Let’s go back and ask

Su Mo, now dozens of meters away from the two, felt her clothes beginning to change.

Her hair had completely turned pink, with a pinkish-purple crystal flower ornament pinned to one side.

The mass-produced cleric outfit she had worn transformed into a pure white dress.

Beneath it, a pair of pristine, jade-like legs were revealed.

Her soft, pink feet were bare, stepping directly onto the earth, yet no dirt or dust clung to them.

With every step she took, the soles of her feet remained flawless and delicate.

Gradually, she stopped running.

The mask on her face had been removed, and she had fully transformed from Su Mo into Edenia.

“Looks like it’ll take a little while to fully recover…”

Looking at the mask with a scratch across it, Edenia touched it lightly and sighed.

In this state, she couldn’t go to find Xiao Ying, but the black-robed figure was being held back by the suddenly appeared church official, so Xiao Ying’s safety wasn’t an immediate concern.

“Hehe\~ Did Xiao Ying tell you?”

Thinking of what the church official had said earlier, Edenia couldn’t help but chuckle.

It hadn’t been long since Xiao Ying ran away, and in such a short time, she couldn’t possibly have returned to the church.

So the church official had been lying.

Since morning, an intermittent feeling of being watched had constantly lingered.

When she first saw the black-robed figure, Edenia thought that figure was the source of the surveillance.

But it wasn’t—the sensation persisted, only disappearing after the church official appeared.

The answer seemed clear: the person who had been secretly watching them all along was most likely this man.

His surveillance carried no hostility, seeming simply to observe them, so he probably didn’t intend to harm them.

But no one spies on others without reason, except for perverts or stalkers.

Based on Edenia’s understanding of the church, spying seemed less rational than simply praying more.

Thus, it wasn’t mere surveillance—it resembled monitoring.

What puzzled Edenia was why he was doing this without apparent reason.

Was he acting on the Archbishop’s orders? If so, who exactly was he monitoring?

Though Edenia considered it likely he was monitoring her—since she had been taken in by Xiao Ying and her background was unknown—she now thought it more likely he was watching Xiao Ying.

The reason became clear from what the black-robed figure had said during the fight.

“Demon… they probably weren’t talking about me. And thinking carefully, from the moment the black-robed figure appeared, the one they targeted wasn’t me, but Xiao Ying, who I was protecting.

Does that mean Xiao Ying’s true identity is a demon?”

With that thought, many things began to make sense.

For example, Xiao Ying’s inability to use magic—Edenia knew the Archbishop had told her it was because her magical power was unstable and could harm her body, so it was sealed.

But was that really the reason?

Edenia suspected the Archbishop had sealed Xiao Ying’s power to prevent anyone from discovering her demonic nature.

“So, the Archbishop is actually a good person?”

Edenia mused, stroking her chin.

He didn’t choose to purge a demon; instead, he personally sealed its demonic power and brought her to the church to become a nun.

If anyone had discovered this, the Archbishop would have faced consequences for sheltering Xiao Ying.

Yet he chose to do it anyway.

“So, the black-robed figure is a demon hunter? And the person who has been secretly monitoring us has actually been protecting Xiao Ying?”

For now, this was all Edenia could deduce.

She had no concrete proof of whether Xiao Ying was truly a demon, so she couldn’t be certain.

Since she couldn’t return to the church to ask Xiao Ying, she decided it would be better to confront the black-robed figure herself.

With that thought, a smile appeared on Edenia’s face.

She turned and gracefully walked toward the previous location.

Meanwhile…

“Is that all the power you have?”

The man stood unharmed, holding an open book, golden magic radiating from it.

Opposite him, the black-robed figure’s appearance was poor; their robe was tattered.

The hood covering their head was torn, and a single silver hair peeked out.

“Despicable, shameless man, using such vile methods.”

At this moment, the black-robed figure’s androgynous voice vanished, replaced by a beautiful female voice from beneath the hood.

“In battle, who cares what’s despicable? Besides, I am fighting you.

As long as I win in the end, outsiders will only hear my account. Even if I use vile, inhumane methods, as long as I’m the victor, I can present a facade of mercy to the world.”

Hearing the man’s smug words, the black-robed figure gripped her dagger tightly.

“You’re truly scum.”

“Hehe, say what you will. Today, you’ll fall here, and when I slay you as a monster, word will spread. This will both bring more followers to my church and make your death somewhat meaningful.”

The black-robed figure couldn’t hold back, swinging her arms to hurl several daggers at the man’s face.

Each dagger contained a unique magical effect—if hit, survival was impossible.

Yet the man only smiled, remaining still.

As the daggers approached, they slowly dissipated from the top of his head into the air.

“Useless. Your power comes from her, and you cannot use her power to harm her. Unless you defeat me in hand-to-hand combat, you can’t touch me.

But I won’t just stand here and let you attack—my magic affects you.”

He waved his hand lightly, and several columns of light materialized, crashing toward the black-robed figure.

Though she moved quickly, the number of light pillars increased over time, shrinking her dodge space.

Eventually, countless light pillars surrounded her with no gaps.

The man smiled faintly and waved his hand.

Instantly, all the pillars fell toward the black-robed figure.

Knowing she couldn’t avoid them, she braced for defense.

Just as the attack was about to hit, a strange voice suddenly echoed into both their ears.

“Hi♪ hello there\~”