13 Mink Street

The negotiations between the two great orthodox churches had concluded perfectly. The standard for measuring perfection was simple: one side had already obtained everything they wanted.

At the center of the small circular hall, dancers in traditional Darkmoon Island attire swayed gracefully across the floor while the nearby orchestra played soft and soothing melodies.

Personnel from both churches would soon be departing Darkmoon Island. Arranging a social banquet of this nature was only natural. The war had already ended. Life, however, would continue.

Cardinal Claude of the Church of Order lounged leisurely with one leg crossed over the other, his body resting comfortably against the soft backrest of his chair. Occasionally, he closed his eyes to rest. Occasionally, he opened them slightly to admire the dancing.

Seated beside him, Gatekeeper Romira of the Church of Reincarnation rested both hands atop her knees. Her back remained straight rather than leaning against the chair as she exchanged occasional remarks with Claude.

Claude’s responses were never anything more than slight nods or a few soft chuckles.

Below them, bishops from both Order and Reincarnation raised glasses together and chatted pleasantly. Their conversations covered every topic imaginable: literature, scenery, wonders, even the education of the younger generation.

The one topic both sides tacitly avoided was the ecclesiastical situation. The defeated side would not humiliate themselves by bringing it up. They merely tried to preserve what dignity remained.

The victors preferred displaying restraint instead. Bestowing respect upon the defeated was itself a form of pleasure.

“Those people from Bastin Island...” Romira voiced her request.

Claude grunted in acknowledgement. “Order will provide them with a safe environment and ensure they remain unable to contact the outside world.”

Bastin Island was an outer defensive stronghold protecting one of the Church of Reincarnation’s holy lands. A small Reincarnation battalion had once been stationed there, only thirty-six men in total. Those thirty-six controlled a defensive ritual array.

After the Order Knights had breached the holy land, envoys had been sent to the nearby island, demanding surrender from its defenders, and they had done so.

Yet for some unknown reason, the report eventually received by Reincarnation Valley stated that the thirty-six faithful had slain the Order envoy and sworn they would rather die for Reincarnation than live in disgrace. According to the report, all thirty-six died gloriously in battle.

The Church of Reincarnation had even propagandised them as heroes and role models. Even now, the propaganda campaign continued.

After the old aristocratic families regained control over the Church of Reincarnation, they urgently sought to purge and suppress the previous faction. They also utilized this mistaken report for propaganda purposes. Their goal was to convince Reincarnation believers that the Church of Reincarnation remained powerful, that its faithful remained resolute, and that defeat had only occurred because the previous leadership had been incompetent and because the Church of Order launched a sneak attack.

In short: Our people were not weak. Our faith was not weak. Our god was not weak. The fault belonged entirely to the previous leadership. Those thirty-six faithful who supposedly chose death over surrender became the perfect example.

But the absurd part came afterward. Following the defeat, during interactions with the Church of Order, Reincarnation discovered to their horror that the glorious martyrs they had already publicized were still alive. Not one had died. Every single one had surrendered.

That made things rather awkward.

“What I mean is...” Romira stopped halfway through the sentence. Some people remaining alive was worse than dying cleanly.

Claude shook his head faintly. “Order cannot do such things. However, please rest assured, Order greatly values the friendship of the Simons family. We also believe the Church of Reincarnation will rapidly recover under the Simons family’s leadership and establish a close cooperative relationship between our two great Churches so tragedy will not repeat itself.

“Of course. The unpleasant matters belong to the past. Their only remaining value is reminding us to cherish the hard-earned peace before us.”

“That is true indeed. Conflict is always temporary. Peace is the eternal theme we pursue.”

“For peace, shall we share a drink?”

“Gladly.” Romira raised her wineglass with both hands.

Claude lifted his with one hand. The two exchanged smiles and each took a sip.

“Oh, there’s one more matter. The Moon Goddess Church’s expanding territories are increasingly overlapping with ours. I’m worried this may create unnecessary friction between our two churches, so I hope Order can step in and mediate.”

Claude smiled upon hearing this. “Order only intervenes regarding the influence faith believers exert upon ordinary people and society. Conflicts between churches themselves are not targets for Order intervention. Order respects the autonomy of all orthodox Churches.”

“If that is the case, then unpleasant things will inevitably occur between Reincarnation and the Moon Goddess Church.”

“That is truly sorrowful news. Peace shall once again be trampled beneathfoot. It pains the heart. Of course, if major turmoil erupts, Order will step forward as an observer and reiterate the importance of peace.”

Romira smiled and nodded. “Reincarnation fully supports Order presiding over such situations.”

Claude countered with a question, “Has Reincarnation already recovered?”

“Several families still retain accumulated foundations,” Romira answered.

“Very good.”

The Church of Reincarnation urgently needed an external victory to stabilize morale and restore order internally. They had chosen the Moon Goddess Church as their target and intended to provoke a small-scale conflict. As long as Reincarnation won that conflict, morale could once more be consolidated.

What Romira requested was simple: once the Moon Goddess Church prepared retaliation, she hoped Order would step in and suppress them.

Claude agreed.

At that moment, one bead on the bracelet wrapped around Romira’s wrist suddenly cracked apart. Each bead upon that bracelet represented the soul of an outstanding descendant of the Simons family. Whenever a soul perished completely, the corresponding bead shattered.

Whose bead was this again? Ah, right. Karmond. It seems he has already died. His soul signed a pact with someone, didn’t it?

Ah. Peld. How troublesome.

Romira pressed her fingertip against another bead and spoke apologetically to Claude beside her, “My apologies. Excuse me for a moment.”

After speaking, she closed her eyes. Gray starlight appeared beneath her feet. She still sat here. Yet she was no longer truly present.

Seeing this, Claude lightly tapped his fingertips against the tea table. Tok... tok... tok...

***

Karon, still wearing the silver mask, suddenly experienced violent turbulence within his aura. Wisps of Order power began leaking from his body.

Immediately afterward, Karon’s body tilted forward as he began collapsing.

Lying on the ground, Peld revealed ecstatic delight across his face. His uncle had succeeded!

Seeing this, Ophelia summoned her Darkmoon Blade and prepared to kill.

However—

Halfway through falling, Karon’s body suddenly tightened. His right leg bent sharply before violently kicking forward. His left hand slammed downward as the purple greatsword’s hilt fell into his grasp.

Then Karon burst forward at terrifying speed directly toward the prone Peld. The smile on Peld’s face had not yet had a chance to fade away when he realized the greatsword was rapidly filling his entire field of vision.

At that exact moment, the mask vanished from Karon’s face, revealing his icy gaze beneath. Peld instinctively reached for the pendant hanging on his chest, trying to inject spirituality into it, but it was already too late.

Karon’s sword was faster.

Yet just at that moment, a gray barrier appeared and blocked Karon’s strike. He intended to shatter the barrier in the same motion. The force within his hands did not lessen in the slightest. However, despite appearing ordinary, the barrier possessed an almost despair-inducing resilience. No matter how much strength Karon applied, it remained completely unmoved.

A streak of starlight appeared beside Peld. From within emerged an elderly woman wearing gray priestly robes: Gatekeeper Romira of the Church of Reincarnation.

The instant her gaze landed upon Karon, he immediately felt as though the neck of his soul had been seized, suffocating him.

Damn it! He viciously cursed internally. He had already laid the groundwork. The ambush itself had been launched with extreme suddenness. Yet the Reincarnation Gatekeeper had still arrived at the final moment and ruined his plan to kill Peld.

Just a little more. Just a little more!

What Karon did not realize was that Peld had not contacted Romira himself. Instead, Karmond’s soul, which Karon had annihilated inside his own body earlier, had allowed Romira to sense the disturbance. With the pact soul destroyed, her first thought naturally turned toward Peld.

Romira narrowed her eyes slightly. A tiny gray point appeared between herself and Karon. The point suddenly split apart, releasing a terrifying repulsive force that blasted Karon backward completely.

This was no longer a clash between people of the same level. It was not a case of “the older generation stepping in after the younger one was beaten up.”

This time, the great aunt herself had come.

After landing, Karon drove the greatsword into the ground to counteract the inertia still carrying his body backward. He understood clearly that Romira had not truly attacked him. She merely wanted to push him away.

Romira lowered her head and glanced at the prone Peld before raising her gaze toward the young man in Order robes opposite her. She understood the strength of her grandnephew well. At his age, he already qualified as exceptional. Especially considering he had signed a pact with Karmond. Yet despite all that, he had still been beaten into this state by the young man before her. Had she not arrived in time, her grandnephew would already be dead.

Romira’s first reaction was not anger born from favoritism. Rather, she immediately recognized that this young man undoubtedly possessed an unusual status within the Church of Order.

At that moment, faint tapping sounds echoed into Romira’s ears. She knew exactly where those tapping sounds came from.

“What happened?” Romira asked.

“Great Aunt, he—”

Just as Peld tried speaking, an invisible force sealed his mouth shut. In front of outsiders, how could family titles be used so casually?

Romira understood her grandnephew’s mental state had already been completely thrown into chaos. Her gaze shifted toward Karon instead.

The person she was asking was him.

Karon sheathed his sword. Although he knew this woman was not physically present, he also knew perfectly well that even in her current state, he was still absolutely not her opponent.

“He implanted another person’s consciousness into the body of an ordinary girl, violating the Code of Order. I was carrying out an arrest under the authority of the Code of Order, but he resisted.” Karon knew clearly that this woman could kill him as easily as crushing an ant. The higher the level of existence, the more absolute their superiority over lower-level beings became. He did not believe the Church of Reincarnation’s Gatekeeper would be some harmless administrative figure.

Fortunately, even if he was merely an ant, he was still an ant wearing the robes of Order.

Romira turned and looked behind herself, spotting the woman hiding behind the tree. She knew the young man from Order was telling the truth, because her grandnephew had always possessed that disgusting habit.

Romira extended one hand. The woman’s body was forcibly dragged over and made to kneel before her. Immediately afterward, agony twisted the woman’s expression. A mass of milky-white radiance emerged from above her head, while within her body remained a faint cluster of light so weak it looked ready to extinguish at any moment.

Romira shook her head. She did not completely extract the woman’s consciousness. Instead, her fingertips clenched slightly, as though crushing a lump of dough. The foreign consciousness instantly shattered apart, transforming into nourishment that flowed back into the body. Meanwhile, the faint remaining light inside the woman’s body grew slightly brighter. Though still weak, it no longer seemed on the verge of immediate extinction.

Gentle gray radiance spread from Romira’s palm, nourishing both the woman’s soul and body. “Her soul has not fully extinguished yet. I have stabilized it for her. Once she wakes up, she will return to being herself.”

“Mmph! Mmph!” Seeing this, Peld widened his eyes and struggled violently, but his mouth remained sealed, leaving him unable to speak.

Romira waved her hand.

Slap! Peld was instantly knocked unconscious, collapsing motionless upon the ground. Immediately afterward, two streaks of light flashed past and severed both of Peld’s ears. “The child was disobedient. I failed in discipline. Thank you for troubling yourself over it.”

At that moment, the pendant hanging from Peld’s chest detached itself and floated toward Karon before landing atop the hilt of his sword.

“This is Reincarnation’s compensation. Compensation for the hard work Order priests perform in maintaining Order, and the remainder is compensation for that girl. Please help deliver it to her.”

The victim had been rescued. The criminal had been punished. The law enforcer had been compensated for his efforts. The victim had received compensation as well. The entire process had been completed flawlessly.

Although Karon still deeply regretted failing to kill Peld, he understood that for someone of Romira’s status to personally handle the matter to this extent, even escalating the issue to Order’s higher authorities would be meaningless. After all, what more could one reasonably demand?

Karon could only place both hands across his chest and say to the Gatekeeper, “Thank you for respecting Order.”

“And thank you for your efforts in maintaining Order.” Romira looked at Karon. “Perhaps you could tell me your name.”

“Karon Silva.”

“How enviable. The Church of Order never seems to lack talented people in any generation.” A smile appeared upon her face. “When you come to Reincarnation Valley, you may use this to find me. I quite like capable young people.”

After speaking, Romira vanished instantly.

Karon blinked in slight confusion. That’s it? It’s over just like that?

At this moment, Ophelia walked over. “Karon, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just need some rest.” Karon picked up the pendant, still unable to understand how decisively the other party had resolved everything.

“She doesn’t care about such small matters,” Ophelia explained. “She’s a true superior existence. Something this insignificant could never distract her attention.”

“She doesn’t care?”

“Yes. She probably wouldn’t care even if Peld died, despite him being her descendant.”

“What about that soul?”

“That soul? His pact soul?”

“Yes. It carried the Simons surname too. She doesn’t care about him either?”

“Is that soul still inside your body?”

“No. After piercing through the purification power, his soul had already dispersed too severely. He couldn’t affect me much afterward. Mm. Mainly because my faith in the God of Order is sufficiently firm.”

When he first arrived in this world, he could already force a heretical god out of his body and it was now a dog, not to mention now. His body currently housed multiple forms of faith power. For Karmond Simons to attempt stealing his body... that had truly been courting death.

“Since he’s gone, she no longer cares,” Ophelia said. “To her, this entire incident was smaller than small. If she hadn’t been nearby already, she probably wouldn’t even have bothered appearing.”

“It seems you understand her fairly well.”

“My father didn’t shed even one tear over the deaths of my two older brothers either, did he?”

“Fair enough.” Karon pointed toward the unconscious Peld. “What about him now?”

“We can’t kill him anymore.”

“Mhmm.” Karon nodded before walking over and kicking Peld squarely in the face with one boot. The unconscious Peld did not react at all, though blood immediately began flowing from his nose.

Romira had already completed the punishment and compensation. If Karon killed him now, he would lose all justification. More importantly, that would amount to publicly slapping Reincarnation’s Gatekeeper across the face. The cost would be far too great. The other side would only need to report the matter to the Church of Order, and the higher authorities of Order themselves would likely punish him.

The greatest relief was that Peld had never seen anything he should not have seen. Karon had concealed everything extremely well.

Karmond’s soul, however, had witnessed many things it should not have seen.

But fortunately, he was already gone.

“He’ll wake up by himself later.”

Suddenly, Karon seemed to think of something. “Ophelia, are there wolves in this forest?”

“How could there possibly be wolves?”

“That’s unfortunate.” Karon lifted the pendant hanging from the sword hilt. Go to Reincarnation Valley? How exactly am I supposed to go? Ah right. The trial qualification for entering the Reincarnation Gate. Apparently it will begin next month.

But the problem was, just how was he supposed to register? Could the captain pull strings for him?

Then again... Even if the captain himself got sold off, he probably still wouldn’t be able to secure such connections. After all, there were only twelve spots for the entire church, and Karon had also indirectly caused the captain to miss out on becoming a mid-ranked captain.

Karon laughed softly. He walked over, intending to carry the sleeping Reima in his arms, but Ophelia beat him to it and casually slung the girl over one shoulder one-handed. “Karon, were you actually hiding your strength this whole time?”

“I really did only break through recently.”

“Recently?”

“While sleeping last night.”

“So when I spoke to you earlier, you actually possessed the ability to silence me permanently?”

“I never thought about doing that.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You’re not lying to me?”

“Ophelia, there is one thing I can guarantee you; I have never deliberately wanted to deceive you.”

Whatever strange conclusions you personally imagined from your games with the Captain had nothing to do with him.

“Very well. I believe you. Now let’s return her home. And while we’re at it, let’s get some supper.”

“We’re still eating?”

***

Inside the small circular hall, the magic array beneath Romira’s feet faded away, and she opened her eyes once more.

Looking toward Cardinal Claude seated beside her, she apologized, “One of my younger relatives committed wrongdoing just now and was disciplined by an Order priest named Karon. He handled the matter very well.”

“Is that so?”

“I truly envy the Church of Order. Every generation seems to produce exceptional talents.”

Claude chuckled. “That’s precisely why Order is willing to select your younger Reincarnation generation for cultivation.”

“We are deeply grateful for that. Reincarnation will certainly cooperate and support this matter fully.”

“That is only natural.”

This was merely a trivial matter. Romira did not care much about it. Claude cared even less. The two continued discussing future cooperation policies between the churches. Eventually, the banquet ended amid an atmosphere of friendship. The leaders from both sides rose and departed separately.

Claude descended the stairs followed by a large group of bishops. Halfway down, he suddenly halted. The bishops behind him immediately stopped as well. “Oh, right. Next month the Reincarnation Gate in Reincarnation Valley will open. Each district should hurry and compile its candidate lists.

“There are age restrictions, and the Reincarnation Gate is quite dangerous. If any of you try sneaking people in through connections, don’t end up getting them killed inside.”

“Your Eminence, surely you jest.”

“We will certainly conduct fair selection.”

“Yes, we will absolutely choose outstanding young people seriously and impartially.”

At that moment, Claude recalled the earlier little incident and casually asked, “Oh right, that young man named Karon. Which district is he from?”

After a brief silence, Bishop Wolfram answered, “Your Eminence, he is a member of a Whip of Order squad from my York City district.”

“Oh? Is that so? Quite an excellent young man. Heh.” After speaking, Claude continued downstairs, and the bishops followed behind him.

To Cardinal Claude, the fact that punishing a single member of the Church of Reincarnation had actually drawn out a Gatekeeper was mildly amusing, but only mildly. He held no interest whatsoever in personally meeting the young man named Karon.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Wolfram continued walking together with the other bishops, faint cold sweat appearing across his forehead. “The Cardinal is reminding me to place Karon’s name onto the list...”