[Faced with the sudden appearance of the figures and their accusations, you are noncommittal.]
[You knew this day would come sooner or later. By falsely claiming the Church's title of 'sage', you knew you would eventually be exposed.]
[You are not surprised, nor panicked. You just calmly watch them emerge from the shadows.]
At this moment, the cold, hoarse words still lingered in the air. Though not loud, they spread continuously throughout the high, wide, and majestic library. The wind blowing from the high windows rustled, and the dust motes, gathered and scattered in the sunset, trembled even more fiercely between the pages of the books, as if they too felt a cold, murderous fear.
It was not just one figure that emerged from the shadows of the bookshelves. They moved in a group of three, and as they emerged, they formed a triangular formation, surrounding Lu Kang in the center of the diagonal line.
Though they were members of the clergy, they resembled neither priests nor ordinary believers. Instead, they were like assassins walking in darkness. They wore long, black cloaks, their faces hidden by hoods, their hands wrapped in black gloves. Long, black boots made a crisp 'thud-thud-thud' on the smooth tiled floor of the library. They were completely covered from head to toe. The only thing connecting them to the Church was the silver cross hanging on their chests.
Lu Kang watched them approach step by step and fiddled with the silver cross on his own chest. He said, "Have you only sent ordinary Executors?"
"I thought I might see someone from the 'Burial Agency', the strongest department of the Executors!" Lu Kang's expression was composed, as if those before him were not executioners come to pass judgment, but guests from afar.
"We are enough to deal with you," the hoarse voice sounded again. This time, it seemed to come from all directions, as if not just one of them was speaking, but all three at once. They exchanged a glance. They were not surprised that Lu Kang had discovered their presence—or rather, they had never intended to hide their forms in the first place. This was confidence, and also arrogance!
They said, "Sacristan Lu Kang Luvest, do you confess your sins?"
Lu Kang just shook his head. Sacristan. This was the seventh rank of the Church's clergy, the most common and widespread rank of 'priest', and it was Lu Kang's position in the Church's register. He was, of course, a registered member of the clergy. No matter what, in this life simulation, he had been raised by the prioress of a convent. Even though that prioress was quite special, and as a result, Lu Kang was not devout or a believer in the so-called God, neither before nor now, he had indeed grown up in a deeply religious atmosphere. So it was easy for these people to say his name.
So Lu Kang also knew very well what kind of organization the Church was. He understood that this religious organization, which in the eyes of ordinary people was either pure and holy or a den of iniquity, was in fact a behemoth. And against the 'heretics' lurking within, they would never show mercy! The ones responsible for dealing with heretics were precisely this group of people called 'Executors', who were like executioners!
Thus, as Lu Kang shook his head, the moment he lifted his foot, he paused. He looked at the light that was slowly appearing in the air around him, forming an invisible wall. He looked at the circular magic circle that was lighting up under his feet, spreading out, instantly outlined as if emerging from water. He couldn't help but let out a soft breath. As expected, he thought. This was a sealing formation. It formed a triangular barrier with the three Executors as its vertices.
Just as Lu Kang had thought, these three Executors had been waiting for him in this library and had set up a trap, an ambush, long ago. And now, Lu Kang was trapped in this formation, unable to advance or retreat, and seemingly unable to make any contact with the outside world—be it physical or mystical!
"Sacristan Lu Kang Luvest, do you confess your sins?" As Lu Kang's footsteps paused, the three Executors spoke again, their voices louder and more resonant this time. It was like the tolling of a great bell, or like the judgment of God from the highest heavens, making one's liver and guts split, trembling!
Did you guys bring a megaphone? Lu Kang thought. Do you think being loud is intimidating? But on second thought, it actually was quite intimidating. However, his expression remained calm. After all, he had been 'scared' his whole life, and he had anticipated this scene long ago!
"Is this the 'execution rack' you've prepared for me?" he said. "If I confess my sins, will you burn me at the stake right here? Just like the medieval witches you persecuted in the past?"
"All men have original sin, but your sin is even greater. The guilty must be punished—" the three Executors exchanged another glance and spoke in unison again, as if not three individuals but a single entity split into three bodies.
Lu Kang smiled. "Then, what sin must I confess? The sin of falsely claiming the name of a sage of the Church to practice deception?"
"Or..."
"The sin of killing your pawn embedded in the Tsarist court, Grigori Rasputin!?"
As the young priest's words fell, the wind from above instantly flipped the pages of the books on the towering shelves, making a rustling sound like falling leaves. The light and shadow from the setting sun painted the front and back of the surrounding bookshelves, like mottled layers on a scroll, and also made the pupils of the three Executors shrink simultaneously as they heard his words.
The next second, Lu Kang suddenly raised his hand—in the instant the wind fell, in the moment the book pages rustled... The clothes on his body instantly lit up with light, the mottled mystic codes inscribed upon them linking together to form a 'territory', a 'workshop'. The Sanctuary formula was instantly infused with mana and activated!
And so his outer robe spread like wings. In a flash, the barrier woven by the Executors shattered directly, turning into specks of light and shadow that drifted into the central open space of the majestic library! Light and dust burst forth, and the towering bookshelves also trembled, shaking off specks of dust.
"You..." The Executors stepped back to avoid the impact of the shattering barrier. They retreated, leaning against the still-vibrating bookshelves that were making faint creaking sounds, and looked at the youth standing amidst the rising dust and smoke. They looked at his posture, like an angel spreading its wings, their eyes filled with an unstoppable gravity.
But they were not grave because of his posture—but because of his words! "Are you curious how I knew about Rasputin?" Facing their shocked words, Lu Kang couldn't help but smile happily.
Of course he knew—that Rasputin was, in fact, an agent of the Holy Church! You see, up to now, although his title as a 'sage' had been confirmed in the court, it hadn't really spread far, hadn't become widely known. Yet these Church Executors had already come knocking. And 'historically', Rasputin had used God's name to deceive the Tsar and Tsarina in court, wielding power for so long without any incident, without any crusade from the Church. The disparity in treatment was itself ironclad proof!
Moreover, it also explained why Nicholas II and his wife, as the Emperor and Empress of the Tsarist empire, acted like ordinary people when they encountered Rasputin. In this world, ordinary people might know nothing of mystery, but various state institutions would not lack the service of magi. As the monarch of a country, it was normally impossible for the emperor to be completely ignorant of mystery. The only possibility was that they had been sidelined from the beginning, that the truth had been hidden from them. And in the Tsarist empire, the only one who could do this was the Church!
Rasputin was sent to the court by the Church, most likely to seize the wealth of the court before the collapse of the Tsarist empire, to get a piece of the pie from the great edifice that was about to become ruins! Yes, the so-called Church was never righteous and glorious. This massive organization, which had developed from the beginning of the AD era to the present day, was not pure.
But these things, Lu Kang would not say out loud. He just grinned, smiling, looking at the three Executors before him. He said, "I've heard that while the core members of the Church know some mystic knowledge of magecraft, they have always regarded it as heresy, disdainful of using it, instead using a mystery called 'Miracles'. Now it seems this so-called miracle—is actually the faith of believers all over the world in the Church's God. Human thought itself is a kind of 'mystery' that cannot be deciphered. Faith, naturally, is as well. Although this mystery is thin and uncontrollable, and very difficult to master—even though faith is a part of thought that has been filtered through layers, it still has great uncertainty. But when the faith of enough people gathers together, it can also become a foundation that nurtures a vast mystery, even..."
"Becoming an intangible 'God'."
"This is the source of the power of miracles." It comes from faith, and even more from the 'God' to which faith is directed. This is completely different from the way magi preserve mystery through bloodline and inscribed formulas. It uses the mind as a foundation, faith as a basis, and religion as a link.
It is precisely because of this that the three Executors before him did not immediately attack after sealing him—because the idealistic nature of 'miracles' determined that they must uphold their pious faith and conduct what they believed to be a true and just trial of him. Even if it was just a superficial, false trial, it was a necessary ritual to activate the mystery! It was also for this reason that they had made their voices so loud, as loud as the trumpet of judgment from the highest heavens, just to make his will yield before them.
As long as he truly believed he was guilty—even if it was just a tiny, subconscious thought—then he would be trapped forever and would surely die! This was a battle of wills. It was a display of the power of miracles.
Unfortunately... "Will is no match for words."
"Your hearts, after all, were shaken because I exposed the Church's conspiracy!"
As his words and the dust settled, Lu Kang slowly walked out of the encirclement. His cloak swirled, and the first layer of the Sanctuary formula, like an angel's wings, reappeared!
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