Chapter 144 – The Church

Dream turned around, and wouldn't you know it, Lory was standing a few meters away.

"Lory?"

"It's me!"

Knowing that he recognized her, Lory beamed brightly and hopped over. Dream just smiled sheepishly.

Since he had last seen her, Lory hadn't changed much physically, but she gave off a more mature aura. He was a bit surprised. Not only that, but she seemed even more powerful than before. Not quite class 3, but not far from it.

"How's it going, Lory."

"It's going good! And my goodness, I almost didn't recognize you. You've changed. A lot."

"Yea, I guess have."

Dream remembered back when he had seen her last time. It had been right before he went through the enhancement surgery, so compared to then, he had indeed changed much.

"Not only have you changed though, you seem to have been on plenty of adventures. I didn't imagine you would become so famous."

"Famous?"

"Of course! Everyone knows your name after that grand meeting. Not to mention the rumors about your immortal golem army that fought at the Mercenary Empire."

"Wow, news travels fast."

"It does. Though your power grows faster. I can't even sense your mana. Class 3?"

"Uh, yea."

"That's... rather insane. And I thought my growth was fast. I'm almost at class 3."

"That's impressive for a healer."

"I guess. Hey, do you have anything going on? I actually have a favor I need to ask."

"What might that be?"

"Well, after you became well known, some people at the church got word about you and wanted to get in contact. Though you aren't exactly easy to find, so they tried to find people who knew you. I'm one of those people, so they wanted me to ask you if you would come and meet someone."

"Who?"

"Not sure. But it's definitely a high ranking person. Probably one of the Holy Paladins or Cardinals."

"Who are those?"

"Members of the church. The Holy Paladins are high level guardians, at least class 3, and the Cardinals are our class 4's. There's also the Bishops who are class 3's and 2's."

"...Do you have a Pope?"

"I'm surprised you know about him. And yes. The Pope is the highest authority and one of the strongest in the church."

"...Interesting."

Dream went into thought. He had known Lory was a part of this church before, but he had never inquired about it. But now, the church was coming to him. 

He didn't know how to feel about his religion being much larger than he initially thought. It even spanned across worlds. And those angels he had seen on Earth. 

'Is there really a God?'

His heart pounded strongly. He was gaining power, and he would have the ability to truly discover what this religion was. It was his religion, and while he's had conflicts about it, it still remained a part of who he was. His family as well. 

Dream wanted to know more.

"So where can I go to meet these people requesting my presence?"

"So you'll come! Our church spans the entire continent, but being as popular as it is, they have a division here in the Mountain. I can take you there."

"Lead the way."

"Okay!"

Smiling brightly, Lory began guiding him through the streets.

As they walked, Lory didn't spare the conversation at all and chatted Dream up the entire way. And not being antisocial, dream humored her. 

Eventually, they arrived at a tall white basilica. This basilica was in the high class area of the city and occupied a large plot of land. It was luxurious and outfitted with many grand designs and even stained glass windows. 

Many people were walking in and out of this large building. There were thousands walking through the plaza alone, and Dream could see many in robes. There were even nuns walking through the place, guiding groups of children

"I can take you to one of the bishops I know. Over here."

Grabbing his hand, Lory began weaving through the crowds of people towards the basilica. And after entering the building, she made various turns to other parts of the building not dedicated for worship. 

After walking through a few halls, it got much quieter. Soon she stopped at a large set of doors.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

"Bishop Nothar! It's Lory!"

After knocking on the door with a knocker, Lory shouted. Not long after, the door opened.

"Lory! Come in, come in."

An old bald man with a white beard opened the door and lit up when he saw Lory. After waving her in, she and Dream walked into the large room.

"So Lory. Who's your friend?"

After leading Dream over, he and Lory sat down on a couch. The man joined then, asking about Dream.

"Bishop, this is Dream. He's the one you guys wanted to see."

"So it is! I knew I recognized him from somewhere. Hello, my name is Nothar, I'm one of the bishops who presides over this church."

"Hello bishop."

Reaching across, the men shook hands. When they did, Dream got a hint of the guy's mana.

[Class 3. Though his mana is interesting.]

'How so?'

[It's similar to elemental mana, just not one of the elements. If I had to make a simple comparison, I would say it's a kind of light or holy mana. But I'm not sure exactly what this kind of mana is aligned with in terms of function.]

'Hmm. Maybe I'll inquire with Lory later.'

Putting it aside, Dream focused on the bishop.

"I'm glad Lory was able to run into you. We've been trying to contact you, but finding you isn't very easy."

"I'm sure you could've contacted me through one of the class 4's of the Empires. I've been working with them over the past couple weeks."

"We could've, but we only wanted to inquire with you. People get ideas when they hear that the church is trying to contact someone."

"So out of all those class 4's, none of them are a part of your church?"

"No, they are not. We have our own class 4's who are affiliated with us. And should you have met one, they would've spoken with you. But you haven't."

"..."

Dream looked at the man, seeming to evaluate him. 

"...There must be a good reason for your church's absence."

"That topic is not one for me to discuss. One of the Cardinals will take up that conversation with you. Or a Paladin, depending on who's most readily available."

"Is one of them here?"

"No. As far as I know, they are at the Holy See where the Pope resides."

"Where is that?"

"Between the Mountain here in the North and the Sword School in the East. So southeast of us."

"You guys are rather under the radar. I didn't see a church at the Spire."

"The Spire doesn't like us very much and wouldn't allow a formal church to be established there. We settled for one in the surrounding kingdoms instead."

"So will a Cardinal or Paladin be coming here to meet me?"

"If you were so kind as to wait a few days, yes."

"That won't be necessary."

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the room. Dream snapped to attention and looked at the door, as did Lory and the bishop.

"Cardinal!"

"No need to stand on ceremony, bishop."

The Cardinal waved at the bishop who was about to stand. Dream just sat there, sizing the man up. He seemed pretty young, maybe 40s. Though that's just what he looked like. For all Dream knew, he was several hundred years old. He wore exquisitely designed robes that obviously weren't meant for fighting and carried a beautiful staff. 

'Class 4...'

"So Dream, I'm glad we could finally meet."

"Cardinal. When did you arrive?"

"I had gotten word that Dream was receiving payment for his employment during the battles. I figured it was a good opportunity to run into him and decided to come."

"...You guys seem to have a good intelligence network."

"We're no lesser than the Empires in any regard."

"I see that."

"Mm. Bishop, do you mind if Dream and I have a bit of privacy?"

"Of course not, Cardinal. Lory, come with me for a bit."

Bringing her out of the room, Dream and this Cardinal were left alone. The Cardinal took a seat across from Dream.

"I'm sure you have questions."

"I do."

"Just know that we don't come with any ill intentions. We're on the same side."

"I would hope so. Especially since the church has a hidden force that they haven't used. The reason for which I would love to know."

"We've been preparing. But don't worry. We're going to be making our appearance soon. In fact, that's one of the reasons we were searching for you. But before that, I would like to ask about your opinions of the church. I've noticed that despite you working so closely with them, you haven't joined an Empire."

"I don't have any bad opinions of the church. They do a lot of good for a lot of people. But I don't plan on joining anyone."

"I see. Well, no matter. Now, the first thing I want to discuss is the demons and what they are."

When he said this, Dream listened in. 

"The demons are a scourge. A parasite that shouldn't be on this world. And as you said in your speeches at the grand meeting, their sole purpose is to destroy us. Well, more specifically, all life that doesn't submit."

"So they spare you if you submit?"

"Not as much sparing as converting. But more on that later. The important thing is where they come from."

"They were put on this world."

"Indeed. They were inserted into this world by Hell."

"What is Hell?"

With that question, the Cardinal smiled. This is what Dream wanted to know.

"Hell is what's known as a faction. A faction is a higher realm consisting of higher beings. Heaven is also a faction, and the one who leads it is the Lord our God."

"...So this Hell faction, it's where the demons come from. And Heaven, what comes from there?"

"Angels. They are the ones who serve under the Lord."

"What is the purpose of these factions?"

"Huhu, us mortals are in no place to worry about things like that."

"I'm not talking about that kind of purpose. I guess I should ask, is the higher realm where we go when we reach the end of class 4?"

"...It is. When we want to ascend and become a Saint, we need the blessing of Heaven to help us."

"..."

Dream went silent. With this, he had more of an idea of what was next. And though he had a whole list of more questions, he wasn't in the position to be asking them.

"So tell me about what the church's plans are for these demons."

"Kill them of course. Total extermination. None should be left alive. But to carry out such a war, we need intelligence and help. And we know that you're the best when it comes to logistics."

"You should have all the intelligence that I've given out. I never made it a secret."

"We do, but knowing about the demons isn't enough. We need updates on all of their movements and the best places to hit them. Basically, we're looking for a general. Someone to guide our forces."

"Am I strong enough to be in such a position?"

"You are. You've proven yourself to be exceptionally skilled, not only by gathering that intelligence but also being able to make those golems of yours. You leading our forces wouldn't pose any problems."

"Now here's a question. Why don't you cooperate with the Empires? The news hasn't gotten out yet, but we lost 6 class 4's in a battle that we had today. If we had more forces, we would've lost less."

"We actually were planning on cooperating with the Empires, but as I said earlier, we were preparing. Plus, we also need someone to act as the intermediary between us, allowing fluid cooperation. You seem to be the best for that as well."

"...So let me get this straight. You want me to lead you into battle alongside the forces of the Empires?"

"Should it come to that, yes. Though there's another reason we wanted you to work with us."

"What's that?"

"As you know, the demons are not only invading our continent but the animal continent as well. Our forces on the animal continent are also prepared to fight, so you would help guide them as well."

"You have forces all the way over there?"

"Of course. The Church does not only open its doors to humans, despite what others may say. Animals and humanoids are just as welcome. In fact, our presence on the animal continent is even greater than over here."

"Hmm..."

"Doubtful?"

"No, just confused."

"About what?"

"Why the hell would the church seek me out, a random kid, and out of nowhere dump on me the responsibility to lead your forces in battle against the demons? If you wanted ships for transportation, I can get that. Even if you came asking for me to assist with my army, I would understand that too. But for me to take control of your forces? Isn't that a little risky and irresponsible on your part?"

"Well, truth be told, that's what many of us thought as well. But it's the Pope who wanted your assistance. And after investigating you, many of us understood. Your technology that seemed to be beyond magic, the fact that you survived a blow from a class 4 despite only being a class 3, and the fact that you're an otherworlder. All these things made the decision not as crazy as we thought."

"You know I'm an otherworlder?"

"It's not like you hide it."

"True."

"Now, we know that we're asking for a lot, so you should know that you won't go without reward. Think of this as a long term employment. The contract is to aid us in cooperating with the Empires, guide our forces across two continents, and wage war against the demons. Except should we fail, it will mean the extinction of all life in this world rather than you simply not getting paid.

"..."

"I won't press you for a decision now. Though I'm sure you of all people understand how dire the situation is right now, so I would recommend deciding quickly."

"I'll do it."

Dream spoke before the Cardinal stood up.

"You will?"

"Yes. I accept your contract. Though to carry out what I'm planning, I'll need your intelligence and full cooperation. I was planning to do this with the Empires as well."

"What's your plan?"

"I'm going to spread my technology. If I'm going to lead the entire damn world in a war against the demons, I'll need to be able to have eyes, ears, and hands everywhere at once. I also need to be able to communicate with everyone and give orders, as will every leader who controls troops. This requires my technology and devices. And while the resource cost will be astronomical, I may be able to keep up."

"We can assist in any materials needs you have."

"Oh, it'll take more than you can give me. I need the Empires as well. And while I've already expanded my operations, they still need more time before my expenditures are exceeded by gain..."

Dream went into thought alongside Sophia. He was beginning to plan. But unlike his small scale plans like with the Emperor, these plans were global. He was going to spread his influence across the planet, which he needed to do anyway if he was going to lead such a war.

Fortunately, after this last battle, he was pretty sure he gained lots of trust and prestige. Not only from those at the Mercenary Empire, but all the others from other Empires. With the support of nearly all the class 4's humanity had to offer, he was sure he could get their cooperation. 

And with the church, his influence would only grow. And should he use them in the way he was thinking, he might be able to truly band together every Empire on the continent, getting their full military support.

Along with his bracelets that would allow never-before-seen communication, he would have full logistical control of the world.

The gears of war were finally about to turn.