"The child of prophecy has survived the fog of disaster. The goddess has forgiven our foolishness and has not yet abandoned the land."
"Alas, the day has come to complete the atonement!"
"The power of Shadeia is only passed down through the matrilineal line. Have you never experienced the power of a god? Have you ever seen a place name that no one can see or experience?"
Neril glared sharply at the man bowing his head to the ground in gratitude and the strange old man.
"Why are you suddenly blocking my path and talking about something?"
"Wait for a second."
Medea raised her hand to stop Neril.
A second life was given to her. A miracle that no one has ever achieved or experienced.
"Were you the one who told me about the dawn's goblet three years ago?"
The old man in front of her reminded her of an old woman she had encountered in a shabby alley in Valdina. They had a similar vibe that was hard to describe.
"Ah. The priestess has gone there."
The old man sighed as if he knew everything, then came over and took Medea's hand.
It was just as she was about to lick her lips.
Kaaaaak-!
"Ahhhh! It's a wyvern!"
At the entrance to the village, a terrible scream, a mixture of human and demonic, could be heard.
Medea raised her head.
A flock of wyverns with their wings spread were circling the sky. The wyverns were intermediate-level beasts with bat wings and lizard heads.
The wyverns covered the sky, and it became dark in an instant, as if it were night.
"Oh my, already..."
The old man closed his eyes tightly and continued speaking urgently.
"You are the child of prophecy, the successor to the lineage of our Shadeia, the priestess. Since we fell for the trick and your mother was unfairly pushed away, your generation's power will be even stronger."
As he spoke, endless tears flowed from the old man's eyes.
It seemed as if a huge burden of regret and remorse was weighing down on him.
"One, the greater the power, the greater the trials that follow. You must constantly seek the light and drive away the darkness that is pressing in."
"I don't understand a single word you are saying."
Instead of answering Medea, the old man hands her the necklace from his bosom.
It was a wing-shaped pendant holding a transparent crystal under a gold ring. Several layers of gold lines overlapping the crystal sparkled.
"Tsk, I'm not a Priest, so I can't properly see your fate... Fortunately, you were born in the orbit of Venus, so you should be able to overcome any ordeal with that strength. There is a place on Venus that determines your fate-"
Kaaaaak-!
At that moment, a wyvern spotted Medea and her party and flew in.
Neril leapt up and cut off its head, and the wyvern, flapping its wings in vain, fell toward the chapel.
The old chapel roof collapsed.
Kiaaaagh-!
This time, another wyvern fell from the sky like an arrow, its wings raised.
The sharp claws tried to grab Medea, but its foot was cut off with a flash of light.
“Are you okay?”
Cesare appeared above the wyvern falling corn.
His appearance, swinging his sword while sitting on a black horse, looked so calm that it was even more striking compared to the chaos around him.
"Stop! They're going to Her Highness Medea!!"
But the wyverns continued to gather towards Medea.
"Why on earth do they keep gathering here?"
Gallo gritted his teeth as he struck down the wyverns that were constantly gathering.
Even though the wyvern was a creature driven by instinct, it was strange that it didn't stop at all, even when its own kind was being slaughtered.
"Medea. We must leave now."
Cesare, who had now come within a stone's throw of Medea, spoke to her. He held Silva's leash in his right hand.
"...You guys should avoid this place for now."
The old man nodded at Medea's words.
"This is a punishment for our tribe not recognizing the priestess. Don't worry. We too have learned to avoid that punishment and survive over the years."
Wooosh!
As if to prove the old man's words, a dead wyvern, impaled on a harpoon, fell down next to the man who had come with him.
The old man's generous eyes quickly filled with fighting spirit.
Medea remembered that the old man was a herbalist who had come to sleep on the steep moonlit cliffs.
"Don't worry about us. The day the twisted things are put right, this just separation will end."
"..."
"Child of Selene, go quickly. go on your way without looking back or hesitating."
The old man paused for a moment, his gaze alternating between Medea and the necklace in her hand.
"I never thought I would be able to fulfill my mission to convey the priestess's mark before I close my eyes."
Then, he turned around and jumped into the herd of wyverns.
When Medea saw this, she felt a strange urge to follow the old man and his group.
To strangers who suddenly mention her mother and babble incomprehensibly.
“Medea.”
But Medea turned her horse around to follow Cesare, who called her back as if urging her.
Silva, undeterred even amid a pack of ferocious wyverns, ran powerfully toward the anchored ship.
Medea clutched the necklace in her hand.
Venus, Shadaea, and the Priestess.
Even though it was a feast of unfamiliar words, her heart did not stop pounding.
***
The sailing ship carrying Medea and her companions quickly moved away from the shore.
When the herd of wyverns circled above, her heart became so close that they looked like the size of the palm of her hand. She saw the wyvern fly away to another place.
"Anyway, it's amazing that you're even just trying to keep your composure when you come like that."
Gallo stuck out his tongue.
"The demons here are influenced by the movements of the highest-level evil dragon, and the fact that the wyvern was pushed down to the mind means that the evil dragon is moving in the ray."
"Don't take it too seriously, we haven't even started yet... Terence. What's the use of it? Just think of it as a big wyvern, right?"
Terence sighed at Gallo's nagging.
After spending another full day on the boat, the sailing ship carrying Medea and her party arrived at the Pitch Black Forest.
Cesare gave orders to some of his subordinates.
"Zeta, Kappa, you guys, return to the base, take charge of the rear, and gather news from the continent. Then tell me."
“Yes, Your Highness.”
"Yeah, I've already scented Falcon with you guys, so just hand it to him."
Gallo pointed to the claws of the Falcon flapping around.
The group that had unloaded their luggage and horses paused for a moment.
The sea breeze was cold and damp. The waves rolled slowly over the black sand, wetting the hooves of the expedition's horses.
The path leading from the coastline to the forest entrance looked like a natural tunnel created by a tangle of rocks and roots.
Finally, they arrived at the real entrance to the forest.
The forest was so dense that it was as dark as day even in broad daylight, and the inside of the forest as seen from the entrance was literally pitch black.
"The mood-setting from the start was no joke."
As the saw grumbled, Neril snapped.
“Then get behind me.”
"I have a manly mind... There is no retreat in my dictionary."
She kicked the floor.
"Brother Gallo, should I go in first?"
It was a bonus to slyly provoke Gallo as she passed by.
"Huh? Look at that guy?"
Gallo, who had just passed by, followed her, followed by Terence and Cesare's men, and finally, Medea and Cesare.
A faint fog and darkness rose from the forest, enveloping the expedition as if testing their fate.
***
At that time, the Holy Land Sacramontis.
"Sir, do we really have to go?"
In the normally quiet Templar Knights' room outside of their training hours, the knights' bewildered voices erupted.
"I don't know if it's right for us as knights of God to chase down and kill someone who ran away for her life, even though the Princess of Valdina is neither a heretic nor a sinner."
Leonor swallowed a sigh at the obviously skeptical reaction.
"It is a matter decided by the Holy Council. We are simply acting as members of the Central Temple."
"Valdina's Princess disappearing!"
He recalled the convention that had been as controversial as the knights before him.
"Peleus, it is clear that he hid his sister. A man who declares war on Emperor Katzen because of his sister would not accept the oracle at face value!"
When the news of Valdina's situation, which Sissair had tried to delay in any way, finally reached the ears of the central temple, the most furious one was the high priest Paul.
"The oracle has not yet been made visible across the continent. As a priest, isn't it dangerous to brand it with preemptive intent?"
"That's right. In addition, the Emperor of Valdina is aware of the seriousness of the situation and is making inquiries in every possible way."
"Ha! Do you realize the seriousness of the situation? This is clearly BlValdina's clever trick to buy time. Don't you see?"
Paul did not back down even in the face of other high priests who tried to remain neutral.
"The Goddess has bestowed her merciful grace upon our holy nation for the first time, but if we are not careful, the worst misfortune will happen by failing to uphold her noble will. This is not the time to just sit back and wait!"
Eventually, after many twists and turns, the majority vote gave the order to the Knights Templar.
"Leonor, you must dispatch the Knights of the Temple immediately and track down Valdina's Princess! She should have moved as soon as she heard the news, but where has that weasel-like woman gone by now?"
Leonor thought that High Priest Paul was more fixated on the object of the oracle, Valdina's Princess, than on the oracle itself.
The high priest was the position immediately below the Pope, and only the most devout and noble priests in the central temple could attain it.
But now, Paul seemed like an ordinary human being who was determined to bring down the Princess who had humiliated him and ensure her miserable end.
"How can you not speak! Haven't you seen it with me yourself?! What a cunning woman the Princess of Valdina is!"
"...We will set off as soon as the sun rises."
How hard he tried to hide his reluctant expression in front of Paul...
“Captain, but..."
The knights of the temple still could not hide their doubts.
In fact, Leonor also thought the same as them.
"There is nothing that can be done. Once the oracle has been given, going against its will is heresy and a sin."
However, as the Captain, he could not allow the Knights to be divided, so he strictly disciplined the knights.
"...Captain. I would like to join."
Meanwhile, Theo was the only Templar who volunteered for this task.
"Oh. Thanks, Theo. Still, I'm glad you understand the gravity of this matter."
Leonor, who had to take on the role of the villain all by himself, was secretly moved and patted the handsome young knight on the shoulder.
"... Yes."
The piety of a knight of God was evident in his firm grip on the sword and his distinct facial features.
Leonor felt that it was a good choice to choose Theo as his successor, as he was able to separate people from their duties.
But he didn't know.
Theo's fingertips were trembling as he held the sword.
'...If she gets caught, I'm the only one who can create an opening to avoid the eyes of the Templars.'
The real reason why his trusted successor volunteered for this job was also...
Theo lowered his eyes.
The fear of betraying the faith of the goddess he so revered still trembled in him.
But a strange, inexplicable certainty rose up from deep within him.
A conviction, almost a sense of calling or mission, that Medea Valdina's death must be prevented.
"Yes, I have to go."
Theo clenched his fists and nodded again as if making a pledge.
The next day, the elite of the Knights Templar left the Holy Land early in the morning.
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