Si Zhu Cathedral in the Red Queen District is the most orthodox Nine Pillar Gods Church in Avalon, and also the highest-ranking church.
The coronation ceremonies of successive kings and queens of Avalon are held here, and it also serves as the royal family's mausoleum. Other individuals deemed 'great' in the Avalon Kingdom are also buried here after their state funerals.
Its audacity to be named after 'Si Zhu,' the pillar god who guards the Devotion Path, is enough to prove its sacredness.
"Please come this way."
An Old Elves wearing a pontifical crown and a solemn, floor-length red robe turned around and spoke to Aiwass politely and gently.
This man, with a full beard and glasses, appeared to be only in his forties based on his skin and facial features, and his demeanor gave off the impression of a strict homeroom teacher. Yet, he inexplicably exuded a sense of 'agedness,' making one instinctively feel he should be an Old Elves. Perhaps it was due to the unnatural pallor of his beard and hair, which wasn't natural white hair but rather a faded color caused by aging.
The Old Elves looked up and reminded Oswald, who was pushing Aiwass's wheelchair: "Be careful, the Path ahead is a downhill slope."
The pontifical crown on his head resembled a complex, ornate, and sacred candelabrum.
It could even genuinely hold candles though outside of important occasions, they wouldn't actually insert or light them.
With the design of this pontifical crown, it could accommodate a maximum of three candles. The large candle in front and the two smaller ones on either side indicated that the Old Elves's holy order rank was quite high.
Even including the Pope of the Eternal Church, he would rank as the Third Level from the top down.
Strictly speaking, all high-ranking clergy, including the Pope, are considered 'Bishops.' All Bishops' pontifical crowns have three candles, and only Bishops can wear red robes. Among them, the Pope's pontifical crown can hold three large candles, while the lowest-ranking Bishop can only insert three small candles.
Priests, one rank lower, have two, and the lowest-ranking Deacons have only one.
Although the churches in this world all worship the Nine Pillar Gods simultaneously, the churches themselves also have their preferences. The vast majority of holy individuals walk the Devotion Path, and thus the Nine Pillar Gods Church itself honors 'Si Zhu' and takes the red candle, symbolizing 'burning oneself to illuminate others,' as the sacred emblem of the Nine Pillar Gods Church.
Although Aiwass was also a Priest, he had not yet graduated and therefore had not been granted his own pontifical crown. This meant he was not considered part of the religious system, did not receive a salary from the Church, and was not bound by the Church's rules.
"Thank you, Bishop Mathers."
Aiwass politely expressed his gratitude: "It's troublesome for you to personally come and teach me sacred techniques."
"What's troublesome about it? I owe Professor Moriarty a great deal for my election as a Spiritual Affairs Councillor."
Bishop Mathers clasped his hands in front of him, fingers intertwined. He walked parallel to Aiwass on the eastern Path of Si Zhu Cathedral.
He chuckled happily: "I saw this morning's newspaper you did well yesterday.
"Those Demon Scholars committed many atrocities, having recently sacrificed an entire village. Including over a dozen Old Elves and more than forty children, everyone was turned into ritual materials by them. Their crimes are outrageous, even alarming His Holiness the Pope. Now they are not only wanted here in the Kingdom, but also listed in the Hall of Punishment in the Church State.
"You found them with your own wisdom and defeated them with a pistol, even without formally acquiring the power of the Path... Overcoming the strong with the weak, very well done. His Holiness the Pope hasn't received the newspaper yet. But I believe if he sees it, he will also praise you as 'a hero emerging from youth.'"
"It's not that amazing," Aiwass smiled gently, "Without Senior Haiyina's protection, even if I had found them, I might have already been killed."
"Hmm, that little girl is also very good."
Bishop Mathers agreed: "Brave and resourceful most importantly, willing to trust others.
"Her strength is so much greater than yours, and she's older than you, yet she didn't blindly trust her own strength and was willing to trust your judgment... When she couldn't handle the problem in front of her, she was willing to pass the ball to someone who could. I think that's probably a kind of wisdom too."
"You watch ball games too?"
The person who suddenly asked was Oswald, behind Aiwass.
The Old Elves asked with interest: "Which team do you support?"
"Of course, Mistletoe Club."
The Bishop answered without hesitation: "I think the new player they brought in this year should be something to talk about."
"What about Unicorn? What do you think of Unicorn's performance this year?"
"I am an Avalon native, so of course I support Avalon's team. You are an Elf, so you support the Church State's team. That's normal."
The Bishop said happily, lightly glossing over the topic.
He looked at Aiwass and said seriously: "Although you have proven that you can overcome the strong with the weak defeating an enemy close to the Third Level without acquiring any extraordinary power. But if we were to simply put you aside with such confidence, that would be a dereliction of duty for us elders.
"Although doing so might not be in accordance with the rules... According to the regulations issued by Her Majesty the Queen forty years ago, citizens of Avalon need to be adults, achieve excellent or higher grades in cultural studies, have good moral evaluations, and no bad habits or criminal records before they can formally access the Path and embark on the extraordinary Path.
"But there's only one month left until your class's final assessment. You have already proven your integrity and rationality, and I will speak to Her Majesty the Queen about it later."
Hearing this, Butler Oswald, who was pushing the wheelchair, suddenly coughed lightly.
"Your Grace, Bishop," the aged but still elegant Elf butler asked seriously, "Has something happened?"
Bishop Mathers still happily clasped his hands, but did not immediately reply to Oswald.
It wasn't until the three of them arrived at the small chapel on the east side of the cathedral, and Bishop Mathers pulled out a huge key that looked even longer than Haiyina's dagger, and opened the tightly shut door... that the Old Elves Bishop slowly spoke:
"Today, St. Genevieve's Chapel is open only for you.
"Besides teaching you three sacred techniques: 'Sacrificial Fire,' 'Illumination,' and 'Blessing,' I will also help you complete your first advancement. Don't be too nervous, the first advancement doesn't require entering the Dream Realm. The situation in Avalon is not good right now, and I believe you need some self-preservation ability."
"So, what exactly happened?"
Oswald pressed.
Bishop Mathers closed the chapel door and flipped the light switch.
The next moment, the chapel, whose structure and area resembled a university lecture hall, was suddenly brightly lit.
On both sides, countless one-to-one scale statues stored in niches instantly became bright behind them. As if startled by the light, the statues in the niches slowly began to move silently and subtly, gradually turning their gaze towards them.
Bishop Mathers lightly touched the three candles on his pontifical crown and respectfully greeted the holy images: "Seventy-three Precursors.
"May Si Zhu watch over your candle flames."
And Aiwass and Oswald also bowed slightly in respect.
These seventy-three holy images are the Precursors who have received state funeral burial rites and are interred here since the founding of the Avalon Kingdom, including successive monarchs. Every single one of them has their name inscribed in Avalon's history books.
When Queen Sophia passes away, she will become the seventy-fourth.
Aiwass had already noticed that a new niche, without a holy image, had appeared in the corner of St. Genevieve's Chapel.
Noticing Aiwass's gaze, Bishop Mathers thoughtfully explained to him: "This is the place Her Majesty the Queen has prepared for herself. Her Majesty's holy image began to be carved five years ago and was already ready two years ago. The holy image is currently stored in the Silver and Tin Palace."
Then, he turned back to look at Oswald.
"The Round Table Hall probably doesn't know about this yet, but I have already reported it to Her Majesty the Queen."
Bishop Mathers said seriously: "Important intelligence has come from the Church State.
"They caught a Stibium spy there and extracted some information.
"It is said that there are traitors within the Kingdom's high command. They plan to cause a sustained chaos on Glass Island, with unknown time, scale, and location. The ultimate goal is to 'obtain or approach a certain sacred entity.'
"The capital will likely soon fall into chaos, and I don't think there's any need for Aiwass to wait for the final exams to end.
"Just in case, he must immediately embark on the extraordinary Path."