A four–star adventurer? Are archbishops really that strong?
"Yes… normally they are," Henry said.
Dilek thought for a second. "Then we need to change our approach…"
"But Dilek… I mean, thanks for helping me and all, but making an enemy of the Liora Church will be bad for you. The Emperor will have to get involved if something happens."
"Oh, yeah, don't worry. I've thought of all that. We are still beating him."
Henry's eyes widened. "How! You can't! Even if you do, fighting the entirety of the Liora Church is like a death sentence. Not only Liora, but any church."
"Henry, look, just answer me this—can you do anything other than heal?"
Henry shook his head. "The Archbishop only taught me how to heal. Every time I had to go to another class, he sent me away…"
"Is that so?" Dilek murmured, eyes narrowing. "But do you know the basics? Like… a gist of it?"
Henry nodded slowly. "I guess… kind of I do… but I can't perform it. I just know what it does."
"How long would it practically take you to learn it?" Dilek asked.
Henry looked at him, thinking deeply before answering. "Around… six hours… just to perform the smallest and weakest version…"
Dilek looked up at the moon. "I see. Then by sunrise you would be done?"
"Uh… yes?" Henry answered, confused.
"Okay." Dilek turned slightly. "Duja, you can come out of hiding."
The air shimmered as Duja walked out, the illusion wearing off.
"Duja," Dilek said, meeting his eyes, "I have a plan. Are you willing to hear me out?"
Duja looked at him, then glanced back toward the distance, where Hela stood watching with worry. He nodded.
—
Duja ran, his heavy footsteps thundering against the ground as he dropped Ami safely behind him. He dashed in a zig-zag, avoiding the flame needles, as he crossed the distance in extreme speed. The Archbishop's needles kept missing, but it was useless, Kaelis seemed to generate them infinitely.
Duja leaped into the air. A needle pierced his side, but he still pushed upward, high enough to reach the Archbishop. He reeled his arm back and punched—
SLAM—
A pillar of flame erupted from the sky, blocking his fist. Kaelis grabbed Duja's hand. Duja's eyes widened—
A thousand flame needles pierced through him.
—Woosh.
"Huh?" The Archbishop's eyes widened as Duja vanished into thin air. 'Illusion!' he realized. His head snapped around, trying to locate the caster. He closed his eyes to focus—
PUNCH—
A brutal force smashed into his jaw, sending him flying across the forest near Porustu.
CRASH—
He tumbled through the trees, finally stopping. He groaned, tasting blood. 'How far…?' he wondered, seeing the village far behind him. His dislocated jaw throbbed, and a small flame crawled across his skin, healing it.
'I see… their plan relies on an illusion caster. A high-level one at that…'
Kaelis stood, 'I need to first deal with this fat man.' shouted into the forest, "YOU… THE FAT CHUBBY MAN… I KNOW YOU ARE HERE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING?"
A twig snapped in the distance. Kaelis noticed, but kept acting unaware.
"The Church of Liora will not go easy on you! Since you are committing a crime, not only will you face judgement by the empire… but also by the Divine Army of Liora. Consisting of some of the strongest fighters. Are you sure what you're doing is worth it?"
"Getting a little political, aren't we, old man?" Ami's voice echoed faintly, playful and mocking. "Day before yesterday you were smiling like a good guy. What's up with the change in attitude?"
Kaelis's thoughts churned. 'The sound came from east… they are circling me…'
"You will learn it, little girl. If you were in a position like me, you would. Tell me, is it really worth it? Fighting for a man with no standing? Yaguya? The name itself is ridiculous. There is no way he is speaking the truth."
"Oh, yeah, I know he's bullshitting."
"Then—"
"But I could care less." Ami's tone darkened. "Truth is, I was really surprised this morning… when I learned your healers, the low-level priests, can heal basic injury really well… but they don't. Why?"
Kaelis heard her shifting lightly.
"It's the only way to get money."
"Money?" Ami scoffed. "When you don't even give their full value? They pay you for healing and you pretend to heal them. You tell the priests to pretend that they use healing magic when they don't, and tell the villagers to come the next day, for the same process that doesn't heal them. Aren't you scamming them? Is this really what God Liora teaches you? If that's true, then isn't my friend—the one who's bullshitting—better?"
Kaelis's mind sharpened. 'She was behind me and moved east… but I can't hear the fatso. Is he staying in one place? It's alright. I'll get them both. BUT FIRST—'
Flame needles formed in the air. He fired thousands north, ripping through the forest, trees exploding like splinters.
"There…" He smiled. "The smell of blood."
He turned—Duja was impaled, lying on the ground, groaning.
"THERE! SEE? YOU CAN'T BEA—"
His voice cut. Ami wasn't there.
'It wasn't her? Then—'
A needle pierced him.
"GAH—!"
He looked up. Ahead stood Ami, trembling but unharmed.
Ami stared at him with a devilish smile.
"Hey… old man. Smelling for blood, huh? You're just like a dog."
Duja vanished from behind him. 'Illusion? Then the smell of blood…? How did she hit me with my own needle?'
Ami lifted her charred, bleeding hand.
"You must be wondering how you got pierced by that thing of yours, right? It's luck." She giggled shakily. "At the very last second, I gained a skill. Something called Redirection. If you want, I can read the description out for you."
Kaelis glared. "You… you grabbed my needle and redirected it toward me… and while doing that, you put your hand in front of it to pierce yourself. You created the stench of blood…"
"Bingo." She grinned.
"Well, I see… I underestimated you. But do you really think this much is enough to kill me?" Kaelis growled. "Let's see how many you can redirect… your hand burns holding my needle."
"Oh well. My work is done. You have to deal with the big guy."
"Huh?"
Kaelis turned—Duja was behind him. He raised his arms to block—
A single punch blasted him through the trees.
"Don't you have any shame?" Duja growled. "Fighting children? Fight me. Man to man."
Kaelis spat blood and stood shakily. Duja marched toward him, fists clenched.
Kaelis thrust his hands forward; a beam of flame streaked out. Duja barely dodged and punched him again.
Kaelis spat more blood as Duja gave him a beatdown.
"You have shit strength and durability, you know," Duja said, punching him repeatedly.
Kaelis suddenly grabbed his hand. Flames surged. His wounds healed instantly, and Duja's hand burned. Kaelis head-butted him, as he summoned a thousand needles into the sky.
"Let's see how many you can dodge…"
Duja looked up.
"Well, shit."
—
The villagers gathered, murmuring anxiously. Dilek stood at the center. The distant sounds of battle came from the woods.
"Everyone, I want to tell you something," Dilek said.
Henry walked forward slowly. The villagers mumbled.
"Shameless."
"Why did he come back?"
"Tch, he can't even keep his own words."
"Everyone," Dilek raised a hand. "Like I said—please calm down."
The crowd fell silent.
"Let me tell you something first, It wasn't Henry who planned my assassination. It was Archbishop Kaelis—the same man who lit the Flame of Liora the day before yesterday. He is still here, as some of you might know."
The people began whispering again.
"Henry has been a victim of his abuse," Dilek continued. "And as much as he wanted to help others, his fear of death held him back."
They looked at him in confusion as Dilek said, "Henry, please show them."
Henry stood still for a moment… then quietly took off his shirt.
Everyone gasped — not because a former bishop was removing his clothes, but because of the wounds. Deep lashes ran across his back and arms, Some were old. Some were fresh.
"This wasn't discipline," Dilek said, his voice heavy. "But torture. What you thought were the priests of Liora… it's not them. It's the higher-ups forcing them to do the dirty work. Henry here didn't want to kill me. He was just scared for his life…"
People began murmuring, their expressions shifting between shock and guilt.
Henry swallowed, lifting his head.
"Everyone… I am sorry. I never helped anyone."
All eyes turned to him.
"I was scared… I was a coward who stuck to the dirty rules taught to me… I am guilty of it." He took a trembling breath. "But today… from today, I fully devote myself to the people. Because I am leaving the Liora faith…"
Everyone gasped again.
Henry continued, voice steadier. "If the God Liora gave me power only to ask money from the needy in order to heal… then I reject it. From today, I follow the faith of Yaguya."
Whispers filled the air.
'What's going on?'
'Isn't this too fast?'
'What the—'
Dilek raised his hand gently. "Now everyone… please accept him. He is human. Like me and you. He wishes to redeem himself. And our Goddess… she is a big fan of second chances."
The crowd looked around — unsure and conflicted.
Then…
A tiny hand grabbed Henry's.
Henry looked down. So did everyone else.
A child stood beside him, holding his hand tightly.
"Bishop Henry… can you still tell us stories?"
Henry's eyes widened. His breath hitched. Slowly, he knelt down, smiling softly.
"I will… but different ones. From today, I'll tell you stories of life… not of divinity. And also… I am not Bishop Henry anymore."
"Then what do we call you?" the child asked innocently.
"Call me just Henry."
He smiled — as the people burst into cheers.
—
Hela — sweating, stood in a quiet corner conjuring illusions. Her eyes remained closed as she focused. A thin mist of magic drifted from her fingertips.
Dilek appeared beside her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes…" Hela whispered, still concentrating.
"You can remove the illusion of Nandita now," Dilek said as he glanced out the window. People were surrounding Henry as. Dilek slipped away, blending into the movement.
Hela released the illusion. Nandita's appearance shimmered from dilek and returned to herself, as she stood in front of the house.
"Okay…" Dilek said softly as he walked over to hela, placing a hand on her back.
Skill: Believe in Me for Good Heals (Activated)
Hela's fatigue evaporated instantly.
"Thanks… now what though? Duja and Ami are fighting out there—"
Just then, the sound of wheels and hooves thundered outside.
Dilek exhaled calmly. "You can stop now. We've won, In a sense..."
Hela looked at dilek in annoyance at what he said in the end as she looked outside the inn they were at.
A carriage rolled into view. Diego and Marcus stepped out, followed by many others, soldiers, priests, and a Bishop of Liora from the Phermola Church.
The Bishop descended slowly. Nandita hurried forward to greet him.
"So," he asked, "where is Archbishop Kaelis?"
Nandita steadied herself and said, "Please refrain from showing yourself in front of the people. They are afraid…"
"Afraid of what?" The bishop looked genuinely concerned as he stood at the entrance of Porustu.
"The archbishop has been attacking everyone," Nandita whispered. "That's why they are—"
"HE IS?!?" The Bishop's eyes widened.
A loud BOOM echoed. Flames lit up the sky behind them. The bishop turned — the forest was burning.
"The Archbishop's ability…" he muttered. He spun toward the soldiers.
"Quick! Secure a formation! We must stop the Archbishop! He must be under a spell!"
Nandita looked akwardly as she thought, 'What will happen if they find out he isn't under a spell?.'
DEMONS! I SWEAR, WHY ARE YOU ALIVE?! THE GOD LIORA'S WRATH WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
Kaelis screamed, firing barrages of needles as the forest burned around him.
Ami stumbled forward through the smoke, clutching her bleeding hand. Her breath was shaky, lungs burning. She remembered Dilek's instructions—
—
"Just rage-bait him," Dilek said earlier, A couple hours prior. He relaxed casually in his seat. "Hit his head. That pisses off everyone…"
"Seriously? Is that it? That's your grand plan?" Ami frowned.
"No…" Dilek smirked. "I sent Marcus and Diego a few minutes ago to Phermola. They've gone to request help from the Count. Of course I wrote a letter."
"What did you write?"
"That's a secret."
Dilek winked, placing a finger to his lips.
Ami looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Can you not act like that?"
"Okay, okay. But listen. The entire plan is not for us to beat him. It's for the people of the Liora faith itself to beat Kaelis."
"Huh? How?"
"Well, he needs to be rampaging," Dilek said.
"And that's it?" Ami cut him off. "He can talk, you dipshit. He can tell his church people that we provoked him."
"I was getting to it." Dilek sighed. "We have a certain someone on our side. He can convince them the archbishop has gone mad. And Hela's illusions will make him attack others."
"But then," Duja said, raising a hand from the bed where he sat, "if they have good mages, they'll see the traces of illusion magic."
"They can do that?" Dilek asked.
"Yes," Hela replied calmly, sitting beside duja. "It's easy to see if you're skilled. Well… considering me, it might require more than skill."
"Oh yeah, my wife here has the best illusions in the world," Duja bragged proudly.
Hela immediately smacked his back, her cheeks turning red. "Stop… you're embarrassing me."
Dilek and Ami stared with blank expressions.
"But we can't take chances," Dilek continued. "Hela… tell me. What do illusion traces look like?"
"Like mist," she said. "Traces of magic."
"Hm…" Dilek thought. "So again, let me say what I understood…"
"Illusion magic causes magic particles?"
Hela nodded.
"And so will any other magic?"
"Yes," she replied. "That's how crimes are deduced in the empire."
Her eyes widened as she realized, "Are y—"
Dilek smiled. "Yes. I intend for him to release his magic too. A high-level one that should conceal it fully… if your illusions aren't too strong. So keep them low-level, enough that the Archbishop can tell there's an illusion."
He looked at the three of them.
"His flame magic, which Henry told me about, should powerful enough to cover traces of illusion magic. And paired with smoke, it will be impossible to tell. So take him to the forest behind Porustu, alright?"
A knock sounded at the door.
Dilek opened it and stepped out. "I'll be back in a second."
Duja, Ami, and Hela remained inside.
Ami crossed her arms. "Hold on… isn't that guy too smart? Were you lecturing him about magic?"
Hela quickly shook her head. "No… I never did. But he was wrong about the smoke part. Smoke won't conceal magic. But he was right about higher magic concealing lower magic."
"Oh, so he wasn't fully right." Ami sighed in relief.
Duja smirked. "You happy about that?"
"Of course he isn't fully right. I was scared he was some genius…"
"Well… he might just be, you know," Duja said as Dilek walked back into the room.
"Here is the VVIP who will help us convince the ones coming from Phermola that the archbishop has gone mad."
Ami's eyes widened.
"This is—!"
Duja sighed.
Hela nodded. "I kind of expected it…"