Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 668 Reunion (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!)
noon.

In the city center of Argus, beside a fountain surrounding a statue of a certain Cardinal Saint Leron.

Among the crowd of worshippers dressed in white robes, holding flowers and scriptures, and praising the sacred statue, two figures were faintly visible among the believers. They were worshipping just like the believers, with solemn and devout expressions, but their eyes would occasionally glance at the passing crowd.

Although they wore the same white robes as the believers around them, they exuded a unique aura—as if simply being quietly by their side would bring a sense of peace and tranquility from the bottom of one's heart, allowing one to forget worldly troubles and immerse oneself in their radiant and warm embrace.

Therefore, the believers around them unconsciously gather around them. This keeps them from straying far from the crowd, and they always wait in the center of the crowd.

"……teacher."

A young "nun"—dressed in plain white robes, with a large white cloak concealing the upper half of her face, and beneath the cloak, a light veil veiling her features—softly inquired of an older woman beside her:
Will he come today?

"..."

"Time has passed... Twenty minutes have gone by."

The older woman glanced at the street in front of her, then nodded, turned around, and said to the girl:
"As agreed, we'll wait another ten minutes. If Luo Xiu still hasn't appeared, we'll go back and continue our previous investigation."

"However, time is running out... If we follow the revelation given to us by Luo Xiu's 'Divine Revelation,' Finlake will sacrifice this city in four days. Before that, we must act regardless of whether Luo Xiu arrives or not."

"..."

“…I understand, teacher.”

The girl nodded.

She is the "Saintess" Franya, and the older woman beside her is the "Supreme Sword" Monine.

They have been in the city of Aguz for seven days now.

Unlike Luo Xiu, they did not possess the skill to alter their appearance and could only infiltrate and infiltrate the city in secret. For the past seven days, they had been moving around the city of Agus, changing their lodgings four times. Now, as pilgrims, they were staying at the home of a devout old woman.

To conceal their identities and avoid revealing their appearance to the public, they hadn't entered any shops for the past seven days, their only food being the simple dry rations they carried with them.

It was a type of lightweight, portable, biscuit-like dry ration. Sometimes, the clergy of the Holy Court would carry this kind of ration when embarking on arduous journeys in search of the Way. If their packs were filled with this ration, it could sustain them for three months of travel, and if they had a fast means of transportation, it would be enough for them to reach any place on the continent of Fanor.

Frania and Monine carried enough dry rations to last them half a month.

However, the taste of this kind of dry food is indeed... indescribable. It's like chewing on a dry, hard clod of earth; there's only a brief moment of sweetness in your mouth, followed by a long period of bitterness. It certainly can't be called delicious food.

But it is indeed quite filling; just a small piece is enough to keep you full for half a day, and you might even feel more energetic than usual.

The rations contain herbs imbued with the spiritual essence of "Radiance." After consuming them, clergy members will experience a temporary increase in spiritual power; in a sense, they are also long-lasting "mana potions."

Franya took out a white cloth-wrapped bag from the pocket at her waist, opened the bag to reveal a creamy white dried biscuit inside, and took a small bite.

Then, her brows furrowed. Even a "saint" would find that bitter taste unpleasant. Moreover, Franya preferred sweets. Compared to other clergy, Franya especially disliked bitter things.

Monigne also took out the cloth bag containing dry rations from his bosom, opened the bag, and took a bite of the rations.

Monine had carried this kind of ration to many places, and compared to Franya, she was much more accustomed to it. She calmly finished half a piece of ration, rewrapped the remaining half in her cloth bag, put it back in her bosom, turned to Franya, gently pulled down her wide hood, and said in a kind tone:

"You have become more patient than before, Your Highness."

“That’s good. Once we’ve resolved the trouble Finlake caused and returned to the Holy See, you may find it difficult to have such an experience again. But… it’s still a valuable experience for you. If we encounter something similar again, you’ll be more accustomed to it and more composed in dealing with it.”

"..."

"After the Pope left, I knew I had to grow up quickly and take on more responsibility. And chewing and swallowing dry food like this... that is my trial, and the simplest trial I am about to face."

Frania's tone was light yet firm, and an invisible aura constantly formed between her and Monigne, ensuring that their conversation was only audible to the two of them.

"Regarding the 'First Cardinal'... Finlake. Once Rosh arrives and joins us, we can tell him the information we've gathered. There are quite a few things... I'm a little worried, Master. The enemy we're about to face is a terrifying enemy we've never faced before."

"Now, the Pope is no longer there to stand before us, to shield us from everything, to resolve everything... If we are to face the chaos created by our former comrades, such as the 'First Cardinal' Finlake, the 'Second Cardinal' Yazler, and the 'Grand Cardinal' Donovan of the Church of Agnes, ... we alone..."

"There are no 'ifs,' Franya."

As Franja expressed her inner worries, Monigne spoke up, interrupting her.

This time, Monigne called out Franya's name directly—usually, this was followed by Monigne's serious admonition or warning to Franya, which immediately silenced her.

Even though she had advanced to the "Seventh Destiny" and was at the same level as her teacher Monigne, Franya still subconsciously felt some fear... or rather, "awe" for her teacher.

"Now, Franya, all we need to do is investigate and wait. Any worries or even fears beyond that are useless to us. You should know and deeply understand one thing—you are the successor of the Pope of Lorend, and only by perfectly resolving the current situation can you prove that you are qualified as the 'successor of the Pope of Lorend'."

"If you are facing your former powerful comrades who have fallen into terrifying enemies, Franya, you need to be calmer and more rational in dealing with them. You must know that we are not fighting alone now. We have comrades we can rely on, and uniting these forces is exactly what you, as a 'Saintess', need to do."

"..."

"I understand, teacher."

Franya nodded slightly.

She and Monigne ceased exchanging words. They simply stood there silently, sometimes joining the surrounding believers in worshipping the statue of Cardinal Saint Leran in the center of the fountain, and sometimes gazing out at the surrounding streets, searching for that figure.

……

Time passed by, second by second.

Ten minutes later, Monigne lowered her head slightly, raised her right hand, gently pulled down her white hood, turned slightly, and said to Franja, who was still gazing into the distance:
"The time has come."

"It seems he hasn't arrived today either. We still have four days... no, three days. Let's go, today's wait is over, Your Highness. Let's do what we should and can do."

“Okay, teacher.” Franya nodded.

She gazed one last time at the end of the street, but the figure they longed to see did not appear there. A hint of melancholy finally crept onto Frania's face. She sighed softly, turned, and left with Monigne.

……

They walked through the crowd of worshippers gathered around the fountain and gradually made their way to a more open area.

They were about to turn at the fourth intersection and enter a side street called "St. Felix Street," where the house of the devout old woman where they were staying was located, far from the bustling neighborhood and close to the suburbs.

But when they reached the third intersection, Monigne stopped.

Before them appeared a "merchant from the Land of Gold"—

He was a young merchant from the Golden Kingdom. He wore a white turban and looked somewhat handsome. Around his neck was a large gold chain that shimmered with dazzling light, and on each finger was a precious gemstone ring. He smiled at Franya and Monine and bowed to them.

"May the golden winds shine upon you, two sublime saints."

The young merchant from the Golden Kingdom addressed Frania and Monine:

“My master is waiting for you. Please come with me, and I will take you to the manor where my master resides.”

"..."

"...?"

Monigne's pupils constricted slightly as he stared at the rather young merchant from the Golden Kingdom before him.

He directly addressed Her Highness the Holy Maiden and himself as "Saints"—indicating that even though he had tried his best to conceal his [Radiant] spirituality, he still recognized her as a [Radiant] Saint, demonstrating that he possessed remarkably keen spiritual perception!
Those who can do this are at least saints who have passed through the sixth stage of destiny—and the merchant from the Golden Kingdom on the other side also mentioned another person, and his "master"... Who is that person?

"Who are you?" Monigne asked in a low, cautious voice.

At the same time, she secretly gathered her spiritual energy, preparing to forcibly leave this place with Franya if anything went wrong—although that might completely expose her and the saintess's whereabouts, it was better than getting into trouble in the city of Agus, and she absolutely could not get into the worst situation where she could not escape.

Monigne couldn't discern the fate that awaited the merchant from the Golden Kingdom opposite him—however, he was unlikely to be a member of the Church of Agus, because the clergy of the Church of Agus, in Agus, because of their pride in serving the lineage of "Saint Lelange," generally wore holy robes wherever they went and would never wear the attire of a merchant from the Golden Kingdom.

"My master asked me to convey this message to you, Lord Monigne."

The young merchant smiled and nodded, speaking clearly to Monigne:

"[—Go to that city of the rising sun, and before sunset, I will become a new sun.]"

"..."

"...!"

When the "merchant from the Golden Kingdom" in front of them said this, not only Monigne, but also Franya, who had been listening silently to him, couldn't help but raise her head and look at him with a trembling gaze!
This sentence was something they had agreed upon with Luo Xiu before leaving the Holy Court and the Imperial City of Augustus, to confirm each other's identities when they met in Augustus City!

"The 'master' you mentioned..."

Franya looked at the "Golden Kingdom merchant" in front of her, pondered for a long while, and then asked him softly:

"Was it...one of our comrades who sent you?"

“Please follow me.” The young merchant did not answer, but bowed respectfully to Franya and Monigne again, and said, “I will lead the way for you. This is not a suitable place to talk, and my master has already chosen a suitable place for you and has been waiting there for a long time.”

After saying this, the young merchant gestured for them to enter, then simply smiled and bowed, waiting for Frania and Monine's response.

"Let's go, teacher."

Frania whispered to Monigne, "He knows who we are. He also knows the slogan we made with...that person. I think we can go and meet the person behind him."

“…Hmm.” Monigne nodded, offering only a brief response.

But she remained vigilant. By this time, the spiritual power of [Radiance] was fully mobilized and locked onto the Golden Kingdom merchant before her. If things went wrong, Monine knew she would do the same thing—she would forcefully take Franya through the blockade, leave this place, and then get as far away from Agus City as possible.

Although Monigne had just been admonishing Franja to not have any unnecessary worries or fears, in Monigne's heart, Franja's safety was her top priority. Now that the Holy See no longer had Pope Lorend to support it, if Franja were to fall into danger here, the Holy See would truly have no hope left.

Therefore, if Monigne were to place the city of Agus and Frania on opposite ends of the scale in his heart, he would undoubtedly tilt towards Frania. This is because Monigne's family—the Skadi family of the "Templar Knights"—serves the "Holy Court" and protects the "Pope" and his successors, not the bloodline of Saint Leran and the Holy City.

If the bloodline of the Saint-Léon family has become corrupted, then Monigne, as the current head of the "Skadia" family, a Templar family, would also raise his sword against the bloodline of Saint-Léon. In Monigne's view, this is the right thing to do, the proper path.

"Please lead the way, sir."

Beneath the cloak, Monigne's sharpened gaze swept over the smiling young merchant before him, and he spoke.

The young merchant smiled in response, then turned and led the two [Radiant] Saints, Franya and Monine, toward another block.

That was the most famous financial street in the city of Agus.

The headquarters of the Gold Country Bank—the most magnificent bank building in the city of Agus—is located in the center of that street.

On the other side of another bustling street, just ten minutes away from that magnificent building, stands a lavishly decorated mansion.

That was the manor villa owned by Jolis Florence, the president of the Golden Country Bank in Agus City.

It was also Luo Xiu's lodging in the city of Agus.

……

(End of this chapter)