NOVPUBThe magic power, incomparable to anything before, blossomed once again in this space, capturing their attention.
Lanci was witnessing the long-distance teleportation magic for the first time.
Had there not been an all-encompassing barrier, the endpoint of the magic fluctuation at the peak of eighth rank would have certainly alerted the Cerryti Empire.
The vortex of the Dimensional Gate gradually took shape, its edges glowing with a cold light, emitting a grating hum.
"Dimensional Bishop."
Lanci muttered as he looked at the Dimensional Gate.
He had already encountered several Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church.
Each was an almost invincible entity.
Just as Loren had demonstrated to him, if one were to appear in the sight of a Cardinal Bishop, there was no possibility of using force to respond.
The Dimensional Bishop, although a troublesome individual, was better than the other Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church.
Perhaps by telling Tolyado that he was Lanci, considering the relationship from the time he had donated to Ichrite Academy, Tolyado might be willing to talk to him.
"No need to find what comes finding you; I just stumbled upon a clue tonight, and here you are, the fellow impersonating Landry, delivering yourself to my doorstep."
A series of even, swift footsteps sounded from within the Spatial Gate.
The vortex slowly opened, and a figure appeared in the second-floor room of the opera house, the light outlining his form.
The twilight on the balcony grew denser as the moonlight was blocked by the thick dark clouds, casting an ominous shadow over the entire sky and dimming the room by several degrees.
He was a young man about 1.85 meters tall, with jet-black, medium-length hair occasionally covering his deep, star-like eyes, which carried a hint of melancholy as if they held the mysteries of the universe. He was dressed in a black and white checkered shirt and a loose-fitting black long coat.
His face was handsome yet slightly worn, and he was still yawning.
"Abigail, well done; I’m actually investigating this matter."
Tolyado’s voice was not at all deep but rather light and casual.
"This doesn’t excuse neglecting me as a theater actress; if I believed you, today’s performance would have been ruined."
Abigail said coldly, with her arms crossed.
Just the thought of it made her blood boil.
Previously, as a bishop, she had done some erratic things, like irritating the Bishop of Destruction and then getting beaten to a hasty retreat, disappearing for almost half a year. She had been afraid of being implicated and had swiftly distanced herself from the Dimensional Bishop, even discarding the Saint’s Testimony.
"Hmm?"
Lanci, observing the Dimensional Bishop deep in conversation with Abigail, couldn’t shake the feeling that this man seemed strangely familiar.
His appearance was different.
But this temperament, this way of speaking...
It was as if he had once spent a period chatting with him every day...
Lanci suddenly remembered the play at the Brielda Opera House tonight and the person intricately linked to Abigail.
And then he recalled the professor from the department of history at the Imperial Royal Magic Academy of the Protoss Empire on the Northern Continent, who had introduced him to Miss Cloris Berenhald, Duchess of Berenhald, and who was also the original author of "Holy War Romance."
"...Are you Xido? Xido Allendale?"
Lanci ventured to ask him.
"Oh? What if I am? Are you a fan of mine?"
Tolyado smiled, curiously looking at Lanci.
For the latter, deducing one of his concealed identities in the Cerryti Empire was not difficult.
It was just one of his insubstantial aliases he used when traveling across the Northern Continent.
Of course, in the Cerryti Empire, his overt identity as a foreign scholar was also very useful.
"Why are you even chatting with him?"
Abigail ran over and kicked Tolyado’s shin.
"Cough, cough, let’s not cause a scene."
Tolyado forced a smile and coughed twice.
"Next, we should talk about you, ’Mr. Landry’."
When Tolyado looked at Lanci again, his voice had completely changed from before, becoming icy and deep, like the catastrophic collapse of a snow mountain in the polar region during winter,
"Even though I’m considered to be a quite amicable Cardinal Bishop, no matter who you are, I can’t just let Landry’s accident go."
At that moment, he seemed to no longer maintain his human form but transformed into an ancient being of malevolence, his overwhelming magic power nearly scorching the entire space.
This was real murderous intent.
"My little apprentice, whom I’ve nurtured for many years, is suddenly gone, and I don’t believe it has nothing to do with the Blood Clan."
Tolyado spoke slowly.
If it had not been for the enemy divining some information about Landry, he would never have been exposed.
Of course, based on the news received tonight, Tolyado also understood that the truth behind Landry’s murder might have been linked to the karma of his sister.
Because the Blood Clan had intended to kill Landry’s sister, Elsa—a girl who had recently awakened the bloodline of the Wolf Clan—and for the Blood Clan, Landry was merely an inevitable obstacle.
"Do you know? Landry was a good kid, but he always thought of himself as a bad person. He relied on the power of the Rebirth Church to wipe out many nobles near his family, doing many deeds that weren’t to be seen in the light... all of it to protect his sister from harm by those nobles. He was always praying for forgiveness and punishment from the Goddess of Destiny, and I knew all this, and I tacitly consented to his violation of the Rebirth Church’s boundaries."
Tolyado reflected.
Perhaps it was predetermined in the mysterious workings of fate; Landry really seemed to have died due to luck.
This was why the Rebirth Church shouldn’t make oaths to the Goddess of Destiny lightly.
Swearing to the gods is a very solemn matter, and people believe the gods will listen.
There’s a legend that the divinity of the Goddess of Destiny lies in the fact that as long as you pray to her, she then has the slightest right to interfere with your destiny, and the more devout and prolonged your prayers, the more your heartfelt wishes will be communicated to her.
With every oath to each deity, regardless of whether these deities still exist or can interfere in the worldly affairs, karma may be formed.
The Rebirth Church had several instances of high-ranking individuals praying to the Goddess of Destiny for redemption and then defecting, as well as being unable to distinguish whether they were enemies of the Rebirth Church from the start.
No one could clearly say whether it was coincidence or destiny.
"So, do you understand? We can’t let Landry die so inexplicably. For us, the most important thing is not revenge nor justice but the truth."
Abigail also turned to look at Lanci,
"This is our respect for Landry; I must know what happened. Any concealment from you will only cost you more."
That kind of ambiguous attitude wouldn’t work with her, let alone asking her to sit down calmly and have a talk first.
"Alright, the first thing, let me see the face under your mask, who are you really? There’s no need to disguise yourself as Landry anymore."
Tolyado leaned against the wall, arms crossed, speaking airily.
He wasn’t particularly good at interrogation; he wasn’t gentle or harsh. However, if the other party was willing to cooperate, he could save himself a lot of trouble.
"..."
Lanci helplessly produced a [Transformation Magic: Human], perhaps he had dispelled the Concealment Magic on his body, or perhaps he had added a new layer on top.
In an instant, his appearance was no longer that of a black-haired, blue-eyed Imperial young professor, but morphed into a brown-haired, green-eyed man.
"Are you mocking me?"
Abigail scrutinized this actor’s new appearance, feeling this was also a disguise.
He had replaced one false identity with another.
Abigail had never seen this man; he was not any significant figure in the South Continent.
A total disappointment.
It looked like Tolyado would need to use some harsher methods.
However,
At the sight of this brown-haired, green-eyed man, Tolyado, who was standing aside, had already raised his hand, pointing at him.
"Holy shit, McCarthy!"
Tolyado exclaimed loudly.
