Way of the Knights

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"[9 Cleansing Plume Records], a little rigid but good enough I suppose. Considering that Senior Brother Theo probably wasn't even a War God when he made this." 

Raven can be currently seen lying on his bed whilst reading the book that Monica gave him earlier. The 9 Cleansing Plume Records were a set of profound chants that invokes the power of the Cleansing Flames to do its magic. 

He briefly closed the book and sat into a meditative position. He then sank his perception towards his core, locating the white seed rooted in the middle of the cosmos within his body, although it hasn't been long since the seed was here, its roots already spread far a wide, covering at least a percent of the whole cosmic swirl. This growth was surely astonishing, specially when the seed is no longer wantonly absorbing Raven's Cosmic Energy, is taken into consideration. 

It goes without saying that his Cosmic Energy is a very nutritious food for the seed, and as the seed continuously grows, more runes will emerge on its surface, which in turn means that he will have a deeper connection with it. With time, the seed will eventually bloom and the might of the flame seed will be even stronger, the thought of the sends Raven itching in anticipation. 

"Unfortunately its only most effective against Devils." Raven lamented, "If its heat could at least be compared to Natural Flames then it would be better. Oh, well. You can't win them all I guess…"

Of course, there are other ways for Raven to increase the potential of the Cleansing Flames. The most effective method is by fusing it with Fire Laws, but as if he could do that. There's no need to mention about gaining enlightenment about Fire Laws, he already has his hands full with Destruction and Spacetime Laws currently. There's absolutely no way for him to focus on Fire Laws as of the moment. 

The other methods aren't really that attractive either. The ones he thought about would need expensive ingredients to reach, Raven couldn't be bothered with that since he's after some expensive things already. 

With all that in mind, he could only lament about this for now. But it's not really that bad after all. Its not like he's going to leave the sect anytime soon, and like what was mentioned earlier, the Cleansing Flames are most effective against Devils. As a possessor of the seed himself, he's not restricted and has to be near the chapels in order to use the cleansing flames. This means that he could still go out and hunt devils. 

After his brief inspection, Raven withdrawn his consciousness within his core and recalled the contents of the book. 

Closing his hands in prayer, he uttered some chants slowly and felt a strange movement on energy within his body. Once he's finished chanting, he opened his eyes and saw that his hands were now covered with white flames. 

"The 1st Cleansing Plume: White Gloves." Raven murmured. 

Even though he managed to perform the first technique on his first try, Raven's face held no joy or elation. It could even be said that he's a bit disappointed with his performance. 

The white flames covering his hands were too unstable. They were weak and flickering a lot, additionally they were also pulsing a lot. Compared to the one that he saw in the chapel earlier, Raven could tell that he's off by a mile away. 

Needless to say, this isn't enough to discourage him. He briefly recalled the sensations earlier and kept them in mind. He then deactivated the technique, drank some moonshine and proceeded to use the rest of the night to kept practicing. 

***

"Wait, you can already perform the first plume?" 

Raven was back in the same Cleansing Chapel he went to yesterday and had met with Monica already. After asking if he followed her instructions, Raven confirmed it and even said that he could already perform the first technique written in there, shocking Monica already. 

"Yes, I can. Although I will need more practice and experience." Raven replied honestly. 

Monica was a bit unconvinced but recalling the fact that this guy is the same guy who met the Flames of Olympus and was granted with a Cleansing Flame Seed, she ought to at least give him the benefit of a doubt. 

"Let me see it then." Monica stated. 

Raven nodded and murmured the chants. Just from the way he uttered the chants, Monica was already impressed. Even more so when he saw the white flames emerging on Raven's hands. 

Even thought Raven was still chanting, Monica was already inspecting the stability of the flames. Judging from this, Monica realized that the kid wasn't bluffing at all. 

Raven eventually opened his eyes and looked at Monica, waiting for her remarks. 

"Well, I'll be." Monica smiled, "Color me impressed then. You can actually do it. The flames are still, stable and have very little fluctuations. Not bad at all. But just as you said, you still need more practice and most importantly, experience."

"I understand." Raven nodded, he accepted Monica's judgements without any ounce of arrogance or entitlement.

"Well, then. Wear your jacket and follow me." Monica stated as she walked forward. Raven nodded and summoned his jacket, wearing them as both of them walked deeper into the chapel. 

They went through a series of rooms until they arrived at a place where Raven saw a couple of people resting. All of them are wearing the same jacket as he does, some of them are already wearing face masks while the rest are still in the middle of wearing their jackets. 

All of them were staring at the two of them, it was clear that they were mildly surprised by their arrival. 

"Yo, Monica! Fancy meeting you here!" One of the Cleansers pulled down his face mask and smiled at her. He then looked at Raven and back at Monica, asking: "Is this him?"

Monica smiled and said: "Cheer up folks! We have a new member. A special one at that too!"

She then pushed Raven a bit forward, and introduced him to her colleagues. 

"This is Vendrick Valorheart, he preferred to be called as Raven instead. From now on, he'll be learning from us and eventually become a core member!"

"Woah!" 

There collective gasps and cheers from the Cleansers when they heard her words. All of them looked at Raven with anticipation but mostly curiosity. 

"Just so you know, this guy is a seed bearer. This makes him a diamond in a rough. Make sure to take good care of him or else you'll be messing with me." Monica added, which caused the people to immediately be stunned. 

Raven could only smile wryly. It was plain to see that Monica didn't hold back any information regarding him. He could only sigh and accept it this way. 

"Woohoo! God Bless our Chapel!" The man who greeted Monica threw his hands in the air and cheered.

"God Bless our Sect!" The rest followed.  action

This celebratory mood caused Raven to feel somewhat confused. However, he kept it to himself for now since he'll eventually know why anyway. 

"Alright, I'll leave him in your care then, I have to go since I'll need to take care of some things. Show him the ropes and give him hints. He's a bit sharp so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Oh! Sure! Leave him to us. He'll be an expert in no time." The man replied confidently, causing Monica to snort and say:

"I'll hold you onto that. If you fail, then prepare yourself for a Nut Beatdown."

Monica's words caused the man to instinctively clamp down his legs and sweat nervously. Before he could protest, Monica was already leaving the room. 

"Aiya. You boasted again. I'll pray for you buddy." One of his colleagues patted the sweating man's shoulders while trying his best to not burst into an uproarious laughter. 

The rest of his colleagues were also snickering behind his back, causing the man's expression to crumple in anger.

"You guys are traitors!" The man whined, wiping the sweat on his forehead. 

Nevertheless, his words only fueled the cheery mood within the room whilst Raven felt incredibly out of place. 

It didn't take long before the same man approached him and said: "Listen here, Junior Brother. I want to listen very closely, okay? You have work with me here. I don't care which saint you have to call or what god you need to make an offering to, if it will make it so that your comprehension and talents will be boosted by like, a lot, then I urge you do it, you hear me? My nuts are on the line here."

"How's that my problem? You were the one who boasted in front of her, not me. Why do I need to suffer with you? I don't even know who you are." 

"Y-you little…" The man was speechless.

"Bwahahahahahaha!"

"Well said, kid! Let this idiot suffer on his own! Hahaha!"

"You heard the kid, Peter. Don't pull him down with you. Hahahah!"

"Guys, it seems that Peter's bound to file a leave of absence again. His nuts will be aching for the rest of the week!"

"Poor guy."