Contrasting the darkness outside, the ship was lit up brightly within. A long table had been set, and on both sides sat over thirty strangers dressed in a variety of clothing. Their expressions were filled with curiosity, as well as a slight nervousness. They could only look around, not speaking at all amongst themselves.
Some other people stood on both sides of the cabin, but they were wearing the same uniforms, with solemn expressions on their faces, as though they were the people in charge here. They seemed to be very professional.
At the end of the long table was a piece of blackboard. On it was a line of huge words: Down with the Church!
Although the cabin was very simple, and it was obvious that it had not been decorated much, but when those mages stepped in, they could not help but feel an extremely grave atmosphere.
This Black Nightmare Society… was, indeed, for real!
Remembering their oppressed lives in the past, before thinking about the feats done by Mage Benjamin in the stories caused them to mysteriously feel their blood boil, even though they had just walked in.
They sat at the long table. Benjamin continued walking towards the end of the table.
"It's getting late now. This is the last batch of members, we shall not wait any longer," he walked as he spoke to the audience in the cabin, "Welcome, everyone, to the first meeting of the Black Nightmare Society. We are only few, so it might seem a bit shabby. However, do not worry. Our team will grow very soon."
By the time he had finished speaking, he had reached the side door of the cabin. Thus, he turned around and knocked lightly upon the side door. The door opened, and, under everyone's doubtful gaze, the King slowly walked out from within.
In an instant, the expressions on all thirty plus of them changed from uncertainty to shock.
"Your- Your Majesty, the King!"
Some of the exclaimed. Some, however, looked as though they had expected it. Amongst the thirty over people there, at least a third of them were mages. They knew that Benjamin was the one who had rescued the King, and had guessed that the King would be here.
Only, most of them had not yet realized that, from the moment they saw the King, there was no turning back for them anymore.
"...Very good. I didn't think that there would still be people in the kingdom willing to stand up for me. You are warriors of the Kingdom of Helius," the King revealed a smile, nodding towards them.
It was only then that they responded; standing up from their seats, they bowed towards the King, and only sat down after the King had acknowledged them. Then, they looked at each other. Everyone had astonishment written all over their faces, not knowing what to say.
The King had appeared here… So, the posters that had appeared throughout the entire country a few days ago were put up by this bunch of people too, then?
"Yes. You're looking at His Majesty the King with your own eyes. I'm sure that it is clear to you what all this is about," Benjamin opened his mouth to speak at that moment. "Down with the Church… We're not messing around by saying that. From the moment you stepped into this place, both burden and honor have fallen upon your shoulders at the same time. Our goal is very simple. To uproot the Church, help His Majesty return to the throne, and permit magic to be used by everyone."
Hearing this, everyone there could not help but feel shaken up, snapping out of their previous dumbfoundedness.
The Church… This was the main reason why they had come here today.
It was self-explanatory for the mages present there. They had lived in fear of the Church for way too long, and would love to have that organization immediately evaporate into nothing right at that moment. As for the others, some of them had loved ones who had been falsely accused of being cultists; some had their families and home broken because they had been unable to pay the Church's faith taxes, and even… There with them were two ex-members of the Church who had escaped due to various reasons. They had been living incognito, but had come out once again because of this opportunity to bring the Church down.
At the end of the day, these thirty plus people had risked danger to come here. All of them were citizens of the Kingdom who hated the Church right down to the bone and truly wished to uproot it.
"Is there really a way to bring the Church down completely by only us?" Because of that, after a moment's hesitation, someone immediately posed this question.
"With only you, of course it isn't enough, but… I know that there are many more in the country who wish for the Church to get out of the scene," Benjamin smiled, saying, "We only need to mobilize them. The Church will have no way to contend with us if everyone's strength is put together!"
"Then… How many will it be?"
"You may not know this, but we were able to put up the posters all over the kingdom because we have the support of many places. They might not be willing to reveal themselves usually, but if someone is willing to be the first to stand up, one by one, people will respond, and it will surely become a wave going through the entire country."
Hearing this, everyone took a deep breath in unison. They seemed to be somewhat nervous, nevertheless, they could not help but feel excited as well.
If there was anyone on earth who could bring the Church down, it would only be this mage before their eyes now… They had always felt like this was an illusion, they had often felt that the Church was a giant that was impossible to beat. However, Benjamin seemed so confident, and his voice was so matter-of-fact, that they were slowly beginning to be influenced slightly by him.
Down with the Church… It did not seem like an impossible feat.
"Mage Benjamin, I've heard some rumors about you… Some people say that you like to eat human flesh. Is that true?" However, immediately, a person raised a question.
"Nonsense," Benjamin shook his head, looking helpless. "I know of the rumors concerning the water ball devil. I'm here to clarify that most of them were made up by the Church to slander me. Mages and magic included… I don't know how many people they have falsely accused. I think you understand that."
Hearing that, the person who had asked the question nodded.
As the atmosphere warmed up, the people there began to talk more. Casting away their fear and distant feelings, their curiosity towards Benjamin and the King was endless. How did they escape the pursuit of the Church? What did it feel like, fighting the Church? Other than these were the strings of questions about magic that came from the commoners…
To unite this first bunch of society members, Benjamin spoke frankly with them. Slowly, the unfamiliarity in their eyes vanished. They now looked to Benjamin with trust in their eyes.
They could feel that this young mage was not the monster in the rumors, and he definitely did not seem to have ulterior motives. Compared with the high and lofty Church, there was nothing that Benjamin was reserved about, which caused them to feel his sincerity.
What made them even more surprised was the magic Benjamin presented; although limited by the small cabin, he could instantly encase everything in ice, and melt it all away in a blink of an eye. It made them feel unusually amazed.
"Can you really defeat the Pope?"
"I've fought him a few times, and although I've never had the upper hand before, but… I've grown stronger now, so you don't have to worry about the problem of the Pope."
Hearing that, the people there sighed in relief. After all, if they were to go up against the Church, the Pope was a problem that they would definitely not be able to circumvent. They could only fight the Church if someone was able to face the Pope.
Thus, the questions from them continued on for about half an hour. Finally, when they had slowly grown accustomed to each other, Benjamin nodded in satisfaction and cleared his throat, saying,
"Alright… I think you know enough about me now. Next up, the main topic of the day." He pointed at the big words on the blackboard, saying, "Concerning how we bring the Church down, I need you guys to get into action tomorrow."
When everyone heard that, there was an immediate buzz of excitement.
"What do we do?"
Benjamin gave a smile. "Go on a strike."