Extraordinary pedigree

Gray Harbor Town·Old Town (North East)

The Old Town is about seven kilometers away from the Port District (North). In this ancient area eroded by time, the Old Town of Gray Harbor Town is immersed in fog.

Ruins and dilapidated buildings stand around like decaying skeletons.

Many houses here have long been swallowed by fog, with mottled brick walls and broken tiles.

The air is filled with a damp, musty and imperceptible smell of corruption.

Gray Harbor Cathedral, a lonely giant in the ruins, stands proudly in the center of the old town, witnessing hundreds of years of historical changes here.

The cathedral is the oldest building in the town, covering a vast area of ​​about one square kilometer, occupying the core of the entire old town.

The towering spires pierce the fog, and the remaining carvings and reliefs tell of its once glorious past.

On the stone walls of the church, you can still see the remains of ancient runes and sacred totems, but now they have long lost their past sacredness.

Once upon a time, the Grey Harbor Cathedral was an important relic of the secularization process of the Kingdom of Heaven and a symbol of the name of [Yahweh].

Although the cathedral is no longer honored by the Kingdom of Heaven today and only a few believers come here to pray, the priests here still pass on the teachings of Yahweh and guard this ancient and dilapidated land.

Ellis Gray, the only priest in the cathedral, is as old and tough as the cathedral itself.

He is tall and although the years have left heavy marks on his shoulders, he still stands in the center of the cathedral. He is the only remaining guardian in this ruin.

His gray and white hair intertwined like an ancient flag, marking the long years he has experienced on this land.

Father Gray was once a member of the [Knights of St. James Pere], a well-known member of the Kingdom of Heaven, and belonged to the Thirteen Heroes of the Kingdom of Heaven.

His background is not ordinary. He was a "good family boy" when he was young, and served in the famous [Hospital Knights of Rhode Island] for three years. With his outstanding performance, he was promoted to a knight under the Ninth Hero.

In his knight career, he not only underwent 19 transformation operations to become a regular knight, but also experienced countless battles.

Until...

A fatal injury completely changed his fate.

That was the battle in which the Kingdom of Heaven sent the Knights to the Antarctic of Terra to suppress the Chaos Rift. That war summoned a great demon projection with a Chaos Crown and countless Chaos armies.

Father Gray participated in this battle with the Ninth Hero at that time. During the battle, he confronted the Chaos Warriors of the Third Order of Chaos head-on, and his abdomen was pierced by a sharp blade. The 19 transformed organs were irreversibly contaminated.

Although his body was in unbearable pain, he still fought hard against the demons. He almost died in the demon pile. Fortunately, the Ninth Hero Saint Jacob rushed into the demons and rescued him from the brink of death.

However, after that battle, Gray's body suffered irreversible trauma. The once tall and mighty knight, who was over two meters tall, was now forced to undergo [Angel Degeneration] due to organ failure and removal. He became much thinner and no longer had the heroic appearance of the past.

Although he is now taller than ordinary people, he can no longer dominate the battlefield like he did in the past.

The atmosphere in Gray Harbor Cathedral today is particularly unusual.

Father Gray stood in front of the seating area composed of benches, his hands clenched, and his face was full of deep guilt.

He lowered his eyes and dared not look directly at the young man in front of him. That was the honorable person he had to face today - the fourth sword bearer in the Kingdom of Heaven, Hugh Abraham, who was also a [Toronus/Angel].

At this time in the past, Father Gray would usually wipe the prayer altar - the device that once connected to the church think tank - or perform daily maintenance work in the chapel, baptismal font and sacristy storage room.

However, today he did not perform these ritualized daily tasks, and seemed to have deeper worries and pressures in his heart.

At this moment, he stood respectfully in this ancient church, feeling ashamed.

In front of his sight, sat a young man who looked like he walked out of a myth.

His golden hair reflected dazzling light under the soft light in the church, and the sun's light condensed in his hair.

He was wearing a black dress, well-cut, elegant and solemn.

He was holding a list without saying a word, his eyes swept over the information on it, and a blue virtual projection screen was suspended next to him, showing various data. The detailed information scrolled on the screen, as if conveying a sense of urgency.

There was a silver cane on the table, and next to the cane was a neatly placed black hat.

The atmosphere in the church was heavy and depressing, and only the data scrolling on the virtual projection screen made a slight "buzzing" sound.

Father Gray bowed his head deeply again and saluted this noble figure from heaven, his tone full of guilt and awe:

"Respected Thoronus (Angel), Mr. Abraham... I am very sorry that I could not provide you with useful information.

I am very sorry about the missing management staff, they are all good children.

Some time ago, they replenished the explosive bombs and potions in the holy artifact storage room, but I didn't expect..."

Father Gray's voice gradually became low. The disappearance of those staff was not only a blow to the church, but also a personal guilt.

As one of the products of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven, the first thing the Honkai Authority needs to do is to take over the various church legacies left behind by the failure of the first secularization. After all, some churches and sanctuaries still serve as armaments for angels in this world. Replenishment areas, shelters, emergency facilities, bases...

Some old forces and old people are actually still used to calling the Kingdom of Heaven "the Holy Church." They all maintain a strange insensitivity to the sacred separation between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church - separated, but not completely separated.

At this time, Xia Xiu slowly folded the list in his hand, his expression still gentle. There was a kind smile on his lips, which was refreshing, but his golden eyes shone with a cold light.

This smile formed a sharp contrast with his eyes, making it difficult to understand his true inner emotions.

He picked up the black top hat, stood up, and saluted Father Gray in a low and calm voice:

"You don't have to feel guilty."

Xia Xiu continued, his golden eyes scanning the church's solemn ceiling and the ancient murals on the surrounding walls.

"The various branches of the Administration are basically to inherit the various legacies and functions of the church."

Father Gray still maintained a respectful posture, with his hands folded on his chest and his eyes lowered.

Xia Xiu's eyes slowly swept across the church, recalling the glory of the church in the past with sighs:

“In the past, the Kingdom of Heaven was too ritualistic about the sacred functions assigned to the Church—baptisms, communions, weddings, funerals, sermons, utopian exegesis, human supremacist reinforcement, spiritual counselling, healing and blessing, sacred warfare, prophecy, cleansing from chaos …”

"All of the above have resulted in redundant functions in the church,"

There was no emotion in the voice of the fourth sword holder in the Kingdom of Heaven, but it revealed a power that could not be ignored.

“Redundant ritual functions ultimately forge papal authority and shape the worship of saints.”

"The entanglement between church authority and secular power, the sale of priesthood, the abuse of indulgences... these phenomena have gradually corroded the foundation of the church."

“The secularization and politicization of the church, the arbitrary nature of church doctrine, the extravagant life of clergy, the abuse of doctrine, the commercialization of believers’ beliefs, and the corruption of the four monarchs all led the church to its first The failure of secularization.”

His voice was like a slow and sharp knife, cutting through every inch of the truth.

“The kingdom of heaven must bear a considerable part of the responsibility for the church’s loss of control.”

Xia Xiu placed the top hat firmly on his head, his golden eyes stared at Father Gray again, his voice was still gentle, but with some unquestionable authority:

"Secularization must ultimately be carried out under the leadership of the Kingdom of Heaven, under the guidance of angels."

His voice was gentle but firm, and his words revealed irrefutable power.

"We must adhere to the utopian program proposed by the Kingdom of Heaven and we must adhere to the leadership of angels."

Xia Xiu paused for a moment, narrowed his golden eyes slightly, and scanned the dome of the church, as if he could see the coming wave of secularization in the future through this ruin-like building.

He looked at Father Gray again, his tone was still like the spring breeze blowing on his face, but it contained great coldness:

"I am here just to spread the word about the great process of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven."

His voice was still gentle, but the content of his words struck the silent air of the church like a heavy hammer.

Xia Xiu's smile still hung on his face, and his tone was like a spring breeze, gentle without any ripples, but the coldness behind the smile was everywhere.

He lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. The gentleness in his tone made it almost impossible to feel any threat, but then, his words were like sharp blades, mercilessly cutting through the silent air.

"I just didn't expect that as soon as I arrived, someone would respond to my arrival - an entire team of management personnel who originally assisted the church have disappeared."

"Not long after I arrived, you collected the predictions about my arrival from people in the Hundred Worlds."

Xia Xiu smiled softly, his tone still indifferent, but there was a bit of sarcasm in it.

"But, I just don't understand..."

"They predicted my arrival, why would they touch my bottom line?"

He raised his brows slightly, with a hint of teasing and sarcasm in his tone.

"What, do they want to fulfill the prophecy?"

"Want to use the blood of Gray Harbor Town Administration officers to test whether the Dark Lord is me?"

Father Gray stood there, feeling cold sweat slowly seeping out from his back, and the temperature in the church dropped suddenly.

Although Xia Xiu's tone was gentle, even with a relaxing smile, the chill and vague threat in it cut the air like a knife.

The power behind that smile made Father Gray feel an irresistible sense of oppression, as if a huge invisible hand was holding his throat, making it difficult to breathe.

Even though he knew that this pressure was not directed at him, he still felt that the hairs on his hair were standing on end and all the nerves in his body were tightly stretched, making it difficult to relax.

Xia Xiu seemed to notice Father Gray's reaction, and he restrained his breath slightly.

The invisible sense of oppression faded away like a tide, and the air in the church began to flow again.

Then, he slowly raised his golden eyes and glanced gently out of the church's floor-to-ceiling windows. His sight penetrated the fog in the port area and spanned a distance of several kilometers.

As the [Crowned One], Xia Xiu's spirituality and information perception are extremely sharp. He instantly captured certain information fluctuations about himself seven kilometers away.

He slightly let go of the [Crown Computing Power] in his body, and with just a glance, he easily noticed Camille and the Emerald Watcher beside her.

At that moment, his spirituality penetrated the space like a sharp blade and enveloped several people in the distance.

Under his indifferent gaze, Camille and the Emerald Watchers felt an inexplicable chill for no reason, as if they were being stared at by some indescribable existence.

Although Xia Xiu only paid attention for a moment, the feeling of being watched was like a heavy shadow hanging over their hearts, making their bodies stiffen involuntarily, as if they were trapped in an inescapable net.

Fortunately, Xia Xiu quickly withdrew his gaze, as if nothing had happened.

His expression remained calm, but he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Meeting someone you know is a surprise.

However, he doesn't have much interest in reminiscing about old times now. After all, there are more important things to deal with now.

However, after a brief pause, his eyes became slightly concerned about the existence of the Emerald Watcher.

This organization belongs to one of the robe-colored factions in the Hundred-layer World, and may be one of the clues for him to obtain the key to enter the Hundred-layer World in the near future.

Xia Xiu chuckled and thought in his mind: "According to the current state of panic in the wizarding world, it is best to act 'low-key'."

Nowadays, the world of wizards in the Hundred-Level World is full of turbulence and chaos. Any disturbance may trigger an unpredictable chain reaction.

Entering the world of hundreds of layers, and finally being unaware of the ghosts, only in this way can the other party feel a greater surprise.

Moreover, if the disappearance of his operators is really related to the wizards of the Hundred-layer World, then he would not mind helping the Hundred-layer World fulfill their prophecy about the Dark Lord.

His thoughts flashed through like lightning, and then he returned his gaze to Father Gray, and then asked:

"What was the last reason my men were dispatched?"

When Father Gray came back to his senses, he still felt the cold sweat on his back, and the nervousness in his heart prevented him from neglecting anything.

He took a deep breath and responded in a low voice:

"It is a purification journey defined as a journey to expel terrible demonic spirits. It is said to be a disaster caused by a purple-robed wizard.

The purple robe wizard specializes in prophecy and destiny manipulation... This ability itself is extremely dangerous. "

There was some hesitation in his tone as he recalled the situation.

Father Gray paused and continued:

“Once they have the power to predict the future or control destiny, wizards often fall because of their desire for absolute control over the future.

In trying to gain greater personal gain or control by modifying prophecies or manipulating fate, they often forget their own limitations. "

He spoke with a sense of deep alarm and concern.

The behavior of these purple-robed wizards has long been a terrible lesson.

"The distortion and prediction of fate often lead them to think that they are higher than other wizards, and even above the laws of nature."

Father Gray's voice became deeper and deeper, with a hint of disgust and worry.

His eyes flashed with memories.

"In the past, the Inquisition was responsible for arresting these out-of-control wizards. Each of them hoped to transcend human existence and achieve a divine or eternal state by pursuing extraordinary power and mysterious knowledge..."

He sighed, with helplessness and sadness in his tone:

"But mostly, they're -- crazy."

Harry Potter is being re-released... Goo! Find time to watch it in the cinema again. When I was a kid, I didn’t have the money or time. Now I have the opportunity to make up for the regret of not watching Harry Potter in the cinema during my childhood.