Baron Cullen

Serena listened quietly.

Her smile remained unchanged, but a subtle flicker of emotion flashed in her eyes.

It was like sympathy, but also like helplessness.

"Your Excellency, I fully understand your eagerness to save lives..." She spoke very politely, even a little too formally, "but the sacred artifact Rasmias is a treasure of the Church of Saint Celes, and there are strict rules for using it."

Normally, only the bishop of the local church has the authority to use it.

"I know that, but you... as a saintess of the Holy See, don't you also have the authority?" Karen spoke quickly. "What I mean is, this is to save a life!"

All you need to do is bring the relic with you to the chapter's base and use its power to remove the curse from Grandmaster Vaughn's body!

I will personally escort you back to the church afterwards, and present you with a generous gift!

Serena remained silent for a few seconds.

She looked at Karen, her deep blue eyes seeming to see right through people.

Then she sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in her smile: "Your Excellency, do you know what the consequences would be if I lent out the sacred artifact without permission?"

The Vatican's internal regulations are very strict. Even for me, unauthorized use of sacred artifacts is a serious crime. At best, I would be stripped of my priesthood; at worst... I would be convicted of heresy.

"Your Excellency," Karen said, trying to keep her voice calm, "I fully understand your predicament, and it was never my intention to put you in this situation."

But the situation is special now. Commander Vaughn is an important fighting force in Breathless City, and his life or death is related to the safety of the entire city.

Therefore, I hope you can be accommodating, even if it's just lending out the sacred artifact for a few hours...

There's not even a need to remove the curse from Commander Vaughn's body; simply suppressing it will suffice!

In order to persuade Serena, he even stopped insisting on completely removing the curse from Vaughn's body.

While there will always be risks if the curse is not lifted, things will only get worse if we can't even borrow the sacred artifact now.

Serena's eyes trembled slightly, and a look of hesitation crossed her face: "But..."

Seeing this, Karen immediately pressed her advantage, saying, "We all know that sacred artifacts have an extremely powerful restraining effect on dark forces."

But now, there's a clear opportunity to save a life, yet we stand by and watch a fifth-tier warrior who has protected the city for many years turn into a werewolf. What kind of life is that?

If Commander Vaughn were to truly undergo a mutation, how many casualties would he cause?

The Vatican has always proclaimed God's love for the world, and preached salvation and mercy, yet now there are clearly people in need of salvation, but they cannot be saved because of regulations…

Your Excellency, does this not contradict the original intentions of the Holy See?

His words were a bit harsh, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

Only by persuading Serena, who is a saint, can the sacred artifact be borrowed.

At the same time, the expressions of the two gatekeepers immediately changed.

They clearly hadn't expected that Karen, a mere baron, would dare to speak to the saint in such a manner.

But Serena wasn't angry; she just looked at Karen quietly, a complex look flashing in her eyes.

"Your Excellency, you...are right," she said softly. "The rules of the Holy See should not be an excuse for refusing to help someone in distress."

The purpose of the Vatican's doctrines is love and salvation, not rigid rules and regulations.

Karen was secretly delighted.

If we can borrow the sacred artifact, at least we can stabilize Vaughn's condition.

"Your Excellency, please wait here for a moment." Serena bowed slightly, then turned and walked into the church.

A moment later, the church doors opened again.

Serena walked toward Karen with extremely dignified steps.

However, at this moment, she was carrying a long, narrow object completely wrapped in soft red cloth on her back.

Karen glanced at it and knew in his heart that it was the sacred artifact Rasmias.

Even from a distance and completely covered by cloth, he could still feel the extremely pure sacred aura emanating from the artifact.

That power was gentle yet profound, inspiring awe in people.

"This is the sacred artifact Rasmias." Serena walked up to Karen, her fair face still bearing that signature gentle smile. "It can suppress all dark forces and has an extremely powerful restraining effect on heretical creatures."

Even if Bishop Albert himself were to come, he could not guarantee that the curse within Commander Vaughn could be removed by using the sacred artifact.

Therefore, I hope that Your Excellency will be mentally prepared beforehand.

"Thank you very much for your help, I understand what you mean." Karen nodded and gave Serena another standard bow. "Without further ado, let's head to the chapter's base immediately!"

Serena smiled and nodded: "Baron, please lead the way."

After saying that, the two of them quickly walked towards the direction of the battle.

...

"Your Excellency, Baron."

As they walked, Serena suddenly asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Please speak, Your Excellency." Karen glanced at her, then continued walking forward.

"Why did you risk your life to save Commander Vaughn?" she asked. "Although I have only just arrived in Breathless City, as far as I know, you have only been in the chapter for a few months and should not have any personal relationship with Commander Vaughn."

Is it worth risking the curse and its backlash?

Karen walked ahead and remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'm not doing this just for Commander Vaughn personally..." he said slowly, "but more for the sake of Breathless City."

Battle groups are a vital force in city defense; if the battle group leader is injured, the battle group will be paralyzed.

The city is becoming increasingly dangerous; if the battle group falls, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"So you're doing this entirely for the city?"

"Of course, that's only part of the reason, and it's also for my own sake," Karen confessed. "If Breathless City falls into chaos, my family will also be in danger."

I must protect my family.

Serena paused noticeably.

She glanced at Karen, the polite smile on her face fading slightly, and a hint of genuine emotion appearing in her eyes.

"That's a very practical reason indeed." After a moment, she smiled. "It sounds better than those empty platitudes."

Karen was somewhat surprised to hear this.

The way this saint spoke seemed different from when she was at the church entrance.

It has less rigid politeness and more human touch.

Thinking of this, he casually asked, "Don't you think I'm selfish?"

"Why?" Serena countered. "Protecting family is a human instinct."

If you can't even protect your own family, how can you talk about protecting the world?

The Vatican's doctrines are sometimes too idealistic, causing people to forget the most basic principles.

After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment, then put on that standard smile again: "Sorry, I misspoke. Please pretend I didn't say that."

But Karen had already heard it.

He gradually began to feel curious about this saintess who came from the capital.

This saint doesn't seem as perfect as she appears on the surface.