CA – Chapter 119
Chapter 119
The strange beast was temporarily trapped by Reese and Audrey's light magic. Vogt stood up from the ground, tossed aside his staff that had been broken in two, and clutched his chest, letting out a couple of muffled coughs. He then took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light and drank it, only then feeling a bit better.
Seeing the beast trapped, the white-haired werewolf didn't join the attack. Instead, she turned and walked over to Vogt. Her sky-blue eyes held a faint smile as she said gently, "Bishop Vogt, it's been a long time."
The title "Bishop Vogt" brought a complicated expression to Vogt's face. He frowned at the white-haired werewolf, his gaze lingering longest on the hideous scar on her face. Vogt sighed and said in a low voice, "It really is you, Priest Grace."
Before being promoted to Red-robed Archbishop, Vogt had been a bishop in the church of a certain country. The white-haired werewolf before him had once been a priest in his church.
The white-haired werewolf let out a low laugh and shook her head. "I changed my name after I returned to the Wolf Race. My full name is Faye Field."
As a Red-robed Archbishop of the Holy See, Vogt had of course heard the name of the current Wolf Race leader. He never imagined that the werewolf he had let go out of soft-heartedness would turn out to be the future leader of the Wolf Race. A mix of emotions welled up inside him. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here? For revenge?"
Faye raised a hand to touch the scar on her face and said with a smile, "You misunderstand. I'm not here for you."
A thought struck Vogt, and his eyes flashed with understanding. "You're here for Bishop Grace?"
He paused, then added, "Is she your daughter? You two look very much alike."
They were about eighty percent similar; otherwise, Vogt wouldn't have become suspicious when he first met the golden-haired bishop.
After driving a werewolf out of his church back then, he had specifically investigated the matter. He discovered that incidents of werewolves hiding their identities to enter the Holy See had happened before. When the massacre at the Gosse Church occurred, Vogt had also suspected it might be related to werewolves, but he never found any evidence.
Vogt didn't hate werewolves. On the contrary, he had always felt that the deterioration of the relationship between the Holy See, the werewolves, and the elves was wrong. After all, during the Holy War, the werewolves and elves had been allies of the Holy See.
In response to Vogt's question, Faye just smiled and gave an ambiguous answer. "She is a very important existence to the Wolf Race."
"Then you should take her back to the Wolf Race."
In truth, Vogt was still very puzzled about the werewolves' purpose for hiding their identities to enter the Holy See.
Faye knew Vogt was confused, but it concerned a prophecy passed down through the Wolf Race, something that couldn't be explained in just a few words. She could only say, "I cannot interfere with her wishes. It's obvious she likes being in the Holy See right now."
"Oh?" Vogt grew wary. "What does she intend to do in the Holy See?"
Faye's lips curved into a somewhat helpless smile. "Bishop Vogt, how long will you continue to deceive yourself? You've long known that the Holy See is no longer the one that protected the Statu Continent. Are you going to keep making yourself believe this continent is still under the control of the light?"
Vogt's expression turned ugly, but he didn't refute Faye's words.
"The Statu Continent may soon be shrouded in darkness, and the Holy See's prestige will plummet." Faye took out a golden ribbon and tied up her hair, speaking nonchalantly, "If you don't want the Holy See to fall, it's time to observe who can truly save it."
"Although I hate the Holy See, I don't wish for the light to disappear from the Statu Continent."
Faye rolled up her sleeves and walked toward the strange beast, leaving behind one last sentence. "After all, a world shrouded in darkness... just thinking about it feels dull."
Faye's words sent Vogt into deep thought, but the beast's furious roars prevented him from thinking further. He suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, took a deep breath, found a safer position, took out a new staff, and began to coordinate with Reese and Audrey in attacking the beast.
Faye approached the beast and leaped into the air, her sharp nails glinting coldly. She landed on the beast's back and slammed a fist into its neck, her ponytail whipping through the air in an arc.
Enraged, the beast broke free from the ropes of light binding its claws. It threw Faye off its back and raised a forepaw, intending to smash her into the ground. Faye twisted in mid-air, and with a flash of white light, she transformed into a massive white wolf. The wolf dodged the beast's paw and landed on the ground, its body continuing to grow until it was nearly the same size as the beast.
The white wolf bared its fangs, the scar on its face making it look exceptionally ferocious. It crouched low, let out a threatening growl at the beast, and then lunged forward to attack.
Reese and Audrey, who were casting light magic, were both stunned by the sight of the white wolf. Seeing the wolf and the beast already locked in a vicious fight, they frowned slightly before raising their staves and continuing to chant their spells.
Werewolves and the Holy See were enemies, but at a time like this, no one cast light magic at the white wolf.
The Holy See's light magic was powerful, but its casters were weak. Having a werewolf at the front, holding the enemy back beyond the line of defense, was the best way to maximize the strength of the Church's personnel.
During the Holy War, the werewolves and the Holy See had coordinated in this very way to fend off wave after wave of attacks from the Vampires.
While the battle raged outside the palace, a strange atmosphere had fallen within.
The silver-haired girl's pitiful appearance made it impossible to be harsh with her—with the possible exception of Lucille. Seeing the girl clinging to Tang Qiu's leg and refusing to let go, Lucille simply walked over, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and pulled her away.
Erin came closer and asked curiously, "So the descendants of the God Race live inside the temple?" When she had first heard of the God Race descendants, she had assumed they lived near the Mentos Desert.
Pulled away by Lucille and seeing Erin now standing beside Tang Qiu, the little girl didn't dare run back. Instead, she wrapped her arms around a statue and sniffled.
But she was so small that even with her arms stretched out, she could only press herself against the statue.
Tang Qiu stared at the little girl for a moment, then said to Erin, "I think she's afraid of you."
Before Erin could say anything, the little girl started nodding her head like a chick pecking at grain.
Erin: "..."
She touched her face in confusion, feeling a little hurt. "Do I look that scary?"
"It might be the dark aura on you that's scaring her."
In truth, neither Erin's nor Lucille's dark aura could be sensed even by a Red-robed Archbishop. It was a mystery how this little girl could be so sensitive to it.
Tang Qiu tried walking over to the little girl. The child didn't seem to mind her, even taking a few steps forward to meet her. Her golden eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Tang Qiu pitifully.
Tang Qiu gently rebuffed the little girl's attempt to hug her leg. She bent down slightly and asked in a soft voice, "Where are your people?"
The little girl pointed to her mouth and shook her head sadly.
"...You can't speak?"
The little girl nodded.
Being unable to speak was a bit troublesome. Tang Qiu tried asking her a few more questions, but with only nodding and shaking her head as simple responses, she couldn't get any useful information.
She straightened up and looked at Lucille. Lucille met her gaze, understanding that she was seeking her opinion, and said flatly, "She might be useful."
Tang Qiu thought so too. The little girl didn't seem at all unfamiliar with the temple, and they happened to need a guide.
While Tang Qiu and Lucille were talking, the little girl kept her head tilted up, watching her. After a moment, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Tang Qiu's white hair, which hung down by her waist. The soft strands slipped through her fingers, making the little girl grin a pure and adorable smile.
Tang Qiu glanced down, then raised her hand and gently stroked the little girl's head. She asked with a smile, "What's your name?"
The little girl puffed up her cheeks and thought hard. Then she squatted down and crookedly wrote two characters on the ground. It was clear she didn't know how to write; these two characters looked like something someone had specifically taught her.
After she finished, she looked at Tang Qiu expectantly. Tang Qiu looked down, deciphered them, and said, "Kama."
Kama nodded happily. She stood up, looked around, and then locked onto a certain statue and ran quickly towards it.
The three of them exchanged a look and followed her. By the time they reached the statue, Kama was already skillfully climbing it and soon disappeared from sight.
The statue was over ten meters tall. Looking up, they could only see its long white dress and outstretched arm. The statue held a staff in its hand, the tip of which was not embedded with a gem. The staff's shape looked more like a tree branch.
Erin looked up at the statue and said in confusion, "Why does this statue look so familiar?"
Tang Qiu stared at the statue for a moment before saying slowly, "This is a statue of the Light Goddess."
Erin frowned and instinctively turned to look at the statue on the opposite side. That statue was shrouded in what looked like a black fog, making it difficult to see clearly.
Just as she was about to get closer for a better look, Kama climbed back down from the statue.
Kama landed skillfully on the ground, then untied a white stone that was fastened to her body. She held it up to Tang Qiu with both hands, her golden eyes bright and clear.
Tang Qiu took the white stone from her hands and asked softly, "Is this for me?"
Kama clasped her hands in front of her and gave Tang Qiu a shy nod.
The white stone looked very unremarkable, but a faint aura of light emanated from it. Tang Qiu looked it over for a few moments but couldn't determine its origin for the time being, so she put it into her Space Gem.
Erin leaned close to Tang Qiu and whispered, "What is it? A Godhead?"
Tang Qiu shook her head. "I don't think so."
The aura of a Godhead shouldn't be this faint. Besides, how could the Godhead of the Earth Mother have an aura of light?
The three of them inspected every statue in the temple one by one but found nothing unusual. However, while they didn't find any clues about the Godhead, they did find another path leading to an unknown destination.
Kama was very familiar with the temple. Seeing Tang Qiu's curiosity about the path, she offered to lead the way.
Although Kama seemed gentle and harmless, Tang Qiu remained somewhat wary, keeping a distance of several meters from her. The path grew wider as they walked, eventually leading directly into another palace.
Compared to the previous one, this palace was even more magnificent. Tang Qiu had just stopped to look around when a dark figure suddenly flew in from outside and crashed at their feet.
The person was badly injured and took a long time to push themselves up. Sensing the presence of Tang Qiu's group, she turned around warily, then froze. "...Grace."
Tang Qiu looked the person up and down, nodded, and called out with a smile, "What a coincidence, Lord Dini."
Delia looked at her silently, saying nothing.
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