Dear Broom Knight.

Chapter 982: The Labyrinth Officially Begins
The reason the Archbishop of the Earth mentioned Toronto to Queen Louise was that he already knew what the reward offered by the Lord of the Earth was.

Therefore, he really wanted to know if the other person was a natural mage.

Moreover, Toronto does indeed possess a natural atmosphere.

Although it was somewhat different from what he had secretly sensed before, the essence was the same.

Having acquired so many valuable items, it's quite normal for one's aura to be enhanced or mutated.

Most importantly, the Archbishop of the Earth knew that the identity of Toronto had once been used by Lori Montes, the Lord of Maple Ridge.

So, this Toronto may not be Lori Montes, but it could very well be Valera Toler.

That was the Nature Mage who caused the Church of Earth to lose a bishop.

He had always been curious about just how outstanding Valera was that the Earth Bishop, who was used to seeing nature mages, would risk offending the Lord of Green Maple Territory.

Although their Earth Church is also evidence of this power, before that, Lori Montes dared to go against the Dark Night Church!
If the people of the Earth Church didn't wear the mask of a church, they really wouldn't dare to stand up to the Dark Night Church.

He's an Archbishop; there's no way he wouldn't see that.

Therefore, it must be because Valera is too outstanding that he feels that having her in his grasp would allow him to win with his research results that have lasted for over a century.

He saw no other reason why a cunning and shrewd geomancer could take such a risk.

It's normal to look down on mortals, but... looking down on mage lords belonging to other gods is really not necessary.

Unfortunately, due to some unpleasant incidents from many years ago, he hasn't come down the mountain for a long time.

Even if Valera attracted his attention, he was unwilling to go on this long trip.

Who knows what awaits him down the mountain?
The Archbishop sighed softly.

After glancing at Louis, he couldn't help but sigh again.

“Salvatore, don’t be like this. This is a joint decision by the Goddess of Night and the Lord of the Earth.” Louis smiled gently. “Although you have lost control of the stage, you still have the right to use it!”

"Your meetings don't usually go on until midnight. Large meetings have fixed times, and we at Dark Night have to give way."

Bishop Salvatore Ramsey glanced at the peaceful smile, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth: "Whatever His Majesty says, that's all I can do!"

There's a lot you can do.

The Goddess of Night was actually quite wary of this Bishop of the Earth.

Compared to those earth believers who are good at plants, the mineralists are, frankly speaking, the ones who are best at manipulating the land.

They used earthquake and magma techniques with unparalleled skill.

A city like Emilia, situated both atop a mountain and nestled among mountains, fears these two things most.

The Church of Earth had its own ulterior motives in sending this person.

After all, Luciano was just beginning to understand how to utilize his Maple Companion's abilities at that time.

Although the Church of the Earth did not intend to do anything, it was prepared for the possibility that the Emilia family might want to unify the kingdom.

Louis knew then that even if the Lord of the Earth were eventually willing to relinquish power in the country, the Church of the Earth would not be.

Indeed, these are territories that have been carefully cultivated for thousands of years; who would give them up so easily?

Louis was just being cautious and didn't react much, but it was normal to pay more attention to the other party.

However, this should also be a cunning scheme by the Church of the Earth... at least it did divert Louis's attention.

In fact, there are many ambitious people in the Earth Church; otherwise, so many plains and grassland kingdoms would not have appeared.

The Church of the Night certainly exists, but apart from Emilia and the three countries near the main temple, they are all countries similar to the Northern Kingdom, where faith is devoted to the Lord and royal power belongs to the King.

But the Earth Church is different; even Vargas is a theocracy.

However, this great church of the earth has a Lord of the earth who cares about nothing... They must be very careful not to overstep the mark in order to avoid the danger of the Lord of the earth directly returning the stolen benefits to others.

Of course, it may be precisely because of the nature of the Lord of the Earth that their ambitions had the opportunity to become a reality.

It can be considered a two-way journey, and no one can blame anyone else.

"It seems the time has come," the Night High Priest gently reminded him.

Toronto in the sky has indeed begun to move.
-
Toronto closed his eyes, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and slowly pulled himself up.

As he moved, a disc slowly appeared on the ground of the central square.

Unlike the tapestries of the Northern Kingdom, the patterns representing the gods are more prominent on this disc.

This is a picture of the seaside at night.

The bright moon hung high in the black sky, and countless stars twinkled in the light and shadow.

The cliffs and precipices connect to the boundless sandy land.

The sea was turbulent.

A tornado has already taken shape.

Before the storm, a treasure ship was sailing swiftly... clearly a merchant ship of the Church of Wealth.

The only thing that's puzzling is the location of the sun maze. There are no markings representing the sun above the disc.

If the time in the North was due to fate, this time it is clearly a positive test.

“There is no sun.” Queen Louise glanced at it, her expression somewhat serious.

"I reckon it'll be the same as before, selecting people from among our various churches." The Archbishop looked at Louis with a strange smile.

Luciano, that's a real disaster area!
If he is chosen by the sun god, the goddess of the night, who is obedient to her brother, will certainly not refuse him.

This is a major blow to the succession of the Emilia family.

They can accept a Sun King in the church, but they absolutely cannot accept him jumping to the side of other gods.

What they took away was the accumulated wealth of the Dark Night Church over the years; no one would agree to that.

If Louis hadn't known that in the last Northern Labyrinth, the Sun God had chosen from among those who chose him, why would he have agreed to let Luciano go to the labyrinth?

For the gods, it was an honor for the sun god to choose whomever was in their church.

But for the chosen believers, it was truly a nightmare.

Fortunately, the sun god rarely does such things.

"Don't let concern cloud your judgment," the Night High Priest advised softly. "The Sun God never forces anyone. He has never chosen anyone from among the devout believers before."

Louis felt a little relieved.

But she still had some concerns... No matter how many precedents there were, none of them were like Luciano!
Apart from the faith he developed later in life, he is like a believer in the sun in every other way.

Including personality.

"The maze is open; let fate decide." Toronto in the sky suddenly spoke, completing his task swiftly and decisively, without doing anything fancy.
-
Luciano didn't think too much about it, so he didn't look at the images of the other gods.

He arrived first with the children, and naturally, they were the closest to the front.

Although he didn't know the exact location of the maze, he figured he could just aim for Toronto.

He was very lucky this time; the location he estimated was right next to the sky above the disc.

He turned back and instructed the children he had brought: "Go on the roundabout according to your own ideas. Don't look at other people's choices. Just consider which one you are most interested in."

Even if it's just a tiny star, it's better than following others, you know?

Look with your heart, not just your eyes!

The children stirred for a moment, then Cole, standing at the front, nodded: "I understand."

He took a deep breath, looked around, and then walked directly into the sky.

He didn't choose the moon, nor did he touch the stars... Cole chose the deepest part of the night sky.

Luciano nodded in satisfaction, then turned and waved his hand: "Just do it like Cole did, and remember, put your heart into it!"

Then he rushed onto the giant moon without hesitation.

Antirochus pondered for a moment, then looked at Euphemia: "This time, we will each choose our own path."

“Brother…” Euphemia was somewhat panicked.

“This isn’t just for you, it’s for me too,” Antirochus said earnestly. “I can keep you by my side forever, but if you’re strong enough, you’ll be an asset to me, won’t you?”
Euphemia, we have already left the castle; do not leave your shadow there any longer.

"Mmm." Euphemia lowered her head, her voice slightly choked. "I understand. Brother... An... I love you the most~"

"Heh~" Antirochus ruffled her hair. "When you grow up, don't bring me back a... two-faced man. That's the best way to show your brother love."

Then, just as Euphemia was about to look up and defend herself, he chose a star and jumped onto it.

His feeling was right, and the star quickly accepted him... Antirochus had just observed that if it was a genuine choice and the attributes were indeed compatible, the person would disappear immediately.

But if there's anything that doesn't fit, the person will stand there for a while, and only if they don't leave will they be gradually accepted.

Luciano was right; only the most sincere heart can find the best and most suitable area for oneself.

Is this the spiritual beauty that the Church of the Night champions?

Luciano was just as clueless before, but when it came to choosing the area to wait in and perceiving the requirements of the maze, he was much more perceptive than others.

This somewhat eccentric high knight is actually a pure believer in the darkness!
I just don't know what the outcome of his choice this time will be.

But Antirochus felt that his future was also... bright... oh, dark.

Antirochus turned to look at the area where he had landed and sighed with a touch of melancholy.

He clearly chose a very bright star!

But then, all that remained was darkness.

He reached out his hand, confirming that it was so dark he couldn't even see his fingertips.

But Antirochus was not discouraged. He quickly chose a direction and walked forward firmly.

(End of this chapter)