Chapter 827: Wisdom
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 827: Wisdom
"The Salvation Society..."
Liya stood dazed for a moment before a look of realization dawned on her face.
"I actually forgot about you all."
On this continent, there were many specialized organizations that gave the Church a massive headache.
Among them, evil cultists who worshipped various dark gods made up the majority. They hid their heads and tails, scurrying through the shadows like subterranean rats, making them incredibly difficult to root out.
Aside from a certain Love God who never missed a chance to cause a scene, most other cultists weren't particularly active under normal circumstances. However, they were prone to suddenly jumping out to "go big" whenever they received some sort of "divine oracle."
Consequently, with the Church's support and guidance, it wasn't just the Empire—which had specifically established the Silence Bureau—but every nation and faction that invested heavily in resources and energy to eliminate these cultists.
Even though cultists were like leeks in spring—growing back as soon as they were cut—no nation or power dared to slacken in the slightest. They feared that at any moment, these fanatics might pop up to perform a grand ritual requiring thousands of living sacrifices, drawing the gaze of an Evil God or even a projected descent.
The Small Fishing Village incident, the Silent Moon incident in Belland, the Golden Tree incident, and the Church’s Lost Homeland incident were all prime examples. Looking back through the long lens of history, such events were numerous.
One could even say that in most of the far-reaching, high-stakes terrors that had threatened the world itself to date, the shadows of cultists and the entities they worshipped were always lurking behind the scenes, directly or indirectly pulling the strings.
However, even these bizarre and malevolent cultists only occupied the majority of the most-wanted lists for terrorist organizations—not the entirety.
Another group had been on those lists for years, with an activity level far exceeding that of the cultists and a track record of making major headlines: the Salvation Society. They were a highly peculiar existence—one might even say they were the polar opposite of the cultists.
They did not worship Evil Gods. In fact, they didn't worship any gods at all.
Like the Church, they were dedicated to hunting down cultists. Once they caught those who worshipped Evil Gods, their methods were every bit as brutal as those of the Judgment Temple. Burning at the stake, skinning alive, or being torn apart by horses were considered light punishments; it was common practice for them to extract a cultist's soul to use as fuel for an oil lamp.
Yet, this did not earn them any goodwill from others.
This was because they weren't just cruel to cultists; they were equally ruthless toward normal believers, especially those of the Life Church. To this day, no one knew exactly how many of the Church's clergy had died at the hands of the Salvation Society. Even in the beast tide decades ago—the one that led to the death of the Saintess before the previous one due to exhaustion—various clues pointed toward the Salvation Society pulling the strings from the shadows.
They seemed to loathe all gods equally, and they loathed all who believed in them just as much.
But if that were all, they would at most be considered a fanatical "anti-religious" group. Such organizations weren't rare in history and certainly wouldn't be this notorious.
The primary reason they were branded by all nations as a group that must be eradicated—no different from the cultists—was that they didn't just hate gods. They also, quite absurdly, hated humanity itself.
Yes, I hate my own species.
Once this extreme loathing evolved into action, it manifested in a distinct way: they would launch random, large-scale, indiscriminate terrorist attacks against ordinary people.
To the various nations and factions, these attacks seemed to have no profound purpose, nor did they involve sacrifices to summon some entity. In the trashy stories sold at street stalls, they would be the bottom-tier villains who did evil simply for the sake of doing evil.
It seemed the Salvation Society had only one goal in committing these acts: pure slaughter.
According to the Church's statistics, the number of innocent civilians who had died at the hands of the Salvation Society already exceeded those killed by cultists. It was only because their attacks left no lingering supernatural "after-effects" that their threat level was temporarily ranked behind the cultists who sought to subvert the world and welcome the descent of Evil Gods.
Humanity is sinful.
Therefore, the filth of mankind must be purged to cleanse the world.
This was the ridiculous and mad theory of the former Church Judgment Archbishop, now known as the "Salvation Holy Lord."
"I can't believe I forgot about this. While war easily attracts cultists, you madmen who care for nothing but slaughter are the most likely to be drawn in—like sharks scenting blood."
A faint metallic tang filled the air as blood flowed from the little girl's body, quickly turning cold in the winter night.
Liya was gradually surrounded by the blood, looking pitiful and helpless.
She pulled her hands into her sleeves, trying her best to suppress a slight tremor.
"So? What are you planning this time?"
"What are we doing?"
Dennis the Black Cat licked a blood-stained paw, his tone sounding quite strange.
"Is there even a need to ask? We aren't suicidal enough to launch a purification ceremony in a place like Belland. That bear might be ridiculous and afraid of women, but generally speaking, he's not someone to be trifled with.
"Therefore, we have only one objective in coming here."
Dennis the Black Cat looked up, his vertical green pupils reflecting Liya's pale, pretty face.
"We would like Her Highness the Saintess... to die here in the Empire."
"The Empire?"
Liya keenly caught the word.
"You want to kill me and then frame the Empire?"
"Who knows?"
Dennis the Black Cat gave a small laugh and paced over the little girl's body, stepping on her as he moved closer to Liya.
"Regardless of whether that's a factor, it's not often that the Church's Pure Saintess is found all alone without any protection. By any logic, we can't possibly let this pass."
As a terrorist organization that viewed the Church as its primary enemy, they had attempted to assassinate the Saintess more than once. They had even dared to try something big in the Holy City right when Liya had ascended to her position. How could they pass up such a rare opportunity?
No matter how elegant a gentleman might be, it was hard to refuse a beautiful girl who delivered herself to his door—and the Salvation Society was hardly composed of gentlemen.
They were perverts who would inevitably strike the moment they saw a beautiful girl!
"But my movements should have been completely confidential," Liya said, puzzled. "Even the Church doesn't know where I am. How did you find me?"
"That falls under trade secrets," Dennis said.
"Trade secrets?"
Liya's expression grew solemn. "You don't happen to know where I've been during this time, do you?"
"Where you've been?"
Dennis paused. "As the Pure Saintess of the Church, traveling alone in disguise... isn't there only one possibility?"
Liya's heart began to race...
"That old bastard Hezekiah must have sent you on some secret mission!"
Dennis sneered. "That's just how your Church is. Polished and bright on the surface, but hiding god-knows-how-much filth in the dark! Even the Saintess has to sneak around to complete a mission. Truly pathetic!"
"..."
Liya breathed a temporary sigh of relief.
It seemed the Salvation Society did have trade secrets, but not many. At the very least, he could only wait here to catch her; he hadn't gone to the Duke's estate to catch her and Muen red-handed. If he had, the damage to her—and even the Church—would have been far greater than a mere assassination attempt.
But following that logic... the thing that exposed her location was likely that letter.
Liya remembered the letter she had written earlier to stall for time. If the Salvation Society had an internal agent within the Church, it wasn't hard to imagine them intercepting a letter sent through official Church channels.
As expected, there was a reason the Church's upper echelons didn't use letters as a primary means of communication; conventional mail was far too easy for those with ill intent to intercept.
But then again, since these people from the Salvation Society didn't know where she had been, it meant...
"I see. Lin is safe for now."
Liya blinked and gave a playful, cute smile.
"I knew it. If you have to use these petty tricks just to deal with me, there's no way you could have done anything to Lin. She's probably just like me—held back by some method you used to distract her."
"..."
Dennis's expression stiffened slightly, his previous composure faltering as his lip twitched.
"Petty tricks?"
"That's right."
Liya nodded, answering very seriously.
"I thought you would be a bit more sophisticated."
As she spoke, Liya's fingers moved slightly inside her sleeves.
Boom!
Without any warning, a massive surge of Holy Light erupted, illuminating the dark alleyway.
However, this burst of Holy Light didn't come from Liya. It came from... beneath the black cat's feet, from the poor little girl who had suffered this misfortune.
At this moment, the Holy Light gushing from the girl's body was no longer gentle; it was as scorching as a raging fire. Given the proximity, Dennis the Black Cat had no way to dodge and was instantly swallowed by the radiance.
"Actually, when I walked into the alley, I already had a faint feeling that something was wrong."
Liya pulled back her hood, her Sacred Floral Crown shimmering and reflecting her determined face.
It was as if her previous weakness and hesitation were nothing more than a disguise to deceive the enemy.
And of course, that was exactly what it was. She was no longer the frail girl who could only hide behind Muen; she was the Pure Saintess revered by countless people. How could she be afraid of an enemy like this?
"I just didn't expect that after I stayed on guard for so long, your methods would be so... straightforward?"
Liya tilted her head, thinking for a moment to find the right word.
Even if she didn't have the sense of impending doom that Muen and Ariel had honed on the brink of death, as a Saintess favored by the Goddess, her perception was naturally very keen.
At first, she thought the drunkard was the problem, but he was just a drunkard.
Then she thought the little girl was the problem, but she was just an ordinary girl looking for her cat.
She had even suspected the old lady at the inn, but in the end, the enemy had simply disguised themselves as Lin and waited for her in bed.
Compared to those cultists who were experts at hiding, using insidious tricks, and wielding the bizarre abilities granted by Evil Gods, this so-called cat-lover Dennis... his methods were indeed a bit simple.
If it were Muen, he would surely have mocked him mercilessly, saying this level of ambush couldn't even compare to a single hair on a follower of the Love God.
But for Liya... though her preparations had been for naught, at least her vigilance wasn't entirely wasted. Just like now, the Holy Light she had left in the little girl's body as a backup plan had served its purpose, hadn't it?
"Good, she's okay."
Liya rushed to the girl's side and confirmed she had only fainted and wasn't in any life-threatening danger. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Otherwise, if her misjudgment had caused the death of an innocent girl, that would have been a true failure of her duty as a Saintess.
"Look at that, look at that. This is our Her Highness the Saintess."
Suddenly, another black cat stepped out from the darkness.
No, it wasn't "another."
Because this cat's hind leg was still injured, causing it to limp.
It was the same black cat from before.
Dennis the Black Cat.
He looked up from the boundary of light and shadow, his expression mocking.
"How kind, how holy. Even though you had a chance to escape by relying on that hidden move, you chose to give up that chance immediately just to save a girl you don't even know?
"Heh... hypocrisy!"
"What Saintess? What kindness? What pure and flawless? You weren't even willing to save a cat just now! Your current kindness is nothing more than a performance to fit your title!"
"I don't understand what you mean."
Liya tilted her head in confusion. "I am the Saintess of humanity, not the Saintess of cats."
"You indeed aren't the Saintess of cats, but... isn't your so-called kindness, your so-called holiness, your so-called Goddess's mercy... supposed to love all things equally?"
Dennis's expression suddenly became complex—so complex it was hard to imagine a cat making such a face. He said, "The first section, third paragraph of the Chapter of the Goddess in the Holy Scripture... I've always remembered it."
"Nonsense!"
Liya frowned, feeling angry at this blatant distortion of the scriptures. "I've been memorizing the scriptures since I was a child. The 'equality' there refers to 'the people of the world,' not your 'all things'!"
"Is that so?"
Dennis paused. "I see... so that's how it is... Heh, has the scripture been edited? As expected of the hypocritical Church."
He gave a light leap.
The soft pads of his paws landed on the top of the wall without a sound.
But in that instant, a sharp sound—like claws scraping against glass—suddenly echoed from the depths of the night sky.
Liya's heart tightened, and a Holy Light Barrier abruptly rose, shielding her and the little girl.
Clink!
A crack appeared on the barrier, only to be repaired by the holy radiance in the blink of an eye.
Liya's face grew grave.
This seemed like a probing attack, but a massive trench silently appeared around her Holy Light Barrier. It didn't look like it had been swiped by an ordinary cat's claw; it looked as if an ancient behemoth had plowed through it, splitting the ground of the entire alley in two.
"As expected of the Church's Saintess. Even though you haven't held the title for long, your mastery of Holy Light has already reached this level?"
Seeing that his strike had failed to produce any effect, Dennis the Black Cat gave a silent sigh.
"It's a good thing I sealed this place off in advance and cut your connection with the Church. Otherwise, I'd be the one in trouble."
Having said that, Dennis the Black Cat stretched elegantly. Behind him, shadows shifted, and accompanied by a chorus of meows, cat after cat emerged from various corners of the alley.
Soon, a large pack of cats had surrounded the area.
They didn't approach Liya; they simply stared at her and the girl beside her with glowing, vertical pupils.
A sinister atmosphere enveloped the area. The far distance was pitch black; not even the city's night lights could be seen.
Liya grew even more alert, not daring to drop the Holy Light Barrier. She sensed a profound danger lurking in the night.
"Let's return to our previous topic. I admit, compared to the versatile cultists, my ambush was a bit crude. It failed to give Her Highness the Saintess a brilliant surprise."
Dennis continued to lick his paw; in this feline form, it was his favorite thing to do.
"But often, complex plans are more prone to failure. For me, any plan that can defeat the Saintess is a good plan. Besides, my scheme wasn't that straightforward, was it?"
Dennis's gaze fell upon the unconscious girl beside Liya.
The fact that he hadn't killed the girl immediately—wasn't that also part of the plan?
Otherwise, a Saintess with a terrifyingly high affinity for Holy Light, who possessed nearly infinite recovery until her power was exhausted, would be incredibly difficult to stop from escaping.
But having a burden changed things. At the very least, when faced with a siege, she wouldn't easily choose to abandon everything and flee.
"Hmph."
Liya glared with wide eyes, her aura fierce.
"Stop talking big. I can see you don't have the means to easily break my Holy Light spell, otherwise you wouldn't be wasting so much breath!"
"..."
Dennis's expression stiffened slightly again.
"...How clever. As expected of the Saintess. It seems the 'all beauty and no brains' stereotype doesn't apply to you. You're right; your Holy Light spell is indeed difficult to break. Although I'm not sure why its intensity is lower than I anticipated, it's still impossible to resolve in a short time unless one has reached the Crowned level."
"Then I suggest you let me leave."
Liya gave a forceful huff. "Don't forget, this is Belland!"
"Yes, this is Belland. Even in the midst of war, the Crowned of the Salvation Society wouldn't dare enter this place. This is the Imperial Capital, after all. That bear is here... along with who-knows-how-many other old monsters."
Dennis shook his head.
"However, you're wrong about one thing. I don't need to break your Holy Light defense. I've never been the type to favor brute force. My goal is simply to stall you as much as possible and wear you down."
"Wear me down?"
Liya asked, puzzled. "Are you stupid? Time is on my side."
This was exactly why Liya had been stalling. In Belland, the longer things dragged on, the more likely they were to be discovered by the city's powerhouses.
Even if Dennis could seal this area, he could only do so for one night. During the day, in such a densely populated area, someone would inevitably notice something was wrong.
"Heh, it does sound a bit stupid. But Her Highness the Saintess, don't forget—we aren't cultists. Our brains haven't been rotted by the mental pollution of an Evil God. We are very lucid."
Dennis suddenly broke into a meaningful smile.
"So, this is simply a race against time. We'll see if the experts of Belland find us first, or if our backup plan finishes first."
"Backup plan?" Liya gasped. "You have a backup plan?"
"Of course. Our target is the famous Saintess, after all. How could we not make several layers of preparations?"
"What is this backup plan?"
"Heh, don't be nervous. It's just a little test to see if your so-called hypocrisy can endure."
Gulp... "A test? Hypocrisy?" Liya swallowed hard, becoming increasingly anxious.
"That's right! The person you value most... her name is Ariel Bugard, isn't it? We've investigated her. She's your best friend, your childhood sweetheart who has been with you for ten whole years, right?"
Seeing Liya's growing panic, Dennis the Black Cat gave an increasingly cruel sneer.
"If we were to capture her, what would you do then?"
*
Somewhere in the Lower District of Belland.
In a dim basement, several figures flickered, making the place feel as eerie as a graveyard at midnight.
But this was no cemetery. The reason it was eerily quiet was that the people here were focused on several magical projections. As the situation on the screens developed, they fell into solemn contemplation.
"As expected of the Church's Head Nun."
After a long silence, one of the figures finally spoke.
"A Fifth-Tier Peak Martial Artist. Although she's far from the threshold of the Crowned, with the enhancement of her excellent Holy Light spells, it actually takes three of us just to stall her."
On the central screen, light and shadow flickered. The sharp, fierce figure was none other than the missing Lin. She was currently fighting three opponents at once without losing any ground; in fact, she seemed to be on the verge of overwhelming them.
"Fortunately, this situation was within our expectations."
Another person sighed.
"Same here. Dennis really can't break through the Pure Saintess's Holy Light defense. They're in a stalemate as well."
"It can't be helped. The Third Seat cannot enter Belland casually; it's too easy to be exposed. And without a Crowned-level combatant, it really is impossible to easily break that Holy Light turtle shell."
A third person added:
"If nothing else, the Pure Saintess's Holy Light Barrier must have been specially blessed by the Church. Its strength is staggering."
"That's why they need us."
The first person spoke again, a disdainful sneer appearing on his lips amidst the shifting shadows.
In front of him, besides the flickering light screens, were several intelligence files.
If Liya were here, she would have noticed the large, prominent photos on the front of those files: An, Muen, and Ariel.
"Ariel Bugard."
The man tapped his finger on the file.
"The Pure Saintess's childhood sweetheart. She has a ten-year friendship with the Saintess; they grew up together and are extremely close. Therefore, she is our primary target for this operation."
"Muen Campbell. The famous son of the Duke. He once traveled to the Church as the Saintess's God-Attendant Knight for the Holy Ceremony. Although according to our intel, they've known each other for less than a year, there should still be some sentiment there. He is a secondary target."
"The maid, An. No direct connection to the Saintess, but because she is Muen Campbell's personal maid and stays close to him, she is included in the intel."
"These are the three people we need to watch out for in this operation. Understood?"
"Understood!" the others replied in unison.
"Very good."
The man nodded with satisfaction, his smile becoming increasingly arrogant.
"Hmph. A Holy Light Barrier? Indeed, as a defensive measure for the Saintess, it's quite frustrating. But unfortunately, we aren't those stupid cultists.
"When we know a turtle shell is too hard to bite, we naturally go looking for soft targets. We... use our brains!"