In the heart of the capital city of Dawn, three months had passed, and the banished members of the Church of Light from Meerka had arrived. Six individuals sat at a table.

“How? How did this happen?” One of them asked.

“It was that damn Heretic! Because of him, we have lost so much!” A woman cried out angrily.

“What will the Pope do to us cardinals? You don’t think he will do it again, will he?” A terrified man asked.

“I will not be doing such a thing this time.” A tall man with his eyes veiled and features covered, only allowing his smile to be seen. A smile that looked pleasant and forgiving but had a sinister feeling to it.

“Y-Your holiness!?” Many of them cried, shrinking away from the man and the five armored Heroes behind him.

Half of them held bloodied weapons.

“The culprits of the crime have been dealt with. Send a message back to them stating that it was a bishop who thought to overthrow me by allying with Goun.” The Pope said.

“B-But, would that not turn Goun against us?”

“No need to worry about that. I notified the brat already. I was disappointed to lose three more Heroes, but it just turns out the Heretic is stronger than I thought. But from what I heard, he barely defeated those three. He will not succeed against the Phoenix or Dragon squads.” The Pope said with his smile, chilling the very bones of the cardinals.

“W-What shall we do then, your Eminence?”

“Hmm. I think we will raise an army. We have many willing combatants that will die for the God of Light. Our God is with us. He will lead us to our rightful place. We will be the ones to bring peace to this world, no matter the price, no matter the races we sacrifice, we will stand atop with our God in heaven!” The Pope’s words carried the weight of magic, twisting the thoughts of the cardinals.

“Yes, we will stand at the top with your Eminence!” “We will bring peace!” “We will be the saviors of this world!” The Cardinals continued their fervent cries, foaming at their mouths and their eyes becoming bloodshot.

The Pope looked upon his cardinals and his smile twisted into a cruel smirk.

“I will become the god of this world.”

Light began flowing in through the large windows.

“What? The sun just set. It should not be daytime.” The Pope had the cardinals open the balcony door to be met with a large pillar of light in the distance.

“What is that?” One of the cardinals asked.

“What is going on?” The cardinals began acting a bit odd and confused.

The pillar of golden light pierced into the heavens, pure and divine. The light shone across the world like a beacon.

“What?” “I can move?” “The light.”

The Pope turned to see the women of the Phoenix squad moving about.

“STAND AT ATTENTION! DO NOT MOVE!” He roared at them, his smile replaced by a panicked grimace.

The five returned to despondent selves and followed his orders.

That light... weakened my Mark of Domination?!

The pillar began to thin out until it vanished entirely.

The church made an attempt to capitalize off of the event. Still, information traveled too quickly due to Sheila’s Heart, the trains, and Phaestus’ magic, that Lord Hephaestus, the Duke of Lenmos, the Lord of Fire, Savior of Obai, Hero of Merluka, Protector of the Five Kingdoms, and Master Craftsmen of Alta had transcended beyond all crafting and had achieved a new title. The Divine Smith of the Gods.