"Elder, all the traces lead to this place. But everything seems to have vanished at this point."

In a shadowy forest, a team of Knights wearing thick golden armor was standing silently in front of a small hill.

An aged man wearing a long robe was surrounded by the team, while also being the person addressed by the Knight on the side.

But the Elder didn't respond.

The moment the team's footsteps came to a halt, his full focus was on the small hill not far away.

"It's that hateful aura... Is the Necronomicon Sect behind everything?", the Elder muttered as he slowly raised the scepter in his hand.

As he poured his Life Force into it, the large gem embedded on its tip glowed with a rainbow-colored light, which shot out and struck the hill.

With the Elder's strength as a Great Knight, the light was more than enough to destroy such a landscape.

Yet, when the light met the hill, it caused no harm at all.

Instead, a small gap opened in the space itself, revealing the boundless darkness hidden behind it.

"Let's go.", the Elder commanded as he stepped into the gap. The team of Knights behind him quickly reacted to his orders and followed.

--

A world on the brink of destruction.

Large, deep craters everywhere, fractures that looked like scars on the surface of the earth, and countless remaining auras.

These were the things that the team of the Holy Church saw upon entering the gap.

Feeling the remaining demonic energy filling the air, the Elder couldn't help but frown.

He recognized this aura. It was the aura belonging to the being worshiped by the Necronomicon Sect.

Coupled with the scene before him, he immediately judged that this should have been their stronghold.

"What is the Saint doing here? Is her disappearance related to the Necronomicon Sect?", he wondered as he raised his hand and signaled to the Knights behind him.

"Go and investigate this place. We're going to meet here in half an hour and discuss our respective findings.", the Elder said, and everyone rushed to complete his commands.

The Elder didn't let his subordinates do all the work, though.

He also stepped forward, using his own methods to investigate what had occurred in this demi-plane.

--

Before long, the team of the Holy Church gathered again.

As everyone reported their findings, a rough picture of what had taken place appeared in their minds.

"So, this place was indeed the stronghold of the Necronomicon Sect. It's just that for some reason, an unknown team of Knights invaded this place and fought against them."

"During their battle, the Saint seems to have been unintentionally involved and participated in the fight on the side of the invaders. At the end, the Necronomicon Sect was unable to keep up with the opponent and chose to summon their Lord..."

"The question, though, remains: did the invaders manage to kill the Necronomicon Sect's Lord or were they defeated, and the Saint was captured by the Sect?"

If it were the former, everything would be fine.

Most likely, the Saint was hiding in a secret place and recuperating from her injuries.

But if it were the latter, then things would be troublesome.

With the relationship between the Holy Church and the Necronomicon Sect, it didn't require much thinking to guess what the Saint's final fate would end up being.

In the Elder's opinion, this was also the most likely scenario.

After all, he knew the power of such beings best and understood that it was impossible for mortals to fight against them.

It didn't matter who the unknown invaders were.

As long as it was not the Holy Church or the Royal Family, no one else could deal with such a creature.

Thinking of this, the Elder's eyebrows furrowed.

He knew the importance of the Saint to the Holy Church. Otherwise, the Pope would not have bestowed that upon her with no hesitation.

Just when he was about to order the Knights to conduct a deeper investigation and find any potential clues, the Elder's expression suddenly changed.

"Who?!", he questioned as he turned his head, his gaze landing on the entrance of the demi-plane.

Instantly, he noticed that another team of Knights—just like theirs—had appeared there.

It was just that the team of the Holy Church wore thick metal armor and exuded an aura of warmth and kindness, while the other team was adorned in black and looked sinister and evil.

Their aura and appearance made their identity obvious—they were members of the Necronomicon Sect.

The moment the Elder saw them, his expression darkened.

Though the two cults were mortal enemies, this didn't mean that they would fight upon meeting each other.

A side would only take action if they were certain that they would emerge victorious.

And now, the Elder had sensed that the strength of the Necronomicon Sect's team was similar to theirs.

That would have been fine at any other time, but considering that the Saint must have fallen into their hands, it was difficult for him to make a decision.

Should he attack or should he first communicate with the opponent?

Since the Elder saw the members of the Necronomicon Sect, the cultists also immediately noticed the Elder and the team of Knights around him.

It's just that, unlike the Elder, the cultists didn't hesitate.

They had already learned that their stronghold had been destroyed by someone, and now that they arrived, they discovered a team of the Holy Church, as well as boundless holy power remaining in the ruins.

Clearly, it was the Holy Church that had invaded and destroyed their stronghold!

"Attack!"

Immediately, the person in charge of the Necronomicon Sect's team yelled.

Following his shout, the cultists rushed forward, choosing an opponent and swinging their swords at them.

At the same time, the leader launched himself at the Elder, engaging in close-quarters battle.

From their arrival to the battle's beginning, only a split second had passed.

The members of the Holy Church didn't have the opportunity to even speak, much less explain what had happened.

Of course, even if they had tried, the result would have been the same.

In their opinion, their Saint was still in the hands of the Necronomicon Sect, and in the Necronomicon Sect's opinion, the remaining holy power—only wielded by the Holy Church—was evidence of their involvement.

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