Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 644 - 597: Crime and Punishment

Andrey’s nights were still noisy, but Lyle could no longer maintain his usual attitude to push open the golden door.

"Church of the Holy Light."

Only those who were lost in their hearts would go to church to pray, but Lyle was not one of them; on the contrary, his expression was very resolute.

The new doors seemed to be made of marble blessed by holy light, somewhat heavy, but now Lyle still managed to push them open with some effort. The friction sound of the moving doors echoed in the vacant church as Lyle opened his eyes in the glow, looking upon those familiar figures.

With himself included, all the members who had once filled out that club application form were present.

Loveday knelt on one knee near a pillar, listening to the holy light.

Aryan sat on the first bench on the right side, and Lyle could only see the back of her bowed head.

At the pulpit, a knight in dark gold armor turned halfway, the sacred light shone like the rising sun on the horizon. Mr. Raymond held the scripture in one hand, and with the other, he invited Lyle over.

"Welcome back, Purifier Lyle, you’ve arrived just in time for the worship service."

Lyle silently joined the queue of holy light, sat beside Aryan, closed his eyes in contemplation, listened to the prayers, accepted the Holy Wafer shared by Mr. Raymond, and obediently completed the service under Raymond’s guidance.

"This is the happiest worship service I’ve had in Andrey, Lyle." After the ritual of holy light concluded, the tall Raymond sat beside Lyle, removing his helmet, and his skull alight with the Holy Flame looked up at the angelic stained glass at the center of the church.

The two Purifiers sat side by side.

"I participated in, no, I led the ritual to revive the Giant Dragon. I failed, the holy light burnt him to death, my mentor, the Giant Dragon, lived for less than a minute."

Raymond turned his head, his soul’s flame was golden, and his gaze rested warm on Lyle’s face.

"You’ve done something great, Lyle, and I am comforted. But you must stop now, the dragons, they all should die."

It was like hearing the final judgement from a judge, Lyle’s hand trembled. He covered his face with his hand, threaded it through his hair, slicking back the messy locks from his forehead, mustering the courage once again.

"I hope you can retract the curse, Mr. Raymond."

"That’s not a curse, Lyle." Raymond propped his elbow on his knee, fingers interlocked and resting against his chin. "After my death, my memories were fragmented and incomplete. I didn’t understand why George opposed me, nor why the holy war failed. But the reins to limit the dragons have always been in my hands, I have held onto this power, I will not forget. You call this a curse? This is not such a malignant force, it is punishment, it is retribution."

"I defeated that monster, drove the lance into his heart, I heard his roar, I heard his curses, I carried out what I had to do. I handed over the right to judge Yemotar to the holy light, I let the holy light utterly vanquish his sins."

"[Oh light, tell me, what punishment should this monster endure.]"

Raymond gazed at his own palms, both arms trembling.

"The light responded to me, and for the first time I was surprised, for the first time I was furious. The holy light judged Yemotar’s sins and delivered his punishment. And you have seen the consequences."

"The brutal father of dragons, Yemotar’s sin of slaughtering humans, the enormity of his guilt, was enough for the entire race of dragons to be buried with him!!! The torment that the dragons now suffer!!! Was once inflicted with the same agony upon my brethren by him!!! Now you want me to forgive their sins!!! Thousands of lost souls wail in the void!!!"

"What do you understand!!! You fool sheltered by us!!! Why did the Liches rise!!! Because of the Crusade Wars?!!! Did you ever comprehend the slaughter carried out by the dragons before the coming of the holy light, you do not know, because we carried it through."

"The only thing I regret is that I awoke too late, otherwise, I would have destroyed that beast before he could wrought all this!"

Raymond held Lyle’s head in his hands, his black tendrils lashing towards the glowing figure. The twisted shadows burned and burst as if being baptized, with the Angel of Light embracing his junior.

Pure feathers fell through the air, and behind Raymond, ten locks and ten wings filled Lyle’s vision.

"You needn’t worry about these matters, Lyle. I will handle everything. There will be no troubles, no worries, just rest easy." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The Lich Crown touched Raymond’s fingertips, the power of the crown beginning to degrade. Among Mr. Raymond’s gentle whispers and the falling luminous feathers, the Lich Crown began to weakly indulge itself as if intoxicated. Dark shadows formed the crown’s edge, and the sinister magic power gave a jolt to this magical creation, as a wild magic storm centered on Lyle blew the falling feathers away.

Lyle was still grasped in Raymond’s hand, but his will was exceptionally clear.

"Mr. Raymond, I understand what you mean, but the Dragon Priest and the Giant Dragon, sir, are innocent. They serve the dragons that rebel against the father of dragons, they protect the weaker clans. What crimes have they committed! Not to mention the Giant Dragon, sir! He’s just a dead Lich; he has no connection with the crimes committed by the dragons!!! Is it also a sin to love dragons!!! They are all innocents bearing the punishment of Holy Light!!!"

"No! The sin is their desire to become dragons! Worshipping dragons, becoming dragons is their original sin!!! I will absolutely not allow dragon wings to unfold over the heads of my kin!!! If they become dragons, then they must endure my vengeance!!!"

"Foolish preacher!!! Are you also going to spout the ignorant words of ’born with original sin’?!!! Is everyone born filthy, and Holy Light can punish us at will?!!! How is it different from brutality?!!!"

"What difference is there between you and the brutal father of dragons, Raymond!!!"

"I am a Purifier; my faith is righteous," Raymond replied without hesitation.

"Fuck your justice!!!" Lyle pushed Raymond’s arms aside, rolling down the stone steps; he got up from the cold ground, glaring at Raymond with scorn, "Purifiers are supreme? Ha, then I am a Purifier too! Purifier Raymond! I, Purifier Lyle, am telling you! You are wrong! In my eyes, Holy Light is kind and warm, like the sun, but the sun does not choose its objects of illumination!"

"Your justice is not my justice! Your justice is one-sided and foolish!" With his arms crossed, Lyle staggered towards the exit of the chapel under Raymond’s astonished gaze.

Loveday came to Raymond’s side.

"Bishop Raymond, I will go bring back Lord Lyle..."

Raymond put the helmet back on.

"Lyle is a Purifier. I can feel his will. I have absolute conviction in my own righteousness... I thought we would stand side by side..."

Raymond’s voice carried a tinge of loneliness, which the insightful nun caught in the gaps.

"Your Excellency Raymond, why not go and see for yourself. Since justice is absolute, then surely one of you has been blinded; isn’t proving yourself right to the immature Lyle the best method?"

"Aryan..."

"The purpose of meting out punishment is to bring about repentance, to allow the soul to be forgiven by Holy Light. Your Excellency Raymond, is it difficult for you to kill the dragon once more?"

"My sister, you also wish to forgive those monsters?"

Aryan blinked.

"No, Your Excellency Raymond, I just fear losing Mr. Lyle. Showing the true nature of dragons to a lost Purifier is the best way to display your righteousness."

"...You are right."