The next day, Sol received good news while eating breakfast with his squad.
Aron took a bite out of a large sausage and, while chewing, gave an update on the job he was assigned.
"So… I just got confirmation that the Rathian blood will arrive in two days."
Nataly almost jumped out of her seat. "Really?!"
"Mhm."
Rathian blood was the final ingredient on the list of materials Sol had tasked Aron to acquire. With its arrival, they would have just about everything needed.
"Thank you, Aron. You went above and beyond for this," Sol said.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Not only had Aron managed to source all the missing materials in a matter of days, but he also did it faster than expected by almost an entire week.
Duncan turned to Sol. "There's still one thing missing."
Sol sighed. "Yeah, the blood of priests."
It was something he had been procrastinating on since he didn't really know how the church would react to such a proposition. He had enough gold and had been given implicit permission by Zaman to trade merit shop items if needed. Still, he hesitated, not wanting to risk angering the church of the most powerful god in the world—at least from what he knew. According to the book about Ophis and his legacy, he and Neitarel, the God of Supremacy, both perished, leaving Caela as the most powerful god. It was no wonder their church was one of the most influential in their kingdom and many others.
'Can't delay it any more. Guess I have to go today.'
With the self imposed deadline approaching, he didn't want to delay Lapis' revival.
…
An hour later, Sol stood outside the Church of Caela.
'It looks similar to the one in Kerman, but twice the size.'
The structure was nearly identical, with an open air design that looked like a giant staircase to the heavens. Each step was one story tall, and inside the steps were the non prayer related facilities. Most visitors didn't truly enter the building but used the human sized stairs to climb the steps and pray closer to the skies, which was Caela's domain.
Entering the church, he found the nearest unoccupied priest and approached him. The male priest smiled and welcomed him.
"Welcome to the Church of Caela. Are you here to remove your scar?"
'Why do they always assume it's for my scar…' Sol shook his head. "No, I came with a request. Is there a Sky Chaser available to speak with?"
A Sky Chaser was two ranks higher than a normal Sky Watcher priest and usually had the responsibility of managing their church branch. Only someone of that rank could help Sol in obtaining the vast quantity of blood.
The priest hesitated, finding it odd to directly request an audience with one of the highest ranked priests in their church.
"I'm not sure if I can do that… wait here for a moment."
When in doubt, it's best to ask someone who knew, which is exactly what the priest went to do. He looked for his superior, a Sky Speaker priestess, and brought her over after informing her of the situation.
"I'm sorry, but Sky Chaser Dani—wait, aren't you Knight Captain Sol?"
Sol froze for a moment, surprised at being recognized, especially since he was in his normal clothes. After all, he didn't want his request to be connected to the Royal Knights and cause trouble for them if it turned out poorly. He considered denying it for a moment but realized it would be even worse to get caught in a lie, so he nodded.
"Yes, that's me."
The Sky Speaker priestess was surprised, as she had only seen him once during the tournament.
"Well… even if it's you, I'm sorry to say that Sky Chaser Daniel isn't here. He's currently at the central church. But there is someone you could talk to who might be willing to lend an ear."
"Sure, that's fine," Sol replied. He didn't really care who he talked to, only whether they were able to fulfill his request.
"Then please follow me."
Sol was led inside the giant staircase-like building and through the winding halls until they reached an ornate door.
The priestess went inside first to notify them of his arrival before exiting and gesturing for him to enter.
Upon entering, Sol froze at the sight of the room and who was in it. A soft wind blew on his face, and he smelled the fresh air. It felt and looked like he had stepped outside onto a grassy plain, with a clear open sky above him. This was clearly some kind of magic that simulated this environment, so he was only somewhat intrigued. What truly shocked him was the woman sitting cross legged on the grass, drinking a cup of tea.
"Diana?"
Diana turned to him with a gentle smile and said, "Sol, what a surprise. I was going to send someone to inform you that I wanted to talk to you, but here you are." She then patted the ground. "Come, take a seat."
Sol sat on the grass next to her and asked with a bit of trepidation, "You wanted to talk to me? Don't tell me…"
She nodded, knowing what he was going to ask.
"The harbinger is still on the loose. And he knows where you are."
"What?! How?"
Sol didn't understand how that was possible. Not only had Diana and her paladins been unable to catch one goblin, but it also knew where he was and was still actively after him.
"We… aren't sure. A little over two months ago, it was still searching the area and interrogating people, but one day, it began to travel southeast. Initially, we thought it was expanding its search radius, but it headed in a straight line towards the capital. We did our best to intercept it, but its ability is too well suited for hiding and running away. The best we could do was delay it and force it to take detours."
'A little over two months… Isn't that around the time I entered the city? How did it know I was here? I spent most of my time in the dungeon?'
Sol didn't understand how that was possible, but he thought out loud about what he could do.
"If it can somehow track me, there's no point in running… my best chance is to stay and fight here. At least here, I have Commander Zaman and Grand Knight Lawrence for support."
Though Sol didn't say it, he also felt confident in his chances against the harbinger with the help of the Tynamo Cannon. At least with it, he had a method to retaliate.
Diana interjected. "Don't forget me as well."
"You too?"
She nodded. "Of course. It's my duty to deal with harbingers, and though I have failed miserably in that department, they would be unable to harm you while I'm here. Also, to better prepare you against the harbinger, I will teach you what we know about them and how to reach A-Rank."
"Ah. About that… I already know about law techniques."
"Well, that's even better. How's your progress?"
"Making good progress. Should be soon."
Though he couldn't put an exact date on it, his testing with the A-Ranker had greatly accelerated his progress. He felt he only needed more practice and to take the final step.
"Excellent." Diana was glad, as it meant there was a good chance he could ascend to A-Rank before the harbinger appeared. "I will give you the details of the harbinger later. There's still time before they arrive. You came here for something else, right?"
Sol nodded. "It's a long story…"