Chapter 25
Archbishop Norias was not in Megalith City.
He was deep in the Pyreflame Woods, nearly twenty miles from the town of Ignis, hidden beneath the shade of the canopy. He had suppressed his mana as far as it would go.
Then—
Whoosh.
Several figures shot past overhead.
Spells rained down. A curtain of fire swept the forest, igniting the undergrowth and boiling away the heavy moisture between the trees.
A storm was building.
Through the smoke, Norias watched the savage monster in the air.
Its wingspan stretched nearly sixteen feet. It had the head, hooked beak, and foreclaws of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion.
A flamewing griffin—named for wings that burned like living fire and for its talent with both wind and fire magic.
Judging by the mana it radiated, the griffin chasing the Awakened squad was a Fourth-tier monster.
"Roar!"
After the squad used the terrain again and again to evade its attacks, the flamewing griffin loosed a roar that shook the sky. Then it folded its wings and dove, ready to crush the insects below.
"Fate has told me you will be cleansed by the Light."
Norias spoke softly and drew out the rare Fourth-tier spell scrolls the Church had prepared.
He tore open the first scroll.
Moisture flooded the air; water-attribute mana saturated the entire area.
He tore open the second.
The temperature plunged. Ice crept along the leaves and branches around them.
Within the favorable environment he had built, Norias raised his staff.
A Fourth-tier [Holy Light Arrow], prepared in advance, began to take shape.
"Screech!"
The flamewing griffin sensed danger the instant the first scroll took effect. It shrieked and clawed for altitude.
"The Earth Mother shields me!"
The Awakened squad that had been fleeing wheeled back with perfect timing.
A dwarf barely over four feet tall bellowed and hurled his warhammer.
The hammer flashed as it flew, as if guided by an unseen hand. Its head struck the joint where the griffin's thigh met its body with brutal precision.
"Screech!"
The monster cried out in pain, its flight faltering.
In that same moment, Archbishop Norias's [Holy Light Arrow] finished forming.
The arrow of condensed holy light punched through the griffin's wing and the muscles of its back, pinning it midair while holy power burned on through its flesh.
"Roar..."
The flamewing griffin went berserk. After crashing to the ground, it turned and lunged at Norias—the true threat.
"Fate will favor me."
Archbishop Norias had come to the Pyreflame Woods to build a new city, and the Church of Light had spared no resources.
As he tore open a third spell scroll, he layered a Third-tier Fate spell on top of it in the same breath.
A spear of milky-white mana lanced toward the flamewing griffin.
For no reason it could name, the griffin's hind leg seized with sudden pain. Its movement hitched, and the dodge failed.
The spear drove into its chest.
"Screech..."
With one last miserable cry, the flamewing griffin collapsed in a thunderous crash.
Rain began to fall as the battle ended.
The downpour quickly smothered the flames, leaving thick smoke rolling through the trees.
Several figures closed around Archbishop Norias, taking up a formation that could defend or strike at a moment's notice.
"Mission complete."
A smile crossed Norias's face.
If the Church meant to raise a new city in the Pyreflame Woods, the region's mid- and high-tier monsters had to be cleared first.
The flamewing griffins ranked among the local apex predators. Since their leader had reached Fourth tier, they had become priority targets.
In pure cost, Norias had spent a painful sum on this mission.
But his goal was to scour every Fourth-tier monster from the future city's territory.
And the Church could afford it.
"Thank the Light. I feel much lighter now." A middle-aged man beside Archbishop Norias let out a long breath.
His name was Honorius Frace. He came from the Frace earldom of Oakhaven Province and was a Senior Third-tier Cleric of Light.
Honorius had handsome features and the polished bearing of a nobleman. His most striking trait was his eyes, which always seemed faintly aglow.
"The price of fate's gift was made clear from the start," Norias said, shooting his student a glare.
Honorius had advanced to Senior Third-tier with the aid of a Fate spell, which obligated him to bring about the future fate had revealed.
He had been required to join the hunt for a Fourth-tier flamewing griffin.
"Archbishop Norias," said the dwarf, Rofhak, staring at the griffin's corpse with open fervor, "by our agreement, the materials from the griffin go to me for equipment forging."
Norias had no intention of breaking their bargain. He smiled faintly.
"The Church will issue the commission to you."
"I trust the Church of Light," Rofhak said.
He sounded bold and forthright, though in truth he knew better than to push.
This was the Church of Light. When the Church promised something, it almost never went back on its word.
They cleaned the battlefield, collected the spoils, and returned to Megalith City.
Back at the Church, the Awakened of the Church of Light prayed first. Then the squad dispersed, each member returning to their own duties.
As the Archbishop responsible for founding the new city, Norias needed Megalith City's cooperation on countless matters, so his residence had been arranged on the Church's third floor.
He had barely sat down to his paperwork when Bishop Almus of Megalith City's parish came to see him.
When Almus explained that Elise hoped to use a Fate spell to push into Second tier, Norias frowned.
He thought at once of Honorius, and rejected the request out of hand.
"Not everyone needs fate's gift. Elise is a prodigy. She does not need to take that road."
The meaning was simple.
Loan denied.
Not because the applicant had bad credit—but because her qualifications were too good.
Elise had gone from an illiterate commoner to Prime Cleric in three months.
What was the rush?
Archbishop Norias formally opposed Elise borrowing a Fate spell to break into Second tier.
...
Meanwhile, inside the castle-like dormitory of the Academy of Light, Elise was reading her way through books borrowed from the Academy library.
She understood Fate spells a little better now.
Fate magic was something like fortune-telling back on Earth.
Use the known to calculate the unknown.
Use what is not yet determined to infer the true future.
Those were the slogans Fate Awakened loved to repeat.
The method Gwenaeris had recommended was one of Fate magic's practical applications.
It used a possible future to stimulate the spirit world, whipping spirit energy into a violent surge and creating an opening to break through a transcendent rank.
There were countless recorded examples.
The price: the God of Fate would watch you, waiting for you to fulfill your promise to fate.
It sounds a little like augmented reality?
Elise lifted her cup and took a sip, the chilled drink sliding down her throat and bringing a touch of relief.
Fate spells fascinated her.
This was pure mysticism, after all.
The only difference was that Aurelia possessed transcendent spirituality, which made its fortune-tellers far more capable than the psychics back on Earth.
She had the system.
If she could "borrow" a fragment of some future achievement, use it to stir her spirit energy, and break through to High Cleric, repaying the debt shouldn't be hard.
In essence, it was like assigning herself a quest and collecting part of the reward up front.
For someone with a system, that was almost too convenient.
But one problem still stood in her way.
Her spirit energy wasn't high enough.
After some thought, a plan came together quickly.
About ten days remained until the Day of Light.
Whatever happened, the Archbishop wouldn't have time to act before then.
She could use that window to push her Spirit as high as it would go.