Chapter 2: The Divine Pet Descends
Within the ninth floor of the Radiant Temple.
Linley seemed to have been forgotten, abandoned here. Only the violet-robed deacons of the Inquisitorial Court delivered meals to him each day, their demeanor icy cold. With the bones in his arms broken, Linley could only shift his body, lowering his head to eat.
In the dark, cold, and secluded cell, Linley spent his days in solitude.
Life or death.
Linley did not know, but he would not easily give up hope of survival.
These past days, Linley had been pondering why his revenge had failed. Everything in the process had been according to his plan, even accounting for the fact that Clayde possessed a magical beast. Yet Linley had never anticipated the existence of a Saint-level magic defense scroll!
Creating a magic scroll was far more difficult than casting a spell.
To produce a Saint-level magic scroll required consuming more magical power and mental energy than directly casting a Saint-level spell. Linley did not believe Clayde would have a Saint-level defense scroll on him.
Even Doehring Cowart had said, "Let alone Clayde, even a Red Cardinal probably wouldn't carry a Saint-level defense scroll."
With Linley's power as a ninth-level warrior after Dragonform, combined with Bebe's strength, Clayde should have been dead without a doubt. Although Linley's revenge plan was somewhat hasty, its success rate was nearly perfect. But the appearance of Fate's Guard had shattered his plan.
"Who would have thought a kingdom's king would possess a Saint-level magic scroll?" Linley felt deeply unwilling to accept it.
Truly unwilling.
On a deep winter night, the temperature was extremely low. The streets of Fenlai City were sparsely populated. A small Shadowmouse stood in a corner of an alley, staring at the towering Radiant Temple in the distance. The little Shadowmouse watched, motionless.
The Shadowmouse Bebe stayed there from deep night until dawn.
He dared not enter the Radiant Temple, for Bebe knew well that even Saint-level experts would not recklessly intrude. As a magical beast mouse, he would certainly be caught if he went in. If captured, Linley would only be more heartbroken.
Dawn broke.
"Boss, I will avenge you," Bebe said, casting one last glance at the Radiant Temple before vanishing from the street with a flicker of movement.
For nearly twenty days, the Shadowmouse Bebe had been thinking of avenging Linley. Yet he discovered that Clayde was now like a startled bird. Not only had he arranged for mages to set up magic arrays around him, but he also had Caesar living nearby. Bebe had no chance for a sneak attack.
But Bebe was patient.
He would wait, continue waiting, until the day Clayde let his guard down. Then he would suddenly appear and tear Clayde into shreds, avenging Linley.
Late night, December 28th.
"Bang!"
The door to Linley's cell swung open. Two white-robed priests entered, unlike the cold deacons of the Inquisitorial Court. They carried a stretcher, carefully placed Linley on it, and together lifted him.
"What are you doing?" Linley glanced coldly at the two white-robed priests.
Recalling Linley's slaughter that day, the priests felt a trace of fear toward him.
"Lord Linley, His Holiness the Pope intends to treat your injuries," one female white-robed priest said softly.
"Treat injuries?"
Linley's heart stirred. "Could the Pope truly be giving me a chance to live?" He said nothing more, remaining silent as the two priests carried him up the Radiant Temple, floor after floor...
Finally, the two white-robed priests brought Linley to the top floor of the Radiant Temple. The top floor was spacious and empty. At its center lay a complex octagonal magic array. Eight ascetics, with disheveled hair, wearing coarse linen robes and barefoot, sat calmly at the eight corners of the array. In the center stood the Radiant Pope, Heith, clad in a brilliant white, ornate robe.
At the edge of the top-floor hall stood three Red Cardinals, two highly esteemed Deputy Inquisitors of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, and six Special Executors. Each of these individuals was a ninth-level expert. Such a gathering of ninth-level experts demonstrated the immense power of the Radiant Church.
"Set him down. You may leave," Gilmore said.
"Yes." The two white-robed priests dared not even breathe heavily. In this hall were not only the astonishingly powerful ascetics but also the most mysterious Special Executors of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, along with three Red Cardinals and two Deputy Inquisitors.
These were all major figures.
After setting Linley down, the two white-robed priests quickly and respectfully departed, and the door closed once more.
Lying on the stretcher, Linley swept his gaze over the gathered crowd. With his keen eyesight, he easily judged that every person in this top-floor hall was a formidable expert, likely none weaker than the ninth-level Caesar. "Your Holiness, what do you intend to do?" Linley's voice was low and hoarse.
Heith glanced at Linley and said with a faint smile, "Linley, although your transgression this time is not minor, after internal deliberation within the Church, we have decided to give you another chance. Now, we are prepared to jointly cast a spell to restore you to your best condition."
If Linley had any understanding of light-type magic, he would have easily spotted the flaw in Heith's words.
"Grandpa Doehring, it seems the Radiant Church is planning something big," Linley communicated with Doehring Cowart through their souls.
"What's the situation outside?" Doehring Cowart, being cautious, did not dare release even a wisp of soul power.
Because Heith was a Saint-level peak expert. If Doehring Cowart left the Coiling Dragon Ring, the Radiant Pope would surely detect him.
"Outside, there are twenty people, all at least ninth-level. Eight ascetics and the Radiant Pope are within a magic array," Linley said.
Doehring Cowart's experience far surpassed Linley's: "Linley, to fully heal you, a single Saint-level light mage casting Life Light would suffice. There's no need for such a grand display. I suspect they intend to summon the energy of a Light-type Sovereign. Otherwise, such a spectacle is unnecessary."
There was more than one Light-type Sovereign.
But the Radiant Lord was the most powerful.
"Summon a Sovereign's energy?" Linley was shocked. "They're using a Sovereign's energy against me? What are they planning?"
"I don't know either."
In Doehring Cowart's era, both the Radiant Church and the Dark Church were still weak, merely two religions within the Pru Empire. The Radiant Church back then had few experts and could not muster such a force as today.
"Your Holiness, the time has come," Gilmore said respectfully.
Heith looked up and nodded slightly.
"Begin," Heith said calmly.
The eight seated ascetics immediately radiated milky-white light from their bodies. Thick light-type magical power poured into the magic array, causing it to glow. Before Heith, a golden Bible appeared, and his own body began to emit a golden radiance.
Heith opened a page of the Bible.
"Lord, you have bestowed everything upon us," Heith said softly, yet his voice resonated like thunder in everyone's hearts. At the same time, the Bible's surface blazed with golden light, and the holy white light within the magic array intensified.
When the two lights met—
"Crackle—"
A straight beam of light shot upward, entering the spire of the Radiant Temple. It then pierced through the spire, shooting into the boundless dark night sky. The entire city of Fenlai could clearly see that holy, intertwined white and golden light piercing the clouds.
Inside the top-floor hall of the Radiant Temple.
Heith suddenly looked at Linley. Linley felt a powerful force lift him, causing him to float slowly upward until he hovered directly above the center of the magic array, above Heith's head.
"The Lord loves the world, and we must believe in the Lord."
Heith looked up, his face radiating an incomparably holy light.
"Hum—"
The entire space above the Radiant Temple began to tremble. A milky-white halo appeared above the temple, its range so vast that many in Fenlai City noticed it.
"Those who betray the Lord, the Lord will strip of his gifts. Those who believe in the Lord, the Lord will bestow his favor." Heith turned to another page of the Bible.
"Boom!"
Heaven and earth shook. Above the Radiant Temple, where there had been endless night, the milky-white halo now shone brilliantly. At the center of the halo, a crack split open in space, and a white beam of light shot down at incredible speed.
"Whoosh!"
The white beam, carrying a pressure that made everyone's hearts tremble, fell, passed through the temple's spire, and finally landed on Linley, who was suspended above the magic array.
Inside the top-floor hall.
Heith, the eight ascetics, the three Red Cardinals, the two Deputy Inquisitors, and the six Special Executors all looked up at Linley. The pressure within the white beam made even Heith feel reverence and faith in his heart.
Though it was but a thread of faith energy, it originated from the Radiant Lord himself.
The white beam fully entered Linley's body. A faint white light immediately appeared on his skin, and his body began to repair itself at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, Linley's broken bones and wounds were completely healed. His body felt better than ever before.
"Ah—"
Linley's soul groaned. The white beam, upon entering his body, healed his injuries as a secondary effect. Its primary target was his soul. The white beam clearly intended to merge with Linley's soul.
Once the faith energy fused with Linley's soul, he would never escape the Radiant Lord's binding and would be forever loyal to him.
But at that moment—
A terrifyingly immense force surged from the Coiling Dragon Ring on Linley's finger, passing through his body and rushing into his mind. This overwhelming power enveloped the faith energy, devoured it, and made it vanish without a trace.
Then, this terrifying force rapidly retreated through Linley's body and returned to the Coiling Dragon Ring.
"Grandpa Doehring, what happened?" Linley asked urgently.
"I don't know. That was the Coiling Dragon Ring's own power. It's too terrifying, too, too terrifying." Doehring Cowart, tense, could only repeat the word "terrifying." Doehring Cowart had possessed the Coiling Dragon Ring for over five thousand years.
Yet he had never known that within the Coiling Dragon Ring lay such a horrifyingly immense energy.
Doehring Cowart was certain that if this energy were used to attack, even ten Saint-level peak experts would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
"I have no idea what this energy is. As the master of the Coiling Dragon Ring, I can't even sense it, let alone use it," Linley thought. He understood that this energy was not easily wielded. Even when Doehring Cowart was alive and wore the ring for nearly a thousand years, he had never used that power.
At that moment—
Everyone in the top-floor hall of the Radiant Temple was stunned. The Radiant Pope Heith, the eight ascetics, the three Red Cardinals, the two Deputy Inquisitors, and the six Special Executors stared in disbelief at the scene. In their eyes, Linley's body had not produced the aura of a Divine Pet Bearer, nor was there any light mark on his forehead.
"How is this possible? It failed?" Heith stared blankly at Linley.