The white mark on the ground looked like it was drawn with crayon. Chen Ke tried to rub it off with his foot, but it wouldn’t come off.
Maybe it was applied with magic! After all, in this world, strange things were all too common.
Chen Ke looked around and noticed that the priests passing by were curiously staring at him more than usual, as a Mithril Knight should not appear in this place.
Speaking of which, Chen Ke remembered the first time he came here; he had encountered knights in the Cathedral area. Even though they were scorched black, Chen Ke still remembered the style of their armor.
It was a completely different style of armor from that of the Silver Knights, much heavier and with a stronger religious feel.
It appeared that Pope Mazville had allowed the Black Ring Sect to arm itself, and even the King’s Knights had no authority to step inside the Cathedral area.
"That’s the knight! I suspect he is a spy!"
A hoarse shout came from afar. Chen Ke looked to his left and saw the recently eluded Pope approaching with three Church Knights, pointing at him.
Chen Ke cursed silently, pondering whether to fight them or run into the Cathedral.
Just as he was indecisive, Chen Ke noticed a strong white light flashing beneath him. He looked down and saw his foot was on the white mark on the ground.
"Is this... a landmine?" Chen Ke exclaimed, quickly moving his foot away, but the white light grew stronger and completely engulfed him.
The surroundings dissolved, and he felt himself falling into darkness, with a pulsing sound like a heartbeat around him. He instinctively touched his chest, but it wasn’t his.
Just a few seconds passed, and a beam of light came down from above in the darkness, enveloping him. Then, the light spread out, and the surroundings returned to normal.
Chen Ke drew his longsword and carefully surveyed his surroundings, only to find himself still standing at the entrance of the Cathedral, except that the doors were firmly closed, and there were no other people around.
He cautiously stepped back a few paces and activated his Spiritual Vision to scan inside the door, discovering it was full of people.
What was this situation?
Chen Ke retreated to the bridge and looked down, only to see the distant view melting into the white light. It seemed like the Cathedral was the only place left in this world.
Without overthinking, Chen Ke steadied his breath and returned to the Cathedral entrance, placing his hands on the large door.
The door made a creaking noise, and with a grating sound, the gap in the door grew wider until he had fully opened it.
The moment the door opened, Chen Ke saw an unbelievable scene. The Cathedral was packed, with green-robed priests all sitting silently on benches.
Thousands of candles were lit inside the Cathedral, and in the orange light, a man in a lavish robe and wearing a crown was leading a long-haired woman in a white wedding dress.
They were all originally facing away from Chen Ke, but when he pushed open the door, the cold wind from outside blew into the Cathedral, extinguishing several candles.
The people inside all turned to look at Chen Ke.
"Black... Black... Black Ring forever... um..." Chen Ke said awkwardly.
It looked like they were having a wedding... Wait! Chen Ke realized that the woman in the white dress was Faralis!
"Who is she marrying?" Chen Ke exclaimed, but now was not the time to worry about that.
"Fan Hede’s Silver Knight?" a Priest called out.
Chen Ke placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, confused about the current situation.
"Is this, by old King Fan Hede’s will?" The man walked several steps forward, his deep voice carrying through the wind to Chen Ke.
At such a distance, he shouldn’t have been able to hear him speak, it was the power of Magic!
"The Pope... Mazville?" Chen Ke guessed, stunned.
"How disrespectful! To actually address the Pope by his real name..." the Priests beside him exclaimed in horror.
He guessed right, this guy... He was the Pope whom Faralis had beheaded! Chen Ke drew his sword slightly, uncertain whether he should engage in a battle with this Pope.
At this moment, the chill in the air dissipated and, surprisingly, Chen Ke felt an intense heat.
It was Faralis... A few steps behind the Pope, her white wedding dress suddenly began to emanate tiny sparks of fire, like the embers that remain after wood has burned out.
"Oh... this is your plan..." Mazville also felt the temperature of the flames, turned his head, and looked at his bride.
"You will never take away Fan Hede’s Flame," Faralis said.
"I don’t need to take it, Fan Hede is already mine," Mazville replied.
Beneath Faralis’s feet, a small fire pit ignited, slowly raising a sword. That sword was her Unyielding Fury, a name perhaps only Chen Ke knew.
"That sword... where did you..." Mazville’s voice carried a hint of surprise.
"Fate, letting it return to my hand once more." Faralis grasped the hilt and pulled the longsword out of the fire, sending a shower of sparks flying.
Mazville didn’t speak, just spread his hands and shook his head, "You will never become that Flame."
Mazville’s hands emitted purple and blue light, which slowly solidified into form, becoming two longswords.
Chen Ke noticed that the way these two summoned Holy Relics was completely different. Faralis’s longsword in her own hands had never looked this cool, and their summoning didn’t have the ceremonial feel theirs did.
Seemingly provoked, Faralis’s body suddenly turned dark red, looking extremely terrifying, and the air around her began to scorch.
In that quiet moment, Chen Ke sensed a dangerous aura...
The next second, centered on Faralis, a fierce Flame Burst exploded, instantly vacuuming the surrounding air, and the fiery-red flames spread like waves in all directions, engulfing all the Priests seated in the cathedral.
The Priests near her were instantly turned into blackened logs, and even those further away couldn’t survive, their clothes and flesh melding together. They fell onto the long benches, burning in a tragic state.
Even Chen Ke, standing at the entrance, was affected by the explosion of the Flame Burst; part of his silver armor was scorched red, and the breastplate was seared to a brassy yellow.
Life’s countdown immediately restored Chen Ke’s burns; he stepped back in fear, not daring to approach.
The temperature of the flames must have reached over 800 degrees, and the vast range was astonishing, even more powerful than a military flamethrower, which itself only reaches a temperature of around 400 degrees and a range of about 20 meters.
Faralis’s hair had turned fiery red, but disappointingly, her white wedding dress was not burnt. Holding the sword in both hands, she coated the blade with flames.
"To be the bridegroom of the Flame Witch, one must be prepared to be reduced to ashes!" she roared, charging towards Pope Mazville.