Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 163

[Vol. 5] Chapter 163: In Your Eyes, Who Am I?

The ?Church of Radiance? is a new organization that recently emerged across various parts of the world. Its members typically refer to themselves as ?Light Worshippers?, which is how the group came to be known as the ?Church of Radiance?.

It is said that the ?Church of Radiance? first appeared in certain regions of the western world, especially in southern areas that were most affected by the Abyssal invasion.

This organization is quite peculiar. It seems to lack a base of operations, a formal structure, leadership, or even cadres. Even their doctrine, something fundamental to most organizations, is vague and unclear, with no solid explanation of their beliefs. In essence, they appear to be a group of strange people who formed an equally strange organization.

However, despite its oddity, the ?Church of Radiance? spread like wildfire upon its inception, expanding with the terrifying speed of a plague, particularly across regions centered in the southwestern part of the world.

Even more bizarrely, in many cases, new ?Light Worshippers? would emerge in certain areas before the main missionary even arrived, an almost inexplicable phenomenon.

As a result, in some small to medium-sized nations, the ?Church of Radiance? is viewed as a potential threat to the ruling powers and has been categorized as a dangerous heretical group to be suppressed. Yet the ?Light Worshippers? themselves don’t seem to care about this.

Their actions are even more casual than those of the ?Goddess Church?, which advocates for freedom and equality. If rejected by local authorities, the ?Light Worshippers? would simply leave without hesitation and stop proselytizing in that area, as if recruiting more followers wasn’t their primary concern.

That said, in certain areas where the ?Church of Radiance? is most widespread, such as the Human United Kingdom in the west and the Azure Sky Kingdom, both of which are among the top five most powerful countries in the world. This church seems to be treated quite favorably.

Although they haven’t openly supported its growth, the Human United Kingdom and the Azure Sky Kingdom have largely allowed the ?Church of Radiance? to operate freely, without interference, resulting in a form of mutual coexistence. Due to the church’s simple and flexible internal structure, as well as its positive and energetic approach, it quickly grew into a significant organization with an impressive reputation in a short time.

Today, the ?Church of Radiance? has become one of the most influential religious groups in the world, second only to the ?Goddess Church?. It has even begun to infiltrate the Holy Empire, despite being an external influence.

As a country rooted in religion, the Holy Empire and the ?Goddess Church? cannot allow other religious organizations to operate unchecked within their borders, even though the doctrines of the ?Church of Radiance? and the ?Goddess Church? seem similar. In reality, the two are fundamentally different.

The ?Goddess Church? is centered around the worship of Aurora, the Goddess of Light, regarded as the one and only supreme deity.

It is a hierarchical organization built around faith-based magic, with a structured upper echelon that includes figures like the Three Saintesses and the Pope, as well as a clear division of ranks marked by sacred emblems. Essentially, it is a pyramid-like organization, with the Goddess of Light at the top, and ranks determined by the level of “Light Affinity.”

In contrast, the ?Church of Radiance? differs fundamentally in that its followers do not worship a specific deity or individual, but rather the abstract concept of “light”. There are no bishops, archbishops, or any similarly titled officials.

Aside from a few “Apostles” responsible for spreading the teachings, the rest are just ordinary worshippers. The structure is extremely loose, like scattered stars in the sky, with no clear central figure, making it harder to target or eliminate.

While the ?Goddess Church? has a stronger grip on its followers, it also faces a serious issue: if its upper hierarchy collapses or if there is any problem with the magic based on faith that holds the organization together, its followers would quickly scatter and the church would lose any organized strength or influence.

The ?Church of Radiance?, in stark contrast to other organizations, has a structure that better suits the current state of chaos in regions like the eastern provinces of Sarnos and Keller in the Holy Empire due to demonic devastation.

The similarity in doctrine between the ?Church of Radiance? and the ?Goddess Church? allowed the ?Church of Radiance? to quickly spread among those who still hold onto hope in these demon-controlled regions.

“…?”

After listening to the general description from the Holy Knight Edwina, Violet began to sense how this ?Church of Radiance? might have emerged. Her expression grew slightly perplexed. It had developed incredibly quickly, far faster than she had imagined.

Who could have organized it? Could it really be, as Edwina had suggested, a purely spontaneous movement?

Without revealing her thoughts, Violet posed another question.

“So, what does this organization have to do with your sister, Frederica’s, disappearance? Are they the ones behind it?”

“Well…”

Appearing somewhat hesitant, Edwina leaned in closer, covering her mouth as if sharing a secret.

“According to certain confidential reports, a woman resembling Frederica Cecilia was spotted in a refugee camp in the Sarnos province, a demon-occupied area. But she… appeared as an *Apostle* of the ?Church of Radiance?, spreading their teachings.”

“?”

Seeing the black-haired girl suddenly frown, as if in disbelief, the Holy Knight Edwina was startled. She quickly stood up, waving her hands and gesturing anxiously as she tried to explain.

“T-that! I know my sister very well! Her faith is extremely firm and pure. There’s no way she would so easily convert to another faith! They must have mistaken her for someone else! Or… or maybe she had some unavoidable reason! Please, Miss Violet, give my sister another chance!”

The strange confusion building in Violet’s heart deepened, and she couldn’t help but tilt her head.

“…What do you mean by ‘give her a chance’?”

Violet had to admit that she was surprised by Edwina’s report, but in the end, the struggles between the ?Church of Radiance? and the ?Goddess Church?—whether fighting for believers, tearing each other apart, or even potentially merging in some bizarre twist of fate—had absolutely nothing to do with her.

The emergence of the ?Church of Radiance? might have a little connection to some of Violet’s past actions, but in all honesty, she had never planned to, nor had she taken any direct steps to help their growth. If anything, it just made things more troublesome for her, and she would rather distance herself from the whole situation.

As for whether the *Apostle* in the Sarnos province was truly Frederica Cecilia, and what she might have gone through during this time, Violet was curious, but the Judgment Saintess’s affairs weren’t something she felt responsible for.

At that moment, Violet realized something that had been nagging at her.

“By the way, Edwina, in your view… who do you think I am?”

“Ah?”

The blonde girl, who had been passionately defending her sister, paused in slight confusion. She repeated the question as if trying to grasp its full meaning.

“Who… is Miss Violet?”

Edwina pondered deeply.

Miss Violet is the Goddess herself—the one who bears the name “Light”, the holy ruler and creator of everything in the world, the being worshipped by thousands of believers, the true deity… This was an undeniable fact. Everything she had witnessed during their journey, all the events up until now, including the existence of the Goddess of Life, confirmed this.

Gods are the embodiment of concepts, the pinnacle of those concepts. There is only one god for each concept, and that god exists as the one and only.

While Edwina didn’t fully understand why the Goddess was now using a different name than what was recorded in the teachings, nor why she had chosen to walk among mortals in this manner, there was surely a deeper reason behind it.

She knew that the Goddess currently didn’t want to be recognized by the world as *a divine being*. Instead, she was presenting herself in a way that was closer to *human*, or rather—*mortal*.

So, the answer the Goddess sought now definitely wouldn’t be something like, “You are the supreme and holy primordial light.”

Edwina’s mind raced, more quickly and clearly than it ever had before. Soon, she came up with the answer that best fit the current situation, the one most fitting for both the Goddess and her faith.

“Miss Violet is, of course, simply a traveler walking through the world… just a priestess~”