Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 1: Promise

Chapter 23 Making A Difference

<Basel Church>

A dark cloud loomed over the starch white, minuscule church. Nothing special, these two words best described the church. Plain white walls and dark brown, wooden arches were all that painted any color within the church. If Will Apocalypse were to appraise the church, he would call it a holy ground truly befitting of spreading the gospel.

He would be pleased to see the attendance within the church, it was stuffed to the brim. Like porridge overflowing in a bowl. Kallen and Otto were squeezed within the crowd, pressed flat against each other chest to chest. Their attention however wasn't on each other but rather on the priest that stood at the altar. Funny enough this was the first sermon they attended together. Otto had long lost faith in the church, even before Kallen had. Kallen's last memory of attending such a sermon was when her father was still alive. Needless to say, though they've never paid much attention to such matters they knew what a sermon should be like.

"Basel is a small city. But that doesn't stop the Honkai from targeting us. Children under the Almighty Father, I've seen our brave Valkyries of Schicksal fighting the sin of humanity. They lay down their lives for you, are you going to let their acts of heroism go unnoticed? It is a sin to not aid your heroes and ignore the humanity within them......."

The priest droned on and on not once did he read from the scriptures of the Church nor did he recite the prayers he was supposed to. The mass ended with the shuffling of steps and rattling of coins as those piled onto the priest's altar. An overflowing table and a flooding of dissented faces were the results of the sermon. Kallen and Otto excited the church with the crowd.

"Otto, is today not the day of rest? That priest did not once recite from the texts."

"It's as you say. The church has fallen from grace and faith but we already know that's the case. The sermons and congregation of the church were nothing more than a tool anyways."

Kallen's eyes widened a bit, a light shock dimmed her eyes. She had always thought that teachings in the scriptures were the guiding words for humanity. Despite not being involved in politics, even she knew the weight of the morality that the church preached. As a soldier, she never had to memorize the scriptures but she still had faith in their teachings.

"You're saying that the church has always been corrupt? You knew all this time?"

"Not necessarily corrupt, they just use a set of moral compasses to influence the masses. Is it not wrong to teach the masses of justice, of morality? To teach them how to treat others."

"I, I can't say, but why do we need to teach them if that's the case? Shouldn't Schicksal focus on protecting people instead of setting up this...."

Otto had an answer to her question and the image of a little falling rosary surfaced in his mind. Kallen wouldn't like his answer, but it's not like he could keep the truth away from her.

"Let's just focus on the task at hand, the money, is it all stored away?"

"Yes, the priest and his deacons, their footsteps, I think it's towards the basement of the church. Maybe in a vault."

"Just our luck, busting through is going to draw too much attention. How do you want to approach this?

Kallen thought for a moment, they had walked a good distance from the church and were heading back to the inn.

"You're going to have to come with me on this one."

<Inn>

The children had been moved to a separate room but a combination of boredom and growing attachment convinced the Innkeeper to let them back into Kallen's and Otto's room.