Damn it. I actually fell for the lie that we were almost there.
Now I understood why she kept saying it. Even I had clung to that faint hope, pushing myself harder than I should have. But the monastery was farther than what the regressor’s Lan-Eye had led to believe. Along the way, both my stamina and energy were completely drained, and I collapsed.
From the regressor’s perspective, it wasn’t even a lie. Soone like her, who had traversed every corner of the world, considered anything within sight as close by.
Ah, next ti, I won’t fall for it.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
"hh...! You all, block that wolf! Don’t let it bite !"
Lem buried herself in her own fur, crying out in distress. The children, seeing her frightened state, hesitated, unsure of what to do. Then, a beastman boy with ears and a tail suddenly jumped up and shielded Lem.
"We will protect the Apostle of the Lamb!"
Inspired, the other children stood up one by one, forming a defensive wall around Lem.
"Don’t bully Fluffy!"
"The Apostle of the Lamb is our friend!"
"Friend?"
But Azzy was a dog who loved humans even more than sheep. Seeing the children, she circled around them excitedly, wagging her tail.
"Nice to et you! Nice to et you! Let’s play!"
"Huh? Let’s play!"
"Play? How?"
"Sheep herding!"
"hhh!"
Lem let out a pitiful bleat and fled from Azzy. The sheep, still chewing on grass, simply watched as their king ran away. The King of Sheep had sacrificed herself for her subjects.
"Be wary of guests bearing good news. But if a guest arrives with a good companion, treat them with utmost hospitality. These were the words of the First Saintess when she welcod visitors from the East."
While Azzy played with the children, the regressor and I were dealing with a much more difficult opponent.
Traditionally, a nun’s habit was black. But her robes were so dark, they seed to worship shadow rather than light. Moreover, her face was completely veiled, shrouded in black cloth to keep even the faintest glimr from touching her.
"A guest arriving alongside the King of Dogs must be a good guest indeed. Welco, strangers. I am Yeghceria, servant of the Celestial God and caretaker of this monastery."
She had blasphed against her god. No one was more devout, more pure than she was, yet she abandoned her chance to return to the Celestial God and drank the progenitor’s blood. She neither aged nor died, becoming a vampire, condemning herself to the deepest catacombs beneath the brightest stained glass.
"Elder, Sister Yeghceria."
"Yes. I serve the progenitor and have received a fragnt of their power. Thanks to that, I can forever uphold the will of the Celestial God, unchanging and eternal."
She had blasphed against the progenitor as well. Though an Elder, bound by the progenitor’s control, she # Nоvеlight # never abandoned her faith. No, she wore it even more openly, as if to prove that faith could never be dimd, even under the progenitor’s dominion.
"Do you seek a nun, or do you seek an Elder? I am both, but I will be whatever you wish to be."
The Holy Crown Church tolerated her for only one reason—
She was the only one preserving the Celestial God’s faith in a land of sin.
The progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka, spared her for only one reason—
Because her faith itself was blasphemy.
Of course, the real reason Yeghceria had survived despite defying both god and demon was simple.
She was too powerful for even god or demon to kill so easily.
The Fallen Nun, Sister Yeghceria.
A blaspher who had defied both god and devil.
The most devout, yet the most heretical, the gray nun.
The regressor spoke first.
"We ca to see the nun."
At those words, the aura around Yeghceria softened. Folding her hands like a strict nun, she spoke from beneath her veil.
"Welco, my brothers and sisters. The Celestial God has guided you here. What is your prayer?"
"I want to use the Rakion Great White Wall."
"That is not permitted."
Yeghceria’s voice was firm and unyielding.
"The Rakion Great White Wall is the grand proclamation of all monasteries. It is the mark upon the land where the Celestial God watches. No matter how urgent the news, it cannot be used for personal matters. If you were to fill it with a traveler’s journal, it would beco the Rakion Black-and-White Wall. It remains white because it remains unwritten, so that when sothing truly precious must be recorded, it will be ready. I sympathize, but I cannot allow it."
"This isn’t personal. It’s about the new Saint."
"The new Saint?"
"Yeah."
"My vision is narrow, and my eyes are blind—I cannot recognize a Saint. Please, show a revelation."
Wouldn’t lifting the veil help her see better? I muttered the thought to myself without thinking.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The regressor nodded and called out to Azzy.
"Azzy. Show your halo."
"Woof?"
"The white ring that floats above your head."
The halo was the most definitive proof of sainthood. Any nun would recognize it instantly.
But Azzy, too busy playing with the children, only tilted her head in confusion before pouncing on Lem again. The King of Sheep fled in tears.
Beasts rarely did what you wanted them to, but by now, the regressor was used to it.
"Hughes. Show Azzy’s halo. That way, Yeghceria will open the Great White Wall."
"Why do I get stuck with all the annoying tasks?"
"Because you handle Azzy better than anyone. Just do it."
‘I’ll leave persuading people to Hughes. Yeghceria might be crazy in a good way, but she’s still crazy. Hughes is better suited for this than . They’re similar, after all.’
Similar? Does that an she thinks I’m crazy too? Should I be grateful she said "crazy in a good way," or should I be offended?
Well, either way, I appreciate it. I was interested in this person myself.
"I could show you, but is that really necessary? We just need to borrow the Great White Wall, after all."
"I suppose. But what’s your plan? The nun is stubborn."
Of course. Nuns were those who followed the will of god. Priestesses ard with strict discipline and divine power.
At least, ordinary nuns were.
The Fallen Nun, Sister Yeghceria. She was a blaspher draped in gray. Though she now stood with composed elegance, she was a being who mocked both sides, neither good nor evil but standing in chaos.
She was like .
"Nice to et you. I’m the King of Humans, and this person is a hero trying to save the world. We’re working to stop the King of Sin from destroying everything."
"What?! You’re just going to reveal that?"
It’s not so grand secret. Besides, once we contact the Holy Crown Church, they’ll find out anyway.
"Last week, the King of Dogs and I defeated the King of Wolves and uncovered the secrets of the world. To verify what we learned, we need an answer from the Holy Crown Church. And the only way to contact them south of the Enger Plains is through the Rakion Great White Wall in the Blood Monastery. So we ca to use it. Connect us to the Holy Crown Church."
I briefly explained the recent events to Yeghceria. As an Elder who had lived for centuries, she likely wasn’t easily shaken. But the information I presented was so overwhelming, even she struggled to process it.
"This is a sudden story. There are too many missing details."
Yeghceria responded chanically.
"And it is too vague. It is difficult to believe, and even if it were true, I cannot discern your true intentions. How am I to trust you?"
"Don’t trust . Since when have you been soone who needed to believe in others?"
If she had been soone who needed faith, she wouldn’t have accepted the blood of a vampire while being a nun.
Right now, she was playing the role of a strict nun, but her true nature was closer to mine. Neither pure nor corrupt, but sothing in between. That was why neither pure white nor absolute darkness could be found in her monastery.
"I trust that my proposal has intrigued you. And I doubt you would abandon your curiosity just because of so rules."
"That is not sothing one should say to a re nun."
Of course. What nun would respond positively to words that disregarded doctrine? But—
"You’re not just a nun, are you?"
A smile spread beneath Yeghceria’s veil.
At that mont, the monastery moved. Like a living beast, it lunged forward, swallowing us whole in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the sunlit plains vanished, and we found ourselves standing in the middle of a dark chapel.
Sunlight filtered through crimson stained glass, though it was light from the heavens, it felt ominous and unsettling. At the sa ti, the oppressive presence of blood filled the entire monastery.
The Blood Monastery was Yeghceria’s domain. Here, she was not just a nun but also an abbot and, in a way, a god. The monastery carried "blood" in its na because it was suffused with her power.
"You truly an to save the world, do you?"
Yeghceria’s bloodcraft was not ordinary. While it could not match the sheer power of other Elders, in so ways, it touched upon the mystical.
A ring of blood extended. The red thread coiled around my right arm in a double helix, yet it neither tightened nor pulled. Instead, the crimson tendrils read the minute tremors in my blood.
"Speak. Your truth."
Bloodcraft—Confessional Bloodbinding.
A miracle of confession perford through blood. The Fallen Nun, Yeghceria, executed sacred rites not through divine power, but through blood. As long as these crimson tendrils were touching , I could not lie. Yeghceria would instantly perceive even the slightest tremor of deception in my blood.
If I wove an elaborate lie deep enough to fool even myself, maybe I could trick it. But there was no need for that. I confidently extended my arm and spoke.
"That’s right. I sincerely intend to save the world. Because by doing so, I save not just the world but myself."
It was the truth. And thus, it was accepted as such.
The confessional bloodbinding dissolved into the air, as if it had never been.
Yeghceria, having confird my sincerity, turned toward one of the chapel’s walls.
"I have one question. Do you truly seek to do good? Do you believe that even the most wicked and violent criminal’s good deeds hold value on their own?"
Yeghceria tore off her veil.
At the sa mont, the wall beside her shredded like paper.
What lay beyond the dark wall was a massive white barrier, glowing faintly even in the shadows. Though its edges were irregular, as if it had been salvaged from a ruined fortress, the surface itself was smooth and pristine, like untouched parchnt.
Standing before it, Yeghceria carelessly tossed her veil aside. Placing one hand on the Rakion Great White Wall, she asked —
"Even if they are a filthy beastman, a lowly vampire, or a ruthless murderer—do you believe that their good deeds should be respected purely as acts of goodness? If a killer who has slain tens of thousands saves a single child, is it truly acceptable for that child to revere their savior?"
The Fallen Nun, Sister Yeghceria. A twisted nun who perford acts of sacrifice and service in the na of a vampire. A demon who drank the blood of humans, yet a saint who cared for and healed orphaned children from all nations.
An existence that was pure heresy. A blaspher who dared to test the will of the Celestial God with her own sense of good and evil.
Hypocrisy could be a form of virtue, just as cruel evil remained evil. But soone who deliberately tested and distorted faith itself—she was a force of chaos.
And if order’s enemy was not evil but chaos, then Yeghceria was both the most devoted servant of the Celestial God and the greatest ideological threat to the faith.
"To judge sin as sin, and a person as a person... What do you think of that?"
Well, she wasn’t wrong. There’s even a saying: hate the sin, not the sinner. Humans are capable of anything. Even the worst criminals can perform acts of kindness.
But I couldn’t say that outright. That wasn’t my true belief.
The confessional bloodbinding had not yet ended. If I tried to dodge the question with a fabricated answer, I’d end up on the bad side of this ideological terrorist.
"Good? Evil? Sin? Virtue? What do those even an? Beasts like don’t concern ourselves with things we can’t eat."
So I answered honestly, in a way that would satisfy Yeghceria.
As expected, Yeghceria trembled with sheer delight. Almost too indecently for a nun.
"Kuh... Kuhuhu. Kikikiki. Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Good, evil, sin, virtue—just nas humans assigned to the actions of beasts! Aha, ahaha! A savage beast choosing to perform good deeds, how poetic! I can’t wait to see what contradictions and questions this will raise among the Saintesses! How, how thrilling!"
‘...Ugh. No matter how much I tell myself she’s crazy in a good way, she’s still crazy. I have a bad feeling this situation is going to spiral out of control.’
Too late to regret now, regressor.
Yeghceria spread her arms wide in exultation.
At her command, the grand piano in the chapel began playing itself, filling the air with a magnificent, solemn hymn.
An instrunt played through bloodcraft. A sacred song conducted with blood—what a horrifying blasphemy. She was practically tearing apart every sacred tenet of the Holy Crown Church.
"Very well! I, Yeghceria, shall accept your prayer! Even if the timid nuns cower and block their ears to ignore the forbidden, I shall proudly speak the question you pose! Hear it! See it! Feel it! The truth will co, inevitable as the sunlight in the sky!"
With her declaration, the Rakion Great White Wall turned crimson.
At that mont, every Rakion Great White Wall across the world changed in the sa way.
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