Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 536 Authenticity
"If I remember correctly, Bishop Hiron has been based in the North since the 30th year of the Golden Calendar, right?"

Beside the sickbed, Lucia reached out and supported Hiron's back, gently helping the old man to a soft cushion, with Olivia beside him. Apart from them, there was no one else in the tent.

“To be precise, it was the winter of the 29th year of the Golden Calendar, cough cough—” A violent cough interrupted Hiren’s recollection. He covered his mouth and nose, and it took a lot of effort to make his flushed face turn pale again, while dark veins crawled all over the wrinkled sides of his neck.

"Lord Pirac and I were among the first generals to follow the War King on his northern expedition. After the war ended, Her Majesty Marika cast a divine curse to seal the last giant, and we stayed in the North to begin building the earliest Watchers' Fortress. In retrospect, I should be considered the first Watchers before Yuno."

Lucia noticed that Hiron's age was not as old as he appeared. Fire cultivators often became more robust and even bloated as their divine power increased, which was a manifestation of the mortal body being eroded by the power of evil flames.

But now, Xiren appears thin and withered. The flesh beneath her skin seems to have shrunk to the extreme as if it had been burned out, so much so that the unsupported skin piles up on the surface of the shrunken muscles, forming large, terrifying wrinkles.

Whether in terms of divine power or vital energy, this former Second-in-Command of Flames has become a flickering candle in the wind, and it wouldn't be surprising if he were to be completely extinguished in the next second.

“Of course, these are all trivial matters of the past,” Hiren said with a bitter smile, his voice weak as a leaky bellows. “I was unable to serve Your Majesty with a useful body, and was met as a useless person. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Lucia shook his head and comforted him, "Your Excellency is by no means useless. If it weren't for your approval, the monks of the Holy Temple would not have been so easily won over. Besides, although my current life magic cannot heal your fundamental wound, I will surely find a way to restore you to your former glory in time. Whether it is the Ancient Dragon Dynasty or this world, there are still bigger stages waiting for you to display your talents."

Hiren seemed somewhat moved, his chaotic eyes focusing slightly, and his bitter smile showing a hint of relief. He said, "Your Majesty is unworthy of such favor. However, since Your Majesty has tracked you down this far, you must have figured out the ins and outs of the Furnace ley lines. Whether you are feigning cooperation with that traitor to extract runes from the ley lines or making advance preparations to deal with the false king Chareleus, Your Majesty, whatever you wish to ask, I will tell you everything I know without reservation."

Lucia remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Olivia on the other side. This noblewoman, who had been ordered by the Queen of Death to infiltrate the Flame Sanctuary for many years, also had a very complicated expression in her eyes.

Factional divisions, ideological conflicts, and even opposing missions all seem meaningless at this moment. Under this war mill that has crushed the northern border for 30,000 miles, the Holy Temple monks who have inherited the Golden Will and the Godskin Apostles who have taken it upon themselves to overthrow the Golden Dynasty have saved each other more than once, and now they are both pledging allegiance to an ancient dragon king.

Those who have reached this point have had to let go of those contradictions that they once thought were unambiguous and unshakable, because only in this way can they support each other's battered bodies and survive in this chaotic world that destroys everyone equally.

“Then let’s start with the death of Archbishop Pirac,” Lucia said with a sigh.

Xilun's withered and sagging face froze for a moment, and he also let out a regretful sigh, saying, "I originally thought that His Majesty would be most concerned about Yuno's schemes, but that makes sense. If that old guy were still alive, this northern border that he had been watching for half his life would not have fallen into its current state. All of this is due to his 'degeneration,' hehe."

"Last September, after the twenty-second Council of Cardinals, our statement has spread throughout the borderlands: 'His Excellency Archbishop Pirac suffered an accident while practicing fire prayer. Before his death, he resolutely severed his own head to warn future monks to be wary of the fire they are with day and night, and never fall into depravity due to laxity and arrogance.'" "With His Majesty's intelligence network, he may also know the statement we urgently sent to the Sun Wheel Hall after the incident: 'Pirac lost control of his divine power while practicing prayer, killing dozens of fire monks before committing suicide.' The former statement was to protect the old man's reputation and the stability of the North, while the latter, although it can be considered the truth, is not complete. Ahem, regarding what the archbishops of the Holy Temple already know, let Bishop Olivia explain it to you first."

Seeing that Hiron was out of breath after only a few words, Olivia's eyes showed a hint of sadness. She reached out and pulled the blanket up for him, then looked at Lucia and continued, "Yes, Your Majesty, the only thing you can hear about from the outside world is this secret about Chief Pirac's suicide, but detailed information about that incident has always been under the highest level of secrecy in the Holy Temple. Later, the third seat, Yuno, defected, and the fourth seat, Kellin, the fifth seat, Roddy, and the seventh seat, Sif, all died in battle. Only Bishop Hiron and I know the inside story."

"At the last cardinal council that ended last March, Chief Priest Pilark persuaded us to seal away the forbidden prayer book and its copy found in the tomb of giants, but he secretly kept it for his own study. In the midst of this, he killed all the monks on the seventh floor of the temple in a berserk state, and then attacked Bishop Hiron who came to investigate. However, during the charge, he failed to 'evolve' and could not suppress the explosive divine power, blowing himself into pieces."

"Afterwards, our on-site investigation and the notes found in a hidden compartment of his desk corroborated this process. At that time, he had lost his human mind and even thought of himself as a fire giant, which led to such a tragedy."

At this point, Olivia stretched out her finger and traced a string of runes in the air. Sparkling magical light bloomed, revealing a hollow space inside, which was her magical space.

She took out a leather notebook covered in scorch marks from her spatial storage and handed it to Lucia, saying, "This is the notebook we found in his room. Bishop Severus had already verified that the handwriting was indeed that of Lord Pirac. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Lucia took the notebook and opened it. The notebook didn't contain much information, and he read it from beginning to end in no time.

Pilate's last handwriting, like the trajectory of his life as it came to an end, gradually shifted from rational, restrained, and upright to a blurred and sloppy style when he was lost, and finally became flamboyant, unrestrained, and mad.

As the two bishops recalled, the contents of the notebook fully corroborated Pirac's entire process, from accepting the "fire" of unknown origin to becoming increasingly obsessed with the power of giants, losing his mind, and finally falling into the form of a fire giant.

"In order to protect Lord Pilark's reputation and maintain the stability of the Holy Temple and even the North, we have blocked all related information. As for the eyewitnesses to the incident, they died at Pilark's hands, so there is no need to issue a gag order."

"Looking back now, just like Her Majesty the Queen's plans for the North, the giant remnants' infiltration of the Sanctuary had already begun long ago. We just initially mistakenly thought that Lord Pirac was their only target, only to later realize that Yuno was the one who was the most deeply hidden and had truly completed his 'evolution'."

Lucia did not respond immediately. Instead, she closed the notebook, ran her hand over the wildly charred scratches on the surface, then gently weighed it in her hand before looking at Hiren, who had just opened her eyes on the sickbed.

“Bishop Hiron, if I’m not mistaken, you discovered that this notebook was a forgery after that, didn’t you?”

(End of this chapter)