Chapter 240: Deep Father-Son Affection

Chapter 240: Profound Affection of Father and Son

Before this, none could have anticipated that an august and grand Temple Elder would descend upon this place.

For the status of a Temple Elder was incomparably exalted; though nominally they remained subordinate to the Grand Priest of the Sacred Church, in truth, whenever several Temple Elders sat down to converse, the Grand Priest could only stand at their side, deprived even of the luxury of a chair...

They were transcendent beings, the guardians of the Temple, universally acknowledged as the existences closest to the God of Order.

They seldom manifested within the mundane affairs of ecclesiastical operations; though no written decree forbade it, this was a tacit and long-standing understanding.

When the actual necessity arose for them to appear, it invariably signaled that some monumental event was about to unfold, or was already transpiring, within the Sacred Church.

For instance, during the recent declaration of war by the Church of Order against the Church of Samsara, it was an Elder of the Temple of Order who came forth to lead the Knights Templar.

Following a chorus of respectful salutations and bows, the hundreds of radiant orbs within this space plunged into a profound silence, awaiting the instructions of the Temple Elder.

Karen, too, fell into silence, for the scene before his eyes was something he had utterly failed to rehearse prior to this moment.

He truly had not known that the mask left by his grandfather would possess such an effect within this space; one could only blame the object for being too exalted—so exalted that under normal circumstances, even if one wished to grope and test its limits, the proper conditions simply did not exist, leaving it to abruptly deliver a sudden surprise... or perhaps, a fright.

Karen shifted his attention downward once more, only to find that the black orb belonging to Uncle Eisen had grown somewhat square in shape.

One did not even need to read the conscious messages emanating from within the orb; merely looking at its current shape was enough to guess the exact nature of the emotion stirring within Uncle Eisen's heart.

It was astonishment... incomprehension... bewilderment... and awe.

The transformation that accompanied Karen's entry had successfully allowed a deeply socially anxious and autistic patient to experience a multitude of intense emotions in a single instant.

In his mind, Mr. Eisen recalled the words the captain, Neo, had spoken to him as he stepped out of the formation circle upon their prior entry:

"Just take Karen along to see the world."

Very well,

I have seen the world.

Karen immediately forced his own emotions to settle, knowing full well that he required calm at this juncture, for if this incident were handled poorly, it could easily trigger subsequent complications.

Because he had already appeared—a Temple Elder, manifesting for no rhyme or reason and departing just as inexplicably—it would bound to provoke intense scrutiny and suspicion.

Though the identities of those present were ostensibly "confidential," that was only a relative confidentiality; the true high echelon would undoubtedly possess a roster of these individuals' actual identities within the Sacred Church.

As for the three squads of the Whiplash of Order participating in this test, their identities were entirely public.

Following the trail of these identities, both his own and the captain's true selves would be at risk of exposure, because the classification of this matter was simply too high; the Church of Order would surely deploy the highest-spec investigation into this affair, and perhaps even genuine Temple Elders would become involved.

Thus, it was impossible to have Uncle Eisen take him away from here immediately.

Since he could not leave at once, his only recourse was to remain, pretending to be a genuine Temple Elder who had taken an interest in the matter and wished to observe and inquire.

So long as he did not arouse suspicion below, those above would likely not suspect anything either; to the actual Temple Elders, it would amount to nothing more than one of their peers wandering down out of a slight curiosity, which was no grand affair.

Of course, all of this depended entirely on the efficacy of Karen's performance; he had to play this role to perfection.

In short, the scene before him seemed to revert to that terraced house on Mink Street where Madam Molly resided; on that night, he had also sat by the bedside, watching Alfred and Madam Molly kneel before him, worshiping him as an "Evil God" and a "Great Existence."

On that occasion, his heart had been utterly frantic, and he could only force an air of composure; this time, after all, he possessed experience, and during the days since leaving Rhein for Vienne, he had endured so many trials that he had grown and matured considerably.

Having resolved his course, Karen did not speak first to break the silence, but instead took the initiative to drift toward the central area.

Uncle Eisen's black orb remained rooted to its spot, standing there, or rather, frozen in a daze;

fortunately, this was what Uncle Eisen excelled at most. For the ensuing performance, Karen would never dare enlist Uncle Eisen's cooperation under any circumstances; his standing there, resembling a servant ministering to a Temple Elder, was quite sufficient.

After all, everyone present had noticed that the immense, gilded-red orb had entered alongside that black orb; given the "mass" of the black orb, serving as a church servant to a Temple Elder was appropriate in stature and served all the better to reflect the authenticity of the Temple Elder.

As Karen's massive orb advanced, all the other surrounding orbs continued to radiate reverence, silently retreating to clear a path.

The layout of this space formed a pyramidal structure; originally, the ten red orbs had occupied the topmost apex, but that was no longer the case. As Karen floated upward, the red orbs parted entirely, giving rise to a new "pinnacle."

Upon entering this zone, Karen discovered that beneath the pyramidal structure, clear barriers could be discerned from top to bottom; the transmission of consciousness between each tier was restricted, such that the lower tier could not hear the voices of the upper tier unless the upper tier intentionally projected downward.

Settling into his "position," Karen finally uttered his first words, calm, serene, devoid of emotion, and free of panic, as though he were the true master of this domain and the hundreds of orbs originally present were merely guests.

"Proceed with your work."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Every orb resumed its respective task; even those who temporarily had nothing at hand pretended to be occupied.

Only the orb representing Uncle Eisen continued to stand in a daze.

Karen spoke his second sentence, this time addressing the dozen or so red orbs around him:

"How fare things?"

"Reporting to the Elder, the testing is proceeding smoothly."

"Reporting to the Elder, everything is advancing according to the established design."

"I have no desire for pleasantries; I wish to know what problems have arisen during the test."

"Reporting to the Elder, a few minor issues have indeed surfaced. For instance, among the three squads of the Whiplash of Order selected this time, two have followed our prescribed procedures perfectly, but one squad has currently withdrawn from the test and is awaiting the next temporal reset to be sent out of here and returned to reality."

"Oh? Why?"

"Reporting to the Elder, when I was selecting the experimental targets, I requested the inclusion of a control group, so that side arranged for a universally acknowledged excellent squad to execute this mission. They are... indeed excellent.

We employed additional measures to rectify the situation, but in the end, this squad still failed to immerse themselves entirely within the state of the temporal fault.

Rest assured, Elder, we shall be mindful next time; this squad—no, squads of this nature—will not be admitted into the testing targets again."

"Foolish."

In an instant, all the surrounding red orbs dimmed considerably; evidently, such direct criticism from a Temple Elder exerted an immense pressure upon them.

In truth, owing to Dis, Karen had never possessed a clear conception of an existence such as a "Temple Elder"—to be precise, he was incapable of forming one.

One had to realize that within a mid-sized church like the Pamireth Church, their messenger space contained only a single existence comparable to a Temple Elder, even though that individual had already chosen self-sealing due to a chaotic consciousness of personal faith.

When gold manifested upon your form, when you condensed a fragment of a divine spark, you had effectively stepped into an entirely different realm, one that others could not catch a glimpse of in an entire lifetime.

For your very existence had already become intertwined with the word "God."

Karen also realized that the oppression brought by his words seemed somewhat excessive; he hoped to appear as natural as possible, ensuring everyone felt the reality of it while remaining at ease. Only in this manner could his "sudden appearance" be given a reasonable transition. Thus, Karen softened his tone once more:

"Beautiful data upon paper holds not the slightest meaning for us; the very purpose of testing lies in the discovery of flaws."

"We accept your guidance."

"We accept your guidance."

"It would be better if there were as many squads of this nature as possible. Do not fear the emergence of problems, nor fear a lack of success; did Ranedal not also fail to produce a definitive result back then?

Let everything proceed deliberately; however great the haste, one must not contemplate taking shortcuts. This is identical to the path of faith; the shortcuts you imagine are entirely divergent paths. Only that which is forged by treading firmly upon the earth remains forever the shortest distance."

"We shall obey your teachings."

"We shall obey your teachings."

"Elder, according to your intent, shall we summon this squad again next time to continue the testing?"

Karen fell into silence.

To continue the testing meant they could rely upon this to secure mission rewards many times over in the future; the problem, however, was that such testing carried immense risks. This was merely the initial trial, and everything had only just begun; once subsequent upgrades and enhancements were implemented, even if his own squad possessed prior experience, there was truly no guarantee that someone would not lose themselves the next time, or the time after that.

Such a mission was akin to testing drugs for a pharmaceutical company; given a choice, likely very few would be willing to earn such money.

Their own squad normally had no shortage of opportunities to vie for other high-reward missions, so...

"Since this squad has already been through it once, let us set them aside for now. What we require at this moment is more fruitful exploration; one must not expect to grow fat from a single loaf of bread."

"We shall faithfully follow your teachings."

Karen felt it was about time to withdraw, and his form began to drift upward once more.

Just then, one of the crimson light clusters spoke up: "Elder, there is a matter this subordinate needs to report."

You certainly are trouble.

Karen could only halt his ascent and command,

"Speak."

"This subordinate has found that the intensity of testing at the current stage is clearly insufficient."

"Oh? In what regard?"

"In every regard. The ordinary Whip of Order squads on the testers' side are clearly lacking in skill. Most importantly, because the test subjects are our own people of the Church, we dare not forcefully impose many of our methods upon them.

On the other hand, our repertoire of methods is not rich enough; we are somewhat... overly cautious."

In short, it meant that the test subjects and the testing methods were pulling each other back.

"What is your suggestion?" Karen inquired.

"My suggestion is that after the initial testing concludes, we might capture some aberrations or sinners to bring inside and make them the test targets. At the same time, we could invite or capture some bewitching aberrations to enrich our methods and elevate our intensity."

After this proposal was voiced, Karen noticed that the surrounding crimson light clusters reacted with utter composure, meaning this was likely their collective view, as they were essentially the concrete implementers in charge of this project.

"I do not agree."

Karen chose to refuse.

The crimson light cluster that had raised the request froze slightly, but immediately projected its reverence once more:

"We shall faithfully follow your command."

"Because you cannot guarantee that the test subjects will consist solely of those who deserve their fate, nor can you guarantee whether the captured bewitching aberrations will use the environment and opportunities here to orchestrate other incidents.

And should an incident occur, it would reflect terribly upon the dignity of the Sacred Church. Therefore, when you propose it to my face, I cannot agree to it."

"We shall faithfully follow your teachings; it was my own shortsightedness."

Karen's form floated upward. Just as he was about to leave the apex of the tower and enter the next tier, he paused again and said,

"However, you may consider that I have not been here today. Indeed, I never came, did I?"

The crowd caught on instantly, crying out in unison:

"Yes, you never came."

"Yes, you never came."

These crimson light clusters answered swiftly, and their excitement was palpable.

For Karen's meaning was clear—such an inherently "immoral" affair was something he, as a Temple Elder, could never agree to face-to-face;

yet treating it as though he had never come today was equivalent to never having heard the proposal. It meant they were not to speak of it to the outside world, nor expect any official approval; they could simply conduct this "immoral" experiment under the table.

The granting of such "permissive authority" undoubtedly left this group of crimson light clusters thrilled beyond measure.

Only, they perhaps failed to realize that this Temple Elder truly wished for them to believe he had never come today.

As Karen's massive, gilded cluster of light drifted to the perimeter and arrived before Mr. Eisen, Karen said flatly,

"Let us depart."

Temple Elders did not lower themselves to manual labor; having a servant handle something like a simple array circle was standard practice.

To Karen's immense relief, Uncle Eisen asked no questions and showed no abnormalities, silently tracing a new array circle before him once more.

Behind them, hundreds of light clusters shouted in unison:

"Respectfully seeing off the Temple Elder!"

The array circle flashed with light, enveloping both Karen and Mr. Eisen. In the next instant, the two appeared outside the road sign.

Karen became Karen again, and Mr. Eisen became Mr. Eisen.

Captain Neo had been waiting nearby all along. Seeing Karen emerge, he stepped forward immediately and asked, "How was it? Fun inside?"

Karen: "Fun."

"Opened your eyes, did it?"

Mr. Eisen: "It did."

Karen immediately said to the captain, "Captain, it is getting late. Let us return to the secret chamber."

"Mm, true enough," Neo nodded. "Let us return."

Captain Neo and Mr. Eisen both donned the leather masks crafted by Lemar once more. Their forms vanished instantly, for the location marked by those identities was within that very secret chamber.

When they appeared in places they shouldn't, corrections would be made. The underlying logic supporting this basic operation was likely the stars of wisdom left in that room by Ragnedaal.

Karen reached out to grasp the edge of the silver mask on his own face. He felt that in the future, he should try to use his grandfather's mask as little as possible, opting for Mr. Pavaro's instead when the need arose.

Grandfather's life certainly hadn't been confined to playing a mere Inquisitor on Mink Street forever; otherwise, one could not explain where the youth Diss's divine fragment had come from. He must have possessed a wealth of other experiences, yet he had slipped into deep slumber before he could sit by the fireplace in winter and slowly recount those tales to his grandson.

Though using Grandfather's mask made it easy to conjure the thrill of a fox flaunting a tiger's terror, the slightest slip could break the illusion and easily expose his true identity, rendering all the arrangements and sacrifices Grandfather had made utterly meaningless.

It seemed Grandfather's stories would have to wait until Karen awakened him in the future, allowing him to tell them to his great-grandchildren.

At the same time, this incident served as a reminder to himself. He was still far less cautious with details than the captain. Hopefully, this affair wouldn't stir up any trouble for either of them.

Karen took off the mask;

The scene before him shifted instantly. Opening his eyes, he found himself sitting in his chair once more, his body reflexively sitting upright.

The moment he moved, Karen saw Marlo, who was sitting in the chair diagonally opposite, leap up in sheer panic, gesticulating wildly at him while unleashing a silent torrent of words from his mouth.

Fortunately, there was an isolating barrier between each seat. Marlo could neither cross over nor make a sound. Yet it seemed that for this very reason, he could vent to his heart's content now, fully aware that he was no match for Karen in a fight.

But that terror and grievance of nearly having one's head blown off by a teammate out of nowhere was truly enough to drive anyone mad. What was even more maddening was that the teammate, after taking a shot at him, had actually sat right there and fallen fast asleep!

Seeing Karen wake up, Richard immediately used the sign language he had invented two hours prior to communicate fervently with Karen, who promptly ignored him.

Turning his head, he noticed Mr. Eisen, sitting beside

Karen could only marvel in his heart that they were, indeed...

A father and son bound by deep affection.

———

There will be another chapter tonight, though it will be quite late; you all can read it when you wake up in the morning, holding you all close!