"Pant—pant—"
Kakayather was breathing hard and fast, his nostrils flaring with every breath.
The turbulent air rushing through his windpipe made it impossible for him to speak.
His father, Kakarim, was dead—he had seen his soul with his own eyes. His mother was dead too, even if he hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, he knew Ashu wouldn’t lie about sothing like that.
Without the protection of his parents, he was nothing but a weakling—a reviled weakling, guilty of countless cris.
Never mind what Ashu might do to him today—even if he were turned over to the public, the citizens wouldn’t spare him either.
They would tear him to shreds.
"It’s ti to leave the pen, Kakayather."
Ashu, treating him like so filthy livestock, dragged Kakayather out of the confinent cell using pure Magical Essence.
With so many accusations leveled against him, what good would repenting do? If repentance were enough, then cultists could just confess a few tis and legally found their own sects.
Leaving the Church, Ashu summoned a Paladin.
He ordered the Paladin to parade Kakayather through the streets of Kakase.
At every stop, the citizens took their chance to beat a drowning dog. Once, they had feared the authority of the Cardinal—but now his father, the Cardinal, was dead, and his mother as well. The rage the citizens had long bottled up was finally unleashed.
Following Ashu’s special instructions, the Paladin did not stop the people from throwing things—whether it was rotten vegetables, eggs, or rocks, everything found its mark on Kakayather’s head.
He had to endure the pain. He had to bear the bleeding.
Even as he nearly lost consciousness, the Paladin forced him to keep marching.
In the end—
Kakayather died under a hail of thrown stones.
anwhile.
In the Imperial Capital of the Atras Empire.
Inside the sacred Cathedral of the capital, the Holy Light glowed brightly. The aged Pope sat beneath its radiance, emanating a presence that bathed all things in divine warmth.
Suddenly—
He opened his eyes.
A faint, satisfied smile crept across his wrinkled face.
As the Supre Head of the Holy Cultivator Guild of the Atras Empire, the old Pope had reached unparalleled mastery in the doctrine of the Divine Mother Goddess.
Because of this, he could directly receive and interpret the divine oracles of the Divine Mother Goddess.
When soone defiled the Divine Mother, when soone betrayed the sacred faith, the Divine Mother would beco enraged.
And when a god is angered, her wrath is cast down upon the mortal realm.
As the divine interdiary standing between heaven and earth, the Pope would be the first to perceive the will of the Goddess. It was his duty to relay it swiftly—and to appease the divine wrath on her behalf.
If he failed, and the anger of the deity grew too great, disaster would inevitably befall the world.
Just now, he had received yet another divine ssage. Compared to the previous fury, the Goddess’s mood had clearly improved this ti—lightened, even joyful.
Which could only an one thing: the Purge Order of the Holy Cultivator Guild had succeeded.
The traitor who had dared blasphe the Goddess and renounce the sacred faith—had been purged.
"Vivita, ’Luminous Saint’, well done. The Divine Mother Goddess blesses you," the old Pope murmured to himself.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a tall man in the official robes of the Imperial Capital stepped casually into the sacred Cathedral.
He approached the Pope, and when he was ten ters away, he bowed deeply in salute.
"Holy Father."
The Pope’s eyes, half-lowered, swept over the approaching man. He spoke calmly,
"Minister Louis, you’ve co regarding the coming-of-age ceremony of the Imperial Princess."
"I have, Holy Father."
"Then speak."
"Holy Father, I would like to request a change in the person presiding over the ceremony for the Imperial Princess."
Minister Louis paused slightly before continuing,
"As the Minister of Rites, I cannot bear to see a cruel assassination take place during a ceremony I am charged with overseeing."
"Louis," the old Pope replied, unshaken, his voice tranquil.
"I understand your concerns, child. They fear the rise of a Luminous Saint to the papal throne. Your heart is kind. But this is the path that every Luminous Saint must walk. Without trial, there can be no ascension."
Minister Louis gazed at the Pope’s aged face and said quietly,
"This isn’t a trial. It’s a trap—a dead end."
"A dead end, you say?"
"What else could it be?"
"The Sword King, the Knight King, and the King of Assassins will all be attending this ceremony. No one intends for the Luminous Saint to leave that stage alive. Even the Imperial Princess herself may raise her blade against her."
Louis spoke bitterly.
From that tangled forest of blades, he could see no peace.
And yet—
The old Pope smiled faintly and said,
"No one? Not quite. There is still you, child. There is still you."
"?" Louis pointed to himself and gave a helpless smile.
"I’m just a Minister of Rites. I conduct ceremonies. I don’t even have an audience with His Majesty, the King. How could my opinion shift the minds of such powerful lords?"
"Even if there is only one, the Divine Mother Goddess will never forsake their faith."
Louis fell silent. He had co to address a concrete, mortal problem.
But the old Pope was answering with theology.
Helplessly, with no power and no title to leverage, he could only turn and leave.
"Ah—Louis," the Pope suddenly called out to him again.
"The new Cardinal of Kakase will require a formal investiture. I’ll leave that in your hands."
Louis hesitated for a long mont before replying from the Cathedral’s grand doorway,
"I’ll see to it."
Kakase
Several days later, this border city welcod a new Cardinal.
The investiture ceremony that day was even more grand and elaborate than the founding rites when the Church had first arrived in the city.
Ashu did not attend.
He left behind only so docuntation for the transition of duties. As for himself, he traveled ten miles to the eastern outskirts of Kakase.
The appointnt of the new Cardinal ant that the mission of the Demon Huntress Nun Vivita was officially complete.
She would be summoned back to headquarters.
Ashu, Anna, and Ymir all ca to see her off.
"Ashu, for the remaining two and a half months, you must train diligently," Vivita said, stepping forward from her group to stand before the three of them.
"And don’t forget to study Royal Family etiquette. Hosting the coming-of-age ceremony for the Imperial Princess is a solemn and sacred tradition. There can be no mistakes."
Ashu nodded. Even without Vivita’s reminder, he had already resolved to train seriously.
Since completing his last mission, his Divine Points had surpassed ten thousand.
His cultivation speed now soared—like flying on wings.
"Will you be in the Imperial Capital when the ti cos?" he asked.
Vivita looked off into the distance and replied,
"I don’t know. I can only follow the Cultivator Guild’s orders. Wherever I’m needed, that’s where I have to go."
"Alright."
Ashu naturally hoped that when he arrived in the Imperial Capital, Vivita would be there to accompany him—but that wasn’t sothing he could demand.
That was the fate of the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns.
"With Her Eminence the Saintess at your side, you won’t be lonely."
Vivita’s grey eyes seed to pierce through Ashu’s thoughts as she spoke.
"Go on now. Be careful on the road. The newly appointed Cardinal is a man of strong faith. He will give his full support to the Luminous Saint. But... so powers, please do not reveal them lightly."
Vivita knew clearly that Ashu harbored the Cidi Evil Power within him. That power—she herself had helped nurture it.
It was a last resort; no one could have anticipated Midaldas would launch such a vicious counterattack before his death.
Just thinking of that night in the Church of Riven Town still left her with vivid mories.
And that wasn’t all.
She had also discovered within Ashu the Evil Power of the God of Death.
According to Ashu and Ymir’s explanation, it ca from Ashu making contact with Ymir’s Scythe.
Because of that...
Vivita had begun to suspect that Ashu might not just be a Luminous Saint. He could be sothing... far more mysterious.
Sothing even she, with all her training and knowledge, could not comprehend.
Perhaps only the learned minds of the Witch’s Guild could understand what kind of existence Ashu truly was.
And if that were the case—
Then everything started to make sense.
"Your Eminence Saintess, may the light of the Divine Mother Goddess shine upon you," Vivita said in farewell to Anna.
Anna nodded slightly.
"Mm. And upon you as well."
Finally, Vivita turned her gaze toward Ymir.
As a Demon Huntress Nun known for swift and decisive judgnt, this was the first ti she had been absolutely certain soone was Heresy—yet had not drawn her blade.
There were two reasons.
First, Ashu had been infected with her Death power.
And the one who ties the knot must be the one to untie it.
Second, because of the Witch’s Guild connection, she couldn’t act lightly.
"You—be careful. Don’t let , or anyone else, catch you committing any Heretical Path behavior. Or the Divine Mother Goddess’s judgnt will co for you."
Vivita warned coldly.
After spending ti around Anna, Ymir had beco noticeably more lively.
She quickly responded,
"Big sis, don’t be so fierce just with , okay? I’m a good person too! I even helped you take down your traitor!"
"You did earn so rit in the campaign against Kakarim. Farewell."
With that, Vivita turned and left without hesitation.
As soone raised from childhood by the Holy Cultivator Guild to beco a Demon Huntress Nun, she simply could not accept the existence of a pure Heresy.
Even if that Heresy had once been her comrade.
Even if they had fought side by side.
Ymir watched as Vivita’s figure quickly vanished from view, and couldn’t help but mutter under her breath,
"She’s lecturing about Heretical Path behavior? Who is it that screams in Ashu’s room every night, huh..."
Her voice was quiet—
But Ashu and Anna heard it loud and clear.
They both turned their gazes sharply.
Ashu spoke first,
"You call Anna ’Shishu’—that makes your Grand Shishu. One more out-of-line comnt and I’ll have to teach you so respect."
Anna smiled softly and added,
"I’ve scread too."
The mont Ymir saw how bold and straightforward Anna was when it ca to that sort of thing,
she turned bright red with embarrassnt.
"Next, we’re heading back to Riven Town. That’s our real ho," Ashu said to Ymir.
"Are you coming with us, or do you plan to keep wandering?"
As soon as she heard that, Ymir quickly clung to Anna’s arm and shook it back and forth, exclaiming,
"I don’t want to keep wandering! I want a hot al every day!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)