Through this method, the Slane Theocracy was able to confirm the status of all their important warriors if they were out on a mission.
But now Kaire's and Cedran's flames had gone out of all things. This meant that the two were without a doubt deceased.
When Archon had seen first Kaire's flame disperse and then shortly afterwards Cedran's flame go out, he had refused to believe it. For a start, Cedran would sooner die than allow anything to happen to Kaire, so him dying after Kaire made no sense. The flames of these candles could not lie, however, and their deaths were a fact, something that disturbed Archon to his core.
Even though those two have died, the other flames are still burning. Does that mean that the fight is still going on?
Archon tried to steel himself, only to realize that he was clinging to false hope. If Kaire had been killed, then no matter what the rest of the Black Scripture did they would not be able to beat Ainz. Of this he had become convinced after hearing that Ainz had killed the Re-Estize Kingdom's greatest warrior before the latter had been able to so much as close the distance between the two.
Looks like there's no choice.
Archon gathered up what little courage he had and departed from the room. If the Black Scripture had been defeated, then no one was safe anymore, and no place in the capital was secure, but Archon still felt confident that it would be a while before Ainz Ooal Gown and his minions would be able to find the hidden sanctum beneath the Capital.
In other words, he had plenty of time to prepare himself and the spell.
The spell that would unleash the power of the final relic left behind by the Six Gods, which was said to be able to erase all evil from the world.
Archon was regretful that it had come to this; he was originally a man with no real ambition whose only goal was to become a priest in the capital and live a carefree life whilst guiding the common folk in their daily struggles. After years of devout work in various churches across the nation, he had finally been taken into the tutelage of one of the priests working in the capital. Archon was a hardworking disciple that, unlike some of his fellow acolytes, never indulged in the temptations of the flesh such as women or alcohol. It wasn't so much that he had a strong faith in the teachings of his religion as much as his personal tendency to never cut corners when carrying out a task, a trait that did not go unnoticed as the previous Archbishop of Death took an interest in Archon and decided to train him as his protégé.
That kindly old fool, what was he thinking putting someone like me in this position? Having to oversee such a grim part of the national religion, having to deal with the Black Scripture and that lunatic Zesshi and now even having to make such a tough decision. What sins did I commit in a previous life that I am now burdened by such a heavy responsibility?
As much as Archon wanted to stop and scream out his frustration, as much as he wanted to abstain from unleashing the power of the forbidden item, as much as he wanted to just use the secret escape tunnel beneath the capital to try and flee from Ainz Ooal Gown, he could not. Someone had to be the one to make the difficult choices in life, someone always carried the responsibility to oversee the wellbeing of thousands of lives and now it was up to Archon to ensure that as many of those lives were saved as possible.
Using those convictions as a mental safeguard to prevent him from chickening out, he continued his course towards the deepest and most hidden part of the Inner Sanctum alongside all the equipment left behind by the Six Gods all the other legacies were found. The treasures of the Miko, the three great relics and of course the pinnacle of the bloodline left behind by the Six Great Gods, 'Certain Death'. Archon finally reached the Large metal gate behind which was the long corridor that led directly to the treasury where the strongest items were stored.
"Ara, Ar-chan! What are you doing here acting so mischievously? Could it be you're planning on doing something bad today?"
As soon as the door opened, a childish voice rang out from the other side as Archon stared at the black robed Zesshi who was smirking as if she had been expecting him all along, which had probably been the case.
"Out of my way, Zesshi! Kaire has fallen in battle; you know as well as I what that means! Even if the others are still alive, they stand no chance against an opponent like that sorcerer who can kill humans on a whim. I am fulfilling my duty as an archbishop by protecting not only this city or this nation, but the entire human race. Even if it means that I have to sacrifice thousands or even millions. If all evil in the world is destroyed, then surely Ainz Ooal Gown and his minions will be destroyed as well."
"Is what you are saying, Ar-chan, but to begin with, that item's power is vague and leaves a lot of gray areas. For starters, would the item kill adventurers who kill monsters to protect their villages or to simply earn cash be considered evil? Will a ruler leading tens of thousands of his countrymen to their deaths for the sake of repelling an invader be seen as evil by this item? Will a kid who steals food from his neighbors to feed his starving mother be seen as evil? We would answer with 'not necessarily', but it is exactly because we are sentient with a mind that can judge situations based on circumstances that we can make such a judgment and even then we can be wrong. Who is to say that that item won't kill all living beings who have so much as lied to someone else before? Can you really take responsibility for that, Ar-chan?"
Archon was dead silent as he could not form the words to refute this girl, no this woman right away. Although she may act rash or indifferent from time to time, she definitely had a good head on her shoulders and had been educated in more than fighting. What she said made sense as the concept of evil came in as many shades of gray as one could imagine. Even still, Archon could not afford to waver now as the alternative was even grimmer still.
Archon once again began walking towards his destination, only to find his path now completely blocked by Zesshi who held out her slender arm to show that she had no intention of letting him pass today.
"Move aside! Even if what you say is true and I end up condemning the entire world to its demise, that is still a better fate than becoming the puppets of that undead sorcerer. The time of heroes like those from the old stories has passed, even the strongest warrior of the kingdom armed with treasures that are a match even for the equipment of the Black Scripture was done in by an instant. Even if heroes like those from the stories would appear, they would fall like rain before this monster. I will not stand by and watch this world slink into an endless nightmare!"
"Haah? What stupid things are you saying, Ar-chan? Who in their right minds would think that weaklings like the Thirteen Heroes could defeat that undead, it's just ridiculous. But…
"That has nothing to do with me, now does it?"
Archon shivered a little as he felt a malicious aura coming from beneath the smirking façade that Zesshi was putting up.
Having spent so much time around this mischievous-looking girl it was easy to forget, the strongest warrior in this nation was not Bahmeth or Ensem or even Sylvan, the undisputed strongest warrior of the nation was none other than 'Certain Death'.
Taking another look at the girl, Archon realized that a powerful magic vibe was coming from beneath her unusual black robe. It was clear that she was not wearing her standard gear but instead something far more powerful that made even Archon's hairs stand on end.
"Zesshi, you couldn't have, right?"
Expecting the question, Zesshi merely grinned even wider as she leaned in closer to Archon while softly muttering, "Don't look so surprised; with Kaire gone this is our last shot at taking down the Sorcerer King. That old lady isn't the only one with permission to take out one of the big ones from the treasury."