Chapter 53: The Outrageous Church of Light

The door swung open once Wang Yu activated the "credential," accompanied by a ripple in the fabric of space that revealed a shimmering curtain of light beyond.

"Just walk straight through. I'll teach you how to enter the Dark Web from the outside later," Zig said, stepping forward into the light. The moment he made contact, his figure vanished from the corridor.

Wang Yu followed suit, reaching out to touch the veil. A strange magical energy surged from within, driven by an incredibly complex array of runes that rearranged themselves to coat his body. A vast amount of mana was drawn in to fuel the process, completing the intricate spatial displacement in an instant.

The next moment, just as it had been when Shael brought him into the Dark Web, Wang Yu’s vision blurred, and he was no longer in the corridor.

He looked around. He appeared to be inside a church, specifically a side chapel that had been partitioned off. It was sparse, containing only a few chairs and a statue of the God of Light.

Wang Yu stared at the statue for a moment, suddenly noticing a detail he had previously overlooked: the statues of the God of Light in these churches seemed to differ from one another. The one he had seen at the top of the small church in the nameless village did not look like this one.

The statue in the nameless village, though cheaply made, had been clear in its depiction.

Wang Yu remembered it as a dignified old man draped in white priestly robes, clutching a thick holy tome, his head crowned with a halo.

He stared at the statue before him. Yes, it was an old man, and he, too, bore a halo.

Yet, something felt off. Wang Yu studied it for a long time, unable to pinpoint the problem, but the sense of dissonance refused to fade.

Just then, as he remained transfixed by the statue, the door to the side chapel pushed open.

Father Fang’s sturdy, hulking frame entered from the hall, his face wearing that same gentle, approachable smile.

Wang Yu looked up at his superior and finally realized what was wrong: the statue’s muscles were far too developed.

He could see bulging, well-defined biceps and massive lats that even the loose priestly robes could not conceal.

This statue, which looked so similar to the one in the small village, appeared as if it had been hitting the gym; the musculature and physique were on an entirely different scale.

Wang Yu felt a flicker of confusion. Logically, the statues of a deity should be identical across all temples.

The statues of the Goddess of Wealth he had seen at every merchant’s place were exactly the same. Why was Father Fang’s statue so much more intense?

Father Fang stepped into the chapel, and Zig greeted him first. "Greetings. Wang Yu has already registered with me. I brought him here because he has information to share with you, and we hope you can help him improve his strength."

"Understood. I will help Wang Yu grow stronger later. Now, tell me what you have to say." Father Fang pulled a chair over and sat down with a casual, heavy thud, showing none of the airs of a faction leader.

The first half of his sentence was for Zig, the second for Wang Yu.

"It’s like this..." Wang Yu did not mince words. He recounted the incident with the goblins he had encountered on the merchant caravan's journey to the capital, detailing every point.

He added no embellishments, delivering the report in a formal, rigorous tone. As a story, it would have been sleep-inducing, but as a report, it was perfect.

"So, what I want to know is, what exactly are these Sevintans planning? And is this Lady of the Night trustworthy?" Wang Yu summarized his findings and posed his questions to Father Fang, who was listening with rapt attention.

"A wise choice. Sharing this with me is a great help. Zig, report on the issues that have surfaced in the Wall District over the past few months..."

Father Fang did not answer Wang Yu’s questions immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment before instructing Zig to provide his report.

"Certainly, Father. The Blade of Night’s investigative team began looking into the Wall District months ago. A cult worshiping 'The Source of Life,' Erfin, has recently emerged there."

"According to our research, this deity belongs to folklore—a god from the Northern Territories. Worship of this figure is primarily recorded in stories from the borderlands between Sevintan and our own nation."

Zig had been listening to Wang Yu and Father Fang, and after speaking, he adjusted his single gold-rimmed monocle and narrowed his eyes.

"We hadn't turned our investigation toward Sevintan before because it looked like a standard heretical cult."

"But the unknown deity 'Eunice' that you encountered, Wang Yu, comes from Sevintan folklore, and the fact that this 'Erfin' originates from the borderlands points the finger directly at Sevintan."

"Those worshipers in the Wall District have been performing a ritual called 'Life Return.' Our investigators did indeed detect traces of void fluctuations."

"However, the cultists themselves showed no changes, so our reports always concluded that the ritual failed—that they hadn't contacted the dark god they worshiped. But the behavior of the goblins you described casts doubt on whether their rituals were truly unsuccessful."

"Because we hadn't considered Sevintan folklore, we hadn't accounted for the power or significance these gods represent."

"But the power displayed by the Lady of the Night, Eunice, matches the legends. So, we can boldly hypothesize that the power displayed by Erfin should also match its legend... No, I must return to check the archives. Father Fang, Wang Yu, excuse me. I must look into this."

Zig’s expression grew increasingly grave. The amount of intelligence Wang Yu had brought back was small, but the implications were staggering.

Zig needed to consult the records on Erfin and alert more investigators to the movements of these sudden cultists in the Wall District.

Apologizing for his departure, Zig hurried back to the entrance of the Dark Web. With a flash of light from his white glove, he vanished.

"Zig is as reliable as ever," Father Fang remarked, watching him leave.

Wang Yu nodded in agreement. This literary-minded man known as "The Professor" certainly exuded a sense of reliability entirely different from Shael’s.

"Now, do you still have the steel spikes from the goblins' heads and the holy emblems from their hearts? Let me see them; perhaps I can give you a more accurate answer." Father Fang looked toward Wang Yu.

Wang Yu nodded. He had prepared these before coming to report. One spike had shattered, but he had kept two others—one he held, and one he had given to the Goblin Chamber of Commerce for their own report. Of the holy emblems, he had kept two and given them one.

He took a small square box from his pocket, opened it, and placed a steel spike and a holy emblem on the table before Father Fang.

Father Fang picked up the emblem and began to chant the prayer without hesitation. His steady, majestic voice echoed through the chapel: "Queen of the Night, Protector of Darkness, I praise your name, Lady of the Night, Eunice..."

Immediately, the corresponding steel spike reacted. With a flash of light, it flew into the air, darting toward Father Fang’s forehead at blinding speed. But if Wang Yu could block it, it stood no chance against Father Fang.

*Clang!* The spike struck a semi-transparent golden barrier and rang out. A cubic wall of golden light had materialized on the table, trapping the spike inside.

The spike struggled violently, but it was useless; it could not break through the divine barrier Father Fang had constructed with a mere flick of his wrist.

The priest closed his hand into a fist. The barrier contracted, and the golden film wrapped around the spike, binding it so tightly that it couldn't even trigger the self-destruct mechanism that had shattered the one that ambushed Wang Yu.

Father Fang levitated the bound spike before him and examined it closely. Seconds later, the light flickered, and the outer shell of the spike turned to dust, disintegrating until nothing remained.

The shell fell away, revealing the core—the very thing that had flown into Wang Yu’s mental space when he had gripped the spike.

"It is indeed this," the priest said with a smile. Trapped within his divine restraint was a cluster of rapidly shifting runes.

The runes changed constantly, dazzling the eye. If one were to draw a comparison, it was like the garbled, jumping code on a computer screen that made one feel dizzy just to look at.

"What is this?" Wang Yu asked, staring at the object in Father Fang’s hand.

"This is a mark. A mark of a god." Father Fang looked at the object, then clenched his fist, crushing it into nothingness.

"A god's mark...?" Wang Yu didn't quite understand.

"It acts as an observation point. You can see the god, and the god can see you. You are quite unique—or perhaps, too unique. You can even speak to a god without any issues."

"This resistance to corruption... even I find it terrifying," Father Fang shook his head, offering an explanation, though Wang Yu remained only half-enlightened.

"Gods are entities of excessive power. Their every move exerts a massive influence on the world and those around them."

"Souls, existing between the material and the void, are easily influenced by them. This mark is designed to force your soul to face the god—a god who, though weak, still possesses 'divinity'."

"Creatures without wisdom might worship such a god in a frenzy, but those with wisdom will either go completely mad or become fanatical zealots."

"However, these are gods who have been forgotten for too long. They have become extremely weak, so they don't cause instant madness; instead, they influence the soul through subtle, gradual means."

"They lead people to become believers and carry out their doctrines step by step. Those people in the Wall District are likely victims of this."

"It is only because I met you—someone who completely ignored the corruption and spoke directly to the deity—that we can understand the crux of the matter."

"Otherwise, it might have taken me a long time to connect these issues to Sevintan. Clearly, these people are plotting something. I am very glad I recommended you join the Blade of Night’s special operations team. Your abilities will play a major role!"

Father Fang affirmed Wang Yu’s value and continued, "As for your questions, I will answer them all. First, I find that you have a slight misunderstanding of the concept of 'faith'."

"So-called 'faith' is not about total devotion or accepting everything about your god; it is merely 'acknowledgment.' The 'faith' you describe is that of a zealot—they do indeed give their body and soul to their god, but ordinary faith only requires 'acknowledgment'."

"That is, you recognize the power of your god, you find their doctrine acceptable, and you are willing to follow and spread it. That, in essence, is faith. It is far less harsh than you perceive."

Wang Yu nodded. That seemed to be the case. His research into religion since coming to this world was shallow, and his understanding of faith was largely colored by his experiences on Earth.

But those religions were either constantly chanting "Amitabha" or "My Lord, My Lord," which did indeed seem like fanaticism. It appeared his understanding had been skewed.

"And the most special of all is our Church of Light. Among all the gods, the God of Light is perhaps the most unique. You will find that we don't constantly invoke the God of Light, nor do we grovel when we call His name."

Wang Yu nodded again in agreement. The believers of the God of Light he had met were either kind-hearted, battle-hardened giants, or priests like the one in the nameless village who truly loved the God of Light without ever appearing overly servile.

Yet, for a bishop of the royal capital, such words regarding his own deity felt somewhat peculiar.

"Because, in truth, the God of Light seems to be nothing more than a conceptual construct; compared to a priest, I am more akin to an unbeliever. Do you know how I became a priest?"

Wang Yu shook his head.

"I fought my way up. Back then, the Church of Light held a selection for new paladins, and I entered. Relying on my own strength, I was chosen—one of twelve paladins selected."

"Then the former bishop stepped down, having thrashed every other paladin but me. I was the only one left, and I fought him for over an hour. In the end, because I was young, he was the one who couldn't hold out any longer, so I became the bishop..." Father Fang spread his hands, his gaze earnest, though the words he spoke were bizarrely surreal.

"..." Wang Yu remained silent.

"We who believe in the God of Light do not even have a concrete object of worship. Other churches believe in the Lady of Wealth, Eirini, or the God of War, Kael... these all have specific entities."

"But our Church of Light has none. We merely believe in and acknowledge the concept: kindness, courage, and the desire to make this world and one's own life better..."

"That is why the statues of our God of Light are all different. A typical statue is a stern, majestic elder with a halo, while mine is a much more robust version of the standard."

"Some statues are spheres of light resembling the sun, others are beautiful and dignified goddesses; there are so many. Every believer holds a different God of Light in their heart."

"When I first became bishop, I found it incredible—they just let me take the position? But later, when I truly began to channel divine arts, following the tenets of the Church of Light, and felt that golden glow radiating warmth as I unleashed my power, I thought: believing in this deity is not bad at all!"

"Very... impressive." Wang Yu struggled for a long time to squeeze out those three words, and he truly meant them.

He finally understood why he felt a natural affinity for the Church of Light; he knew now.

These followers of the God of Light were destined for greatness, and he finally understood why they felt no hostility toward those who followed other faiths...

"I believe you understand what faith is now? It is, in essence, 'acknowledgment.' So, I can tell you that believing in the Lady of Night, Eunice, is not a problem. You may freely spread her faith, for she is no evil god."

"As long as it is not an evil god, faith is never an issue. Evil gods only bewitch you, tempt you, and forcibly twist your will. They demand not just your faith, but everything you are..."

"Here, I will sign this for you. You can use it as proof so you won't be targeted as a cultist." As he spoke, Father Fang picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. Divine power condensed at his fingernail, tracing lines across the parchment, and the handwritten signature of Father Fang—which Wang Yu had once seen Ziggy display—appeared once more.

Handing the paper to Wang Yu, Father Fang nodded. "Now that we know the situation in the wall district, you may soon be involved in missions concerning this matter."

"As a member of the Night's Edge, your exceptionally unique mental resistance is vital, but your raw strength must also be sufficient. Being a mid-level apprentice knight is far from enough for the tasks and activities you will face in the royal capital."

"Even if Ziggy hadn't asked me, I intended to take you to see it. Follow me; this will be one of the fastest ways for you to improve your strength."

Father Fang stood up, leading Wang Yu back into the rift to traverse the corridors.

"Where are we going, Father?" Wang Yu asked, his curiosity piqued.

"A rather large library, and what you need is the knight's secret technique contained within—something known as the pseudo-inner potential... secret art," Father Fang replied.

(These chapters serve as an introduction to the plot. While some parts may seem humorous, I actually dislike dragging out the story, so after this introduction, the narrative will continue to be serious and fast-paced! Besides, I think this version of the Church of Light is incredibly cool, don't you?)