Holy light envelopes the world.
According to legend, this was the first oracle given by the Almighty God when the church was founded. In the turbulent war years, the first pope recited these words silently, held the faint shining holy light in his hand, and let it rise into the night sky in the dark age of mankind.
Since its establishment, the church has experienced thousands of years of development. From a poor relief organization in the eyes of the world, it has become a behemoth that dominates this continent. Three hundred years ago, the Hori Kingdom, which was established around the Holy See, was the most powerful country on the continent. Although the kingdom also has a royal family, everyone knows that the royal family is a puppet in the hands of the church and can only always lie at the feet of the god.
It can be said that every child born in this country is one of God’s people. From their baptism, to their wedding vows, to their death funeral, everything is inseparable from the infiltration of divine will. The church uses this method to control everyone's life.
There is no one who does not believe in the will of God, and there is no one who does not submit to the authority of the church.
As the original oracle, "Holy Light Envelops the World" has also been engraved in every corner of every church.
As the royal capital of the Kingdom of Hori, the only church in Havenlet and the heart of the church, St. Peter's Cathedral is naturally the same.
At this moment, Benjamin was sitting in a confessional in St. Peter's Basilica, looking at the words engraved on the wall.
"Holy light covers the world."
Of course, he didn't come to confess. As a new mage, according to the church, he was already a fallen person who was abused by the devil, a defective product abandoned by God. Confession meant nothing to him.
He came to see the bishop.
The Bishop of St. Peter's Basilica is seen by ordinary people as the administrator of day-to-day church affairs. But in fact, he is also responsible for the pursuit and cleansing of heretics, and controls the most elite force of the church - the "cleaners".
Benjamin wants to talk to him about Michelle.
He didn’t intend to tip off the church, nor did he want to help the church catch Michelle. To be honest, Benjamin didn’t bother to care about Michelle’s life or death right now. As a mage who has just entered the magic hall, the first thing he has to do is to improve his strength.
How do mages make themselves stronger
Neither Benjamin nor the system knew anything about this issue. If you want to know everything about the mage, the only clue is Michelle, or the church.
It was impossible for him to turn to Michelle, so the church was his best choice at the moment.
The church must have a lot of information about mages, and of course, it would definitely not give these things to him. The purpose of his coming here was to ask the Archbishop about Michelle's whereabouts and where she had been.
He still remembered what Anne said before she died: "Michelle, under the third tree in the old place, I buried all my precious things there. Remember to dig them out." Although these two The women had plotted against each other before, but he subconsciously felt that Anne's words were true.
He wanted to find where Michelle had been, what they called "the old place."
Many of the "precious things" Anne talks about must be related to magic. He wanted to find the place where they stayed, find the "third tree" while Michelle was still hiding from the limelight, and dig out Anne's belongings before Michelle.
These are the reasons why Benjamin came to the church. Although what Anne said might be a lie, and although it was unlikely that he could get any clues from Michelle from the archbishop, he had to give it a try no matter what. If this method doesn't work, he can also find a way through other channels.
In short, he is the kind of person who can't help but try even if he only has a little hope. Otherwise, that little hope will keep lingering in his mind, making it difficult for him to sleep or eat well.
He is not afraid that the church will be suspicious of him. His own memories have been extracted by the "cleaners", so the people in the church must be unsuspecting of him. How could they imagine that they would have two memories before and after the time travel
"Your Excellency Riese."
Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted Benjamin's thoughts.
Benjamin emerged from his reverie and turned his head. Through the gauze partition of the confessional, he vaguely saw a middle-aged man with a hooked nose sitting down at the other end of the confessional.
"Your Majesty the Bishop," he called quickly and respectfully.
He wanted to use the water element induction method he learned when he met the assassin to sense the bishop. However, when he thought that this was a church and that these people might have some strange magical skills, he held back for safety reasons.
"I am not a bishop. I am just a priest who is willing to listen to people's confessions and convey God's tolerance and grace to every repentant young man." There was an inhuman calm in the other person's voice, as if he had abandoned even humanity. Something dropped, "You mean, you have news about the devil's apostle and want to warn God, right?"
These religious people are really garrulous when they talk. Benjamin couldn't help but curse in his heart.
But of course he didn't show it, but said respectfully: "Yes."
The bishop paused for a moment and said thoughtfully: "So, the demon apostle who planted the curse on you has already started to contact you?"
Hearing this, Benjamin frowned.
Planting a curse
The bishop's casual words made him full of doubts, and his focus suddenly shifted from Anne's relics. Although what the other party said was a bit rhetorical, he still understood the meaning: he was cursed.
what's the situation? Did you miss any plot
Benjamin suddenly had a bad premonition.
"Oh, by the way, I seem to have forgotten to tell you." The system appeared and explained very appropriately, "Before Michelle ran away, she recited a very complicated spell to you, and then a dark red light flew in It hit your heart. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but now it seems like it was probably the curse he said.”
“…”
Being tricked by the system again, Benjamin felt speechless.
He wanted to yell at the system, "You didn't fucking tell me sooner," but he had said this too many times, and it was of no use. The system would still make mistakes when it should. Benjamin didn't even bother to be angry now, he had a feeling of "sure enough".
And now is not the time to argue with the system.
Curse?…
Sure enough, he knew that Michelle would not let him go so easily. He had been puzzled by Michelle's generous and uncharacteristic behavior before, but now, everything made sense. Michelle had no intention of giving up. She was like a poisonous snake, lurking temporarily in the darkness, patiently waiting for the moment of death.
Her intentions were obvious enough. She wanted to use this curse to threaten herself and make him obey Michelle's instructions and obtain the Lisse family's treasure trove for her. Benjamin, who was cursed, could only work as a horse for Michelle for the sake of his life.
What a fucking haunting!
However, Benjamin quickly came to his senses, and it was actually a surprise to know this from the bishop - if he knew it later, the situation would only be worse.
Thinking like this, he glanced at the hazy outline of the bishop next door, and immediately had another idea in his mind.
He calmed down his emotions, put on an extremely panic tone, and started his performance to the bishop in the cubicle:
"Yes, Lord... Lord Bishop, please save me! This morning, I... I was in my bedroom and found the letter that the witch gave me. It said... It said... Oh my God! Lord Bishop, she said this curse will kill me, please save me!"
Benjamin felt that his sudden burst of acting skills was pretty good, and the bishop didn't seem to have any doubts at all.
"Don't panic, God will protect you." The bishop still said calmly, "You can take a deep breath, and then slowly tell me what is written in that letter. The Lord will listen. Your voice."
Benjamin took a deep breath as the bishop said, and then continued: "That letter... that letter just told me that I was cursed by her, and told me to obey her instructions, otherwise I would die badly. Tragic. Then... Then she asked me to wait for further instructions, and said nothing else. Bishop, I don't want to die in her hands, please save me!"
The bishop still did not respond to Benjamin's "panicked" pleas for help. After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "Where is the letter? Did you bring it?"
Benjamin was already prepared for this: "No. The letter suddenly spontaneously ignited after I read it. There was not even a trace of ashes left. It almost burned my fingers. It was so scary."
The bishop fell silent for a moment, as if even he found it a bit difficult.
Benjamin observed the bishop for a moment. He felt that the preparation was almost complete, so he revealed the ultimate goal of his entire performance:
"Your Majesty, the power of God is endless. Can I ask God to break this evil curse for me?"
Although a small curse made him anxious, he knew that the church must be able to break the curse. Not only that, as the blessing of everyone in the secular world, the church has the obligation to relieve him of the curse, otherwise its credibility will definitely be damaged.
As long as the church unlocks the curse on him, all problems will naturally be solved.
Just a curse to make yourself obey? Michelle, what a beautiful thought!
However, the bishop's answer greatly disappointed Benjamin:
"This is not an ordinary curse. It contains very powerful demonic power. You know, on this continent, there are still countless people sinking in the shadow of demons. God has been fighting for it and can't spare his energy. Lift your curse. And slaves like us are even less capable of saving you from such an evil curse."
“…”
That sounds nice...
Benjamin still didn't give up and continued to ask: "But is there really nothing we can do? I serve God wholeheartedly and don't want to be manipulated by that evil witch!"
The bishop said: "You don't have to worry, God will always be watching you. As long as that witch continues to contact you, sooner or later there will be a day when the flaw is exposed. At that time, we will naturally appear and purify the evil witch, and you There’s no need to be afraid.”
Benjamin suddenly understood.
It turns out that it’s not that I can’t solve it, but that I don’t want to solve it. The church wants to keep this curse and use it as bait to catch the big fish Michelle, so it pretends to be so helpless.
These brainwashing hypocrites are really on the same page as Michelle.
Thinking about it this way, Michelle's scheming probably lies in this. She knew that the church could break the curse, but she also knew that if the church wanted to hunt her down, it would definitely not break the curse for Benjamin. Only under this mutual restraint could she let Benjamin go without any worries.
Because she knows that everything is still under her control.
These old fritters! One is better than the other!
Now Benjamin has completely given up. It is impossible for the church to break the curse for him, so he can only find a way on his own.
"Then, Lord Bishop, I would like to ask, do you know any clues about this witch? My family is also very angry with her and hopes to join the hunt and contribute to the cause of God."
Putting aside the curse for the time being, Benjamin once again returned to the purpose of his arrival - to find Michelle's "old place", dig out Anne's "treasure", and take the first step in learning magic.
If he got nothing from this trip to the church except the bad news that he was cursed, then he would really cry and faint in the toilet.
"When it comes to the power of the fallen, you are no longer able to participate. For your safety, everything should be left to God's servants to handle." Even if he refuses, the bishop can still speak perfectly. This is also It's a talent.
However, after hearing this, Benjamin was not disappointed.
The bishop's rejection had been expected. And he didn't give up. Instead, he further rounded up his reasons:
"Although no one in our family can compare with the Holy Knights of the church, we also have some channels among the people. We can find out some secret information, which will definitely be helpful. That witch is dedicated to guarding against God's pursuit. For those of us, Ordinary people may relax their vigilance. Don’t worry, Bishop, I will inform you as soon as there is news."
Benjamin's firm attitude seemed to surprise the bishop. After thinking for a moment, the bishop finally nodded.
"Since you are so firm in your will to the Lord, I will accept it on the Lord's behalf."
It seems that because Benjamin needs to be used to fish out Michelle, the other party seems to be very easy to talk to. Benjamin guessed that maybe from the bishop's perspective, giving Benjamin some insignificant clues could more placate Benjamin and make him obediently serve as the church's bait to catch the big fish like Michelle.
Of course, the bishop will definitely not give any important clues. He can only tell himself some outdated traces and other information, some insignificant information that is basically impossible for these ordinary people to come into contact with magic.
But from Benjamin’s perspective…
"Magic, here I come!"
He suppressed the intense joy and laughed in his heart.