Chapter 57: Arshley's Anger and an Ancient Manuscript 7,000 Years Ago
Hall of Gods──Holy Orthodox
Inside the Hall of Gods, Arshely sat upon the throne, her expression indiffert, her features concealed beath a veil.
Draped in a loose, light gre saintly robe, her perfect and curvaceous body cannot be hidd at all.
Moreover, with her sere and graceful demeanor, she seemed akin to a goddess descding upon the world.
Right now, before her stood four m, each radiating an extraordinary aura— other than the Guardians, who held positions of great esteem within the Holy Orthodox hierarchy, second only to the Saint.
"I'm certain that the four of you have heard about the news of the death of my brother, Sword Hero Leon Kruger, as spread by the Holy Empire of Elysium. What are your thoughts on this matter?" Arshley crossed her long, plump legs and asked in a calm, somewhat indiffert tone, directed towards the four.
Upon hearing this, the four nodded simultaneously. Th, a handsome middle-aged man with brown hair, clad in a loose robe, stepped forward slowly.
"Saint, may I have the honor of expressing my opinion first?" The middle-aged man, other than Louis, the third Guardian, spoke respectfully to Arshley.
Arshley glanced at him and nodded, responding, "Of course, Guardian Louis. Please proceed."
With Arshley's approval, Louis took a deep breath and adopted a serious expression.
"Saint, according to the horoscope I consulted earlier, it appears that hero Leon is not truly deceased. The hero's star represting him still shines, though dimly, suggesting that he may have sustained injuries following the battle in the Desert of Chaos," Louis explained, maintaining a composed demeanor as he paused for a momt.
Th, his facial expression turned serious once more as he continued, "It's just that, Saint, yesterday, I cast a new horoscope to determine the whereabouts of the sword hero Leon and discovered something unexpected—that the hero's star represting Sword Hero Leon suddly flickered uncontrollably, as if it might disappear at any momt."
*Bang!*
Louis' words hit Arshley like a giant rock, leaving her eyes wided in disbelief, the emotion clearly evidt ev behind her veil.
The hero's Star... It symbolizes the life of a hero.
Unlike the hero's destiny, which is a one-time evt occurring wh three heroes are chos in an era, the hero's star can be discerned through horoscopic calculation, as Louis adeptly demonstrated.
However, not just anyone can employ the horoscopic magic method; without caution, attempting to observe the hero's star can lead to a fatal backlash.
Now, Louis suggests that the Sword Hero's star is showing signs of fading, implying that her brother, Leon, is truly facing immint demise.
"Is... Is what you're saying true!?" Arshley asked, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of collapse.
Observing her reaction, Louis released a small sigh of regret, hesitant to answer her question.
Having known Arshley since before her ascsion to the throne as a Holy Orthodox saint, Louis was familiar with her temperamt.
Although Arshley was rowned as a beloved saint, esteemed by all mankind and held in high regard, she had a fatal flaw—her obsessive love for the sword hero Leon.
While this may seem admirable, sometimes excessive affection can lead to detrimt.
Meanwhile, Louis' silce in response to Arshley's question cast a somber silce over the tire Hall of Gods, and observing his reticce, Arshley clched her palms until they turned red.
"Third Guardian... I demand an answer! Is what you say true or not?" Arshley's questioning tone instantly turned cold as a faint gre aura veloped her body, spreading throughout the hall.
The gre aura caused the tire Hall of Gods to tremble, and the space a them distorted as if it were on the verge of shattering at any momt.
Witnessing the sce, the fourth guardian, Victor, and the fifth guardian, Adam, stood poised to interve and prevt the immint destruction of the Hall of Gods under the pressure of Arshley's power.
However, the first Guardian, Edward, who had remained silt all this time, swiftly took a step forward and fixed a calm gaze upon Arshley.
"Saint, please refrain from succumbing to your anger; otherwise, the consequces could be dire," Edward cautioned with a nonchalant expression, though urgcy tinged his voice.
Upon hearing this, Arshley also gradually regained her composure, though her trembling body indicated that she had not fully calmed down.
Edward sighed and cast a sharp gaze at Louis, causing him to feel a mix of embarrassmt and guilt.
Shaking his head slightly, Edward turned his gaze toward Arshley, asking, "Saint, may I speak and offer my opinion?"
Arshley remained silt, seemingly unable to fully accept the news Louis had delivered earlier.
Undeterred by Arshley's lack of response, Edward proceeded to explain.
"Saint, in the 7,000-year history of mankind's war against the Demon race, do you know why our Holy Orthodox has never directly participated and only acted passively all this time?" Edward's question left Arshley momtarily stunned, and she regarded him with a hint of confusion.
She couldn't comprehd why Edward was broaching this topic.
As a Holy Orthodox saint, Arshley was well aware of the reasons why the Holy Orthodox couldn't interve and attack the Demon race.
The primary reason being that the First Saint of the Holy Orthodox had once made a sacred oath to abstain from involvemt in the battle against the Demon Race.
This sacred oath applied not only to the First Saint but also to all future saints who would ascd the throne and lead the Holy Orthodox.
Consequtly, the Holy Orthodox refrained from gaging in direct conflict with the Demon Race, except to defd humanity's territory from their incursions.
Noticing Arshley's hesitation, Edward continued, "You might argue that it is because of the sacred oath of the first Saint of Holy Orthodoxy that our Holy Orthodoxy has refrained from gaging in direct combat with the Demon race."
"However, Saint, there is another reason for this matter that has be carefully concealed for 7,000 years."
His words not only wided Arshley's eyes in shock but also those of Louis, Victor, and Adam.
"Edward, is what you're saying true? Is there another reason why the Holy Orthodox never interved in the battle against the Demon Race?" The Fifth Guardian, Adam, asked urgtly.
As a Guardian who held the esteemed position of a Holy Orthodox war geral and bore the moniker "God of War," Adam was guinely eager to eradicate the Demon race and stand alongside the Holy Empire of Elysium in the battle for humanity.
Yet, bound by a sacred oath, he found himself unable to participate, resigned to merely observing without taking any action.
Seated upon the throne, Arshley too felt unable to calm down upon hearing Edward's words. For the time being, she suppressed her anxiety about Leon's situation.
Ssing the anxious and curious gazes fixed upon him, Edward maintained a calm demeanor as he began to explain once more.
"A few days ago, I stumbled upon a 7,000-year-old ancit manuscript in the Hall's library." Edward paused for a momt, his calm expression suddly shifting to one of seriousness.
"The manuscript reveals that the true reason the Holy Orthodox refrained from battling the Demon race wasn't solely due to the First Saint's oath, but rather to await the arrival of someone who would change an era and halt the war betwe the Demon race and mankind—a figure referred to as 'The Fated One.'"
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A/N: By the way, I'm considering updating two chapters in one day. What are your thoughts on this? Please leave your commts below. Thank you!