Chapter 18: The Tower’s Shadow and a Convoluted Faith

“We are occupied at the moment; perhaps another time, should the opportunity arise.” Angelina seemed rather disinclined, clearly attempting to deflect what appeared to be an invitation fraught with ill intent.

“That’s quite alright. You are welcome anytime you wish to come. I shall await you in Starfall City.” Melinda appeared unyielding, and to heighten the allure, she offered a condition she deemed highly enticing. “Should you find yourselves interested in any particular aspect, I could even offer you a special divination then.”

Without further words, she turned and departed towards her carriage.

Regrettably, I harbored absolutely no interest in divination; thus, her offer failed to capture my attention. Though, to be fair, her original intention was never truly directed at me…

“Flora, it’s divination!” To my surprise, Tiffany beside me wore an expression of sheer excitement, as if the invitation had been extended to her. “That’s a divination promised by a Starfall City diviner!”

“Uh, is there a difference?” To me, it seemed nothing more than a glorified fortune-telling service. Even if it possessed some accuracy in this world, I still felt it was no great matter.

“Of course it’s different! The diviners of Starfall City are renowned throughout the entire continent. Many national dignitaries and royalty seek their prophecies, and it’s said their accuracy is exceptionally high, exceeding ninety percent.”

Such an exaggeration! A sudden thought struck me: if it truly were that miraculous, wouldn’t it be rather tragic? To my mind, this presented a paradox—if divination were accurate, it would imply an unchangeable future; yet, if the future could be altered, then the divination could not be considered accurate.

Nevertheless, a flicker of curiosity had finally been stirred within me.

Watching the carriage rush past, everyone finally exhaled a collective sigh of relief, sensing that the trouble had at last receded.

“Lady Angelina, is that sword of yours truly a divine artifact?” Once the carriage had vanished into the distance, Sally could no longer contain her curiosity, immediately beginning to inquire about the Air-Condensing Sword. Everyone had understood Angelina’s reluctance to expose it earlier, her deliberate concealment. Now that the incident was past, their collective curiosity reignited, and they clustered around her.

“Can I honestly say I have no idea what’s going on?” Angelina offered a wry smile, appearing utterly helpless. “That sword truly was something I created based on my own abilities. If you don’t believe me, I can make another one for you right now.”

As she spoke, she began to raise her hand.

“Wait, don’t be so hasty!” Amos immediately interjected, halting her actions.

“Judging by the astrologer’s conversation just now, your sword would likely emit an extremely potent wind elemental aura. Given that those from the Tower haven’t gone far, it’s best not to reveal it yet.”

Tiffany nodded in strong agreement. “Furthermore, the purpose of those people coming here doesn’t seem simple; it’s highly probable it concerns this sword. Therefore, unless it’s absolutely necessary, you should refrain from taking it out and using it.”

“Is that so?” Angelina looked rather reluctant, asking with an air of nonchalance. “Are those people from the Tower really that formidable? Do we need to be so wary of them?”

“Actually, the astrologer’s strength is quite ordinary, as her primary expertise lies in astrology and divination,” Brook replied after a moment of contemplation. “However, the two Sages accompanying her are different. Each of them possesses power exceeding the fifth tier, whereas Minos, whom we fought previously, was only at the fourth tier.”

It seemed, then, that those two Sages were indeed exceptionally powerful. Fortunately, no conflict had erupted, or we would have faced at least two opponents far stronger than Minos, not to mention the enigmatic astrologer.

“That’s still nothing special,” Angelina remarked, her expression surprisingly relaxed, as if she could, in the next instant, summon her Air-Condensing Sword and effortlessly cleave those Sages and astrologers into a thousand pieces. Then again, it made sense; she had apparently slain countless Tier 5 magical beasts.

“However, behind them lies the entire might of the Tower Sages Alliance…” Amos’s grave expression conveyed that the situation was far from simple. “The Tower is an exceedingly vast organization, with Sages under its command ruling at least dozens of cities, among which Starfall City is the most renowned.”

“And at the apex of the Alliance—the Council of Sages—there are over a dozen Sage Councilors, all of them magic practitioners exceeding the sixth tier, with some even approaching the seventh tier!”

“As for their Speaker—Adonis Kael—it is rumored he has surpassed the seventh tier, reaching the mid-seventh tier…”

Hearing this, I involuntarily drew a sharp breath. These were truly god-tier experts. Our group, excluding Angelina, combined could barely reach the fourth tier.

“What’s more… while you angels have always maintained discreet movements, legend has it that you’ve also consistently held good relations with the Tower. So, would it truly be alright to suddenly antagonize them in this manner?”

“Uh… you’re right. I was too impulsive and thought too simply.”

Facing Amos’s questioning gaze, Angelina wiped a bead of cold sweat from her brow, her voice instantly losing its previous confidence.

I understood, of course, that like me, she was a transmigrator, and thus knew almost nothing about the power dynamics of this world. Just moments ago, she had been boasting about her invincible Air-Condensing Sword, only to be immediately humbled and nearly expose her true nature.

It was fortunate that experienced and highly professional individuals like Amos were offering advice. Otherwise, with just Angelina and me, we might have unwittingly offended countless powerful figures before even exiting this forest.

Due to these occurrences, the group remained largely silent during their journey. Everyone seemed to be quietly pondering the myriad secrets hidden behind these events.

Meanwhile, I trailed behind the group, silently calculating my next steps. Tiffany had just informed me that after leaving this forest, reaching Navarreli, the capital of the Acent Kingdom, located southwest of Amara Forest, would be much quicker.

My greatest concern, however, revolved around the Church of the Lord. According to her, Navarreli was home to Partington Cathedral, the Church’s largest cathedral in this kingdom, and it was from there that Sally hailed.

“Sally, is there some connection between us angels and your Church?”

I felt my question was sufficiently veiled. Given the name ‘Church of the Lord’ and her initial demeanor, I had always assumed angels might be a higher-ranking entity within her faith. However, after Angelina’s appearance, I began to perceive that this might not be the case. Sally’s attitude towards Angelina seemed more akin to admiration, much like a fan idolizing a celebrity.

“Well… I’m not entirely sure either,” she replied, tilting her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes, appearing quite uncertain.

“Whether in scriptures or various holy teachings, all records state that angels are the Lord’s messengers. Furthermore, Saint Angel Gabriel is said to be the Lord’s wife and one of our Church’s founders. So, by all accounts, angels should belong to our Church. Yet, before you, Flora, I rarely encountered angels, and none of them were within the Church itself. Even His Grace the Bishop only ever mentioned them residing in Enmana.”

Does God have a wife? I wasn’t entirely sure, but Gabriel clearly shouldn’t be God’s wife. It seemed that from this point, it diverged from the Abrahamic religions I knew on Earth.

“But angels have never acknowledged any connection to your God,” Brook interjected, unable to hold back. He was not a member of the Church and seemed quite displeased with their one-sided perception of angels.

“They serve no gods.”

“However, angels have never denied that Lady Gabriel is one of the Church’s founders! In fact, Lady Aethelwulf, the leader of the angels, personally affirmed this centuries ago during a battle against magical beasts,” Sally retorted immediately, even citing specific examples.

After all that, it turned out this was a contentious matter.

“By the way, wouldn’t it be clear if you simply asked your God?” I mused, thinking it would be a straightforward matter if a deity truly existed.

“Hmph, the God of their Church has never shown himself. Whether he even exists is debatable,” Brook scoffed disdainfully.

“That’s because the Lord suffered a severe injury a long time ago and has been recuperating ever since, which is why he doesn’t easily show himself.”

Upon hearing Sally’s explanation, I immediately turned to look at ‘Red-hair’. I found that he seemed utterly choked, unable to refute her point.

“Is that true?” I whispered to Tiffany beside me.

“It seems to be true. Long ago, deities did indeed descend upon the world; this is recorded in every nation’s history. But then they suddenly vanished without a trace. The exact reasons are widely debated, with no definitive answer. Their Church of the Lord has always claimed it was due to their Lord being ambushed by evil forces from the darkness.”

Her answer to me was equally ambiguous.

“And what is the angels’ stance on this Church’s God?” I pondered for a moment before asking again.

“That’s even stranger. It seems angels are quite wary of their Church’s God; while they haven’t acknowledged his existence, they’ve never denied it either, and they almost never speak of it.”

This relationship was truly convoluted. After all this discussion, it remained unclear whether angels and the Church were truly connected. On the surface, at least, there appeared to be no direct link, beyond perhaps forming alliances when necessary. Yet, beneath the surface, there seemed to be countless intricate ties.

“Might I be so bold as to ask for the name of your God?” I cautiously posed the question to Sally, fearing that any misstep in my demeanor might cause offense.

“Yahweh!” she exclaimed, looking utterly bewildered, seemingly perplexed that I would even need to ask such a simple question.

“Pfft—” Angelina, who was drinking water nearby, immediately spat it all out upon hearing this.

Instantly, everyone’s gaze was drawn to her.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Angelina awkwardly wiped her mouth, claiming she might have choked. “It’s nothing, I just suddenly thought of something amusing.”

“What could be so amusing as to make Lady Angel choke?” Sally, upon hearing this, quickly went to pat her back.

I watched them, speechless. It seemed the Church of the Lord indeed harbored significant issues…