Bishop Festus Bonatti

The morning sun peeked through the foggy canopy of clouds, painting the sky an intricate assortment of bloodied reds and vibrant oranges, entwined with the misty grays that permeated this skyward canvas.

Aladdin lifted his head to survey what the day might bring.

"It may rain again," he mumbled.

"Don't jinx our day, young man. We'll be heading into the Marshlands later." Constantine replied.

"It's just a logical deduction of weather. The forecast is just purely an inference based on the data available to me." Aladdin intoned while pointing his right forefinger skyward.

"The seer is right. If the roads are in this state, I can't help but worry about how bad it'll be in the Marshlands. I hope this is just another illusion by the mighty Erebus." Miss Fox replied while pointing at one of the puddles in the middle of the street.

Although the rain had stopped its descent, the streets were still dotted with several puddles that were proving to be a nuisance to the pedestrians on East-Main-Street. Fortunately, there weren't that many carriages or other vehicles in Giza town which would have splashed water on pedestrians.

"Elder Constantine! I have an issue that's been plaguing my mind ever since I arrived here in Giza." Elena voiced; her tone casual.

Aladdin was slightly entranced with Elena's wasp-waisted figure currently in stunning harmony with the left to right cycles of her gait. Her magma red hair was swaying with the gentle breeze in a cascade over her shoulders.

Aladdin sighed deeply as he concluded that this was the true essence of 'optical-nutrition'. He tried to curb his nefarious thoughts but not before stealing a few more glances at Elena's entrancing figure.

"Why is the sky so clear even within the bounds of the barrier? We even experience true weather cycles in town. How is all that possible with the barrier in place?" Elena added, her tone curious. She was oblivious to Aladdin's skulking behavior.

"Why are you so interested in the barrier? You wouldn't be thinking of breaching the barrier after assassinating one of the Bishops. Are you?" Constantine jested.

The other three turned and gazed at Elena.

"What!?" Elena sounded surprised.

"Why would you think that? I'm just interested in formations. So, I wanted some elementary knowledge about such a high-ranked formation. But if it's confidential, we can leave it at that." She added, sounding aggrieved.

"Don't worry young girl. I was just teasing you." Constantine sounded amused. "But it is true that this information is highly confidential. It's taboo to discuss the barrier especially on this street." Constantine replied with a smile while pointing towards the giant black Cathedral.

Their party was still a few hundred meters away from the pitch-black cathedral; however, they could already make out some of the mysterious ciphers that adorned its high walls. A statue of a black raven perched on a dark crescent moon was intricately sculpted atop its highest spire. The cathedral as a whole was majestic and ethereal.

"Let's speed up. Bianca and Chiara have already arrived. We shouldn't keep them waiting." Constantine added.

The party sped up and in a matter of minutes, they stood before the enormous double-arched doors at the eastern side of the Cathedral.

"Took you long enough!" The Matriarch sounded annoyed. She had mysteriously appeared by the door without them noticing.

"Where is Chiara?" Constantine was the first to react.

"Already in the office. Let's go." The Matriarch replied curtly as she teleported the whole party into the cathedral. As one of the leaders of the Dark Church, the Matriarch had the privilege to utilize the arrays of the Cathedral.

In a flash, the party was standing before an intricately designed white wooden door that contrasted strongly with the surrounding pitch-black walls. On the name-panel of the door, the words: 'Bishop Festus Bonatti – Resident Quartermaster' were inscribed.

The Matriarch opened the door and waltzed into the room without bothering with the courtesy of knocking.

"Back so soon!" A female voice voiced from behind one of the two office desks in the waiting room.

"Lady Miria. Nice to see you once again. How are you doing today?" Constantine greeted jovially, as soon as the party was in the office.

A middle-aged woman in reading glasses, seated behind a pile of books and papers, scrutinized them as they walked through the door. The pair of glasses over her petite nose was over-sized, forming a stark contrast with the nun's black shawl draped over her head. Her freckled face was oval and beautiful.

"I am good and you?" Miria replied nodding at Constantine and the rest.

"Fine. But I need to retire soon. I shouldn't be up in such weather." Constantine added.

"Oh! You can talk to him about that." Miria replied while pointing towards the door at the other end of the room.

Constantine sighed and shook his head in response.

"Chiara! You're as early as ever. How have you been?" Constantine resumed his salutations while turning to the other lady seated quietly in the office.

"Good," Chiara replied plainly.

"Seems like one of you is missing?" Miria inquired, turning her head towards the Matriarch.

"She had to stay back due to some unexpected circumstances." The Matriarch replied.

"He's still waiting for you." Miria nodded while once again pointing across the room.

"Let's go." The Matriarch sighed as she led the others towards the main office of Bishop Festus Bonatti.

In a matter of seconds, the party of six was seated comfortably on a set of luxurious sofas in the office of the Quartermaster of Giza Town.

"Where is that young girl?" Bishop Festus Bonatti asked while creasing his silver-white eyebrows. His deep green eyes curiously observed the party from the elevated position provided by the Bishop's seat of honor. He was not clad in formal robes but oddly dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt that didn't project the gravitas of his position as a Bishop of the Dark Church.

"Personal reasons." The Matriarch replied brusquely.

"Would you care to share?" Festus replied while stroking his beardless chin.

"No." The Matriarch replied while frowning.

"Can we now go back to the issue at hand?" The Matriarch added calmly.

"Haha…" The Bishop laughed in response, as he crossed his dark-brown hairy arms over his chest.

"Bianca, why are you always in a rush? At least allow me to first get acquainted with the other members of your party. Don't you agree Constantine?" The Bishop's tone was humorous as he turned towards the Blacksmith who had been abnormally silent.

"You have already met Chiara, Ali-Baba, and Aladdin," Constantine replied with his signature smile.

The Bishop nodded while looking over at the three, his eyes were twinkling like green stars in the night sky. Aladdin felt entirely naked in front of those eyes.

"The other two ladies are Miss Fox Manroe and Elena Fabrizio. They are the newest additions to Section-41. They've just completed their training at the Church School." Constantine added while pointing at the two ladies.

"Interesting." Bishop Festus nodded at the ladies with a smile.

"Is Bishop Julia aware that these two are part of your group? Have they registered and taken the Oaths?" Festus asked while releasing a bit of his aura.

The other people in the office aside from Constantine, Chiara, and Bianca felt like a tonne of weights had been placed on their shoulders. Ali-Baba resisted the pressure and gazed at the Bishop with a resolve fueled by pure defiance, Aladdin's head was bowed as he took huge gasps for breath, while the other two ladies did not fare any better.

"Enough Festus! Do you want to scare away the new talents? Remember that I can always complain to the Archbishop. So, don't push it." The Matriarch sounded annoyed as she helped her party members resolve the burden.

"Hahaha… Bianca! Don't get me wrong. I was just testing the talents." The Bishop laughed cynically as he looked over at the Matriarch. He seemed rather pleased by the Matriarch's reaction.

"But have they taken the Oaths? We are going to be talking about some sensitive issues here. This sort of information is only privy to officials with a high level of clearance. Why are they here without swearing the oath?" Festus genuinely sounded puzzled.

"Okay… Okay. They will leave now. And for your information, the two are here to register with Julia. I just brought them here to expose them to the 'world'. And now they have been exposed. Can we get back to the issue at hand?" The Matriarch replied nonchalantly as he signaled to Fox and Elena to leave the office.

The Bishop creased his brows as Constantine and the rest were trying their best to stifle their laughter.

"The rapid multiplication of the calamity-frogs is unusual. There may be some external interference in their ecology." The Matriarch added even before the two ladies could close the door behind them.

"How so?" The Bishop sounded tickled by the Matriarch's hypothesis.

"Just a gut feeling." The Matriarch grumbled.

"So, what do you suggest that I do about this?"

"Allocate some of the Shadow Assassins to survey the area for an extended period?" The Matriarch replied, her tone irritated.

"So, you want me to move an elite force of the Dark Church just to check up on your gut feeling?" Festus replied while spreading out his hands, his voice raised dramatically towards the end. The Bishop sounded peeved as he glanced down at Bianca.

"Festus! You should know that my gut feeling has never failed me. So, this is a lot more serious than you think." The Matriarch countered.

"Bianca! I am not making things hard for you. We just need some evidence of your claims before the Archbishop can approve such a request or call in for reinforcements from the other sections. That is why it's my humble wish that you personally supervise Section-41's scouting of the Marshlands." The Bishop's tone had turned warm for the first time this morning.

The Matriarch sighed while shaking her head.

****

Concurrently in Hugo's room…

After a few hours of sleep, Hugo woke up with a start…

"So, this is the first stage of the Kratos-Body-Yoga," Hugo mumbled as he surveyed his surroundings.