657 The Creator and Judge of the World

Inquisitor Campbell was feeling excited with his new assignment as his fleet was recalled back from the frontlines of the Cartel. He was already bored with the daily torture of the heretical short demi people for their confessions and sins until an urgent order came through from the Judges informing a crime most foul had occurred back home.

As the nearest Inquisition Fleet, he had been pulled away from his important duties of enforcing Law and Order upon a lawless and orderless land. And the fact that it was a crime most foul, Inquisitor Campbell was eager to prove himself to Ramuh and the Inquisition, but mostly for the chance to increase his prestige and merits.

The Regional Grand Bishop had provided him with some information of the suspects, which appeared to be a band of lawless insurgents that had the power to destroy two cruisers of the Clergy and their contingents of Paladins on board. He wanted to discount those reports but he could not as the information came directly from the Grand Bishop himself, hence there must be some truth to their strength, no matter how unbelievable it was.

He was a cautious person, even in an organization that righteous zeal was placed above everything else. Using his authority as Inquisitor, he dragged a third of the Protectorate airships garrisoning the border that was keeping the way open for their invasion into the Iron Kingdom. Thirty Protectorate cruisers and ten Inquisition cruisers should be more than enough to canvas the land for those heretics.

It wasn't even after a day when another urgent report arrived and the news of the remains of a reserve force consisting of over twenty airships was found. He rushed over with his fleet and had his ships spread out hundreds of kilometers to find traces of the damned insurgents. He suspected the heretical enemy might be the demi people of the Cartel, sent in to wreak havoc within the Holy Lands to disrupt Judgement Day.

Word of the insurgents' whereabouts was quickly found, from traces of wreckage and eyewitnesses from the towns and villages. The direction of their heading was quickly determined, their destination appeared to be headed for the coast. Inquisitor Campbell quickly sent word to the Cartel front, calling for reinforcements to cut off the escape of the heretics.

But what turned out to be a simple blockade of the heretics' route turned out to be something more. Contact with the blocking fleet disappeared after they last reported reaching the coast made Inquisitor Campbell uneasy. His fleet was still a quarter of the day away from the coast where the last known location of the heretics and the blocking fleet was at and he wondered should he continue the chase.

Finally, his own self preservation overruled his zeal. He turned to his staff and made up an excuse, saying, "The fleet will head to the nearest border town. Send out scouting parties, I want to know what is hiding out along the coasts and where those heretics are going!"

"And inform the local Clergy and Inquisition office," He added. "Tell them we need more reinforcements... the enemy... is a lot stronger than we thought!"

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The Iron Kingdom, Inquisition Airship, The Ardor

"Lord Inquisitor," An aide, entering the chapel, bowed as he made a report. "The Flying Fortress is now under our control."

The Chief Inquisitor, Nerssia having her wounds seen to have dressed into a set of clean uniforms. The massive statue of Ramuh looked down over her head as she stood looking at the stone pedestal in the middle of the chapel that held seven pieces of items in various shapes and sizes. She did not seem to hear her aides words as she stared through the eyeholes of her newly acquired mask at the objects before her with fervent.

"My Lord?" The aide inquired as he tried to get the attention of the Chief Inquisitor.

"I heard you," Nerssia suddenly spoke after a moment of silence. "Bring me... my guests..."

"Yes, Lord Inquisitor!" The aide quickly snapped a salute and hurried off, relieved that the Chief Inquisition did not take fault with him.

A short moment, a couple escorted by Paladins came into the chapel where Nerssia was still examining the objects on the stone pedestal. Both Leung and the Duchess had cleaned up and were dressed in clean robes and even their wounds looked after. Leung looked around his surroundings warily while the Duchess remained calm and collected as she eyed Nerssia in the middle of the room.

After a while of silence, Leung unable to take the stiffing silence, was the first to speak, "Erm... your Greatness, can... can we know what instructions you have for us?"

Duchess Manarva shook her head at the fawning tone of Leung and she folded her arms across her chest and ignored him. Leung looked at her helplessly before he turned to the girl standing in the middle of the room. He did not expect the girl to be a person of such high rank in the Protectorate and he felt truly screwed.

"Instructions?" Nerssia finally took her eyes off the items on the pedestal and faced Leung. "What a strange way of speaking you have."

"Ah.. yes, your Greatest!" Leung smiled flattery. The scars and wounds from the airstrike of the UN had long healed with the dark powers of his unholy pact with the Snake. His Asian features and short round ears stood out among the elves and the scrutiny from Nerssia made him uncomfortable. "I- I am not from around here..."

"You came from the New World," Nerssia suddenly said in a blunt tone and without waiting for a response from Leung, she turned to the Duchess and sneered. "And you... You can thank Ramuh for we have an... understanding with your Grand Marshal..."

Duchess Manarva's cold eyes narrowed as she glared at the Chief Inquisitor. "What deal did that person make?"

"I will not tell," Nerssia smiled underneath her mask. "But it suffices for you to know, that your life is currently... safe in our hands..."

Duchess Manarva growled under her breath as she cursed both Nerssia and the Grand Marshal of the Tri State for whatever unholy deals they made. Leung nervously swallowed as he looked at the two women before he cleared his dry throat, "Erm... your esteemed one, I... I wouldn't be killed too right?"

"Not... at this moment," Nerssia laughed at the frightened expression on Leung's face. She eyed him for a moment before she added cryptically, "You have something I need..."

Leung cast another glance at the Duchess and finding her ignoring him still, he could only panic as he worked his mind for a way out of this predicament which he was very certain would have him ending up in trouble or worse, dead.

She turned back to the pedestal and gestured to her priests to over. Carefully, one by one, she removed the items from the pedestal and placed them into a box carried by the Priests. "Come follow me!"

Unable to resist, they followed her out of the chapel and down several passageways until they came into a large hangar space. The side of the hangar cranked open and they found themselves looking at the floating island. Hundreds of red coated soldiers dotted the castle and the airship came over to hover next to a large castle tower platform.

With a gesture, several hooded Priests and Judges led the way for Nerssia as they stepped off the airship. The Judges held censors of burning incense while the Priests sing song chants as they purified the castle. Soon the whole party came into a huge stone chamber where the only object in the chamber was a stone pedestal covered completely in glowing intricate runes.

Set on the top of the pedestal was a glowing orb the size of a basketball. The Priests and Judges fanned out around the stone chamber, their sing song chants being amplified by the acoustics of the chamber. Without a word, Nerssia removed the glowing orb off the pedestal.

Instantly, the ground beneath their feet shook and rumbling could be heard throughout the floating island as the magic was cut off from the flying island. The runes stopped their glow and Nerssia turned to the Priests carrying the seven objects and said, "We have at least two turns of the sandglass before the island losses all magic."

"Start the ritual!" She commanded as she took a shard of mana stone that Leung recognized as the one he saw with her earlier. She snapped the shard and motes of lights burst out and a small cube rolled out. She handed the cube over to a Priest who together with the others started some complex rituals that no one other than themselves knew the purpose of.

Runes were scratched out on the stone floor surrounding the pedestal and in less than half a turn of the sandglass, the magical circle was completed. The Priests each set down one of the objects in their hands on seven anchor points of the magic circle before Nerssia took out an idol that was carved out completely from a blue magic crystal.

She set the idol of Ramuh down on the pedestal and made a gesture to the Priests who left the chamber only to return later with a long line of prisoners still clad in irons. The rattle of chains accompanied the chanting of the Priests and Judges as if in sync and soon the chamber was filled with confused prisoners surrounding the pedestal.

The Priests forced the prisoners down to their knees and following some unheard rhythm, they whipped the backs of the prisoners causing them to cry out in pain and shock. The chanting grew louder and louder following the cries and Nerssia at some point had picked up the glowing orb from before. "Repent your Sins before Ramuh!"

As the chanting and screams reached the highest point, she raised the glowing orb above her head and slammed it down on the pedestal, shattering the orb. Motes of lights erupted out and instantly Leung felt every strand of his hair standing on his ends. The magical circle drawn on the floor flashed into light and the seven items exploded into sparks and flames, further increasing the light intensity of the magic circle.

All the while, the chanting continued and grew louder and louder, and the screaming grew impossibly loud. Leung and the Duchess both covered their ears as they flinched back from the noise while the Protectorate seemed unaffected. In fact, zealous fervent seemed to glow in their eyes as they chanted along. "Judgement is here!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crack like glass shattering. The unearthly sound sent chills down Leung's spine and instantly, everyone chanting and screaming in the room let out a single synchronized gasp and they collapsed down, their bodies visibly wilting and turning into dried husks. Only Leung, the Duchess and Nerssia remained alive in the chamber that minutes ago was packed with people.

"Do... we run?" Leung whispered nervously to the Duchess next to him whose face had turned pale.

"I can't move!" Duchess Manarva hissed back at him, cold sweat dripping down her body. Leung tried to move, but he too felt his legs seemed to be rooted to the floor.

The crystal idol of Ramuh on the pedestal glowed brightly in the aftermath before slowly dimming down and returning to its normal appearance, except that there was something different with the idol. While its outward appearance has not changed, when one looked at the idol, it gave off the feeling that it was a living object.

Nerssia stepped forward and paid her obeisance to the crystal figurine of Ramuh on the pedestal, "Welcome back to the mortal realm, my Lord Ramuh! The Creator and Judge of the World. The Law and the Order of the World!"

A deep voice sounding old as aeons were heard inside the heads of everyone in the chamber, "I... AM RAMUH THE CREATOR AND JUDGE! FINALLY... I... HAVE... RETURNED!"