Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 972: Chapter 971: Like a Shadow

The text was written beneath the small prayer table, and though the bloodstains had been wiped away, the glowing traces remained clearly visible in Diana’s eyes. She saw the lines trembling and twisting, each stroke seeming to embody the intense emotions Malm Dunite had when he wrote them—

Close to madness.

Diana withdrew her gaze from those frenzied writings and searched the room once more. This time, she found nothing more—the priests responsible for cleanup were indeed diligent.

The black-haired maidservant supervisor blinked, turned, and prepared to leave the scene.

Yet, at the moment she turned, a strong surge of Magic Power suddenly concentrated in the room—not gathered, but appeared as if it descended from the void!

Diana turned around in an instant, and the next second she perceived the invisible wind of magic sweeping through the entire prayer room. Threads of black and red mist emerged from the air, swirling like a vortex around the small prayer table, gathering and forming as if the once spilled blood was flowing back into a long-gone body. The faint light of the small lamp suddenly blazed, and in the abruptly brightened glow, a tall, translucent figure made of what seemed to be smoke and light congealed and floated in mid-air!

"Blasphemous heretic!" the phantasmal and distorted figure roared in anger at Diana who stood in the prayer room, while the smoke-shrouded face faintly resembled Malm Dunite. With the shout, he suddenly spread his arms, either in an embrace or submission, loudly praying, "O Lord! Send forth soul’s punishment, destroy this heretic who desecrates the sanctuary!"

The moment that phantasmal figure appeared, Diana had already adopted a defensive stance. A subtle glow appeared in her eyes, and faint white radiance emerged around her limbs and torso, enveloping her body in a barely visible barrier. The next second, Malm Dunite’s prayer summoned a hazy phantom—it seemed like a giant clad in Black Armor, its face shrouded in black mist, with only blood-red eyes glowing with killing intent deep within the fog. It appeared above Malm and stepped forward in the air, raising a flame-wreathed battle axe high and striking down towards Diana!

The battle axe seemed unavoidable. As Diana’s body began to move, the phantasmal blade had already descended upon her, slicing through from her head to her torso without any hindrance, cleaving through the black-haired maidservant’s body.

Nothing happened.

Diana looked down at her unharmed body, her figure rapidly fading, and in a blink, she disappeared from the room.

The phantasmal iron-clad giant was momentarily paused in mid-air and then began to fade and dissipate, as Malm Dunite’s voice echoed in confusion within the prayer room: "... A pile of steel... no heart?"

Hasty footsteps came from the corridor, interspersed with urgent, low conversations, and then the door to the prayer room, already ajar, was flung open. A squad of fully armed Church Knights and a number of combat priests surged into the small room.

The room was empty, with neither intruders nor any anomalies to be seen. To the bewildered priests, only a small lamp not far away quietly illuminated the prayer room with a dim light.

...

Duke Ferdinand Wendell had a grave expression as his gaze slowly swept across the vast Empire map. This map was drawn painstakingly by countless cartographers, filled with rust-colored spots and patches, scattered throughout the empire.

"... For the first time, I clearly realize that while we were unaware, the power of the church had already penetrated secular life to such an extent..." The old Wolf General, who seldom frowned even on battlefields, now furrowed his brows with unprecedented seriousness, "It’s truly shocking."

"This is the result of more than a decade of pressure and balance by the royal family," Rosetta glanced at the old Duke beside him. "The War God Faith is tightly bound with the empire’s military power, indirectly causing many military aristocrats to also be followers of the War God. This influence is deeper than that of the Holy Light in Anzu, and for hundreds of years, Typhon’s people have been accustomed to seeing the War God’s priests as reliable protectors and guides, making the royal family’s balance and restraint even more difficult."

"... I know the resistance you faced, and for a long time, even I couldn’t understand some of your measures against the church," Ferdinand’s expression was complex. "If it hadn’t been for Bard..."

"That brings up something I still want to confirm," Rosetta suddenly said. "You once had a ’revelation’ where you saw Bard abandoned by the gods, tortured by the flames of faith. This ’revelation’ happened years after his disappearance... Based on just these circumstances, do you truly believe Bard was still alive then?"

"Malm said it was a ’warning sign,’ that Bard had betrayed the gods, and thus the gods were warning me through revelation. But I know Bard, he wouldn’t betray the gods, he..."

Duke Ferdinand’s voice became slightly unsteady as if unsure how to express his conflicted and shaken feelings. Rosetta let him continue no further: "That’s enough, Duke Ferdinand. I understand your feelings—just as I understand Bard. No matter how you see it, your doubts about the church were justified, and choosing to not let Andresha receive the baptism was clearly the right decision now. The ’faith’ humanity has long relied upon is not as safe as people imagine."

"I wasn’t thinking about these things at the time. I just hoped not to let Andresha walk the same path until I figured out what had happened to Bard..." Ferdinand shook his head, seemingly reluctant to reminisce further. He looked up again, eyes returning to the map before him, "You warned me long ago to keep a certain distance from the church, and now your warning has finally materialized..."

As he spoke, the old Duke’s expression gradually became particularly solemn. He waved his hand as if grasping an invisible sword: "Your Majesty, the truth behind the gods is indeed as you said..."

"I know it’s hard to believe," Rosetta said in a deep voice, "but Gawain Cecil has already sent us abundant evidence and materials, and those things... match perfectly with the anomalies within the War God Church."

"...I understand, Your Majesty," Ferdinand slowly nodded, straightening his posture and saluting like a knight, "Then this is a war—permit me to take leave and prepare for this war."

The not-so-young former Wolf General turned and walked out of the emperor’s parlor with steady, powerful strides, leaving Emperor Rosetta Augustus alone in the vast, brightly-lit room, silently watching Ferdinand’s departure. After a few seconds, his gaze suddenly became fixated.

Not far in front of him, on the floor that was supposed to be completely illuminated by the light, a hazy shadow unexpectedly appeared. The shadow seemed substantial as it expanded and contracted on the floor’s surface, while at its edges, numerous rust-colored, barely visible lines had spread everywhere at some unknown time, reaching the surrounding walls, the nearby door, and even the ceiling!

At the moment Emperor Rosetta’s gaze landed on that shadow, an indescribable, dream-like whisper suddenly arose in the room, and a rust-like bloody smell rushed straight into Emperor Rosetta’s nostrils. Immediately after, a hazy human shape swiftly formed in the air, those rust-colored lines and the shadow on the floor seemingly connected with the human shape, and a hoarse, indistinguishable voice emerged from "it," tearing at Emperor Rosetta’s eardrums: "Augustus..."

"Malm Dunite," Emperor Rosetta’s face was as frozen as ice, his black eyes glaring at the eerily appearing figure. He slightly rubbed his fingers together, yet the magic warning did not cause any disturbance outside; the guards who should have detected the anomaly and rushed into the room were nowhere to be seen — even so, he did not display any panic, his gaze merely grew colder than before, "Truly unexpected, meeting like this under such circumstances, old friend."

"I didn’t expect you to walk so far on the path of rebelling against the gods..." that hazy shadow said hoarsely, becoming more solid in shape, "I originally thought you were just momentarily enthusiastic, as in the past, wanting to play some ’balancing’ tricks, but I didn’t expect you’ve been completely blinded, unable even to see the guidance of the right path — regrettable indeed, my old friend..."

"This is different from the past ’balance,’ Malm," Emperor Rosetta said in a deep voice, "This is no longer a matter of worldly rights and interests, your church has issues, your faith has issues, your master has issues — you are sliding towards mystery and darkness. For the Empire, you are no longer a threat but a hazard."

His words completely enraged that shadow, which suddenly elevated its body high, countless indescribable whispers and layers of rust-colored halos instantly filled the entire room. It shouted angrily: "Enough! You have fallen into a pathetic heterodox. Indeed, guiding you is a waste of time — let the Master’s power help you regain clarity!"

Facing the sudden increase in pressure, Emperor Rosetta merely stared coldly ahead, not retreating but stepping forward: "Is... seeing your condition, likely transformed into something akin to an evil spirit or departed soul, holding onto hope for your remaining sanity is indeed wishful thinking."

Malm Dunite’s shadow did not seem to hear this mocking remark, merely raising its hands high, a rust-colored surge pressed towards Emperor Rosetta: "Sinner! Face the Master’s judgment!"

"You miscalculated one thing," Emperor Rosetta raised his head, looking at Malm’s shadow with calmness, "The Augustus Clan, cursed by God for two hundred years, has never feared any so-called ’Master.’

He gently closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his deep black pupils had already filled with endless starlight.

In the next second, everything in the parlor was engulfed by the surging starlight — walls, roof, furnishings... everything swiftly melted and vanished within the starlight, a scene exceptionally radiant, like only seen in human dreams and fantasies, a starry sky consumed everything, and effortlessly swallowed the Malm projection calling upon the War God’s divine power — the latter only had time to let out a piercing scream and an incredulous shout: "... You dare!"

The brilliant starry sky swallowed Malm’s words, those bright points began to slowly rotate in the purple-black smoke, presenting a bizarre and chaotic, bewildering image. Emperor Rosetta Augustus stood at the center of this "chaotic starry sky," becoming the focal point of all the stars.

Listening to the last scream left by Malm’s projection, he merely sighed faintly: "It doesn’t take much courage to kill a monster."

In the next second, the phantom of the chaotic starry sky rapidly contracted and disappeared, the items devoured in the parlor returned to Emperor Rosetta’s view. He furrowed his brows, gently shook his head: "Just a trivial shadow..."

"It’s okay, a shadow is enough to prove your sincerity," a hoarse, deep voice suddenly sounded at his ear, a voice he was particularly familiar with — it was the one echoing continuously in the deepest part of that nightmare palace every Augustus descendant would hear, "I indeed tasted it... It’s divine power and the strength of faith, an excellent appetizer."

"I’ve already shown my sincerity, next you need to show your attitude," Emperor Rosetta said coldly, "Don’t forget what you promised."

"Of course, of course — we’ve both had enough of this torturous relationship, that’s our common ground. You use yourself as a bridge to help me return to the ’outside’ world, and I end the curse on the Augustus Clan, never to return... It’s a fair trade we’re both looking forward to," the voice said cheerfully and sincerely, "I will keep my promise more steadfastly than mortals—rest assured on that—as I am God’s Eye, I disdain lying and deceit."

"That would be best."

...

Gawain arrived at Melita Ponia’s widest terrace, under the brilliant night sky of the Arctic Region, raising his head to look toward the mountain peak where the Council Headquarters was located.

Though it was still shrouded in the night sky here, by Cecil’s time, it was actually morning.

Gawain’s expression was somewhat solemn.

For some reason, a faint sense of unease began to plague his heart since last night. At first, he thought it was due to discussing too many secrets about the Voyager, gods, the Inversion Tide, and the Black Pit with the Dragon God, causing psychological pressure leading to discomfort, but as his thoughts gradually cleared and with a night’s rest, the unease did not diminish at all.

Moreover, last night he faintly sensed the "aura" of Voyager relics, though that feeling was extremely weak and lasted less than three minutes, he could be sure he was not hallucinating.

Talronde did have some Voyager relics, a result of dragons continuously "recovering" from various places. But they merely stored those legacies, under the absolute rule of the Dragon God, no dragon would arbitrarily contact or even activate the Voyager’s legacy. Yet last night, Gawain could be sure he felt some aura fluctuations of a Voyager relic being activated... this was undoubtedly abnormal.

Something might be about to happen — the feeling in his heart grew stronger.