Unbeknownst to the others, Vale had already discerned the true identity of one of the representatives as the elusive Demon Saint.
Nonetheless, Instead of confronting the situation directly, Vale chose to bide his time, waiting for the Demon Saint to reveal his hand before making his move.
He then turned his attention to the old Runecaster.
He observed Master Thorne carefully and recognized that he would have stood little chance against such a formidable opponent if he had chosen to pursue him during their earlier encounter in the Coulston Castle.
'Those are Runic Fate Eyes? Interesting… I wonder what my fate is right now.' Vale mused.
He had little to no Divinity during that time when he had stolen the Stormbringer Sword, while this Runecaster seemed to know a lot of Runes that could quickly suppress him.
However, Vale reflected that those events were now in the past, and he had since grown in strength, prepared to confront challenges of any magnitude.
After taking a deep breath, he spoke.
"Now that my identity as the Masked Devil Incarnate, pursued by the Church of the Three Paragons, has been revealed to all of you, do your intentions for today remain unchanged?" Vale inquired, his voice carrying a weight of anticipation.
In response, Maya, disguised as Miya, spoke up with a resolute tone.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Yes, Sir Immortal. I am Miya, a representative of the Lord of the Secrets. We have been dispatched here to request your assistance."
As Miya uttered these words, she produced a crystal, its size comparable to that of an adult's fist.
The other representatives, aside from Master Thorne, appeared puzzled by this gesture, while Thorne's eyes remained fixed on the crystal, his understanding of the item's value was evident.
"Are you presenting this to me as gift?" Vale queried from behind his mask. Of course, he was already aware that this was not the case, but he still chose to pose the question to make it difficult for her.
"Ahh…"
Miya hesitated momentarily before responding… "No, Sir Immortal. We are imploring you to infuse this Divine Crystal with your pure Divinity. If you assist us in this, we pledge to support your mission of sealing all the Abyss Gates or any of your requests to us."
Vale arched a skeptical brow, intrigued by the proposal. "So, someone within your Church requires Divinity?" he inquired directly.
Miya didn't want to discuss this in front of other people but he had no choice at this point.
"Yes, it will aid one of our Elders. Please inform us of your desires in exchange, and we will do our best to fulfill them." Miya responded with a sincere tone.
'I don't think that her Church will be problem…' Vale thought to himself as he recalled the reports he received from the Bureau.
Since he had enslaved Raizen and Felix, the two Council Members of the Arcane Bureau, he already obtained access to plenty of information around the world.
One of the files that was sent to him was related to the Lord of the Secrets. This Lord was actually called the Goddess of Concealment before.
According to the files that were sent to him, among all the Churches in the continent, the Church of the Lord of the Secrets was the one that was giving less trouble to the Bureau.
They do not commit human trafficking, they always follow government policies, they help a lot in dealing with bad spirits and evil creatures, and they always help the poor who worship their Lord.
However, the most important thing about this was the power of their Lord.
The Concealment Art.
"Very well…" Vale finally agreed.
"I will infuse the Divine Crystal with my pure Divinity. However, in exchange, I request the assistance of the Church in a matter that is of great significance to me."
He didn't specify what it was but Miya seemed to have some idea of what he wanted to request to the Church.
After all, there weren't a lot of things that their Church could do.
Miya nodded in agreement, acknowledging Vale's request with a gratified expression. Then Vale used his Traceless Shift to take the Divine Crystal.
Without wasting any more time, he proceeded to channel his potent Divinity into the crystal, infusing it with radiant energy with strands of darkness that seemed to shimmer and pulsate within its crystalline form.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmMiya and the others watched as the dull crystal turned vibrant…
'So this is what it looks like… It's beautiful…' Miya thought as she realized that her task was actually incredibly difficult!
She had to protect this crystal until she returned to the Church! If possible, once she got the crystal back, she would immediately leave without waiting for other representatives to finish their transactions!
"It's done…" Vale said. This time, he didn't use his Traceless Shift and planned to give it to Miya by hand.However, as he was about to return the filled Divine Crystal, a sudden disturbance shattered the tension in the air.
The Demon Saint, hidden among the representatives, made a swift and cunning move, attempting to seize the crystal.
'So you finally made your move… Are you targeting the Divine Crystal instead of me?' Vale mused.
Vale's senses tingled with alarm as he swiftly intercepted the Demon Saint's stealthy maneuver, his voice cutting through the tension.
"Stop! What do you think you are doing?"
His voice contained the power of the Soul Reaper Spell! However, this Spell didn't work against the Demon Saint…
Nonetheless, it was enough to injure the Demon Saint and make him show his true appearance!
The atmosphere crackled with tension as the other representatives reacted with shock and apprehension, realizing that one of the representatives who had visited with them was being of another realm!
They immediately reacted as they swiftly backed away and held their weapons.
In the midst of the chaos, Vale's gaze locked onto the true form of the Demon Saint, who had masqueraded among them.
It was none other than one of Ceres' Shadow Knights!