Forbidden Nightmare

Chapter 79: The Archbishop of Grave Digging

A deep voice sounded from above the throne of thorns.

"Renault, you proved your strength, but it also led to Fariano's death."

"Now you need to fill Fariano's shoes and become a loyal inquisitor."

Renault was stunned. Apart from occasional trial work, the judge needed to guard the Holy King for the rest of the time.

Such a powerful guard must maintain absolute loyalty.

Renault was once a traitor to the Holy Order. Now that he has returned to the Holy Order, the Holy King has arranged for him to guard by his side. Isn't he worried that he might have bad intentions?
Seeing that Renault didn't say anything, Colonna remained calm and whispered a reminder.

Renault took a deep breath and wrote the word "repent" on his chest: "Holy King, I will obey your orders."

Li Nanke looked towards the throne. The huge shadow of the Holy Father of Thorns obscured the skinny figure, and he could not see the Holy King's face and expression at all.

"Knight Edward, as Renault's companion and squire, you can become a candidate judge."

"You go with Renault."

Li Nanke frowned, as if thinking about something.

The brief audience ended like this, and Colonna led the two men out of the audience hall.

"Archbishop, where are we going?"

Colonna did not answer immediately, but quickened his pace and walked along the church corridor.

He led the two of them down the steps into the basement of the church. There was no light from the setting sun here. Flickering candles hung on the walls, and the faint candlelight cast crisscrossing and mottled shadows. The air was filled with a cold atmosphere, which made people feel a little chilly.

"Didn't you hear the Holy King's order just now? Of course I will make you loyal judges." Colonna placed special emphasis on the word "loyalty".

The underground passages of the church are intricate and complex, like a maze, and each entrance is still guarded by soldiers of the Punishment Army.

Colonna led the two to a metal door with a relief of the Holy Father. He knocked on the door and heard a hoarse voice from inside: "Come in."

Renault's face suddenly changed, and when he was about to say something, Colonna had already pushed open the door.

Behind the door was a spacious underground hall with rows of bookshelves and flickering dim lights. One could smell a very pungent stench of decay, as if many long-rotten corpses were hidden inside.

A man in a black robe was sitting in front of an oak desk, with several yellowed parchment scrolls scattered on the table. His whole body was covered by a wide black robe, and his face was in shadow under the hood.

The silhouette under the black robe was not only abnormally tall, but also extremely distorted. The arm extending from the cuff of the black robe was dry, as if it had no flesh and blood, with only shriveled skin hanging outside the bones, like a dried tree root.

The man in black robe reached out and rolled up the parchment, and from the wide cuffs one could actually see a few withered arms.

Colonna drew the letter "Renunciation" on his chest and said respectfully, "Sir Melquiades, in compliance with the Holy King's order, I have brought here two judges who need to be more loyal."

The Nineteenth Charm, the Gravedigger Archbishop, Melquíades.

Many years ago, the Punishment Army slaughtered countless heretics, and the piles of corpses were like rolling hills. Melquiades, a clergyman of the church, had studied a series of spells and prayers in depth. Facing these countless corpses, he became very interested in the forbidden knowledge - 'Death Prayer'.

Through the study of countless heretic corpses, Melquiades gradually came to understand the secrets hidden between life and death, but as his research progressed, he soon encountered an unsolvable bottleneck.

At first, Melquíades would use captured heretics for experiments, but gradually he realized that if he could not experience the experiments himself, he would never be able to master the 'Death Prayer'.

Melquiades began to transplant the dead heretics' limbs and flesh onto his own body, in order to experience "death." He failed, and the rotten flesh infected his body, causing him to fester and suffer.

He also succeeded, because he prayed to the great existence in extreme pain, and the grace of pain was bestowed upon him. He merged with the flesh and blood of many dried and rotten limbs, and while suffering from the agony, he finally mastered the 'Death Prayer'.

Melquiades raised his head at the desk. The candlelight dispelled the shadows, revealing the terrifying skull-like face under the hood.

A hoarse voice sounded: "Where is Fariano's body?"

"We have sent the Punishment Army to look for it, but even if they find it, it will definitely be incomplete."

"It doesn't matter. Even if Fariano turns into minced meat, he still has great value."

Melquiades turned to the two men and said, "The Holy King's will cannot be violated. You must become extremely loyal."

"Fortunately, you have demonstrated strong enough strength. Now I will give you two choices."

"First, give up all your will to resist. I will allow you to retain a certain level of basic consciousness and become the judges most loyal to the Holy King."

"Second, pick up the sword to resist, then become a corpse and continue to serve the Holy King."

"In this world, is there anything more loyal than a corpse under someone's control?"

Colonna sneered in agreement, "The Holy King gave you a chance to leave, but you insisted on standing trial and even killed Fariano."

"Now, you need to use your lives to repay the loss of the Holy Society."

Colonna, standing at the door, clapped his hands vigorously, and the sound echoed in the empty underground hall.

Immediately afterwards, rapid and dense footsteps were heard, and the clanging sound of armor rubbing against each other was endless.

Fully armed soldiers of the Punishment Army poured in from all the passages in all directions.

In a blink of an eye, these heavily armored soldiers surrounded the underground hall, forming an impenetrable steel barrier.

The cross swords flashed with sharp cold light, and the cold armor reflected the harsh light.

Their appearance made the already heavy atmosphere even more oppressive, as if with every breath, one could feel the irresistible and terrifying force.

Renault gritted his teeth, his hand already on the wolf-head sword, but he couldn't help revealing despair on his face.

In this situation, it was a luxury for the two of them to even survive, let alone go to the cell to help Anya get free.

Here, there is not only the most powerful combat force of the Holy Synod, the Archbishop of Gravedigger, but also dozens of the most elite soldiers of the Punishment Army.

As long as the two dare to resist, they will undoubtedly become two cold corpses.

If they do not resist, they will become lackeys completely loyal to the Holy Order and even lose most of their independent consciousness.

Renault subconsciously looked at Li Nanke, but found that he did not show any extra emotion at all, as if he did not know what fear was at all.

Li Nanke could even laugh at this time: "Renault, are you ready to take action?"

(End of this chapter)