1 The church of Radiance

"Priest Leo!"

A childish voice came with echoing tiny steps through the wide church corridor.

Leo hurriedly turned around caught the small ball of cuteness that jumped onto him.

"Boy! Don't go running around the church!"

The little blonde boy only shoved his hands up on the air and let out a cute roar.

Only now did Leonard saw the dinosaur claws on the boy's hands.

'Right, it's Halloween today.' Leonards's eye opened wide as he threw the little guy in the air.

"Woah! what a powerful T-Rex you are!"

The boy started giggling on Leonards's arms.

A twenty-something-year-old woman came running. Her disheveled black hair and simple clothing told her status.

"Igor! I told you not to run! I'm so sorry High-priest Leonard!"

Igor's mother-- Leona, bowed deeply.

"Haha, no trouble at all. It's good to see some spiritedness around here." He answered and then sternly looked at the boy who stopped giggling.

"But don't let other priests or sisters see your tiny feet running about!"

"Okay!" The little boy agreed between chuckles.

Leonard smiled and pushed the boy to the out of breath Leona. Their hands momentarily touched as she got the boy from his hands. For a split second, Leonard's eyes shone gold and an imperceptible speck of light passed his hands and gently entered hers.

Seeing as she didn't notice it and there was no presence around, Leonard smiled, Leona saw it and was stunned.

A presence appeared in the corner of the room, only Leonard noticed. In a second his expression went back to the everyday amiable smile. "I hope to see him this lively in my classes too." He said with an obvious tone.

Leona snapped out of it and thinking the way her son behaved last class she blushed with shame. "I'm sorry high-priest Leonard, I'll make sure he won't sleep in class again!

Leonard smiled and silence momentarily ensued, when Leona tried to look up in his face, Leonard spoke.

"Let me you warn you of some-"

"Oh! I finally found brother Leonard!" A mature female voice interrupted him.

Leona looked to the end of the corridor, where the voice came from, but weirdly enough, the person was already right beside them.

An angelical face, and soft red lips, the green-eyed Arrieta smiled at Leona and Igor

"I'm sorry, but I must take Brother Leonard from you."

Leona was stumped, but seeing that Leonard didn't try to finish his sentence she only bowed and left, with Igor giving a cutesy goodbye while waving his hands.

Leonard sighed and walked away with Arrieta following.

"It's impressive. I have yet to meet a priest that could trick the sense of a fifth tier knight, but luckily I found you soon enough." She said.

Seeing no reaction from him, her eyes suddenly turned venomous and her words chilling.

"If I hadn't and you finished saying whatever it was, that mother and son pair would've died. And you would be the one forced to execute them."

Leonard stopped, more precisely he seemed to have tripped, then resumed walking.

Taking it as a reaction, Arrieta grinned and continued.

"Well, it is not like I don't understand your reasons, knowing full well what's the future the church has prepared for that hopefull peasants and having to guide them right into it must be corroding your conscience." She chuckled.

"Is there any business today?" Leonard asked. Ignoring her.

A small cut opened on his lips and blood gently scaped. He stopped, put his indicator on his lips looked at it, then at the woman behind him.

His eyes were dead, but his amiable smile never left his middle-aged face.

She was still grinning, "We're a church, we don't do business, we bless and heal."

They stared at each other but knowing the difference in strength. Leonard chuckled and turned around and resumed walking.

"Mr. Hopkins came to pray for the future of his family." She said.

Leonard sighed. The day was too long already, but people have to come at the last minute, he felt just like the chef of a common restaurant that started to clean the kitchen only for a last-minute client enter.

Arrieta felt the need to see the frustration on his face. But only indifference and annoyance was on his eyes. She was a fifth tier knight and could see through a common person, but this guy was different so she didn't know if he was truly indifferent or just hid it well.

After walking all the way to the private hall, Leonard faced two old men, one fat in a business suit and another wearing a Supreme-priest 's golden robe.

The business man 's eyes shone when Leonard appeared on the door. In the same instant, he was down on his knees praying to the God of Radiance.

Leonard smiled more widely and nodded in praise. The supreme-priest gestured for him to step forward.

Leonard walked up and extended his hands to the head of the fat man in a suit. He closed his eyes and started mumble Random prayers.

A special prayer was nothing more than a blessing specifically for the nobles that frequented the church. Among the priests, there was a certain level of healing each could cast. the most throughout could cure cancer and other hidden diseases, such services were given in exchange for something valuable, material or power in the city, while the common heal was given only to the faithful of the church and only on holidays or other special circumstances. Otherwise, the common people had to go to a common hospital.

Leonard directed his divine spirit and converted it in a gentle ethereal essence, he forced a little more and his intent was fused withing. Like a whisper, it seeped onto the man's orifices. As Leonard felt his spirit shrink and his body age, the short ceremony ended.

After the businessman was gone, the hall was left with only Leonard, Arrieta and the supreme -priest.

"Haa, why?" The wrinkly supreme priest sighed and asked after seeing what Leonard did.

"He forced me to overstay," Leonard spoke with a chuckle but it didn't reach his eyes.

His blessing was of a different kind. That was why he, a common high-priest is called for these jobs. Other priests heal the body and hidden diseases. But his divinity, allowed him to use his spirit, healing any supernatural ailment and elongating life. With the church whispering rumors around, the old and powerful are now believing that they'd live five hundred years if they are blessed by him. So they are willing to pay with anything. It's also because of such power that the church sealed any other path he chose to take and forcefully brought him in.

But the spirit can also carry his intent, and like a curse, his small grudge will follow that fat businessman's spirit. It's petty or fatal vengeance depending on the grudge. It was a petty amount of spirit consumed so the vengeance would be petty.

Leonard just chuckled. "The one that has the most to lose is me, don't worry about it."

The supreme priest smiled "Don't you want to live a little with your mom after you reach supreme-priest status and she's healed? You only need a few more weeks, you're twenty-four years old and already looks forty, if you spend your spirit like this, you'll die before you can see her walk again." As if annoyed by his lack of reaction the Supreme -priest with his usual gentle and amiable tone spoke.

Arrieta had to cough to hide her grin. Talking about his mother... isn't this supreme Priest too mean? She thought.

Leonard finally changed expression. He saw the other two looking at him waiting anxiously for his reaction and held it in his gut.

In the wide and bright hall, He just laughed out loud, "don't worry, I still have much to live." He said and walked out.

"Don't forget the ceremony to make Arhutur a saint night. Your presence is of utmost importance." The supreme priest said.

Leonard waved his hands and left. Arrieta did not follow.

The supreme priest's eyes turned cold and callous. "Nothing can go wrong. You need to take the vampire's blood from the sacred fountain. The Dark-elf's core and werewolves' claws are already in the dungeon. start the gathering spirits' process, Halloween is the only knight we can make this ritual."

Arrieta nodded with glee and disappeared like a ghost.

*****

Leonard stopped in front of the door to his house. An apartment that occupied the last two topmost floors of the building plus rooftop.

The door to his living room opened.

A woman in her late fifties was paralyzed in a wheelchair with one young woman smiling behind.

Leonard crouched down to the paralyzed woman. Eleonore, his mother.

"How is she, Maria?" He asked with a smile.

The young woman, with similar features to Arrieta, smiled. "Nothing out of the norm."

He forced her to make a vow that she would never harm his mother. Those kinds of vows by the church are unbreakable. Unless the person itself wants to have their soul destroyed. So he was a tease leaving her taking care of his mother.

He crouched down to his mother's l eye's level and started to talk, the sun had yet to completely disappear, but he only stopped when it was eleven in the night when maria took Eleonore to sleep.

"I'll rest a little, I still have one ceremony to attend to after midnight, so we'll only talk tomorrow," Leonard kissed her on the forehead and walked away after giving a genuine smile.

After he entered his bedroom. Maria squatted down in front of Eleonore SHe looked in her eyes with a complicated expression.

"Today is the day he'll be used to complete a Saint knight, and you who been showered with healing every day will be turned into a pill."

Eleonore's pinky moved. But Maria did not notice it.

"The pill requires a lively spirit to make it, I can only be sure you were agitated by speaking of everything.

Maria sighed and brought Eleonore to sleep.