Fire Mage (Web Novel)

Chapter 703: Reynolds

A voice came from the left side before Runeth could ask more about it, causing them to turn around.

"May the Blessing of Eternal Life be with you!"

At that moment, a white-robed young man in his thirties walked towards them while holding a book and inquired.

"You don't seem like a believer of Life, Sirs. Can you tell me the purpose of your visit?"

'This guy must be a newly appointed bishop.'

Charles stealthily cast the [Curse of the Overlord] spell as he observed the young man and asked him directly.

"Do you know Bishop Reynolds? I came here to look for him. I heard that he had been sick for a long time due to a curse and came here to check if I could be of any help."

"Bishop Reynolds? Oh, you mean that sick old man? Well, he is still alive and has been under the surveillance. But don't call him Bishop anymore. After getting involved with some demon, the Higher-ups had long stripped him of his title and put him as an assistant to Head Deacon David. If you want to meet that man, you can go to the secret house at 45 El Street." A trace of annoyance appeared on the young man's face as he said those words.

"45 El Street?" Charles sharpened his gaze at the young man and asked further.

"Is Cardinal Benedictus also there?"

Although the young Bishop was puzzled by his question, he didn't put too much thought into it and answered truthfully.

"Of course not. Cardinal always stays in the newly built base outside the City and rarely comes out. Although he was cursed by a powerful being when he entered the Star Tombs Dungeon, he seems to have already found a clue to cure that curse. If I'm not wrong, he also brought some of his friends from the headquarters a while back and is conducting an important experiment. I advise you to not go near that place, sirs."

'Second base outside the City? Did they also turn our villa into a secret base?'

Charles couldn't help but want to go right away and strangle everyone's neck.

"Then, we will be taking our leave." He didn't want to stay in the Life Church any longer, turned around, and started walking towards the exit.

As the duo walked out of the Life Church, they moved to the main road, entered El Street after a few minutes of walking, and soon arrived before a familiar two-storied building surrounded by a sturdy concrete wall.

As Charles observed the house, he noticed no alterations had been made, and it looked as good as before.

But as he further observed, he noticed six people staying inside the house.

'One stays in the kitchen, three in the second floor's bedroom, and the rest two stay in the living hall. Hmm, I also see some kind of ritual circle engraved in my bedroom. No, it looks like some kind of spatial array.'

"Heh, they made a 'Dream Planar Array' in that small room, huh? They have been exploring the Dream World using the link fake Eddie created. Let's go." Runeth spoke from behind as he observed the house.

Nodding, Charles quietly walked closer to the compound gate, opened it, and entered the small yard in the front.

Before long, he arrived at the wooden entrance door and knocked on it twice.

A silence followed for the next few minutes, and soon, the door opened with a loud noise.

A white-robed man in his late thirties opened the door from the other side and gave them a puzzled look. He had a pale face, blue eyes, and a stern look. He was the high priest of Life Church and was assigned here as an assistant to Head Deacon David.

"You are?" He asked with a frown. Even though Charles was a legendary powerhouse, he hid his strength pretty well and looked more like a mortal. So, the high priest didn't consider him a threat and only gave him a cold look.

"I'm Charles Nightwind, the owner of this house," Charles responded.

"Your house?" A ridiculous smile appeared on the high priest's face.

"Do you know where you are, young man? This is the property of Life Church and has been named under Cardinal Benedictus. I think you came to the wrong address." The high priest said coldly and was about to shut the door but suddenly froze.

No, he forgot what to say next and stood in a daze.

"I don't want to stain the floor in blood again." Charles calmly pushed him to the side and stepped inside the house.

On the other hand, Runeth released his wisdom power and instantly knocked the high priest unconscious.

Then, both stepped into the house and soon entered the living room. At that moment, she lazily sat on a wooden chair and was in the middle of talking to someone in the kitchen.

She appeared to be around 20 years old and had flowing blonde hair, a beautiful heart-shaped face, and crimson eyes.

"Even after almost becoming blind, you still haven't given up on that weird habit, aren't you? You are getting more and more addicted to that drug, old man."

"Humph, what do you know? All these years, I've been using these leaves as a catalyst to enter our Goddess's sanctuary and get blessings. You are just jealous that you can't enter the sanctuary like me." An old man's voice came from the kitchen.

"That's called delusion, old man. You think those cannabis leaves are doing any good for you-" As the young lady was about to refute, she suddenly saw two people entering the living room.

Upon noticing their arrival, she instantly stood up from the wooden chair and unsheathed her sword.

"Who are you guys?" She asked in a threatening manner and enveloped her sword in a crimson red aura.

But before she could step forward, she noticed that some invisible power stopped her from moving.

"A Rank-3 [Blood Swordsman] and also a Rank-4 [Inquisitor], huh? But thanks to the loss of divine power, your power has been regressed to Rank-3." Charles calmly walked into the living hall as he manipulated the invisible strings to control her every movement and looked around.

"Hmm, you guys not only removed our favorite sofas but even my mom's favorite portraits?"

As Charles spoke, the silver-armored lady realized that the enemies were far stronger than her and instantly shouted.

"HELP!"

The first one to reach the living room was none other than the grey-haired, wrinkled old man from the kitchen. He was around 80 to 90, with a weak physique, deep-set amber eyes, a square face, and a hawk nose. He wore round glasses and even held a rolled dried leaves in his hand. Even though he looked completely unrecognizable and appeared more like a drunkard, Charles instantly guessed who it was.

He was none other than Bishop Reynolds!

He staggered out of the kitchen while holding a wooden walking stick and soon looked in their direction.

"Mary?" He blinked his eyes multiple times while adjusting his glass and tried to walk but almost stumbled.

"Are you alright?" Although he managed to see three vague silhouettes, he couldn't pinpoint who they were and shouted.

"Lord David? Some guests have come to visit us. Please come down." He shouted to warn others and stuffed the rolled dried leaves into his mouth.

Slowly, his vision became more precise, giving him some sense to stand up steadily.

At the same time, three more people also came from the second floor through the spiral staircase and got closer to the silver-armored lady.

"Who are you?" A man in a black robe asked as he took a dagger from his spatial ring and went into battle mode. He was the most powerful among the people in the house and could even go toe-to-toe against a normal Rank-5 being.

But even the Head Deacon couldn't help but step back in nervousness upon seeing the young man before him.

'He looks ordinary in every way but I can't even find a single weakness.' A strange sense of uneasiness appeared within him.

The other two red-robed men also arrived between the silver-armored lady and Charles, taking their staffs from their spatial rings.

"Don't you know this is the property of the Life Church?" One of the red-robed men, around 40 years old, also asked with a stern look.

"Interesting." Charles chuckled as he walked past the group and soon arrived before the wrinkled old man.

"I never expect to see you in such a condition, Father Reynolds." He said with a smile.

"You are...?" Reynolds was confused by his words and soon noticed that his face appeared familiar.

"Oh? It seems you've forgotten about me. Well, let me introduce myself again then." Charles paused for a moment and added.

"My name is Charles Nightwind. Two decades ago, I and my mother lived in this house and even had full ownership of this place. But when did our house become the property of the Life Church, Father Reynolds?" Even though Charles spoke smilingly, everyone in the living room felt a strange invisible power gripping their hearts.

"C-Charles?!!! Are you Charles?" At that moment, his vision slowly returned to normal, causing him almost to tear up.

"Y-You are Charles!" He raised his hand and touched his cheek with the callus-filled hand.

"You know him, old man?" The black-robed man asked as he looked at Reynolds suspiciously.

Only then did Reynolds calm down and speak.

"P-Please refrain from harming anyone, Charles. I know the Life Church has done injustice to you and failed to keep your promise, but this is not something either I or you can solve."

A deep sigh leaked out of Charles's mouth.

"The reason I'm not taking against any of them is not because I'm weak. I just don't want to stain the floor again in blood. You do understand what it means, right?"