After the Stitch Monster was eliminated, the battle in this area came to an end. Griffith returned to the hillside and found that Medemmea had returned to his human form, lying naked in a pile of rotten flesh. He was not seriously injured, but was exhausted and fell into a coma.
Griffith raised his hand towards the cemetery on one side, trying to summon a few living corpses to protect his companions. However, nothing happened. Entire cemeteries of corpses had disappeared.
He had no choice but to pick up his companions and run towards the tomb chamber.
Nearly half of the tomb was destroyed in the vision just now, and the ruins were full of rubble and bones. The cold stone path twists and turns upward from the entrance to the top of the tomb. The walls originally made of boulders were covered with chitin as hard as beetle shells, showing lavender and brown colors, and even grew sharp horns like insect tentacles. However, these materials have also shown signs of deterioration, slowly graying and peeling off.
On the top floor of the tomb, Griffith discovered the remaining traces of an unclear magic circle. The light and breath of magic have dissipated, leaving only a vague pattern that looks like a six-pointed star.
It was deserted, nothing could be found.
"Minos," Griffith called his bone ring, "what can you detect? Has the red stone absorbed energy?"
The bone ring responded to him immediately: "The red stone has received a negligible amount of life energy. Minos once sensed the existence of powerful life energy here, but there is no energy left."
At this time, Midian Maier on his shoulder patted him on the shoulder: "Griffith, put me down."
"Are you ready to move?" Griffith happily put his companion down.
"Yes, my 'Wind Wolf' form will not last long, and then I will fall into a period of weakness and coma."
"Wind Wolf...why is it called such a name?"
"Don't ask me about the name given by Ophelia," Midianmaia said in a low voice, "My ability comes from the Whispering Forest incident. During the retreat, we were attacked by demon wolves. Thanks to you and Queen Sonia, we We soon met up with Professor Lourdes. Just as we were preparing to withdraw from the forest, we suddenly encountered a large group of more powerful mutant creatures. It was during the melee at that time that a mysterious wolf bit me. Escape into the darkness before anyone can fight back."
"It bit you alone?"
"I'm not sure. It should be just me. After that, I lay down with a high fever for a few days. After recovering, I had the ability to mutate into a human wolf, which can greatly increase my strength and agility," Midianmaia said, "This I only told Ophelia the secret."
"This is very strange." Griffith raised his hand and showed his bone ring to Midianmaia. "This is my sealed artifact. It comes from the battle we participated in to annihilate the Cook gang in the sewers. The trophy that I killed the fallen mage Camilla. Has the ability to resurrect and enslave the undead.”
Midianmaia fell into a brief thought, "Can a sewer mage hold a high-level sealed object of the undead path?"
"Yes, it has such a strong smell of conspiracy that I am wary of this ring, but it is undeniable that it is very useful and there is no big danger so far," Griffith said with a smile, "Ophelia What’s going on with your ability?”
"She is a mixture of elf and human, half elf."
"What?"
"Really, you can't tell from the appearance," Midianmaia said seriously, "The von Ishtar family is a border noble in the north, but Ophelia is the mother and a Canaanite. The result of an elf love affair. When she was just born and opened her eyes, her biological mother discovered the strange eyes and picked up scissors to blind her eyes. Human parents and ancestors all have blue eyes, so it is impossible to give birth to strange eyes. What a baby with lustful eyes~"
"Does Ophelia know her biological father's name?"
Midian Maier shook his head and said, "She knew and wouldn't tell us. However, the magic eye is passed down through blood, so it must not be difficult to trace. I think you can ask Galadia.
“Speaking of which, our group of Shutoral who entered the sewers is really unusual.
"Ophelia is a half-elf with a magic eye. You have obtained the sealed artifact of the path to the undead. I am a human wolf. Lana, well, the Fiona he protects is an anomaly, and according to the tradition of the Xia Long family, he The two will probably get married in the future. And then there is Murat... Is there anything unusual about Murat?"
"A child accuser who deserves to be burned at the stake?"
"Yes, he should be burned to death!" Midianmaiya agreed.
Griffith snorted twice: "Isius is very suspicious. He is probably the mastermind of the Cook gang attack, or at least an important person. After the Verona incident, he put on a mask and spoke and acted. His style changed drastically. But I didn’t have enough clues.”
…
The tide of undead creatures has completely subsided. They disappeared from Raven without even leaving much of their bones. Before dying, they rushed into densely populated cities and slaughtered them wantonly. Nearly half of the residents were killed and the upper city was almost destroyed.
The leader of the undead army, the terrifying Death Knight, had been killed, and his body was hung high on the spire of the Holy Light Chapel. The dilapidated skin and facial contours can vaguely identify it as the local garrison knight Saffirion.
Professor Lordes, the former leader of the Enemy Committee, concluded the meeting in his usual calm tone:
"Saphirion is just a pawn. He is familiar with our tactics and response methods, so he was appointed as the commander of the undead. The death knight's power was only given to him for a short time. After Griffith's team destroyed the tomb chamber, he was fighting with The extraordinary beings he fought witnessed the rapid decline of his power.
"The Deathrattle Order's conspiracy here is basically consistent with our previous speculation, and the working principle of the sealed artifact is also known. They used the zombie tide to kill, causing tens of thousands of deaths. In the process, the flesh, flesh and soul of the deceased were It was absorbed by the black mud and transformed into some kind of energy. The rotten soul corpse was the fruit that gathered energy. However, when it was about to be killed, the cult stopped the operation of the sealed objects and rituals, and the essence of the energy was also Extraction transfer.
"With the support of this powerful spiritual energy, a certain existence was created by them."
"What existence?" Bishop Horus, the extraordinary being present at the meeting, asked, "Holy light, could it be that the evil god came to the world?"
"It can't be from the evil god. This energy is far from enough," the hunter Moro replied on behalf of the extraordinary wizard. "The Arcane Council and the Bureau of Investigation are investigating. We have captured or killed a large number of members of the Deathrattle Order. Members and Rihanna’s resident mage are also suspected, and we will find out in the subsequent investigation.”
"This mission ends here. The subsequent investigation work will be coordinated by Moro and Valkyrie, and the aftermath will be managed by Horus. I still have courses and exams to arrange." Professor Lordes stood up and left without saluting. No goodbyes were said.
That's the end of the meeting. Lourdes seemed to have conveyed what he wanted to convey, and stood up and walked towards the teleportation array of the mage tower. As a professor at Homemon Watts, he didn't want to stay for a minute, leaving the three extraordinary beings and Griffith who was attending the meeting staring at each other.
"Okay~" Moreau sighed and took out a stack of reports, "There are still many things left. The upper city was hit hard, and there are ruins and refugees everywhere. Fortunately, the new garrison mage and garrison knight quickly They will arrive soon. Let’s take a look at the resettlement of the refugees first..."
…
"How is Amber?" After the meeting, Erza and Griffith came to the Holy Light Chapel together. Almost all the wounded and refugees were housed nearby.
"She witnessed some kind of mysterious existence and was mentally traumatized, but she was fine under the care of the nuns," Griffith replied.
"Maybe I saw the gathering tide of souls." Erza sighed softly.
"Soul?" Griffith asked.
"Yes, a soul, or a similar spiritual aggregate," Erza said. "Revan died tens of thousands of people. Their bodies were melted by the black mud. Their souls were bound and then extracted, and poured into a certain container. go."
How similar to the situation in Hepu Town. However, this time the cultists completed the extraction of energy. Griffith's expression became extremely serious: "I'm going to investigate the archives of the Holy Light Chapel."
"What's it for? Forget it, I won't ask. If you find out, tell me," Erza whispered, "I'm here to handle some work. You have to be careful. If you're in danger, call for help."
The two found Midianmaia in a crowded corridor. He was squatting outside the ward, peeling apples neatly with his hands and feet.
"Ophelia, are you okay?" Erza waved to him.
"Still asleep," Midianmeiya pointed to the ward, "There is nothing abnormal."
Everyone opened the door a crack and secretly looked into the ward, finding Ophelia sleeping soundly. She was wearing a thin men's white shirt, revealing her long, fair and smooth legs. Her blond hair was spread out. She was humming some inaudible words in her sleep, hugging a big pillow and sleeping with her legs sandwiched between her legs.
"..."
"You!" Erza was stunned for a moment and criticized in a low voice, "You are such a beast, how can you take advantage of others' danger and eat them!"
"Ah, this," Midianmaiya was shocked, "I don't have it!"
Huh, I didn’t expect you, Midianmaiya, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be a rough guy. Griffith looked at him with contempt.
Amidst the suppressed denunciations and excuses, the sleeping Ophelia let out a low hum, rubbed her bare legs gently, and murmured seductive murmurs that made the heart beat faster:
"Midenmaiya, you don't need to be a wolf of the wind in bed~"
The air was stagnant.
"puff!"
"Hahaha!"
Midianmeiya closed the door as fast as lightning, blushing and shaking his head: "No, no, no, no!"
"What?!" Griffith asked, "Are you ready to refuse to admit it now?"
"What's not?!" Erza patted his shoulder with an expression that said she understood everything, "Don't be burdened, who doesn't have a shortcoming?"
…
In previous attacks, almost all the local clergy in Revan were killed. The ones who took over the work here were the reinforced clergy and some devout believers who managed to survive.
In the chaos, no one dared to stop a would-be knight.
Griffith entered the archives room of Holy Light Chapel unimpeded, closed the door, and prepared to start his own work. As a special investigator, he theoretically has access to all official documents.
He first checked the personnel file. There are records of local monks, nuns, and all registered priests on pilgrimage.
He found no files on Krista.
Griffith then checked the relevant records of Bishop Corian who had been transferred. His goal was not to find confidential documents, but to search for the regional bishop's daily work records, sermons, routine documents and reports, and orders.
Still found nothing. There is a serious lack of archives on the bishop’s work over the past ten years, and documents from many time periods have been removed.
as I thought……
The corners of Griffith's mouth couldn't help but curl up. Although no valuable information was found in both attempts, he was already certain that his search was in the right direction.
It’s not surprising that confidential documents were destroyed or taken away, but there must be many trivial matters in Bishop Kelian’s daily work. It is impossible for these documents to be kept confidential. The lack of files can only mean one thing -
Bishop Klein's daily work is related to secrecy, and he is very likely to be an important node in the Krista incident.
Here, there must be clues hidden in the archives of Raven's Holy Light Chapel.
Griffith rearranged the files he was looking through and stretched his muscles outside the filing cabinet.
Intelligence analysis was one of Griffith's two majors at Junior Sergeant School and Homemon Watts. For an intelligence agent, infiltrating, assassinating, eavesdropping, and seducing are all evil ways. Statistics and analysis of public information are the true meaning of intelligence science.
The organization that wiped out Krista's existence can take away files and materials with keywords, but if they want to completely erase all traces, they can only burn the place with fire.
Since Raven's Holy Light Chapel was not burned, there must be clues left.
Christa joined the Eastern Legion in 1441, served for nearly two years, and died in battle in 1443. Then, Griffith focused his attention on the activity records of the chapel between 1438 and 1441, when Christa was 12-15 years old, a critical period for formal training.
After searching all night, Griffith found several scattered and suspicious documents from the vast archives.
He took these documents to a corner of the archives room and read and analyzed them carefully.
[On March 19, 1438, the Raven Chapter’s complaint record to the Holy See]
"Forward strategy
"Irresponsible bureaucratic behavior and pretentious reformists are damaging our cause and faith. Not long ago, devout girls were shepherdess and the daughters of small workshop owners and small landowners. It will take time for the grace of the Holy Light to come to them. , it is absurd to expel them from their appointments just because they have not been able to complete the tasks of the Holy See. Our Ministry has protested many times. The girls who have been expelled from their appointments should continue to stay in the church and become priests, rather than returning to the church where there is no room for them. The countryside..."
[On July 2, 1438, the Raven branch’s promotional posters in neighboring provinces were recorded and kept on file]
The painting shows a thin, quiet and beautiful girl. She wore her blond hair loose and held up the emblem of the Holy Light. Knights, soldiers, citizens and farmers followed behind her.
[On August 12, 1438, the Raven branch’s promotional posters in neighboring provinces were recorded and kept on file]
Griffith saw more beautiful promotional posters of girls.
However, these posters disappeared in the following years.
[January 16, 1441, notes to Raven Branch’s 1440 annual audit report (missing page)]
"The audit opinion is that Raven Branch's evangelistic cash expenditures far exceed normal levels. The auditors believe that a large number of unreasonable other expenses were included in the expenditures."
[February 24, 1441, rebuke from the Holy See Branch of the Eastern Provinces]
"The abnormal expenditure items of the Raven Chapter must be stopped immediately. The old habits that we all know and have abolished are not only abolished by the new canon, but will also greatly damage the friendly relations between the Holy See and the kingdom, wizards, and knights, and will be detrimental to our cause. Nothing helps.”
[March 1, 1441, work inspection of Raven Branch]
"Forward strategy
"According to the instructions of the superior department, the overspending project has been terminated, the remaining assets will be properly disposed of, and the relevant personnel have accepted punishment."
The relevant personnel are probably the local church leaders headed by Bishop Kelian. Griffith has already found preliminary clues. He took out the compilation of canons placed in the most conspicuous place in the archives and read it.
On December 31, 1427, the Holy See of Holy Light promulgated new canons under the leadership of the reformists. This new regulation was so controversial and boycotted that the Holy See had to suspend its entry into force and make several revisions. Finally, in 1437, it finally completed the formulation of the detailed rules and officially implemented them.
The canon is so thick that it can be used as a shield. You may not be able to understand it even if you look at it for a month.
Griffith, who had taken required law courses at Homemon Watts, knew where to look for answers. Soon, he found a revised comparison table of the old and new canons based on the index. The content of this revision is complex and there are many items——
"1. Regarding the relationship between the Holy See and the Supreme Court and the Senate
"2. Explanations and sermons about the coming of angels
"3. Abolition of the selection of saints
"4. Regarding the dispatch and combat missions of novice monks and nuns with the army
"5. Relationship with the Holy See of the Gods
"six,……"
1427 was the year that the unspeakable Black Magic Supreme was annihilated and the Aaron family was destroyed. According to Sonia, the powerful people who rushed to rescue the Aaron family that night included the Pope's crown.
Then, the Supreme Being was erased from existence. Judging from the revision time of this canon, it seems that several important figures held a meeting standing on the corpses of the Aaron tribe to determine the spirit of the next work...
Count Larmour was also present, and he might have become a clerk like me not long ago! He's probably had a lot of memories wiped out, hey, who hasn't been young yet~
The point, well, look for the point! After reading the documents all night, Griffith, who was tired and dizzy, patted his face, drank the little water left in the cup, and began to look carefully at the revised parts that he cared about.
From a jumble of seemingly unrelated information, he teased out some clues. The evidence is scattered, but the conclusion is clear.
The Raven branch of the Holy Light Church is cultivating a saint who has high hopes.
According to the new regulations of the Holy See, various places have stopped the training and selection of saints who represent the Holy Light to bring joy and blessing to the world, and related projects have been terminated. Combined with other materials, it can be learned that this activity was strongly opposed by churches in various regions.
This is easy to understand. If a saint comes, it will be a great good thing for the local church, clergy and residents!
The Ravens chapter was one of the chapters that strongly opposed it. At the end of 1437, after the Holy See issued a strict order, they stopped public activities and candidate recruitment, but they probably continued to cultivate saints in private. In early 1441, the audit department discovered their illegal budget expenditures. The amount must be huge, otherwise they would not be warned by the audit department.
Soon, the local bishop and person in charge were punished, and the hidden project should have been completely terminated.
Shortly after that, Krista joined the Eastern Legion to fight. It was not uncommon for novice monks and novice nuns to accompany the army, but her situation must have been more special.
Two years later, she was killed in battle. For some unknown reason, some existence discovered her and hurriedly erased the traces.
Griffith stood up and looked out the window.
The morning light once again fell on the devastated city. Refugees who narrowly escaped the disaster are lining up to head to official and church resettlement sites.
Griffith looked at the long queue in the distance and thought hard.
Krista should be one of the members of the abolished Saint Project. After the plan was terminated, the Holy Light Holy See did not pay special attention to her, but allowed her to go to the dangerous front line to fight. This reason is easy to understand. There must be many candidates for the Saint, so there is no need to take special care of anyone.
But why did Krista's sacrifice lead to massive memory erasure? Could it be that after her sacrifice, the Holy See or other organizations discovered that she was different?
Could she be related to the conspiracy laid out by the cult in Raven? According to Lourdes, a certain being was created. Does this have anything to do with her?
…
The girl woke up from the silence. She was lying on the cold and hard gravel, undressed, pure and beautiful, her blue eyes were intoxicated with sorrow and memories, making it impossible for anyone to think of any blasphemy.
Silence surrounded her, and in that gorgeous yet suspended time, illusory wings seemed to appear behind her, indicating that the moment for her to fly high had finally arrived.
She looked at the deep blue sky, recalling the silent comfort of cuddling each other in the dark green summer night. Joy and melancholy arose spontaneously, but gradually disappeared in the mottled land.
"No, I can't forget, I can't. I'm willing to pay the price, just to keep his warmth and eyes in my heart." The girl stretched her soft hands and feet, struggled to get up from her weakness, and didn't know who she was whispering to, "I heard it. , your will is my action.”
The evening wind is brisk, as if singing a song of destiny.
The girl took a worn blanket and put it on her body, then staggered towards the distant light with her weak feet.
The chirping of birds in the sky echoed across the ruins and wasteland. In order to return to the peaceful land, they will have to cross the last bit of wind. The bursts of heat in the quiet evening are a sign of the coming heavy rain.
She looked up at the stars and walked alone on the deserted and deserted streets, sighing as she picked up the memories.
As she walked forward, she recalled the gorgeous, warm and broken memories, and sighed softly:
"It would be great if there were only warm moments, but life always brings pain to people.
"I can only keep in my heart the joy of being with you and me,
"Even though this body is filthy, I am willing to block all the biting winds for you.
"Through this storm, the place I will go to as a sinful person, whether it is the home that accepts me or the courtyard of my imagination, it must be my return to your heart."
Lanzada was supervising work at a settlement near the chapel, looking over the registered refugees. Official clerks will record their cases and then categorize and arrange them.
At this time, she noticed a staggering and delicate girl appearing not far away. The girl wrapped herself in a blanket and walked barefoot on the gravel-filled ruins.
This is a very beautiful girl, with smooth blond hair hanging on her shoulders, a slim and petite figure, and eyes as clear as the blue sky. Beneath the thin, threadbare blanket, she appeared to be unclothed.
Lanzada immediately ran over, "Did someone hurt you?"
"No, no," the girl shook her head, "Thank you."
Her voice was soft and melodious, as clear as a mountain spring. People nearby looked at her involuntarily, and their hearts hurt by the tragedy were soothed by the beautiful voice.
No one knew her, but deep down they were praying for her to say more.
"Please come and register," the clerk said. "We will provide clothing, food, and shelter. What's your name?"
The girl's voice is like a sweet stream flowing in her heart:
"Krista,
"Krista Alicia."
