Chapter 37

“The goddess, it’s the Goddess of Radiance! I saw her! She appeared above the Saintess Selina Cathedral, spreading her wings and gliding over the stained glass windows of the chapel courtyard!” Many students with church backgrounds were extremely excited at this moment.

“Everyone, don’t panic! The goddess has descended, the goddess has come to save us! I saw it with my own eyes!” The students shouted to their classmates and colleagues.

“Flying over from Saintess Selina Cathedral? Could it be Her Eminence Saintess Selina?!”

“I don’t know, but it must be either Goddess of Radiance or Saintess Selina who appeared!”

Many senior students who joined the battle didn’t have time to see this scene, but rumors spread quickly, and more and more people became aware of this matter.

After all, people are always more willing to believe what they want to believe.

In such a desperate moment of crisis, hearing that the goddess had descended to help them destroy the followers of the Demon God Pillar was undoubtedly an extremely uplifting event that directly reversed the low morale.

“Goddess, where is the goddess?! I want to personally meet the goddess! I have many things to report to Her Excellency!”

“The goddess descended? And from the Saintess Church??” On the other side of Carillian Academy, the combat instructors who heard the rumors were quite puzzled and very skeptical of the rumor.

“Franklin, what do you think?” A colleague looked at the golden bird-faced armored man who was hammering the Demon God Pillar followers beside him.

“What do I think? Such rumors during battle are the least credible.” Franklin didn’t care at all, just kept hammering the fanatic.

One punch flattened the fanatic’s nose, and another punch caved in the fanatic’s face.

“Damn bastard, stop hitting me!” The fanatic was beaten to the point where he couldn’t fight back. Seeing that his opponent was chatting with his colleague while fighting him, he was furious.

When had he ever been so looked down upon?!

This despicable and weak human was only using his fists, so why couldn’t he do anything about it?

He was a fanatic, a powerful member of the Demon God Pillar’s high-ranking followers, so why was he being defeated by a human with just fists??

So, in a fit of rage, the fanatic decided to show his true abilities. He unleashed his signature two-element storm.

Seeing this, the bird-faced armored man got serious. He leaped into the air, spinning 360 degrees with his arms crossed, clearly preparing to unleash a big move.

Then, he extended his fist, his body spinning like a missile, diving down towards the fanatic.

[Spiral Spin Fist]

Upon landing, there was nothing fancy. All the setup was just for that simple, unadorned punch.

The fanatic, who hadn’t even had time to release his two-element storm, was hit and sent flying by this punch. One punch, and he was silent, flying dozens of meters away.

“Probably something happened at the Saintess Church, making everyone think it was the goddess descending.” After beating the fanatic, Franklin shook his fist and couldn’t help but complain.

“This guy is quite tough. I’ve been fighting demons and Demon God Pillar followers for so many years, and these guys are the toughest bunch.”

“Then, should we go to the Saintess Church to check?” the colleague instructor asked.

“We haven’t even solved the trouble in front of us, how can we go??” Franklin removed the fanatic who had been knocked out but stood up in less than three seconds.

These guys lurking in the academy are not ordinary difficult to deal with. It must be [Bronze Blood] going all out, playing all their cards at once, with the obvious goal of taking Carillian Academy in one go.

“Damn it, I don’t want to lose my job a second time.” Franklin complaining.

“But, is this really okay? Something might have happened at the Saintess Church.” The colleague said uneasily.

“Whatever happened, it’s useless for us to think about it. The most important thing now is human lives. If we can’t even protect the students and instructors, what’s the use of protecting that dead building??” If some students or instructors with church backgrounds heard this, they would probably be furious, but Franklin said it without a care.

“It’s a wonder you were once the [Champion Knight] of the Church of Radiance, you’re really not ‘devout’ at all, huh??”

“Devout? Truly devout people should save as many lives as possible at this time, not one dead object.” Franklin didn’t care at all. As he spoke, he once again dodged the charging fanatic and gave him a hard punch in the face.

Honestly, these ugly, weird things with soft tentacles on their backs are really tough. His fists were almost smoking, and they were still alive and kicking.

“Compared to those things, I have a feeling that if we don’t deal with these coffin boards in the sky, we’ll be in big trouble.” Franklin looked at the blood altar in the sky.

Just a moment ago, this altar was somewhat illustrative, like a mirage. Now it has become more and more solid, as if there really was an altar bound with millions of souls standing in the sky.

“Just now, the academy has made a decision to completely destroy the foundation of this aerial altar. Once the foundation collapses, this aerial pavilion will no longer exist.” The colleague pondered for a moment and said.

“….Destroy the foundation? You mean? Even those brats??” Franklin was silent for a moment.

“There’s no other way. Humans transformed into Demon God Pillar followers by demonic potions are irreversible. Neither in literature nor in records has there been such a precedent.” The colleague’s tone was also heavy.

This day was undoubtedly a painful one for Carillian Academy, but what could they do?

If even the academy couldn’t be saved, the casualties would only be greater. If the Demon God Pillar succeeded, perhaps the entire Terraria continent would be next.

Whatever the purpose, they had to take responsibility for the entire continent, otherwise, if something went wrong, no one could bear such a responsibility.

“…Who told you there was no way??” However, Franklin’s next answer leaves his colleague dumbfounded.

“What do you mean??”

“You keep talking about the safety of the Saintess Church. Haven’t you read the church’s records??” Franklin’s gaze turned to a certain place.

“Incidents like the sudden transformation of unsuspecting humans into Demon God Pillar followers have happened before. There’s a precedent in history.”

“And, although there were sacrifices, most of the people transformed into Demon God Pillar followers were saved and turned back into humans.”

“…..This, could it have been done by a saintess of the Church of Radiance?” The colleague was stunned.

Franklin neither confirmed nor denied.

“Then, which saintess was it??”

“Far in the horizon, near at hand.” Franklin looked in the direction of Saintess Selina Cathedral. “It’s a pity that the saintess’s resting place is right here, and you all don’t know.”

“You mean, Saintess Selina??” This was indeed the first time this combat instructor of Carillian Academy had heard of it. He wasn’t familiar with the achievements of past saintesses, as he wasn’t a church-affiliated instructor.

His knowledge of Selina was limited to her outstanding contributions in treating diseases and her remarkable achievements in battles against demons and Demon God Pillar followers, nothing more.

“You mean, Saintess Selina knew how to turn humans transformed into Demon God Pillar followers back into humans??”

“Exactly, but it’s said that only those who mistakenly took the demonic potion and didn’t sincerely convert to the Demon God Pillar can be turned back.”

“However, it’s useless to talk about it now. Saintess Selina has been dead for centuries, and that kind of magic has been lost.” Franklin shook his head. “A thousand years, not just the magic, even the family is almost gone.”

“But, such an important magic, isn’t it recorded in the church??”

“Even if it’s recorded, it’s not something others can use. That magic requires holy light, and only the Radiance Saintess has holy light.” Franklin said.

“Then isn’t that??…….”

“Indeed, there’s no hope.” Franklin sobbed heavily.

“Speaking of which, if I remember correctly, isn’t there a student from the Varelis family in our academy this year??” This instructor, who wasn’t familiar with the affairs of the Church of Radiance, couldn’t help but ask.

“There’s no saintess, but there is a saint.” Franklin affirmed softly.

“Ah? What did you say?”

“Nothing, in short, don’t count on it. Hurry up and deal with these guys.” Franklin raised his fist again.

At this moment, in the first-year student dormitory area.

“Human girl, you’re quite brave.” The fanatic mocked the red-haired girl who dared to block him.

“You, run!” Fanya, covered in wounds, held her sword and resisted the fanatic’s attacks, shouting to the students behind her.

“But, what about you, classmate??…….” The first-year students who had previously hid in the dormitory and were now attacked by the fanatic, beaten to the point of being unable to fight back, were in a dilemma.

They had no magic left, and most were injured. They couldn’t even protect themselves, let alone help.

“You can’t help me, and besides, I’m the future Holy Radiance Cross Knight of the church! My duty is to protect you, so run!” Fanya shouted, clearly on the verge of collapse.

Behind her, the first-year students gritted their teeth. Although being protected by a girl seemed cowardly, they had no choice.

“Futile, no need to be so troublesome, because you’ll all meet in hell.” The fanatic sharpened his claws.

Fanya gritted her teeth, plunged her knight’s sword into the ground, and summoned the [Holy Wood Seal] again.

“Useless, little girl. These crosses of yours are as fragile as wood.” As he spoke, the fanatic swung his flaming claws like dismantling building blocks, tearing the light crosses surrounding him into shreds.

She was no match for the fanatic, Fanya knew that.

So many first-year students couldn’t even scratch this fanatic before, and even when they hit him, he didn’t take a step back.

These geniuses who were famous outside had their first taste of how big the gap was between them and real powerhouses, and despair and fear filled their hearts.

Fanya was the same. This was the first time she had encountered such an invincible enemy. The threat of death made her legs weak and trembling, but she knew she couldn’t take a step back.

Where the knight stands is the last barrier for the people, so she couldn’t retreat.

She was the future Radiance Knight of the church, a loyal follower of the Goddess of Radiance, the protector of all beings.

Having sworn to always defend the goddess and protect the weak and peace, no matter how scared she was, she had to stand up and protect others at this moment.

Even though she hadn’t been officially recognised Knight yet, she was a descendant of the Cassian family, the lineage of [Champion Knight] Sheldon Cassian. She must not disgrace the name of Cassian!

[Charged Light Strike]

Having failed to get enough time to accumulate power, Fanya’s [Charged Light Strike] was weak, and the light on her sword was dim.

All she could do was buy time for the fleeing people, with her life and courage.

Facing such a magical attack, the fanatic’s eyes were filled with disdain. He didn’t even want to dodge, just stood still and let Fanya hit him.

As for those fleeing people, ha, none of them would escape.

This fanatic loved to play the cat-and-mouse game the most. What he enjoyed the most was the moment when the mice scattered, ran for their lives, were given hope and then suffered to despair.

And he didn’t like being the mouse, he only played the cat.

“Clang!” The long sword strikes the fanatic’s steel-like skin, shaking Fanya’s hand until it cracks.

The fanatic’s body was dotted with a few drops of glowing liquid, and he stood still, unmoved.

Neither magical nor physical attacks worked. This feeling of despair Fanya to the point of suffocation.

“Like the cat-and-mouse game?” The fanatic grabbed Fanya’s neck and lifted her up, laughing. “Little girl, you think you’re so noble, but you’re actually extremely foolish. Do you think those fleeing people will be grateful to you? No, they’ll just be glad they survived, they’ll just mock you for being a fool!”

In the end, the fanatic didn’t believe in so-called nobility. He only knew that before death, people would only have intense resentment and bitterness. He wanted this resentment.

He wanted these self-proclaimed noble humans to realize their ugliness before death and die in pain.

Fanya, covered in wounds, struggled painfully, but even the strength to struggle was gradually fading.

A sweet taste in her throat, hot blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. She knew she was about to die.

Goddess, I’ve done my best.

So, as your follower, have I qualified?

“Honestly, you’re really too weak. That light magic attack just now couldn’t even tickle me. I could stand still, let you hit my head for a few minutes, and you still wouldn’t hurt me.” The fanatic laughed wildly.

Then, the next moment, his head was indeed hit by an [Charged Light Strike].

“Bang bang!” The fierce force wrapped in terrifying light elements sent the unprepared fanatic tumbling.