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"Come with me, I''ll show you something." Monica told Raven as she started walking away from the other Cleansers doing their job.
Raven silently followed her while he was immersed on his thoughts.
What he learned just now was something unexpected. It turns out that people could be infected and turned into a devil too. In hind sight, he should''ve seen thising. He himself possess a firm and powerful will that could potentially create suggestions or outright warp a person''s mind. If he could do it, then it should be given that someone who''s dubbed as a Devil Emperor should be able to do the same.
''Which means that this disgusting maroon fog covering this entire ce, should be the residual will of the Devil Emperor.'' Raven deducted, ''A entity this strong which willsts for eons. No wonder this sect was created, a thing like that should never be allowed to step outside its prison or else, Divine Realm would be plunged into peril.''
''It''s only sealed, it''s not dead.'' Raven thought to himself, ''It''s possible that its will continues to seep through the seal. I don''t want to doubt the people who created this seal - which also happens to be the founders of the sect, but I entirely possible that I''m correct. A residual will, no matter even if its from a very powerful entity, should have at least diminished through time. But from what I can see, the will is still incredibly firm.''
''Right! Why didn''t I realize this before?'' Raven''s eyes glowed as he felt the urge to p his face. ''The Devil Race is created from by the Devil Emperor! Each of his minions carries his will! And since this Devil Emperor is so powerful, it means that no matter how much of his minions we killed, his will is destined to not be dispersed! In fact, it''s possible that its releasing more and more as time passes! Fuck!''
Raven''s deduction is baseless for now, and he truly is hoping that he will be proven wrong because if he''s right, then the sect is in imminent danger.
''Right, if I could notice this, then it''s possible for the Elders to notice it too…hopefully. Let''s have faith.'' Raven sighed inwardly and decided to remove his thoughts for now. He''s not strong enough to do anything for now so raising an rming statement like this will only make things worse.
Monica and Raven eventually arrived to another door, to which Monica opened using her badge. The moment they stepped inside, Raven was momentarily surprised by the bright light that greeted him out of nowhere. Once his vision adjusted, he looked ahead and saw an enormous kiln zing with white mes.
Raven was stunned. He felt several things which made him very confused. The sight of the white mes wereforting, it gave of an impression of safety, security and soul-seeping warmth. And even though it''s contained within arge kiln, the mes didn''t spread not weakened. In fact, it wasn''t even moving erratically at all like most other mes, instead it was still. It''s quiet, serene and very eye-catching.
Monica sped her hands in prayer, murmuring some chants that Raven couldn''t understand. As for him, his interest was at its peak as soon as he saw this me.
''At first I thought that this cleansing me is just a glorified Vivic mes - the one which we used to nullify Death Laws in the bodies of those suicidal soldiers. However, it seems that I''m wrong. This me is something else. If anything, I could tell that it purity is in a much higher levelpared to Vivic mes.''
"As you can probably guess by now, this is the Cleansing me that Senior Brother Theo cultivated from a seed." Monica introduced shortly after, "With his generosity, he left plumes of Cleansing mes on each chapel around Tartarus since he''s the only one who received the seed from the mes of Olympus."
"Us cleansers could only harness the Cleansing mes, which requires us to be in close proximity of it. That means, that we can''t call for its might whenever we''re outside of the sect. We could only treat patients here in the chapel." Monica sighed in defeat. "Taking the mes out of Tartarus isn''t a good idea as well. The closer the me is to the Devil Emperor''s Pagoda, it''s might weakens as if its met with its natural predator. Therefore, even though we wanted to be more useful, we couldn''t."
"Which is also why that our numbers are incredibly few." Monica sadly stated, "At first, Senior Brother Theo was hopeful that the mes were capable of finally turning the tide around, but unfortunately it cannot. Up until now, he''s still trying more ideas in order to not only boost the reputation of the Cleansing Chapel but also contribute to our cause. In the mean time however, we could only do our best."
Monica then faced Raven and asked him: "Now, with all of that being said. Are you still willing to test yourself and join our ranks?"
Raven didn''t even hesitate for a single moment before saying: "Yeah. I''m more determined to join now actually."
Monica smiled at that, but she asked: "If you don''t mind me asking, why?"
"I won''t lie, I just find this upation very interesting at first." Raven stated, "Not much has changed even now, only my interest is at its highest. I like the prospect of discovering more about the things that really piques my interests."
"Aish! I shouldn''t have asked!" Monica said, mocking an angry expression but couldn''t hide the amusement on her face. "If Senior Brother Theo was the one who asked, he would''ve kicked you out right at this instant!"
"But he''s not here though. It''s you, who''s here. Not him." Raven replied with a smile of his own.
"Aren''t you a cheeky one?" Monica replied, finally getting rid of the faked anger on her face. "Whatever, we could use more hands anyway. But, don''t you think that you''re already one of us just yet! You still need to be tested."
"I''m ready." Raven replied with a serious face.
"Well, you said it yourself. Don''t me me for what happens afterwards." Monica added, it''s unknown whether she said this to discourage him and frighten him or just giving him a heads up of what''s about to happen.
Monica then moved behind Raven and said: "Wear this and go into the kiln. Embrace the me andmune with it. That''s all you have to do."
She handed him a pure white robes which seems to be made out silk. She then pointed him towards the direction of the changing room and told him that she''d be waiting for him here.
Ravenplied and changed into the outfit that was given to him. Once he''s done, he returned to where the kiln where and saw Monica nodding to him, a signal that he could begin.
Taking a deep breath, Raven''s face turned serious as he gently approached the mes. The moment he took as step forward, he felt an incredible heat sweeping through his body. He was surprised at first, thinking to himself that a mortal would''ve probably be left with several burn marks on their body if they were to be exposed to this temperature.
Needless to say, it would take more that this to deter him from approaching the mes. Raven took several steps forward, feeling the temperature getting hotter and hotter as he approached the mes.
Monica was a bit surprised when she saw the ease of Raven''s approached. Back when she went through with this ritual, it took her more time and energy before she eventually arrived at the kiln. However, Raven took almost no time at all. His approach looked as casual as it could ever be, making it hard for her to believe that this guy is a Freshman.
Raven eventually arrived at the kiln. Feeling the scalding temperature of the mes even greater than before. Needless to say, he''s still fine. More importantly, he could hear faint whispers on his ears the closer he got to the mes.
Eventually, Raven stepped in the kiln itself, causing Monica''s eyes to shine.
The moment he stepped in, the still and peaceful mes suddenly erupted greatly surprising Raven in the process. Raven was immediately swallowed by the mes, but even so he didn''t panic - well maybe he did for a just a second but it went away swiftly since he could feel that this me didn''t have any ill intentions, which is very ironic considering the mes engulfed him from head to toe.
Following Monica''s instructions, Raven then sat down in the kiln, despite being swallowed by the white mes, and started hismunion with it. He concentrated his focus and let go of all unnecessary thoughts on his mind. He focused on the whispers invading his senses and traced it back to its source, this lead to him entering a special state where he no longer have any awareness of his surroundings.
Monica who''s watching this process whispered to herself: "You''re talented Junior Brother, that much I can tell.. Hopefully, you pass this and make a difference cause god knows we need it more than ever."