Chapter 23: The church of the goddess of war

" We can't stay here for long so let's hurry." Urged Ray. They didn't have much time. They need at least one month to reach the Academy. If his rough assumptions were right then they can stay in this village for one day.

"So what do we need?" Asked Flora as she walked along with Ray. They left the inn and back into the hustling and bustling of the streets.

"Food is our priority. Anything else is secondary. For now at least." He scratched his head while trying hard to remember if they needed anything else.

It didn't take them much time to find what they needed. It's everywhere after all.

As they were going around discovering the village. They stumbled upon what seemed like a church. It was in a secluded part of the village. The building looked old but well maintained.

" A church? What kind of religion is there in the lower realms?" Asked Ray casually. In the holy kingdom, they didn't believe in religions as they see themselves as the gods of this world. In normal circumstances, Ray shouldn't have known about religions or anything of that sort but he stumbled upon this human act when he was reading some old books in his dad's library.

Still, he didn't believe in such a thing as 'A perfect being that has absolute power and dominance' because perfection in itself is a flaw.

" I never really cared about this stuff. But I think they pray for the goddess of war Freiya." Recounted Flora with a thoughtful look.

With no answer, Ray seemed to be in deep thought. After a full minute of silence, he walked slowly to the big wooden door of the church. He didn't know why but he was very interested in this goddess of war.

'I feel like I heard this name before.' He thought. As the door slowly opened, he found himself in a big hall with rows of wooden seats left and right. Right in the middle of this hall, there is a massive statue of a woman holding a sword. The woman had a dignified aura around her even though she's just made from stone. She had long beautiful hair that reaches her waist and quite a beautiful face.

" This is the goddess of war, huh?" He muttered with a deep look.

" She's mesmerising, isn't she?" A calm voice answered his words. When shifted his gaze to the rows of seats, he found a man sitting in the front raw.

He was wearing an all-white robe with engravings in pure gold decorating the robe. He was probably in his 50s. He had such a peaceful and calming face to look at that made Ray unconsciously drop his wariness. That in itself was what made Ray even more alarmed, but still, he didn't show that on his face.

" Are you here to pray, young man?" He asked with his calm and soothing voice.

" No. I don't believe in God." Answered Ray with a cold look on his face. But this didn't seem to bother the priest.

"Hooh, Then what made you visit my humble church on this beautiful day?" He asked with a warm smile.

" I didn't really mean to come here. I just stumbled upon this place and my curiosity made me enter."

" Our goddess appreciates new visitors. So feel free to stay as much as you want." Said the priest.

' I don't know why did I even enter. I might as well leave.' He thought disinterestedly.

Flora was waiting outside. So he just walked to the door but before he could open it, it was kicked open very roughly.

" Father Iblis! It happened again!" The person who barged in was a man slightly younger than the priest. He was breathing heavily and his clothes were wet. He probably ran for a long time.

" Sigh. How many are they now?" Asked the priest who's name was Iblis according to this man.

" If we count the one that happened last night. It's 34 missing people!"

'Missing people?' Ray was intrigued to know but still, he didn't want to meddle with someone else's business.

" Is there anything that could lead us to the culprit? He shall be punished for his sins." Said the priest with an uncharacteristically angry voice.

" They didn't leave much. There were only words written with blood on the wall. It said ' All hail the holy kingdom'"