Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 139: A strange development

The boy was not the first individual who was foolish enough to attack the fragment of truth. There had been other sacrifices in the past who had also attempted the same thing.

And every time, the results had been the same. Watching the spectacle, all believers, as well as the priests and priest candidates, raised their hands high and cheered in reverence.

"Haha, the glory of our Truth is magnificent no matter how many times I see it."

"May the truth continue to enlighten us all!"

"Praise the Truth!"

Their reaction was understandable, even though they had seen this happen before. After all, being able to rob an individual of the control they had over their own mana was something that was always considered impossible. Yet the pure white light could easily accomplish just that.

Even though Nelliel and Uncle Rolf weren’t cheering like most of the people present in the hall, they were no less impressed.

Judging by his reaction, the young boy had also realized the futility of his actions. The pure white light shone on his entire body just as it had on the previous sacrifices before they turned into dried-up husks.

...But what happened next was not something anyone in the hall had expected.

The pure white light suddenly rippled, and the source of that light—the fragment of their God—suddenly moved. It flew straight toward the boy’s chest at an incredible speed as its glow intensified.

And then... the fragment disappeared inside the boy’s body, as if fusing with him.

The boy’s entire body was suddenly enveloped in the same pure white light of the fragment, and a pained groan escaped his lips. But moments later, that glow also faded.

The ritual hall became deathly silent as everyone present in the hall—including the screaming sacrifices—froze mid-cheer or mid-scream.

Nelliel was not an exception either. Her head went blank, and she could only stare at the boy, dumbfounded.

The boy was looking at himself, and there was mild confusion on his expressionless face. It was as though he couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.

But Nelliel could perfectly grasp what had just occurred, and it was probably the same for every other believer or priest present in the hall.

...The fragment of their god had somehow fused with the boy.

***

The incident during the ritual caused a chaos that was never experienced in the cult’s history.

It was not surprising in the least. The symbol of their faith, as well as the object of their worship, had been lost. And no one knew the reason for that.

A meeting was hastily arranged to discuss the matter and decide on their next course of action.

The venue of the meeting was a dark room spacious enough to fit a large round table. Figures wearing bluish-black cloaks were sitting at the table. Rolf was one of those figures, sitting quietly, waiting for the meeting to start.

Nell couldn’t attend with him since she was only a priest candidate and not a priest. Not that it would’ve made much of a difference if that child had been here.

’Still, I expected them to invite her as well since she and I were the ones who brought that sacrifice.’

He glanced at the elderly man sitting at the table across from him. The man who would be personally overseeing this meeting.

The Prophet of Truth, Kodam.

His presence here alone was a telling sign of how important this meeting was.

The Prophet let out a light cough, as if to clear his throat, and slowly scanned the room with his gaze.

"It seems that every person who was supposed to attend this meeting is present. And so I announce the start of this meeting. The meeting’s agenda is to discuss the incident that occurred during the ritual and decide on our next course of action."

For a while, everyone simply looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak.

Then one of the priests suddenly began pulling his hair.

"It’s ruined; everything is ruined! We have lost the fragment; what are we even supposed to do now?!"

"Now ’lost’ is a strong word, don’t you think?" The priest sitting beside him interjected. "The fragment hasn’t gone anywhere; it has simply fused with a sacrifice for unknown reasons."

"Like hell it hasn’t been lost!" A priest suddenly stood up and shouted. "The fragment of Truth was devoured by that accursed sacrifice. We all saw how he tried to attack it with a spell but failed. So instead, he... he devoured it to save himself!"

Rolf frowned as he heard them talk.

’They are getting off-topic.’

One of the priests, someone relatively younger than the others, whispered to himself.

"That child... he is the Devourer of Truth."

But despite speaking in a low voice, most of the people sitting at the round table seemed to have heard him, causing their faces to turn red with anger as they began shouting accusingly.

"This bastard! Do you realize the blasphemy coming out of your mouth?!"

"How dare you say something like that?! Your words can’t be taken as anything but disrespectful or mockery toward our God! This is a grave offense, and we should take away his position as priest as punishment!"

"No! I say we lock him up and give him a good beating. This bastard is a heretic!"

Watching the discussion become more heated with every passing moment, Rolf couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.

’Looks like I have no choice but to step up.’

If he doesn’t turn the discussion back in the right direction, things will only get more out of hand, and more time will be wasted.

He turned to the Prophet and spoke in a respectful tone, all while making sure everyone heard him.

"Lord Prophet, I hope you forgive me for asking this, but could you tell us why you weren’t able to foresee this incident in advance?"

The Prophet looked back at him and calmly opened his mouth, as if to answer.

But before he could speak, a priest suddenly stood up and shouted angrily while pointing his finger at Rolf.

"You! What is your intention in asking that question, ’old man’?! Are you trying to shift all the blame to the Prophet?! How despicable!"

Rolf pressed his temples, trying his best to suppress his frustration.

’For the love of Truth, I am not an old man.’

He was barely in his thirties!

It was just that, unlike the elderly people like the Prophet whose hair and beard had turned white due to old age, Rolf possessed naturally white hair. It was something he had been born with.

He was just about to say something to calm the angry priest. But just then—

BAM!

The Prophet slammed his fist on the table, and the sound rang through the entire room. Everyone went quiet at the same time.

And just like that, the room became completely silent, just as before.

With a frown on his aged face, the Prophet scanned the room once again, meeting everyone’s gaze in the process.

Some of them even gulped as their eyes met the Prophet’s.

In the next moment, they all felt a pressure pressing down on their shoulders as the Prophet’s presence grew in size.

It was clearly a warning to stay seated and behave.

And then, the elderly man spoke in a tone that contained clear hints of anger.

"Shifting all the blame? Just what is wrong with you all?"