"But unless absolutely necessary, do not use it, as it greatly disrupts the battle sequence."
Rod nodded, "I understand."
Sen’s tone relaxed as he slowly said, "Little Rod, you have excelled, stepping into the Fire Hall in less than a year without showing any strong talent."
"This came as a surprise to us all, I have high expectations for you. Although you are not the strongest nor the fastest growing among the new generation, your achievements are rarely matched, do not disappoint us."
Rod briefly replied, "I will not."
Sen’s resolute face revealed a slight smile, making him look much younger.
"Good, as for the crisis we are facing, I’ll leave it to His Excellency the Bishop."
"Go now, little Rod, you’re one step away."
Sen turned and left the room, looking very busy.
The Envoy bowed slightly, "Lord Rod, please follow me."
Rod stood up and followed the Envoy out, and soon they reached the Great Cathedral located in the upper part of the castle.
Stepping into the cathedral, under the massive Holy Fire Emblem, Rod saw the statue of the human hero, Trolian.
His demeanor was resolute, his eyebrows sharp as swords, his eyes as bright as stars, his expression fierce, holding a sword in one hand, a shield in the other, with a peculiar vessel on his back, slightly tilting his head as if gazing into the distance.
A man dressed as a Bishop stood beneath the statue, nodding slightly towards him.
"Lord Rod, welcome to the Hero Church."
Rod responded, "Good day, Your Excellency."
The Bishop turned his gaze to the Envoy, "Shall we begin now?"
The Envoy nodded, "Begin, Your Excellency."
The Bishop waved his hand, and the room darkened, a huge black sphere floating in the air.
His face hidden in the shadow, his voice seemed to come from a distant place.
"Lord Rod, do you know what the Fire Hall is?"
Rod cautiously replied, "The Fire Hall is Trolian’s highest combat force, responsible for dealing with the greatest threats."
"Correct, but it’s very vague. Do you know where the greatest threat comes from?"
Rod hesitated, initially wanting to say dark invasions, demon attacks, but feeling that wasn’t quite right, he said, "I am not sure."
In the darkness, Rod felt a pair of eyes intently staring at him.
"The Fire Hall faces the greatest threats from three directions."
"The invasion from the Spirit Realm."
"The invasion from the Abyss."
"Powerful Spirit Realm Monsters may penetrate our defenses and appear anywhere, we must eliminate them in advance—this is the invasion from the Spirit Realm."
"Abyssal fragments might get activated due to disturbances in Spiritual Energy, continually releasing pollution and erosion onto the ground, we must kill the Abyssal Demons and destroy the Abyss Rift—this is the invasion from the Abyss."
"Lastly, the most dangerous dark invasion."
The Bishop waved his hand, and some points deeper than black appeared on the black sphere.
"Ancient evils from the Despair Swamp, Horror Demons from the Great Forest, Demons and great Lords from the Dead Land, Ancient Dragons from the Dragon Tomb, Twilight Giants from the Giant Tower are the threats we face head-on due to the expansion wars, magnified by them."
The Bishop waved his hand again, adding some black spots in the far reaches of the black sphere.
"Fallen divine guards from the Sagus Ancient City, Ancient Beings from beneath the Eternal Sealed Land, and Ancient Blood Demons from the Blood Forest are the sources of darkness, representing threats from afar."
The Bishop waved his hand again, and large black dots appeared along the edge of the black sphere, slowly shifting.
"Further away, more powerful monsters are approaching us, never ceasing, without end, even if we kill one or two, many more unknown beings will awaken in the depths of darkness, coming towards us, until they extinguish the Holy Fire and destroy this last human kingdom."
A chill arose in Rod’s heart as he asked, "Why?"
The Bishop said lightly, "Because of the existence of the Holy Fire."
"Yes, in a world of darkness, light is sin."
Rod incredulously asked, "What do you mean? Is some dark god manipulating all this? Does it want to destroy us?"
The Bishop calmly said, "I do not know."
"Yes, no one knows if such a god exists."
"But you said the unknown monsters in the depths of darkness will awaken on their own and come towards us!"
"Yes, that is the will of the world."
"The will of the world?"
"The world has long been in darkness, countless powerful gods have fallen, numerous flourishing kingdoms have been obliterated, black fog has enveloped the skies and the earth, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, indescribable entities hidden in the depths of darkness—this is the dark Epoch, all controlled by the black fog, and all these countless things somehow form a collective will, what we call the Will of Evil."
"Yes, it is not an intelligent existence, but rather a tendency, an instinct to erode and destroy anything that poses a threat to it, it constantly drives the fearful beings from the depths of darkness to invade our home, as long as the Holy Fire burns, the invasion will not cease."
The Bishop looked straight at Rod.
"And the greatest enemy of the Fire Hall is the Will of Evil."
"The Will of Evil is the world."
The Bishop’s voice, distant and profound as if coming from the end of the world.
"Are you ready to stand against the entire world?"