Chapter 108: The Oracle's Temple
"Halt! You must-" A man in leather clothes, with his status floating above his head and sword dangling on his hip, extended his hand and stopped Leon and his party from trespassing The Oracle's Temple's borders. But he stopped talking mid-way, seemingly frozen.
The same went for his buddies.
And as Leon moved his arm, he discovered that Celes and Alexandra had become the same. It was as though time had stopped for everyone except him! Leon knew who to blame for that... In this place, only one existence could stop time and influence his adventure in such a peculiar way.
While everything around Leon, including the world, stopped moving, a girl's voice slipped into his mind.
[I've spared you from unnecessary troubles.]
"Invite my girls, too." Leon replied to the voice ringing in his mind, which unmistakably belonged to The Oracle -- the woman he had heard at the trial's last floor. He couldn't care less about the world and its content being frozen in time, but he wanted his party to go with him, too.
He would feel bad if he was forced to leave them here alone. If the time resumed, Celes and Alexandra wouldn't find him and would face The Oracle's Temples' border guards instead. Those guys were a pain to deal with as they treasured The Oracle and revered her like a deity.
Leon was sure those guys would imagine something suspicious happened, leading to an inevitable battle between them and his girls...
[You're thinking too much. I'll keep this place locked in time until you leave and take away your companions outside the temple's province. Now, come and see me inside. I see you're impatient to see me.]
Leon took a good glance at his vampiress and the dragon maid. While he could turn the latter into his monster card, that would only leave Celes alone. He didn't want to do that since Alexandra was a powerful ally in case someone attacked them.
Moreover, Leon didn't know, but if he did that, he would also impact Celes' self-esteem. It was good that he decided to simply enter The Oracle's Temple.
With all his thoughts collected, Leon went down the hill, keeping his eyes on the temple.
He followed the main road leading him to this place, with many houses lined on both sides. Those houses were mainly white and seemingly cheap, not carrying anything weight. Frozen people around and inside them were all low-level people -- the believers.
They wore white cassocks, smiling. In fact, it was impossible to find someone in a bad mood here. Even far away from those marble houses, Leon saw farmers tending to their farms with gleeful smiles, liking their peaceful lives. It was hard and arduous work but surely rewarding in the presence of the goddess.
For many, The Oracle was indeed a woman of great beauty with an unknown face. Her curves and wings alone turned people into believers, so many statues of her beauty had been seemingly strewn to soothe pain and bring happiness to people's hearts -- including monsters.
She had a divine charm. She was one of the rare existences that allowed people to take a glimpse of what was divine!
Leon soon stood at the temple's foot.
At first glance, the temple was like a white pyramid, with enough entrance to stuff at least two adult humans going in and out abreast. Her temple had a ditch around itself, where believers often dropped their prayers. Those were mainly written letters of appreciation and nothing of high value.
Remembering that he had seen her statue in a dark cave, Leon inferred that The Oracle didn't like to show off her status and wealth and rather kept her stuff in a plain and simple style. She wielded so much influence and status yet surrounded herself with common people.
The Meryan Kingdom issued border guards for her and paid all guilds that took over that job heftily. That was mainly because, in this temple, many prominent figures had found their paths. The Oracle had guided many people, and the kingdom had their business keeping her intact on their lands.
If something bad happened to her statue here, all those prominent figures would question The Meryan Royalty, too, so it wasn't like they were simply driven by monetary gain.
Leon stepped inside the temple, and his eyes flashed with stars. It was much different compared to what others experienced because everyone else would only see the perched statue swathed in a golden light, whose beautiful face was hidden.
But Leon found himself standing on the universe's carpet, with many stars and planets circling around him. He also didn't see any statue, but a real woman standing where it should be. She was tall and curvaceous, with curves wrapped in a white tunic and her face hidden beneath a veil.
She stood with her hands joined on her stomach. Although Leon couldn't see her eyes, only her red lips, he felt like golden eyes had seen through him.
He ambled to face her real close. "You aren't a goddess. With everything I've learned, because of the system quests and encounters with people of this world, my first guess is that you are The Queen... You're a human with a body physique second only to the peak humanity body, The Yin Physique. You must be one of the older women -- a fine wine."
Leon spoke too much and even mentioned her old age, so he quickly added a few more words to ensure that he didn't trigger anything within The Oracle's heart. Inwardly, he was quite more confident in his theory since he once again felt like an equal to this woman.
"Have you come here to peer into my origins?" The Oracle parted her lips and spoke in an ethereal tone.
Leon faintly nodded, surprising her. "I told you that I've met a few people and learned more about this world. You're a significant part of this world, and I reckon you have answers to my questions. What do The Black Spirit's words mean? Why did I feel so terrible when I saw the unicorn's death? And why did you give me the same class as The Human Emperor? I'm sure you won't reply to these questions and just guide me, so I'll start with my theories and force you to speak.
"Don't try to stop me, or I'll kiss those pretty lips." Leon narrowed his eyes, threatening.
The Oracle curved those cherry lips up. "I know you won't do that, Leon Blade."
"Well then, let's start... with the unicorn. I'm reincarnation-"
"You aren't. You're Leon Blade."
"You don't want to listen to the entire theory?"
"I'm not interested."
"The Human Emperor's class, then. I reckon it's because we're similar, at least in a few ways. You're also a kind woman, so it wouldn't be weird of you to give me the same class to save his slaves. You got your hands on Louise's card, knew she had amnesia, and was a hard-working and kind girl in her twenties, so she would never be the cause to turn me into an evil side. I'm also a human from the pacific world... But I guess you had seen through me and knew I would do my best to help her return to society and rebuild her confidence.
"I think you sent me close to Celes' location with the same idea, believing she'd be able to guide me... I don't know if I should thank you for that or if it was all random... Maybe you had it all calculated and even expected me to come here... Maybe you even expect my next words... The Human Emperor is alive, and so are the other three."
The sound of heel rang out as The Oracle took a step forward. She extended her hand forth, aiming to touch Leon's forehead.
Feeling like she wanted to erase his memories, Leon quickly lifted his hand and grasped her wrist. "I guess you can only calculate this much. You never expected me to enter the spirit realm, get a dragon, and see through her whole card information, learning about those five ancestors who had stolen the dragon's adaptation. Perhaps, you expected me to enter the spirit realm and tame the dragon...
"Had you thought that I would treat her gently?" Leon added more strength to his hand, tightly pressing The Oracle's wrist. "That I wouldn't abuse The Monster Collector's class to read her information and see through her hatred? That I would let her live with me and have her atone for her deed? You look down on me! Just because someone is beautiful, it doesn't mean I'll simply let them fuck me and my beloveds, then have her join my family as more than a slave! Yes, I'm not the same as The Human Emperor and turned her into an altruistic dragon maid! Yes, she made me fucking horny. But that's all... I'll get rid of that class today, take the best of it, and move forward. My own path. And you will help me with that... Because my theory is right."
Leon let her wrist go and glowered at The Oracle. "You must have used this time ability to see the future. I'm glad that you can't peek far ahead cus that would feel like we're toys in someone else's hands... Well, you aren't the son of Chronos... I mean, you aren't his daughter or the queen of a man that wields that power."
The Oracle's veil turned into countless golden butterflies, flying away and exposing her beautiful face.
Her expression was of shock and fury.
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