CA - Chapter 227
Chapter 227
From what Elder Winnie revealed, the Garcia Family has already put summoning the “Blood Demon” on their agenda. Once the Blood Demon is released, the Black Witches will become even more difficult to deal with.
This matter had to be reported to Reese and the Saintess as soon as possible. The Holy See also needed to prepare early.
Traveling back to the Central Church by carriage would be a waste of time. After Karen had the guards ready, Tang Qiu directly took out several teleportation scrolls.
For the safety of the Central Church, the Holy See prohibited the private creation of teleportation scrolls that could lead there. But Reese was never one to follow the rules, and Tang Qiu benefited from it as well.
Jennifer inspected the guards and, finding no issues, walked over. She had been Tang Qiu's attendant priest, so her first instinct upon seeing Tang Qiu was to check her attire. Noticing she was wearing ordinary priest's robes, Jennifer frowned and asked, “Where are your Cardinal's robes?”
You were wearing them last night. Why did you change this morning?
Tang Qiu, who was fiddling with a teleportation scroll, blinked and rubbed her nose, saying sheepishly, “I accidentally broke a button last night.”
Her apologetic smile was so sincere that one couldn't bear to blame her, and even Jennifer gave up on questioning her further.
Although the excuse of accidentally breaking a button sounded quite absurd.
In truth, the robes had been torn by Lucille. Tang Qiu had been too relaxed last night and had completely forgotten about them. It was only when she woke up in the morning that she realized she had no spare robes in her Space Gem.
Her promotion to Cardinal had been sudden, and with the Holy See having no time to prepare many robes, she only had the single set the Saintess had someone hastily sew for her.
If only the collar had been torn, it could have been mended. But Lucille had been too unrestrained last night, and the robes were torn beyond recognition.
Perhaps Lucille also knew she had “misbehaved,” as she had run off somewhere early in the morning. Thinking of the culprit, Tang Qiu shook her head helplessly, cleared her throat, and changed the subject. “Are you ready? We should be going.”
Back when Tang Qiu was a bishop, her robes were often torn. Jennifer was already used to it; she knew she would never get the real story anyway.
Jennifer urged, “Be careful at the Central Church.”
Karen touched the golden longsword at her waist and spoke up before Tang Qiu could reply, “Don't worry, I'll take good care of Cardinal Grace.”
Jennifer glanced at her and retorted coolly, “Just don't make Grace take care of you.”
Karen's brow twitched, clearly displeased. Just as she was about to argue, Tang Qiu stopped her. Tang Qiu handed the teleportation scroll to Karen, then chuckled and said to Jennifer, “We're off.” She tossed her remaining scroll to Jennifer. “If anything comes up that you can't handle, send someone to find me at the Central Church.”
Jennifer caught the scroll and nodded seriously.
Lucille had run off somewhere, but Tang Qiu had told her last night that she would be going to the Central Church today, so she wasn't worried Lucille wouldn't be able to find her. She walked over to Karen and nodded.
Karen unfurled the scroll in her hand. A white light enveloped her, Tang Qiu, and the guards behind them, and they all vanished on the spot.
The teleportation scroll greatly reduced their travel time. Upon arriving at the Central Church, Tang Qiu settled Karen and the guards at her manor in the Holy See's domain, then went to see the Saintess alone.
To expel the forces of darkness, the Holy See had dispatched nearly all its personnel. The vast lands of the Holy See were left with only a few priests and the remaining Holy Knight guards.
Just as Tang Qiu reached the square in front of the Central Church, a carriage that had been waiting there slowly drove over and blocked her path. Mario leaned out and greeted her, “Cardinal Grace, good day.”
His expression was placid, but it held a faint, almost unnoticeable smile.
Tang Qiu paused, looked up at Mario, and returned the greeting with a smile and a nod. “Priest Mario, good day.”
She turned and boarded the carriage, which then slowly started moving again.
“Cardinal Reese has been very worried about you,” Mario's voice came from outside. “When she heard you had arrived at the Central Church, she immediately sent me to welcome you.”
The carriage was spacious and comfortable. Tang Qiu gazed out the window, conversing casually with Mario. “I'm sorry to have worried her. I never expected the Tzimisce Vampires to have hidden such a powerful formation in their own territory.”
“As long as you are safe, that's all that matters.”
Reese was still operating in the shadows and had not officially returned to the Holy See, so she had been staying at the Saintess's manor in the Holy See's domain.
Mario left after dropping Tang Qiu off at the manor. A priest came out to guide her, leading her to the garden.
Reese was distractedly trimming some sparse flower branches. Hearing the sound, she turned around. When she saw the familiar figure behind the priest, her red lips curved into a much more sincere smile. “I was starting to think we wouldn't see each other again.”
She put down her shears and walked to a round table, gesturing for Tang Qiu to sit opposite her.
Tang Qiu unfastened her cloak, handed it to the priest beside her, and went to sit down. A cup of steaming rose tea was placed before her. She smiled at Reese, her tone teasing, “I'm not the type to abandon my allies.”
Reese raised an eyebrow. “Then tell me where you've been all this time.”
“Where I went is too unbelievable to talk about, so let's not mention it.” Tang Qiu took out Cynthia's Staff and placed it on the round table, saying with a smile, “You just need to know that I got this.”
The Light Crystal at the tip of Cynthia's Staff shimmered with a faint golden light, and the surrounding aura of light unconsciously gathered toward it. Reese's expression slowly grew serious. She stared at Cynthia's Staff for a moment before speaking slowly, “The complete Cynthia's Staff… It seems you've had quite an adventure.”
Tang Qiu nodded. “You could call it that.”
“With this staff, Gabriel's plans are ruined.” Reese picked up the staff, examining it with a downward glance, and chuckled. “This is even more important than the Pope's ring of authority.”
After the Holy War, Pope Cynthia dismantled her staff, and no one knew where the Light Crystal from its tip had gone.
The Holy See had seen countless Popes, and every one of them had wanted to reassemble Cynthia's Staff, but none had succeeded.
“The Tzimisce clan is destroyed. Gabriel has already lost his leverage.” Tang Qiu had never been particularly concerned about Gabriel. She handed over a parchment detailing the location of the Blood Demon's seal and said flatly, “The biggest threat now is the Black Witches.”
Reese put down the staff, took the parchment, and glanced at it. “What's this?” she asked.
“The Blood Demon's sealing place.” Tang Qiu paused, then asked, “Do you know about the Blood Demon?”
Reese thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Never heard of it.” She hadn't studied the Black Witches or the Dark God much.
“Blood Demon?” The Saintess's questioning voice came from a short distance away. She walked over from the west side of the garden, staring directly at Tang Qiu. She frowned and asked, “Are you talking about the Blood Demon, the Dark God's general?”
Tang Qiu looked up to meet the Saintess's gaze and nodded slightly. “That's her.”
The Saintess sat in an empty seat, snatched the parchment from Reese's hand, and studied it for a moment. Her expression grew grave. “Is the Blood Demon's seal about to be broken?”
As she spoke, her peripheral vision caught the staff on the table. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Cynthia's Staff.”
“Someone told me the Garcia witches are preparing to summon the Blood Demon.” Seeing that the Saintess was not unfamiliar with the name, Tang Qiu asked curiously, “You know of the Blood Demon's existence?”
“I've seen records of it in the books passed down within my clan.” The Saintess tore her gaze away from Cynthia's Staff and stroked the parchment in her hand. After a moment of thought, she grew restless. “Legend says the Blood Demon is warlike and despises the Light Goddess. If she's released, the Holy See will surely be her primary target.”
The Saintess's worry was also Tang Qiu's. That was why she had come to consult with Reese and the Saintess first thing after returning. “If we intercept them now, we might still have a chance.”
She tapped the address on the parchment. “The Holy See needs to stop the Garcia Family first.”
“I'll go myself.” The Saintess stood up but didn't leave, instead staring at Tang Qiu.
Tang Qiu understood the hint and chuckled. “I'll go with you.”
Only then did the Saintess nod, turning to leave and gather her forces.
After she left, Tang Qiu looked at Reese, who was calmly sipping her tea, and asked with a smile, “And you?”
“I don't know any Blood Demon, so I won't join the fun.” Reese set down her cup, gave a lazy yawn, and said slowly, “I'm going to check on Monica.”
She had heard that Monica had left the Elf Race, and with things being so chaotic outside, she was a little worried for Monica's safety.
It was already getting dark when Tang Qiu returned to her manor. Karen, who was waiting at the gate, saw her and hurried over, saying in a low voice, “Bishop Abel came to the manor to see you today.”
“Abel?” Tang Qiu was a little surprised. “Where is he now?”
“In the drawing room.”
Cardinals all had their own manors in the Holy See's domain. This particular manor had been vacant for a long time before it was assigned to Tang Qiu, and she had never lived here.
The manor was cold and lacked a lived-in feel. Tang Qiu told Karen to go rest and went to the drawing room alone.
Abel had waited from day until night, and he was finally rewarded with Tang Qiu's return. He was sitting at a table and looked up as she entered, letting out a small sigh of relief. “You're finally back.”
Tang Qiu went to a cabinet and poured a glass of water. Unconcerned by Abel's complaint, she said, “I was at the Saintess's manor the whole time. You could have looked for me there.”
But then again, as Gabriel's confidant, Abel probably wouldn't have dared.
Tang Qiu walked over with her glass, raising an eyebrow with a smile. “What are you doing here? Defecting to the light?”
Abel gave an awkward laugh. “I'm here on personal business this time.” He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Tang Qiu's face as he watched her expression and asked, “Where's Erin?”
Erin? Tang Qiu froze for a second. Before she could speak, the sound of fighting suddenly erupted outside. She frowned and flashed outside.
Abel reached out to stop her but missed. He scratched his head in frustration and followed her out with a sigh.
In the fairly spacious courtyard, a red figure and a gray figure were locked in combat, their movements so fast they were little more than afterimages.
The commotion from their fight was considerable. Tang Qiu frowned and set up a soundproofing barrier. She glanced sideways at Abel, who had come to stand beside her. Her sky-blue eyes were deep as she said with a half-smile, “You didn't come alone.”
“Who is that?” Tang Qiu narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the nearly blurred gray figure. She enunciated each syllable, “…Wolf Fang?”
Abel knew where the teleportation array had sent Tang Qiu, so he wasn't surprised she knew Wolf Fang's identity. He looked at the gray figure, sighed inwardly, and leaned in to whisper to Tang Qiu, “She's the proprietress of Mark's Grocery Store.”
The proprietress of Mark's Grocery Store… Tang Qiu's eyes flickered. Her gaze followed the gray figure, noting its eyes, which were not vacant at all but abnormally profound. Understanding dawned on her.
This was Wolf Fang, the Dark God's general, not Erin's Little Fur Ball, Wolf Fang.
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