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(Wester lands- City of Relanter)

(Local Branch Of The Varion Church)

"For it is in God that we trust! The light of our Lord who shines down on his believers and gives us the strength to live a life of righteousness and purity!"

"The Varion Church for centuries has been loyally serving Lord Varion as his vessels to both guide and protect humanity."

"Although the war may be over… we must never forget that the foreign races still live in the outer regions of the continent."

Father Amos stood on a raised platform and preached to the small crowd of priests and nuns in the room.

It had become a long-standing tradition for the head of the church to gather the upper rank members for an afternoon prayer session.

It typically lasted for no longer than thirty minutes, but Father Amos had been talking for over an hour now.

He was in a good mood, and it was all because of High Priestess Elisa.

The church\'s coffers were full of coins and there was plenty leftover for his personal stash of wealth.

The elderly man slammed his cane against the ground with a heavy thud.

The loose black robes on his body swayed gently from side to side as he continued to pray and lead the believers in worship.

"Father Amos! Father Amos!" a loud shout rudely interrupted the religious atmosphere.

Someone harshly knocked twice against the door and then a knight burst into the room while gasping for breath.

His hair was messy, and sweat was pouring down the sides of his face.

The desperation in his eyes made Father Amos suddenly have a bad feeling.

Wait a minute…

Wasn\'t he one of the knights that was assigned to escort high priestess Elisa?

"What is the matter my child?" Father Amos warmly spoke with a kind expression on his face.

"Dark magic! High priestess Elisa has discovered traces of dark magic in the Governor\'s Mansion!" the knight exclaimed in anger.

The gentle smile on Father Amos\' face disappeared in an instant as he heard the knight\'s words.

Dark magic?

No… Lord Cain would not be so foolish…

Keeping dark elves as slaves was already a crime but if traces of black magic were found on his property… one shudders to imagine the consequences.

Shocked gasps echoed through the room as the nuns and priests heard the outrageous news from the mouth of the knight.

Soon their voices rose up in fury one after the other and the atmosphere quickly turned ugly.

"Preposterous! Lord Cain should be hanged in the town square!"

"Black magic… we should alert the capitol at once to send a team of templar knights and confessors!"

"No that would take too long! We need to punish the sinners immediately!"

Father Amos raised up his right hand and the noise in the room gradually quieted down. The elderly priest let out a heavy sigh and he turned his eyes towards the heavens.

"Everyone let us not be too hasty since there is a possibility that this is all a misunderstanding," Father Amos explained reasonably.

"Do not forget that Lord Varion implores us not to rush to judgement."

"I will personally go to the Governor\'s Mansion with an escort of knights to investigate the allegations."

"I promise that Lord Cain will receive the proper punishment for his crimes or have his innocence be restored if they turn out to be false."

Infected by Father Amos\' serene tone, the other church members inside the room calmed down and gave the matter some more thought.

Father Amos peacefully smiled and put on an appearance of being in total control of the situation when inwardly his thoughts were a mess.

Regardless of what high priestess Elisa had discovered in the mansion … Lord Cain could not be found guilty of his crimes.

Lord Cain was connected to several powerful noble families in the capitol, and he was not someone who Father Amos wanted to offend.

Plus, the governor would regularly send \'donations\' to the church that would mysteriously disappear.

Father Amos knew that if a proper investigation revealed traces of his corruption, then he would be expelled from the church or in the worst case…

He would be killed to make an example out of him.

The confessors of the Varion Church were absolute lunatics and Father Amos did not want to fall into their hands.

The elderly priest shuddered as a certain memory resurfaced in his mind.

Those who were sent to the confessors did not get a peaceful death.

Father Amos took in a deep breath to steady his nerves and tried his best to relax. There was no need to panic just yet.

As long as he was the first to reach the crime scene then he had the confidence that he would be able to conceal any hints of dark magic.

"Um… Father Amos…" the knight spoke up once more.

"Paladin Claire invoked the Treaty of Verina and is currently handling the investigation using her authority as a tier two knight..."

Father Amos froze in place, and he did not pay attention to the rest of the knight\'s report as there was only one thought running through his mind.

It was all over.

Father Amos did not concern himself with the latest news from the capitol but even he knew that Claire was the most powerful holy knight among the younger generation.

She would sniff out the traces of dark magic like a bloodhound hunting for prey.

The Governor\'s Mansion was a solid thirty-minute carriage ride away from the local temple which meant that it would be impossible to make it in time to stop the investigation.

The elderly priest clutched his chest as his heart began to race.

His palms were clammy with sweat, and he lost his grip on his cane.

His vision slowly faded away to darkness and Father Amos\' knees began to shake uncontrollably.

The elderly priest stumbled forward and then fell to the ground with a dull thump. Screams and voices of concern rang out in the room.

"Father Amos has collapsed! Someone cast a healing spell!"

"He must have fainted out of anger! How could Lord Cain betray his trust and turn to dark magic?"

"Clear some space! He needs some space to breath properly!"

Father Amos could vaguely feel someone hurriedly checking his pulse, but he could no longer maintain his consciousness and fell into a blissful slumber.