Jack returned home and slept in his human form. His other forms didn't need to sleep, but his human form did. However, his [Transcended] status effect made an hour rest daily enough to recharge him. Longer than that was luxury, not necessity.
Early next morning, Jack informed Reina about what had happened. Warning her not to go to the Central District for these days.
"The churches are going to make a move. Very soon." Jack told her. "They have to. I didn't give them any choice. Well, I need to observe the situation. I won't be at home today."
Reina nodded. "Be careful, Dear. They might involve illuminated ones."
"I'll be in my specter form." Jack replied. "As long as I'm not doing any obvious action or staying too close, I should be safe. Take care, Love."
Jack transformed into his specter form immediately. Daylight didn't really matter for him. His maxed out [Essence] nullified that weakness. But he didn't want to create spectacles. Daylight specter would very likely cause panic. Thus, he vanished. Activating his invisibility from the very beginning.
Then, he drifted through the walls of his home. And soared over the cobblestone streets. He was even more subtle than a cold breeze that no one noticed.
He reached the Lonestone City Museum several minutes before the doors were set to open to the public. He perched himself on the roof's edge. Silent. Motionless. Like a gargoyle made of nothing.
He waited. Ignoring the malevolent aura from inside the museum. Rune perched on his invisible shoulder. Her current wisp form glowed in a faint, observational blue.
The streets began to hum with the typical morning bustle... steam-carriages rattling, street vendors hawking soot-stained bread, and the distant whistle of the docks. Then, the atmosphere changed.
The ambient noise of the city didn't actually stop. But it felt muffled. Suppressed by a sudden weight in the air.
Jack immediately pushed his invisibility state to its maximum power. His presence seemed to completely disappear. His [Mythical Existence] trait completely hid his trace.
Three figures turned up from the corner of the museum's main plaza. They didn't come in a carriage. They walked. And the crowd parted for them like water before a boat's prow. Surprisingly, none of the crowd seemed to realize they moved out of the three's path.
Jack leaned forward. 'Here we go.' He thought.
The first was a man Jack recognized instantly. Cardinal Paddy from the Church of Prosperity. A stout priest with a face that looked like it had been carved from a particularly stubborn potato. Dressed in the Church of Prosperity's robes.
This illuminated one was involved in the chaos within the Valley of Despair. Jack had seen him in action.
Walking beside him was a man who looked like he had been forged in a furnace. Dark skinned. Wearing heavy and thick robes. With the color and the symbol from the Church of Justice.
Jack's [Eyes of Judgement] flared. A spectral overlay appearing in his vision that stripped away facades and revealed the raw data of the soul. He didn't dare to do a deep scanning. But, a glance would still be possible.
This was Arch Bishop Lance. As expected, he was from the Church of Justice. His eyes were cold. Scanning the surrounding with a precision that made Jack glad he was currently invisible. Another illuminated one.
The third was a woman who seemed to glide rather than walk. She wore simple robes and carried a wooden staff, topped with a moonstone that hummed with a low, vibrating frequency.
Jack activated his scanning power again. This one was Divine Priestess Mistgrass. From the Church of Redemption. Another illuminated powerhouse.
Both she and Arch Bishop Lance weren't there during the [Forbidden Chalice] case. It seemed that not all illuminated transcendent characters were deployed to the Valley of Despair.
'Three heavy hitters for one statue.' Jack grinned as he thought. 'They actually listened.'
The trio didn't wait for the museum guards to greet them. Arch Bishop Lance simply waved a hand. The heavy iron-reinforced doors groaned. The locks snapped inward as if struck by a phantom ram.
They entered the building with the practiced grace of noble powerhouses.
Jack phased through the roof. Maintaining a safe distance. He watched from the rafters of the main exhibit hall.
The three priests stood before the stone statue of Nalam Gandare. Compared to the day before, the aura of the 'statue' felt even more foul. It was like a black hole of malice. Enclosed by fragile glass cover.
Cardinal Paddy stepped forward. His face twisted in a grimace. He took a monocle and used it to observe the statue. The monocle showed a golden glow. The statue seemed to reveal the subtle, pulsating veins of corruption beneath the stone surface.
"It seemed that the dream specter was telling the truth." Cardinal Paddy's deep voice echoed in the hall. "It's a Mutant Beast Brawler. High-level demonization. If this thing had escaped the seal mid-day, the city would have been a slaughterhouse."
"The specter revealed the moles in our ranks as well." Divine Priestess Mistgrass said in dry tone. "We had started the investigation early this morning. We found the two he mentioned might really be... problematic."
"Justice will be served to the traitors later." Arch Bishop Lance growled. His hand was drawing a glowing sword from nowhere. "First, we neutralize this abomination. Paddy, it's too powerful for a standard seal. I don't think my sword will be enough. We need stronger artifact."
"And another helper." The priestess added.
Cardinal Paddy nodded. "I'll get our Sacred Chain Relic and Divine Jail Box. Also another heavy reinforcement. Stay here. Don't let anyone come close."
The cardinal turned and hurried out of the museum. Jack stayed. Watching Arch Bishop Lance and Divine Priestess Mistgrass carefully.
They didn't speak. They stood in their defensive stances near the statue. Their combined divine auras created a faint, shimmering barrier of holy energy. One that somehow suppressed the statue's dark influence.
A few minutes later, Paddy returned. He wasn't alone this time. He was accompanied by an elderly man in similar Prosperity Church robes.
Jack immediately recognized him. It was Cardinal Wheatfield. He wasn't involved in the chaos within the Valley of Despair. But, he was there when the [Forbidden Chalice] appeared in Lonestone City for the first time.
Four Illuminated-level powerhouses in one room? Jack wanted to whistle in appreciation. But he didn't dare to.
That was enough raw power to level a small mountain range. The four moved with clinical efficiency.
The four Illuminated Divine Acolytes began chanting. Their voices intertwining. Enlarging the necklace-sized golden chains Cardinal Paddy was holding. These chains weren't just metal. They were imbued with solidified Faith Power.
They wrapped the chains around the statue. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Cardinal Wheatfield produced a massive metal box inscribed with thousands of tiny runes.
They hoisted the statue inside. The box didn't just carry the object. It seemed to sever the statue's aura leakage and its connection to the physical world.
With a collective effort, the four illuminated acolytes exited the museum. The box was floating between them on a cushion of pressurized air and divine mana.
Outside, the bustling town went on like usual. Everyone seemed to ignore the four priests and the bulky, floating box. People opened a path for the four to pass, so these four shouldn't be invisible. But they didn't seem to think it was a curious sight.
"Interesting power..." Jack commented silently. "A kind of illusion aimed at the normal people? Unfortunately, it seemed to be the utilization of Faith Power."
He sighed. The ability seemed useful for his other forms. It was truly unfortunate. After all, he was a Fateless. He could never use Faith Power.
"Anyway... Case closed." Jack concluded. Preparing to head back home. "The churches did their jobs. I can go back to my steamrune projects and..."
He stopped.
He saw something peculiar. A middle-aged man with thinning hair and a formal, expensive suit. Gloomily watching the departing four. To any normal observer, he looked like a worried bureaucrat. Stressed by the sudden intrusion of religious authorities.
But Jack wasn't a normal observer. He knew that the four illuminated acolytes should be ignored by normal people. This bureaucrat-looking man shouldn't pay attention to them.
Jack immediately used his [Eyes of Judgement]. Just to be sure.
[Name: Cole Kane]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 46]
[Occupation: Museum Curator]
[Affiliation: Undeath Sect]
[Karma: Negative]
[Power Level: Average]
[Power Class: Eldritch Warlock]
...
Jack's spectral eyes narrowed. The curator didn't watch the church powerhouses for long. He spat on the ground and retreated into the museum.
Jack decided to follow him.
The man walked with a sudden, purposeful stride. His 'worried bureaucrat' expression fell away like a discarded mask. Replaced by a twisted, enraged one.
He entered his private office, locked the door, and moved a part of the bookshelf. Behind it was a lever disguised as a coat hook. He pulled it down.
With a dull thud, a section of the floor slid away. Revealing a spiral staircase that descended into the darkness.
Jack, the invisible specter, drifted down after him. The air grew colder down there. Smelling of stagnant water and old rot. This didn't seem to be a part of the city's official sewer system. This was older. A relic of the pre-industrial city buried beneath the new Lonestone.
Some time later, the tunnel opened into a wide, gloomy chamber. In the center sat an antique brazier made of blackened bronze. Decorated with screaming faces and twisted limbs.
Cole Kane pulled a vial of viscous, green liquid from his pocket. And poured it into the brazier. He snapped his fingers. A flame immediately ignited. It wasn't orange or yellow like usual flame. It was a sickly, neon green. An eerie light source that cast long, distorted shadows.
Not long afterward, three other figures emerged. From the darkness of the surrounding tunnels.
One was a pale woman with long black hair tied to a tight bun. Another was a heavy set man with thick beard. And the third was a withered old man holding a cane.
Jack did a quick scan with his [Eyes of Judgement]. A florist, a lawyer, and a gravestone carver. All of them were transcendent Eldritch Warlock. Affiliated to the Undeath Sect...