating through the quiet room. At every full-circle interval, the light on the bell grew immensely. She was preparing something big.
"I will not sit will not sit here and let her charge that up," Myra scoffed, pulling back her bow. I stuck my arm up, stopping her as I mouthed the words, 'not yet'.
"When I say go, I want you to break every single pod in this room," I told her quickly. Myra squinted her eyes in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed, but remained silent. The woman finished her preparations as a brilliant ball of light was sitting in the middle of the circular hoop.
"Go!"
On my order, Myra notched her bowstring and let loose a volley of arrows at the test tubes. They all shattered simultaneously, and a sea of liquid mana drenched the entire floor.
"No matter. We can replace them," archbishop Catalina sneered.
She brandished her staff towards us and a powerful beam of light burst forth. Pocketing my sword back into the Inventory, I was able to freely use both of my hands. In a shoving motion, I simply thought of the mana liquid being controlled by me and me alone. The mana on the ground obeyed my command, and it all sprang into action. The liquid engulfed the golden light and bolted toward the archbishop like a raging tsunami threatening to swallow a ship whole.
"What the?!" the lady yelped at the mass heading her way.
The archbishop's cool demeanor was now replaced with fear. She erected another shield around her body, now positioning herself on the defensive. Raising my right hand, I created five icicles the size of an adult male and flicked a finger directly at Catalina. Two of my icicles created a spider-web of cracks on the shield, and the third icicle broke through. A blood-curdling scream exploded out of the archbishop's mouth as she clutched her now severed arm. Not able to control the mana any longer, I let go of the reins, sweat dripping from my face. The liquid mana retreated onto the floor and lay there motionless.
"Woah…" Myra said, hunched over. "So, this is the power a human from earth could wield. I can see why The Oracle specifically showed you two."
"You insolent gnats!" archbishop Catalina screeched. The woman now had a crazed look on her face as she gripped her bleeding arm. Her clothes were drenched, and the headdress was now drifting softly across the floor.
"I will not stand for this! I will not yield! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LIVE!"
In a fit of rage, her green eyes were now pitch black. Beneath them, that sinister aura I felt before was growing even stronger. Screaming at the top of her lungs, her body expanded astronomically, ripping apart her robes completely. Her lower body grew in length and size, and instead of two legs, she now had eight. The tips of her legs were pointed and hairy. The shade of her skin was now a blend of purple and black tones. Instead of human-like teeth, they were now swapped with those of a canine.
"To think I'd have to use this form of mine… I am ashamed," said Archbishop Catalina. Her voice was now raspy, but still feminine. Like an old lady who'd been smoking for twenty years.
Myra grimaced at the sight. "Eugh! She got even uglier!"
"Oh-my-god..." I said in awe. Now, I'm not scared of a lot of things, but if I had to name my number one fear, it would be this thing right here.
"Prepare to feel my wrath you worthless ingrates!" The transformed archbishop bellowed with hatred.