Saint Ivanburg.
Pope Berkovsky of the Northern Church was slowly making his way toward the prayer room. He was tall and broad-shouldered, built like a bear — utterly unlike the frail old man that was Pope Benedict III. He looked more like a knight who had awakened the bloodline of an ice bear. In fact, he was indeed a Second-level Knight who had awakened his bloodline power through his own efforts. Even after later choosing the path of Divine Arts, he still paid great attention to training and maintaining his body. After all, using "God's Favor" placed an enormous burden on the body as well.
He extended his right hand and slowly pressed it against the prayer room door. His gaze was focused, without the habit that high-ranking figures often had of thinking while walking. For him, when doing something, he had to do it with full concentration, not letting unnecessary thoughts distract him, so that he could do his best. Thus, he ate when it was time to eat, walked when it was time to walk, and thought when it was time to think — even the smallest details followed this principle.
Suddenly, his right hand, which had been about to push open the prayer room door, froze on the copper handle. His eyes narrowed slightly as faint sacred light flickered around him, seeming to connect with the divine barrier of the entire cathedral.
"Who's nearby?" Though Berkovsky didn't maintain constant surveillance over all of Saint Ivanburg, he had at least basic vigilance. If he couldn't even detect a powerful figure approaching the cathedral, then he'd be far too incompetent as Pope of the Northern Church. Moreover, what was most critical was that the powerful figure had just flashed their presence for a bare moment, as if announcing to him that they had arrived!
Berkovsky felt no fear toward this mysteriously flashing figure — only confusion. Even if Pope Benedict III came in person, even if He recovered "Divine Descent," here in Saint Ivanburg, within the cathedral, he still had a chance of survival. "God's Favor" combined with the defensive core that the Northern Church had cultivated over several hundred years would be enough to exhaust Divine Descent while leaving him with only minor injuries.
This was the same reason why none of the successive Popes had ever tried to bombard Alinsol with "Divine Descent." While that could destroy the sky city, it couldn't seriously injure the Legends within. Without anyone else coordinating a siege, the peak Legends Douglas and Brook at least wouldn't worry about falling.
That Legendary fluctuation surfaced again, then quickly vanished — but its position hadn't changed at all from before. This made Berkovsky, who had been ready to strike directly, pause for a moment. He sensed something unusual, and then the sacred light behind his back solidified from ethereal to tangible, condensing into the figure of a six-winged angel with closed eyes. Then this figure plunged into the void and vanished before Berkovsky's eyes.
Outside Saint Ivanburg Cathedral lay a vast square, reflecting the bold and unconstrained style admired by the Shahran Empire. In a small alley near the square, the pre-dawn darkness shrouded the area completely, eerily silent — forming a stark contrast with the sacred, magnificent cathedral nearby.
In the alley, sacred light manifested, and the angel figure with closed eyes appeared, then twisted and transformed into Berkovsky's likeness.
"Heh heh." From the darkness of the alley came a spine-chilling laugh, clearly not something that would come from a human mouth — more akin to a rasping cackle, imbued with a strong sense of death.
Few powerful figures could make Berkovsky afraid. Beyond Quasi-gods, there was only Douglas. So he showed no courtesy to this sneaky figure playing at mystery and horror: "If the reason you lured me out isn't good enough, then go to hell and think of a better one."
"Heh heh..." With the laughter, a small bird completely black in color flew out. On its head grew pale, absurd-looking feathers, and its entire body seemed composed of the purest death, bearing the worst and most terrible of tidings.
Berkovsky studied it carefully, only to find that this mysterious little bird had disguised its aura extremely well, making his projection unable to see through it. Unless his true body were here and he used Divine Arts, he couldn't penetrate the disguise — but in that case, the little bird would likely collapse and vanish on the spot, leaving him no clues at all.
"You may call me the 'Death Omen Bird,' but what I bring this time is good news." The little bird hung eerily in midair as though perched on a branch.
Berkovsky snorted dismissively: "Good news? There aren't many things that could make me happy anymore."
"Oh really? Wouldn't selling at a discount the method of transforming oneself into an Ancient Demon state using the power of emotions count as good news?" The Death Omen Bird's laughter was truly horrifying.
"What?" Berkovsky's pupils contracted, his gaze fixed, staring intently at the strange little bird. For the first time since their meeting, he examined it down to the finest detail, as though even his nonexistent breathing had grown heavy.
After a moment of silence, he looked at the Death Omen Bird and said: "You know?"
Over the past year or two, numerous mysterious and bizarre incidents had occurred in the Northern Church's territory. Every investigation ultimately pointed to Ancient Demons. Combined with intelligence Berkovsky had obtained from the Dark Council, the Endless Ocean, and other sources, he had roughly deduced that someone was gathering the power of emotions to attempt transformation into an Ancient Demon state.
Moreover, the Continental Magic Parliament's broadcasts had explicitly stated that the method of transforming into an Ancient Demon state was created by Tannos. He used this along with the power of faith to successfully ascend to Quasi-godhood. Although Berkovsky couldn't fully trust broadcasts that were so openly aired, he had already formed preliminary inferences. The reason that successive Popes and Saints had never been able to find the door to Quasi-godhood — only knowing how to pass down power and steal or exploit the power of faith — was because they lacked a crucial link. For this reason, he had long coveted the method contained in the Death Omen Bird's words.
"Don't you know that Viken secretly published the method for becoming a Quasi-god?" the Death Omen Bird said with a slightly mocking tone.
"What?" Berkovsky repeated his earlier words again. The number of times he'd been surprised today probably surpassed the total for many past years. It wasn't that he lacked composure or focus — it was that the Death Omen Bird's news was too shocking!