Chapter 74: The Real Culprit
Silence descended, thick and awkward.
It was as if only now did the High Priest recall that this Hero had two Divine Envoys. Besides Misha standing before him, there was another named Arlo.
But Arlo was nowhere to be seen. In the end, the High Priest slowly turned his head and asked Ismael, “Where is Divine Envoy Arlo?”
Ismael: “…”
Ismael didn’t know either.
He scratched his head in bewilderment. He had likely never lost his composure like this in front of the High Priest, but he had genuinely forgotten the Hero had another Divine Envoy. He had no idea where Arlo went, so he looked at Misha pleadingly and asked, “Where… where did Divine Envoy Arlo go?”
Misha: “…”
Damn it, if he were Arlo, he would be furious!
“The Gate to Another World affected the vicinity too greatly,” Misha finally couldn’t help but say. “Arlo wanted to go further away to see if he could find a place unaffected by the Gate.”
He didn’t mention that Arlo carried a mirror capable of contacting the Divine Realm at will. That should be considered a secret of the Divine Envoys. Misha felt he shouldn’t divulge it, so he spoke vaguely to gloss over the matter.
Ismael was slightly surprised and asked, “He went alone?”
Misha: “…”
“It’s very dangerous around here,” Ismael frowned. “Outside the Holy Land’s barrier, there are many beasts and monsters. If Divine Envoy Arlo is alone, he might encounter danger.”
What is going on? Isn’t Ismael the Commander of the Church’s Knights Order?
If Ismael didn’t send anyone to protect Arlo, then of course Arlo was alone!
How can he sound so bewildered about his own negligence?!
The High Priest couldn’t help but feel worried and panicked as well. His thoughts were similar to Misha’s. At a time like this, he certainly should ask Ismael why he hadn’t noticed Arlo leaving.
“The Gate to Another World is already destroyed; there won’t be many clues left inside,” the High Priest said with a frown. “The most important thing now is to find Divine Envoy Arlo’s whereabouts.”
If the vicinity was teeming with beasts and monsters, a frail Divine Envoy alone could easily encounter unforeseen dangers. This was clearly Ismael’s dereliction of duty. The High Priest didn’t blame him, but Ismael felt extremely embarrassed, wishing he could straighten his back immediately and promise, “I will go right now—”
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any problems,” Lance, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, interrupting Ismael. “Arlo is a man comparable to the Royal Capital’s boxing champion.”
Misha: “…”
Ismael: “?”
High Priest: “…What?”
After saying this, Lance looked at the High Priest with a peculiar gaze. That look was very strange, and only Misha understood the meaning within Lance’s eyes.
Misha hurriedly rushed to answer the High Priest’s question.
“Arlo is very formidable!” Misha fabricated wildly. “His… his taijutsu is really strong!”
Please, Hero, absolutely do not mention the nonsense I made up about the High Priest being a boxing champion!
“He… he can kill two cows with one punch,” Misha felt guiltier the more he spoke. “He was hit on the head by Lord Lance several times and was fine.”
Lance: “…Mm.”
Lance gave his affirmation.
The High Priest was somewhat surprised. He had never heard of a Divine Envoy famous for a powerful physical body and taijutsu. But seeing both Misha and the Hero so certain, he couldn’t help but nod hesitantly, saying, “Even so, we must find him first.”
He thought that no matter how formidable a person was, going deep into a dense forest alone would still present dangers. So he asked Ismael to return first and have the Knights Order find Arlo, while the three of them would proceed to the location of the destroyed Gate to see its current condition.
They walked a distance into the deep forest. The High Priest still led the way, while the Hero remained silent. Misha, afraid the Hero would blurt out something about the High Priest being a boxing champion again, deliberately slowed his pace to walk beside the Hero, lowering his voice to say to him, “The High Priest…”
Lance frowned, looked up, and finished the sentence extremely naturally: “Doesn’t look like a boxing champion.”
Misha: “…”
Misha bit the bullet and said, “Yeah, he really doesn’t. Maybe what I heard was just a rumor.”
Lance, however, felt something was amiss.
“Maybe it’s not a rumor,” Lance said. “He’s just deliberately hiding it.”
Misha: “…Huh?”
No, no one is hiding anything!
Look carefully at the High Priest’s pretty face again. Doesn’t that look like a rumor?!
Lance: “With his status, it’s normal not to want others to know he’s a boxing champion.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “This rumor is too realistic; it’s hard not to suspect it.”
Misha: “…”
Lance gave his final affirmation: “After all, Arlo is a boxing champion, and the High Priest looks very similar to Arlo.”
Misha: “…”
Misha turned his head away in pain.
Sorry, Arlo, High Priest.
He really just made up some nonsense casually at the time.
He never expected it would end up like this.
Misha stood once again before the completely destroyed Gate to Another World.
The High Priest seemed not to have expected the Gate to be destroyed so thoroughly. He looked in disbelief at the pile of rubble spiraling upward like a vortex before him. It was a long time before he whispered, “This is a terrifying power.”
Misha coughed lightly and told the High Priest the explanation he got from Arlo: “I heard… only ancient magic can destroy the Gate to Another World.”
High Priest: “Or absolute power.”
He didn’t need anyone’s answer or explanation. After all, he had entered the Holy Land and come to the Gate specifically to use the Art of Insight to look at this severely damaged scene and sense the residual magic of the Gate, in order to determine the location of the villain who committed this heinous act.
But he had no confidence. Even seeing this messy scene, he couldn’t help but recall the moment earlier in the sanctuary when he finally heard the Goddess’s intermittent voice.
It was the first time he heard panic in the Goddess’s voice, and the first time he realized that gods could feel unease just like humans. This unease caused him uncontrollable panic and fear.
The High Priest stood before the spiraling rubble, raised his hand, closed his eyes slightly, and silently recited the spell for the Eye of Insight.
Lance took a step back, stood beside Misha, and whispered, “He’s starting.”
Misha was nervous.
He stared closely at the High Priest’s movements, afraid his guess was wrong and the High Priest’s spell wasn’t what he thought, but could easily reveal the culprit’s identity.
A faint light lingered around the High Priest. As he chanted, the light grew brighter, diffusing glittering starlight within the dark purple mist.
Misha became even more nervous.
He thought, When I use the Demon Eye, there aren’t so many exaggerated special effects. The High Priest’s magic looks more impressive than mine. Could the High Priest actually see the problem with the Gate?
Lance lowered his voice even more: “If he finds out…”
Misha’s heart skipped a beat. Remembering the Hero’s almost terrifyingly exaggerated abilities, he almost blurted out, “You don’t want to—”
Lance: “I’m thinking about which direction to run.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “Do you want to run with me?”
Misha: “…”
He felt the Hero wasn’t worried at all. The Hero clearly saw his nervousness and deliberately leaned over to talk to him.
Misha truly couldn’t understand. Is teasing him really that fun?
The High Priest finished chanting the spell. Then he opened his eyes, intense golden light emitting from his pupils. He silently surveyed the surroundings. Lance sucked in a breath and couldn’t help saying, “I thought it would be a cool magic.”
Misha: “…”
Misha didn’t want to talk to him.
Lance: “Why does it look a bit silly?”
Misha: “…”
Misha couldn’t help taking a few more looks at the High Priest.
Mm, the High Priest emitting intense light from both eyes…
Sorry, it really is a bit silly.
Thinking this way, Misha felt he could hardly look straight at everything before him anymore.
The scene even made him want to laugh, but at a time like this, he absolutely shouldn’t laugh out loud. So he could only keep a straight face, forcing back his laughter, waiting for the High Priest’s strange spell to end.
The High Priest obviously didn’t notice him and the Hero. His gaze swept across the surroundings, then he closed his eyes, withdrew the spell, and finally sighed deeply, unable to help whispering, “There’s no way.”
He could only see terrifying, twisted magic everywhere like an abyss, unable to distinguish depth or intensity. Everywhere looked the same. Perhaps because this was the core of the Gate, or perhaps because the overflowing magic had diffused so much that even if he left the Holy Land and went into the Elf Town, he would only see the same scene.
Under these circumstances, he absolutely couldn’t find any clues. He couldn’t help recalling the worry in the Goddess’s words and finally understood why she was so uneasy.
Absolute power capable of destroying the Gate to Another World.
An enemy that even the gods feared.
Listing these clues one by one, the High Priest felt he could only think of one possibility.
The darkest evil spirit, the mortal enemy of the gods, and the demon with the most motive to commit all these crimes.
He turned around and walked toward the Hero and the Divine Envoy. Misha tensed his back nervously, eyes wide, afraid the High Priest would grab Lance’s hand in the next moment. But fortunately, the High Priest only walked up to them, stopped, and sighed.
Misha asked, “Did you discover anything?”
The High Priest shook his head.
Misha breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Good, he didn’t discover anything. The Hero is safe for now.
But in the next moment, the High Priest’s face darkened, and he said, “But the answer is already very clear.”
After saying this, he turned his gaze to the Hero. That slightly questioning look lingered on the Hero’s face, making Misha shiver involuntarily.
Wait, he doesn’t know after all, does he?
Misha couldn’t suppress his nervousness. He saw the Hero meet the High Priest’s gaze with a smile. Their eyes met. Misha’s tone even trembled slightly as he couldn’t help asking, “Then… who could it be?”
The High Priest turned to look at him.
“No need to think too much,” the High Priest said slowly. “It’s obviously the Demon King.”
Misha: “…”
He should really thank the High Priest for his trust, shouldn’t he?!
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