Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 239

[Vol. 5] Chapter 239: The Two Seeking

The golden-haired girl didn’t directly answer the succubus’s question and simply smiled. She then posed a question.

“Why do you think the ?Judgment Holy Sword? was in Sarnos Province?”

“Tch…”

Suppressing the growing discomfort and nausea from being completely dominated in the conversation, Cressia decided to shift the dialogue to the most critical point.

“So what’s the requirement? To find the sword and hand it over to you?”

“No, you just need to search and try to get it. Whether you succeed or not doesn’t matter. How about this, in exchange for this action, you can have one of Eloun’s offspring. Isn’t that a good deal?”

Listening to this somewhat strange condition, the succubus considered it briefly before responding.

“Fine, we will do our utmost to search within the Sarnos Province. But let’s be clear here, we’re not just dealing with the ?Defilement? here. ?Slaughter? certainly has its own plans and schemes in this world. That madman’s actions are unpredictable, even for my father, so…”

“I understand. You mean to say that a deal is a deal, but when on the battlefield, we are still enemies, right? That’s how it should be. As for ?Slaughter?’s intentions, I have a rough idea of those as well. You ?Corruption? don’t need to worry about it.”

“Hmph…”

Seemingly annoyed by the calm and confident demeanor of the Saintess, Cressia opened her mouth, yet found herself unable to say anything sarcastic after witnessing just a glimpse of that terrifying calculation.

Demons and church practitioners are natural enemies, especially someone claiming to be a Saintess like this one. She should be a serious threat to Cressia . But there’s also a part of her that wants to conquer her, just like with the Judgment Saintess Frederica she encountered on the battlefield.

However, against this Yuna Summerfield, Cressia couldn’t summon even a hint of such thoughts.

In the end, the Saintess waved the other party away dismissively, as if she were a plague.

“The deal is established, you can leave now. But remember, if Chloe is missing even a single strand of hair, we will never let it go. And believe me, you won’t like them.”

“Oh~”

As if not taking the threat seriously, the golden-haired girl glanced at the flames rising in the distance of Saint Sarnos City, shook her head slightly, and put away the scroll in her hand, turning to leave.

“By the way… Yuna Summerfield.”

Just as she was about to take a few steps, a voice suddenly called out from behind, causing the Saintess to momentarily halt.

Yuna did not respond but slightly turned her head to look at the pink-haired succubus who had called her.

After a brief hesitation, Cressia’s smooth long tail twisted and coiled for a while before she finally spoke.

“To be honest, since arriving in this world, you are the first being that I find utterly incomprehensible… May I ask, why you, as a saint of the Goddess Church, are secretly contacting and assisting my father in launching this war?”

“?”

A look of surprise, something she had never shown before, appeared on the Saintess’s face.

But in the next moment, she reined in her ever-gentle smile, becoming serious and solemn.

“Miss Cressia, what do you think is the greatest crisis facing our Holy Empire right now?”

“Uh, the invasion of demons?”

Yuna shook her head, seemingly unafraid to share intelligence about this matter in front of her enemy, the succubus.

“The Goddess’s followers have never feared war, merely you outsiders, whose peak power is suppressed and restricted by the world’s law, are not enough to bring about the destruction of a Holy Empire that has endured for millennia. It is a crisis, but it cannot be called fatal.”

“If it weren’t for my covert assistance, you would find it difficult to even breach the Angel City.”

“Ugh…”

With no mercy, her words were almost a direct sarcastic remark, causing the succubus, who was also a target of the sarcasm, to puff out her cheeks in displeasure and stubbornly ask,

“Then what is the fatal crisis? An enemy more powerful than us demons, or those other nations in your world that are eyeing you hungrily?”

This conversation undoubtedly touched on the core of Yuna’s true intentions, and she naturally could not easily disclose it to the outsider Cressia.

So, the Saintess turned away, leaving behind a final light sigh.

“The Holy Empire exists for a reason and will crumble when that reason is lost. I am merely… correcting the mistakes of some shortsighted fools from three hundred years ago who betrayed Her.”

“This is the punishment we should receive for committing great sins. This is the consequence of a sin that will destroy the world. As one who has not betrayed Her and to seek Her forgiveness. I am willing to sacrifice myself, not just for the Holy Empire, but for the sake of the whole world.”

A faint golden light rose like a butterfly, and the golden-haired girl’s form gradually dissolved and scattered, transforming into countless specks of light that vanished from the spot, leaving the succubus with a face full of astonishment and shock.

“What is this… a soul incarnation?! But that’s impossible! How could a mere half-lightborn tribe being possess such a powerful ability? That requires a true understanding of certain laws, along with a strong soul that must reach…. Is she a Demigod?”

Muttering to herself, Cressia’s deep purple eyes held an even greater sense of curiosity… and bewilderment.

“No wonder she’s so fearless… Yuna Summerfield, just how much is she hiding? Is it really okay to cooperate with her? And who are you really?”

…………………………

“This should be fine. I didn’t expect to encounter such absurdity right after arriving… Is it fortunate or unfortunate?”

Standing on the soft soil outside the Saint Sarnos City, Miss White Fox looked back at the night sky still lit by the rising flames beyond the city wall, shaking her head helplessly.

“Miss Dawn, what exactly happened over there…?”

Glancing at the confused and bewildered expression on Mr. Dead Soul’s face, which seemed genuine, and recalling some earlier flashes of insight, Violet fell silent for a moment before raising her hand to point toward the shaded path leading out of the city.

“Let’s talk while we walk. I need to confirm a few things with you regarding the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild… in the name of Dawn.”

The night passed without a word.

After setting up a temporary camp in the forest far from the Saint Sarnos City, sharing simple exchanges, and spending a brief night, everyone set off again.

Regarding the questions raised in private under the identity of Dawn, or what the others considered to be the ?Fox Spirit Shrine Maiden?, Mr. Dead Soul had no intention of concealing anything. As a result, Violet learned about their previous conflict with the demons in detail.

Unfortunately, just as a certain grey-clad swordsman had said earlier, they were simply tasked with activating the magic array left at the old site of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild, and they genuinely knew nothing about its purpose.

Later, Violet specifically used her SP avatar incarnation to sneak back into the city and found the engraved traces they had described. However, those had been completely destroyed from use. The methods used by the other party were very clean, leaving no traces for reverse tracking. It was clear they were seasoned professionals.

Though there were guesses about who had used the teleportation portal, regrettably, there was no way to further verify it for the time being.

Setting that matter aside, there was still much to be done.

The mission of Mr. Dead Soul and the ?Reaper’s Scythe? squad was to locate the half of the ?Bewitching Orb? hidden somewhere in the Sarnos Province and bring it back to the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild. They’ve already checked within Saint Sarnos City for the other half but came up empty.

Violet planned to wander around the demon-controlled area while looking for Edwinna’s sister, the ?Judgment Saintess?, and her holy artifact, the ?Judgment Holy Sword?.

If she wasn’t mistaken, other individuals were likely searching for the same item, so it was best to find it first, seize the initiative, and ensure its protection.

The Sarnos Province was a relatively barren and remote area within the Holy Empire, largely characterized by hills and undeveloped primeval forests, with the largest plain located near the provincial capital of Saint Sarnos in the west.

Due to its geographical and economic factors, the public security in this province was among the lowest in the Holy Empire.

East of the Saint Sarnos City, the rolling hills were filled with swamps, primitive jungles, and uncultivated land, hiding many escaped robbers, cunning monsters, and even elusive cultists. Traveling alone was particularly dangerous.

The persistent presence of demon forces and the complex environment were among the important reasons why the demons chose to make their move in the Sarnos Province.

However, crises always coexist with opportunities.

Because many places were perilous and rarely visited, even demons found it difficult to tread there.

Thus, if there was any place where the other half of the ?Bewitching Orb? was most likely to be found in the Sarnos Province, it would undoubtedly be within these large hazardous areas.

By the same reasoning, if Frederica Cecilia wanted to evade the demons’ pursuit and hide after being injured, the likelihood of choosing this area would also be the highest.