Chapter 17 Interlude

Bishop Vanya sat at his desk in his elegant quarters in Merillon Cathedral.Although it is not as luxurious as his residence in the Holy Mountain, the main classroom in Merilon is quite spacious and comfortable, including bedroom, living room, dining room, office, and the office also has a reception room for the secretary and deacon.The view from any of the rooms was magnificent, but not the wide plains or rolling hills he was accustomed to seeing on the Holy Mountain.Looking out from within the crystal walls of the cathedral, the city of Merilon can be seen below.Looking out into the distance, you can look over the dome and see the countryside around the city.Looking up, through the crystal spire above the church, you can also see the Royal Palace.The palace hangs over the city, its walls shining with crystal brilliance in the air, like a calm and elegant sun.

At nightfall, the bishop lowered his eyes and unconsciously looked at the city of Marillon.The townspeople welcomed His Excellency the Bishop with a spectacular sunset - a tribute from Boalban of the Rock Shapers' Guild.Though winter raged outside the city's enchanted dome, and snow and ice blanketed the land, it was still spring in Merilon—spring was the Queen's favorite season now.So a sunset is also a spring sunset, and Master Sihana has enchanted such a beauty, adding a little sparkle of dark pink here, a deep rosy there, and perhaps a large swath of purple in the middle ( very bold idea).

It was a magnificent sunset indeed, with the inhabitants of Uptown Merillon—that is, members of the aristocracy and upper middle classes—floating through the streets, dressed in thin silks, flying lace, and shiny satins, yes. I am amazed by this. Bishop Fanya was not admiring the sunset.The sun hasn't set yet, that's all he knows or cares about.The weather outside might be howling, but in fact, the howling wind suited his mood.His chubby fingers crawled across the table, pushing this, shaking that, rearranging other things.It was the only sign of his unhappiness or nervousness, but the expression on the bishop's face was always calm and calm, and his actions were always dignified and calm.However, the two figures in black robes stood in front of him without saying a word, not only noticing everything around them, from the sunset to the bishop's unfinished dinner, but also the chaotic situation like a game of cards.

The bishop's hand, which had been moving around, suddenly clapped and pressed down on the mahogany table. "I don't understand—" His voice was steady and controlled, and it took a lot of effort to hold back his temper and show restraint. "Why do you, Duke Xisi, have such an ability that has been touted so much, but you still can't find a kid!" The two black hoods turned slightly towards each other, exchanging glances.Then the black hat turned to Vanya, and one of them spoke with his hands still folded in front of him.Her tone was neither humble nor overbearing, and she clearly knew that she was leading the situation.

"I repeat, Your Excellency, if this young man was an ordinary person, we would have no difficulty finding him. In fact he is a living dead, so it is not easy to find him. He also has a dark stone, which makes the search It’s simply impossible to do.” "I don't understand!" Van Ya got angry. "There is such a man! He is flesh and blood—" "Not so for us, His Excellency." The sorceress corrected him, and her companion nodded slightly in support of her point. "The dark stones have built a barrier for him, and we cannot find him. Our senses must be attuned to magic, my lord. We pass through the crowd, throwing tiny tentacles of magic like a spider in its own web. Tentacles. Any normal creature in this world walks into our sensory range, and those tentacles vibrate with life force and magic, which allows us to know the most important information about this person: from his dreams to his growth The place, even the food you ate at your last meal, everything.

"As for the living dead, we must use a special method. We must sense their death breath, sense the lack of magic. But that young man is protected by a dark stone, and our senses, that is to say, our magic tentacles, are absorbed and swallowed , can't feel, hear, or see. For us, His Excellency, he doesn't exist in theory. This is the great power of the Dark Stone in ancient times, a living being equipped with the Dark Stone weapon An army of the dead can take over an entire city without being noticed." "Hmph!" Van Ya snorted coldly. "You're talking about him like an invisible man, you mean he could walk into this room right now and you can't see him at all? I can't see him?"

The black hat that covered the sorceress' hood trembled slightly, as if she was trying to suppress an angry gesture or an unbearable sigh.When she spoke again, her voice was rather cold and carefully distorted—a bad omen for those who knew her, and one of the signs was that her companion's knuckles were starting to turn white. "Of course you can see him, His Excellency. So can we. If we can isolate him in the house alone, and let us concentrate on observing, we can recognize his powers and deal with him; but there are thousands of people outside. Thousands!" The sorcerer's hand moved suddenly, causing her companion to shrink back unconsciously, not knowing what she would do.Although Duke Xisi received rigorous training from an early age, the sorceress, a high-ranking member of the order, was known for her fiery temper.Her companions would not be surprised if the crystal wall behind the Bishop suddenly began to melt like ice in the sun.

But the sorceress still restrained herself.Bishop Vanya is not a character to be trifled with. "So, according to what you said before, the only way to catch him is to let someone lure him." Van Ya muttered, sliding his fingers on the table. "It's not the only way, Your Excellency, but it will be the easiest. Of course, there's the sword to deal with, but I doubt he'll have enough time to learn how to use it, or to understand its full power." "We have been reported, sir," added the wizard. "There's a catalyst saint of your own with that young man, can't we contact him?"

"The guy in question is a brainless fool! If I can get in touch with him, I can control him," Vanya said, blood rushing to his round face, making it almost as red as the robe on his body. "But he found some way of avoiding the call of the Prudential Room—" "The Stone of Darkness." The sorceress interrupted calmly, clasping her hands in front of her again. "This effectively prevents you from summoning him, just as it hinders our search for the kid." The sorceress was silent for a moment, then drifted closer to the bishop, causing him a strong unease. "Your Excellency," she spoke in a softly persuasive tone. "If you allow us to enter the gathering place of demon artisans, we will know what he looks like and who else is in his company—"

"No!" Van Ya flatly refused. "We can't alarm them and let them discover their danger! Even though Hei Suo is dead, he has pushed the situation forward. The demon artisans will continue to cooperate with Saraken and get involved in the war." "The Catalyst Saint must have warned them..." "And then you're going to pop up and corroborate what he said, asking questions that will wake those elm heads sooner or later?" "A team of Dikondukes can get rid of them—" the wizard offered humbly. "—and then caused panic." Bishop Fanya gritted his teeth. "There are still demon craftsmen in the world, and it will spread like a prairie fire. People always thought that they were wiped out in the Iron War. It is said that these people who are engaged in dark crafts are not only alive, but also discovered the dark stone. News of them will cause an uproar. No, we cannot act rashly until we are ready to eradicate them completely."

"At the same time, Your Excellency can save his face!" The sorceress telepathically said to her companion. "You have to go and find the catalyst saints." Fan Ya continued, took a breath, snorted coldly, and sternly faced the two people in front of him. "I'll give you a description of the three of you, the Catalyst Saint, Joram, and another person connected to Joram—a serf mage named Mosiah. They will certainly be in disguise, though," he concluded. said a word. "The disguise is generally easy to break through, unless the disguise is very clever, Your Excellency." The sorceress said indifferently. "People only think about changing their appearance, not about changing their body structure or way of thinking. It is not difficult to find a serf mage among the nobles of Merilon." "I think so." The bishop looked at Duke Xisi in front of him unceremoniously. "How can you be sure that this boy—this Joram—will come to Merilon, Your Excellency?" asked the wizard. "Malilong fascinated him." Van Ya waved his jeweled hand. "According to the resident saint in the small village where he grew up, the mad woman Anya told him more than once that he could get the right of inheritance here. If you are only seventeen years old and have such an amazing energy source as the Dark Stone, Convinced that you will inherit a large fortune, where would you go?" Du Kexi bowed silently to express his understanding. "Then." The bishop instructed energetically. "If you find that Catalyst Saint, give him to me. If you find that Mosiah—" "You don't have to tell us what to do, Your Excellency," said the sorceress, with a hint of danger in her voice. "If there are no further requests—" "One more thing." When the two figures were about to leave, Van Ya raised his hand to stop their steps. "I must emphasize! That young man must not have an accident! He must be captured alive! You know why!" "Yes, Your Excellency the Bishop." The two replied in a low voice.They put their hands together in front of them, bowed and saluted, and then backed away.The magic door of the teleportation corridor opened, engulfing the two of them, but within a few seconds they were swallowed up. Alone in his room, Bishop Vanya watched the fading sunset and the darkening night sky, intending to summon the family mage to put down the tapestry and light the lamp in the living room.As soon as Fanya saw the opening of the teleportation corridor appear again, he stopped his hand on the summoning bell.A figure walked out of it, and stood in front of the bishop's table swaggeringly. The bishop recognized the man in the scarlet robe, and should have stood up respectfully at once, which he did at last, but remained in his seat long enough to show the hesitation.He stood up slowly and gracefully, and spent a long time pretending to adjust his robes and straighten the bishop's miter on his bald head. The visitor's smile shows that he fully understands and appreciates such a subtle insult.His smile is not pleasant even at the best of times, the thin lips never extend to the other half of the face, and the thick black eyebrows cast shadows for the dark eyes. If Saryon had been here, he would have instantly recognized the family traits in the face: the thick black eyebrows, the harsh expression on the stern face.But the Catalyst Saint must not have seen the warmth in his heart. This kind of warmth had appeared on the face of this man's nephew-the fire in Joram's black eyes was like reflecting the flames of a furnace.And this man had no light in his eyes, nor light in his soul. "Bishop Fanya." The visitor bowed and saluted. "Prince Xavier." Bishop Vanya returned the salute. "I am deeply honored. Such an unexpected and sudden—" These two words are emphasized. "—it was a pleasant surprise for me to visit." "Indeed." Xavier's words were smooth and flat.His words were always smooth and flat, never emotional, and he never allowed himself to show anger, boredom, annoyance or joy. He was born with the Way of Fire, a High Sorcerer, a Dikonduke, trained in the art of waging war.He is also the Queen's younger brother--this status is extremely important--because the Queen has no heirs, and the succession to the throne is on the woman's side, Xavier is Merilon's Crown Prince.Hence the title of "Prince", and Van Ya reluctantly pays tribute to him. "Why am I lucky enough to receive such a visit?" Fan Ya asked, trying his best to straighten his bloated body, staring at the prince with undisguised displeasure, but the prince accepted the greeting indifferently. Xavier clasped his hands behind his fluttering scarlet robes.Because he has to dress according to court etiquette like everyone else in the palace, and unlike Duke Xisi, Diconduke does not have to wear a red robe to indicate his order, but Xavier feels that wearing this dress is beneficial to him, which can remind People - especially his emperor's brother-in-law - his power as a sorcerer. "I would like to welcome you to Marylon, His Eminence," said Xavier. "You are very kind, my lord," said the bishop. "I am very grateful for the honor you have given me. I really can't bear such concern, but I still have to ask you to leave. If there is nothing else, please go." "Ah, something to do." Prince Xavier stretched out a smooth and soft hand.With this hand he can summon lightning from the sky and demons from the earth.The bishop found it difficult to take his eyes off the hand, and waited nervously. "Just say it, my lord." He slowed down his tone a little. "You don't have to guess anymore." The muscles in the Bishop's face waved involuntarily, making his face look like a wobbly bowl of soft pudding.The corners of his mouth twitched, so he reached up and pressed his hand to his cheek. "Forgive me, Your Highness, but I don't know what you are talking about. Guessing riddles?" Van Ya said politely, his eyes still did not leave the wizard's hand. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." Xavier was calm and light, and looked particularly sinister.But he withdrew his hand to play with a silver ornament hanging from his waist. "You know my sister!" Prince Xavier suddenly fell silent, and Vanya's eyes, which were almost hidden in the folds of his face, suddenly bulged out and stared shrewdly at him. "Yes, your sister, Your Majesty the Empress." The bishop probed gently. "What did you just say? What's wrong with her?" "You and the others know what's going on, and what you and my imbecile brother-in-law have done is treason," Xavier retorted flatly. "It's all thanks to you and your catalyst saints that he can maintain the status quo, but that's it. Let me take the throne." Xavier smiled and shrugged slightly. "I'm not an obedient bear like my brother-in-law. I won't dance under your rope. But I can be submissive and easy to get along with. You'll need me." His next words were softer. . "When you're about to go to war." "We pray to Emin that such a tragedy will not happen." Bishop Fanya said reverently, looking up at the sky. "You must understand, Prince Xavier, that the Emperor objected to war, and he would turn away—" "—and a kick in the ass," finished Xavier. Bishop Fanya blushed with anger, squinted his eyes and reprimanded: "Given your status, Prince Xavier, I don't allow you to say something rude to the Supreme Lord. I don't know what you want from me, I don't I understand your words, and are displeased with your insinuations. I must again ask you to leave, and it is time for evening prayers." "You're an idiot," said Xavier briskly. "You'll find it's much better for you to do things with me, getting in my way will get you in trouble, I'm a deadly adversary. Oh, I admit you and my brother-in-law are now protected, Dukes is in your pocket , but you can’t leave this mystery unsolved.” Xavier spoke the spell, and the portal opened behind him. "If you want to go back to the palace, my lord." Bishop Van Ya said humbly. "Please take my greetings to your imperial sister, I hope she recovers..." The next words hung on the bishop's lips without exiting. For a moment, there was a crack in Xavier's painstakingly maintained calm attitude - like a crack in the ice, his face was pale, and his black eyes gleamed. "I'll bring her your greetings, Bishop," Xavier said, walking into the teleportation corridor. "I will add that you are in good health, Bishop. When the time comes..." The teleportation corridor closed its mouth behind him, and the last Prince Xavier that Vanya saw was like a splash of red dots, streaking through the air like blood lines.It was a thought-provoking scene that remained with Bishop Vanya long after the prince disappeared.Fanya rang the summoning bell with trembling hands, and ordered that the lights be lit in the house immediately, and he also ordered a bottle of sherry.