Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Chapter 495 Whose Hand Holds the Initiative

Beneath the damp stone walls, the Holy Axe walked through the underground passage, heading towards an even deeper and more secluded end.

The "Holy Grail" contained in the golden cup, Nelson, unusually, remained silent as he and the Holy Axe arrived at the underground stronghold of the Sky God Cult.

Throughout the journey, Nelson had been making fun of the Holy Axe, launching a scathing attack on the failure of this mission. He not only mocked the Holy Axe's incompetence but even got carried away with criticizing himself.

Nelson had his fill of talking, but Saint Axe remained silent and completely ignored him.

Over time, Nelson also grew bored and shut his mouth, using silence to counter the Holy Axe's indifference.

The two came to a stone wall where the path ended. The Holy Axe raised his axe and the golden cup containing Nelson, and gently touched the stone wall.

The earth and rocks immediately stirred, tumbling and making way, before gathering back together behind her after the Holy Axe entered, returning to their original state.

The entire process remained eerily silent; not even a tremor occurred as the soil and rocks shifted.

Compared to the bustling crowds of believers at previous ceremonies, today's meeting had only a handful of people.

A figure stands in the very center of the cave. He wears a skull crown, the back of which is replaced by a woman's face, and he is draped in a long black robe.

The leader of the Sky God Cult, the High Priest "The Crown," has been waiting for a long time.

Those present were all priests who had been granted sacred artifacts, important high-ranking members of the Sky God Cult, and confidants of the leader, the High Priest.

The high priest is God's spokesperson, truly carrying out God's will and serving the god of the heavens wholeheartedly.

He would not hesitate to give his life if God required it.

As for the loyalty of his remaining colleagues, Saint Axe expressed doubt.

The addition of "Holy Grail" Nelson was for more dazzling carnage; the addition of "Holy Sword" Allen was to fulfill his own will; the addition of "Holy Axe" was to achieve his own goal.

The priests would gather under the light of God for various reasons.

Saint Axe didn't know her colleagues very well, but she could sense that some of them had come here not because of the guidance of the Skyward Cult, but because, like her, Nelson, and Allen, they were truly following their own inner desires.

Driven by this intense desire, they were willing to be corrupted and eroded by the god of the sky, and to become enemies of the entire world.

Where there is substantial desire, there will be vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Beneath the murky obsession lies a distorted humanity.

No matter how depraved or twisted it may be, at least it's still human nature, Saint Axe thought. Having humanity and desires makes one a being that can be understood and communicated with, posing no threat to oneself.

What truly terrified the Holy Axe were the remaining fanatical priests who served the gods, their hysterical colleagues, and the real cult madmen.

In the eyes of the Holy Axe, they had completely lost their humanity and were no longer capable of communication.

They can move and think, but in the eyes of the Holy Axe, they are already empty shells, completely reduced to extensions of the Lord's hands.

They saw it all.

The high priest saw it all.

God saw it all.

The stares of his colleagues made Saint Axe feel uneasy and terrified.

However, she quickly composed herself and walked openly toward the altar.

She had a clear conscience toward the Sky God Cult and the revered deity, and perfectly completed the planned mission; the failure of the operation was not her fault.

In that case, she had nothing to be afraid of.

A bewitching red glow rolled across the altar, painting a ferocious color onto the high priest's male face.

"Everyone's here..."

The male and female high priests spoke simultaneously, their eyes scanning the assembled priests in turn.

"This time, our summoner's operation has failed again..."

As long as there exists an angel under the command of a god of the heavens in the earthly world, God can rely on the authority of "sameness" to bypass the barrier and descend upon the angel.

"I apologize, High Priest, it's all our fault for not doing our job well..."

One priest immediately knelt down, weeping and snot streaming down his face, expressing his guilt and regret.

"...If...if we could make a better choice..."

No, you all did a great job.

The high priest turned her head sharply, presenting her female face to the crowd, and a gentle, sweet voice emanated from her mouth.

“We completed every step perfectly; you handled every flexibility perfectly.”

"The failure of this operation is not the responsibility of any of you colleagues."

The high priest descended from the altar, and only a female voice spoke.

“Since last year, I have always suspected that there is a force in the unknown that is deliberately interfering with our operations.”

"Before this, I always thought that a series of changes were just normal setbacks in the process of action."

"Until now, this series of events has finally connected, ultimately confirming my suspicions."

“There is an unknown, clandestine organization that is deliberately targeting us.”

"A war without gunfire began in silence long ago."

The priests' faces darkened.

The high priest reached out to the sacred axe.

"Did you get what I asked you to find?"

The Holy Axe nodded, stepped forward, and took out the item, handing it to the High Priest.

It was a small piece of obsidian.

"I marked the paths where our followers appeared, inspected the battle sites one by one, and found some strange rats scurrying around with small bags on their backs."

"This bag contains this obsidian."

"Not all mice have obsidian; some backpacks are empty."

“Looking back at our previous operations, obsidian also appears in the environment, but these places are too insignificant for us to notice.”

"Strangely, I conducted various examinations but was unable to obtain any information from these obsidian stones."

"Whether it's a standard or an exceptional test, the results show that this is just an ordinary, meaningless obsidian."

“Meaningless? No…”

The high priest slowly stroked the obsidian, a solemn expression appearing on both his and her faces.

“They are meaningless, yet that is their greatest significance.”

The high priest then handed it to a priest beside him.

"Send this obsidian out of the base as quickly as possible and throw it into a distant sea."

"From now on, before taking any action, we must rule out the possibility of obsidian being present."

Seeing the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, Benson, sitting to the side, rubbed his chin.

"Wow, we've been discovered."

"But I'm sorry, it's getting late."

"Now, I have 'been' here."

Obsidian left the cave, and Benson turned into a cloud of black smoke on the spot.

The illusion that no one saw vanished.