Time slipped away as they discussed their plans. Feeling a touch of weariness, Hia stretched gracefully before leaving the underground chamber of their base, returning to her room under the soft glow of the moon.
Ped had thoughtfully arranged individual bedrooms for each of them, ensuring privacy. This meant she could do as she pleased without fear of discovery.
Seated elegantly before her dressing mirror, Hia carefully brushed her long silver hair. As she did, recent memories surfaced, bringing a faint, knowing smile to her lips.
She cherished these experiences, a subtle thrill interwoven with the mundane.
Lowering her head, she opened her portable makeup box. Bathed in moonlight, a faint, blurred reflection of a person shimmered in the mirror inside the lid.
Upon seeing it, she offered a soft smile and said, “I’ve come to report on the progress of the Hero’s Party.”
“Mhm.”
A low voice, indistinguishable as male or female, echoed from the mirror. Yet, Hia’s smile only broadened. She gathered her thoughts, then continued,
“Níðhöggr, the Evil Dragon, has awakened, but Nona was not swayed by its influence. She has even become the leader of the Church of Life in Pad City. Truly a worthy hero, wouldn’t you agree?”
There was no hint of mockery in her tone; she genuinely admired Nona’s capabilities. The figure in the mirror showed no great surprise upon hearing this news, as if everything had unfolded precisely as expected.
“Anything else?”
“Hmm, I don’t think anything else was particularly important.”
“Understood. You’ve worked hard. Continue to stay by her side for now.”
“Yes.”
To avoid detection, their conversation was remarkably brief, unlikely to draw any attention. Shortly after their exchange concluded, Olivia’s voice drifted from outside the door.
“Hia, dinner’s ready! Come out and eat.”
“Coming, coming!”
Hia’s tone sounded rushed, as if eager to get to dinner. However, inside her bedroom, she unhurriedly closed her makeup box. After tidying her appearance, she rose from her seat with the poise of a lady and exited the room.
Upon entering the base’s main hall, she effortlessly exuded the dignified aura of a noble young mistress, as if the preceding moments had never occurred.
****
Within the grand hall behind Pad City’s Judgment Tribunal, countless weapons forged from blood lined both sides of the corridor. A chilling,肃殺 aura permeated the vicinity, instilling an involuntary sense of dread in all who felt it.
At the very front of the hall stood a blood-red throne. It was originally intended for the Tribunal Chief, designed to strike fear into the hearts of criminals during interrogations.
Yet, at this moment, the throne remained empty. The Tribunal Chief knelt on one knee in the center of the hall, his head bowed, not daring to meet the gaze of the figure before him, clad in a long gown of white and gold.
Beside him, also kneeling, was the Bishop of Pad City’s Church of Blood. Even on one knee, his massive frame was considerably larger than that of a normal human. Nevertheless, he, too, dared not look directly at the figure.
They knew that even if they wielded absolute power in Pad City, they had to respectfully address this white-robed woman as ‘Milady.’
Indeed, this woman was their direct superior. For her to replace either of them would require nothing more than a single word.
As they collectively held their breath, the white-robed woman retrieved a yellowed parchment from her robes and casually tossed it to the Bishop.
“This is a clue to the Hero’s Sword. You handle it as you see fit.”
The Bishop caught the parchment, momentarily stunned. However, his surprise wasn’t due to the contents of the parchment, but rather the woman’s voice.
Having heard tales of the white-robed woman’s deeds over the years, his heart was filled with both reverence and an intense fear of encountering her.
He had always imagined her to be a cold, merciless harbinger of death, one who could be angered by the slightest misstep, leading to his demise.
To his astonishment, this fearsome, god-like woman possessed a remarkably gentle voice, utterly contrary to the brutal actions attributed to her. This truly was peculiar.
“Yes.”
With the white-robed woman’s command, the Bishop tucked the parchment into his robes, a plan already forming in his mind.
Information concerning the Hero’s Sword naturally couldn’t be allowed to reach the heroes. Keeping it on his person was the safest option. Simultaneously, he needed to dispatch men to follow the clues on the parchment and retrieve the Hero’s Sword.
They had to acquire it before the heroes did.
Lost in thought, Sharena’s voice suddenly echoed from outside the grand hall.
“Milady, I bring good news! We’ve captured Ped!”
*Thump, thump, thump*—
Disordered footsteps resounded through the hall. The elven maiden, arms crossed, approached the white-robed woman. Behind her followed two believers, escorting the captured elf.
Ped, the leader of Pad City’s Church of Life, was certainly known to the Bishop of the Church of Blood. The moment he saw him, the Bishop couldn’t help but let out a disdainful snort, silently deeming it ‘just deserts.’
In Pad City, the coexistence of the Church of Life and the Church of Blood was quite normal, owing to a divine oracle from the God of Blood. Ordinarily, they kept to themselves.
While the Bishop found them an eyesore, he had never found a valid reason to deal with them. Now, however, they had aided the heroes. Such an act violated Pad City’s laws, finally providing him with a pretext for retribution.
Although he couldn’t completely expel them from Pad City, Ped, the leader of the Church of Life, would certainly not escape his clutches. Years of accumulated resentment were finally about to be unleashed.
The Bishop couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Ped, however, cared little for the Bishop’s thoughts. Upon entering the hall, his gaze remained fixed on the white-robed woman, a hidden current swirling in his seemingly youthful eyes, his thoughts inscrutable.
“No matter where those heroes hide, they’ll surely come to rescue him! Then we can…”
Sharena left her sentence unfinished, but no one present failed to grasp her meaning. The white-robed woman nodded, then addressed the Bishop, “Everything rests on your arrangements.”
“Yes!”
“Remember, no matter what, Her Excellency will not forget your contributions. The Gates of the Divine Realm will be opened for you.”
Upon hearing this promise, the Bishop’s body trembled with excitement.
The Divine Realm was a unique domain belonging to the gods. Legend had it that after a believer’s death, their soul would return to the Divine Realm, living a life of perfect happiness and freedom from worry.
If circumstances demanded, believers who had returned to the Divine Realm could even reappear in the mortal world as heroic spirits, assisting other believers through difficult times. As long as the deity endured, this was practically another form of eternal life.
Thus, countless believers yearned for nothing more than to enter the Divine Realm after death. The Bishop was no exception.
Kneeling on the ground, he reached up and took the blood-drop necklace from his chest. Clasping it in his palm, he closed his eyes and offered his gratitude to the God of Blood.
Having conveyed all her instructions, it was time for the white-robed woman to depart. A blood-red teleportation vortex materialized behind her. She turned, stepping halfway into its swirling depths.
But just then, Ped’s magical shackles abruptly shattered. The man, who had seemed utterly helpless, conjured a longsword from magic and swiftly thrust it towards the white-robed woman’s heart!
Though the Bishop and the Tribunal Chief perceived his sudden attack, they were already too slow to react. Ped was simply too close to the white-robed woman…
Yet, the worry that should have been on their faces was replaced by an expression of serene indifference.
Just as Ped believed he would pierce her heart, an abrupt surge of gravity slammed him onto the floor. His magical longsword instantly dissipated, and the immense impact forced a gush of blood from his mouth, his consciousness blurring.
Without even a glance, the white-robed woman stepped fully into the blood-red vortex and vanished. Sharena, her face cold, moved to Ped’s side.
“Tsk, I told you not to do foolish things, yet you insisted. If not for Milady, you would already be dead.”
She kicked Ped’s limp body, then re-attached even more potent magical shackles to him. Throughout this, Ped remained motionless, allowing her to bind him once more.
His pupils unfocused, he seemed utterly shattered, almost resigned to his fate. This assassination attempt had all but confirmed the woman’s identity to him.
‘A Saintess,’ he thought. ‘She is absolutely one of the Evil God’s Three Apostles!’
The Hero’s Party attempting to seize the Hero’s Sword from her was nothing short of a pipe dream…