Exposure

“Oh~ our Saintess doesn’t seem very obedient.”

Amidst the dust and smoke, the kind-faced “Archbishop” stepped out slowly.

He kept his hands behind his back, and his eyes, which were originally golden, now displayed a strange, crimson hue.

“You demon, who harms the clergy, don’t think for a second I would ever side with you!”

Delphina pointed at the group of demons led by the “Archbishop” and shouted in a crisp voice.

“My, my, a naughty Saintess needs proper discipline~”

From behind the red-robed Archbishop, the High Sister Xenora in her habit also stepped out. At this moment, she was playing with a bottle of magic potion containing an unidentified black gelatinous substance.

“But it doesn’t matter; what a sister loves most is disciplining disobedient children. Delphina, as long as you are obedient and drink this potion, the position of Saintess will be yours~”

“Aurelia’s” gaze noted the black potion in the sister’s hand. Although called a potion, what was inside the glass bottle was not a liquid.

It was an abnormal substance—slimy, jelly-like, yet possessing a life of its own—that immediately brought the symbiote “Venom” from Blue Star to mind.

This thing was much like a living, thinking venom; one look was enough to tell it was nothing good.

“In your dreams! The Demon Tribe attempts to infringe upon the sovereignty of my Great Dragon Divine Dynasty. As the only daughter of Duke Casimir, I will never allow you to act recklessly!”

Fluorescent light streaked through the air. Seeing that the plan had been discovered, Delphina immediately summoned her personal side-sword.

The sharp blade pointed directly at the Archbishop and the High Sister, but the two red-eyed demons were not afraid; they only wore eerie smiles.

“Sigh, what a foolish child. Why resist?”

“After all, even your mother joined our Demon Tribe of her own free will. Don’t you know yet? Why don’t you look behind me and see how your mother and those nobles are doing now?”

The “Archbishop” and the “High Sister” both shifted their bodies, moving slightly aside. Through the gap they left, the two girls immediately saw the situation inside the cathedral not far away.

The nobles, who had looked so dignified and high-class just moments ago, were now falling painfully to the ground, groaning and rolling. Although in human form, dragon scales were uncontrollably erupting from their skin.

Whether green scales or red, the same condition appeared on all of them.

That was a black gelatinous substance, identical to the one in the High Sister’s potion bottle, constantly corroding and spreading along their scales. In an instant, demonic energy soared through the cathedral.

And among those who had been afflicted was none other than Delphina’s mother, Lady Elizabeth.

At this moment, Lady Elizabeth had lost all her poise; her face was distorted as she lay half-paralyzed on the floor, frantically slamming her forehead against the wall.

“Argh… it hurts, it hurts so much!”

The sharp shriek caused Delphina’s heart to skip a beat.

“You… what did you do to my mother?!”

Holding her longsword, Delphina swung a furious strike toward the Archbishop.

But in the next moment, her blade was blocked mere centimeters from the Archbishop’s neck.

The High Sister had stepped in; her previously normal hand had already transformed into a dragon claw covered in black scales, catching the blade firmly.

“Don’t be so excited, Miss Delphina. We demons are reasonable. While the other nobles might have been schemed against, your mother truly joined us of her own free will~”

Xenora’s crimson eyes held a bone-chilling wickedness, and her seductive voice caused the fury in Delphina’s heart to surge even higher.

“You’re lying! Even if my mother couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, she would never abandon the bloodline of the Glazed family to willingly mingle with you demons!”

“That may not be so. For the sake of power and desire, dragons are just like humans; they all commit foolish acts.”

The “Archbishop” rubbed his hands together. The hypocritical kindness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a face full of evil smiles.

As he spoke, the “Archbishop” suddenly reached out and grabbed the neck of the defenseless Delphina.

With his other hand, he took the potion from Xenora, flicked the stopper open with his thumb, and made a move to force the girl to drink it.

However, at this critical juncture, a silver-gray blade-light sliced through the air, leaving a line of black blood splashing in its wake.

The wrist of the “Archbishop” that was clutching Delphina’s neck was severed. “Aurelia’s” figure moved like a ghost, rescuing the girl from the enemy’s grasp and pulling back to a safe distance.

“Hey, do you demons think I’m just a piece of furniture?”

Aurelia released her hand from Delphina’s waist, twirling a pair of silver-shining斩刀 into a brilliant flower of blades. She shielded the girl behind her, her golden eyes carrying a half-smile.

“Such a fast blade, such incredible speed…”

The “Archbishop” stared at the smooth cut on his wrist, muttering to himself.

“Aurelia, who is in her weak period, couldn’t possibly possess such strength. Could it be…”

“And she doesn’t use twin blades either.”

“You aren’t Aurelia. Who exactly are you?!”

In an instant, the gazes of the demons converged on “Aurelia.” After conducting a trial for so long, it turned out the one being judged wasn’t the Saintess herself. That feeling—like a well-planned trap to catch a turtle only for it to turn into a tortoise—made the demons seethe with humiliation and rage.

“Whoa, why are you looking at me like it’s my fault?”

“As the trial committee, you didn’t even recognize the subject of your own trial. Is that on me?”

“Aurelia” spread her hands while holding her blades, her beautiful eyes curved in an extreme smile.

“The dignified Archbishop can’t even recognize his superior, the Saintess. Even more laughable is that the Dragon God’s Eye you prayed to descend couldn’t even distinguish my true identity. Don’t you find it absurd?”

Suddenly, “Aurelia’s” expression turned fierce. She instantly threw a scimitar attached with deep-silver flames. The blade resembled a silver comet with a long tail, slamming violently into the “Dragon God’s Eye” hovering in mid-air.

Boom!

The massive explosion caused the cathedral to tremble. The “Archbishop” and “High Sister” weathered the first wave of the aftershock and hurriedly stood up to look at the “Dragon God’s Eye” at the top of the cathedral.

Unfortunately, the thing they feared most had happened.

The disguised exterior of the “Dragon God’s Eye” was shattered by the blade. However, being a divine eye containing the power of a deity, the eyeball itself wasn’t destroyed but instead revealed its original form.

The power of that strike just now was immense; the explosion directly blew open the cathedral’s dome.

Thus, the originally holy Dragon God’s Eye turned into a Demonic Eye overflowing with demonic energy, completely exposed to the high heavens.

And every dragon descendant in the entire Imperial City saw this unbelievable scene with absolute clarity.