[Vol. 7] Chapter 88: The Second ‘Church of Truth’
As she watched the two tree spirit race adventurers gradually disappear into the forest, the black-haired girl casually pulled a reclining chair from her backpack. Stretching lazily under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, she lay back as if she were on vacation at the beach, completely at ease.
"Pfft... Haven't even seen the main course yet, and we already got served a big appetizer. With this level of mysterious power, no wonder the Adventurers’ Guild is almost powerless against it..."
"What do you think, [Shadow]?"
As soon as she spoke, a dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind her. In an instant, the figure transformed into a short-haired girl with bluish-gray hair, dressed in a tight black bodysuit. Two slender swords, one long, one short, were strapped to her back. Kneeling on one knee, she concealed her slim figure entirely within the priestess’s elongated shadow. Her voice remained calm.
"The situation here has indeed gone beyond what ordinary people can handle. Your Highness Violet, should we call for reinforcements?"
"Reinforcements?"
The girl reclining on the chair blinked in surprise before letting out a small chuckle.
"What reinforcements are you talking about? Forget that the Austre Empire isn't like the Human United Kingdom, we're basically on our own here. Even if we were over there, we have four legendary-ranked fighters right here, including you, me, and the tree siblings. If even we can't handle this, what good would sending more regular people do?"
"......"
[Shadow] parted her lips slightly as if wanting to say something, but she quickly suppressed the urge. Instead, she bowed her head even lower, despite knowing that the girl in front of her wouldn’t even be able to see her expression from that angle.
"Understood. Apologies, Your Highness. I misspoke."
"Alright, no need to be so stiff. More importantly, did you find anything? You came all this way to see me. Does that mean there's been progress in the investigation?"
The girl gave a slight nod.
"Based on the information you provided, we reached out to 48 strongholds within the Austre Empire. Using our connections, we've found some traces of activity related to the ‘Church of Truth.’"
"Based on intelligence gathered from multiple informants, we can now confirm that this is a long-established, mid-sized religious sect that was originally active within the Holy Empire at the center of the world."
"Around 300 years ago, during the Third Demon War, the prolonged and brutal conflict. Along with the Goddess Church’s move to consolidate divine authority in order to resist external threats, impacted many religious groups within the Holy Empire. As a result, the Church of Truth was forced to migrate eastward to escape the chaos."
"During their escape, for reasons still unknown, the group split into two factions. One part chose to continue eastward, crossing the sea, and was never heard from again. The other settled in the southeastern region of the Austre Empire, where they almost entirely ceased missionary activities and were believed to have disbanded."
"But over the past six months, this sect has suddenly resurfaced. Their faith is spreading at an astonishing pace, yet in a highly secretive manner. Signs of their activity have now been observed in multiple provinces across the Austre Empire."
"Here are the detailed reports, Your Highness."
Shadow finally stood up and stepped to the side of the recliner, presenting a thick stack of freshly compiled documents with both hands, offering them respectfully to the black-haired girl.
"So they split into two… Interesting. A sect that worships the same deity, why would they divide?"
That aside, Lilya’s subordinates are quite capable. Digging up events from 300 years ago in just a few days… Seems like I underestimated the power of the Human United Kingdom.
Violet had encountered the Church of Truth once before, during the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] in the Ancient Spirit Realm. According to the testimony of a captured cultist at the time, their forced eastward migration had indeed been triggered by the shifting power dynamics within the Holy Empire centuries ago.
Violet had used the [Sword of Origin] to rewrite a part of the Holy Empire’s history, but the changes were minimal. She removed the potential threat posed by Faith-based Magic, which had an unclear origin, and replaced it with another similar power. However, to prevent the world’s balance from shifting drastically due to the butterfly effect, the events of 300 years ago had to be restored as closely as possible.
The Goddess Church was still the Goddess Church. It hadn’t reverted to its original form just because faith-based magic disappeared. Even the Light Worshipper Church, which had mysteriously risen in power, still existed. The only difference was that the [Church of the Light Seekers] had voluntarily changed its name to [Goddess Church] over 300 years ago, following the so-called divine revelation of the Goddess and the development of a new holy magic system.
Well… it was a bit strange, but there was no way around it.
Violet hadn’t had time to fully investigate the details, but just like in the original timeline, the [Church of the Light Seekers] had undergone major structural changes during that war. The Three Saintesses relinquished some of their power, leading to the formation of the Sacred Order and the Holy Light Magic System. This strengthened the Holy Empire’s military capabilities and made divine authority more centralized and rigid.
It was clear that the Church of Truth had been suppressed because of this shift, forcing them to abandon their original stronghold and migrate eastward to the Austre Empire.
However, the cultist Violet had encountered in the Ancient Spirit Realm was clearly not a high-ranking member. He only knew part of the story and was unaware that not all of the cultists had crossed the sea. Some had stayed behind in their homeland.
But what caused the internal split in their leadership?
And then there was the name Church of Truth. At first glance, it seemed like a sect devoted to the [God of the Azure Sea and Truth]. But that didn’t quite add up. Surst’s domain was over the seas, and he had been dead for over a thousand years. So how did a religion dedicated to him emerge within the Holy Empire?
There had to be more to this than met the eye. Hopefully, these documents would shed some light on the matter.
“No matter what, you’ve done well.”
Violet lifted her hand slightly, and the thick stack of documents floated into the air as if guided by an invisible force, landing smoothly in her grasp.
Shadow lifted her head slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing through her eyes, but she quickly suppressed her emotions. Maintaining her respectful, kneeling posture, she spoke in a calm and composed manner.
"This is simply part of the Shadow Guard’s duties. Does Your Highness have any other instructions?"
Flipping through the documents casually, the black-haired girl waved a hand dismissively.
"For now, that’s all… Oh, right. I won’t be returning to the Layla City for quite some time. You don’t need to keep running back and forth either, just stay by my side as Lilya suggested. You saw those two adventurers earlier. Do you think you can stay hidden from them?"
"Of course."
Several hours passed. By the time afternoon arrived, Enrique and Sophie finally returned to the designated meeting point, covered in dust from their search of the surrounding area. They reunited with Violet, who had already finished reviewing the documents and still appeared to be alone.
Naturally, their efforts had been in vain. Violet had long since used SP scanning to sweep the entire area and had confirmed that no signs of human activity would be found unless they crossed the nearby mountain range, nearly ten kilometers away, where another village’s territory began.
After verifying the situation and confirming their initial suspicions, the two legendary adventurers could only give up. They settled for a simple meal from their rations, then rested in place, waiting with Violet for the moment when things would change.
Time passed slowly. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky darkened, and the bright Three Moons and countless stars rose once again.
Night had fallen.
And then, at a certain moment—
"!"
All three adventurers reacted at the same time. Sophie was the first to move, rolling forward with astonishing agility, far beyond what a shield warrior should be capable of. Without hesitation, she raised her shield in front of herself and Violet.
"Haa!"
A moment later, three sharp, diamond-shaped throwing darts were silently stuck in the large wooden shield covered in vines.