In the year 11266 of the Quaternary Calendar of the Elven Calendar, that is, at the end of the summer of 10753 in the Holy Calendar of Mankind, the Battle of White City took place in the territory of the Kingdom of Isaac at the southern tip of the continent. The name Grugrew first appeared in the history books of mankind.

He single-handedly forced back the 40,000-strong army of King Isaac Baird VI, creating a miracle in human military history.

After the war, King Isaac Baild VI was deposed, Count Caspar and Count Field of the Duchy of Behill were deposed, and the sole heir of the Besil family, Irene. Bebela. With the full support of the Holy See, Beshir successfully inherited the title of Duke Bessil and became a new generation of archduchesses.

As for Gray. Gruglu, who also received a new title, became the second Count of Grugrew in the Duchy of Beshir.

In just a few months, starting from scratch and quickly climbing to the rank of earl on his own, this is rare in the entire history of mankind. However, not only did no one dispute his canonization, but everyone thought it was a matter of course - his deeds spread to every corner of the continent, and he was used as a model of chivalry to educate newly promoted knights.

In October, Bishop Anthony III, who was already over 80 years old, went to the Holy See to report on the causes and consequences of the Battle of the White City.

In November, the Holy See officially proclaimed Gray. Grugrew is the 769th Paladin, and the only remaining Paladin.

Yes, in the entire continent, there are only five Paladins left. The remaining four were trained by the Pope himself. Gray is the only exception in the 10,000-year-long history of the Holy See. At the same time, Gray's coat of arms was awarded a gold cross instead of the same silver cross as Irene.

Oddly enough, Gray. Although Glugrew was canonized, he was not summoned. This has puzzled many critics.

In December, the political turmoil in the Lion Capital caused by the deposition of King Isaac Baird VI finally came to an end. The eldest prince, Benedict II, was finally victorious and took the throne. He issued an edict inviting Earduke Irene of Beshir and Earl Grey of Grugru to participate in his canonization ceremony, promising to officially canonize them the titles that should have belonged to them, and to grant them new fiefdoms.

At this time, the pomp and circumstance were unprecedented, flowers, applause, Gray. At one time, Grugrew was considered the greatest knight on the entire continent.

It was a sudden change that no one had imagined, although in fact, what he had achieved at this moment was nothing compared to his future legends.

What no one knows is that the most violent changes did not occur in the human world.

......

Two months ago, one month before the Holy See canonized Gray as a paladin.

Alternate dimension.

White light, clouds, chants, as if to melt all the light, a suspended walkway covered with red gilded carpet stretches endlessly.

The two angels who had been tracking Gray walked slowly on it, and walked and walked and walked.

From time to time, angels glide by.

It wasn't until the end of the aisle that they finally stopped. In front of them, the aisle seemed to be suddenly disconnected, dangling in the air. There was nothing but white light and clouds.

Catherine knelt down on one knee, put her hand on her chest and said, "Second class angel Catherine, meet the Holy Spirit!"

The male angel on the side also knelt down on one knee: "First class angel Ebald, meet the Holy Spirit!"

It's quiet.

It took a long time for a voice to answer them.

"I heard that you helped a lich. "The voice was so strong that it couldn't make out the direction. Or rather, it's like it's coming from all directions at the same time.

"Yes. Catherine said loudly, "It's my hand, and it has nothing to do with Ebonde." The situation was urgent, and if I didn't do it, the lich would eventually destroy itself because of his faith in us. ”

"Because of our faith? Are you serious?"

"Yes, the lich is a devout believer in the Holy Spirit and is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of faith. Although ignorant, Catherine considered him a rare and committed saint. At the same time, he was also a great knight, abiding by the spirit of chivalry. Catherine has taken matters into her own hands and has promised to be his guardian angel. ”

"Are you sure? Become a lich's guardian angel, the lich's lifespan is as long as ours. ”

"Sure, my lord!" replied Catherine firmly.

The voice was silent.

After a long moment, he continued, "Ebald, you're here too, aren't you?"

"Yes, my lord!" replied Ebond.

"Then I'd like to hear your judgment, is that lich really religious?"

"Yes, I'm not sure if he'll ever be so religious, but apparently, at this moment, he's religious. And if you allow Catherine to be his guardian angel, then I think he will always be as religious as he is today. ”

"Does he have a criminal record?"

"Nope. His name never even appears in the case files about the underworld. ”

"Did he do anything to break our contract with the Lich, or the Dharma?"

"Nope. Not only did we not violate the contract with the lich, we did not violate the laws, we did not even violate any morality. Catherine and I were initially eager to find evidence of his incrimination, after all, we had been sent out to destroy him or send him back underground. But unfortunately, there are none. In fact, he has done a lot of good things, and if you want to give him a medal, I am willing to testify for him. Abold laughed.

The voice was silent again.

Realizing his gaffe, Abbot hurriedly lowered his head and said respectfully, "Please forgive my faux pas, my lord. ”

It took a long time for the voice to sound again: "A pious lich...... It's a species we've never seen before. Even, in our cognition, there is almost no possibility of the existence of a pious lich. With an infinite lifespan and a keen sense of magic, they, like the dragons, are among the two most powerful beings this world has bred itself. ”

"Such beings have no need for our strength. They can't even rely on our powers, because their magic is the opposite of ours. Our strength is only harm to them. In all our wars with Hell, we have never considered choosing them as allies. They have always been allies of Hell, though their friction with Hell itself is no less than that with us. ”

"To get the same opinion from the two angels, I don't doubt his piety. What I'm thinking about is why we're doing this. Is it worth sending a guardian angel for him? Moreover, human beings have a natural fear of death, and we even use this part of our teachings, and once his true identity is revealed, what should we do about it?

Silence, long silence.

Both Catherine and Abbed bowed their heads and did not speak.

The voice pressed further, "If he doesn't have our support, then he's just a lich pretending to be a knight." Even if the identity is exposed, it will have no effect on us. And if we support him, and even send him a guardian angel, then he is a Lich Knight that we recognize. Once our identities are exposed, our position on good and evil will become very blurred. After all, humans are narrow and dull. They have a hard time understanding our definition of the sacred. ”

At this moment, another voice rang out, a slightly older one, "But, whatever the outcome, Catherine has already taken a stand, hasn't she? Everyone has seen that the lich has a guardian angel." Nor should we condemn Catherine, because she is judging on the basis of pure faith, and there is nothing wrong with it. What is really wrong is the distortion of our faith that we have no choice but to make. Rather than your difficult choice, I think this is an opportunity. ”

"A chance?"

Two voices spoke in the air.

"Yes, I think it's an opportunity. For tens of thousands of years, in the struggle against hell, we have been held back. We've changed countless methods, but we're still stuck in the process. Some methods even bog us down and suffered terrible losses. Perhaps, the problem is not in the method, but in the faith. ”

"Are you questioning our faith?"

"It's not questionable. I just think...... Well, maybe we should be more open, and we should be open to acceptance, rather than rejecting beings who may share our beliefs based on our own judgment in the first place. In that case, what's the difference between us and humans? It's a good opportunity to experiment. Of course, we may fail, but it is only one of many failures. Isn't it? I suggest that Catherine should be left to do what she wants. ”

Catherine humbly bent down and fell to the ground in thanksgiving.

"I second. ”

"I second. ”

"I'm against it. ”

"I abstain. ”

"I'm against it. ”

"I second. ”

......

A variety of voices rang out.

The Holy Spirit is not the only one. There are nineteen Holy Spirits, more than the sculptures displayed in churches.

"9 votes in favour, 9 votes against and 1 abstention. In accordance with the rules of procedure and the scope of the matter, the resolution will enter the probationary phase. The final decision is made by the adjudicator. ”

"I have a proposal. The voice that had abstained said, "We can set a limit for this lich that he can't reveal his identity." Until then, we will all support him. But if he reveals his identity and is attacked by humanity, we will launch a crusade against him at the same time, and negate everything he has done before, and completely dissociate ourselves from him. Of course, if he can reveal his identity without being crusaded by humans, then congratulations to him. ”

"This does not help to undo the damage caused to us in the human world once his identity is revealed. ”

"It's just a deterrent. If you agree with this proposal, I will vote in favour instead. Let the resolution pass before proceeding to the adjudication stage. ”

"Agreed. ”

"Agreed. ”

"Agreed. ”

"Agreed. ”

"Agreed. ”

......

"With 10 votes in favor and 9 against, the resolution was adopted. Catherine, you can always report to your paladin. ”

"Thank the Lord. Catherine leaned down respectfully.