Sant Loses Contact

If you mention the Holy City in front of a Church follower, you can always see the unconcealable yearning in their eyes.

For many followers, if they had the chance to visit the Holy City in person, the sight they would most want to see would likely be the grand road paved outside the Grand Cathedral, extending all the way to the city gates.

Legend has it that if one traverses this road with a pure heart, they will be granted an audience with the Pope.

Therefore, this road is also known as the Path of Audience.

Even now, late at night, many followers still line both sides of the Path of Audience, kowtowing as they advance toward the Grand Cathedral.

In their words, this is a pilgrimage.

To them, even a brief rest is a sign of insufficiently pure faith.

On this Path of Audience, most people will not choose to rest or eat before completing the journey.

The sound of horse hooves from a distance caught their attention; four robust celestial horses were slowly approaching.

The pilgrims looked at the Holy Maiden’s carriage, their faces filled with fanaticism for the Church.

Sitting in the carriage, Yuffie paid no mind to the pilgrims on either side.

For her, every time she passed this road, she felt an instinctive revulsion.

However, in the face of such fervent followers, even the words of the Holy Maiden would be but a drop in the ocean.

“Your Holiness, the Holy Maiden!”

The knights guarding the cathedral gates immediately saluted Yuffie upon seeing her.

However, Yuffie’s first destination upon her return this time was not the Grand Cathedral before her.

Her bare, jade-like feet touched the ground as she arrived at a house located behind the cathedral.

“Dr. Terence, I’ve returned.”

Yuffie stood in front of the house.

There were not many places in the entire Holy City where she could wait quietly, and this was one of them.

She knew there were few places to find a quiet wait in the Holy City, and this was one of them.

With a creak, the door opened, and an aged voice came from within.

“Yuffie, you’re back? Come in, quickly.”

Only after hearing the permission to enter did Yuffie step inside.

Yuffie’s spiritual sense perceived only one old man within the house.

She came to Dr. Terence’s side and sat down.

“The usual.”

After settling down, Yuffie rolled up the sleeve of her robe, revealing a snow-white arm.

A familiar sting pricked her, but the expression on Yuffie’s face didn’t change in the slightest.

Her blood left her body along with the needle.

The old man named Terence picked up the test tube and looked at it; inside was the fresh blood just drawn from Yuffie.

“Your body is still in good condition. You haven’t experienced any other discomfort, have you?”

Faced with the doctor’s inquiry, Yuffie shook her head, her soft golden hair swaying with the movement.

“No, thank you for your concern, Doctor. I’m just tired from the long journey.”

“It’s good that your body is fine. I’ve heard from others that the Pope wishes for you to make a trip to Tukulu and capture all the hiding witches. So, let’s schedule the next check-up for after you return.”

Dr. Terence wore a gentle smile on his face.

He put away the drawn blood and then let Yuffie leave.

This Dr. Terence was Yuffie’s savior and the one who had guided her into the Church.

Ever since she was a child, Yuffie had suffered from intermittent fevers.

The most severe instance had even damaged her eyes.

Just as Yuffie’s future seemed bleak, Terence, a member of the Church, extended a helping hand to her.

After Terence appeared and treated her, the abnormal fevers that had plagued Yuffie’s body finally ceased to trouble her.

All she needed were regular blood draws to monitor her condition, and this was the first time Yuffie had experienced the warmth of the Church.

“Then I won’t disturb your rest, Dr. Terence.”

Yuffie slowly backed out of the room, closing the door for Terence as she left.

After confirming Yuffie had departed, Terence’s smile vanished in an instant.

He returned to the room and twisted the pen holder on his desk.

The wardrobe slowly moved, and a man-made secret passage gradually appeared before his eyes.

Holding the test tube of blood drawn from Yuffie, Terence walked down the secret passage.

In a blink of an eye, the narrow passage opened into a wide, empty space.

On the bare ground, a magic formation was inscribed.

If an observer were present, they would realize that this magic formation was the same one that had previously flickered with light upon sensing the aura of a Soul Vessel.

Now, more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Terence’s movements.

Taking out the fresh blood drawn from Yuffie, Terence poured the blood onto the magic formation.

A sizzling sound erupted.

The markings on the magic formation dimmed for a moment upon contact with Yuffie’s blood, then immediately returned to their original brightness.

“It has taken over a decade to wear down this formation even a little bit. If the will within still remains, there’s truly nothing to be done. It’s a pity the Soul Vessel is gone. Otherwise, by using a power of the same origin, we could have tried to break it open now.”

As Terence finished speaking, the surrounding pairs of watching eyes all departed from their original positions.

“Then, the plan to attack Tukulu and hunt the witches?”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

Far away, a certain group was unaware that the Theocracy had already approved the plan of attack.

The rumors that had been circulating had, in this moment, become reality.

She was now facing a more pressing problem.

“Mr. Sant has been gone for a full half-day on his trip to Hermel with the letter, and now he hasn’t returned and we’ve lost contact?”

Hermel was the last city in the Church’s domain.

As long as they could leave Hermel, the road ahead would become much smoother.

At the very least, they wouldn’t have to hide and worry about their identities being exposed like they did within the Theocracy’s territory.

According to the Lord of Blackstone City, he had an acquaintance in Hermel who would help them cross the border, and the letter of recommendation was carried by the butler, Sant.

After they arrived, Sant had proactively said he would go into the city to contact this acquaintance, while Isa and the others found a spot outside the city to set down their small cabin and await his message.

“It’s been half a day since Sant entered the city. We can’t rule out the possibility that Sant was captured and charged with the crime of colluding with witches.”

Faced with this situation, Philly was the first to calmly analyze the circumstances.

“If that’s true, the good news for us is that Sant doesn’t know our location yet. However, we can’t rule out the possibility that they might torture him for information.”

As Philly spoke, she didn’t notice that the expression of Canlisa, who was draped over Isa, was slightly off.

“Philly, stop talking.”

Noticing the slight tremor from the white cat on her, Isa immediately stopped Philly from continuing.

“Uncle Sant is very kind to everyone. He’ll be okay, right?”

Canlisa’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Faced with her question, Isa could only pat her reassuringly.

“We are just considering the worst-case scenario. Perhaps Mr. Sant is just unable to leave the city because of a curfew?”

Hearing Isa’s comfort, Canlisa’s claws tightened their grip slightly.

“Tomorrow. If Sant still hasn’t contacted us by tomorrow, we will go into Hermel.”

Neither Maimai nor Philly had any objections to Isa’s proposal.