I Became the Moon Goddess' Apostle in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 41: The Zealot

"Jerry Beck?" Raven repeated his name, feeling a faint sense of familiarity with him.

Where had he heard this name?

Jerry turned around to finally face him properly.

An average face, with a scar running down his cheek and eyes.

His eyes were brown, just like the majority of the people in this world.

Honestly, nothing stood out much about him.

Except for his frame, which was pretty similar to Raven’s.

"Nice to meet you, Jerry," He responded to his introduction, "My name is Raven Marlowe."

"Are you and your friends going to be up there, respected clergyman?" He said, pointing his finger towards the slightly elevated dais in front of them.

It was decorated lightly with flowers, and a red carpet was laid out all over the surface.

"Please call me Raven, mister." Raven was getting uncomfortable being addressed with such an elaborate title.

"I am not even an official clergyman yet."

"But the fact that you are eligible for a new position as publicized as this is an impressive feat already." His words and compliments just never stopped.

Pevon and Janet even distanced themselves to give them a bit of space.

Even they were getting mildly uncomfortable with the words uttered by the red-haired man.

They didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

"It’s not like you are joining the church as a laity."

Raven got a bit embarrassed by the situation.

He wanted to push him away, but he couldn’t.

He was in such a crowd, and the event was basically their debuts.

Impression and face were all that mattered here.

"You flatter me, but," He zoned into his media-trained mode, and replied, "Me, along with all my colleagues here, are only here to serve you and the faithfuls of Solis."

"It’s still a position of a servant," He clasped his hands and looked up, "Servant of the Divine, Solis."

’Wow, I am such a fraud," He was dying inside but also mildly impressed with his skill to bullshit.

"And you’re humble as well." And somehow, even that didn’t stop him.

Suddenly, murmurs erupted as an older gentleman came from the inside of the Cathedral.

Wrinkles covered his aged and serene face, as he donned a yellow chasuble with a lot more intricate detailing over it.

His hair and long beard showed just how long he had withstood the trial of time.

Raven knew immediately who it was.

The rector of the Orient Diocese, and this Cathedral as well.

Archbishop Joseph Tatum.

Clap! Clap!

The crowd erupted in cheers and claps as he slowly walked forward.

Following him, though, was another worker of the Church.

Albeit not a very well-known one.

A huge man wearing ridiculously heavy armor, and a sword that dwarfed everyone present.

It was Lord Inquisitor.

He was following the Archbishop quietly, walking merely a few steps behind him.

But unlike with them, he appeared more like a piece of decoration than anything.

They didn’t feel any sort of danger that he usually emitted.

’Looks like even Lord Inquisitor has a public image to maintain.’ He thought, nodding to himself.

Many of the people from the crowd gave bows of all sorts of depth.

Some were even kowtowing to them.

The religious chants and hymns filled the entire atmosphere, accompanied by an extremely beautiful melody with pipe organs and harps.

People clasped their hands and prayed, lost in the moment and their reverence for the church.

"Revered clergyman," Jerry called him by a title again, ignoring his previous pleas, "Would you mind giving me some advice on something and blessing me?"

Raven nodded, grumbling internally.

He had seemingly given up on convincing him that he wasn’t a part of the Church yet.

Some religious people did tend to be like this.

"Sure, go on!"

"I have a task that I am assigned, and I really want to do from the bottom of my heart, but," His eyes were filled with devotion.

"But I fear I might mess it up."

He was behaving like a zealot.

It kind of alarmed Raven.

The tone and the words were exactly like the zealots he had faced in his last life.

When they talked about their God, their churches, and their religions.

It was creeping him out.

But he decided to bite the bullet and cave in.

"You have nothing to fear, Jerry," He started his fake guidance, "We were sent into this world by our God for a divine purpose, and,"

"And, if you feel like doing something, maybe it is a part of God’s plan?"

Jerry’s eyes became clearer as a new light shone in his pupils.

In the background, the Archbishop was starting his speech.

"Today, we stand here, under the light of the Divine God, Solis, to witness the birth of a new Order of the Church, that would serve Him with all they have gotten." His voice was just as serene and old as his face.

The public listened to this speech carefully.

The young bloods, who were about to join this new order today, felt an immense amount of pride hearing this speech.

This was their introduction, a speech for their inauguration.

Introduced by such a revered person.

"This new Order would be responsible for judging offences in places that we find hard to approach."

The Archbishop was taking minor pauses in between, giving the public time to digest his words.

He was quite natural at this.

"And this new Order also gives the talented young men and women of our Church an opportunity to step into the real world."

The crowd cheered.

The future Arbiters’ chest puffed up.

But Raven’s head buzzed with a sharp pain.

Urgh!

As if a part of his memory was unlocked, he suddenly remembered something.

This voice.

He has indeed heard this voice somewhere.

Urk!

Back in the cave where the original Raven was kidnapped.

He had heard this voice there.

His eyes widened as he finally recognized this voice.

A Knight from the Moon Goddess Church.

Seeing this reaction, Jerry immediately grabbed his hand and knelt on one of his knees.

Nobody paid attention to this, and Jerry made sure of it.

It felt like a blur everywhere around Raven. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Lend me the strength for today, your eminence," He brushed Raven’s hand to his forehead.

"Your subject shall come out victorious today, revered Apostle."

The blur vanished as he stood up, and the voice next to them attracted their attention.

Raven was still finding it hard to process the event that had just occurred when the Archbishop’s voice fell into his ears again.

"I, Joseph Tatum, hereby stand under the warm, bright light of our God, to announce the official beginning of the newest Order of our Church, The Order of Arbiters."

BOOOOM!