A warm white light emanated from Selene’s hand. She looked at her palm in surprise, but before she could speak, she felt a wave of weakness wash over her, and her consciousness quickly plunged into darkness. In an instant, Selene lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

…

“Lord of Pure Holiness, creator of all beings in the world…”

In the cathedral in the north of the Holy City, Alice knelt before the altar, performing her daily prayers.

The previous night’s raid on the True Light cultists in the inner city had been successful, but they still hadn’t found the missing members of the royal family. The Pope had been in the underground chamber beneath the Great Light Hall for three days. Though the primary power source had stabilized, there was still no news. The communication towers in the Holy City were also down… They could only contact Alorn using griffin riders.

Duke Weinstein had already made plans for the worst-case scenario, reinforcing the Holy City’s defenses. He had also sent someone to reassure Lord Duquesne of Alorn, hoping that the weak lord would show some spine and resist any potential rebellion.

After a brief prayer, Alice stood up impassively, planning to find Lilith, whose mental state was a concern. She wanted to persuade her to remain neutral in the current political struggle, though she doubted Lilith even understood politics. She also wondered about the members of the Omniscient Assembly, who were still hidden.

Alice walked through the cathedral, pondering various issues.

She suddenly stopped and turned to look behind her.

It was a large, empty hall, adorned with countless sparkling jewels embedded in the walls. Statues of heroes from the Fifth Era were displayed on the floor, carved from magically-infused stone. But they were now all draped in white cloth. Hundreds of simple beds were placed among them—after the recent unrest in the Holy City, this had become a makeshift hospital for wounded Papal Knights and loyal imperial officers.

Officers, priests, messengers, and newly wounded soldiers were constantly coming and going. The heretics’ flesh magic had been very corrosive, and three Cardinals were taking turns performing purification rituals, day and night… This should have been the busiest part of the cathedral.

But now, she couldn’t see a single wounded soldier or priest. The silence was so profound that she could hear a pin drop.

Something’s wrong!

Alice instantly increased her vigilance. Beams of light emanated from her hands, illuminating the ground. More light spread out, bathing the cathedral in an even brighter light. More light surrounded her, forming a protective barrier.

She cautiously walked through the hall, carefully examining everything for inconsistencies, but after spending nearly an hour searching, she found nothing. Everyone was gone, but everything else was normal.

An illusion? A dream? Or some kind of spatial displacement spell she hadn’t even noticed?

Alice’s right hand, its light twisting into a blade, stabbed into her thigh without hesitation. Blood flowed down her smooth skin. Her expression remained unchanged as she endured the intense pain, a slight smile on her lips.

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“A crude dream. The caster must be high-level…”

In the real world, she felt no pain.

Understanding the nature of the situation, Alice didn’t waste time. She had countless pressing matters in the Holy City, and the small group of people she was worried about needed her attention. Time was precious. Every second counted.

She extended both hands, and light flowed into them, forming a divine spell at her will…

A voice cut her off.

“Help! Me! Aaaaaaaa—!”

...

Selene ran through the cathedral, past solemn carvings and flickering candlelight. To be precise, she was running away, pursued by a surging tide of flesh.

“Help… Bang!”

She cried out, narrowly dodging a bolt of blood that shot from behind her. She quickly adjusted her position, turning, only to run into a brick wall, unable to dodge in time.

Selene instinctively raised her hands to protect her head, and the two chases she’d experienced in the past week helped her instantly react. She turned and ran in another direction…

Bang!

Another wall.

Selene stared blankly at the dead end before her. The pain in her head made it clear what had happened—

It was a dead end in both directions.

Countless thoughts raced through Selene’s mind—she couldn’t understand why the designer of this cathedral had blocked both paths, transforming this T-shaped intersection into a dead end. Various crude and vivid curses flooded her mind.

The two setbacks had robbed her of the opportunity to change direction. The surging mass of flesh was closing in, and the hallway she had just passed was filled with the expanding flesh. The white walls and ceiling were torn and cracked, becoming ruins. New limbs and organs were constantly sprouting from the mass of flesh. Formed and unformed fetuses fell from within, immediately devoured by the mass of flesh…

Selene, lacking any real threat, raised her hand and said,

“So… I’m a Regressor. I’m very powerful. I can cast forbidden spells. I suggest you reconsider whether or not you want to eat me…”

She felt, perhaps it was an illusion, that the countless mouths on the mass of flesh had curved upwards after she finished speaking, mocking her.

“I warned you!”

Selene gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and prepared to summon the fire elements again.

But before she could enter a meditative state, a wave of intense holy light broke through the wall to her right. The burning light fell upon the mass of flesh, instantly setting it ablaze. A sharp, agonizing scream reached her ears.

She opened her eyes, hearing the scream, and saw the mass of flesh writhing in agony. The still-forming flesh was violently tearing and crushing the holy objects, turning them into rubble. A fleshy whip, blazing with flames, lashed out from the mass, striking down at her. It weighed a ton. If it struck her, she would be a bloody mess. Richter would have to put her back together, piece by piece, or maybe limb by limb. It depended on what tools he used…

—Selene’s habit of random thoughts in moments of crisis had returned.

She watched helplessly as the whip lashed down. Then, from the hole in the wall to her right, which had been made by the holy light, came the sound of repeated, continuous cracking. Then, in a flash of light, a figure, enveloped in light, smashed through a dozen walls, heavily impacting the mass of flesh. A human-shaped object threw a mask with irregular glass pieces, reflecting thousands of rays of light that instantly sliced through the fleshy whip, reducing it to a mixture of blood and gore.

Selene stared, stunned, at the events that had unfolded in less than two seconds, watching as the figure, enveloped in dazzling light, incinerated the monster and emerged from the resulting ashes, transforming into a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a pilgrim’s robe.

Alice frowned, assessing this unexpected visitor. She was wearing a white nightgown that was now stained with sweat and the monster’s blood, but her clothes weren’t what caught Alice’s attention… She saw the familiar black hair and blue eyes, and a wild guess formed in her mind.

The two spoke simultaneously.

“Who are you?”

“Saintess?”