Chapter 392
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The Archmage's words were wise ones, but Baiyi knew that his troubles were far from over. After he left the palace and met with his students, Mia ran up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and looked into his eyes.
The little girl was in anguish, which was apparent from the tears brimming in her eyes. She seemed pained as she pursed her small lips and said, "After Big Sister Mar-Mar suddenly became so beautiful, she said that her and Mr. Hope had escaped from a place that was very cold, dark and terrifying. She said that the place was like hell. Also, she said that you all just want to live happily ever after and that she is your wife."
It sounded like a non-sequitur, but, at the same time, one could not help but wonder if Mia's last sentence was what she really wanted Biayi to shed some light on.
"Uh-hem! It's, uh, quite the complicated subject, more so than you think. Um, we should head back first, then we can discuss this." Baiyi turned his head, too embarrassed to look Mia in the eye. "Oh, right! What do the fairies plan to do?"
"We're just as unsure as you are," replied Mr. Bear, who had emerged suddenly. The bear's sudden appearance attracted Mia's attention, reducing the tension in the air. "We have lost our home, and we have lost the Eternal Tree Ocean. We have nowhere to return to."
"Um, well, I have a suggestion. If you don't mind, there's a place I think could serve as your temporary residence," Baiyi said, and then he briefly talked about the micro realm he planned to build his school in.
The realm was, at least, the size of a city — a bit huge for an academy. In the realm, nature was preserved. It had large mountains, clear streams, and lush woods. It should be good enough to serve as a temporary haven for the displaced fairies.
The displaced fairies were hesitant. They wanted to convene and deliberate on the topic for a while longer, but Baiyi's cheap wife stood up suddenly. She was much more influential in Eom Village than Baiyi had imagined. After the Fairy Walker announced her approval, the current Zephyr— Nydore, the Fairy Walker's grandniece — did not dare disagree. The Elder Chief, who had not outgrown his position as the Fairy Walker's little loyal subject, quickly nodded in agreement. In the end, even Mr. Bear had approved.
As the three leaders had accepted Baiyi's proposal, most of the villagers hesitated no longer. Only a handful of displaced fairies decided to remain in the realm and moved in with their secularist fairy relatives.
Now that the issue was settled, the group that had decided to leave quickly prepared to depart. They were in a hurry to leave this land, which had been robbed of its life and peace.
Baiyi led the fairies to the border of the Fairy Kingdom so that they could return to Isythre. The group consisted of 600 fairies and the guardian unicorn couple, who had come along with their team of little ponies. As the group was large, their travel time was long. If it were Baiyi and his students alone, they could have taken a horse carriage, which would take a day to reach their destination. However, because the group was large, they had to travel on foot, and this extended their travel time to five days
Fortunately, Gru, the fairy whose name Baiyi had yet to remember, proved to be quite useful. The moment he learned that Baiyi's large group planned to migrate, he provided them with tons of tents and supplies. Thanks to him, despite traveling slowly, the group did not suffer any hardship. However, there were still gloomy because of what they had experienced in the past few days.
On the way, Baiyi finally revealed his true identity to his students and explained to them who Voidwalkers were. He also told them that tribulations awaited him because of the exposure of his identity, and then he gave them two options: they could choose to remain with him or part ways here. To his surprise, however, every one of his students chose to stay with him.
Contrary to the consensus of the public, the students chose to see Baiyi for the things he had done for them and taught them. Some of them even voiced the sympathy they felt towards the plight suffered by the Voidwalkers.
"Being locked in that place must have been nothing but strife for you, right, sir?" Tisdale murmured, with an expression of sorrow on her face.
"Sniff, sniff!" Mia's eyes were already filled with tears. "Poor Mr. Hope! I'll give you a lot of hugs and nudges, and you can even play with my hair and braid it!" She said, rushing back into Baiyi's embrace, as though she was some sort of plushie.
"I admire you the most, mentor, for the fact that you remained virtuous despite the cruel environment you were trapped in," Nota sincerely said, looking at Baiyi with awe-filled eyes.
Attie, the Kitty-cat Maid, and Vidomina also expressed their sorrow for Baiyi's plight and their support for his dream.
Perhaps, it was just as the Archmage had said: the truth will always be the truth — even if there exists a lack of understanding, disbelief, and ignorance — and people will ultimately make the right judgment. The unwavering support shown by Baiyi's students filled Baiyi with confidence, which was exactly what he needed to continue pursuing his plans!
The village maiden, Laeticia, was the only one who did express unwavering support. She was filled with consternation. When Laeticia was finally alone with Baiyi, she asked, "Mr. Hope? Is… Lord Joel with you?"
The question was simple, but the answer it demanded was not easy to give. Baiyi knew that Laeticia's faith in her religion was still resolute, and this was the reason why he could not bring himself to tell her the truth. Yes, the only destination for those who wished to tread the path of Ascension was the Void.
The more faith a follower had, the more painful the truth would be to them. Baiyi had also seen this happen to the Cleric Walker, who, on his arrival to the Void, had abandoned piety to become one of the Gentlemen of the Void. What Baiyi feared right now was that Laeticia would succumb to insanity the moment she discovered the truth.
The Cleric Walker, who had just been released from a period of forced-quiet, suddenly said, "I'll answer her."
A while later, Laeticia could be seen on one knee, with the fluffy hammerhead shark plushie hovering above her, imparting some of its wisdom and experience onto her. Baiyi gave the two some space and forbade others from eavesdropping on them.
When the private discussion came to an end, Laeticia looked more relaxed; she may have accepted some of the Cleric Walker's words, but some reservation seemed to linger in her.
When the Cleric Walker returned to the Void, Baiyi called Laeticia over and said, "So, what did he say?"
Laeticia looked up at him and replied, "Lord Joel told me to go with the flow of nature and never lose sight of my heart. Also, he said I should wear more black silky stockings that go over my knees."
"N-no! I can expla—mmff!" The Cleric Walker, who had just regained his freedom, was once again muted.
"Mm, very good. Listen to his words, except for the last part," Baiyi said.
Technically, that was all Baiyi could suggest. He had never been good at comforting girls, neither did he possess any religious or spiritual insights. In the end, he could only leave matters of faith to the experts.
Laeticia pondered for a while before replying, "Understood. No stockings above my knee because I should be wearing pantyhose, instead, right? But, it's gonna be a bit hot when summer arrives."
"I said ignore the last part — as in you can ignore the entire last line, not just the last few words!!!"
The large group reached the border at this point. Under the wary eyes of unaffiliated bystanders, they walked past the customs, through a lane specially prepared by General Gru, and left the Fairy Kingdom — the place where they had shed countless tears in the past few days.
To prevent the fairies from being noticed, Baiyi had them all wear cloaks, with hoods over their heads, ensuring that most of their features were obscured. This did not go down as smoothly as they had hoped. They attracted attention wherever they went. This was not helped by the fact that a boulder the size of a small hill, which had been suspended by magic, hovered above them, moving in the same direction they did.
That huge boulder was the Blood Tearstone that Baiyi had found. It was too big to fit into a common storage pouch.
The group continued to draw a lot of attention even after exiting the Teleportation Portal. One of the many stares they were receiving was filled with malice and hostility, and it came from a Chief Judge of one of the Church's inquisition branches.
This man and his men had been waiting for Baiyi by the gate of the portal for a while now. When he saw Baiyi emerge from the portal, he wasted no time approaching him.
The Fifth Walker calmly instructed the fairies and Tisdale to go on, while he staid back to receive the group walking towards him. The gigantic Blood Tearstone was still hovering above Baiyi. For some reason — either because Baiyi was intimidating, or because they were afraid of being squashed by the gigantic boulder — the Church's men stopped a short distance away from Baiyi.
It was at this time that Baiyi realized the crowd wore the robes different from what he had seen before. With a hint of interest, he asked, "Is this your territory?"
"Oh, no. We were actually on our way back to the Holy City, but here we are, meeting purely out of coincidence." the Chief Judge, who hailed from the realm of Mars, grinned mirthlessly.
"Oh? Ah, well, I shouldn't interrupt your busy schedule then. Good day!" Baiyi replied casually and turned to leave.
"Hold on," the Chief Judge suddenly said with a booming voice. "Sir Hope, if you may, could you divulge on any information regarding the incident in the twin-realms of Marle and Mars?"
Gru's machinations had seen them blocked at the border, preventing them from watching the great battle with their own eyes. Baiyi himself had not bothered to obscure the battle using a spell. As soon as the Abyss Lord had used the Law of Power to reinstate the use of powers, many had used surveillance spells to spy on the battle. Naturally, someone as resourceful as a Chief Judge of one of the Church's Inquisition branches would have found ways to obtain every intel necessary.
"Oh? That massive battle back there? Phooh! It was so intense, man. I was almost caught in the middle of it, you know, but luckily, I was hiding somewhere far away. It seemed the battle was fought by two really powerful beings, right?" Baiyi said, acting oblivious.
"Yes, very powerful beings. Perhaps, 'powerful' is insufficient to characterize them. A more accurate way of describing the battle would be to call it a clash of the two different but frightening powers known to man," the Chief Judge said, humoring Baiyi's feigned ignorance. "One party was the foulest of all demons, an Abyss Lord, while the other was an unknown being, who commanded the forbidden power. So, Sir Hope, you wouldn't happen to know who that was, would you?"
"Nope, sorry! I was standing so far away from, you know, protecting my students and all. What a pity I could not witness the duel of the century!" Baiyi lied
Sick of Baiyi's continued deception, the Chief Judge's smile was instantly replaced by an expression of rage, and he hissed, "Playing the fool isn't getting you anywhere, sir Hope. If you just admit to your crimes and accept your sentence, your students would, at least, be left out of this. I consider this offer a very compassionate one."
"No wonder you were sent to Mars, which is incredibly far away from the Holy City. Your intellect is just too lacking," Baiyi retorted. "So, you want the truth? Okay, come here; I'll tell you!"
Baiyi gestured with his hand, beckoning the Chief Judge over. When the latter had come close enough, Baiyi lowered his mouth to the Chief Judge's ear and whispered, "You're right. In fact, not only am I able to easily use that forbidden power, but I also come from the place you and your kind have, for millennia, considered a prison — the Void. Yes, I'm one of those who you people consider the foulest of the foul and the cruelest of the cruel. Oh, by the way, do you remember your favorite Apostle, Joel, and the famous paladin, Hantai? Those two were imprisoned with me in the Void. Hmm, I think it's time you people consider changing the murals on the dome of your cathedral, yes?"
The Chief Judge's expression instantly changed to fright. He knew what Baiyi's words had entailed; after all, he, the Chief Judge, was not oblivious at all.
Baiyi was pleased with the man's reaction. He patted the Chief Judge's cheeks in a friendly manner and said, "Hurry! You should quickly get out here and tell everyone of my crimes, in the name of justice!"
With that, he left the area, his gigantic boulder following behind him. The leader of the inquisitor branch, who had he left behind, stood still in absolute shock.
After Baiyi left, one of the Judicial Paladins hurried towards the Chief Judge and worriedly asked, "My Lord, is anything amiss?"
Jolted from his reverie, the Chief Judge shook his head sideways. "No, nothing. We just had a misunderstanding. Looks like our information broker's intel was wrong. It's alright, though; you are all dismissed. I alone will proceed."
Then, without further ado, he walked towards the teleportation portal, heading back to the Holy City.
When the Chief Judge entered the portal's formation, he let out a bitter smile. "I have stumbled upon the truth, but who would have thought it would be so grotesque…"
He did not think Baiyi had lied to him. However, he could do nothing with what he had just learned. If the Church were to banish this heretic back to the Void, it may cost the Church a terrible price — itself.
Baiyi had acted as though he had impunity because he knew that the Church would not dare to do anything. He was, first and foremost, the great hero the Church had been promoting by themselves — a hero who had publicly enjoyed a close relationship with them. Just recently, he had saved a ton of priests and clerics from the chaos that destroyed a secret dimension, which had played host to a great treasure rumored to be the Book of Servitude. The priests and clerics he had saved began to support him as though he was the leader of their religion. Furthermore, the Church would not want to admit to what had happened to their most eminent paladin and apostle. The people would be unable to bear the truth.
After all, if the fruit of Ascension they had preached was revealed to be an empty premise, one could only imagine the sort of mental turmoil would it cause to the Church's ardent believers.
As long as Baiyi did not overstep his boundaries, or breach a universal code of decency, or, most importantly, challenge the Church's bottom line, the Church would not dare make a move against him.
Furthermore, Baiyi had a god behind him now, even though the fella was scatterbrained and not straight forward about their relationship. However, Attie the Kitty-cat Maid, whose identity as the War God's messenger had been reinstated, was now closer to him than ever, and this was enough for one to deduce the War God's perception towards Baiyi.
Baiyi decided to heed his Master's words and free himself from worry. All he would do was watch how went.
As he made his way back to Arfin City, he remembered Aya and Mordred. He did not bring those two along on this trip. Instead, he had sent them back to Aya's family. Before he had left for the twin realms, he had promised them souvenirs, as compensation for the adventure they might miss out on. However, because he had ended up having more adventure than he had bargained for, Baiyi forgot the promise he had made.
After thinking for a while, he went to the southern part of the city to buy some tarts and confectionaries. After that, he finally went home.
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The Archmage's words were wise ones, but Baiyi knew that his troubles were far from over. After he left the palace and met with his students, Mia ran up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and looked into his eyes.
The little girl was in anguish, which was apparent from the tears brimming in her eyes. She seemed pained as she pursed her small lips and said, "After Big Sister Mar-Mar suddenly became so beautiful, she said that her and Mr. Hope had escaped from a place that was very cold, dark and terrifying. She said that the place was like hell. Also, she said that you all just want to live happily ever after and that she is your wife."
It sounded like a non-sequitur, but, at the same time, one could not help but wonder if Mia's last sentence was what she really wanted Biayi to shed some light on.
"Uh-hem! It's, uh, quite the complicated subject, more so than you think. Um, we should head back first, then we can discuss this." Baiyi turned his head, too embarrassed to look Mia in the eye. "Oh, right! What do the fairies plan to do?"
"We're just as unsure as you are," replied Mr. Bear, who had emerged suddenly. The bear's sudden appearance attracted Mia's attention, reducing the tension in the air. "We have lost our home, and we have lost the Eternal Tree Ocean. We have nowhere to return to."
"Um, well, I have a suggestion. If you don't mind, there's a place I think could serve as your temporary residence," Baiyi said, and then he briefly talked about the micro realm he planned to build his school in.
The realm was, at least, the size of a city — a bit huge for an academy. In the realm, nature was preserved. It had large mountains, clear streams, and lush woods. It should be good enough to serve as a temporary haven for the displaced fairies.
The displaced fairies were hesitant. They wanted to convene and deliberate on the topic for a while longer, but Baiyi's cheap wife stood up suddenly. She was much more influential in Eom Village than Baiyi had imagined. After the Fairy Walker announced her approval, the current Zephyr— Nydore, the Fairy Walker's grandniece — did not dare disagree. The Elder Chief, who had not outgrown his position as the Fairy Walker's little loyal subject, quickly nodded in agreement. In the end, even Mr. Bear had approved.
As the three leaders had accepted Baiyi's proposal, most of the villagers hesitated no longer. Only a handful of displaced fairies decided to remain in the realm and moved in with their secularist fairy relatives.
Now that the issue was settled, the group that had decided to leave quickly prepared to depart. They were in a hurry to leave this land, which had been robbed of its life and peace.
Baiyi led the fairies to the border of the Fairy Kingdom so that they could return to Isythre. The group consisted of 600 fairies and the guardian unicorn couple, who had come along with their team of little ponies. As the group was large, their travel time was long. If it were Baiyi and his students alone, they could have taken a horse carriage, which would take a day to reach their destination. However, because the group was large, they had to travel on foot, and this extended their travel time to five days
Fortunately, Gru, the fairy whose name Baiyi had yet to remember, proved to be quite useful. The moment he learned that Baiyi's large group planned to migrate, he provided them with tons of tents and supplies. Thanks to him, despite traveling slowly, the group did not suffer any hardship. However, there were still gloomy because of what they had experienced in the past few days.
On the way, Baiyi finally revealed his true identity to his students and explained to them who Voidwalkers were. He also told them that tribulations awaited him because of the exposure of his identity, and then he gave them two options: they could choose to remain with him or part ways here. To his surprise, however, every one of his students chose to stay with him.
Contrary to the consensus of the public, the students chose to see Baiyi for the things he had done for them and taught them. Some of them even voiced the sympathy they felt towards the plight suffered by the Voidwalkers.
"Being locked in that place must have been nothing but strife for you, right, sir?" Tisdale murmured, with an expression of sorrow on her face.
"Sniff, sniff!" Mia's eyes were already filled with tears. "Poor Mr. Hope! I'll give you a lot of hugs and nudges, and you can even play with my hair and braid it!" She said, rushing back into Baiyi's embrace, as though she was some sort of plushie.
"I admire you the most, mentor, for the fact that you remained virtuous despite the cruel environment you were trapped in," Nota sincerely said, looking at Baiyi with awe-filled eyes.
Attie, the Kitty-cat Maid, and Vidomina also expressed their sorrow for Baiyi's plight and their support for his dream.
Perhaps, it was just as the Archmage had said: the truth will always be the truth — even if there exists a lack of understanding, disbelief, and ignorance — and people will ultimately make the right judgment. The unwavering support shown by Baiyi's students filled Baiyi with confidence, which was exactly what he needed to continue pursuing his plans!
The village maiden, Laeticia, was the only one who did express unwavering support. She was filled with consternation. When Laeticia was finally alone with Baiyi, she asked, "Mr. Hope? Is… Lord Joel with you?"
The question was simple, but the answer it demanded was not easy to give. Baiyi knew that Laeticia's faith in her religion was still resolute, and this was the reason why he could not bring himself to tell her the truth. Yes, the only destination for those who wished to tread the path of Ascension was the Void.
The more faith a follower had, the more painful the truth would be to them. Baiyi had also seen this happen to the Cleric Walker, who, on his arrival to the Void, had abandoned piety to become one of the Gentlemen of the Void. What Baiyi feared right now was that Laeticia would succumb to insanity the moment she discovered the truth.
The Cleric Walker, who had just been released from a period of forced-quiet, suddenly said, "I'll answer her."
A while later, Laeticia could be seen on one knee, with the fluffy hammerhead shark plushie hovering above her, imparting some of its wisdom and experience onto her. Baiyi gave the two some space and forbade others from eavesdropping on them.
When the private discussion came to an end, Laeticia looked more relaxed; she may have accepted some of the Cleric Walker's words, but some reservation seemed to linger in her.
When the Cleric Walker returned to the Void, Baiyi called Laeticia over and said, "So, what did he say?"
Laeticia looked up at him and replied, "Lord Joel told me to go with the flow of nature and never lose sight of my heart. Also, he said I should wear more black silky stockings that go over my knees."
"N-no! I can expla—mmff!" The Cleric Walker, who had just regained his freedom, was once again muted.
"Mm, very good. Listen to his words, except for the last part," Baiyi said.
Technically, that was all Baiyi could suggest. He had never been good at comforting girls, neither did he possess any religious or spiritual insights. In the end, he could only leave matters of faith to the experts.
Laeticia pondered for a while before replying, "Understood. No stockings above my knee because I should be wearing pantyhose, instead, right? But, it's gonna be a bit hot when summer arrives."
"I said ignore the last part — as in you can ignore the entire last line, not just the last few words!!!"
The large group reached the border at this point. Under the wary eyes of unaffiliated bystanders, they walked past the customs, through a lane specially prepared by General Gru, and left the Fairy Kingdom — the place where they had shed countless tears in the past few days.
To prevent the fairies from being noticed, Baiyi had them all wear cloaks, with hoods over their heads, ensuring that most of their features were obscured. This did not go down as smoothly as they had hoped. They attracted attention wherever they went. This was not helped by the fact that a boulder the size of a small hill, which had been suspended by magic, hovered above them, moving in the same direction they did.
That huge boulder was the Blood Tearstone that Baiyi had found. It was too big to fit into a common storage pouch.
The group continued to draw a lot of attention even after exiting the Teleportation Portal. One of the many stares they were receiving was filled with malice and hostility, and it came from a Chief Judge of one of the Church's inquisition branches.
This man and his men had been waiting for Baiyi by the gate of the portal for a while now. When he saw Baiyi emerge from the portal, he wasted no time approaching him.
The Fifth Walker calmly instructed the fairies and Tisdale to go on, while he staid back to receive the group walking towards him. The gigantic Blood Tearstone was still hovering above Baiyi. For some reason — either because Baiyi was intimidating, or because they were afraid of being squashed by the gigantic boulder — the Church's men stopped a short distance away from Baiyi.
It was at this time that Baiyi realized the crowd wore the robes different from what he had seen before. With a hint of interest, he asked, "Is this your territory?"
"Oh, no. We were actually on our way back to the Holy City, but here we are, meeting purely out of coincidence." the Chief Judge, who hailed from the realm of Mars, grinned mirthlessly.
"Oh? Ah, well, I shouldn't interrupt your busy schedule then. Good day!" Baiyi replied casually and turned to leave.
"Hold on," the Chief Judge suddenly said with a booming voice. "Sir Hope, if you may, could you divulge on any information regarding the incident in the twin-realms of Marle and Mars?"
Gru's machinations had seen them blocked at the border, preventing them from watching the great battle with their own eyes. Baiyi himself had not bothered to obscure the battle using a spell. As soon as the Abyss Lord had used the Law of Power to reinstate the use of powers, many had used surveillance spells to spy on the battle. Naturally, someone as resourceful as a Chief Judge of one of the Church's Inquisition branches would have found ways to obtain every intel necessary.
"Oh? That massive battle back there? Phooh! It was so intense, man. I was almost caught in the middle of it, you know, but luckily, I was hiding somewhere far away. It seemed the battle was fought by two really powerful beings, right?" Baiyi said, acting oblivious.
"Yes, very powerful beings. Perhaps, 'powerful' is insufficient to characterize them. A more accurate way of describing the battle would be to call it a clash of the two different but frightening powers known to man," the Chief Judge said, humoring Baiyi's feigned ignorance. "One party was the foulest of all demons, an Abyss Lord, while the other was an unknown being, who commanded the forbidden power. So, Sir Hope, you wouldn't happen to know who that was, would you?"
"Nope, sorry! I was standing so far away from, you know, protecting my students and all. What a pity I could not witness the duel of the century!" Baiyi lied
Sick of Baiyi's continued deception, the Chief Judge's smile was instantly replaced by an expression of rage, and he hissed, "Playing the fool isn't getting you anywhere, sir Hope. If you just admit to your crimes and accept your sentence, your students would, at least, be left out of this. I consider this offer a very compassionate one."
"No wonder you were sent to Mars, which is incredibly far away from the Holy City. Your intellect is just too lacking," Baiyi retorted. "So, you want the truth? Okay, come here; I'll tell you!"
Baiyi gestured with his hand, beckoning the Chief Judge over. When the latter had come close enough, Baiyi lowered his mouth to the Chief Judge's ear and whispered, "You're right. In fact, not only am I able to easily use that forbidden power, but I also come from the place you and your kind have, for millennia, considered a prison — the Void. Yes, I'm one of those who you people consider the foulest of the foul and the cruelest of the cruel. Oh, by the way, do you remember your favorite Apostle, Joel, and the famous paladin, Hantai? Those two were imprisoned with me in the Void. Hmm, I think it's time you people consider changing the murals on the dome of your cathedral, yes?"
The Chief Judge's expression instantly changed to fright. He knew what Baiyi's words had entailed; after all, he, the Chief Judge, was not oblivious at all.
Baiyi was pleased with the man's reaction. He patted the Chief Judge's cheeks in a friendly manner and said, "Hurry! You should quickly get out here and tell everyone of my crimes, in the name of justice!"
With that, he left the area, his gigantic boulder following behind him. The leader of the inquisitor branch, who had he left behind, stood still in absolute shock.
After Baiyi left, one of the Judicial Paladins hurried towards the Chief Judge and worriedly asked, "My Lord, is anything amiss?"
Jolted from his reverie, the Chief Judge shook his head sideways. "No, nothing. We just had a misunderstanding. Looks like our information broker's intel was wrong. It's alright, though; you are all dismissed. I alone will proceed."
Then, without further ado, he walked towards the teleportation portal, heading back to the Holy City.
When the Chief Judge entered the portal's formation, he let out a bitter smile. "I have stumbled upon the truth, but who would have thought it would be so grotesque…"
He did not think Baiyi had lied to him. However, he could do nothing with what he had just learned. If the Church were to banish this heretic back to the Void, it may cost the Church a terrible price — itself.
Baiyi had acted as though he had impunity because he knew that the Church would not dare to do anything. He was, first and foremost, the great hero the Church had been promoting by themselves — a hero who had publicly enjoyed a close relationship with them. Just recently, he had saved a ton of priests and clerics from the chaos that destroyed a secret dimension, which had played host to a great treasure rumored to be the Book of Servitude. The priests and clerics he had saved began to support him as though he was the leader of their religion. Furthermore, the Church would not want to admit to what had happened to their most eminent paladin and apostle. The people would be unable to bear the truth.
After all, if the fruit of Ascension they had preached was revealed to be an empty premise, one could only imagine the sort of mental turmoil would it cause to the Church's ardent believers.
As long as Baiyi did not overstep his boundaries, or breach a universal code of decency, or, most importantly, challenge the Church's bottom line, the Church would not dare make a move against him.
Furthermore, Baiyi had a god behind him now, even though the fella was scatterbrained and not straight forward about their relationship. However, Attie the Kitty-cat Maid, whose identity as the War God's messenger had been reinstated, was now closer to him than ever, and this was enough for one to deduce the War God's perception towards Baiyi.
Baiyi decided to heed his Master's words and free himself from worry. All he would do was watch how went.
As he made his way back to Arfin City, he remembered Aya and Mordred. He did not bring those two along on this trip. Instead, he had sent them back to Aya's family. Before he had left for the twin realms, he had promised them souvenirs, as compensation for the adventure they might miss out on. However, because he had ended up having more adventure than he had bargained for, Baiyi forgot the promise he had made.
After thinking for a while, he went to the southern part of the city to buy some tarts and confectionaries. After that, he finally went home.
The Archmage's words were wise ones, but Baiyi knew that his troubles were far from over. After he left the palace and met with his students, Mia ran up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and looked into his eyes.The little girl was in anguish, which was apparent from the tears brimming in her eyes. She seemed pained as she pursed her small lips and said, "After Big Sister Mar-Mar suddenly became so beautiful, she said that her and Mr. Hope had escaped from a place that was very cold, dark and terrifying. She said that the place was like hell. Also, she said that you all just want to live happily ever after and that she is your wife."It sounded like a non-sequitur, but, at the same time, one could not help but wonder if Mia's last sentence was what she really wanted Biayi to shed some light on."Uh-hem! It's, uh, quite the complicated subject, more so than you think. Um, we should head back first, then we can discuss this." Baiyi turned his head, too embarrassed to look Mia in the eye. "Oh, right! What do the fairies plan to do?""We're just as unsure as you are," replied Mr. Bear, who had emerged suddenly. The bear's sudden appearance attracted Mia's attention, reducing the tension in the air. "We have lost our home, and we have lost the Eternal Tree Ocean. We have nowhere to return to.""Um, well, I have a suggestion. If you don't mind, there's a place I think could serve as your temporary residence," Baiyi said, and then he briefly talked about the micro realm he planned to build his school in.The realm was, at least, the size of a city a bit huge for an academy. In the realm, nature was preserved. It had large mountains, clear streams, and lush woods. It should be good enough to serve as a temporary haven for the displaced fairies.The displaced fairies were hesitant. They wanted to convene and deliberate on the topic for a while longer, but Baiyi's cheap wife stood up suddenly. She was much more influential in Eom Village than Baiyi had imagined. After the Fairy Walker announced her approval, the current Zephyr Nydore, the Fairy Walker's grandniece did not dare disagree. The Elder Chief, who had not outgrown his position as the Fairy Walker's little loyal subject, quickly nodded in agreement. In the end, even Mr. Bear had approved.As the three leaders had accepted Baiyi's proposal, most of the villagers hesitated no longer. Only a handful of displaced fairies decided to remain in the realm and moved in with their secularist fairy relatives.Now that the issue was settled, the group that had decided to leave quickly prepared to depart. They were in a hurry to leave this land, which had been robbed of its life and peace.Baiyi led the fairies to the border of the Fairy Kingdom so that they could return to Isythre. The group consisted of 600 fairies and the guardian unicorn couple, who had come along with their team of little ponies. As the group was large, their travel time was long. If it were Baiyi and his students alone, they could have taken a horse carriage, which would take a day to reach their destination. However, because the group was large, they had to travel on foot, and this extended their travel time to five daysFortunately, Gru, the fairy whose name Baiyi had yet to remember, proved to be quite useful. The moment he learned that Baiyi's large group planned to migrate, he provided them with tons of tents and supplies. Thanks to him, despite traveling slowly, the group did not suffer any hardship. However, there were still gloomy because of what they had experienced in the past few days.On the way, Baiyi finally revealed his true identity to his students and explained to them who Voidwalkers were. He also told them that tribulations awaited him because of the exposure of his identity, and then he gave them two options: they could choose to remain with him or part ways here. To his surprise, however, every one of his students chose to stay with him.Contrary to the consensus of the public, the students chose to see Baiyi for the things he had done for them and taught them. Some of them even voiced the sympathy they felt towards the plight suffered by the Voidwalkers."Being locked in that place must have been nothing but strife for you, right, sir?" Tisdale murmured, with an expression of sorrow on her face."Sniff, sniff!" Mia's eyes were already filled with tears. "Poor Mr. Hope! I'll give you a lot of hugs and nudges, and you can even play with my hair and braid it!" She said, rushing back into Baiyi's embrace, as though she was some sort of plushie."I admire you the most, mentor, for the fact that you remained virtuous despite the cruel environment you were trapped in," Nota sincerely said, looking at Baiyi with awe-filled eyes.Attie, the Kitty-cat Maid, and Vidomina also expressed their sorrow for Baiyi's plight and their support for his dream.Perhaps, it was just as the Archmage had said: the truth will always be the truth even if there exists a lack of understanding, disbelief, and ignorance and people will ultimately make the right judgment. The unwavering support shown by Baiyi's students filled Baiyi with confidence, which was exactly what he needed to continue pursuing his plans!The village maiden, Laeticia, was the only one who did express unwavering support. She was filled with consternation. When Laeticia was finally alone with Baiyi, she asked, "Mr. Hope? Is Lord Joel with you?"The question was simple, but the answer it demanded was not easy to give. Baiyi knew that Laeticia's faith in her religion was still resolute, and this was the reason why he could not bring himself to tell her the truth. Yes, the only destination for those who wished to tread the path of Ascension was the Void.The more faith a follower had, the more painful the truth would be to them. Baiyi had also seen this happen to the Cleric Walker, who, on his arrival to the Void, had abandoned piety to become one of the Gentlemen of the Void. What Baiyi feared right now was that Laeticia would succumb to insanity the moment she discovered the truth.The Cleric Walker, who had just been released from a period of forced-quiet, suddenly said, "I'll answer her."A while later, Laeticia could be seen on one knee, with the fluffy hammerhead shark plushie hovering above her, imparting some of its wisdom and experience onto her. Baiyi gave the two some space and forbade others from eavesdropping on them.When the private discussion came to an end, Laeticia looked more relaxed; she may have accepted some of the Cleric Walker's words, but some reservation seemed to linger in her.When the Cleric Walker returned to the Void, Baiyi called Laeticia over and said, "So, what did he say?"Laeticia looked up at him and replied, "Lord Joel told me to go with the flow of nature and never lose sight of my heart. Also, he said I should wear more black silky stockings that go over my knees.""N-no! I can explammff!" The Cleric Walker, who had just regained his freedom, was once again muted."Mm, very good. Listen to his words, except for the last part," Baiyi said.Technically, that was all Baiyi could suggest. He had never been good at comforting girls, neither did he possess any religious or spiritual insights. In the end, he could only leave matters of faith to the experts.Laeticia pondered for a while before replying, "Understood. No stockings above my knee because I should be wearing pantyhose, instead, right? But, it's gonna be a bit hot when summer arrives.""I said ignore the last part as in you can ignore the entire last line, not just the last few words!!!"The large group reached the border at this point. Under the wary eyes of unaffiliated bystanders, they walked past the customs, through a lane specially prepared by General Gru, and left the Fairy Kingdom the place where they had shed countless tears in the past few days.To prevent the fairies from being noticed, Baiyi had them all wear cloaks, with hoods over their heads, ensuring that most of their features were obscured. This did not go down as smoothly as they had hoped. They attracted attention wherever they went. This was not helped by the fact that a boulder the size of a small hill, which had been suspended by magic, hovered above them, moving in the same direction they did.That huge boulder was the Blood Tearstone that Baiyi had found. It was too big to fit into a common storage pouch.The group continued to draw a lot of attention even after exiting the Teleportation Portal. One of the many stares they were receiving was filled with malice and hostility, and it came from a Chief Judge of one of the Church's inquisition branches.This man and his men had been waiting for Baiyi by the gate of the portal for a while now. When he saw Baiyi emerge from the portal, he wasted no time approaching him.The Fifth Walker calmly instructed the fairies and Tisdale to go on, while he staid back to receive the group walking towards him. The gigantic Blood Tearstone was still hovering above Baiyi. For some reason either because Baiyi was intimidating, or because they were afraid of being squashed by the gigantic boulder the Church's men stopped a short distance away from Baiyi.It was at this time that Baiyi realized the crowd wore the robes different from what he had seen before. With a hint of interest, he asked, "Is this your territory?""Oh, no. We were actually on our way back to the Holy City, but here we are, meeting purely out of coincidence." the Chief Judge, who hailed from the realm of Mars, grinned mirthlessly."Oh? Ah, well, I shouldn't interrupt your busy schedule then. Good day!" Baiyi replied casually and turned to leave."Hold on," the Chief Judge suddenly said with a booming voice. "Sir Hope, if you may, could you divulge on any information regarding the incident in the twin-realms of Marle and Mars?"Gru's machinations had seen them blocked at the border, preventing them from watching the great battle with their own eyes. Baiyi himself had not bothered to obscure the battle using a spell. As soon as the Abyss Lord had used the Law of Power to reinstate the use of powers, many had used surveillance spells to spy on the battle. Naturally, someone as resourceful as a Chief Judge of one of the Church's Inquisition branches would have found ways to obtain every intel necessary."Oh? That massive battle back there? Phooh! It was so intense, man. I was almost caught in the middle of it, you know, but luckily, I was hiding somewhere far away. It seemed the battle was fought by two really powerful beings, right?" Baiyi said, acting oblivious."Yes, very powerful beings. Perhaps, 'powerful' is insufficient to characterize them. A more accurate way of describing the battle would be to call it a clash of the two different but frightening powers known to man," the Chief Judge said, humoring Baiyi's feigned ignorance. "One party was the foulest of all demons, an Abyss Lord, while the other was an unknown being, who commanded the forbidden power. So, Sir Hope, you wouldn't happen to know who that was, would you?""Nope, sorry! I was standing so far away from, you know, protecting my students and all. What a pity I could not witness the duel of the century!" Baiyi liedSick of Baiyi's continued deception, the Chief Judge's smile was instantly replaced by an expression of rage, and he hissed, "Playing the fool isn't getting you anywhere, sir Hope. If you just admit to your crimes and accept your sentence, your students would, at least, be left out of this. I consider this offer a very compassionate one.""No wonder you were sent to Mars, which is incredibly far away from the Holy City. Your intellect is just too lacking," Baiyi retorted. "So, you want the truth? Okay, come here; I'll tell you!"Baiyi gestured with his hand, beckoning the Chief Judge over. When the latter had come close enough, Baiyi lowered his mouth to the Chief Judge's ear and whispered, "You're right. In fact, not only am I able to easily use that forbidden power, but I also come from the place you and your kind have, for millennia, considered a prison the Void. Yes, I'm one of those who you people consider the foulest of the foul and the cruelest of the cruel. Oh, by the way, do you remember your favorite Apostle, Joel, and the famous paladin, Hantai? Those two were imprisoned with me in the Void. Hmm, I think it's time you people consider changing the murals on the dome of your cathedral, yes?"The Chief Judge's expression instantly changed to fright. He knew what Baiyi's words had entailed; after all, he, the Chief Judge, was not oblivious at all.Baiyi was pleased with the man's reaction. He patted the Chief Judge's cheeks in a friendly manner and said, "Hurry! You should quickly get out here and tell everyone of my crimes, in the name of justice!"With that, he left the area, his gigantic boulder following behind him. The leader of the inquisitor branch, who had he left behind, stood still in absolute shock.After Baiyi left, one of the Judicial Paladins hurried towards the Chief Judge and worriedly asked, "My Lord, is anything amiss?"Jolted from his reverie, the Chief Judge shook his head sideways. "No, nothing. We just had a misunderstanding. Looks like our information broker's intel was wrong. It's alright, though; you are all dismissed. I alone will proceed."Then, without further ado, he walked towards the teleportation portal, heading back to the Holy City.When the Chief Judge entered the portal's formation, he let out a bitter smile. "I have stumbled upon the truth, but who would have thought it would be so grotesque"He did not think Baiyi had lied to him. However, he could do nothing with what he had just learned.If the Church were to banish this heretic back to the Void, it may cost the Church a terrible price itself.Baiyi had acted as though he had impunity because he knew that the Church would not dare to do anything. He was, first and foremost, the great hero the Church had been promoting by themselves a hero who had publicly enjoyed a close relationship with them. Just recently, he had saved a ton of priests and clerics from the chaos that destroyed a secret dimension, which had played host to a great treasure rumored to be the Book of Servitude. The priests and clerics he had saved began to support him as though he was the leader of their religion. Furthermore, the Church would not want to admit to what had happened to their most eminent paladin and apostle. The people would be unable to bear the truth.After all, if the fruit of Ascension they had preached was revealed to be an empty premise, one could only imagine the sort of mental turmoil would it cause to the Church's ardent believers.As long as Baiyi did not overstep his boundaries, or breach a universal code of decency, or, most importantly, challenge the Church's bottom line, the Church would not dare make a move against him.Furthermore, Baiyi had a god behind him now, even though the fella was scatterbrained and not straight forward about their relationship. However, Attie the Kitty-cat Maid, whose identity as the War God's messenger had been reinstated, was now closer to him than ever, and this was enough for one to deduce the War God's perception towards Baiyi.Baiyi decided to heed his Master's words and free himself from worry. All he would do was watch how went.As he made his way back to Arfin City, he remembered Aya and Mordred. He did not bring those two along on this trip. Instead, he had sent them back to Aya's family. Before he had left for the twin realms, he had promised them souvenirs, as compensation for the adventure they might miss out on. However, because he had ended up having more adventure than he had bargained for, Baiyi forgot the promise he had made.After thinking for a while, he went to the southern part of the city to buy some tarts and confectionaries. After that, he finally went home.
