Tivian West Suburbs, by the Moonflow River.
The once grand villa that stood by the riverbank is now engulfed in raging flames. The flickering firelight illuminates the dark night sky, and the entire villa is beyond saving. The inferno consumes everything within, and thick black smoke billows into the night.
Around the burning villa, a group of Hunters and church personnel gather at the edge, staring at the blazing structure. Some of the Hunters consider trying to extinguish the fire, but after assessing the intensity of the flames, they abandon the idea. Instead, they stand guard to prevent the fire from spreading to the nearby bushes and forest.
Standing before the roaring flames, Edmond, the captain of the Hunter Squad, lights a cigarette and takes a deep drag. The flickering firelight reflects on his face, revealing a complex expression.
"Gone... everything’s gone... no clues left..."
Edmond mutters as he gazes at the flames. Beside him, a loud, hearty voice suddenly erupts.
"Hahaha!!! This is great! Burn! Keep burning! Purge all the filth and corruption of these wolf cubs!"
Anrecius, still wearing his helmet, spreads his arms wide and shouts at the fire he himself caused, seemingly overjoyed at the chance to personally purge the cultists. As he speaks, he slaps Edmond on the shoulder.
"Hey, little brother from the Serenity Bureau, why do you look so unhappy when we’ve just purged the cultists together?"
Edmond winces as Anrecius’ gauntleted hand slams into his shoulder. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth and glances at the knight beside him before speaking."Father Anrecius, I have a small question. Why did the church decide to send you when we reported the situation this time?"
"Huh? Why send me? This incident involves the Afterbirth Cult, which requires complete purification and eradication. Isn’t it fitting to send me? Look at this... isn’t it beautiful? I haven’t had the chance to personally purge cultists in a long time. I’ve been itching to do this!"
Anrecius replies, clearly showing that he’s been cooped up in the church for too long and has been dying to take action.
"Well... that’s true. It makes sense for the Holy Knights to handle matters involving heretics. But our operations are primarily focused on investigation and pursuit, which are covert actions. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate for the Inquisition to handle this?"
Edmond continues to ask. Since this incident involves a church-led hospital and a kidnapped nun, it’s only natural for the church to send someone. However, Edmond didn’t expect them to send the Holy Knights. Hearing Edmond’s words, Anrecius waves his hand and speaks bluntly.
"You’re right. Normally, the Inquisition would handle this, but they’re currently dealing with some trouble and can’t spare anyone. So, we had to step in."
Anrecius explains directly. Hearing this, Edmond frowns in confusion.
"The church’s Inquisition... is having trouble? What kind of trouble?"
Edmond is momentarily curious about what kind of trouble the Inquisition in Tivian is facing, but since it involves internal church matters, he doesn’t press further.
In reality, the trouble the Inquisition is facing is quite simple: they’re busy investigating a mole within their ranks. Shortly after Vania reported Cork, before the Inquisition could even act, Cork had already fled.
According to Vania, after discovering Cork’s suspicious behavior, she went straight to the Inquisition to report him. Cork’s sudden disappearance led the Inquisition to suspect that there might be a mole within their organization. Realizing this, the head of the Inquisition quickly reported the situation to the Archbishop of the Pritt Diocese, who ordered the Inquisition to conduct the strictest internal investigation.
Since then, the entire Inquisition in Tivian has been engaged in a rigorous self-examination process, with almost everyone in the system being scrutinized. This internal witch hunt has severely disrupted the Inquisition’s normal operations. By the time this incident occurred, they were still busy searching for the mole.
Since the mole within the Inquisition has yet to be found, and to prevent further leaks of information, the church decided not to send the Inquisition this time. Instead, they sent the Holy Knights to assist. However, the Holy Knights’ combat style is rather direct and brutal.
"Ha... Regardless! This was satisfying! I hope these guys expose more of their hideouts so we can purge them all!"
Anrecius laughs as he looks at the burning villa, his sword resting on his shoulder. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he speaks up.
"Ah... right. I think I heard that one of our nuns was captured during this mission. Hmm, I only just remembered. I didn’t see anyone like that during the fight. I wonder how she’s doing now? Damn, I was too focused on purging the cultists..."
Anrecius scratches his helmet as he looks at the burning flames. Hearing his words, Edmond sighs and responds.
"Earlier, my men found a nun who managed to escape from the villa during the chaos. After questioning, we confirmed that she is the missing healer nun."
"Oh! So you found her? Where is she now?"
Hearing Edmond’s words, Anrecius turns to him with interest. Edmond shrugs and replies.
"She’s under our protection now. According to her, the wolf came to intercept the prisoner, but his actions were so violent that the prisoner’s injuries worsened. So, she was taken here as a healer... Also, we were able to find this place thanks to her."
"Huh? Didn’t we find this place because you planted a tracker on the prisoner?"
Anrecius asks with a hint of surprise. Edmond reaches into his bag and pulls out a twisted pair of handcuffs.
"We planted the tracker on the prisoner’s handcuffs. We initially thought the wolf didn’t notice them because he was careless. But it seems that’s not the case. According to the nun, the wolf actually discovered the handcuffs using an Illuminating Beacon and immediately removed and crushed them. It was the nun who secretly picked them up, knowing they could lead us here.”
"What she said is likely true. She’s a member of your church and wouldn’t know about the tracker on the handcuffs. If the wolf hadn’t noticed the handcuffs’ anomaly from the start, the nun wouldn’t have known either. If she didn’t know about the tracker, she wouldn’t have specifically mentioned it to us... So, it must be that the wolf said something while removing Davic’s handcuffs that made the nun realize their purpose, which is why she secretly kept them on her... There’s no possibility of her trying to take credit maliciously."
Edmond explains as he shows the twisted handcuffs to Anrecius. In his words, he dismisses the possibility that Vania took the handcuffs to falsely claim credit. Anrecius examines the handcuffs for a moment and then nods in understanding.
"I see. Ha, it seems our nun is quite clever. I thought we found this place because the wolf was careless, but it turns out it was thanks to her. Such a clever nun deserves recognition. I’ll report this when I get back. By the way, what’s her name, and where is she now?"
"Her name is Vania Chafferon. My men are currently by the riverbank, gathering more details from her."
"Sister Vania, huh? I should go and see this hero then..."
With that, Anrecius strides off in his iron boots, leaving Edmond alone. Edmond stands there, staring at the burning building, lost in thought.
…
Meanwhile, in a forest about five or six kilometers away from Smith’s villa, a carriage races through the night. Under the dim light of a lantern, the masked coachman focuses on driving the carriage.
Above the carriage, an eagle soars through the night sky. It gradually descends, flying close to the carriage. The carriage window opens, and a pale, delicate hand reaches out to take the sword and book held in the eagle’s talons. The eagle then flaps its wings and flies back into the sky.
"It’s over..."
Inside the moving carriage, Dorothy, dressed in a small western-attire, sits with the spoils of this operation—a mystical text and a slender cane sword. As she touches the ruby on the hilt of the Heart-Devouring Cane Sword, she can feel that the sword’s spirituality is almost fully charged.
“It’s been months since you came to me, and today you finally got to feast…”
Dorothy thinks to herself as she looks at the cane sword. A whole Beastkin and a weakened, dying Werewolf provided enough Chalice spirituality to fully charge the Heart-Devouring Cane Sword.
"Phew... Now that Vania is safe, it’s time to settle accounts. Let’s see what we’ve accomplished after all this hard work today."
Sitting in the carriage, Dorothy begins to tally the results of today’s series of actions.
First, as usual, Dorothy calculates her losses. During this operation, she only used a Scent-Tracking Sigil to track Davic’s blood scent when she was still in the Basket Neighborhood. However, this used up all three Scent-Tracking Sigils she had obtained from Adèle during the theater incident. Adèle had clearly stated that these were the only three she had, and there were no more to be had. This means Dorothy no longer has any sigils to grant her superhuman sense of smell.
“Actually, the Scent-Tracking Sigils were quite useful. I used all three in one go. It would be good to have some more. If Adèle doesn’t have any, I’ll have to ask Beverly. I hope the profiteer’s prices aren’t too outrageous.”
Dorothy thinks to herself. Next, she calculates her spirituality consumption. Without a doubt, due to the prolonged use of living marionettes, her Chalice spirituality was severely depleted. After the Gregor Train Incident, Dorothy had only 5 points of Chalice left, and now she has none. Fortunately, Adèle provided two pieces of Chalice-infused jerky, which restored 4 points of Chalice. Otherwise, Dorothy would have been completely drained.
By the end, Dorothy still had 2 points of Chalice left from Adèle’s supply. If the church’s Holy Knight hadn’t arrived and Davic hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have been able to hold out much longer. Aside from the massive Chalice consumption, Dorothy also used some Shadow spirituality—2 points to conceal the traces of her manipulation when she took Davic to the Serenity Bureau and passed through the Illuminating Beacon. Of course, Dorothy also consumed a fair amount of Revelation, but since she is a Scholar, the Revelation consumption can be ignored.
Next, after confirming her losses, Dorothy begins to tally her gains. During this series of actions, she made several significant gains, the most important of which was finally getting a look at the Star Numerology Scriptorium’s advancement stele.
The advancement stele, inscribed with the Universal Language, was found by Darlene in the ruins of the Star Numerology Scriptorium on the mainland. Due to Davic’s capture, it was stored in the Serenity Bureau’s evidence room. Through her manipulation, Dorothy was finally able to use Davic’s eyes to see the stele in the evidence room. The Universal Language on the tablet revealed its hidden meaning to Dorothy, a Revelation-path Beyonder, including the advancement content she needed.
Closing her eyes, Dorothy recalls the deeply memorized contents of the stele. The Universal Language transforms into Pritt Common letters before her eyes.
...
Revelation Path, advancement from Black Earth to White Ash.
- With assistance from Chalice: Spiritual Thread Path, Marionettist—Threadweaver Shaman.
- With assistance from Stone: Roaring Fury Path, Brontomancer—Thunder Summoner.
- With assistance from Shadow: Bewitching Dreams Path, Dream Interpreter—Dream Voyager.
- With assistance from Lantern: Foresight Path, Diviner—Prophecy Scholar.
- With the dedication from the Body: Pure Reason Path, Scholar—Arcane Professor.
...
As Dorothy recalls, the names, advancement conditions, and rituals of the five branches of the Revelation path appear in her mind. After skimming through the information, Dorothy focuses on the final entry, which is most relevant to her: the advancement from Scholar to Arcane Professor.
...
Black Earth-rank Scholar, advancement to White Ash-rank Arcane Professor:
Spirituality Requirements:
- The Scholar must accumulate 30 points of Revelation spirituality, in addition to their inherent spirituality.
- The other five types of spirituality must each reach one-third of their maximum capacity. Since the maximum capacity for Black Earth-rank is 30 points, this means each of the other five types of spirituality must reach at least 10 points.
Ritual Requirements:
- Similar to the advancement to Scholar, advancement to Arcane Professor involves all six types of spirituality. advancement to Scholar requires the apprentice to have read one mystical text for each of the six types of spirituality. advancement to Arcane Professor requires knowledge of the six Pure Color Deities within the six spirituality domains and obtaining their holy symbols. These symbols are used to set up the advancement array during the advancement ritual.
- It doesn’t matter if these six Pure Color Deities still exist or have perished. As long as their Honorific Name and holy symbol are obtained, the ritual can be performed. The ritual relies on the mysticism significance contained within the Honorific Name and holy symbol.