DRAGONBORN SORCERER-Chapter 22: Behind Church— Guidance or Conspiracy

It was almost mid night by the time Rose returned to the inn she and her brother had been staying. McVill, in their room, was still up and was sitting on his majestic chair, holding a glass of wine and ruminating about the incident.

The room was lighted by the candles that flicked as Rose slammed to door, snatching McVill’s attention. She undid her white robe and hung them on the hook by the door. Her movements were deliberate yet lighter than before.

Seeing her arrival, McVill stood up, set his glass on the table and approached Rose as she was on her way to bed.

"Mind telling me where have you been this entire time?" He asked, observing her carefully. Something about her demeanor was changed— as though her burdens had been lifted off somehow from her shoulders.

"The church." She replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I went to there to atone for the deeds I have committed. After all, I did doubt the messenger of the goddess." Her smiled seemed softer. However, a small sign of guilt still lied hidden in her smile which McVill couldn’t see.

"Great!" He exclaimed, feeling relieved, "Then everything has been settled down, I guess." He sat next to his sister, "Was Father Fredric there to guide you? Did you inform him about Sir Skyler?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded, "Father Fredric was overcome with emotion when he heard. He was in tears, though furious that I dared to question the Goddess’s will. He even mentioned an ancient prophecy tied to someone incarnated by her divine command."

"A prophecy?" McVill raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Never heard of it."

"Neither did I." She replied, taking a long breath, "Apparently, It’s a secret and known only to the members of the church. They’re forbidden from disclosing it to the ordinary citizen. Since, I’m already among the chosen ones, they told me about the prophecy."

McVill remained silent for a while, thought something and asked, "What was it about anyway? Does it explain about Sir Skyler’s sudden appearance?"

Rose hesitated for a moment, but seeing how enthusiasm her brother was, she nodded.

"When corruption consumes the world, when impurity spreads, and mankind can no longer discern right from wrong, the Goddess will send her most beloved servant, incarnated as a human, to deliver divine judgment and bring salvation to the world— or so he said."

"So, Sir Skyler... He was telling the truth." He replied, looking unimaginably concerned, "In that case, it’s necessary that we must follow him instead of questioning."

"Agreed." She said with a regretful tone, "I was fool to even doubt him the first place. Clan leader was right— I’m naïve. I let my faith falter and disappointed him."

Her voice trembled as tears peeked from the corner of her eyes. Seeing her distress, McVill gently wrapped her in a warm embrace.

He whispered, "You’re not a disappointment. If anything, you are my precious Rose. That one whom I trust and love the most."

Rose slowly lifted her gaze, and saw her brother’s eyes. Those eyes—steadfast, protective, and unwavering—had always been her anchor, her constant support in moments of doubts. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Thank you, brother." She said, feeling secure as she melted in his arms, "Your kindness means more to me than you’ll ever know."

The siblings sat there for a moment. The night’s silence broken only by the soft crackle of the candles as they went for bed rest. After all, as the elite members of the Risers Clan they had a duty to fulfill— a raid that they needed to participate the following day.

*******

"Upgrade!" Skyler commanded, siting on edge of the bed as he looked at his skill.

[Congratulation! Active skill ’Element Lord’ had been upgraded to level-3]

[Additional effects gained]

"What’s that?" Skyler wondered, seeing the notification popping out of nowhere.

Back at the inn he had been staying, he was checking up on his status. When the inn keeper and the three adventurers who tried to conspire against him, they were punished with some task.

As for the task the lady served him a great deal of foods almost similar to a grand feast. He took quite a pleasure savouring the delicious meal.

And for the three adventurers— they were sent to a specific place for gathering intel. While he was waiting for them to return, he saw the excess AP and EP on his stat bar, reminding him to convert them into a Ascension Card to upgrade his active skill. The current notification was the consequence of that.

[Notice: ’Element Lord’ has reached the requirements. Additional element powers have been unlocked. You have now full access to ’Fire’ element]

’Oh, that’s right.’ He thought, chuckled as he looked at the system interface, ’I did have access to higher attacks from each element. But I never got the full access. Now that I’ve got that too, my fire spells are stronger than before.’

[Notice: MP cost for unleashing higher attacks are now reduced]

Just when he was feeling happy about the fact, another interface appeared, filling him with utmost pleasure and satisfaction.

’Amazing! Now I can preserve my MP for backups.’ He almost jumped in joy but held his composure.

"Boss." A voice came after the knocking at the door, "You up there? We’ve finished the task you gave us."

’They’re fast.’ He thought as he stood up, "Come in."

With his permission, the three adventurers entered in that room with pale impression on their faces. As if they had witnessed some kind of ghost in the middle of the night.

"So, I assume you’ve done your job." He said, looking at them with his sinister glowing eyes, "Start spilling what you’ve found out."

Skyler had already manipulated Leonardo and his elite troops with his lies. He was concerned if the church of Rosevill had already caught the wind or not. If he involved himself further, he could’ve get into trouble.

However, for his lies to continue as solid truth, he needed some informationfrom— evidence from the church to make his lies more reasonable and convenient. Thus, he ordered those three to infiltrate into church and gather what he needed.

They just returned from the church and with dead impression on their faces— that what Skyler never anticipated, yet played along like he already knew what the church was upto and what he needed them to see.

"The church." Their leader looked terrified, "It’s awful. I can’t believe they have been plotting something like that."

As Skyler kept staring at them, they unfolded the secrets they had found fortunately. With each moment passing by, with unfolding of each truth, his impression grew sadistic— enjoying every bit of the news as his grinning smug face grew sinister-like.