Chapter 261 Who is it

"Wake up, wake up!" Someone seemed to be shaking his shoulders. "Oh my God, why are you sleeping in a place like this?"

He opened his eyes somewhat dazedly, and what came into view was a handsome and unfamiliar face wearing the common white robe of the priests of the Glorious Church.

He struggled to sit up, only to feel a throbbing pain in his temples, as if a needle were drilling into him. He couldn't think of anything: "You..."

"You're the new priest sent by the Lower Monastery to the Cathedral of Redemption for internship, right?" The priest who had woken him enthusiastically explained the situation. "I'm so sorry, there was a disaster nearby, and our compatriots who came to deliver the dispatch documents are still on their way—by the way, what's your name?"

"■■■." He answered slowly.

The other party was silent for a moment, frowning in confusion: "...What?"

The newcomer in front of him, with black hair and an extremely pale face, spoke a language that was completely impossible to repeat and sounded like a babbling language.

"Oh, it's okay." Seeing that he didn't say anything, the priest smiled and replied considerately: "I understand your concerns. In order to avoid being devoured by the devil, everyone will be given a new name when they arrive at the Cathedral of Redemption - well, how about calling you 'Erian'?"

...Not very good.

Elian means "God's servant" in Sylvie, a name that fits the identity of a priest of the Church of Radiance. But his instinct told him that he didn't like this name.

Wait, what is Sylvet? What is the Church of Radiance? And what is this strange language he's speaking so fluently?

"Come on, Elian," the white-robed priest urged, "The archbishop has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Elian stood up silently. He noticed he was wearing glasses and a black dalaris, the formal attire used within the Roman Catholic Church. The top button on his chest was buttoned tightly, and the fabric of his short, open cape was neatly arranged, tightly cinched at the waist by a leather belt.

He was wearing a pair of black leather gloves, and except for his wrists and a little bit of his neck, almost no skin was exposed.

This extremely simple and low-key outfit was obviously out of tune with the other priests who were dressed in dazzling white and specially embellished with gold and jewels. It was like a big black raven landing among a group of white peacocks.

But no one complained about his attire. Strictly speaking, the clergy looked at him with friendly eyes, as if they had not noticed that he was wearing a distinctive black robe.

...It's so weird, are these religious people really so tolerant?

He followed the white-robed priest to meet an old man dressed even more luxuriously and dazzlingly, who claimed to be the archbishop of this "Cathedral of Redemption".

"Welcome, poor child." The archbishop held the scepter and looked at him lovingly. "Without the glorious protection of our God, darkness rages in this sinful land, and the abyss erodes the land that once flowed with honey and milk. You look so exhausted and disoriented. You must have encountered many terrible things."

Elian: "..."

Which eye of yours saw me exhausted and panic-stricken?

But as the archbishop spoke, strange images began to emerge in his mind, as if he had actually witnessed them—the sky rained fire and sulfur, the earth gaped with hideous cracks, and several strange, ugly, demon-like creatures frantically tore into the belly of a pregnant woman, ignoring her wails as they used their sharp claws to pull out the unborn fetus and devour it greedily.

Further away were hundreds of skinny, half-naked humans, struggling to drag a luxurious carriage made of human bones and flesh in a poisonous swamp swirling with black mist. A devil, blocking out the sun from the sky, was grinning grimly on the carriage, whipping them from time to time, and each time he would roll up a person's skin.

Is this the world outside the Cathedral of Redemption...?

Seeing the man's subconscious frown and expression grow solemn, the Archbishop's smile widened. "But don't worry, child. You have set foot on land favored by the gods. As long as you pray sincerely to our God, you will be allowed to stay here and gain eternal salvation. Darkness and sin will never again be able to erode your soul."

"You probably haven't had time to pray to our God yet today, have you?" The Archbishop looked kindly at the white-robed priest beside him. "Child, take our new compatriot to the temple. May our God wash away his fear and confusion."

The white-robed priest responded respectfully. Just as "Elian" was about to follow him out, the archbishop suddenly stopped him.

"Child, there is one more thing you must pay attention to."

"Elian" turned his head. The archbishop's face was hidden in the shadows. He could only see the other party's extremely clean white robe and the huge gem embedded in the scepter.

"That is, when night falls, light will no longer protect us. What you encounter, hear, and see at this time may all be lies from demons and evil gods." The archbishop's voice became increasingly low and cold. "If you are unfortunate enough to encounter something, you must constantly recite a prayer in your heart, and you must never tell the demon your name!"

The archbishop slammed his scepter to the ground, his voice like thunder: "If you allow the devil to corrupt your mind, the Cathedral of Redemption will not tolerate blasphemous heresy!"

The white-robed priest led him into a luxurious hall, its murals and reliefs magnificent, its dome so high it looked as if it were inlaid with stars. As he walked along, the decorations and artifacts he saw were all exquisite, and the priests who came and went were all handsome and dignified. He felt like he was walking into heaven on earth.

The most striking feature of the temple is a massive statue clad in gold, mithril, and marble. The statue leans forward, its handsome, majestic head slightly looking behind it. Each hand holds a spear, its right arm raised high, the spear pointed toward the dome, as if ready to descend from the altar at any moment and lead the faithful behind it into battle. At the statue's feet are intricately carved reliefs depicting the deity and saints repelling demons.

Zephyr, the god of light and glory. A name suddenly popped up in Elian's mind. He was about to step forward to take a closer look when someone grabbed his arm.

The black-haired young man frowned and calmly pulled his arm out.

"My God." The white-robed priest beside him didn't seem to notice his dissatisfaction. He just groaned softly, his moist eyes flashing with a pious light that could even be called fanatical.

Looking closely, the priests standing in the temple, regardless of their appearance, all wore identical expressions, looking as if they had been copied and pasted, a rather eerie and unsettling sight. The white-robed priests bowed their heads respectfully, their hands folded over their chests in prayer.

"My soul belongs to you." A priest murmured with tears in his eyes.

"-My soul belongs to you." More priests shouted in unison with crazy expressions.

"Erian, come, pray to our God with your compatriots, and ask him to protect your soul from the dark abyss." The priest next to him turned his head and looked at him with a gentle and friendly smile on his face. "Erian" saw from the corner of his eye that more people turned their heads and stared at him, with frozen smiles on their faces.

The black-haired young man was silent for a moment, and suddenly, with an expressionless face, he tapped his forehead, chest, and shoulders with his hands.

"Amen."

He nodded solemnly and looked back calmly, his face showing no fluctuations and appearing extremely sincere, as if he had just finished the most pious prayer in the world.

“…”

Countless priests, who looked different but all seemed to be exactly the same, stared at him for a long time. Suddenly, the one closest to him smiled.

"You must be exhausted." The other man looked at him tolerantly. "Come, to welcome you to salvation, your compatriots have prepared a grand banquet for you."

The dinner was certainly sumptuous, perhaps even excessive. But "Erian" had little appetite and ate almost nothing, only a small cup of coffee. Based on the various bits of knowledge and analyses that had been constantly flashing through his mind along the way, he felt he was no fool; he was probably an incredibly clever idiot. If this damn place wasn't a problem, he wouldn't be called ■.

After dinner, the bells rang, and night fell. "Erian" returned to his newly assigned apartment. He didn't take off his dark priestly attire, but lay down on the extraordinarily comfortable, cloud-soft bed, his hands folded on his abdomen, maintaining a textbook sleeping position, and closed his eyes peacefully.

Shadows, like mist, silently and gradually crept over this magnificent cathedral. They snaked through the corridors like snakes, following the cracks in the masonry of the floor, walls, and even the ceiling, climbing towards the closed door of the newly arrived priest's room. Some shadows had already squeezed through the narrow crack and began to greedily move towards the bed.

The black-haired young man lying quietly on the bed suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils were clear and he looked like he had never fallen asleep at all.

He sat up from the bed, his bare feet stepping on the cold church tiles, and his toes immediately curled up. Before he could look down, the shadow that had almost reached the corner of the bed had already shrunk back into the depths of the shadows as if frightened.

"Erian" got out of bed silently, put on his shoes, and gently pushed open the door. When he left the dinner party, he had secretly stolen a small piece of butter and put it in his pocket without making a sound. He smeared it on the door leaf, so that the door opened and closed with almost no sound.

The Cathedral of Redemption was eerily silent at night, the only light emanating from the crystal lilies, magnifying his shadow several times over, casting it across the ceiling and several walls. The black-haired young man, following his memories from the day, gently tracing the walls with his fingers, tiptoed like a cat, silently circumventing obstacles and making his way to the temple housing the statue of the God of Light and Glory.

When he walked through the corridor and came to the entrance of the temple, "Elian" suddenly frowned and hid quietly in the shadow of the corner.

There are people in the temple.