Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 653

"No, you needn't worry about him. In fact, you should have gleaned from our conversations what sort of standing he has within the Church of Knowledge and Books..."

She felt a twinge of guilt for her cunning, but it was entirely necessary.

"Very well. Though he is reluctant to speak of it himself, I can tell you that Jenkins Williams is, in fact, the living Saint of the Church of Knowledge and Books. That title alone guarantees him the highest level of protection."

The princess let out a soft groan and sank heavily into her chair. Jenkins himself was clearly unaware of the full weight of his title, but how could Dolores, raised in the royal court, not understand the significance of being a "Saint"?

It was a religious title on par with the pontiff, making him a true agent of a deity in the material world.

In Jenkins's own terms, he was one of God's chosen.

Alexia said no more and took her leave, confident that Dolores would come to the right conclusion on her own. A mortal princess was nothing compared to a Saint. If Dolores wished to stand as Jenkins Williams's equal, she would have to become, at the very least...

For the first time, in a small corner of her heart, the princess felt a flicker of interest in that glittering crown.

Life goes on, day by day. Even with the God of Lies making two appearances in the city in a single week, the daily lives of mortals remained largely unchanged.

Last night's battle in the sky had obliterated an entire city block. While the destruction was immense, considering the true identities of the combatants, such a loss felt almost like a blessing from the Righteous Gods, a sign of their protection over this unfortunate city.

But in any case, the "Evil God's Scion" affair and the "Vampire" incident, which had long plagued the Church, both came to an abrupt end before the first week of the new year was over. The conclusion may have been imperfect, but the writer couldn't have cared less.

Of course, both matters were still shrouded in mystery: the conflict between the new god and the vampires, the scion's purpose in Nolan, and the vast network of their followers who still needed to be hunted down. But for now, at least, a relative peace had settled over the city.

The investigation into the God of Lies had stalled, facing unprecedented difficulties. No one could find the slightest trace of the deity or its followers. Only the half-destroyed Joël Bridge stood as a stark reminder of their brutality.

Jenkins, having gotten little sleep the previous night, almost overslept on Monday morning. If it weren't for his "Chocolate alarm clock" punctually demanding breakfast, he would have missed his eight o'clock trip to the Nolan train station to welcome a travel-weary Papa Oliver back from Bel Diran. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel⸺fire.net

Papa Oliver looked to be in excellent spirits; the long train journey hadn't left him overly fatigued. He carried a suitcase in his left hand and his hat in his right, seeming almost nostalgic for Nolan's notoriously bad air.

The train journey had also caused him to miss the latest news from Nolan. It was Jenkins who told him about the God of Lies freezing a sea of blood with a single punch the night before.

The pair took a carriage back to Pops Antique Shop. It would remain closed for the day, of course, as Papa Oliver needed a good rest, but Jenkins wanted to at least see him settled in before heading off.

Though Jenkins was dying to know why Papa Oliver had rushed off to Bel Diran, he held his tongue, mindful of the confidentiality pacts they were both under. But it was Papa Oliver who brought it up first, revealing that the matter was, in fact, related to Jenkins.

"Oh, it's so clean! It looks like you've been coming to tidy up every day. Young people should all be as diligent as you; that's how our society moves forward. Don't give me that look—you're wearing your curiosity all over your face! Fine, fine. Do you remember when you went to Bel Diran for your award? You found the legendary Kremen Treasure, didn't you?"

The Unshadowed Lamp he'd found in the treasure was still in his possession. He had no idea why Papa Oliver was bringing it up now.

"That treasure was located above a bottomless abyss. A short while ago, the Church discovered that something seemed to be trying to climb up from the depths, so they summoned a few of us old-timers to go take a look."

Jenkins tilted his head, recalling the scene. Beneath the bronze chests, there had indeed been a chasm of unfathomable depth. He remembered feeling a terrifying presence from below at the time, but he had dismissed it as his nerves getting the better of him.

"So, what's down there?"

he asked curiously. Chocolate, curled up on his lap, perked up her little ears as if to eavesdrop.

"We don't know. That chasm most likely connects directly to a rift in the material world, opening into some unknown subspace. The Church went to great lengths to seal it, but the seal has to be reinforced every ten years. Right now, we're looking for any information we can find on the place, hoping for a permanent solution. Hang my hat up for me, would you?"

"Of course... so that's what this was all about."

Jenkins murmured to himself.

"The biggest question now, however, is why the thing at the bottom of the abyss suddenly woke up. You have to understand, before you and that runaway, Mr. Alexander, opened the place up, there hadn't been a peep out of that abyss."

"Maybe someone hit it with a piece of trash,"

Jenkins replied absently, already wondering if this incident would cause major trouble down the line. Of course, everyone had long forgotten that a certain snack-filching cat had once tossed an empty bottle into the bottom of that very abyss.

It was Monday. Counting from the previous Sunday afternoon when Jenkins had given his speech, Nolan City had experienced more major incidents in a single week than it had in the last thousand years of peace combined.

Even after his weary journey back from Bel Diran, Papa Oliver had to dive right back into his work in Nolan. It wasn't until Jenkins walked into the shop with him and saw a note tacked to the wall that he remembered someone had come looking for him.

"A woman? Something from ten years ago?"

Papa Oliver clearly had no memory of the matter. It was only when Jenkins used his Book of Memories to sketch the face of the woman he had met that a look of sudden realization dawned on the old man's face.

"Oh, I remember now! I can't believe it's already been ten years!"

"Yes, time does fly."

Jenkins did his best to feign disinterest, but inwardly, he was dying of curiosity.