“Impossible, how could this be? This… this is just a fake! Isn’t it said that the Varelis family has long since…?” The purple-robed man stammered incoherently as he stared at the radiant, flawless, cherry-haired girl.

He knew that any slander or denial would only be self-deception. This transcendent, sacred aura was unique in the world, especially for the followers of the Demon God Pillar, who were extremely sensitive to such a presence. Others might not recognize it, but they certainly could.

It was like an animal encountering its natural predator, this instinctive sense of danger could not be wrong!

“You… you’re really the Radiant Saintness!? Damn it, I’ve been fooled by those bastards!” The purple-robed man gnashed his teeth in anger, though it was unclear who exactly he was cursing.

“Win… Winnie??” Inside the mountain cave, standing at the best vantage point, Mirexia watched in shock as Winnie transformed into the cherry-haired girl under the wings and radiance of an angel. She called out hesitantly, her voice filled with uncertainty.

The girl, who exuded an overwhelmingly holy aura, felt unfamiliar yet not entirely so. Mirexia could still catch glimpses of something familiar in her.

Was this beautiful cherry-haired girl really Winnie transformed??

No, wait, it didn’t seem to be that simple.

Mirexia’s mind was in chaos, overloaded with conflicting information.

Since she could remember, Mirexia had always been curious about Winnie, her childhood friend. She often attended church services and had seen the statue of the goddess countless times.

Her father had told her that the statue was of the Goddess of Radiance, Varelis, Winnie’s ancestor. But back then, she found it strange, why didn’t Winnie resemble his ancestor at all?

Logically, the genes of the [Saint] family were incredibly strong, preserving the characteristics of their ancestors even after countless generations. Yet Winnie seemed to be an exception. Whether it was his hair color, eye color, or facial features, he inherited none of his ancestor’s traits.

But perhaps it was just because too many generations had passed, and he no longer resembled his ancestor. Mirexia didn’t dwell on it too much.

It wasn’t until she looked through the portraits of past saintesses that she realized the Varelis family truly seemed to have only Winnie and his father and grandfather as exceptions.

Every generation of Varelis heirs had been beautiful women with cherry blossom hair and heart-shaped eyes.

Only the three of them were male and had inherited none of their ancestor’s traits.

Apart from still bearing the Varelis name, there was no indication they were descendants of the Goddess Varelis.

Later, she learned from her father that the Varelis family had become a “dead bloodline” three generations ago.

The goddess’s blood still flowed in their veins, but it was dormant from birth. Whether it could be revived was anyone’s guess.

When Mirexia asked her father about it, he simply shook his head and sighed, muttering to himself, “It all depends on his fate and luck.”

In the capital of Camella, Mirexia had naturally heard the rumors about Winnie being a fake descendant of the goddess.

Unlike most nobles who gleefully spread the rumors, she didn’t believe them.

She thought it was just the nobles gossiping and even tried to stop the rumors from spreading.

Unfortunately, by the time she became aware of it, the rumors had already spread throughout the capital and the entire kingdom. It was too late to stop them.

She could only sigh inwardly, hoping that the rumors would stop with the wise.

No matter how much Mirexia believed in Winnie, she couldn’t provide any concrete evidence to prove that he was the true descendant of the goddess.

After all, as a descendant of the [Saint] family, Winnie had no distinctive traits or [Divine Blessing], and he didn’t even possess any magical talent.

After being tested and found to have only a one-star magical aptitude, the rumors gained even more traction, and many people began to treat them as the truth.

Regarding the issue of the dormant bloodline, King Frian V of Camella had no solution.

Mirexia had privately asked the court healers many times, even sought help from the high priests and clergy of the church. They all said that a dormant bloodline couldn’t be cured, and there was nothing they could do.

Mirexia felt sorry for her childhood friend, but there was nothing she could do.

In her heart, she wished that one day Winnie would awaken his bloodline, prove himself to the world, shatter the false rumors, and return to the church.

But as time passed, even Winnie himself stopped hoping for his bloodline to revive, and Mirexia gradually began to think it was unlikely to happen.

After all, this wasn’t an illness but an extremely rare genetic issue. No one had any experience in solving it.

In the past, seeing Winnie grow increasingly despondent, she had wondered if one day a miracle might happen, and his bloodline would awaken, leading him to regain his spirit.

And now, this miracle of miracles was right before her eyes.

The flawless, holy girl emerged from the pristine radiance, dazzling and resplendent, like an angel descending to the mortal world. Her pure, otherworldly aura made it impossible for anyone to look away.

Mirexia was no exception. At this moment, she recalled the statue of the goddess in the church and the portraits of past saintesses.

It was uncanny.

No, this must be what a true descendant of the goddess and past saintesses should look like.

Mirexia began to form a hypothesis.

Perhaps… this was Winnie’s true form??

Her usual male appearance was just an illusion, or perhaps a disguise used to deceive others?

And when exactly had she awakened her bloodline?

“Shh~” The impossibly beautiful girl turned her head, placing a slender, jade-like finger against her lips, a faint smile playing on her lips as she made a shushing gesture toward Mirexia.

“Your Highness Mirexia, remember what I said earlier, keep it a secret for me~” As she spoke, the girl winked at Mirexia, her charming heart-shaped eyes seemingly releasing a laser that struck right into Mirexia’s heart.

For a moment, the golden-haired girl’s gaze toward the cherry-haired girl became slightly dazed, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, though she didn’t notice it herself.

How strange… what was happening to her??

Mirexia clutched her chest, unable to describe the inexplicable flutter in her heart.

“Virtue +200.”

“Current Virtue: 3854.”

This trip was worth it.

Looking at the rapidly increasing virtue points, Vanessa licked her lips.

She took back her statement that Aesphyra was the top contributor and the best at generating virtue.

Clearly, Her Highness Mirexia was also a potential star player.

And dealing with her wasn’t as troublesome as Aesphyra, who always made Vanessa wonder who was really generating virtue.

Just a wink could generate virtue, impressive, impressive. Her lovely childhood friend truly cared for her~

Generating so much virtue was usually something to be happy about, but right now, she couldn’t feel any joy.

“Good day, hopeless followers of the Demon God Pillar. May I ask how many days it’s been since you last bathed? The stench emanating from you can be smelled from miles away, you know?” Vanessa twirled the mithril mace around her waist, performing a few flourishes before gripping it tightly.

“No offense, but I think those of you who spend your days crawling through sewers should pay more attention to personal hygiene. It’s for your own good and for the sake of others. Don’t you agree? Please consider others too, because killing you would just dirty my hands, and that’s quite troublesome, don’t you think?” Vanessa pinched her nose, her elegant tone tinged with a hint of disdain.

“…So it really is the real thing.” The purple-robed man gradually calmed down from his earlier state of rage and frustration.

“Fine, it’s even better if it’s the real deal! Scum of the Varelis family, you’ve delivered yourself right to us. If we offer you to our lord, he’ll surely be pleased and reward us greatly.” The purple-robed man clearly understood the principle that risk and reward were proportional. After calming down, he gazed at Vanessa with a greedy expression.

“Perfect, we’ll take the princess and the saintess together!”

“You, go capture her!” the purple-robed man commanded.

“Don’t be afraid. Even if she’s the real saintess, she’s only at the Artisan level. She’s no threat to us.”

Despite their fear of the aura emanating from Vanessa, the black keratin monsters charged forward without hesitation.

Vanessa also adopted a serious expression, facing the suddenly approaching monsters.

These monsters were already half-kin of the Demon God Pillar, with thick hides that made them difficult to kill through physical means.

Even Mirexia, who possessed dragon blood, found it hard to break through their defenses, which said a lot.

As for how Vanessa knew Mirexia struggled to penetrate their defenses, she saw one of the monsters with Mirexia’s dragon-tooth greatsword still embedded in its chest.

It was proof enough that these creatures’ keratin hides were exceptionally thick. Ordinary weapons couldn’t pierce them, and even if someone strong managed to stab them, the weapon would get stuck in the thick hide, making it hard to pull out.

Vanessa, however, didn’t have this problem. She wasn’t using a sharp weapon but a blunt one, relying on the force of impact.

One of the black monsters lunged forward, its claw swipe appearing incredibly slow to Vanessa. She dodged its claws and swung the mithril mace down hard on its skull.

“Crack!” The countless compound eyes on the monster’s face squeezed together like seeds on a strawberry, and the twisted face on its body contorted even more, as if wearing a mask of pain, before it collapsed.

Vanessa, seeing that the monster she had smashed on the head was still alive, realized that these creatures had an extraordinary vitality.

They could no longer be considered “human.”

It seemed that without using magic, this would be quite troublesome.

Vanessa stepped back, dodging the lunges of several monsters, and quietly channeled her mana, charging her mithril mace.

One of the monsters, angered by Vanessa’s evasion, leaped into the air, pouncing toward her.

[Charged Light Strike]

Vanessa gripped the mace, now glowing brightly, and swung it like a home run bat toward the flying monster.

“Thud!” The monster’s head made intimate contact with the mace, densely packed with light elements, leaving the creature utterly bewildered.

The monster’s head, along with most of its body, exploded into a puddle of green liquid, flying off the cliff. Less than a third of its upper body remained, embedded in the ground, while its tentacle-like legs still wriggled.

“How is this possible!?” The purple-robed man’s eyes widened. As a Priest of Erunes, he knew all too well how resilient the half-kin created by the Erunes potion were in terms of vitality and defense.

What level of light magic could instantly turn a half-kin into a puddle of water?!

Looking at the radiant mithril mace in Vanessa’s hand, the purple-robed man felt utterly dumbfounded.

What level of light magic was this? He couldn’t make sense of it.

“So light magic is this powerful?” Vanessa mused, looking at the dazzling light still lingering on her mace. “Or is it…?”

“Mr. Monster, I really like this mace. You’ll have to compensate me with a new one later, okay?” Vanessa called out to the monster, now missing its upper half, as the light faded, revealing the mithril macehead covered in green slime.

Another half-kin tried to ambush Vanessa from the side, but she blocked its claw with the mace’s handle. Then, summoning all her strength, she kicked the twisted face on the monster’s body.

“Thud!” The monster was sent flying off the cliff. Though its thick hide prevented any real injury, its descent nearly hit the purple-robed man, who was standing below, acting as the command center.

“Tch, so the Radiant Saintness is indeed a tough opponent?” The purple-robed man narrowly dodged, watching Vanessa fight her way through the horde of monsters with gritted teeth.

These monsters’ physiques were no joke. Even Vanessa, without using magic, found it hard to harm them, no matter how strong she was.

Yet, even as she faced the simultaneous attacks of four or five monsters, Vanessa handled them with ease.

Several seemingly unavoidable attacks were effortlessly dodged, and she even managed to make the dim-witted monsters accidentally strike each other.

Her combat skills were a far cry from her male form.

The purple-robed man wanted to capture her alive, so he ordered the monsters not to use magic or any difficult-to-counter moves, limiting them to claw attacks. This gave Vanessa plenty of room to maneuver.

Close combat was Vanessa’s forte, especially in her female form, where her reflexes were incredibly fast.

Every enemy’s move seemed to be in slow motion to her, and her mind was crystal clear, constantly analyzing which direction to dodge for maximum benefit.

This resulted in Vanessa’s exceptional close combat skills.

Though the monsters were numerous, she strategically blocked the mountain pass, preventing them from swarming her and forcing them to attack from one side.

Dealing with such an onslaught, Vanessa was completely at ease.

“Damn it! Find a way to capture her at any cost but without killing her!” Seeing that this approach wasn’t working, the purple-robed man lowered his requirements further.

At his command, the monsters sprayed orange-yellow liquid toward Vanessa.