Gaius remained silent.
His eyes stayed fixed on the desk.
For a moment...
Levi wondered if he would actually continue.
Then...
Gaius leaned back in his chair.
His normally confident expression had disappeared.
"It was fifteen years ago."
"The Black Cathedral had been discovered deep within the northern forests."
"At the time..."
"We didn't even know what they called themselves."
"We simply knew that people were disappearing."
"Villages."
"Travelers."
"Even soldiers."
"One by one."
"They would simply vanish."
Levi listened carefully.
Gaius continued.
"Then one of our scouts returned."
"He was barely alive."
"He kept repeating the same thing."
Levi narrowed his eyes.
"What did he say?"
Gaius looked toward the window.
"'The cathedral.'"
"Over and over."
"'The cathedral.'"
"'They're inside.'"
"'They're waiting.'"
Gaius's jaw tightened.
"That was all we could get out of him."
"So the King gathered everyone he could."
"Knights."
"Mages."
"Paladins from Pyrathera's church."
"And soldiers from several territories."
"I was one of them."
Levi looked at him.
"You were already a Count?"
Gaius gave a quiet laugh.
"No."
"Back then..."
"I was just a soldier who happened to be very good at swinging a sword."
Levi smiled faintly.
"Some things never change."
Gaius snorted.
"Unfortunately."
His expression became serious again.
"We marched north."
"For nearly two days."
"The further we went..."
"The quieter the forest became."
"No birds."
"No animals."
"Nothing."
"Then..."
"We saw it."
Levi leaned forward.
"The Black Cathedral."
Gaius nodded.
"It was enormous."
"Black stone."
"Jagged towers."
"Built in the middle of nowhere."
"as if we set foot in a different place"
"There were no roads leading toward it."
"No villages nearby."
"Nothing."
"Yet there were hundreds of footprints around it."
Levi frowned.
"Footprints?"
"Yes."
"Fresh ones."
"Going toward the cathedral."
"But none coming back."
Gaius paused.
"That was the first thing that made me uneasy."
He continued.
"The King ordered everyone into formation."
"The Paladins at the front."
"The mages behind them."
"And the knights surrounding the formation."
"We expected an army."
"We expected traps."
"We expected resistance."
Gaius shook his head.
"But when the gates opened..."
"Nothing."
Levi blinked.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"The gates simply opened."
"Nobody touched them."
Gaius's eyes hardened.
"And from inside..."
"We heard chanting."
Levi's expression changed.
"How many?"
Gaius slowly shook his head.
"I couldn't tell."
"It sounded like hundreds."
"Maybe thousands."
"But the strange thing..."
"There wasn't an echo."
Levi frowned.
"What?"
Gaius looked directly at him.
"The chanting sounded like it was coming from right beside us."
"Yet the cathedral was completely empty."
Levi remained silent.
Gaius continued.
"We entered."
"The doors closed behind us."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"And then?"
"We searched every room."
"Every corridor."
"Every chamber."
"Nothing."
"No people."
"No guards."
"No weapons."
"Not even dust."
Gaius slowly exhaled.
"It was as though nobody had ever lived there."
Levi leaned forward.
"Then where were they?"
Gaius looked at him.
"Below us."
Levi's expression changed.
"...Below?"
Gaius nodded.
"We eventually found a staircase."
"It was hidden beneath the floor."
"And the chanting..."
He paused.
"...Was coming from below."
The room became completely silent.
Gaius's fingers slowly curled into a fist.
"We went down."
"One step."
"Then another."
"Then another."
"The staircase seemed to go on forever."
"And the further we descended..."
"The louder the chanting became."
Levi stared at him.
"What was at the bottom?"
Gaius's eyes slowly lifted.
"A chamber."
"Massive."
"Far larger than the cathedral above it."
"Thousands of candles covered the walls."
"Dozens of people stood around the room."
"All wearing black."
"Except..."
Gaius paused.
"One."
Levi waited.
"In the center of the chamber..."
"There was a man wearing crimson."
"He stood before a massive ritual circle."
"And surrounding that circle..."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"...Were children."
Levi's expression immediately hardened.
"Children?"
Gaius nodded.
"Dozens of them."
"Some were unconscious."
"Some were crying."
"Some..."
He stopped.
His jaw tightened.
"...Were simply staring at the ritual."
Levi's hand slowly clenched.
"And the man in crimson?"
Gaius looked away.
"He looked at us."
"And smiled."
A long silence followed.
Gaius's eyes hardened.
"Then he said something."
Levi waited.
Gaius finally spoke.
"'You came sooner than expected.'"
The room fell silent.
Levi stared at him.
"And that's when..."
Gaius slowly looked toward the floor.
"...The doors behind us locked."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
But there was no humor in it.
"That's when we realized."
"We hadn't entered the Black Cathedral."
"We had walked straight into their trap."
Gaius's expression darkened.
His hand slowly tightened into a fist.
"It was..."
He paused.
"...Hell."
Levi remained silent.
Gaius continued.
"We kept slashing."
"And slashing."
"Every time one of them came at us..."
"We cut them down."
"But they wouldn't stop."
"They were persistent."
"Like..."
He shook his head.
"...Like they weren't even being harmed."
Levi frowned.
"Even after being wounded?"
Gaius gave a bitter laugh.
"Wounded?"
"I cut one of them clean in half."
Levi's eyes widened slightly.
"And..."
Gaius stared at his own hand.
"He crawled toward me."
Silence.
"I remember looking down."
"His body was already..."
He stopped himself.
"...He should've been dead."
"But he kept moving."
"Dragging himself across the floor."
"Still trying to reach me."
Levi's expression hardened.
"What did you do?"
Gaius looked up.
"I stepped back."
"For the first time that night..."
"I was afraid."
He let out a slow breath.
"Not because they were strong."
"Because they didn't care."
"They didn't care about their bodies."
"They didn't care about pain."
"They didn't care about dying."
"They only cared about reaching us."
Gaius's eyes narrowed.
"That was the first thing I learned about the Black Cathedral."
"They didn't need to be stronger than us."
"They just needed to be willing to keep getting back up."
He leaned back in his chair.
"And eventually..."
"We realized something was keeping them moving."
Gaius's eyes narrowed.
"That's when we realized something."
Levi looked at him.
"What?"
"We figured something was powering them."
Gaius leaned forward, his expression grim.
"At first, we thought they were simply fanatics."
"Then we noticed it."
"One of the knights found a statue hidden behind the ritual chamber."
"It was shaped like a goat's head."
Levi's brow furrowed.
"A statue?"
Gaius nodded.
"Black stone."
"Long horns."
"And carved into its forehead..."
"A five pointed star."
Levi's expression hardened.
"Was it glowing?"
"Not glowing."
Gaius shook his head.
"Shining."
"Black."
Levi stared at him.
"Black light?"
"Yes."
"Every time that light pulsed..."
Gaius's fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
"...The followers got back up."
Levi's eyes widened.
"So that's what was powering them."
"We didn't know for certain."
"But we had enough evidence."
Gaius exhaled.
"So we changed our strategy."
"We stopped wasting our strength trying to kill the followers."
"We started cutting them apart."
"Not to kill them."
"To slow them down."
"We'd cut down the ones closest to us..."
"...Then drag their bodies toward the center of the chamber."
"We piled them around the ritual circle."
"Every second we bought..."
"...Was another second for the others."
Levi nodded slowly.
"You were buying time."
"Exactly."
Gaius leaned back.
"While we held them back..."
"The others split up."
"Knights."
"Mages."
"Paladins."
"Everyone who could still fight."
"They searched the other chambers."
"For the idols."
Levi frowned.
"Idols?"
Gaius nodded.
"There were several."
"Each one was hidden in a different chamber beneath the cathedral."
"And each chamber had someone guarding it."
"Some were guarded by their priests."
"Others had bishops."
"And one..."
Gaius's expression darkened.
"...Was guarded by a Paladin."
Gaius leaned back in his chair.
For a moment...
He didn't look at Levi.
His eyes seemed to stare through the walls.
Back toward a night that had happened fifteen years ago.
"Then..."
"Envision the fight."
Levi remained silent.
Gaius continued.
"The cathedral was already falling apart around us."
"Smoke filled the halls."
"Fire spread across the wooden beams."
"The fanatics were still coming."
"Even after we cut them down."
"But through all of that..."
"I saw them."
"The King."
"And the Duke."
Gaius gave a faint smile.
"They were younger back then."
"Both were still in their thirties."
"But even then..."
"They were already terrifying on the battlefield."
Levi raised an eyebrow.
"Terrifying?"
Gaius chuckled.
"In the best way possible."
"I'd never seen two men fight together like that."
"They moved as though they had spent their entire lives fighting beside each other."
He paused.
"The Duke was a swordsman."
"A damn good one."
"His swordsmanship was precise."
"Every slash had a purpose."
"Every step placed him exactly where he needed to be."
"And the King..."
Gaius's expression softened slightly.
"Maverick was a mage."
"He didn't need a weapon."
"He simply raised his hand..."
"And the battlefield changed."
"Fire."
"Lightning."
"Wind."
"Barrier spells."
"Whatever he needed."
Gaius's fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
"And between them..."
"Was the Paladin."
Levi's expression became serious.
"How strong was he?"
"Strong enough to make the King and Duke fight seriously."
Gaius laughed quietly.
"That should tell you enough."
"The Paladin wore dark armor from head to toe."
"His greatsword was nearly as tall as he was."
"Every swing shook the chamber."
"Alaric met him head-on."
"Steel crashed against steel."
"The sound echoed through the cathedral."
"Meanwhile..."
"Maverick stayed behind him."
"Spells flew past Alaric's shoulders."
"Lightning struck the Paladin."
"Flames swallowed him."
"Yet he kept coming."
Gaius shook his head.
"He wasn't fighting like a normal warrior."
"He was fighting like a fanatic."
"He didn't care if he was burned."
"He didn't care if his armor broke."
"He only cared about protecting that statue."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"The idol."
Gaius nodded.
"The goat-headed statue."
"The pentagram carved into its forehead was still shining black."
"Every time it pulsed..."
"The Paladin became more violent."
"And outside that chamber..."
"The fanatics kept getting back up."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"We knew we had to destroy it."
"But the Paladin wouldn't let us get near it."
"So Maverick and Alaric changed their approach."
"Alaric kept the Paladin occupied."
"Maverick searched for an opening."
"One strike after another."
"Alaric's sword kept the Paladin's greatsword away from the King."
"Maverick's magic kept forcing him back."
"Neither of them gave him a moment to breathe."
Gaius smiled faintly.
"I remember watching them..."
"Thinking that the Black Cathedral had made one mistake."
"They thought the King and Duke would fight separately."
"They forgot..."
"Those two had been fighting together long before either of them wore a crown or a title."
Gaius's expression hardened.
"And eventually..."
"They found their opening."
"Alaric stepped forward."
"Maverick raised his hand."
"The Paladin realized what they were doing."
"He charged."
"Alaric met him."
"The two blades collided."
"Maverick's spell was already forming behind them."
"Then..."
"Everything happened at once."
Gaius paused.
"The Duke forced the Paladin back."
"The King unleashed his spell."
"And the statue..."
"Cracked."
Levi leaned forward.
"It cracked?"
Gaius nodded.
"One crack."
"Then another."
"Then the entire thing began to fracture."
"The black light flickered."
"The Paladin screamed."
"And when the statue finally shattered..."
"The entire cathedral fell silent."
Gaius slowly exhaled.
"The fanatics stopped moving."
"The Paladin collapsed."
"And for the first time that night..."
"We realized..."
"We could actually win."
Gaius continued.
"After the statue shattered..."
"We didn't have time to celebrate."
"The cathedral was still full of them."
"The fanatics."
"The priests."
"The other idols."
"And the other chambers."
Levi frowned.
"Other chambers?"
Gaius nodded.
"There were three more."
"Each one contained another idol."
"And each idol was guarded."
"That's where the Paladins of Pyrathera came in."
"They had already split up."
"Three groups."
"One for each chamber."
"While the King and Duke dealt with the Paladin in the main chamber..."
"The Paladins of Pyrathera went deeper into the cathedral."
"One group went east."
"Another went west."
"The last went beneath the cathedral."
Gaius's expression became grim.
"They weren't fighting ordinary priests."
"Each chamber had its own guardian."
"Priests."
"Bishops."
"Warriors devoted to the Black Cathedral."
"And every one of them was protecting their idol."
Levi leaned forward.
"So they were destroying the idols too."
"Yes."
Gaius nodded.
"That was the plan."
"Destroy the idols."
"Break whatever was empowering the followers."
"Then deal with the rest."
He paused.
"But..."
Gaius's eyes darkened.
"We didn't know what was waiting for them in those chambers."
Gaius nodded slowly.
"They won."
"The Paladins of Pyrathera returned from the other chambers one after another."
"Some had cuts."
"Others were bruised."
"One of them was limping."
"But..."
Gaius gave a faint smile.
"It was nothing serious."
"They were Paladins."
"Even after everything they had fought through..."
"They were still standing."
Levi listened carefully.
"So..."
"You thought you had won."
Gaius's smile disappeared.
"We did."
"For a moment..."
"We actually believed it."
"The idols were destroyed."
"The Paladins had returned."
"The fanatics had stopped moving."
"The cathedral had gone quiet."
"We had rescued the children from the ritual."
"They were being carried outside by the knights."
"Everyone was exhausted."
"But we were alive."
Gaius lowered his gaze.
"Then..."
"The pentagram lit up."
Levi's expression hardened.
"The one from the main ritual?"
Gaius nodded.
"Black."
"Brighter than before."
"The entire floor began trembling."
"We didn't understand what was happening."
"Then we heard screaming."
Gaius's hands slowly tightened.
"The children."
Levi froze.
"We had already taken them off the circle."
"They were nowhere near it."
"But the moment that pentagram activated..."
"The ground beneath them changed."
"Something pulled them back."
"We tried to grab them."
"Knights reached for them."
"Paladins tried to intervene."
"Nothing worked."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"They were dragged toward the center."
"Their bodies seemed to stretch unnaturally as the ritual took hold."
Levi's expression darkened.
"And then?"
Gaius stared at the desk.
"They disappeared into the light."
"All of them."
"In an instant..."
"Silence."
He swallowed.
"We had rescued them."
"We had carried them out."
"We thought they were safe."
"And the cathedral..."
"It had simply taken them back."
Levi remained silent.
Gaius slowly looked up.
"That's when we realized."
"The idols weren't the ritual."
"They were only part of it."
"The Black Cathedral had been preparing something far worse."
"And we had already given it exactly what it needed."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"And then..."
"The wall behind the pentagram moved."
Levi frowned.
"Moved?"
Gaius nodded.
"At first, we thought the cathedral was collapsing."
"Stone began grinding against stone."
"The entire chamber shook."
"Then..."
"The wall slowly slid open."
A long silence followed.
"Behind it..."
"Was another chamber."
Levi's expression tightened.
"Another?"
Gaius gave a slow nod.
"But this one..."
"Was different."
"Much larger."
"Far larger than the chamber where the King and Duke had fought the Paladin."
"It stretched so deep into the cathedral that we couldn't see the other end."
"The ceiling disappeared into darkness."
"The walls were covered in symbols."
"Thousands of them."
"Some were carved into the stone."
"Others looked like they had been painted over again and again."
Gaius paused.
"And in the center..."
"There was something waiting for us."
Levi leaned forward.
"What?"
Gaius looked directly at him.
"We didn't know."
"Not at first."
"All we could see was a massive platform."
"And something standing upon it."
"The chanting began again."
"Not from the fanatics."
"Not from the priests."
"But from the chamber itself."
Gaius's expression hardened.
"That's when we realized..."
"The cathedral wasn't the place where the ritual was being performed."
"It was the ritual."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"...What happened next?"
Gaius slowly shook his head.
"That's where everything went wrong."
Gaius's expression changed.
For the first time since he began telling the story...
He looked genuinely unsettled.
"The Pope..."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"The Pope of the Black Cathedral?"
Gaius nodded.
"He was sitting on a throne."
"Waiting for us."
Levi frowned.
"Waiting?"
"Yes."
"As though he had known we would eventually reach that chamber."
Gaius's gaze hardened.
"And then we saw what he truly was."
He paused.
"At first..."
"We thought he was human."
"An old man."
"Dressed in black and crimson."
"His hands rested calmly on the arms of his throne."
"But then..."
Gaius swallowed.
"He smiled."
"And his teeth..."
"They weren't human."
Levi's expression darkened.
"A vampire?"
"We couldn't tell."
Gaius shook his head.
"Some believed he was a vampire."
"Others thought he was something far worse."
"Whatever he was..."
"He wasn't human."
Gaius's fingers tightened around the desk.
"He could control blood."
Levi went silent.
"Not just his own."
"Ours."
"The blood of the wounded."
"The blood spilled across the battlefield."
"Even the blood that had already dried on the floor."
Gaius's voice became colder.
"It rose."
"Like it was alive."
"The entire chamber began filling with it."
"Red streams crawled across the stone."
"Gathering around his throne."
"And he simply sat there..."
"Watching us."
Levi slowly leaned back.
"How did you fight something like that?"
Gaius gave a bitter laugh.
"We didn't."
Levi blinked.
"What?"
Gaius looked toward the window.
"Not at first."
"We simply stood there."
"Every soldier who entered that chamber..."
"Every Paladin."
"Every mage."
"Everyone who had survived the cathedral..."
"Realized the same thing."
Gaius's eyes hardened.
"We weren't standing before some ordinary priest."
"We were standing before the man who had orchestrated the entire ritual."
"The one responsible for everything that had happened that night."
A silence filled the office.
Gaius finally spoke again.
"And then..."
"The Pope slowly rose from his throne."
Gaius continued.
"And then..."
"The Pope slowly rose from his throne."
"For a moment..."
"Nobody moved."
"Then..."
"One of the Paladins charged."
"The entire chamber erupted."
"Magic filled the air."
"Steel rang against steel."
"The Pope raised his hand."
"The blood covering the floor immediately rose."
"It twisted through the air like a storm."
"But we were ready."
"We had already fought through the entire cathedral."
"We weren't going to let one more monster stand between us and victory."
"The Paladins pushed forward."
"The knights surrounded the wounded."
"The mages attacked from behind."
"And the King..."
"Maverick coordinated everyone."
"While Alaric led the charge."
Gaius smiled faintly.
"They worked together perfectly."
"The Pope was strong."
"Far stronger than anything we had faced that night."
"But he was alone."
"And we weren't."
Gaius leaned back.
"Every time he tried to control our blood..."
"The mages countered him."
"Every time he created those blood weapons..."
"The Paladins broke through them."
"And whenever he tried to retreat..."
"Alaric was already there."
"The fight lasted for what felt like hours."
"But eventually..."
"We cornered him."
"The Pope was wounded."
"His robes were torn."
"Blood covered the floor."
"But this time..."
"It wasn't ours."
Gaius paused.
"Alaric delivered the final strike."
"Maverick's magic followed immediately after."
"The Pope fell."
"And the chamber finally went silent."
Levi listened carefully.
"How many did you lose?"
Gaius's expression became solemn.
"Enough."
"Several knights were killed."
"Many were wounded."
"Even some of the Paladins suffered serious injuries."
"But compared to what we had expected..."
Gaius shook his head.
"It was a victory."
"Medium losses."
"Nothing that couldn't be recovered from."
"For the first time that night..."
"We thought..."
"It was finally over."
Gaius's expression hardened.
"But..."
"The body moved."
Levi frowned.
"Moved?"
Gaius nodded slowly.
"We thought he was dead."
"Then his fingers twitched."
"Once."
"Then again."
"The entire chamber went silent."
"No one understood what was happening."
"The Pope's body slowly lifted from the floor."
"His feet left the ground."
"His head hung forward."
"Then..."
"His entire body began floating."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"What happened?"
Gaius's voice dropped.
"The ritual."
"It had completed."
Levi's expression changed.
"Even after he was defeated?"
Gaius nodded.
"Especially after."
"The entire ritual circle suddenly lit up."
"Black light spread across the floor."
"The symbols we had spent hours destroying..."
"They all began glowing again."
"The ground beneath the Pope cracked open."
"And from that darkness..."
"Hands reached out."
Levi stared at him.
"Hands?"
"Black."
"Too long."
"Too many."
"They wrapped around his body."
"His arms."
"His legs."
"His torso."
"Then they pulled."
Gaius swallowed.
"We tried to stop it."
"Maverick cast everything he had."
"Alaric tried to reach him."
"The Paladins rushed forward."
"But the darkness wouldn't let us."
"The Pope's body was dragged downward."
"Into the opening beneath him."
"And just before he disappeared..."
Gaius paused.
"He smiled."
Levi's expression hardened.
"Then..."
"The floor closed."
"The chamber went completely silent."
Gaius slowly leaned back.
"And that's when we realized..."
"We hadn't stopped the ritual."
"We had only been fighting to complete it."
Gaius's face went pale.
"We thought it was over."
"Then the floor opened again."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"Again?"
Gaius nodded.
"Only this time..."
"Something came out."
"The darkness beneath the chamber began to rise."
"Stone cracked."
"The floor split apart."
"And from that opening..."
"Something emerged."
Levi leaned forward.
"What?"
Gaius stared at the desk.
"It looked like the idols."
"The same goat-headed figures."
"The same black stone."
"The same pentagram carved into their foreheads."
"But..."
His voice became quieter.
"It was enormous."
"Far larger than any statue we'd seen before."
"It rose from beneath the cathedral."
"Up."
"And up."
"Until its head nearly touched the ceiling."
Gaius shook his head.
"The chamber was massive."
"Yet that thing..."
"Almost filled it."
"The horns scraped against the stone."
"Every movement caused the chamber to tremble."
"And that black pentagram..."
Gaius paused.
"It was shining."
"Not glowing."
"Shining."
"Like there was something alive behind it."
Levi remained silent.
Gaius's expression grew darker.
"But that wasn't the worst part."
Levi frowned.
"What was?"
"On top of the goat's skull..."
Gaius's voice nearly became a whisper.
"...Was the Pope."
Levi's eyes widened.
"His body?"
"Half of it."
"The lower half had disappeared into the darkness beneath the statue."
"But the upper half..."
Gaius swallowed.
"It was embedded directly into the pentagram."
"His body was hanging there."
"Like the statue had swallowed him..."
"...But left him behind as part of itself."
Levi's expression hardened.
"And the pentagram?"
"It was shining through him."
Gaius slowly shook his head.
"That's when we understood."
"The Pope hadn't been the end of the ritual."
"He was the last sacrificial lamb."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"But..."
"We had no time to understand what we were looking at."
"Because it attacked."
"The entire chamber shook."
"The creature moved with a force that none of us had expected."
"One swing..."
"And the floor beneath us shattered."
"Knights were thrown across the chamber."
"Mages were forced to retreat."
"The Paladins tried to surround it."
"But..."
"It was too large."
"And too strong."
Gaius clenched his fist.
"That was when we began taking losses."
"Not a few."
"Many."
"People who had fought beside us for years..."
"Fell that night."
"Some were wounded."
"Others couldn't stand again."
"Even the Paladins were struggling."
Levi listened without interrupting.
Gaius continued.
"But the King..."
"The Duke..."
"And the Tower Master..."
"They refused to move."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"Veritas?"
Gaius nodded.
"Tower Master Veritas."
"He was younger then."
"Still one of the strongest mages in the kingdom."
"Maverick stood beside him."
"Alaric stood in front of them."
"They held the line."
"Not because they thought they could defeat it."
"But because someone else needed time."
Levi frowned.
"Who?"
Gaius looked toward the window.
"The Saintess."
"The previous Saintess of Pyrathera."
"She had been brought into the cathedral when the ritual began."
"She knew what we were facing."
"And she knew..."
"That ordinary magic wouldn't be enough."
Gaius's eyes hardened.
"So the King and the Duke held the creature back."
"Veritas joined them."
"The three of them fought like their lives depended on it."
"Because they did."
"Every second..."
"They bought another second for the Saintess."
"The creature kept pushing forward."
"Alaric's sword broke."
"Maverick's magic began to weaken."
"Veritas was bleeding."
"But they refused to fall."
"Then..."
Gaius smiled faintly.
"The Saintess raised her staff."
"The entire chamber went silent."
"Light filled the cathedral."
"Not fire."
"Not magic."
"Something else."
"Divine."
Gaius looked directly at Levi.
"And then..."
Gaius's expression became distant.
"Behind her..."
"Something appeared."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"Something?"
Gaius nodded.
"A woman."
"Not the Saintess herself."
"Something far greater."
"A figure made entirely of blazing light."
"She wore robes that moved like flames."
"Her face was calm."
"In one hand..."
"She held a massive scale."
"Balanced perfectly."
Levi stared at him.
"And her eyes..."
Gaius paused.
"They were crying."
"But the tears weren't water."
"Fire."
"Streams of flame flowed from her eyes and disappeared into the air."
Levi's expression hardened.
Gaius continued.
"She stood behind the Saintess."
"Silent."
"Watching."
"Judging."
"Then..."
"The Saintess raised her staff."
"The figure raised the scale."
"The entire chamber began to shake."
"The demon turned toward her."
"For the first time..."
"It hesitated."
Gaius's voice dropped.
"Then the figure moved."
"She brought the scale forward."
"A spear of divine fire formed in her other hand."
"And with one motion..."
"She pierced the opening in the demon's chest."
"The entire cathedral erupted with light."
Gaius looked down at his hands.
"We couldn't hear anything."
"Not the screams."
"Not the collapsing stone."
"Nothing."
"All we could see..."
"Was white."
"And when the light finally faded..."
"The demon was gone."
"Only the shattered remains of the chamber"
Levi remained silent.
Gaius's expression darkened.
"But the Saintess..."
"She couldn't contain it."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"What happened to her?"
Gaius looked down at his hands.
"The divine power was too much."
"Far too much for a human body."
"At first..."
"We thought she was unharmed."
"She was still standing."
"Her staff was still raised."
"Then..."
Gaius swallowed.
"Cracks began appearing across her skin."
Levi's expression hardened.
"Cracks?"
"Like her body was made of glass."
"Light began shining through them."
"Her arms."
"Her face."
"Her chest."
"Everywhere."
"The more the divine power flowed through her..."
"The brighter she became."
Gaius's voice became quieter.
"We tried to reach her."
"She told us not to."
"She knew."
Levi remained silent.
"Her knees finally gave out."
"She fell."
"The light continued pouring from the cracks."
"Then..."
Gaius paused.
"...It disappeared."
"The Saintess was gone."
Levi stared at him.
"She died?"
Gaius nodded.
"Right there."
"After saving everyone."
"After destroying that thing..."
"She simply..."
Gaius looked toward the window.
"...Fell to her knees."
"And never stood again."