"Who could it be, acting so decisively..."

Brother Fra, the white-robed priest, muttered to himself as he examined the mutant corpses before him.

"Four werewolves, and a hunter's body possessed by a shadow demon." The more he observed, the more Fra was convinced of the ruthless decisiveness of the one who acted.

He couldn't sense any traces of Battle Qi, Magic, or Transcendent vitality on the bodies.

It was as if the slaughter was done purely with physical strength.

Yes, slaughter.

Each werewolf had no more than three wounds—throat slit to prevent sound, a heart stab for an instant kill, leaving them dead under the full moon without a struggle.

As for the possessed hunter, there were only two marks of attack—a kick and a stone.

Among the residual shadow energy around, Fra also found traces of purification.

"If it were a demon hunter, they would have no reason not to meet me... Is it a desperate move to survive, hiding traces of Transcendent power... What is this person's goal?"

The more Fra thought, the more his head ached.

The main issue was that he hadn't sensed the presence of this mutant killer in the village last night.

That person hid their Transcendent power and purpose so well, it was as if they had just passed by and decided to slaughter on a whim...

"Such pure physical strength and precision, it must be at least a Professional specializing in physical training, either a Martial Artist or a Knight..."

Fra kept calculating the purpose of the visitor in his mind, feeling a premonition that the person was targeting him.

In the end, he sighed, "Forget it... I was careless."

He had planned to burn the witch and then wait for these hidden mutants to act out before killing them—this would also deepen the faith in the village and stabilize it further.

He just didn't expect these guys to be wiped out in one night.

Most importantly, the Transcendent wizard behind creating the mutants hadn't been investigated...

That was the most troublesome issue.

"I should investigate that nun's matter first..." Fra muttered to himself.

Stolen novel; please report.

He felt there was something off about the nun.

A feeling of... replacement.

"Brother Fra!"

At this moment, a guard's voice came from outside the church.

"Brother Fra, Knight Macal requests an audience."

'Macal? Why isn't he watching over that nun, and instead coming to me?' Fra's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise.

"Let him in."

Though surprised, Fra didn't intend to refuse the meeting. After tidying his robe a little, he called for Macal.

By this time, he had already hidden both hands back into the wide sleeves of his white robe.

This was a habit of most priests—they would try to maintain physical cleanliness, hide their movements, and adhere to strict codes.

In exchange for powerful inner strength.

"Macal greets the High Priest." Macal bowed deeply before raising his head.

"Macal, it's just the two of us here, no need for formalities or restraint, speak freely." Fra's words were calm as a mirror, matching his indifferent gray eyes.

Priests often only used a deliberately kind voice when preaching.

In their understanding, human emotions were limited.

"Yes, Brother Fra..." After a slight pause, Macal began to recount the events he encountered today.

Of course, he omitted some unnecessary details, only explaining the strange happenings in Rock Town in detail.

"You didn't investigate further?" Fra asked after quietly listening to Macal's account.

Macal hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "The matter is significant, I felt obliged to bring the news out immediately, and I brought a hunter from Rock Town with me."

"Hmm... It's good to be cautious, Macal. I'm pleased to see your growth—if the matter is true, I'll apply for a trial for you with the Holy Council."

Fra nodded, offering Macal a compliment devoid of emotion.

"I dare not claim credit, it's what I should do."

Macal was long accustomed to the emotionless praise from Fra.

Most people from the Church of Dawn were typically warm and kind when preaching, but appeared emotionless during internal affairs.

However, their efficiency was particularly high.

"I'll investigate this matter, and leave those hunters to Sky (another priest)."

Fra walked to the desk, pulled out a sheet of white paper, and picked up a quill to write, asking Macal as he wrote, "By the way, Macal—is Brother Geling outside?"

"Ah, uh... yes, she's with Maggie." Hearing this request, Macal's tone momentarily faltered, but he still gave an answer.

"I want to see her." Fra quickly finished writing what he wanted on the paper.

Then his palm glowed slightly, sweeping over the paper to fix the ink.

"Ah? This..." Macal hesitated—because Ogre hadn't disguised himself yet.

In his haste to report the matter, he hadn't had time to let Ogre go back and disguise himself.

"Why, Macal—could it be you've taken a liking to her, or perhaps you haven't taken good care of Brother Geling." Fra noticed Macal's hesitation, but his tone remained unchanged.

Casually rolling the written paper into a scroll, Fra's entire hand ignited with a pure white flame.

Miraculously, the flame didn't burn the paper, but formed golden patterns on it.

"Yes... there is." Macal looked at the calm Fra, finally agreeing, then stammered, "But Geling, Brother Geling, she... might be a bit inconvenient—she's having her time of the month, which might defile the sacred..."

"No matter... I'll go out to see her, and help her with treatment."

Macal's actions piqued Fra's interest; he didn't expect the church's famously wooden knight to fall for a plain-looking nun so quickly.

How interesting.

"No... it's not that." Macal felt a pang of guilt, momentarily at a loss.

"Macal, don't forget how you got everything."

Fra extinguished the flame in his hand, opened his palm, and a white dove flew down from a tree outside the window, landing in his hand.

"In a moment, I'll go with you to see her."

After placing the scroll covered in golden patterns under the dove's claw, Fra released the bird, then calmly turned his head.

"Yes..." Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Macal had to agree.

He understood that the more one tried to avoid something, the more likely it was to happen.

When Fra didn't take the opportunity to step down the first time, it meant the matter couldn't be refused.

'Sorry... Miss Geling.' Macal felt particularly apologetic towards Ogre.

However, he didn't think this matter would have much of a negative impact on Ogre.

Meanwhile, Ogre, who was being harassed by Maggie, also sensed trouble...

Because just after Macal went to report, Eve, who had been hiding, appeared.

Ogre felt that the careless Macal had probably completely forgotten about this.

'This is really troublesome now.'

Ogre could feel a strong hostility from this girl...

Because the way back was strongly requested by Macal to carry him—Ogre, to keep up appearances, couldn't really refuse.

"Long time no see, Sister Eve—did you just return from the city? I couldn't find you yesterday." Maggie, however, had no other reaction, she was even a bit happy.

As soon as Macal returned to the village, she got the news and came out, not expecting to meet Eve at this time.

"Hmm..." Eve nodded with a smile.

But her gaze never left Ogre for a moment.

'In hindsight, it would have been better to let Macal check out that broken town.'

Ogre silently adjusted his scarf, cautiously retreating behind Maggie.