Why Did You Summon Me?

Baiyi stood quietly in front of the door, listening in on the conversation for a few minutes. Then, he raised his leg, arched in a dramatic fashion and kicked the door off its hinges.

Suddenly, the tranquil night — a time when all and sundry were supposed to be relaxing — was filled with shrill screams similar to those made by bigs about to be slaughtered.

“Help! Anyone, help! That son of a b**** admin is committing manslaughter! ”

“—D-d-don’t you dare come any f***ing closer! Or… Or I’ll murder you !”

“And the Lord says unto his follower: ‘Fear not, for I have granted courage to those who dare to fight back against tyrannical admins…’”

The shrieks went on, and suddenly, a loud explosion rattled the surroundings.

An alarmed Vidomina, who had just finished her job and was heading back to her private quarters to rest, changed paths and hurried over. When she reached her destination, the Cleric Walker’s chalet, it had already been reduced to rubble, with clouds of smoke rising from it. From within the thick smoke, Vidomina could make out a towering silhouette approaching her.

“G-Godfather? I-is that you?” She asked out loud, her voice shaky.

“Mm-hmm.” A voice reverberated. When the smoke finally cleared, Vidomina saw Baiyi holding the Bard Walker’s pauldron in one hand and the Cleric Walker’s helmet in the other, while standing on the Paladin Walker’s cuisse with one leg.

He threw them aside as though they were junk and said, “Please, inform both the Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Literature that their respective principals will be absent for, say, a while. For the Theology faculty, please direct all affairs to Laeticia, and for the Literature faculty, I assume the professors working under than good-for-nothing are the real people in charge of it, right?”

“Um… Godfather? Do you really think this is okay? It’s almost time for the intake of new students, right?” Vidomina hesitantly replied, feeling pity for the three idiots whose armors had been ripped apart.

“Well, I see no problem, or should I say, I see even fewer problems. By this point, anyone would be more reliable than those three horny buffoons,” Baiyi said nonchalantly. “Oh, now that you mention it, please call in every member of our staff for a meeting tomorrow; there are some important things I need to announce. Furthermore…” Baiyi walked up to Vidomina and ruffled her hair. “Why have you come back so late?”

Vidomina did not shake his hand off, but she angrily muttered under her breath, “I’m surprised you even asked, as though it is not because of the mountain of work you did not do!”

“I’m sorry,” Baiyi murmured apologetically. It was true that many tasks, events, and affairs needed his attention, yet all he had done so far is research, leaving his workload to Vidomina.

Now that he was sober and therefore subjected to his conscience, he felt quite ashamed of himself.

As Baiyi listened to Vidomina, he could not help noticing something different about her. Her dresses were still within his conservative guideline, but on closer examination, he spotted a faint shade of purple eyeshadow above her eyes. It had been drawn skillfully, making the beauty seem even more feminine.

Frankly, cosmetic products existed in this world, but when compared to Earth, they were lacking in many departments — variety, effects, colors, etc. Baiyi’s Angels were all naturally gorgeous, and they possessed impressive amounts of mana and combat chi; they did not need makeup to look beautiful. Even the most beautiful ladies could be more beautiful with the right cosmetic touches.

Vidomina noticed Baiyi’s stare and lowered her head sheepishly. She fidgeted a little and said, “How do I, um, look? I, er, used one of the gifts you brought from that other world.”

“It’s very becoming of you. In fact, it’s amazing,” he replied. “Do you like it?”

“Yes, I do. Thank you so much for the gifts,” she replied, nodding.

“I’m glad to hear it. Alright; take a good break now,” Baiyi said and turned back to the rubble that was once the Cleric Walker’s quarters. “If you’ve got some time to spare, please help me find someone to fix this place. There’s no need to rush; I can assure you that the owner won’t be returning any time soon.”

With that, Baiyi returned to his comfortable home. He walked over to his couch and jumped on it, spreading his legs wide. Although his body was relaxed, Baiyi was far from idle; he had already begun a meeting with the Voidwalkers in the Void.

He had wished to discuss his current issue with the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker, as they were both former members of the Church. However, after the had heard their deplorable conversation, he realized that some of the Voidwalkers needed a little discipline. To remedy that, he had sent the three guilty Voidwalkers for a little swim out in the bitter and cold, corrosive part of the Void outside his protection.

Fortunately for Baiyi, he remembered that there was another Voidwalker that had once been a member of the Church, and this Voidwalker was more useful and reliable than the banished gentlemen. The Voidwalker Baiyi had remembered was the Shadow Walker. She was once a candidate for the papacy and knew far more than a mere ascetic and a nimrod.

The Shadow Walker’s relationship with Baiyi, the Fifth Voidwalker, had always been incredibly shallow. They treated each other like mere colleagues. Hence, whenever Baiyi had issues with the Church, he would automatically consult the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker, not her. In the end, he had placed his faith in perverts! Despite being regarded by the next generation as inspirations, those two were lusting after their own students!

“You finally come to your senses and did what someone of your status and power should do,” said the Shadow Walker. “Hmph. I thought you had forgotten who are, growing accustomed to the life of a ‘lovable’ billionaire, instead.”

“It sounds to me like you’ve been eagerly awaiting a war with the Church,” Baiyi said.

” Eagerly, ” replied the Shadow Walker.

“Okay, then. What are our chances of winning? If everything we’ve learned of the Church so far is all they have, then there’s nothing to fear,” Baiyi said. “However, they must have a secret weapon of mass destruction — something powerful enough for even the Void to worry about, right?”

The hands that the Church had to play were not secrets. They could deploy crusaders, paladins, priests, or even the inquisitors; handling these did not require any preparation. The Church also had elite knights that they called Templars. These knights possessed incredible power and skills. However, despite the formidability of the Templars, their abilities were limited to physical combat.

Finally, the Church could also deploy their own Demigod-level fighters, but against Voidwalkers, they were about as useless as Templars. Demigod-level fighters dared not use their full power for fear of being snuffed out by the Laws; it was a glaring weakness.

This was why Baiyi believed that the Church had a trump card hidden up their sleeves. It must be something so confidential, even an apostle or a legendary paladin would know nothing about it. It might be something powerful enough to turn the tides in the Church’s favor if they went to war against the Void Walkers.

“There is an ultimate weapon that the Church holds tight. It is a power that is far greater than anything else they have,” the Shadow Walker answered. “It’s the Angels.”

Baiyi felt let down; the Angels were within his expectations, as well. “Are those things what we should be worried about? Have you ever seen one in action?”

“I’ve seen only one; it appeared in the body of a human. Her abilities were far inferior to yours. This is not a surprise as mortal flesh cannot possibly shoulder the true, immortal power of Angels,” said the Shadow Walker, who had turned solemn. “As for Angels who descended into our world in their true bodies, I never had the fortune to see one.”

The Shadow Walker began to describe the type of Angels that had been recorded in history. First, there were Angels who lent some of their power to mortals, using secret techniques that were similar to the one the Cleric Walker invented, and passed on to Laeticia. There were also Angels who have inhabited the body of humans for a very long time, robbing the humans of their lives. These Angels were far more powerful than the first. Lastly, there were Angels that arrived in their true bodies, not needing any mediums. These powers of these Angels knew no equal.

“Answer me these: what will stop them from descending to our world? Under what circumstances would they choose to descend in their true bodies? What is the extent of their powers?”

An Angel that descended in their true body will be, without doubt, the most powerful being the Church can summon. Baiyi was already worried about the elusive nature of Angels. No one knew how strong Angels were. Baiyi was certain that Angels were not moe creatures that would scream when some nasty humans plucked their feathers.

Hence, Baiyi’s was more inclined towards caution than he was towards boldness.

“I cannot answer any of these questions because I never saw one descend in their true bodies. That being the case, I will also not know what methods are used to summon these Angels here. However, if there was one thing I know for sure, it is that  war is not enough reason to summon one . In millennia, the Church has only been visited by a few Angels. These Angels all appeared during periods of peace. It was as though they had only come to observe our affairs and report them back to the gods,” The Shadow Walker explained. “As no Angel has ever been involved in any wars, no one knows how powerful they are.”

“Are you implying that we won’t be going up against any Angels?” Baiyi asked.

“No; that is not what I meant. I will not discard the possibility of going up against one just yet,” she replied. “However, it also does not mean we should worry about them. Even if their powers exceeded mortal limits, how does that make them more powerful than you, as you are also not bound by mortal limits? If the Angels are as powerful as we imagine, then the Church should be much more powerful than it currently is. Need I remind you that the Church grew to its current state thanks to the efforts of humans? These Angels never contributed to its growth.”

“Huh, is that so? That’s a relief,” Baiyi said. Another question popped into his mind, and he voiced it out loud, saying, “What about… What about the ‘One True God’ himself? What do you know about that fella?”

“‘Know about that fella’?” The Shadow Walker repeated his question with a tone of incredulity. “Of those who had graced this world, how many know about the One True God? Maybe you should just ask your Kitty Cat Maid’s master about his counterpart, instead.”

“Er, well, I remember you entering the Temple of Auguries once to receive a divine revelation,” Baiyi said.

This was one of Shadow Walker’s most intimate memories. As it was clearly very instrumental to her character, Baiyi never forgot about it. The memory was a little fuzzy and ambiguous; it was as though the Shadow Walker had withheld some parts from him.

“I did not attempt to hide anything from you, Sir Hope,” the Shadow Walker said, her voice riddled with regret. “That was everything I remember about it; nothing hidden and nothing withheld. If I am not mistaken, that memory must have been influenced or even altered by an external force. Do you remember that I was immediately captured by the Inquisitors the moment I left the Temple?”

“Sorry to have brought up a painful memory,” Baiyi said.

“No matter,” the Shadow Walker replied. “Enough detours. There is still some time left for you to prepare for this war. I don’t think any preparations are needed. I know for a certain that the Church will not be fighting you anytime soon.”

“Huh! You’re right!” Baiyi said when he realized what she meant. It was now mid-November, and Grace Day was coming soon. As their most important holy day, the Church could not possibly choose this time to wage war against Baiyi.

Once Grace Day passes, Da Xue would be making preparations to receive new students. Baiyi did not want to war at that time. He would do anything to avoid conflict at that time. There was also the possibility that the war would not happen at all.

“Heh heh. You could always just bring your little girlfriend with you to celebrate Grace Day, right in Canningham,” the Shadow Walker suggested. “I have no doubts that your trouble will get rid of itself.”

Baiyi replied, “Er, which girlfriend are you talking about?”

The Shadow Walker was silent for some moments before grumbling unhappily, “The elf, you idiot.”

“… Holy crap, that’s just…that is the most wicked idea I’ve ever heard in my life! So malicious and evil! What if that act destroys even us ?” Baiyi hurriedly said. Even he would not wish a cataclysm like that on his enemies!