33: The Church

Alan, Winry, Katie, and Rick stepped out of the inn. However, Alan had no clue where they had to go to.

"Hey, Katie was it? Umm... Where are we going?" He asked from Katie, who was looking away from her little brother.

Pulling down her hat, she answered him. "We're going to the Church... The birthplace for Alchemy. The father in there seems to know a lot about these... Blood Alchemists."

Rick laughed at this. "You say that as if you know them! You must be thinking about beating the information out of the poor guy..."

"I never said I wouldn't!"

The roads were crowded yet again, travelers, traders, and all sorts of people. And among these, surely there were thousands of enemies.

Alan stayed alerted as they walked through the streets towards the church.

The sign hanging over the church read, 'St. Rivin's Church.' A church was not a rare sight for those who lived in the Great Cities, but it was for Winry, who didn't know much about the upper classes.

"Wow," Winry gasped seen the structure of the church and the height.

On the peak of the church was the very symbol that represented their main God. Goddess Abyss... The Goddess which represents the high borns, the seemingly profound difference between the lower class humans and the upper-class humans.

Yes... Only the high-borns could worship the Goddess Abyss.

However, Alan did not like these Goddesses much. Even when he was king, he refused to worship any God... He would only worship himself.

The cross-shaped structure at the top of the church had the Goddess Abyss tied to it. Along the arms of the cross, the wings were tied.

"Never seen the Goddess Abyss before?" Alan asked the dumbfounded little sister.

She tenderly shook her head.

"Ahh... Don't worry, I don't like it... I'm guessing you won't either," Alan said as they paced towards the Church door.

However, there were two guards at the front door. So the task of kidnapping the father might be hard, so Alan thought.

"We'll go in casually," Katie whispered to the team before they stepped through the stairs.

The guards stared at the lady and their jaws dropped.

"Wha — ah – aren't you the woman from yesterday!? The woman who shot down that thief?!" One of the guards asked Katie before she could go in.

"Why... Yes, I am!" Katie muttered with a smirk on her face.

Katie didn't expect her to be so popular, though this came in handy at the moment.

She turned to the guards and smirked at them, as she gestured her brother to go in with her hand in the back.

"Let's go!" Rick whispered to the group, making his way into the church.

The church had enough space and seats for about 50 people to come in at once. And in the front was the father, giving his prayers to the Goddess Abyss.

At that moment, only Alan, the father, and the other three Foxes were the only ones in the church.

"Hmm... What should we do now?" Alan asked Rick, who was wondering the same thing.

Before Rick could answer, Katie approached from the back and answered for him.

"We're going to ask the father... Face to face," she said with a smirk on her face.

Then, she came forth and patted the father on the shoulder. "Yes?" The father turned around. "How may I help you, miss?"

At this moment, the whole church was empty. There were only Alan and the others inside. It was the perfect moment for Katie to make her move.

Katie stepped up towards the father and took a piece of clothing from her pockets. A moment later, the father was kidnapped... She placed the handkerchief on the father's nose and he was out cold!

***

"Ahh... Finally, he's waking up!"

The old priest barely managed to open his eyes. Katie took hold of the father's face and slapped him.

"You better come clean, you cheap shit!" She roared. "Tell me where the Blood Alchemists are!"

The old priest's face represented how frightened he was. Mumbling, he answered her.

"I – I – I can't tell you! They will kill me if I do! Midnight... And the Blood Alchemists!!"

The 4 rebels looked at each other upon hearing this. Then, Rick turned to the priest.

"You just told us... That the Midnight is in on this..." he shook his head with a wild grin on his face.

The priest sat there, dumbfounded. Suddenly, his eyes started to water and tears ran down his cheeks.

"I –" he paused, crying. "I can't tell you... My family... All of my family is held hostage by them. I became a priest so I would be no longer suspected by the 'King's vanity.' "

Kings' vanity, also known as the one's royal only to the very King.

"Huh? And Midnight isn't one of the Kings' Vanity?" Alan asked the priest, putting away the mission to find a clue about his death.

"No... They are not! And... I can't further answer your questions... Please save me... Save me and my family and I'll answer you!" The priest asked them once more.

However, Rick didn't like the idea of saving him if he would not give them their answer, neither did Katie.

"So, you want to be saved?" Katie asked the priest.

"Yes... Please... I can't give up the Midnight or their..." he paused for a second, suddenly stumbling upon an idea.

Katie smirked when she saw the look on his face. She knew what that look was.

"Hmm? You got an idea? Better tell it quickly..." she said.

The priest closed his eyes... And wished that his family would be saved. He knew what the right thing was... As a man of God, he must.

"St. Sigil's Church, up the road, near the docks. If you go there, they will arrive. Right after sunset today, you can see them gathering at the church... After sunset, everyone who steps into that church is a villain to the Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Katie was convinced. She stood up and turned to Rick.

However, Rick was still thinking.

'Everyone who steps into that church is a villain to the kingdom... Is he tricking us?' He thought.

The priest, however, looked utterly frightened. They couldn't stop to think that he would risk his family, yet... They had a suspicion.

"So when the night falls, everyone who's a villain to the throne steps into that church?" Alan asked him once more.

"Not the throne... The Kingdom."

Upon hearing the priest's answer, Alan got slightly confused. 'Not the throne?? He means... another rebel group... and – I'll find who did this to me!'

Alan and Rick looked at each other, narrowing their eyes.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed each of them by their shoulders. It was Winry who was silently listening to all this.

"Guys..." she whispered. "If the Midnight or the Blood Alchemists try anything funny... We kill all of them."

Alan's jaw dropped when he heard her say this. 'How... She's this... Damn cold.'

However, Rick only smirked at this.

"Damn straight, my girl!"

The four of them looked at each other and nodded.

However, the priest wasn't able to see their faces. They were all wearing their white cloaks, even Alan. Each of them had a special cloak in their inventories. A special cloak only used by the Woodland Foxes.

And... They've kidnapped the priest in the church neatly. Setting a time freeze charm upon the two guards in front, they've kidnapped the priest.

"That's it then. Let's place this fool back on the church and make our way back... Hurry, the time freeze charm will run out." Katie said, knocking out the priest unconscious once more.