Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 166: Break Out (1)

Meanwhile, inside the church...

Sophia, Amelia, and A’Mila moved cautiously through the church’s grand halls, their footsteps silenced by the noise outside. They hadn’t seen the proceedings, but judging by the chaos, Adrian was busy raising hell.

"I told him not to overdo it!" Sophia exclaimed through gritted teeth, only to be snacked by Amelia on the wrist.

"He knows what he’s doing. Just focus on doing what we’re here for," Amelia replied while A’Mila remained vigilant, scanning the place for any oddities.

With the map Adrian had given them, they slowly made their way to the underground cellar. But it wasn’t easy. Despite the commotion outside, quite a few guards remained behind, forcing the girls to be careful not to raise an alarm.

However, their luck ran out as soon as they got past the last of the guards.

As they entered the church’s main building, a stern-faced priest stepped into their path, his eyes scanning the masked strangers. Everything came to a halt as the girls contemplated what they should do next.

"Who are you?" the priest demanded to know, clearly suspicious of their presence.

Amelia, the quickest thinker in the group, stepped forward and replied in a confident tone, "We are Ravens here on patrol. We were asked to check things out in case any intruder made their way inside."

"That makes sense..." The priest replied with a smile and walked to one of the support pillars holding the ceiling. "Unfortunately, I know a liar when I see one." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

The girls’ calm looks turned to panic as they considered what to do with the priest now that their identities were at risk of being exposed. But the priest continued yapping.

"The Ravens have been given strict instructions not to venture into this part of the church," he said. "And yet, here you are, loitering about instead of defending the church as you should be."

Sensing the situation’s urgency, Sophia tried defusing it before they had to do something they shouldn’t. But before she could respond, the priest raised the alarm, reaching for the nearby bell rope.

However, just when the priest was about to pull the rope, someone’s gentle hand grabbed his, stopping him. Baffled, the priest turned to look around and noticed Seraphina was standing behind him.

"What is the meaning of this, Father?" she inquired, her voice calm and composed as usual.

"Saintess Seraphina," he stammered, "I... I found these intruders wandering the halls. They claim to be Ravens, but I’m certain they are intruders-"

Seraphina listened intently as the priest relayed his concerns, her expression unreadable.

"I see," she murmured, pretending to take his words seriously. "The situation is indeed suspicious. I’ll let you deal with it."

But as the priest turned to alert the guards, she acted swiftly, delivering a swift blow to his temple that sent him crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

"You almost blew your covers," Seraphina sighed before shedding her saintess uniform, revealing the sleek black bodysuit of an assassin beneath.

"Yeah, thanks for the assist," Amelia replied.

Even though her words thanked Seraphina, she was still suspicious of her. After all, the saintess had fooled them once by hiding her true identity; there was no saying what else she could be hiding. But it seemed she was the only one suspicious there.

"What about the anti-magic barrier?" Sophia asked Seraphina as she joined them.

"I destroyed the magic circle. The reinforcements should be here already," Seraphina replied, guiding them through the corridors. "Enough questions. We need to move quickly. The cellar is just ahead. Let’s get Vesper and dip before anyone notices anything."

The girls nodded and hastily made their way towards the cellar. However, as they arrived, they realised that rescuing Vesper wouldn’t be easy.

While the Pope wasn’t in Nexaria, he had left some of his finest Paladins to watch over Vesper.

"What do we do now?" Sophia asked, but no one had an answer.

Unlike the other paladins, the ones before them belonged to the Pope’s personal guards. That meant they had top-notch armour and weapons and had already reached their first awakening, which basically meant they were level 105 or higher.

While Seraphina and A’Mila could take them head-on, it would be a close competition and attract unnecessary attention. It wasn’t an ideal situation since Seraphina had hoped to get in and out of there quickly.

Suddenly, a soft voice whispered in Seraphina’s ear, "Can I assist you, ladies?"

She instantly recognised the Pope’s voice and swiftly swung her dagger behind her, only to find Adrian standing there. Seraphina stopped her hand right before hitting his left eye. Still, Adrian didn’t even flinch.

"Judging by your reaction, I suppose my pope impression was pretty convincing, huh?" he said, slowly lowering Seraphina’s dagger.

"Yeah, and it almost cost you an eye," Seraphina sighed before smiling. "Where’s Fenris?"

"Here," Adrian said, showing his hoodie.

A puppy was inside the cap, sleeping peacefully. But it was Fenris who got tired after running around and fighting, so she used [Alterform] and made herself comfortable.

Unfortunately, it was time to wake up. Adrian carefully lifted her and settled her onto A’Mila’s lap since she was the only one the wolf trusted, much to everyone else’s disappointment, as they wanted to hold her.

"Alright then... but first-"

"Yeah, yeah, we’ll keep it a secret," Sophia interrupted Adrian, waving him to get to it already.

Within a moment, Adrian turned into the Pope. His transformation wasn’t perfect since he had only seen him a few times, but it was good enough to fool the paladins.

***

"Your Holiness!" one of the paladins said, bowing to the Pope. "I didn’t expect to see you here. Weren’t you supposed to be back next week?"

But the Pope remained silent, his eyes filled with disdain as he stared back at the Paladin. Sensing the Pope’s foul mood, the Paladin swallowed nervously and stepped back, hastily moving to open the cellar door.

"I apologise for my rudeness, but as per your instructions, unlocking the door would require a password, sir," the other Paladin interrupted.

The Paladin’s partner widened his eyes in disbelief, but the Paladin played him to play along. The soldier found it suspicious: first, the attack, and then the Pope’s unplanned appearance. Something was off, so he devised a lie of a password to gauge the Pope’s reaction.

"I would expect nothing less from my loyal soldiers," the Pope smiled. However, you need not worry. It is I, and unlike what you said, there is no password."

"My sincere apologies, Your Holiness," the Paladin immediately went on his knees, realising it was indeed the Pope. "I’m willing to accept any punishment for my rudeness-"

"There’s no need for that," the Pope replied. "You only did what you thought was for the best. Now, open the cellar. There’s something I would like to discuss with Vesper."

"At once, my lord."