The 'Justice of Light' smoothly assimilated to the village where they first appeared. They did not look for the 'World Breaker' immediately as they had done before. They were aware that their power had weakened after so many dimensional travels and their resources were a bit depleted. They needed to regroup and gather resources.
Instead of going around blindly, the leader of the group decided to establish the Justice of Light in that small village. They helped the people in that place to prosper using their 'holy' magic and within three months of their stay, the village grew and became somewhat a holy place. The news of these people doing miraculous deeds spread through the El Merey Kingdom.
Their influence spread like wildfire after their deeds were known and many people came to pledge their allegiance to the Justice of Light. It quickly became some kind of religion and the people came to revere and worship them, especially the knight. With this growth, the group started to gather resources that they could use to fight against the enemy of the world.
In this way, they immediately established contact with the king of El Merey. Their actions were fast as they traveled to the kingdom's capital to personally meet the king and show their sincerity. After they reached the capital, they were immediately escorted to the palace and treated as VIP guests.
"Greetings your majesty," the knight and the priests who were with him kneeled in front of the king in the throne room, "we are honored to finally meet the ruler of this kingdom."
The hall was filled with whispers as the man was bowing but he did not remove the helmet that was covering his whole face. This incited the people to have a different opinion on the man but the knight shrugged them off. He was confident that they would be accepted once the king gave his acknowledgement.
The king was pleased at how polite and respectful they were even though the knight still had his face covered. He already heard the reports that the knight never removed his helmet no matter who he was talking to but it was fine because he would see that face soon. "Please stand up. There's no need for you to kneel when you are messengers of the gods."
They stood up after those words and faced the king with confidence. The king was satisfied with them and so instead of continuing their meeting in the throne room he invited them into his private drawing room where they were served with food. After they were settled, the king finally started to ask them questions.
"I've heard that your group has spread its influence throughout my kingdom," the king started. It was clear that he was testing them. He would start to weigh the pros and cons of letting the group continue to grow in his territory based on his answer.
To show that they were sincere and that they don't have any thoughts of bringing harm to the kingdom, the knight placed his hands on his helmet and slowly pulled it up to reveal his face. His golden blonde hair flowed out from the helmet and even his golden eyes shone brightly even during that time of the day. His appearance was breathtaking and it put the king in a trance.
"We apologize for what happened. We only did what we were supposed to do and we did not think that it would spread rapidly. Because we cannot turn them down, we decided to just accept them and everything just happened beyond our control." He started to explain and every word that came out from his mouth made the king and everyone in the room fall deeper into a trance. "We mean no harm to your kingdom."
The king took a few seconds before he finally answered. "Yes, I understand. You and your group don't mean harm to my kingdom. That's a relief and I am glad that you and your group are here in my kingdom. I will make it so that you can establish yourself in the capital."
"I, Onyx Gertrude will make sure that this kingdom will prosper under out protection." The knight declared which made the king nod.
The effect of his voice slowly calmed but the effect was still there and whatever Onyx said the king would immediately agree. "That would be good news to me and to the people who have been following you. If you can help to make my kingdom powerful then there would be no problems between us."
"Of course, your majesty. We will do our best to protect El Merey." Onyx declared without hesitation and they came to a final deal.
The 'Justice of Light' finally established themselves in El Merey's capital. Their patrons grew and even the king became one of them. Most of the kingdom's nobility started supporting and following them. It was a major success for them and now that they had some power, they started to gather information about the 'World Breaker'.
Aside from getting connected with the palace, they also met with the kingdom's hero association. Although hero associations in different kingdoms were connected somehow, they were still considered independent organizations. Onyx Gertrude met with the association's president and somewhat convinced them to work with them.
"We received a revelation. Someone with the power to destroy this world has arrived and we were tasked to find people to defeat him." This was the opening statement that the knight gave when he finally met the hero association.
The president's interest was piqued and this reaction made the knight pleased. "How can I believe these words? Your religion has just been established and although you've helped this kingdom, I cannot accept any request without any basis."
"We call him the 'World Breaker', he had destroyed several worlds as he had the ability to travel through space, a power that only he could do. The god of life, Haerith, whom we serve gave us this revelation." He started to infuse power in his voice which made the president slowly calm down.
The hero association undoubtedly fell for this trick. "What kind of person is he?" He asked. He then picked up the pen and paper on his table and started to write down what the man would say.
"He is a dangerous man who can use dark mana. He can disguise himself and fool anyone who will have contact with him. He looks young but in reality, he has been alive for a thousand years. He has red eyes much like that of a demon's." Onyx slowly described their enemy although he had no concrete description of his physical appearance this was enough to at least cause a stir.s
"This is a bit vague but I will do my best to let the heroes watch for any person with these kinds of characteristics." The president reread what he had written and even though it would be a bit difficult to find a person like what was described, it would still be good to do what the other has commanded.
"In addition to that, I will be adding a reward to those who can give me any valuable information which can be related to that person," Onyx added. "As a holy knight, I can give them the protection of the god of life which will last for a lifetime. Having the protection of the god of life would ensure them a long life and protect them from any danger and a million gold coins on top of that."
The president was surprised that the knight would be generous enough just for a small piece of information. That amount of money was enough for someone to live comfortably for a couple of years. He became eager but the man's next word made him half for a bit.
"I would also like it if you could share this request to the other hero associations of the other kingdoms." This bit made the president frown but in order to pacify him, the man was ready, "Don't worry, I will give your association five hundred thousand gold coins and if a hero from your association can bring me valuable information, I will double the reward money."
The president became alive again after hearing the man's offer so without hesitation he agreed. They came to a deal and not even an hour has passed after the man left the association's building, a notice was already posted on the bulletin board. Once that piece of paper was posted, people already flocked around it because it was labeled as having the highest priority.
Their eyes brightened at how much money would be given for a just information gathering. Even the low-ranking heroes became interested and within just a day, the association was empty. This news traveled across the city and even the mages of that kingdom became interested. Thus, the whole kingdom of El Merey started to get their hands on any information that could be related to the details of the mission.
