Bear School Astartes-Chapter 884 - 867: The Awakened Lord of Cinders

"The Dark Moon Pope of Ilyushil, his timing is quite precise indeed."

MacDonald’s chubby face was scrunched up into a grin as he respectfully bowed his head towards the coffin, whispering softly to Archbishop Louis beside him.

This archbishop was rather short, only reaching MacDonald’s height when he wore the religiously significant white crown.

Unlike MacDonald, he didn’t like to wear a smile.

But at this moment, a faint red glow was visible in his eyes.

"The timing is one thing..."

Louis responded softly to his colleague.

"But whether he transformed Ilyushil into its proper form in the plan is another matter entirely."

"Ah, Louis. You should have more faith in Shalivan," MacDonald seemed quite confident in the Dark Moon Pope. "He is truly our ’brother’ sharing the same faith."

And the object of their faith was now crawling out of the coffin. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

It was a room with a similarly lofty dome, and within this circular room, high walls were engraved with numerous niches, each containing a statue.

All these statues faced the central massive coffin, as if hoping their power might watch over the middle coffin.

Yet the clergy seemed worried that the statues might not endure it, so they covered them with deep red cloths, symbolizing the protection of flame.

Long iron chains hung down from the dome, carrying faint candlelight and more profound shadows.

On the coffin, which emitted the sound of stone slab scraping, more candles were placed along its edges and corners.

On one hand, they hoped the light of the flame could suppress what was inside.

On the other, melted candle wax carried the symbolic image of a ’flame seal’ in the occult.

The size of the coffin was almost that of a small room.

Its surroundings were also hollow-carved with numerous sacred figures.

Yet these means of suppression against what lay within were methods of a bygone era.

When the watchers of the coffin were tempted by what was inside, turning from sealers into devotees... all those measures could be undone.

Especially when Losric City was already in chaos due to the truly world-shaking matter of the ’waning flame,’ and the creators of the guard procedures were already overwhelmed.

"My lord!"

The priests of the Profound Church bowed low in salutation, while the sound from the stone slab on the coffin grew louder.

Finally, the entire thick stone lid was forcefully pushed up, lifted from the main body of the coffin.

And a pool of black semi-solid substance, like thick oil or tar, flowed down like a waterfall, sliding and crashing down from the high coffin!

This was Elderidge, who had consumed so many human beings that he had turned into a pool of sludge.

He plopped onto the stone floor of the hall, with only a faintly visible white crown, stained and corroded black, to prove his once humanoid identity.

MacDonald and Louis, now respectfully bowed and retreated.

They were drawn, deeply researched, and eventually became followers due to Elderidge’s profoundly deep power.

In reality, they had never communicated with this ’Lord of Cinder who devours humans.’

After all, before now, it had merely been a residue and ash burned by the initial fire, lying in a coffin.

But now things were different.

The fail-safe measures of Losric’s fire transmission had already been triggered.

The designated Lord of Cinder, Prince Losric, delayed and refused to transmit the fire.

And the alternate Lord of Cinder, the powerful captured warrior.

Indeed, as their ally the Dark Moon Pope Shalivan asserted, for whatever reason, he simply could not link the fire.

After both alternate Lords of Cinder were proven problematic, Losric’s standard fire linking process had been completely breached.

The recent bell toll signaled the commencement of the ’non-standard fire linking process.’

The bell would awaken the four Lords of Cinder from previous fire-linking rituals who had not been completely burned out but had residual ashes remaining.

These Lords of Cinder could temporarily stabilize the initial flame, buying Losric time to determine the next course of action.

A complete and comprehensive fire linking procedure was the greatest support that allowed Losric to stand at the pinnacle of the world in decline.

It was also among the numerous achievements of King Ausloes who established it in his lifetime.

Now, although the priests of the Profound Church had never communicated with ’their master.’ They were only enchanted and engrossed by the echoes of the power he left behind.

Therefore, although they respectfully obeyed, they were very aware that in ’their master’s’ eyes, they were no different from regular food.

As MacDonald and Louis retreated, one priest stepped forward with a fanatical expression.

He extended his arms wide and walked towards the pool of undulating ’tar.’

The viscous and lively ’tar,’ upon contacting a living being, like a starved beast, immediately sprouted many disgusting tentacles, entangling and enveloping the priest.

Now turned into a pool of sludge, Elderidge’s sludge was not only his body but also his ’mouth.’ Contact meant consumption.

The fanatical priest wore an excited face at first, as if delighted to be devoured by his ’master.’

But soon, waves of pain began pouring in from his flesh.

His expression shifted from excitement and self-sacrifice to glimpses of pain, hesitation, and fear.

Soon, these negative emotions increased until he let out a pitiful wail.

"Ah, ah!!!"

The screams echoed within the church, ethereal and enigmatic.

The remaining priests, however, watched the ’master’s’ feeding process with satisfaction, like admiring a form of art.

The dark sludge seems to prefer starting from the non-lethal parts, slowly consuming from the limbs.

It doesn’t harm the ’food’s vocal organs.

Elderidge is notorious for his horrifying cannibalistic acts, and he always yearns to share his views:

To bathe in shrieks while feeling the tremor of life──that’s the true way to feast.

The screams in the dark sludge gradually cease, leaving only undigested scattered white bones, floating and appearing intermittently within it.

The body is devoured, and the soul too is digested.

The messages and intelligence in the soul are simultaneously understood by the freshly eaten entity.

The expanding, predatory dark sludge hesitates right before reaching the two archbishops.

"You... are not here to escort me to the Fire Transmission Altar?"

A whisper from the soul reverberates within the hall, not a sound from the physical realm.

"We are faithful followers."

MacDonald steps forward, still maintaining his chubby, smiling demeanor.

"But we do not worship the Fire Gods, instead──we are followers of the Profound!"

"In the current world, the extinction of the First Flame is inevitable. We devote ourselves fully to our master, hoping to endure the difficult and harsh deep sea era together."

It’s hard to imagine Archbishop MacDonald’s waist, akin to a barrel, could bend in such a way.

The dark sludge, initially closing in to surround the priests, first goes still, then starts to recede with a ’slithering’ sound.

Elderidge decides not to eat these ’followers’.

Words can deceive, but the profound strength these people bear, along with their already mutated souls... these do not lie.

People of their kind would never be accepted by Losric’s Royal Family, regarded as ’heretics’ to be slain on sight!

Although he’s not too concerned about those who decide to worship him of their own accord, a plan has already been presented through the souls just devoured──

A plan to feast on... divine beings!

He had eaten from the New Divine Capital within the Cold Valley, the people of Ilyushil.

There lies the residence of the first-generation God King, Great King G Wen’s youngest son, the Dark Moon God Gwendolin.

The people there possess, to varying degrees, the bloodline of the Fire Gods, even their appearance is often described as ’having god-like facial features’.

Elderidge recalls the flavors he tasted from there before... that sweet and rich texture.

During the years when he maintained human form and secretly operated as the White Sect Archbishop, even the screams of Ilyushil’s people seemed nutritious.

And if he could consume a true... divine being?!

Would the nutrition accumulated enable him to survive the era of deep seas after the flame extinguishes?

Surely, eating more is necessary, even if consuming a god isn’t enough, he can still continue eating.

"Set out! Depart!"

The soul whispers start commanding the followers as the master.

"Must hasten... still need to gather much strength... need to eat more!"

"Yes, yes, my master."

MacDonald and Louis each step aside, allowing the accompanying priests to open a path.

They are respectful and humble, as if making way not for a repulsive blob of ’tar’, but for a noble and great entity.

"But there’s no need to rush, master."

"We’ve prepared a meal for you in this church."

The two archbishops bow respectfully, simultaneously extending a hand towards the hall door with an invitation to feast.

"It is an anonymous goddess, although her identity is buried and her tongue removed, the nobility of her bloodline is undeniable."

With a ’creak’, the deepest door within the Profound Church slowly opens.

And the horrifyingly repulsive dark sludge eagerly emerges from the gap.

Meanwhile.

"Bang!"

As Lann steps out of the Profound Church library door, a priest happens to walk by.

The Demon Hunter doesn’t even glance at him, and as he passes, he casually presses down on the priest’s head, slamming it against the nearby wall.

Immediately, the pulp from the shattered skull splatters against the wooden wall decoration.

"Meow!?"

Outside the door, Rong Buqiu, bored from not wanting to read and yet unwilling to stray far from Lann, jumps up at the sight with a surprised cry.

Lann waves his hand, and the kitten instinctively follows in a daze.

"The situation is clear, Rong Buqiu. Prepare to enter combat mode, get tense."

"Understood, meow!" The Three-Floral Kitten promptly adjusts its helmet and draws the Thunder Cat Sword from its back, but hesitates.

"But... who is the enemy?"

With a "thump!", the leading Lann directly kicks open the solid wood door before him, revealing the high and spacious nave of the Profound Church.

"The enemy is the entire Profound Church, Rong Buqiu!"

"Go open the door connected to the stable, let Qilin in!"