CHAPTER 294: 294

As Kael and Ariana slipped into the underground vault, the air grew heavier, saturated with the scent of iron and something strangely acrid.

The glowing powder-like substance shimmered faintly on the stone shelves, giving the entire chamber a ghostly glow. They had just stepped forward, Kael reaching toward one of the remains, when a loud metallic clang echoed through the vault.

Footsteps heavy and deliberate marched closer.

The door to the cellar burst open with a bang.

A towering figure filled the entrance, muscles straining against the edges of his priest’s robe. His face was square, stern, and marked by a jagged scar across the cheek. His eyes, sharp and experienced, scanned the vault with practiced intensity.

"Hmm?"

He sniffed the air, frowning. His eyes narrowed further.

"Did I hallucinate?"

The man lingered a moment longer, then shook his head and muttered something under his breath before pulling the door shut with another loud bang. His footsteps faded into the distance.

Right behind the door, pressed in the narrowest blind spot, Kael had one arm against the wall, the other across Ariana, holding her firmly against the stone.

She let out a shaky breath as he stepped back. "Oh..."

Kael glanced around, voice hushed but dry. "Let’s put these sacs into play before he decides to check again."

They worked quickly, hands steady, emptying everything glowing and valuable into Kael’s storage ring. Their movements were swift and precise, honed from experience.

"I wonder how angry the muscle-heads will get when they realize their stash is missing," Kael muttered, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

They crept out of the cellar without a sound. The hallway beyond was empty. The priest had disappeared into one of the inner chambers, and silence hung like a thin veil.

Kael walked a few paces before stopping suddenly.

He turned his head.

His eyes had fallen upon the statue at the far end of the hall—tall, grim, almost pulsing with divine intensity. The God of War. Bald, bearded, holding a battle axe against his shoulder, eyes carved with an uncanny mix of madness and righteousness.

Kael’s expression darkened. "I wonder how they’re coping..."

His voice had lowered, not in fear, but in restraint his will to fight stirred instinctively just by looking at that statue. The war-god’s presence was almost infectious.

He wondered if Baldy would have been punished for playing from the dual side in the wall.

’His presence is already a big thing..I thought they would dismantle his entire religion.’

He felt quite pessimistic thinking this.

They could tolerate such a guy yet they couldn’t tolerate him just because he became so much stronger.

He wanted to ask why they have to kill him

They were gods with a deeply rooted existence.Killing them won’t make much difference anyway.

Ariana, a few steps behind, also stopped.

She watched Kael carefully, then followed his gaze. Her throat tightened as she looked at the icon. Memories surged—of a burning city, screams, blood painting stone, and the stench of divine wrath.

She remembered.

This place wouldn’t last. Soon, the entire Church of War in this region would be wiped out—priests, warriors, everyone. Slaughtered by an approaching group that even she couldn’t stop at the time.

A group so nefarious that thinking about them made his body tremble.

Ariana’s eyes gleamed coldly. She clenched her fists.

’No... Not again. I’ll stop it this time. Even if I have to walk through fire and corpses. When the veil of chaos lifts... I’ll be the one left standing.’

CLANG!

A sound of bell rang.

Kael turned his head slowly.

His eyes met hers—sharp and knowing. "Did you just think of fighting?"

Ariana froze.Her pulse skipped.

He had felt it. That flicker of bloodlust.

She opened her mouth, but no words came. Her body betrayed her even before her voice could defend her.

Kael’s expression didn’t change, but the silence between them crackled.

This place was changing them. And they both knew it.

The ringing of bells tore through the night air like jagged steel sharp, urgent, relentless.

Kael’s face twisted in frustration. "Fuckkk!" he roared, the echo swallowed by the swelling noise of alarm.

"I told you not to think about fighting and killing.The artifact rings the moment someone unafflicted with the Church thinks of fighting.."

"Run!" he snapped, grabbing Ariana’s arm as both of them bolted down the corridor. Their boots slammed against stone, cloaks flapping behind them like shadows trying to escape the light.

But it was already too late.

By the time they burst out of the side passage into the courtyard, a wall of bodies had already formed. Dozens of burly, battle-hardened priests in crimson-and-gold robes surrounded the perimeter, muscles taut beneath their vestments, hands gripping warhammers, halberds, and jagged-blade axes.

The man leading them was a towering brute, his shaven head glistening with sweat, and his beard braided into three tight cords. A bronze sigil of the War God glowed faintly on his chest like it had been seared into his flesh.

"You dare trespass in the Sacred Vault of the War Father?" he bellowed, his voice booming like thunder. "You dare steal from us?"

Kael cursed under his breath. Ariana instinctively stepped closer until their backs lightly touched.

Another priest raised his hammer, veins bulging across his arms. "We don’t need permission to break bones here. Confess, thieves—on your knees, and perhaps the War God shall grant you the mercy of a swift death!"

A third one, with a scar across his temple, snarled, "No one escapes a challenge within these walls. You want to leave? Then fight. Show blood, or be broken!"

"If you win you can leave."

"Leave my ass.."Kael cursed.

Kael gritted his teeth. "They’re completely mad..."

Ariana’s fingers brushed the hilt of her dagger. She spoke low, her breath steady. "We just need to escape. Don’t engage in a useless fight."

Kael nodded slightly, his eyes scanning the gaps in their formation.

The priests began stepping in, slowly tightening the circle, chanting under their breath. The ground seemed to thrum beneath them—ritual aura rising with every step.

Kael exhaled. "Alright, muscleheads. You want a challenge?"

A flicker of shadow gathered around his feet. His smile turned cold.

"Let’s see if you can catch us first."