Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 6] Chapter 144

[Vol. 6] Chapter 144: The Mystery of the Fox’s Veil

Once again, the priestess thought of the semi-divine artifact known as the [Dominion of the Fox Mask].

She had long suspected that the [Dominion of the Fox Mask] was far more than just a tool to disguise her true identity and aura or grant her a new set of skills. The most astonishing aspect was its ability to interfere with perception, so much so that even true gods could not uncover the full truth. At most, they might realize she wasn’t an actual fox spirit, but this revelation was essentially meaningless.

In many ways, Violet with the [Dominion of the Fox Mask] wasn’t just in disguise. She was entirely and completely someone else.

If even the most intricate disguise could not fool gods and fate, then what if the veil didn’t rely on disguise but on *true existence*?

Until recently, Violet had never fully understood the principles behind this Semi-Divine Artifact. However, after encountering recent events and delving into the concept of [Existence], she began to form an absurd yet strangely plausible hypothesis.

If [Existence] could be stripped away, and wearing the [Dominion of the Fox Mask] made everyone unconditionally perceive her as the famous [Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden], then was it possible that the veil itself contained part of the [Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden]’s [Existence]?

It would be similar to what happened with the substitute commander earlier: even though he wasn’t the original person, obtaining the stolen [Existence] allowed him to seamlessly assume that identity, with no one questioning it.

In other words, had the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden [Dawn]’s [Existence] also been taken?

No… that didn’t make sense.

[Dawn]’s legend still exists in the [Ancient Spirit Realm] and even in the wider world beyond. She hadn’t been forgotten. With her legendary power, who could possibly do something so outrageous to her?

Moreover, the [Dominion of the Fox Mask], which allowed Violet to temporarily become “her,” was said to be an item [Dawn] never parted with.

Unless… the only explanation was that [Dawn] herself had orchestrated this. And if that were the case, then the situation was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

Naturally, this led to the next question.

Why… would the [Dominion of the Fox Mask], a Semi-Divine Artifact originating from [Illusory World], a game, become the personal belonging of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden [Dawn] in this world? And why did it allow Violet to temporarily assume [Dawn]’s identity?

This had puzzled Violet for a long time, and now she found herself stuck before the same impasse again.

As this thought crossed her mind, Violet couldn’t help but recall the “wordless” stone tablet on the altar outside.

Judging from what [Dawn] had left on it, she likely hadn’t intended to hide that message, at least part of it. This suggested that the inscriptions on the tablet had disappeared for some unexpected reason, becoming visible only to specific individuals.

However, the note hidden in the wooden box behind the tablet, placed alongside the [Spirit Fox Pendant], clearly existed. This only deepened Violet’s confusion.

What caused the discrepancy between these two things? Could it be because they used different types of scripts? [Ancient Niel language] was indeed one of the world’s most mysterious languages, said to embody rules and authority itself. But what did that explain?

And then there was the most pressing question of all.

Why could *she alone* see the words on the supposedly blank stone tablet and discern the truth that the [Black Scaled] soldiers had their [Existence] taken away? Was it because of her [Divinity], or was there another reason?

Ultimately, she was still missing some critical pieces of the puzzle.

Besides this, Violet had one more matter she wanted to investigate.

She raised the [Eternal Scepter of the World’s Heart] in her hand and touched its tip to the sole female [Black Scaled] officer, activating [Information Detection].

There was no response.

The result was unexpected but made sense in hindsight.

Normally, even if [Information Detection] were applied to an inanimate object, such as a rock, the “broken” skill would at least feign functionality by returning a simple response like [This is a rock].

However, in this case, there wasn’t even a single word, as though the information had sunk into an abyss. This was the first time Violet had encountered such a complete absence of feedback.

This outcome further supported the priestess’s hypothesis. Those whose [Existence] had been taken were no longer recognized by the laws of the world or logical perception as “normal beings.”

Perhaps Xiao Kong and the others were able to perceive their presence and interpret them as statues due to their heightened awareness. For someone with lesser perception, they might subconsciously exclude these “existence-less” entities from their vision altogether, as though they didn’t exist.

It was akin to a fragmented version of the [Trace-less Place] effect.

Having confirmed this, Violet clasped her hands around her staff and infused it with magic. The staff’s tip radiated a brilliant light, forming six concentric rings of varying sizes. These rings flew outward and began to orbit the motionless figure in a steady rhythm.

This was the “Seventh-Tier Holy Magic”, the [Prayer of Resurrection].

A relatively common and straightforward revival spell, it was designed for use on ordinary people without significant resistance. If the target had died under normal circumstances and their body remained intact, this spell would be sufficient to bring them back to life.

However, several minutes later, the golden rings gradually faded, and an almost imperceptible frown crossed the priestess’s face.

The resurrection spell had failed.

It wasn’t that she lacked the ability to revive the person. Instead, as Violet had already observed, these individuals weren’t technically dead in the conventional sense. Even their souls still resided within their bodies. However, their [Existence] had been taken in a way that defied description, leaving them in this bizarre state.

No matter how skilled a priest might be, they couldn’t resurrect someone who was technically still alive. In other words, this form of “death” was beyond even Violet’s ability to resolve.

If a solution were to be proposed, the only viable method at the moment would be to locate the one who stole their [Existence], defeat them, and reclaim what was taken. Whether this would actually work, however, could only be determined through trial and error.

Yes… it was necessary to try. After all, this was an entirely unknown situation, and it was crucial to prepare for similar occurrences in the future.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing more to uncover here,” Violet said, breaking the silence.

“What about these… [Black Scaled] soldiers, Miss Violet?” Murong Yun asked, clearly trying to suppress his rational perception with sheer logic.

Violet glanced at him briefly before shaking her head and turning to leave.

“They’ll have to rely on their fate.”

Leaving the eerie chamber filled with “statues” behind, the group of four and their companion beast ventured deeper into the tomb.

Violet was beginning to understand why the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden [Dawn] had gone to such lengths to suppress all external forces within the tomb when she had constructed it. It likely wasn’t just for the sake of amusement.

From what Violet had gathered from the stone tablet and the substitute commander’s dialogue, it seemed that the [Nameless Demon Sovereign]’s power had been divided and sealed in multiple locations. To prevent these fragments from communicating or converging, it was indeed necessary to block all detection and interference within the tomb to maintain the stability of the seals.

If not for the damage to the tomb’s entrance, caused by some unknown event, that had allowed intruders inside, the seals would have been nearly flawless, leaving no opportunity for the [Nameless Demon Sovereign] to escape.

Unfortunately, the current situation was far from ideal.

Violet chose not to return Yazi to the pet space. Given the current suppression of both SP and spatial magic within the tomb, its presence had become one of the group’s most reliable guides.

Although Yazi also struggled with the perception obstruction caused by the loss of existence, its partial divine nature inherited from the [Ancestral Dragon] allowed it to catch subtle clues that others missed.

For example, while the [Black Scaled] soldiers were considered as mere statues, Yazi had been able to detect faint traces of life lingering on them.