Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 278

[Vol. 5] Chapter 278: News from Afar

“The Goddess of Light… doesn’t exist.”

Though Violet had pieced together hints from various sources, Frederica’s statement and the experiment results nearly confirmed this as fact.

… What a world-shaking deception.

Who would have thought that the world’s largest religion, with nearly a third of the global population as followers and temples scattered everywhere, worshipped a god who was nothing but a fabrication?

Even Violet couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath as her mind reeled, still feeling a trace of awkwardness from earlier revelations.

Discussing this, a trace of bitterness appeared on the Saintess’s face as she shook her head in resignation.

“Miss Dawn, you asked me before why, as the Saintess of the Goddess, why would I join the [Light Worshipper Church], didn’t you?”

“It’s simple… because I, too, was infected with the [Defilement]’s plague. Among the high-ranking demons who ambushed me in Saint Sarnos City was a powerful plague demon. Though I used the [Judgment Holy Sword]’s power, sustaining heavy injuries to defeat it, that incurable poison still seeped into my body.”

Frederica tossed a pale-golden pill into her mouth, her smooth, fair throat moving as she swallowed it.

“When I received the first batch of the newly developed medicine from my teacher, I tried it immediately. But, as I mentioned, it had no effect at all. I felt no protective force from the so-called divine blessing it was supposed to channel. After invoking the god’s name, there was only emptiness.”

Returning the vial to her storage, the Saintess took a sip of water and sighed slightly.

“It may sound laughable, but despite being the Judgement Saintess and a divine descendant, I still cherish my life. So when Elrand suggested that I consider ‘adjusting’ my faith, a suggestion that I should have immediately rejected.”

“I tried to do as he suggested, to stop invoking the name of the Goddess Aurora and instead offer my prayers to the more abstract and elusive concept of the [Primordial Light]. The results went far beyond anything I could have imagined.”

“I felt Its presence, not bound to any single corner of the world, yet everywhere. The holy artifact, the [Judgment Holy Sword], resonated as never before, like a misaligned joint finally snapping back into place.”

“A sacred force, beyond cause and effect, poured into me with my prayer, suppressing the raging poison of the [Defilement] that had plagued me.”

“I heard Its call, felt Its guidance. A figure like a brilliant light flickered before me, a revelation of sorts. That… was the true [Primordial Light].”

The Saintess smiled, her golden eyes gleaming with a glow of relief and hope.

“Although there are still countless unanswered questions that leave me lost and troubled, in that moment, I knew one absolute truth, the Goddess Church, the faith in the Goddess of Light, had strayed from its path, abandoning both its beliefs and its original purpose. As the chosen bearer of the [Judgment Holy Sword], as a descendant of those blessed by It, we, the Cecilia family must bring it back on course.”

“That is why I joined the [Light Worshipper Church], becoming one of their ‘Apostles’, helping to grow the organization in secret and gather those who had lost their way, tending to them until the time for change arrives.”

The white fox girl nodded slightly.

“So, you believe the [Light Worshipper Church] represents what the faith in the Goddess should have been? Forgive me, but they’ve adopted a passive stance, allowing demons to run rampant.”

At Violet’s words, with a hint of skepticism, Frederica looked momentarily surprised, then quickly understood.

“Oh… it was Miss Sasha who provided you with that information, wasn’t it? Miss Dawn, you’re a clever person, you should be able to understand quickly. If the [Light Worshipper Church] had shown outright hostility to the demons right from the start, how could we have established roots and grown within these two provinces?”

“Just like a thousand years ago, before the founding of the Holy Empire, the [Church of the Light Seekers] also lay dormant for more than a century. If they had rashly acted without securing the three holy artifacts and the power of the divine descendants, there might not be a Holy Empire today.”

“That’s true…”

With that, most of the mysteries had been resolved. As Frederica had said, once the holy war advanced on the front lines and revealed a new turning point, she could lead the long-prepared [Light Worshipper Church] to respond, striking from both inside and outside, a decisive move to determine the outcome.

As for how these two churches would coexist in the future, honestly, that wasn’t an issue needing urgent consideration right now.

The only remaining questions were about the “Rituals of Slaughter” being secretly conducted, the oft-mentioned “arrival of the Blade of Slaughter,” and…

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Violet sensed a disturbance deep within her consciousness, prompting a low, surprised exclamation.

“Miss Dawn? Is something wrong?” Frederica’s voice, laced with concern, came from nearby, but Violet couldn’t respond at the moment.

Ayla… Ayla Light—something must have happened to her.

The light elemental spirit that the priestess left on the other party was a derivative created by the seventh-tier spell, [Light Elemental Spirit Summoning].

Normally, it could only summon units of about level 60, but since Violet had mastered the spell to perfection, along with her own attribute bonuses, the light elemental spirit she summoned could reach a maximum level of 70, which is commonly known as “pseudo-god” level in this area.

To be extra cautious, the priestess had even granted this spirit a permanent buff, boosting its capabilities close to a level 80.

Although it has no equipment and is essentially a blank slate, it certainly can’t compare to a proper level 80 with divine power like Lucas, the Guardian of the Celestial Realm.

However, within the scope of Violet’s knowledge, only beings at the peak of the transcendent level or higher are capable of defeating her light elemental spirit, and those are pretty rare in this world.

That’s why she had told Ayla, “As long as you don’t do anything reckless, there should be no problem.”

But…

Just now, the light elemental spirit died.

“Saying it died” might not be entirely accurate, as Violet wasn’t sure whether the light elemental she summoned each time was exactly the same, or if, like Lucas, it was simply dispersed and returned to some waiting place, ready to be summoned again.

In most battles of similar level, this summoned creature served mainly as a damage sponge. It wasn’t particularly useful for stalling time, but Violet appreciated its convenience. Therefore, the death of a light elemental spirit was as routine to her as eating, there usually wasn’t much reason to care.

However, [Light Elemental Spirit Summoning] had a limit on the number of spirits Violet could summon at one time, with a maximum of ten. While she could immediately resummon one by spending more MP with no cooldown, each light elemental spirit in existence, no matter how far it was from her, took up one of those ten summon slots.

She had assigned only one light elemental spirit to protect Ayla, so her current limit should have been nine. But just moments ago, the limit in Violet’s senses reset back to the full ten.

There was no reason for it to have dissipated naturally due to energy depletion. Even if Ayla accidentally lost the seventh-tier [Radiant Source Crystal] Violet crafted to recharge it, the elemental could still survive on its own stored energy for at least three months. Yet only a little over two months had passed since they left the Angel City.

This left only one possibility that near-level-80 light elemental spirit had been killed in battle by an enemy even stronger than itself.