CA - Chapter 201

Chapter 201

Teleportation scrolls like this, which ignored domains, were meant for saving one's life. The destination was a secret, and the fewer people who knew it, the better. After learning that the Holy Son also had such a scroll, Tang Qiu had specifically asked Reese if she knew the location. However, the Holy Son had likely been warned by the Pope, so he had never revealed it to Reese.

The Holy Son's possession of the teleportation scroll had always been a thorny issue for Reese and Tang Qiu. But they never expected that before they could even finalize a countermeasure, the destination address would be delivered right to them.

Tang Qiu read the address on the parchment twice more, then lifted her eyes to observe Reese's expression. Seeing that she seemed somewhat distracted, she said with a smile, "Actually, I always thought your relationship with the Saintess was just average."

Through her several observations, Tang Qiu had discovered that the relationship between Reese and the Saintess was far more complex than she had imagined. Anyone unfamiliar with Reese would surely assume their relationship was terrible upon seeing her cold face and impatience when dealing with the Saintess.

But Tang Qiu also knew that Reese was someone who could get the seal from the Saintess.

On the surface, it seemed poor, but in reality, they trusted each other. Tang Qiu couldn't understand the bond between them.

"Our relationship is indeed average." Reese turned and leaned her back against the doorframe, her head tilted up slightly as if lost in memory. "Phoenix is rigid and uninteresting. We don't have much to talk about."

"But..." Reese frowned, pausing for a moment before continuing, "she's the only person in the Holy See I can trust."

Tang Qiu glanced at Reese's expression, and a thought occurred to her. "You knew each other before?" she asked pensively.

Reese knew about the talents of God Race descendants; if their relationship were merely ordinary, Phoenix would have had no reason to tell her the location.

Reese raised a hand to tidy the stray hairs on her forehead and said flatly, "I knew her back when Monica and I were still believers in the Bill Empire Church."

"She wasn't the Saintess back then, just an attendant priest to the Pope. She came with Cambecus to the Bill Empire Church to select believers with outstanding aptitude to be sent to the Central Church."

Speaking of this, Reese gave a mocking smile. "Ah, my mistake. They were to be sent to Eden."

Tang Qiu certainly knew what kind of place Eden was. The smile on her face faded slightly. "Was the Saintess also involved in the matter of Eden?"

Reese shook her head. "It had nothing to do with her. She was traveling with Cambecus to find an opportunity to see her own people."

"It was just a coincidence that they stayed overnight at the Bill Empire Church." Reese paused, a strange tone in her voice as a thought struck her. "Or you could call it fate, I suppose. After all, she is a God Race descendant."

She held out her hand to Tang Qiu, palm up. "You know about it, right? The talents of God Race descendants—prophecy and telepathy."

Tang Qiu froze for a second. Understanding Reese's implication, her expression shifted slightly, and she slowly straightened her posture. "Are you saying..."

Seeing her expression, Reese knew she had understood her hint. She let out a low laugh, her tone tinged with a hint of emotion. "Do you know what it feels like to be forcibly dragged into the darkness, yet be unable to direct your hatred at the person who did it?"

Every time she saw Phoenix, she wanted to hate her but couldn't. Because she knew in her heart that the darkness she was mired in had nothing to do with Phoenix. On the contrary, it was because of Phoenix that she had been able to protect Monica.

And yet, the light in her heart had been single-handedly destroyed by Phoenix.

When she first met Phoenix, she and Monica were serving as Light Believers in the Bill Empire Church. With their outstanding looks and Light Constitution, they were constantly praised by everyone. All said they could enter the Central Church, so naturally, Reese and Monica were filled with anticipation.

They saw the Light Goddess as their faith and were full of yearning for the sacred Central Church.

So when Cambecus selected them, Reese was happy, but unfortunately, that joy only lasted for one night.

God Race descendants had the ability to prophesy, but what they could foresee was not something they could control. The first time Phoenix's talent was triggered was when she saw the sisters, Reese and Monica.

She saw Reese and Monica's future.

Reese had once asked Phoenix why she chose to tell her about the future she had foreseen, even showing her the darkness of the Holy See to gain her trust.

At that time, she was only in her teens. Though her mind was sharp, she was still, in fact, a pure and innocent believer in the light.

Reese had already forgotten what Phoenix's answer was. She had even forgotten her own reaction upon seeing those filthy images. She only remembered that when Phoenix pressed the dagger into her hand, the dark aura stung her so much that her heart ached along with it.

She stabbed Monica, and while Monica was unconscious from the erosion of the Power of Darkness, she went with Cambecus to Eden.

Phoenix couldn't save them both. The gash on Monica's face had already aroused Cambecus's suspicion, so Reese had to go with him.

Their future of being tortured to death was changed into what it is now. Reese felt she really should be grateful to Phoenix.

"I don't hate Phoenix." Reese lowered her gaze, hiding the excess of emotion in her eyes, and said calmly, "My dislike for her is probably a form of misplaced anger."

Because she was the first to bring darkness before her, and the first to make Reese understand the terror of being controlled by fate if one did not struggle with all their might.

Such a heavy past should not be peeled back so bloodily. Tang Qiu regretted bringing up the topic. She clutched the parchment and remained silent for a moment, then placed a hand on Reese's shoulder, patting it comfortingly. "The gloom will eventually fade," she said earnestly. "The Holy See is already a heap of loose sand; overthrowing and rebuilding it is only a matter of time."

She folded the parchment and placed it in Reese's hand, the curve of her lips as gentle as ever. "I think you can start thinking about what kind of death to give the Holy Son."

Reese glanced at her, her red lips curling slightly. A dagger appeared in her hand. She twirled it and said lazily, "Wouldn't a single slice to the throat be letting him off too easily?"

Tang Qiu chuckled. "Need my help? My nails are a bit sharper than a dagger."

Reese looked down and smiled, tucking the dagger away as the gloomy aura around her slowly dissipated.

Having obtained the Holy Son's teleportation address, Tang Qiu and Reese began to formulate a plan to encircle and kill him. At the scroll's destination, the Pope had a team of knights prepared for the Holy Son, about a hundred strong, which also included priests whose Power of Light was on par with a bishop's.

These people had been stationed there for years, precisely to guard against the Holy Son encountering danger.

To deal with the Holy Son, Reese had been secretly cultivating her own forces over the years. She also had a team of Holy Knights, and their numbers were greater than those the Pope had prepared for the Holy Son.

After dispatching her knights in advance to lie in ambush near the teleportation point, Reese, cloaked in black, followed Tang Qiu to the territory of the Elf Race.

"The Elf Race hates people from the Holy See. Why were you able to gain their trust?" Reese asked, her tone a little peculiar as she looked at the elves hidden behind the trees, aiming their bows at her. She noticed they showed no hostility at all toward Tang Qiu, who was beside her.

Tang Qiu thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Probably because of the Holy Water of Light?"

"Holy water?" Reese stroked her chin thoughtfully, then took a bottle of holy water from her Space Gem and tossed it toward a nearby elf.

Upon seeing the holy water, the elf immediately lowered her bow and flew out to catch it.

Reese shook her head and chuckled. "I thought they were a shrewd and difficult race to deal with, but they seem quite simple-minded."

She raised her hand, and hundreds of bottles of Holy Water of Light appeared on the empty ground behind her. Gasps of surprise came from the surroundings, and several elves ran out from behind the trees, looking at the holy water on the ground with joyful faces.

Tang Qiu glanced back and smiled helplessly. "The Elves are the most peace-loving race. The Holy See's records about them are pure slander."

Delphine lived in the center of the territory. Tang Qiu and Reese soon disappeared into the forest. The elves squatted on the ground, collecting the Holy Water of Light and chattering and laughing among themselves. Monica, who happened to be nearby, heard the noise and walked over. Her dull green eyes lit up when she heard the name "Grace."

"...Were you just talking about Grace?" Monica had only woken from her coma a few days ago, and her face was still as pale as a sheet of paper, without a trace of color. She looked down at the Holy Water of Light on the ground, her expression a little dazed.

The elves were already familiar with her. A young elf stood up and ran to her side, answering enthusiastically, "Yes, that beautiful and gentle Bishop Grace."

"She and her friend gave us a lot of holy water."

The young elf cupped her face and said happily, "Her friend is so generous too."

Friend... Monica's hand, hanging at her side, trembled. She asked nervously, "Her friend... what does she look like? Does she look like me?"

The young elf looked up at Monica's face seriously, thought for a moment, and shook her head in confusion. "I don't think so."

The expression on Monica's face stiffened. She nodded, and just as she was about to say something, another elf chimed in, "I think they look quite similar. Both have golden hair and green eyes."

She paused for a moment, then praised, "Your eyes are so beautiful." Elves were very fond of green things.

Hearing this, the young elf earnestly refuted, "That's not right. Grace's friend has scars all over her face. She doesn't look like this sister at all."

"That's true..."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Monica, who had been about to leave, froze when she heard the young elf's words, a flustered look in her eyes. She bent down to look into the young elf's eyes, her voice growing hoarse. "What do you mean, scars? Are that person's eyes the same as mine?"

"Scars are scars." The young elf touched her own face. "There are many of them. Her Majesty the Queen taught me that those are scars left behind by the erosion of darkness."

In an instant, all the color drained from Monica's lips. She opened her mouth, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead like tears. She bit her lip and muttered to herself, "Impossible..."

The young elf looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong with you?"

As if she had lost all her strength, Monica slowly sank to the ground. She covered her face with her hands, and large tears slipped through her fingers. "How could this be... How could it be..."

How could she use a forbidden technique? Monica bit her lip to keep herself from crying out loud.

From the moment she woke up and found not a single scar on her body, she had already had her suspicions. It was just that Monica hadn't wanted to believe it.

Monica still had a fresh memory of the pain from the dark erosion—her skin feeling like it was being ripped off, her bones as if they were being cut by a knife. She had only endured that pain for a minute before passing out.

And Reese... had to endure that kind of pain until the forbidden technique was complete.

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