At the end of the day, the Dole family made no attempt to get to the bottom of things. Perhaps, the person in question decided to pardon Baiyi, accepting his reasoning—that everything was only a magical experiment gone awry—as the finality. After all, Baiyi had no good reason to lie, right?
After numerous experiments, Baiyi discovered that the teleportation powers of the War God's Sword consumed a type of unique power. This power was extremely rare—unlike the powers that one could find in a common realm. Thus, it must have originated from the War God himself.
The power recuperated on its own after each use, but the recovery time was quite long. From his calculations, Baiyi estimated that it took the Sword an entire day to fully recharge itself for another round of successful teleportation; however, the use of the teleportation powers was not without its restrictions. The next day, Baiyi waited until the Sword had fully recharged before making an attempt to break into the palace's treasure, but he failed miserably. Therefore, as of now, the physical limitations of the power was still uncharted and required further trials and experimentation.
Still, War God was pretty thoughtful with this little gift. The teleportations hardly generated any sound, and its speed was extremely quick. Furthermore, it didn't require any extra preparation or trigger any spatial vibrations in the process; it was simply the idea weapon for destruction. Although the War God didn't permit Baiyi to draw blood with it, the Sword was compensated with a better function.
What on earth was the War God thinking… why did he choose to interfere now, of all times? Was this his reward for saving the realm?
By the third day, the city was already safe enough to be declared free of threats by the city council; every enemy had been exterminated. The crisis, this time, was considered entirely resolved. Although the casualties, damages, and other costs of war were still being tabulated, civilians could resume their daily routines without any worries.
Mia and Tisdale desperately wanted to go outdoors to see if they could lend anyone a hand. Baiyi couldn't accompany them because he had to stay home to fix the walls and turfs. He didn't stop them from leaving, but he did insist that they bring along the hammerhead sharks and urged them to never part from each other while they were out there. They both agreed without any resistance.
Little Mia scooped up her hammerhead shark stuffed doll from the bed. For the past few nights, she had been sharing a bed with Attie, so the doll was left abandoned at a corner—for two whole days; after all, its spot on the bed had been taken over. Mia couldn't be blamed, though. With a kitten-like Attie for company, who would choose to hug a weird doll like that?
"Speaking of which… don't you think Fishy was acting pretty weird the last time?" Mia recalled suddenly. "Fishy was always kind to me when she was active... but when you were around last time, Tisdale, she only acted warmly towards you… was it because she was a gift from you to me?
"Nonsense, she was always hanging around you," Tisdale reminded patiently.
'That was because your grandmaster liked you more, Tisdale…' Baiyi mused privately, listening to the girls' conversation.
After sending Attie off to search for some grass saplings, Baiyi was left alone in the mansion. He spent the rest of the day fixing Attie's room using earth-style magic while discussing the secrets behind recent events with a few Voidwalkers.
Lord Thaas had bequeathed numerous messages to him. The most shocking revelation of all, however, was that he and Godsfall were not master and subordinate as initially believed. Their relationship was more of a collusion; an alliance that mutually benefited of each other. Prior to this revelation, Baiyi believed that Godsfall firmly worshipped Lord Thaas, and came to his aid whenever he was faced with any predicaments. Things were not as simple as they seemed to be.
Five years ago, Godsfall, the devil's cult, was founded by Lord Haart. According to Archbishop Nicholas, Lord Haart was already an established figure back then; he had the entire Judicial Court under his influence. It was only natural that he would find the right opportunity to form a link with Lord Thaas's heart.
Afterward, a series of schemes managed to bring Lord Thaas back to life. but ultimately, Baiyi eliminated him with a single blow.
Lord Thaas did not possess much knowledge about Lord Haart, however. Although he had voluntarily sacrificed his body for the latter, the body did not retain any memory of that event, and nothing much was ever heard about it. Lord Thaas had only focused on escaping the dire situation and did not put too much thought into it. He just followed the plan, dutifully fulfilling his role by providing the Mark with power.
Yes, as a matter of fact, those Marks of power were not bestowed by him. Like a disposable battery, Lord Thaas merely provided them with the fuel they required to function. Lord Thaas had willingly offered himself after Godsfall were able to gain his trust by recruiting many of his former comrades
However, The Abyss Lord portrayed quite a bit of bias; the power he bestowed upon the corrupted knights were significantly lesser than the power bestowed to his former comrades. There was a distinct contrast of combat performance between the knights and the demons, as Baiyi had observed.
When Lord Thaas is completely released, both parties would end their agreement and never cross paths again.
After all the trouble Godsfall had gone through—including the sacrifice of a valuable pawn like Lord Haart in exchange for Lord Thaas's freedom—their goal remained a mystery, and the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes remained unknown. Lord Thaas only had this to say regarding the matter:
"I can feel… deep down… that a true God lies behind Godsfall… a God with a presence so mysterious... even I cannot fathom. One true God... whose existence transcends even yours…"
"No God is worthy of my worship," Baiyi retorted, silencing him.
To grow and expand at such an alarming rate right under their noses, the Church must have been infiltrated by Godsfall already, like water through a sieve. They must still be determined to bring down the Church. Whether their real goal is to bring down the true god or not, according to that subordinate, it was still too early to tell. Cults like Godsfall possessed boundless methods to deceive. Their sermons were more melodious than hymns, yet they contained nothing of actual value.
"What this massive cult has in store for the Void, we cannot tell, yet…" the Lord murmured within the Void. "They pose certain threats against us, and they hold what we desire… like the Soul-Banishment magic..."
Godsfall had colluded with the Judiciary Court for so many years; thus, a secret enchantment like the Soul-Banishment was bound to be in their custody.
"There is no cause for worry. For now, we possess double their power, so we don't have to be scared of their little tricks. Schemes and trickery would mean nothing during the ultimate demonstration of power," replied Baiyi, optimistically. With fists bigger than anyone else's, there was nothing to be afraid of.
After all, no matter how menacing the evil god seemed to be, wasn't there still a God—the most benevolent of them all—protecting him?
For the Voidwalkers, Godsfall's antics led to one good outcome: the removal of the Judiciary Court. Defenseless and facing the perils of disbandment, prosecuting violators would become the least of their concerns; the Church was bound to face a massive purge as well. Soon, everything would descend into a chaotic mess.
This was precisely what the Voidwalkers had been waiting for: the perfect opportunity to carry out their plans—the perfect chance to strike.
As for Mia, the little village maiden, Baiyi was still contemplating on the best way to approach her.