Chapter 912: Chapter 911: Aberration
A strong stench of blood filled his nostrils, causing Bishop Fernanco, who had just stepped into the room, to instinctively furrow his brows and display a serious expression.
As someone who had personally been to the battlefield and who still adheres to the creed of the War God, assisting local pioneering knights to eliminate monsters every year, he was all too familiar with this aura.
The other two priests in the room noticed the arrival of the District Bishop and quickly and silently stepped aside. Fernanco’s gaze moved past them, slowly sweeping over the spacious priest Resting Room.
The scene in the room was clear at a glance—bed, table, and chairs were arranged as usual. On the north side, against the wall, there was a shrine symbolizing the War God. On the floor in front of the shrine was a large pool of blood that had not yet fully coagulated, and in the center of the blood pool was a mass of flesh so mixed that its original shape was completely unrecognizable.
In that horrifying mass of flesh, many fiber-like things could be seen connecting it together, as if in the process of forming some kind of fascia. Fine hair spread out from some gaps in the flesh, thick and thorny like brambles, with many fragments of completely corroded clothing scattered around this dreadful scene of death. Bloodstains splattered in stars over a three-meter-square area outside the blood pool.
Even the War God Bishop, accustomed to bloody and bizarre scenes, couldn’t help but feel a genuine thrill of horror in the face of this scene.
"Your Excellency Fernanco," a priest approached and said, "we salute you, may your heart be as steel."
"Heart as steel, my compatriot," Fernanco nodded to the priest, his gaze returning to the scene of death in the center of the room, and asked solemnly, "When was this discovered?"
"At dawn, a night-watch priest first noticed the anomaly and sounded the alarm."
"Where is that priest?" Fernanco frowned, "Bring him to me."
"The priest..." the priest beside him had a strange expression, "his condition is somewhat unstable. We just used a strong mental calmespell to calm him down—I worry he might lose control again, or even attack you."
Fernanco shook his head. "No matter, I am also skilled in mental soothing—bring him."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The priest left promptly, and moments later, footsteps could be heard approaching from outside the door, accompanied by a voice muttering fearfully and repetitively. Fernanco looked towards the sound and saw two Church Attendants supporting a young man in a regular Cleric’s Robe walking into the room. The condition of the newcomer made the District Bishop immediately frown—
The poor soul was trembling all over, his face as pale as that of a corpse, with beads of sweat covering every inch of his skin, and a layer of murky, slightly blood-tinged shadow clouding his eyes. He had clearly lost his sanity, muttering incoherently the entire way, and only when one moved closer could those fragmented words be heard:
"War God’s protection... protection... heart like steel, heart like steel, surviving hundreds of battles unscathed... War God’s protection... I have converted, I have converted..."
This pitiable man had been mumbling from start to finish, seemingly oblivious to the District Bishop standing before him. It wasn’t until several seconds later that his unfocused gaze suddenly noticed the scene behind the District Bishop, and the lifeless mass of flesh seemed to instantly trigger his deepest fear. He emitted a scream almost impossible for a human to produce, wrenching himself free from the grips of the two strong Attendants and lunging towards Fernanco, the closest person to him, while shouting an increasingly distorted fervent prayer: "In the name of God! Eradicate the heretics! In the name of..."
The surrounding priests cried out in alarm, but Fernanco merely sidestepped slightly, grabbing the deranged priest by his clothing with his hand, and pulling him back while his other elbow struck out forcefully. With a muffled thud, the out-of-control priest slumped unconscious to the floor, defenseless.
Only then did the priests beside him react, rushing forward in a fluster: "Your Excellency Fernanco! Are you all right?"
"I’m fine, but he might need a few days of rest," Fernanco waved a hand dismissively, frowning deeply as he looked at the unconscious priest on the ground, "...take him away."
The Attendants immediately removed the unconscious priest from the scene, while Fernanco let out a heavy sigh. Beside him, a priest couldn’t help but ask: "Your Excellency, what do you make of this?"
"Has that priest been like this the whole time? Constantly praying, constantly invoking our Lord... and mistaking our regular church compatriots for heretics?"
"Yes, that’s how he was when we first found him," the priest replied immediately. "He was discovered collapsed at the door of the room, already in a state of madness, almost killing an Attendant. Yet no method of inspection could find traces of mental erosion or soul curses... it seems like he acted out of sheer will in a frenzy."
Fernanco nodded gravely, then asked again: "Who else knows about this incident?"
The priest thought for a moment: "Aside from those in the church, only you have been notified—oh, the Earl may have caught wind of it too, though he probably doesn’t know what exactly happened inside the church. But the fact that we sent out an urgent messenger and sealed off the church by daybreak can scarcely be hidden from the Earl’s attention."
Fernanco’s brows furrowed more tightly; the situation was developing in a direction he most dreaded, yet everything was now irreversible. He had to force himself to focus on the incident itself—the mass of flesh on the ground was evidently the minister who met a grisly end inside the church, none other than Priest Costo of this church. He knew this Priest, aware that he was a powerful Transcendent, not one to be killed without resistance even by a high-ranking assailant. Yet the entire room bore no signs of a struggle, no residual aura of combat magic...
The flesh was located in front of the War God’s shrine, where some uncorroded fabric pieces still remained, besides clothing, what’s left should be prayer mats... In addition to the short piece of candle left in front of the shrine, the remaining incense in the vessel, and the open Prayer Book on the table, these only suggest a disconcerting conclusion:
The deceased War God Priest seemed to have been in the middle of a normal prayer to the gods when... he was suddenly melted by his own flesh.
Fernanco believed he wasn’t the only one to surmise this chilling possibility; he could see the dense gloom on everyone’s faces.
Adding the priest who went mad from witnessing the scene firsthand only made the bizarreness of the entire affair more unsettling.
"Bishop," a priest couldn’t help but speak, "what do you think happened to Priest Costo?"
"...It is possible that a very powerful evil spirit attacked our saintly temple, disrupting Priest Costo’s prayer ceremony, distorting the ritual’s focus and tainting the priest’s soul," Fernanco said solemnly, "but this is just my personal speculation, and if such a powerful evil spirit really appeared in town, this matter would have to be reported to the archdiocese..."
"The Count’s Manor will likely send someone soon to inquire about the situation," another priest said, "how should we respond?"
Fernanco pondered briefly—as a District Bishop, he was very reluctant for this matter to be exposed to powers outside of the church, especially in drawing attention from the royal family and their vassals. Since Rosetta Augustus’s enthronement, the Typhon Royal Family had been tightening policy on various churches, and after countless covert and overt confrontations, the present Sect of the God of War had already lost many privileges. The War God Priests in the military had been transformed from independent theocratic representatives to "combat aides" subordinate to Noble Officers. Even in normal circumstances, this was the case—if today’s events were made public, it would likely become a new pretext for the royal family to further tighten policy...
But this matter couldn’t be hidden, they must give the administrators of this region an account.
"Clean the scene thoroughly and use Holy Oil and flames to purify these twisted beings," Fernanco instructed the person beside him. "A soul-devouring monster parasitized a human to infiltrate the church. Priest Costo discovered it and engaged in a deadly battle, ultimately perishing together. However, due to the monster’s corrosion, the priest’s remains were unsuitable for display. To maintain the dignity of the fallen priest, we purified the priest’s remains before dawn, allowing him to return to the Lord’s kingdom—this is the whole truth."
The priest beside him lowered his head, "Yes, Your Excellency."
Fernanco nodded, then glanced again at the horrific scene in the room. A vague sense of unease and disgust welled up from within, and he instinctively placed his hand on his chest, his right fist gently clenched as if holding a sword. He silently began a prayer in his mind: "War God bless me, my heart is like steel, surviving hundreds of battles, flesh is weak, only steel is eternal, not to fall into hell, I have converted..."
As he prayed, his mood gradually calmed, and the divine power descended silently, once again bringing him comfort.
...
That afternoon.
A confidential report, transcribed by intelligence officials and sent from the communication Tower, was delivered to the desk. Emperor Rosetta Augustus casually opened it and skimmed over it, and his usually somber, stern face instantly became even more severe.
Sitting beside him, assisting with governance, Matilda immediately noticed the change in her father’s expression and instinctively asked, "Did something happen?"
"Another War God priest has died, cause unknown," Emperor Rosetta Augustus said. "The local church reported that a soul-devouring monster infiltrated the church, and the fallen priest died while fighting the monster. But no one has seen the priest’s body, and no one has seen the monster’s ashes, only a battle scene whose authenticity is uncertain."
Matilda’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her tone became serious: "This seems to be the sixth time in half a month..."
"Yes, the sixth time," Rosetta said in a deep voice. "Cause of death unknown, the body disposed of in advance, evidence full of doubts..."
"The churches must be hiding something!" Matilda couldn’t help but say. "Six consecutive strange priest deaths, distributed in different churches... The news has already leaked to some extent, yet they have never directly responded to the royal inquiries. What is the Sect of the God of War up to?"
"Indeed, six churches, spread in different places... The two furthest apart are even at the Empire’s northern and southern borders. This isn’t a typical ’attack’... There’s no force within the Empire capable of such widespread attacks, nor could it be coincidental monster raids."
"The most suspicious thing is that those churches are clearly hiding something," Matilda said, then shook her head. "Unfortunately, under current Empire law, we can’t search the churches based solely on suspicion..."
Rosetta nodded, "We must uphold the laws we’ve established. It is the foundation of royal authority, but... necessary investigations remain indispensable. You should visit the Sage Hall soon and engage with Malm. He probably won’t tell you anything - as the War God Pope, he hasn’t proactively discussed any strange priest deaths with me yet, but I believe with your acumen, you might observe something."
Matilda nodded, "Alright, Father."
Rosetta then pondered for a moment, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and spoke quietly to an empty spot, "Diana."
A composed woman in a black maid’s outfit emerged from an unnoticed corner, calmly looking at Emperor Rosetta Augustus.
He nodded to her, "Send out Wanderers to investigate the places mentioned in this confidential report. Remember, keep the actions secret, avoid conflict with the church, and don’t contact local officials."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The woman in the black maid’s outfit bowed slightly, took the paper slip handed over by Rosetta, then silently returned to the shadows as she appeared.
When the room fell into silence again, Matilda broke it, "Father, what do you think... is happening?"
Emperor Rosetta Augustus sat quietly on his high-backed chair, lost in thought as the setting sun descended. After half a minute, he sighed lightly, "I don’t know, but I hope it’s all just targeting the Sect of the God of War’s ’assault’..."
Matilda looked unexpectedly at her father.
In her memory, seeing her father exhibit such near-powerless demeanor could be counted on one hand.
But in the end, she said nothing, just nodded lightly.
...
At dusk, Daniel returned to his residence.
The young Mage apprentice Mary was tidying up the living room. Upon seeing the mentor, she immediately approached with a faint smile, "Mentor, you’ve come back so early today?"
"There’s nothing in the lab for now, so I came back," Daniel glanced at his apprentice. "Weren’t you supposed to be taking the technicians to the War God’s Grand Cathedral for Magic Web modifications? Why are you home at this time?"
"We went there, but the priests at the Grand Cathedral suddenly said the area we were working on needs to be temporarily sealed off—the project was postponed to another time."
Upon hearing the apprentice’s words, Daniel immediately frowned, "You mean, they suddenly drove you out?"
"Sort of..." Mary said casually but soon noticed the mentor’s expression seemed to convey deeper meaning. "Mentor, is there a... problem?"
Daniel pondered for a moment, his expression somewhat stern, "I’m not sure yet, but I’ve heard some rumors lately that the Sect of the God of War seems to be having issues... Maybe we need to report to the master."
