Back on the Mainland, in the silence that followed the Bishop"s announcement, Jonah had not known where to look.
It had taken all that he was capable of to hide the emotions that threatened to appear on his face, so he had tried to forget that they even existed while looking at the commanders to see their individual reactions.
He had been hearing a few rumors of late that all the high-ranking commanders of the army actually knew that he was not as loyal to the Church as was to be believed. He had dismissed them, though, because his situation would have been so much worse if that were the case, but now, he saw that there was some truth in them.
The reason behind this was that, surprisingly, some of the commanders were looking at him with pity, as if they could almost understand the pain and fear that he felt. He knew them, and the reputations they had. The Church wasn"t completely filled with those like the Bishop, as there were some who valued things like honour.
These commanders knew what it meant to love one"s home, as they were known to be sent by weak towns that were surviving on the Mainland only because of their position in the Church.
He wished that he had the luxury of thinking that he might be able to count on them as they could understand one"s desire to protect their home, but he knew that in the end, they would value their birthplace more than that of someone they had met only recently.
Thankfully, another change came upon the image which distracted the Bishop.
It was first noticed by one of the commanders who had kept her eyes solely on the image, so when she stood up and pointed in the direction and muttered a certain word, all the heads of those in the room snapped back to see his disciple.
"Beast Lord! Impossible! How can someone from a continent of this level possess so many talents?"
They all watched with eyes filled with shock as the sea began to a.s.sault the base. For a moment, it was so quiet that Jonah almost felt as if he could hear the thoughts filled with disbelief that were present in the minds of all the commanders present, but the silence was broken when a loud crack that signified the destruction of the outermost walls was heard in the room.
Immediately, the Bishop teleported forward and began to send a message.
"Disregard my earlier message. We don"t need to reel them in any further. Just detonate as quickly as you can. Move!"
She shouted the last word, and in a certain part of the image, everyone present could see the members of the Church sent to activate the detonation begin to scurry around faster.
What she demanded could not be done as quickly as she hoped for, though, and this became increasingly clear as nothing changed for a few seconds.
The Bishop"s anger could be seen from the way her hands were raised as if she wanted to find a neck to wring, but she controlled herself as the commanders were watching and shouted, "What is the delay? If they breach and stop you, all will be lost! If that happens, I promise that the very families that you left behind to be taken care of will find themselves in the dungeons of the Saint tomorrow!"
A few of the commanders looked at her with disapproval in their eyes as she said this, but the effect that her words had could not be denied.
In the group that had been sent, each had a certain role that they had to fulfill, and as they urged their bodies to move even faster, it seemed as if they might be just in time.
That was then that the first wave hit. The entire image shook, but the priests within managed to hold their ground and continue.
This changed as soon as the second wave hit. Many of them fell to the ground, but when some did not get up, Jonah was perplexed.
In front of him, one of the commanders was muttering to someone sitting beside him. As Jonah bent forward to listen, he found the answer.
"She sent a costly explosive Artefact that can a.n.a.lyze the elementary particles of an area and use each and every one of them to spread its area of effect. Such an Artefact needs to be directed by those who have mastered the individual aspects that elementary particles can take, so she chose the force that was sent well. Look at how much satisfaction is visible on their faces, because they know that their sons and daughters will be brought up in the Church. Their job is done, so they go to their deaths smiling. Such a victory brings a bad taste in my mouth… But its merits cannot be ignored. This woman will go far."
His heart began to thunder in his chest, and with all the thoughts of fear feeling his head, it felt like it was going to burst, soon.
If what they were talking of really did happen, he didn"t even know what he was supposed to do. Should he live on, by her side, with the intention of finding some opportunity, someday, when he could obtain revenge? Or was that just a futile hope?
He could go out in a blaze of glory, or he could wait a few decades and then try to a.s.sa.s.sinate her. But wait… would she even let him live after she was done enjoying the sorrow and pain that he would soon feel?
"It"s done!"
The Bishop had apparently changed the messaging trinket that she held so that the updates being sent could be heard by everyone present, as this was said by one of the older priests they could see in the image.
These two words made him look up, and as he laid his eyes on Bishop, anger of the sort that he had never felt in his life filled him so completely that it burned away all other thoughts.
It was all because of her. No matter what, she had to die.
In the back of his mind, he knew that the decision he had taken would result in his death. He was fine with that, though, so as the rest of the members of the Church in the room began to relax, he plotted a way in which he could kill her at that moment when her future would look as if it had been freed of the curse that only he knew of.
It was then that the change that had come over the main battlefield was reflected by the Gravesap tree. The ball of fire shone brightly in the room, and at the same time, Jonah got up to reach his target. When the entire room darkened, he heard gasps of surprise and looked at the center of the room to see that suddenly, a darkness that could not be explained had engulfed everything except the core of the explosion.
No one knew what was going on, but before anyone could speak, the voice of the same person who had given the update before was heard once again.
"Wait… What"s happening? They all disappeared! Wha-."