Elias woke up with a start.
His back was completely soaked with sweat.
When his vision refocused, a dozen heads were looking down at him from above.
"Whoa!"
Elias jumped, startled by the circle of people.
In the center of the onlookers, a middle-aged man in pristine white clerical robes stood out.
He looked to be in his forties, his hair combed meticulously, with a gold-rimmed monocle perched on his face.
"He's awake!"
a familiar-looking acolyte shouted, relief evident in his tone.
"My brother,"
the middle-aged man with the monocle spoke.
His voice was steady, but the content of his words was absurd to Elias.
"Sleeping is not allowed here."
"?"
Elias pushed himself up from the floor, his mind still a bit hazy, but that didn't stop him from complaining wildly in his head.
Seriously? You think I came here just to sleep?
How sleep-deprived would I have to be to just lie down in a hallway and pass out?
Truly, the people of this world were all a bit off.
Plus, this guy didn't look like someone to be trifled with.
"My apologies,"
Elias decided to play along.
"I was just too tired."
To his surprise, those words seemed to flip a strange switch.
The middle-aged man, who had looked so serious, had his eyes light up the moment he heard that.
"Humor!"
He clapped his hands sharply, as if a connoisseur had just found a masterpiece.
"You understand humor!"
He reached out enthusiastically, pulling Elias up from the ground and even thoughtfully brushing the dust off his trench coat.
"Too many people here don't understand humor; they keep a stiff face all day, thinking that's what piety looks like."
The man shook his head with a sigh.
"But you—under my serious humor just now, you didn't show any worldly surprise or cowardice. Instead, you matched my humor with an equally ridiculous reason!"
"That is a state of being!"
"That is spiritual transparency!"
"..."
Elias opened his mouth, looking at the middle-aged man lost in self-intoxication, and found himself speechless.
Seriously, is this guy normal?
"It is a pleasure to meet you, fellow ascetic."
Without even asking for Elias's name, the man straightened his collar and introduced himself.
"I am the bishop of this diocese, Raymond Sage."
"I don't believe I've seen you before."
"But since we both bask in the light of the Moon Lord, you must visit often in the future. Come chat with me about the art of humor whenever you have time!"
"Heh, sure."
Elias gave a dry laugh, wanting nothing more than to escape this awkward place.
However, Bishop Raymond's tone suddenly shifted without warning.
"However..."
His smiling eyes locked onto Elias.
"Just now, I sensed an extremely massive spiritual fluctuation right here."
"An intensity of at least Scale Seven."
"That is power approaching a Divine Attendant."
"You were at the center of it. Do you have any idea what happened?"
Elias's heart constricted violently.
Scale Seven?!
Although he had guessed the black-haired lady was strong, he hadn't expected her to be that ridiculous.
What did Scale Seven even mean?
According to Edmond Russell's explanations, the limit for human transcendents was usually considered Scale Seven.
Anything beyond that was the realm of non-humans, the domain of mythical creatures.
And that woman just now was a living legend?
And even so, she was just running an errand for someone else.
Exactly what kind of existence had its eyes on him?!
The problem was, he was just a Scale One nobody.
The most valuable thing he owned was that elemental revolver.
He had no value, and even his faith in the Moon Lord was a recent fabrication.
What made him so special?
Or did his original body have some incredible background?
Background my ass!
He quickly dismissed that absurd thought.
At that moment, Elias subconsciously slipped his hand into his trench coat pocket, his fingers touching a cold, smooth object.
The bone flute.
It was real.
How strange.
Something that felt like it was given to him in a dream was now actually in his hand.
"I don't know,"
Elias took a deep breath, his face showing a perfect blend of confusion and fear.
"I... I saw a lot of strange things just now."
He decided to spin a lie that was half-true.
"Bishop, to be honest, I've been cursed by a damn dream demon. Lately, I've been having all sorts of ridiculous hallucinations."
"Just now, everything went black, and then I saw some messy lights and shadows."
At this point, Elias paused, looking at Raymond with a hint of hope in his eyes.
"Since you are a bishop, you must be very knowledgeable."
"Do you have a way to resolve this curse?"
He was trying his luck.
If this guy really considered him a kindred spirit of humor, maybe he could score a free exorcism.
"Oh? A dream demon curse?"
Bishop Raymond raised an eyebrow, his expression turning playful, as if he were scrutinizing him.
"Then I truly feel sorry for you. That is indeed a troublesome little nuisance."
A meaningful curve appeared at the corner of the man's mouth.
"As a bishop, I can certainly help you remove this curse."
"For the Ascetic Society, this isn't a difficult task."
"However—"
Raymond leaned in a step, a cold glint flashing on his monocle.
"You must first tell me exactly what kind of hallucination you saw just now."
"Did someone say something to you?"
"Or tell you to do something?"
Elias's heart sank.
As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
This bishop might look eccentric, but it was only a facade.
He had clearly sensed that the arrival of that entity was related to Elias and wanted to fish for information.
Should he tell him?
Absolutely not.
Things as private as a promotion ritual and the bone flute definitely couldn't be shared with outsiders!
Looking at this man who appeared kind but was actually pressing him at every step, Elias felt a wave of immense pressure again.
One wrong answer could be fatal.
Elias's mind raced.
"I saw a Scale Seven spell!"
"In the hallucination, the sky was filled with the terrifying light of such a spell. It scared me so much my legs went weak."
He was gambling—gambling that these clergymen's reverence for high-level power would outweigh their suspicion of him.
Since the guy might have already figured something out, he might as well tell a tall tale!
Why the hell isn't Edmond Russell saying anything now?!
Flaking out at the critical moment, are we?
Elias called out frantically in his mind, but there was only dead silence on the other end.
The 【Mental Message】 seemed to have been cut off.
He could only bite the bullet, forcing an awkward but polite smile.
Bishop Raymond watched him silently, the smile on his face gradually fading.
The disappointment was palpable.
"I see!"
He let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"You are dishonest."
"Brother, humor is an expression of wisdom, but lies are a stain on spirituality."
"The Ascetic Society does not welcome dishonest brothers."
The good brother act from moments ago vanished instantly.
Raymond waved his hand, his face turning cold as frost.
"Escort him out."
As soon as he finished speaking, two acolytes immediately stepped forward, grabbing Elias by the arms without a word.
"This way, sir."
Their movements were extremely firm.
Elias was dragged outward, his heels scraping against the floor.
Yet, this sudden expulsion gave him a sense of relief, as if he had just survived a disaster.
Even though the bishop knew he was lying, he only chose to kick him out.
There had to be a reason for that.
Perhaps it was related to that woman?
Bishop Raymond had already turned around, leaving only a cold back.
It wasn't until he was hauled out of the heavy cathedral doors that Elias was released.
"I can walk myself!"
He straightened his ruffled trench coat, pretending to be indignant.
He needed to leave this place of trouble immediately.
If he stayed any longer, he feared people from the Seventh Agency would arrive.
If he ran into that smiling tiger of a bishop while they were there, he’d be caught in the middle.
Watching Elias mutter and walk quickly into the depths of the woods, Bishop Raymond stood by a window on the top floor of the cathedral, his hands behind his back and his gaze deep.
Beside him, a young priest asked in confusion:
"Bishop, we're just letting him go?"
"That spiritual fluctuation clearly came from his vicinity."
"Why not detain him for a thorough interrogation?"
Raymond shook his head slightly.
"It's not that simple."
"The spiritual aura on that fellow is too cluttered."
"He has that decaying scent of the Abysis, a trace of the Dawn Lady's primal fire, and even an extremely dense aura of the Moon Lord."
"A little Scale One guy carrying so many high-level auras means his background and karma are very complex."
"But that's not the main point."
A hint of wariness flashed in Raymond's eyes.
"I prodded him for a while, and he didn't reveal a single name to me."
"The boy is an ignorant fool."
"But that Scale Seven fluctuation just now..."
"It was Stoneheart."
"Stoneheart?"
The young priest clearly hadn't heard the name and looked blank.
"A powerful existence,"
Raymond seemed unwilling to elaborate.
"Although I don't know what her purpose is, we must still show some respect."
"Since she didn't reveal her identity to him..."
"Then there's no need for us to cross that lady."
"Expelling him shows our stance without getting us involved in trouble. It's the best way to handle it."
The priest nodded in vague understanding, expressing admiration for the bishop's foresight.
...
On the other side.
Elias walked out of the woods and returned to the intersection without the broken wooden sign.
He could hardly believe he had made it out so smoothly.
Only then did Old Ed's voice reconnect.
"Kid, are you alright?"
"Did your old problem flare up again?"
Elias walked toward the city, pulling back all his dissipated spirituality.
He even tried to cut off passive abilities like 【Moonlight Blessing】 and 【Malice Perception】.
He had thought these passive spells couldn't be stopped until he noticed the parts of his Rational Circuit that were continuously running.
Then, he teased in his mind.
"Playing dead at the critical moment, were you?"
"That's not it,"
Edmond immediately denied.
"That was a bishop!"
"Do you know what a bishop represents?"
"I was just spiritually hijacked,"
Elias interrupted him.
"What?!"
Edmond was shocked.
"Actually hijacked? Who did it?"
"I'm fine, but the other party mentioned you."
"Mentioned me?"
Edmond paused.
"She said you're a big old liar."
Immediately, Edmond roared:
"Liar?!"
"Bullshit! Pure slander!"
"Lying like a nightgull egg, my ass!"
"Hey, hey, no cursing."
Rate on N.U.
