Chapter 781 Dealing With The Divine Army Of Light [Part 1]
After Vera returned the Guardianship to Dracul, she left the Necromancer's Ancestral Lands with Lux and Gaap and returned to the outer reaches.
The Half-Elf wanted to visit his Guild Headquarters first before returning to Solais with his grandma to surprise his stepfather and Iris.
When red-headed teenager asked his grandma if she wanted to join his Guild, Vera agreed to it without a second thought.
When they arrived, they saw Bentley and his Merchant Guild, currently hard at work to build Lux's town.
Such a massive undertaking was impossible to complete in such a short period of time. But seeing that the framework of the town was starting to form, the Half-Elf was quite excited to see what it would look like once everything was finished.
"Lux, we need to talk," Gaap said. "It's about the Divine Army of Light."
"Understood," Lux replied. "Can my Grandma come and listen as well?"
Gaap nodded. "I don't mind. Actually, I'd prefer if she was there."
The three then headed to the Conference Room of the Guild's Headquarters so that no one would disturb their conversation.
"First and foremost, let me tell you what the Divine Army of Light is all about," Gaap stated. "They are not only a religious organization, but they're also a massive Military Alliance that involves many great nations throughout Elysium. Their goal is to safeguard the safety and welfare of the common people, and thus, target those who they deem that could potentially break the peace of the world."
A sneer appeared on Gaap's face before he continued his explanation.
"At the beginning, they did what their Alliance was supposed to do and safeguarded its members," Gaap said. "However, as they grew powerful and their influence reached far and wide, they started to have thoughts that, perhaps, they could make every Kingdom and Empire, who had a Saint, or better yet, a Supreme, become one of their members.
"And they had succeeded in doing so. Many Saints have joined their ranks, bolstering their Army of Fanatics that actively hunt down Heretics, like Necromancers and others whom they judged to be a variable that stands in their way.
"Still, the Divine Army of Light only had one Supreme, which is none other than its founder. Currently, that person is seriously injured and is still recovering from his injuries. You see, if someone who stood at the apex of the world received a serious injury, it definitely isn't something that can be cured by ordinary Elixirs and Panacea.
"Depending on the severity of the injury, a Supreme might spend years or decades, slowly recovering from it. Simply put, ordinary medicines and potions no longer work on them. Because of this, the Divine Army dared not offend any organization that had a Supreme backing them.
"One mistake and everything they built would crumble like a sand castle being hit by the waves."
Gaap paused in order to allow Lux to digest everything he had said so far. Vera, who was seated beside her grandson, already knew about these things, so she simply remained silent and allowed the Halfling to continue his explanation.
"When they were hunting my Master a long time ago, they spread the news that she was an evil entity and branded her a Heretic," Gaap's tone had started to have a semblance of anger in it as he continued his tale. "You see, my Master usually went to places where people were suffering or had suffered from plagues, natural calamities, war, famine, and other events that caused people hardship.
"Since she was striving to become a Heaven's Necromancer, she thought that doing good things would help increase her good Karma, allowing the world to grant her wish. That High King of Lunaria, who had tried to kill you, was one of the people that my Master helped.
"That bastard, who had tried to court my Master but had been rejected multiple times, was one of the first people who turned his back on her when the Divine Army of Light branded her a Heretic.
"Everywhere we went, there would always be an agent of the Divine Army who alerted their organization about our whereabouts. We managed to escape each time they sent Hunters to hunt us, but an unfortunate accident happened."
"However, I was so preoccupied with finding the best gift for her that I didn't notice that many hours had passed since I arrived in the city. Just as I found the perfect gift Gaap's face was filled with guilt as he told the Half-Elf why Hereswith died.
"One day, when we were on the outskirts of a city, I decided to buy something for Master because it was her birthday. I only planned to shop for a short while so that I wouldn't be discovered by the agents of the Divine Army.
"However, I was so preoccupied with finding the best gift for her that I didn't notice that many hours had passed since I arrived in the city. Just as I found the perfect gift for her, the Hunters captured me and held me hostage as bait to get Master to appear."
Gaap lowered his head in shame. To this day, the guilt he felt about being the reason Hereswith died had not gone away. Even after seeing her for a brief moment in the Necromancer's Ancestral Lands, the Halfling still hadn't forgiven himself for the things that happened in the past.
"Back then, I wished that I was the one who had died," Gaap said softly. "Master had Antero, so even if all the Saints attacked her at once, she would be able to deal with them easily. But because I was captured, they forbade her from summoning him in battle.
"My Master fought with everything she had, even successfully retrieving me in the process... We managed to escape, but her injuries were severe, so our speed was slow.
"In fact, it only took the Hunters half a day to find us and deal my Master the finishing blow. I can still remember that day when I close my eyes. My Master's birthday was also the day of her death, and it was all my fault."
Lux listened silently as Gaap poured out his heart, his guilt, hurts, and sadness that he had been enduring for many years.
'Now I understand why Grandmaster Hereswith said that my Master longed for revenge,' Lux thought. 'Perhaps, Master thought that by avenging her, the mistake he had made in the past would allow him to be forgiven by her when they met in the afterlife.'
The Half-Elf pondered for a bit before saying something to the Halfling, causing the latter to raise his head.
"Actually, Grandmaster's soul is within the World Tree in the Ancestral Lands," Lux said. "She said that one of her closest friends, a Seer, told her that her life was in great danger, and there was a high chance that she would die. Because of this, she made preparations beforehand and made it so that her soul would return to the Ancestral Lands after her death."
Gaap smiled bitterly after hearing Lux's explanation. "I'm not sure if that is really her or just the will she left behind. But knowing my Master, there is a possibility that she really did something like that.
"Even so, the fact that she couldn't materialize completely is proof that her Soul is incapable of leaving the World Tree. Although I feel better that she still exists in some form, that doesn't lessen the guilt I am feeling right now."
Gaap sighed deeply before looking at his Disciple with a solemn expression on his face.
"The reason why I am telling you this is because of what happened in the past," Gaap stated. "I'm pretty sure that the Divine Army will brand you as a heretic and spread this news throughout the territories under their influence.
"Soon, it will reach this place, for Karshvar Draconis is the Kingdom that floats at the center of the world. Although the Dragon King isn't a member of the Divine Army of Light, he might not do anything if their members come knocking on your doors here in the Outer Reaches."
Lux narrowed his eyes. He fully understood what his Master was trying to say. His Guild had yet to make its mark on the world, and the people who wanted to destroy him were already making their move to find his whereabouts.
Although the target of the Divine Army was only him, it was highly possible that they would target his family, friends, and even his Guild, which was still incapable of fighting a behemoth that had dozens of Saints under its command.
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