Lost Fantasy-The Flowers of Stelis (Arc 2) [Hiatus]

Chapter 40

In the private cathedral of the Church that is inaccessible by the public, a lone figure stood eyeing a marvelous marble statue of the Goddess. He was the man of the highest rank of the Church: the Prophet. His facial expression was relaxed with ashen grey hair due to his old age and experience. As he stood there, marveling at the wonder of the Goddess statue, a young priest soon entered the cathedral from the side door.
 
"Sir," the young priest said. "The Angelization Project is nearing its success. Today, the bishops had decoded the ancient codex."

"What is it that we need?" The Prophet asked without taking his eyes off the statue of the deity. "What is it that we need to bring Angels to our world?"

"According to the ancient texts," the priest paused and looked up at the Prophet. "We shall need souls. Lots of souls."

"Souls, you say?" The Prophet repeated to himself as his brain began formulating ideas around the concept.

"Yes sir," the priest responded. "And in addition to that, we will need a body to host the Angel."

"A body to host?" The Prophet nodded. "I had expected so. The divines should not have a mortal body in their innate form. They will need a body to reside in if we were to bring the Angels into our world."

"Sir," the priest started speaking, knees trembling slightly. He wanted to provide an idea to the Prophet about the available resources for their plans, but he was afraid that the Prophet might scold him for his immoral thinkings. However, this young priest decided to risk it for the chance at being rewarded greatly. "There's a small village nearby the Capital City that is in decline. I've met with some villagers from the village who had came to Astalan to post a request at the Adventurer's Guild on taking care of an unknown creature that's been ravaging the village. From what I gathered, the village houses only the elderly and young children. I believe if this village is wiped off the map, no one would bother to care."

"..." The Prophet remained silent as he listened carefully to what the young priest has to say.

The young priest, frightened by this mysterious silence, was somewhat reluctant to speak further. However, he knew that what he had suggested had already pushed him forward and that there's no going back.

"There's also a vessel that is ready to use," the young priest continued. "The body of a girl in her late teens that has her soul lost due to a curse by an Elder Lich during the Ekeletas Expedition a year ago."

"Hmm?" The Prophet turned his head slightly and glanced at the young priest in an expression of his interest.

"And according to Paladin Grant," the priest continued. "It seems like she's a servant of a young man who Paladin Grant sees as potentially dangerous to our order for the traces of Demon that Paladain Grant had sensed from the young man. I believe if we use this girl's body as a vessel, if that young man ever posed to be a threat to our order, we can use her as a leverage over the young man. This way, we can both bring an Angel to our world and also restrain a possible threat."

"..."

The Prophet was silent and was breathing heavily as he stood there, motionlessly eyeing the statue. He then started mumbling a prayer, a gesture that the young priest believed was one that asked for mercy on his soul for the Prophet was going to punish him severely for suggesting such immoral actions. Therefore, the young priest's knees trembled as the Prophet slowly turned and faced him.

"I like your idea," the Prophet said with a pleasant and kind smile on his face. "Let's do just as you had planned. Go inform the bishops of your plan and I want the Angelization Project completed as soon as possible. And as for you, you will be rewarded greatly for this idea."