Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy

886  Celebration n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Vale wasn't too surprised after hearing this. Instead, he just felt that it would actually make a lot of sense that he had no idea about them until now.

The Lord of the Secrets was just too mysterious. Not even the other Eminence of the Sea or the Fortune Goddess dared to antagonize this Church, which was filled with unknown.

Furthermore, Vale knew that the Church of the Fortune Goddess had Holy Knights as their guardians. The Church of the Divine Sorcerer had various levels of Sorcerers. The Church of the Eminence of the Sea had Storm Knights, while the Church of the Three Paragons had Sacred Knights.

As for the Church of the Lord of the Secrets? He had no idea about it, or he simply couldn't recall the reports he had read from the Arcane Bureau.

Anyway, he just decided to ask Merlin about it.

"They're called Masked Archons, Lord Vale… No one knows about their backgrounds, but we know a bit about their abilities. They have incredible powers when it comes to Sealing Techniques… They weren't weak against any particular Arcane Arts and were known to be capable of sealing even the Demon Saints." Merlin explained.

"That's impressive… They sealed Demon Saints?" Vale muttered.

"Yes, Lord Vale. There were about 70 Demon Saints who had entered our Realm… Although our Faction eliminated about half of them, the other half was dealt with by the combined forces of the twelve Arcane Arts Factions, the Churches, and the various large organizations or those half-immortals behind the Royal Families or Imperial Families of some nations."

Vale nodded after hearing this explanation. He was indeed unaware of the other battles that had occurred aside from those places he deemed to be incapable of defending themselves. That was why he sent his Avatars, Lisa, and the others to places that would likely fall from the Abyss Invasion.

'Well, it's no wonder that the potion that could make anyone an Arcanist is so popular. After that invasion, they must've realized how vulnerable they are and wanted to change their destiny themselves.' Vale mused as he asked a few more things about these Masked Archons.

According to Merlin, these Masked Archons truly deserved to be the followers of the Lord of the Secrets. All their missions, which also involved the Arcane Bureau's special agents, were actually done exceptionally well… Whether it was assassination, human trafficking, or even stealing of various artifacts, they were done without any possible evidence leading to them.

The only reason why the Bureau knew that it was them was simply because there was no evidence left behind. Only these Masked Archons were somehow capable of doing that since they were able to receive the blessing of their Lord.

'The Blessing of the Lord of the Secrets, huh…' Vale gently nodded his head as he felt that it was interesting. Of course, he wasn't threatened by these Masked Archons, and he was simply curious about the plan of this mysterious Church if they were really hiding the Chaos Alchemist and the Blood Soulcaster.

***

Several weeks had quickly passed. Vale decided not to offend the Church of the Lord of the Secrets since he felt that they weren't really doing anything that would directly harm him.

After being an Immortal, he also felt the Will of the Realm's restriction. Although he was very powerful, he couldn't just harm the mortals, or he'd suffer.

It was something that he was able to feel as soon as he became an Immortal. He could only harm mortals if they offended him... Because of that, he felt less inclined to cause trouble by searching those two successors of the Paragons…

Nonetheless, Giorgi soon informed him that the expedition team was about to return from the Celestial Prison Realm!

Finally!

They had really taken a lot of time exploring that Realm, and Vale felt excited about the result of their investigation.

After all, if there was nothing in that Realm, they wouldn't take this long to return! They must've hauled some treasures and took their time to ensure that they didn't miss anything!

Whom~

Soon, a group of people from the Arcane Circle appeared, and Giorgi had been guarding them for some time.

Chad, the Half-Dragon. Odessa, the former Royal Mage. Jin, the Time Manipulator. Aurion, the True Immortal, and the Shadow Immortal's Avatar emerged with a wave of powerful aura spreading throughout the surroundings.

"Ugh…"

"This…"

Their group suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of weakness… It appears that they've been away from the Human Realm for too long, and their body needs to adjust first.

Furthermore, the journey through the portal itself had drained their strength significantly.

"I feel sick…" Chad muttered.

Unbeknownst to them, while two long years had passed within the Celestial Prison Realm, only two months had elapsed in the Human Realm.

Their mission had taken far longer than anticipated due to the vague nature of the Celestial's Perfect Vessel.

The search had been taxing, and there were moments when they doubted they would ever find it. Yet, after years of persistent pursuit, they finally succeeded.

With the Vessel in their possession, they were prepared to save Vale.

Soon, after they recovered their strength, they visited the Vale's castle as they wanted to see his condition.

However, upon their return, they were met with an unexpected sight. Vale's main body stood before them, already restored to perfect health.

"Vale!" Chad's eyes sparkled with relief and joy at the sight of their friend.

"Immortal Vale…" Odessa whispered, her voice filled with awe and reverence. She knew how powerful Aurion was, but this True Immortal was merely a subordinate to the Shadow Immortal. There was no way she wouldn't be impressed with this young man who had advanced from a normal Arcanist to an Immortal in just about a decade…

"Lord, it's good to see you again," Jin, the Time Immortal, said with a respectful bow. He was still a slave, after all.

On the other hand, Aurion simply nodded. His expression was serene, while the Avatar of the Shadow Immortal maintained a knowing smile.

Vale greeted them warmly. "It seems you've all been away for quite some time. We should celebrate your return," he declared, leading them towards the castle for a well-deserved celebration.