Baron Cullen

Karen's face looked extremely grim.

Unwilling to disappoint Lamont and the others, he still asked persistently, "What about the Church? The priesthood has the power to restrain all curses."

If it were Bishop Albert, a fifth-rank priest...

"That is indeed a solution, but..." Donald glanced at it, a hint of reluctance in his eyes, "Bishop Albert led a fighting friars to Montereyno County three days ago."

It is said that a large-scale heretical attack has occurred there, and the local church has issued a request for help.

After receiving the notification, Bishop Albert took away most of the high-ranking priests from the Church of St. Celes.

"Now that only some low-ranking priests remain in the Church of Saint Celeste, they probably can't handle fifth-order spells..."

Karen's heart sank completely.

The warbands are helpless, the associations are helpless, and even the most promising church can no longer be relied upon.

Are we really just supposed to watch Vaughn die, or become some kind of heretic being like a werewolf?

"There's another way," Donald said suddenly after thinking for a moment.

Karen immediately replied, "What method?"

"The sacred artifact." Donald looked at him. "It might be offensive to say this, but you should remember..."

The artifact swapping incident that almost led to the destruction of your Waller family, the artifact that was the protagonist, Rasmias.

You understand the function of the sacred artifact without me having to explain it; it contains incredibly powerful divine power and has a strong restraining effect on all dark forces.

"If we could use the sacred artifact, it might greatly suppress the curse within Commander Vaughn, and even purify and remove it entirely."

The Sacred Relic, Rasmias!

Karen certainly remembered that thing.

And if he remembered correctly, Rasmias should now be kept in the Church of Saint Celeste in the City of No Breath, under the personal care of Bishop Albert.

"But now that Bishop Albert is not here, even if the sacred artifacts are in the church..." Karen voiced her concern, "I'm afraid no one will be able to access them, will they?"

"That's true in theory, but there are always exceptions..." Donald seemed to have anticipated this, and said with a faint smile, "Just these past few days, the Holy See in the capital, under the pretext of training..."

The current Holy Maiden has been dispatched to the City of No Breath.

"Saintess?" Karen was taken aback, then realized, "I see. As an important figure in the Imperial City's Holy See, the Saintess naturally has the right to use the sacred artifacts!"

Thank you so much for the reminder, President.

He bowed slightly to Donald to express his gratitude and was about to leave.

But Donald stopped him, saying, "Before you go to church, there's some information you might need..."

The saint's name was Serena Cavens. It is said that when she joined the church as a child and awakened as a divine servant, she didn't even take the divine servant's elixir; she was directly inspired by the statue of the God of Light.

"Directly triggering revelation?" Karen was somewhat surprised, and also a little puzzled. "I'm sorry, Guild Master, I'm not a cultivator, so I have no idea about divine servants..."

He was unfamiliar with the extraordinary profession of divine servant, and naturally did not quite understand what the revelation that directly triggered the statue of the God of Light meant.

But it sounds pretty impressive.

Donald smiled and continued, "To put it another way, the last person who directly triggered revelation..."

She was a saint from a hundred years ago, and also the saint who served as pope at the time.

At this point, Karen finally understood.

There have only been two in the last hundred years, and Serena Cavens is the third!

No wonder she was chosen as a saint by the Holy See in the capital.

It's no exaggeration to say that the saintess's skill in serving the gods transcended mere talent and faith; it was simply...

A born divine servant!

Bringing her thoughts back, Karen thanked him again: "Thank you for informing me, President. I understand."

After saying that, he turned and left the office.

...

The Church of Saint Celeste is a magnificent white stone building located in the northwest district of the City of No Breath.

A slender spire rises atop the building, upon which hangs a statue of the God of Light, while the church's stained-glass windows reflect a dazzling array of light in the sunlight.

Everything symbolizes holiness and beauty.

When Karen arrived outside the church, a number of believers had already gathered in the small square in front of the church.

Those people lined up and entered the church in an orderly fashion to do their morning prayers.

Several monks and nuns dressed in white robes were maintaining order, their faces bearing gentle smiles, patiently answering the occasional questions posed by the believers.

Karen stood opposite the church for a moment, but did not see even a single priest of the second rank or higher.

Including the two cultivators guarding the gate, everyone who appeared in his sight was a first-order divine servant.

Has the heresy in Montereyno County become so serious that it requires Bishop Albert, a fifth-order priest, to lead all the second-order and above priests of the Church of St. Cyrus to provide support?

Something's not right.

Karen thought for a moment and decided not to linger.

Because he was in a hurry, he bypassed the line of believers and went straight to the church door.

But the next moment, two cultivators guarding the gate stopped him.

"Excuse me, it's morning prayer time now. Non-believers, please come back later," one of the monks said politely.

"I'm not here to pray," Karen said. "I have urgent business with Saint Serena."

Chapter Master Vorn is cursed and needs the Church's sacred artifact Rasmias to save his life.

Human life is at stake; please report this immediately.

The two cultivators exchanged a glance, their faces showing a troubled expression.

"Her Majesty may not be able to receive guests right now," the monk who had spoken earlier continued. "She is presiding over the morning prayer ceremony, and afterwards she will lead the nuns in hymn practice."

So I hope you'll come again this afternoon.

"There's no time!" Karen said urgently. "The curse within Commander Vaughn is intensifying, and he could transform into a werewolf at any moment!"

Once the mutation is complete, there's no going back. We hope you can understand in these special circumstances!

The monk hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright, please wait a moment, I'll go ask for instructions."

He turned and walked into the church.

Another monk remained at the door, curiously observing Karen, but said nothing.

Karen stood at the door, anxious but helpless.

Fortunately, the cultivator who went to ask for instructions returned quickly.

But he wasn't alone; a young woman was with him.

The woman looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, a little younger than Karen, and wore a pure white undershirt and a black robe with a gold sash around her waist.

She has long, light blonde hair, adorned with an exquisite headband, and delicate features framed by a few strands of golden bangs.

What's most striking are her deep blue eyes, which hold an incredibly gentle smile.

But Karen noticed that the smile didn't reach the depths of his eyes; it only remained on the surface.

The saint's gaze was calm, even somewhat distant, as if she were politely observing a stranger.

"You must be Lord Karen Waller?" the saintess asked with a smile, her voice soft and melodious, each word clearly enunciated. "I am Serena Cavens, a saintess sent to the City of Breathless for training by order of the Imperial Church."

I heard... you need to see me urgently?

"Your Grace," Karen said with a standard noble salute, "Chapter Leader Vaughn is afflicted with the werewolf curse and is in critical condition."

Donald, president of the Mage Association, said that only the Church's sacred relic, Rasmias, could suppress the curse and buy time for healing.

Therefore, I want to use the sacred artifact Rasmias to save Commander Vaughn.