Two weeks ago, and one week before the Church of Enlightenment’s Goddess Initiation began…

“What?!”

… the Apocalypse Cleaners were having another heated discussion over another sudden decision.

“I mean what I said,” Anten patiently nodded as she explained, “Dauma and Mister Blake, you two have to stay put here for now.”

While on their journey, the group had hit a big roadblock. Their next destination was a place called the Church of Enlightenment, where the next Particle was rumored to be located at. By all accounts, that in itself would not have been such a significant problem if not for Kara’s less than favorable comments about it.

“I would say that the people running the Church are a conservative bunch,” she had told them, “they treasure their faith in their ‘Goddess’ (you can probably guess who she is) and they hold a ridiculously high standard for their beliefs. In other words, it may be hard to gain their trust.”

That fact automatically meant to them that, given Dauma and Blake’s unusual appearances, it would be hard for them to waltz into the place freely without stirring up some unwanted issues. As soon as Anten pointed it out, it had put an abrupt stop to their overall progress as a group together.

Additionally, given the fact that ‘here’ in the current context meant the middle of nowhere in the wasteland, the very thought of camping out in the same location for an unforeseen amount of time did not sit well with Blake, despite the fact that he had done it before.

“Excuse me, but why do we need to stay put for this… Church thing? Wouldn’t it be much easier if we all went together and nabbed it? That would be much faster and more efficient,” he argued.

“…”

At the back of the group, Dauma gave a small and knowing smirk as he stayed quiet. By this point, he had already learnt that it was hard to change the angel’s mind once she was set on something, so he simply accepted the proposal and did not bother even stepping into the argument.

“This is not what we had agreed upon!”

Unfortunately, Blake was still green around the gills when it came to matters like these and, considering that his introduction to the group was rocky from the start, it was clear that this problem would inevitably cracks in the group’s current dynamic as he clashed against the idea.

Realizing that, Anten quickly switched her approach and tried to reason with him as best she could, defusing the tension as much as possible to avoid any further complications.

“Hear me out, Mister Blake,” she kindly pleaded, “I know what you want to achieve, but for the time being, please understand that I want to do things my way.”

“Which is?”

“That me and Miss Yuu will go introduce ourselves to the Church first and figure out what we’re dealing with, including finding out whether there’s any Particle hidden there or not. Once we’re inside, we’ll let you two know more and we can then discuss our next actions.”

“Uh huh, then what if you and the spirit get into trouble? How would we respond in that case?” he challenged back.

“Mm… if that happens…” she hesitantly replied after a small pause, “we can come up with a Plan B.”

“A Plan B?”

“Yes, should there be a Particle there, the two of us are unable to get it, and you can’t reach us at all. In that situation, you and Dauma can respond with what you think is appropriate, as much as I don’t like it.”

“Again, can’t we just do it now? I don’t think there’s any problem with that.”

“No,” she answered, “we don’t know what the Church members are like in person, and we can’t just go in killing everyone we see. We need to move carefully and efficiently.”

“But I—”

“I believe I’ve made my point clear. Dauma, please keep an eye out for Mister Blake for me, thank you.”

“… ugh, fine. Fucking fine.”

Unable to bring his case forward anymore, Blake crossed his arms and sat down on the sand in an angry huff, turning his head away from her with visible frustration.

“But you two better not take too long, alright? Otherwise, you know what’ll happen.”

“Got it.”

Anten triumphantly smiled at her minor success before beckoning for Yuu to come over to her, aiming to get her opinion now.

“Are you okay with this arrangement, Miss Yuu?”

“… umm… yeah, sure…”

“Good, then we’ll both be off. See you guys in a few hours!”

Without so much as a second wasted, the two girls immediately left the two guys behind and made their way down to the Church compound, where the unpredictability of the people they were about to meet or the secrets they could uncover was still yet to be determined.

“…”

As he watched Blake continue to sulk while sitting on the ground with his hand on his chin, Dauma looked around aimlessly before finally opening his mouth again.

“So, what do you want to do now?”

**********************

“Follow my lead.”

Before they could boldly march up to the Church’s front gates, Anten made sure to hide the Soul Particle inside Yuu beforehand by wrapping her body up in thick layers of clothing.

“Can’t risk anyone recognizing this.”

“… fair…” Yuu replied as she also attempted to suppress the Particle’s glow to an incredibly low brightness, in the event that it could somehow peek out of the multiple layers, largely succeeding in doing so as a result.

“Alright, now…”

Making her way up to the tall and polished panels that made up the gate, Anten lightly rapped her fist against the surface before immediately stepping backwards in surprise.

Her soft knocking had remarkably been amplified by whatever material and structure that the doors had been designed with as the two of them could hear loud booming echoes rattle in response, creating a noise that they were sure anyone who was in the vicinity would be able to hear.

“…”

For a few seconds, no one answered, but soon enough, they could hear a man’s voice calling out to them from above.

“You two down there! What is your business with the Church?”

Looking up, they quickly spotted the watchtower perched atop the gates that they had not paid much attention to, and a stern-faced man who seemed to be the guard was leaning against the wooden railing and questioning them firmly.

He had not drawn a weapon at them, but Anten was sure he had one regardless, so she quickly raised her hands up towards the guard as a peaceful gesture.

“We are merely travelers, Mister Guard!” she shouted, “we came across this place, and we thought we could take shelter here for the time being! We do not mean you any harm, we just want some help! Please, we’re desperate!”

Man, I hate this…

She said her words with a slightly shaky tone in her voice. Even as she skirted along the truth as much as she could, the worry that she would accidentally give her intentions away with one careless slip of her tongue was still there.

“…”

Indeed, it almost seemed as though the guard had not bought her story fully, as he gave no response and looked down at them with a deeply suspicious gaze for a good long while.

The longer they stared at each other while remaining silent, the more tension that was quickly being generated for a chance of potential conflict between them. As such, she only became more terrified, but she could not directly show it on her face, lest it give her away.

For god’s sake, did we screw up already?

“… alright.”

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Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of mental stress, the guard shrugged and moved backwards off the tower edge before pulling down a lever situated beside him.

Oh.

Anten and Yuu watched as the tall gates swung open, welcoming them inside, and despite a bit of hesitation at the start, the both of them gulped before bravely walking in.

“…”

Passing through the boundary of the compound behind, they could see multiple people waiting inside in two rows, all donning the same white robes as they bowed to them with grace.

“We welcome you to our Church of Enlightenment!” they chorused together, almost as though they were facing esteemed or valuable guests that had graced their presence instead of the complete strangers they actually were.

However, despite their outward mannerisms, there was something off that Anten felt about them, and the fact that none of them seemed to be carrying any weapons even though they were dealing with a potential threat worryingly tipped her off even further.

As they continued bowing and warmly greeting them, one of the members of the ‘welcoming party’ quickly stepped out before promptly signaling for them to pay attention to her.

“Good morning, ladies. I will be escorting you to your destination,” she spoke calmly with no indication of malice before she swiftly turned and began to walk away from them.

As the other people with her stopped talking and began closely staring at the two of them, with some of them even starting to quietly murmur among themselves, they felt that they had no choice but to comply with her request and follow her as she walked further and deeper into the compound without stopping once.

“…”

“…”

As they passed by various different buildings and areas on their way to the unspecified ‘destination’, Anten and Yuu quickly began looking around them for anything noteworthy or important that they could come back to.

However, to their disappointment, the compound seemed very normal for the most part. It looked clean, tidy, and extremely hospitable, with nothing that could raise any possible flags or suspicions for them.

Even the people that they ran into, the same ones who Kara had claimed were ‘conservative’, all appeared to be friendly and kind, as they waved and smiled at them without any forceful prompting or pressuring.

Of course, that had not made Anten fully trust them yet, but for the time being, she felt reassured by the discovery as she quickly returned the welcoming gestures back to them.

I can just imagine it now… if they could fulfil our request, that would be great!

“… in here.”

At last, the three of them, with the unnamed lady still leading them, turned and entered a large structure to their right. Walking down the long hallway, she stopped them once they reached a room that was completely empty save for two lone chairs right in the center.

“Please sit on the chairs,” she politely insisted, “and someone will be with you shortly. Do not leave.”

Again, without questioning it at all, Anten and Yuu readily sat down and patiently waited as she left the room, leaving the two of them all by themselves.

“…”

“…”

Once again, their eyes silently surveyed the room closely, but it had nothing besides them no matter how hard they looked. It was definitely a lot different from many of the other meeting rooms that they had visited, both of them noticed it as soon as they entered, so neither one of them knew what to expect.

“Tap. Tap. Tap.”

After a short wait, they finally heard the firm tapping of footsteps behind them again. As she listened closely, Anten could hear at least three pairs of shoes that had entered the room, but right before she could turn around to confirm it, one of the pairs stopped directly behind her, causing her to freeze on instinct.

“Pay attention to the front,” a gruff male voice spoke as she felt a pair of hands firmly grab her chair and the presence of a face looking down at her. Immediately, she did what he asked and kept her eyes straight ahead.

“Mm.”

Standing in front of the two of them was an old man, hunched over and quite decrepit, closely looking them over from top to bottom with his scrunched eyes. Much like the people they had passed by on the way, he was also wearing white robes, but they could also see the presence of markings that they had not seen on the others yet.

“Very fascinating…” she could hear him mumble softly as he brushed his chin in thought and slowly walked back and forth between her and Yuu.

“Are you… the leader of this place?”

Before she realized it, she had opened her mouth to ask a simple question, and he quickly turned towards her with an indescribable expression on his face.

“Hey! Do not speak unless you are given permission!” the man behind her thundered in response, but the old man jerked his head upwards, and his shouting immediately stopped as if on command.

He had not appeared to be irritated by her rude question. Instead, both of his eyebrows were raised, and she could see the traces of a faint smile as he looked at her again.

“Ah… the impatience of youth… how it takes me back…”

“Um, sorry if I had upset you in any way,” she hurriedly attempted to apologize, “I did not mean to—”

“It’s alright. You two are new here after all, so it makes sense that you might confuse me as the Elder.”

“Confuse? Does that mean you’re not the leader?”

“No,” he bluntly replied.

“Oh. Then, I apologize for the misunderstanding. You see, we—"

“Yes, yes, that is all well and good,” he quickly interrupted her, “but that is not important… the real question has yet to be answered.”

In an instant, the atmosphere became more tense, and he began to pace between them again before continuing.

“Why do you want to see the Elder?”

“…”

Anten bit her lip and did not respond.

“Perhaps you share our beliefs and wish to join the Church of Enlightenment?”

“… uh…”

“I guess not,” he shrugged, “then perhaps you wish to stay here for the time being? Sheltering yourselves from some threat outside and then leaving when the coast is clear?”

“… actually, yes—”

“But that’s not right either, is it?”

Oh crap.

Anten tried her best to hide her nervousness as she watched him stop right in front of her, before raising his chin and loudly exhaling from his mouth.

“I know what you’re here for. There’s no question about it.”

“Y…y…”

She attempted to respond in her defense, but the words were getting stuck in her throat, so all that came out of her mouth were mere short gasps as she struggled to breathe.

Calm down, Anten. He hasn’t said what it is yet…

“… you two are here for the source of power we have in our Church.”

Damn it. This is not looking good.

She was finding it more and more difficult to explain herself as he kept breaking her shields down, bit by bit. She knew it would only be a matter of time before he hit the jackpot, and they would inevitably get caught.

There was no point in lying anymore, and neither she nor Yuu could have any chance of walking out without them learning what they were actually here for and responding appropriately to their attempted theft.

So, without even waiting for him to finish his questioning, she braced herself and spoke as honestly as she could.

“Yes, we are.”

“I see.”

As the man behind her tightened his grip on her chair, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the hammer to drop.

“In other words, you’re here for the Initiation next week.”

“Eh?”

That was not the answer she had been expecting at all. In fact, it was an answer she was not even knowledgeable of. It was almost as though the old man and her were on completely different tracks from the start.

As she opened her eyes and looked blankly at him, she could see that his expression had lightened once again, so she swallowed up all the confusion she had and simply nodded in affirmation.

“Y-yes, we are…”

“Well then.”

He quickly nodded his head again, and the burly man removed his hands from her chair, finally giving her a reassuring sign for the first time in a while.

“Um…”

“Brother Jess and Brother Melle will show you two to the dorms,” the old man spoke curtly as he began to walk out of the room, seemingly not in the mood to clarify any of her doubts at all, “and wear our Church habit. You cannot walk around in those clothes; they are not acceptable here.”

“Can I just…”

He was gone before she could even finish her question, and being none the wiser, she rubbed her head in confusion, unsure of what to think at that moment.

“Come.”

With the old man gone, the men who were still inside the room grunted to get her attention before gesturing for her to follow them.

“…”

Much like before with the unnamed lady, she and Yuu had no choice but to do what they said while remaining obedient, biding their time until they could finally get the proper answers they wanted.

I hope this isn’t a trap.

Luckily, it did not turn out to be the case as after a few minutes of walking back out into the compound and back towards the entrance gate, they were brought into a large building, where she could automatically sense an entirely different vibe compared to the one they were just in.

It was much more comfortable, much friendlier, much warmer. In other words, it gave her hope, and she felt relaxed as she walked further into the building’s hallway.

“Who’s that?”

“Is she here for…”

“She’s pretty…”

As they passed by even more people in the hallway who she assumed were other members of the Church, she could hear them gossiping to each other, unflinchingly curious about the new arrivals.

Just smile and I can blend in… hopefully.

“You two sleep here.”

Without any fuss or trouble, the two girls were quickly ushered into an empty room, packed with beds, a study table and, for what was initially a shock but upon further reassessment turned out to not be so surprising in hindsight, a medium-sized wooden replica of the female statue they had seen when they were walking through the compound placed just below the window.

“Elder’s address begins at 5pm. Do NOT be late.”

“Got it, Mister… er, I mean Brother, I guess…”

As the men left, closing the door behind them, and leaving them to their own devices, Anten took a much closer look around the room. Within no time at all, she quickly spotted a set of white robes that had been laid neatly on the bed.

“Hm…”

With slight hesitation, she gingerly picked them up. They were soft, but surprisingly thick as she felt the material and casually noted the golden symbol on the front of the tunic.

“Wear our Church habit. You cannot walk around in those clothes; they are not acceptable here.”

I guess that makes sense… if I want to leave a good impression on them, I have to follow what everyone else does for the time being.

“… angel lady.”

“Yeah? Oh.”

As she turned back to face Yuu, she could see that she had already changed into her habit in the blink of an eye, without even a single noise or movement that she had detected.

“… I have experience…”

“That’s true.”

Unknowingly, Yuu’s quick change of clothes had put even more pressure on Anten to put on the habit as soon as possible, but as she held up the tunic in front of her, she suddenly realized something very important.

“Oh, I haven’t changed.”

Since she had been sent down to Earth, she had worn her simple white dress the whole time without changing out of it once. Of course, she had worn other stuff that was given to her before, such as the shawl that Kara made for her, but those had just been wrapped around her with no change needed.

As such, the thought suddenly loomed in her head: What if she could not take her dress off? What if, like Dauma, she was unable to change her base appearance?

Of course, one strategy that she could employ to get out of the dilemma was to wear the habit over her dress much like the shawl, but if she had to fully blend in, she knew she had to go all the way and take no shortcuts.

If people saw what she did, she might get into trouble that she had not asked for, and she could not take that risk.

“… are you ok?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she snapped out of her trance and replied to Yuu, “just wondering if I can take off my dress or not.”

“…”

“I know it’s kind of silly, but I would rather avoid any complications. You understand that, right?”

“…”

“Miss Yuu?”

“… heh…”

Turning around again, she could see the spirit girl with an unusual expression on her face that she had never seen before. There was a gleam in her eyes, and it almost looked like she was smirking, making a mischievous little smile with her mouth.

“What… is happening?”

“… I can show you… how to wear…” she softly remarked with a surprising hint of playfulness, her hands slowly lifting up towards Anten.

“Wait a second… Miss Yuu…”

“… it’s ok… let me…”

“MISS YUU!”

…

For the next few minutes, when people passed by the closed door, they could hear the unmistakable sounds of struggling, followed by the shrill exclamations of a girl and shortly after accompanied by the quiet laughter of another girl.

“…”

However, instead of politely knocking on the door and asking them to keep it quiet, they just walked past it as quickly as they could, choosing not to disturb whatever was happening in that room.

After all, it seemed like they were having fun.