Chapter 41

On the night of the incident, in a maid cafe at Carillian Academy.

Outside was noisy, but inside was eerily quiet, as if it were two different worlds.

“Miss, I’ve already told them to communicate the academy’s major decisions clearly and credibly to the students, especially those from the church, just as you asked.” At this moment, Mioka, clad in a somber gown, stood with deference before the honey-haired girl. Unlike her usual lively and slightly airheaded demeanor, she was now dignified and composed.

“Very good. This reliable news will spread quickly by word of mouth. We should see results soon.” The honey-haired lady took a sip of tea, a meaningful smile on her lips as she looked out the window at the dazzling figure in the sky.

“After that, as I said before, if we are fortunate enough to witness a miracle, we will publicize it widely, saying it was the Goddess and the Saintess manifesting. After resolving the crisis, the apparition turned into light and disappeared without a trace. All of this is the Goddess’s mercy. If people delve too deeply into the reasons for this miracle, it would be disrespectful to the miracle and the Goddess. Understand?”

“I understand.” Mioka nodded. “But what about headquarters?”

“Headquarters won’t say anything. And have we done anything out of line? We are now following the Pope’s directive: ‘When the Goddess’s favor is withdrawn from Varelis, do not discuss the topics of the Goddess’s or the Saintess’s return.’ We are helping the Pope cover up this act as an ‘accident.’ Headquarters will be grateful to us, not blame us.” Luna rested her cheek on her hand and smiled.

“After that, we’ll report the situation to headquarters. Remember not to include your own subjective views, don’t deliberately guide, just write it as other church students saw it. Just add a slight tone of affirmation, subtly confirming the nature of this event.”

“Understood, meow.” Mioka looked out the window. “But will this ‘miracle’ succeed?”

“Who knows? But if she succeeds, we succeed too. The church, which has gone astray, will eventually be corrected. After all… if she can do something like this, it means she possesses either destiny or strength. Her existence is the Goddess’s will. So, what can’t she do in the future?” Luna smiled confidently, her cross-shaped pupils gazing at the pure, untainted cherry color outside the window, a hint of infatuation in her eyes.

“As my ancestor Alfonso, who was once the Pope, said: ‘The Blessed Angel is truly beautiful, so beautiful it’s untainted.’”

“But, Miss, haven’t we interacted with her? I think that this future Saintess, at least for now, might not have any intention of becoming a Saintess.”

“Mioka, you’re mistaken about one thing. What is destined by heaven, whether willing or not, is not for you, me, or her to decide. Heaven’s will is hard to defy. As long as she exists, the wheels of fate and repulsion will inevitably push her onto the path of the Saintess, regardless of her personal thoughts or will.” Luna shook her head.

“So, Miss, you believe she will succeed, meow?”

“She is the future Saintess. If I don’t believe in her, who else can I believe in?” Luna teased.

“However, this future Saintess has hidden herself very well within the academy. Her name isn’t on the student council’s roster, and except for that time she worked as a maid for extra money, almost no one has seen her, meow.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? It means she has a perfect disguise, and we don’t need to worry about it.” Luna took a sip of tea. “Perhaps she has disguised herself as a student at Carillian Academy?”

“Eh?” Mioka tilted her head. “Miss, do you already know who it is, meow?”

“Haha, I’m just saying if, just a guess. I can’t be sure.” Luna smiled knowingly.

“If Mioka remembers correctly, there is a student from the Varelis family on the roster, but he’s a boy. And he’s said to have a bad temper and a poor reputation. Not long after enrolling, he relapsed into his old habits, harassing the class beauty every day and publicly bullying the second princess of the Golden Elves. Everyone says he’s an impostor of the Varelis lineage, meow.” Mioka pouted.

“So, Mioka, what do you think?”

“I think the future Saintess would never be associated with such a man. Not to mention the gender issue, their personalities are worlds apart. I think the rumors are true, meow. How could that male student be a true descendant of the Varelis bloodline?” Mioka said.

“Who can say for sure?” Luna neither confirmed nor denied, then looked out the window at the dark, rolling clouds, the only light shining through.

“Once you pass this hurdle, the road ahead will be smooth, and no obstacle can stop you. So, can you succeed tonight?”

“Let me see how much determination you have, whether you’re worth following, Lady Vanessa Varelis.”

————-

In the dark sky above, the pink-haired angel silently watched the dark barrier and the blood altar above it, where the souls bound in agony made her hesitate.

The barrier was also surrounded by a kind of miasma, repelling any attempt to approach. It seemed that, apart from directly destroying the foundation, there was no other way.

The [Sacrifice] array of the blood altar was extraordinary. These miasmas from the Demon God’s realm couldn’t be withstood by a magic shield; spells with insufficient mana would be quickly eroded.

But there is one thing in this world that cannot be eroded.

Vanessa’s hands ignited with a small flame.

The moment these flames, with their cherry-white cores and rainbow-colored outer flames, appeared, the surrounding darkness seemed to retreat like insects fleeing fire, fading slightly, as if possessing a biological instinct to avoid harm, trying to stay as far away from the tiny sparks as possible.

Even if the flame is small, it is the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings], something that even the Demon God’s Pillar fears.

But, with just this amount of [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings], it’s not enough for her to last until the barrier is destroyed.

If her mana capacity were terrifying enough to envelop her entire body with the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings], she wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble.

She could just release a fireball-sized [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] to shatter the barrier from a distance.

Every second the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] burns, Vanessa’s mana is rapidly depleted.

She can’t delay. She smears the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] onto her wings, setting them ablaze with holy fire.

This is a temporary solution she thought of, perhaps a bit opportunistic.

Then, Vanessa wraps her sacred wings around her body and charges into the miasma.

The miasma trying to block her is pushed back by the burning wings.

Vanessa achieved the greatest effect with the least amount of [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings].

However, not all parts of her wings are covered with the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings].

This method, after all, lacks substantial strength and is mostly opportunistic. Therefore, many gaps are invaded by the miasma.

By the time Vanessa, like a holy fire meteor, reached the barrier, her wings are already tattered by the miasma, with many holes and feathers falling off.

Not only that, her body has also been slightly invaded by the miasma, with large black spots appearing on her jade-like skin.

She paid no mind to this, raising her wings and striking the barrier with the nearly depleted [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings], even if it meant losing more feathers and her wings being eroded by the miasma, creating more holes.

To her, these wings are part of her body, just like her flesh, and she can feel the pain.

But now, she didn’t flinch, as if the black spots weren’t on her body, as if the miasma wasn’t eroding her, numbly striking the barrier.

All the students, and even the instructors, stop in unison, watching this scene in silence.

Even now, inside the Order Spire, the vice principal and teachers, seeing this from the center of the amplification magic array, also halted their next actions.

The once radiant and beautiful angel girl is now corroded, her skin ulcerated, her wings broken.

Now, disfigured and stained with filth, she was even more holy and dazzling than before.

Mirexia stares blankly at this scene, biting her lip, her mouth opening but unable to utter a word, only a whimper only she can hear.

“Click!” No one knows how long it took, but a crisp sound was heard.

Everyone looked up and saw an indestructible black barrier cracked open.

“Quick! Now’s the time, rescue the students inside and that girl!” Morinkate broke the silence, shouting.

“Wait!” However, the vice principal stopped him, his expression grave.

“We can’t go. Although the barrier is broken, the miasma hasn’t dissipated. Instead, because the barrier is broken, the miasma is leaking out, denser than before. Anyone who goes now will be eroded. That’s something from the Demon God’s domain; magic can’t block it.”

“But, Vice Principal!”

“No buts. We’ve already wasted too much time. The only thing we can do now is…” The vice principal didn’t finish speaking before falling silent.

The reason was simple: the illusory part of the blood altar fully solidified.

Amidst the cries and wails of the many bound souls, the massive blood altar merged, forming a six-pointed star gate sealed with chains.

“That’s… the Demon God’s Pillar Gate??” Many deans turned pale. “Is it already too late?”

“…” The vice principal remained silent.

“Things have come to this, Vice Principal, let me lead all the combat instructors to fight these pests to the death!” Morinkate said.

The vice principal just shook his head, leaning on his cane, and after a long while, said, “The Demon God’s Pillar is something mortals cannot face.”

“The reason is, mortals don’t even have the qualification to stand before the Demon God’s Pillar because the Demon God’s Pillar is surrounded by a [Higher Dimensional Field]. Any creature that approaches the field will be crushed into pieces.”

“In the [Truth Lord] Erunes’ field, any mortal will be melted into pus and blood.”

“So, going or not makes no difference because mortals have no right to fight the Demon God’s Pillar. Numbers are meaningless; no matter how many or how strong, they will be crushed by the [Higher Dimensional Field].” After speaking, the old man said no more.

Everyone present fell silent, understanding these concepts and truths.

Mirexia, ignoring everyone, ran out first, reaching the rooftop and spreading her dragon wings to fly down.

At the same time, Vanessa, kneeling on one knee, also noticed the forming six-pointed star gate in the sky. Although she didn’t know what it was, she guessed it was the medium for the Demon God’s Pillar to enter the Terraria continent.

She knew she was almost done for, the miasma had corroded her to the bone, but she knew she could still hold on.

Enduring the heart-wrenching pain, holding her breath, Vanessa flew into the sky.

She had anticipated this scene. If she failed and the Demon God’s Pillar was ultimately released, what then?

Should the survivors pay for her mistake?

No, absolutely not.

Because…

In front of everyone, the chains wrapped around the six-pointed star gate slowly fell off, and the gate opened from six sides.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the massive six-pointed star gate, revealing a towering shadow wearing a top hat behind it.

A massive tentacle extended from it, covered in living scales. As it stretched out from behind the gate, space seemed to be crushed by something, making crisp cracking sounds.

The direction this massive tentacle was extending towards was the Order Spire.

Wherever the tentacle passed, the surrounding buildings and space were crushed into dust without warning.

This was an incomplete summoning of the Demon God’s Pillar. Due to the Demon God’s Pillar’s restricted activity in the Terraria continent, even such a high-level [Sacrifice] couldn’t fully summon it, only a single tentacle.

But it was enough.

Anything attempting to approach the Demon God’s Pillar would be mercilessly crushed into irrecoverable waste by the field.

No one dared to approach that tentacle.

Except…

The cherry-colored figure flew into the sky. Now, she was in a sorry state, her long hair in tatters, her wings broken, her skin ulcerated, her bones shattered, her flesh torn, her dress in ruins.

Yet, she didn’t hesitate to stand before the Order Spire, before everyone.

The cherry-white holy fire of the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] blossomed around her.

Such intense [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] was naturally not something she could release with her mana depleted.

So, with her mana exhausted, what was fueling the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] now?

The answer was simple.

Life.

Vanessa ignited the final holy fire with her own life, standing before the Demon God’s Pillar.