In Hariden's secret church, morning classes led by the priest were still going on.
“…Thank you God for the food you have given us, and pray that you will give joy to this world, keep us away from the pain of the world, and forgive the sins we were born with. Supreme God, thank you for the power of holy light you have given us. You are the sun that shines on all things. , let us offer you eternal praise... "
The priest on the podium is holding a Bible in his hand, looking straight ahead, and his voice is loud and calm. The apprentices on the seats clasped their hands and closed their eyes. Every time the priest said something, they recited it in unison.
Although it is underground, the light in the entire church is not dim at all. White candles are arranged in rows and surround people, creating a quiet and holy atmosphere.
In this atmosphere, the apprentices lowered their eyebrows. Every time they recited a sentence, the expressions on their faces seemed to be a little more pious, exuding a sense of peaceful joy from the inside out.
However, such a scene was almost something they had never thought of before. They were all natives of Carites, and most of them had never even come across the word "church" in their previous lives.
That's the case with Chris.
Born in Hareden, he was originally the son of a fisherman. He thought he would inherit his father's business and had never been curious about the outside world. However, a few years ago, my father died in a storm while out at sea. In grief, her mother fell ill and soon followed her father away, leaving only Chris, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, alive alone.
After this blow, he was unable to recover. He sold his family's fishing boat and house and joined the gangs in the city. He drank and gambled every day, smashed, looted and burned, living in a haphazard manner without thinking about what would happen in the future.
Until he was arrested and the priest appeared in front of him.
"With the evil deeds you have committed, you should have been thrown into prison and tortured long ago. But God is tolerant and opened another window for you. You have the talent of the Holy Light, and after studying, you can become a priest ,Do you want to?"
At that time, Chris's eyes were dull.
"God... Father?"
The other person nodded: "This is the talent and mission given to you by God. You are required to exercise God's will, eliminate evil in the world, and atone for the mistakes you have committed."
Chris looked somewhat conflicted: "But...but if God is watching everything, why did my father die in the waves and couldn't even find his body? Why didn't God reach out to my mother when she was seriously ill?" Did you give any help?"
The priest smiled and told him: "Because your parents have been saved."
As he said that, the other party waved his hand, and the bright holy light suddenly surrounded Chris. In the light.
In a daze, Chris felt like he had seen a scene.
—The parents stood in a sea of splendid flowers, their appearance remained the same, but they looked at him with disappointed eyes, as if he was the least promising son.
At that time he knelt down tremblingly.
Then, the priest waved his hand again, and the holy light dissipated, leaving only the calm eyes staring at him in front of Chris.
"Everything is God's test for you." The priest's voice was neither sad nor happy, "Your parents are waiting for you in heaven, but you failed to pass this test."
Hearing this, Chris showed a look of despair.
"Father, what should I do?"
"You still have a chance to regain salvation." The priest pulled him up and said gently, "Abandon the bad habits of the past, practice the Holy Light, and fulfill God's will. God is willing to give devout believers a second chance."
Chris shook the priest's hand. At that moment, he suddenly felt like he had woken up from the confusion of the past and saw the light of hope.
He nodded vigorously.
So, he came to this place.
At the beginning, he thought they would undergo rigorous training, but the first lesson in practicing magic surprised him - everyone sat together, stood up one by one, and told about the sins they had committed. , some people even talked about it until they burst into tears. After he finished speaking, others would give him friendly applause and say together: "God will forgive you."
When Chris finished telling his story for the first time and countless applause came towards him, his face was red and his whole body was shaking, as if all his past sins were forgiven at this moment and his whole person was reborn.
At that moment, he gained the courage to face life.
In the past, he never imagined that one day he would be able to go to bed on time, get up early in the morning, not drink at all, and be full of enthusiasm and longing for his future life. He simply seemed like a different person.
All these are changes brought to him by religion. Because of this, he even had an ideal in his heart - he wanted to lift Carites' ban on the church. So many people in the world who had lost their faith should not lose the chance of salvation because of the royal family's prejudice against the church.
Therefore, he devotes himself to studying every day like a soldier, hoping that one day he can spread God's grace to more people. And among this group of people, there are many who are as invested as him.
"Okay, that's it for today's morning class."
After the prayer, the priest on the podium closed his book, and the apprentices in the seats also opened their eyes.
However, just as the priest was about to continue what was going on, the church door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. At that moment, the breeze stirred up by opening the door caused the candlelight in the room to sway, as if the peaceful and holy atmosphere was suddenly broken.
The apprentices turned around in shock.
I saw two strange priests walking in.
"Wait... who are you? Why haven't I seen you?" The priest on the podium frowned, looked at the two priests who suddenly appeared, and asked.
The two priests clasped their hands together and replied: "Something has happened over there in Glory. The bishop has ordered you to rush there as soon as possible. We will be responsible for the courses here for the time being."
"Glory? How could..."
The priest who gave the lecture also looked very surprised and fell into deep thought.
"Time is running out, you'd better leave as soon as possible." The strange priest urged.
However, just as the lecturer touched his chin and fell into deep thought, his expression suddenly changed and he threw several crosses at the two priests.
In the blink of an eye, the cross shattered in mid-air and turned into a large swath of blazing holy light, as if it was about to evaporate the opponent directly.
At the same time, as soon as the lecturer finished throwing the cross, he turned around and ran away. He rushed towards the side door of the church, as if he wanted to take the opportunity to escape, without even taking a second look at the crowd of apprentices.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and the apprentices didn't even react.
However, as soon as the priest's hand touched the door handle, he suddenly stopped.
"Why are you running? Father, why doesn't your god come to save you?"
Following a slightly sarcastic remark, layers of ice mist emerged, completely surrounding the priest.
This ice mist seemed to have existed for a long time, and it was unknown when it was hidden near the side door. As soon as the lecturer rushed to the door, he was swarmed by ice fog and completely submerged. At that moment, the cross on his body broke into pieces and stretched out the shield, but it could not stop the extreme low temperature at all. It was as fragile as foam flying in the air.
Then, his whole body was frozen into an ice sculpture, maintaining a panicked expression and funny posture, and was frozen forever at the side door of the underground church.
"God, Father Father..."
The apprentices looked in disbelief, and some murmured.
"He is dead." The voice came from two strange priests.
The apprentices looked back in shock. I saw that the large piece of holy light that had just appeared had disappeared. The two strange priests were intact, with a calm face, not even the slightest wave.
Under the eyes of all the apprentices, the two men quickly took steps towards the podium, tearing off their white robes to reveal the dark robes underneath.
"They are mages!"
Someone shouted out.
When Benjamin heard this, he threw away the torn robe, walked up to the podium, grinned, and showed a smile to these apprentices.
"Yes, I am a mage." He put his hands on the table and said slowly, "I have to save you from the lies of the church before you fall too deep."
"You lied!" One of the apprentices suddenly stood up and pointed at Benjamin's nose, "You... you killed the priest, you villain, God will definitely punish you... you... this..."
"Shut up." Benjamin clapped his hands gently, "You are in too deep and there is no way you can save it."
The apprentice who stood up could not make any sound at this moment.
- He has turned into an ice sculpture, lifeless like the priest who lectured them.
Everyone was in an uproar.
"You have also seen that they are so devout, but God still does not save them." Benjamin continued, "There is no God in this world. The so-called God's will is just a lie deceived by the church to the world."
"You're talking nonsense!" Chris stood up at this moment and said angrily, "This... this is God's test for us, we will not believe you."
As they spoke, they chanted spells one after another and prepared to fight back.
Seeing this, Benjamin shook his head impatiently and clapped his hands again.
A gust of hot, moist wind blew past, causing the apprentices to groan in pain, and their singing was completely interrupted. At that moment, they only felt that the holy light that they could barely command around them was suddenly disrupted, and the connection they finally established was cut off.
Their brains ached, and they suffered the backlash of having their spell cast interrupted.
"The Holy Light will not obey orders just because you are pious enough. It has its own laws and is not interfered by will." Benjamin continued, "So, they are not the Holy Light given to you by God. They are the world. The own light element operates according to inherent laws. The so-called divine magic is just a branch of magic in the light system."
"God's will is too sacred to be tainted by you." Another apprentice recovered from the backlash and shouted loudly, "Damn devil, give up, we will not be bewitched by you!"
When Benjamin heard this, a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"Frank, it's your turn."
Frank, who was standing behind him, heard this, nodded, and stepped forward.
Under everyone's gaze, he first stretched out his left hand and recited the fireball spell. In the blink of an eye, a blazing fireball the size of a human head appeared in his left hand.
The apprentices suddenly became quiet, staring at Frank's behavior, like a defendant in a court waiting for sentencing.
At this time, Frank also stretched out his right hand.
A mantra that all apprentices were very familiar with came from his mouth. Then, in the underground church, the holy light they were more familiar with suddenly surged and converged on Frank's right hand.
In the blink of an eye, a holy light bullet the size of a fireball appeared in his right hand.
Frank held the fireball in his left hand and the holy light in his right hand. He stood high on the podium, like an extremely precise scale, measuring the weight of the so-called faith.
"Humans are fragile creatures, and they inevitably need the support of some lies to find the courage to live." Benjamin also spoke at this time, slowly saying, "But when you become strong enough, lies can only become a stumbling block for you. .”
At this moment, nearly a hundred apprentices in the church fell into complete silence.