World's Last Hope-Chapter 82: Steps of Change

"First things first—" Saint Gabriel shifted his gaze between Aria and Olivia as he spoke.

"As you have become Grandmasters, it would mean you have cathedrals under your control. As such, I would expect you to connect them to the city."

Then the Saint shifted his gaze to Eric. "And I honestly have too many things to think about when it comes to you. You have soul flame? You are able to kill anything with a soul as long as you are able to scratch it? You are able to enter the corruption and help Masters become Grandmasters? I have never heard about an individual that is able to do such things."

Eric tried his best to suppress a grin, it was rare that he received compliments, and as such, he wasn’t familiar with how he should act. In the end, he decided not to change his expression

A woman wearing a red robe spoke, curiously enough, she was the woman that Eric had argued with when he first appeared in this world.

"But we can’t also forget that there is supposedly an entity that has a sole reason to hunt Eric. If what Aria and Olivia are saying is correct, then, as they are the ones that have come into the closest contact with the entity, it would mean that it is at least Grade-6."

Saint Gabriel scratched his chin, deep in thought. "That is also true, but Eric and his abilities are too valuable to not be protected." He sighed, as it seemed he had come to a conclusion.

"I will position more guards to stand beyond the walls and watch out for that entity. Once we have confirmed that the entity has come, we will gather all the people in this room and eliminate it. Even if the thing is Grade-6 or above, it will not stand a chance against a Saint and 25 Grandmasters."

"There is also someone that we have to discuss," Grandmaster Aldemar, Olivia’s uncle, spoke.

"In the previous expedition, we lost Grandmaster Lucas. So even if his cathedral is not corrupted, it is also not under our control, as his master is long dead. The problem is that we have yet to find a Master that is chosen by the cathedral to become a Grandmaster. If we do not fix this problem, I fear that we might get attacked by something underwater, and we would not be able to stop it."

"That is not the only issue though," Grandmaster Gryndor, Aria’s grandfather, joined in. "We have to ask ourselves the question, How did Grandmaster Lucas lose in the first place? Sure, we could have underestimated the power of the guardian, but that doesn’t mean that Grandmaster Lucas wouldn’t have run if he sensed that his life was in danger. After all, he knows that sacrificing the Masters of the expedition to save his life wouldn’t damage humanity as much as losing a Grandmaster would."

These words may have appeared harsh, but they were the truth. Eric himself had seen what a nightmare it was for a person to evolve into a Grandmaster and how strong that individual becomes afterward, so Gryndor’s words were correct

"He either couldn’t because he was overwhelmed or was simply stopped," Eric spoke, making Gryndor shift his gaze to him, listening. "It is quite possible that the guardian wasn’t the thing that killed him, but something else instead."

"What makes you think there was something else?" Gryndor asked.

"We know that there are monsters that aren’t bound to a cathedral, for instance. That tower I and the girls went to? There was not only something that seemed intelligent enough to communicate with us and read our memories, but once we exited, there was a giant step outside, most likely done by a powerful being."

Aldemar crossed his arms. "Let’s say that this is true. Wouldn’t it mean that this is good news? It would mean that that cathedral doesn’t have that strong guardian."

"It’s the opposite," Eric explained. "If that being isn’t a guardian, it would mean that it isn’t bound to a cathedral, or in other words—"

"It’s unpredictable. We have no idea where that thing is now," Aria finished Eric’s thought.

"And it’s not only that, but they had been sent to a small island, right? It would mean that there weren’t a lot of powerful beings on that island... but what if that being wasn’t living there? What if—"

"If that thing was heading in our direction?" Saint Gabriel spoke.

"Even if the chances aren’t high, it is still a possibility. I will assign more personnel to oversee the ocean as well."

The Saint threw a quick glance, observing everybody at the table. He sighed as he spoke.

"One by one, first Aria and Olivia will form connections to the city. After that, they would begin training with their families to master their new powers."

Shifting his gaze to Eric, the Saint spoke, "You, being a Master, will try your luck and see if the cathedral of the God of the ocean would deem you worthy and allow you to evolve. Whether you are able to or not, you will spend some training, as you most likely also don’t have a good grasp of your powers yet."

Gabriel stood up as he continued, "You have a miracle that is able to speed up the growing of crops, right? It will be of utmost importance that you go and speed up the production of our crops. Even if it isn’t by much, everything would help." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The meeting was clearly over, so everybody stood up from their seats and began to exit, while Eric, Aria, and Olivia followed Saint Gabriel.

"Once the two cathedrals are connected with us, we will have more options. Truthfully, in the future, I want to set up permanent outposts around your cathedrals," the Saint was addressing the girls.

This was probably how they envisioned expanding the city. First, liberate the cathedrals around the city, then set up outposts around said cathedrals, and finally, physically connect them by land. Though the last step would be the most difficult, as connection by land would mean they’d have to kill everything hostile in their way and start to build walls for protection.

’One by one,’ Eric repeated the Saint’s words in his mind. It wouldn’t do him any good to rush everything.

The changes always happened one step at a time, rushing could lead to missing important things.

Lost in thought, Eric quietly followed the Saint as the girls were by his side.

They quickly found themselves descending steps.

’Where are we going?’ Eric asked himself.

He knew that Aria’s and Olivia’s cathedrals were going to be connected to the city somehow, but he didn’t know what that meant exactly.

They continued their descent as each step they took created a faint echo.

It was hard to explain, but the more they descended, the better Eric felt, like he was getting his energy recharged.

"We are here," the Saint spoke, and Eric covered his eyes for a moment as suddenly light assaulted them.

It took him a second or two to adjust. Once his eyes did, they widened in surprise.

"This is certainly unexpected," he muttered under his breath.