Bear School Astartes-Chapter 880 - 863: Profound Church

Lann pondered slightly over the words of the Maggot Man.

’Had their tongues torn out by the initial batch of followers’... Could this be the ’sudden change’ Rosalie mentioned from the mouths of Leonard and Klimte?

But after a brief reflection, Lann dismissed this speculation.

For the two higher-ranking figures were evasive about the description of ’sudden change,’ while the Maggot Man spoke freely about ’Rosalie having her tongue torn out.’

The confidentiality levels of the two matters were clearly not on the same level.

Moreover, if it was because the initial batch of followers tore out her tongue that she fled from Losric City, then how did this new group of followers come about?

Did faith recruitment happen so quickly?

And the Maggot Man in front of him, whose tone clearly isn’t from the initial batch of followers, is almost ’reborn,’ could this process happen so fast?

Therefore, ’the Goddess having her tongue torn out’ must have occurred a long time ago.

Finally, two Church Knights personally watched as the Wolf Possessor was burned to ashes, leaving only a pile of bones.

Even those bones of the Undead were taken by them with torches out of the camp and thrown beneath the forest’s cliff, seemingly towards Fort Fran.

No one knows where they will ultimately end up.

Klimte’s intention is: just keep them far away from us.

No other incidents occurred throughout the night.

By dawn, the sky turned into that indistinct hue where the sun couldn’t be discerned. It seemed this was the brightest the sky would get.

The caravan continued its silent journey, heading towards the Profound Church.

They passed by the ruins occupied by the Mages of the Pheim Dragon Academy; although they eyed each other, they managed to maintain mutual peace.

Such was generally the relationship between clergy and Mages.

Most Mages holding Magic Staffs would light up a blue glow for demonstration as the caravan passed by.

This led Lann to speculate whether the magic in this world glowed blue.

The path through the ruins sloped upwards, eventually reaching an area resembling a dilapidated hall, overgrown with weeds and completely missing a roof.

There stood a tall figure, donned with a wider brimmed hat and robe compared to ordinary Mages, engaging tirelessly in his own tasks in the dilapidated hall.

Before him lay a pile of books and scrolls like a small mountain, in which he buried himself, deeply absorbed.

It wasn’t until the arrival of the caravan that he was startled.

He turned, lifted the brim of his hat, and scrutinized these intruders.

"Ah, it’s Klimte."

The voice was quite old, giving an impression of someone near death, consistent with the decay of this world.

This should be the Crystal Elder, whom the Mages outside strive to please and learn magic from.

However, his attitude towards clergy was starkly different from that of the Mages outside.

He wore a bird-like mask, and when greeting the archbishop, he politely removed the mask.

The archbishop seemed rather familiar with him, exchanging a few simple, peaceful words, ready to lead the group onward.

Upon the passage of the Goddess’s carriage, the Elder respectfully bowed to the carriage veiled with black gauze.

Although the Goddess atop the carriage couldn’t speak, she slightly lowered her head veiled in black as a gesture of return.

The remaining path led directly to the Profound Church.

Just as Leonard and Sirius had informed Lann earlier.

Halfway along the path was a small chapel, called Purification Chapel, where ’purification’ meant draining the bodily fluids from the bodies of the Undead.

The specific religious ritual involved using a gruesome whip to execute flogging, bleeding profusely and seemingly carrying the religious meaning of ’washing away sins through pain.’

"We must deliver the Goddess to the Profound Church to settle first; the purification ritual will be hosted by you,"

Archbishop Klimte spoke to a follower beside him.

Lann pretended to lead a Qilin, accompanied the team, listening meanwhile.

"But Archbishop... this is my first time... is it impossible to leave someone more experienced?"

The tone of the follower sounded uncertain.

Yet the archbishop didn’t change his mind.

"No one is available." Klimte’s already gloomy tone became even more pronounced.

"Even if there were, they would be accompanying me for the Goddess’s matters. The purification ritual for a few Undead is not as important as the Goddess."

The archbishop held his bifurcated spear with one hand, patting the shoulder of the follower lightly with the other.

The red-hooded follower, thrilled, trembled.

"It’s not difficult, child. Just remember to collect the blood that flows out; it would be catastrophic if the darkness-contained blood flowed freely."

"You’ve seen the rest of the steps; follow them. I’ll leave a few Warriors here to prevent the Undead from waking amid the ceremony."

Then the archbishop gestured to the Warriors not far behind Lann, indicating they should stay at the Purification Chapel to ensure the security of the ritual.

However, there was an elderly Warrior with a deep red hood, his grizzled beard stretching from the shadow of his cowl, originally walking closely by Lann, who then proactively stepped back two paces, assigned to the purification ritual group.

"Do you have any unfinished business here, Gael?"

Lann asked curiously.

But the old warrior merely smiled and shook his head, "There’s an idol of my deity in this chapel; I should pay my respects."

With that, he waved at Lann and walked away. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The archbishop also knew this old warrior, being quite familiar with him, even understanding without words why he stayed behind.

So he said nothing; the two merely nodded amicably, making it settled.

The Goddess’s escort would first pass through a large cemetery, where the tombstones were so densely packed, they formed small hills.

Faintly, sounds of painful howling and scratching rose from beneath the ground.

This is where the bodies of the undead are buried after the purification ritual.

The purification ritual only significantly delays the time they resurrect, unable to truly kill them.

Thus, these undead would awaken in their coffins, suffocate again, and dig and claw upward.

Desperate and painful.

After many years, some of these undead would eventually dig their way back to the surface.

And the Profound Church, being specialized in burying the undead, has prepared the position of ’Gravekeeper’ for this purpose.

On the way, Lann saw several gravekeepers silently bowing to the archbishop.

Their figures were slender and tall, their eyes seemed numb due to their prolonged ’special’ work. They wore gray garments.

Their ’gravekeeping’ tools were two sharp, serrated daggers, handy for both bloodletting and cutting people.

Only after passing through this vast and eerie cemetery did they finally reach the destination of the convoy—the Profound Church.

It was a typical Gothic church.

A grand and massive structure, with huge stained glass and doors, seeming to emphasize human insignificance.

The pillars between the main body of the building were wide and solid enough for a Heavy Armor Warrior to run and jump on without collapsing a shingle.

Low-ranking clergy were busy inside and outside the church, while some commoners who came to pray seemed not qualified to enter for prayers, only gathering outside, hands clasped in prayer.

As part of escorting the Goddess, the convoy naturally had the privilege to enter the church.

The horses and carriage were arranged outside, Lann signaled to the Qilin to ensure it wouldn’t wander off.

Considering it was quite frightened last night, it should be a bit more obedient now.

Subsequently, the structure resembling a European bed on the Goddess’s conveyance was directly lifted by orders of the archbishop and carried through the solemn, towering main door of the church.

The convoy members filed in, and as Lann passed through the door, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder.

The church’s door thickness was no less than half a meter, and the height no less than ten meters, made entirely of metal!

With his current strength, he could push it open alone, albeit with effort.

Yet the sheer amount of metal and such a grand church... another medieval world enhanced significantly by extraordinary powers.

Upon entering the church, the highest sight was the sky-high dome, about seventy meters above.

From the dome looking down, a man of Lann’s stature appeared visually no larger than a bean.

The expansive arrangement combined with the towering dome further emphasized human insignificance.

Inside, vast use of deep red fabric for hanging and covering.

Some red cloth was even used to cover idols in the church walls.

Such an arrangement made Lann wrinkle his brow slightly, sensing something amiss.

Nonetheless, as an outsider, he attributed it to his unfamiliarity with this world’s church imagery.

The "thump thump thump" of heavy footsteps echoed within the spacious, dignified church.

There were two giants, around ten to twenty meters tall, moving inside the church.

They bore shackles and iron masks, their dead skin dry and peeling, nails on hands and feet overgrown, dirty and thick.

Appearing as if of lowly slave status.

Upon arriving at the Profound Church, Lann initially felt a bit relieved.

After all, the darkness outside in this world was noticeably unnatural and supernatural.

Resting in a fortress-like church should undoubtedly be safer.

But...

"Oh ho ho! Isn’t this Klimte? Finished your task so soon?"

A person who was originally directing the low-ranking clergy busily around the church, seemed to just notice the large group entering.

He opened his arms, revealing a welcoming and hearty smile, walking toward them.

Looking genuinely like a warm-hearted person.

Yet, in reality, Lann and the others couldn’t feel any joy from being warmly received.