The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

A cool night breeze blew. The streets of London were exceptionally quiet under the gaslight.

But the closer he got to Miss Detective Agency, the heavier Ax's heart became.

There was a cacophony of voices in the distance. But this place shouldn't have so many people.

Then he saw the Holy Order's carriage parked at the alley entrance. Black-robed deacons, Holy Order fairies, and Templar Knights were coming and going, their expressions serious.

Ex's heart sank.

He hurriedly grabbed a deacon. "Excuse me, what happened here?"

"Please leave this area, unauthorized personnel. There are..."

Halfway through his sentence, the butler glanced at him and recognized X. He seemed to be a colleague of Butler Samuel, and thus had seen X a few times.

"Sir Mohr? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to find my friend. A fairy, Elena, she..."

"You mean, the former Holy Path Fairy Elena!?" The deacon's expression turned grave. "Miss Elena... her condition is extremely dangerous. She has already been taken to the Holy Path Hospital."

"What did you say!?" Even though he had expected it, X still couldn't help but be shocked.

The thing I feared most still happened.

"It should be an alien contamination incident." The black-robed deacon shook his head, revealing what he knew so far. "Her detective agency seems to have been invaded by aliens. Fortunately, she detonated her magic in time, preventing a wider spread of contamination."

Ax didn't want to hear about the pollution at all.

He was neither familiar with nor interested in learning about it.

Ex had only one thought in mind: "How is she? What does 'extremely dangerous' mean?"

"Her injuries are severe. As for the rest... I don't know much." The other person sighed and continued to shake their head.

Without hesitation, Axe immediately asked, "Which hospital? Where is it located?"

The other party then revealed the hospital's address.

Angel realized what had happened and nervously clutched his sleeve. "Master, will Elena be alright?"

"Of course," Ax said firmly, though his heart was pounding.

■

The St. John's Hospital, located in London's West End, is a Gothic building. Its soaring spires point towards the night sky, and its stained-glass windows shimmer in the moonlight.

There is also a huge serpent scepter symbol on the glass, indicating that this is a hospital.

The air here is filled with the smell of herbs and disinfectant.

But this place is vastly different from a regular hospital—most of the people coming and going are black-robed deacons. Mixed in are a small number of the most professional gray-robed doctors of this era.

These black-robed deacons all wore badges of serpent scepters pinned to their chests.

Ax subconsciously guessed that, as black-robed butlers, they must belong to different departments.

If some of the black-robed deacons belong to the Purification Department of the Holy Church, then these black-robed deacons in front of us probably belong to the Medical Department of the Holy Church.

A black-robed deacon led them through a long corridor.

Neatly arranged silver crosses, in the style of the Church of Jesus Christ, hung on the walls, gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

"Miss Irene is in the intensive care unit," the deacon said. "Her condition is not good."

At the end of the corridor, a heavy wooden door was tightly closed. A sign on the door read "Special Care Ward".

The deacon pushed open the door.

"Please come in, but don't disturb her rest too much."

Inside the ward, Elena lay on the hospital bed with her eyes closed.

Her face was as pale as paper, and her long, emerald-green hair was gathered on the pillow. Her body was wrapped in bandages, and there were still unhealed wounds on her arms.

Upon seeing this scene, Angel immediately burst into tears.

"Sister Elena!"

She rushed to the bedside and very carefully touched Irene's body gently.

Elena slowly opened her eyes.

The images of X and Angel were reflected in her pupils.

So she forced a smile. "You...have come. Don't worry, I...am a fairy of the Holy Path Society. A mere swamp monster..."

She spoke with great difficulty, as if she were enduring some kind of pain.

Ex was startled.

Irene's pupils were tinged with white, as if she were possessed by a demon. Those lifeless and malevolent pupils... if an ordinary person were in her shoes, they would instinctively exclaim "monster!"

Just one glance was enough to tell that Elena's physical condition was very bad.

"Alright, if you're feeling unwell, don't talk about it," Ex immediately knelt down beside the bed and said softly.

"Take...my hand, Sir," Elena said weakly.

What?

Ex didn't understand, but still gently took the other person's hand.

Then he felt something fall into his hand.

Ex held it in front of him: "This is..."

"This is... a surprise for you. A... genuine... relic. My own..." Elena said haltingly.

"Elena, you—"

X instantly understood what had happened.

Alien Disaster... Elena... Relic...

As a former member of the Holy Way Society, an experienced member of the Holy Way Society, how could she not know how to properly deal with alien disasters?

But in order to bring the relic to her, she faced a different kind of disaster.

As a result, she was heavily contaminated.

What are you thinking?! It's just a relic; I can steal it from somewhere else anytime!

Are you an idiot?! Are you an angel?!

Ex really wanted to say these words out loud.

But he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

A thousand words were left unsaid: "How could you... be so foolish, Elena?"

Why work so hard?

"Hehe... because..." Elena coughed lightly a few times, "that was... a surprise for you."

I don't want this kind of surprise at all!

But I still can't bring myself to say it.

Faced with such a weakened Elena, X was unwilling to make her feel even slightly uncomfortable.

X remained silent, clenching his fist and gripping the black pendant tightly.

Then he smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Elena, I'm really happy."

"That's good." Elena's voice grew weaker and weaker. "I'm a little... tired... I want to sleep for a while..."

"Go to sleep," Ex whispered. "When you wake up, everything will be alright."

Irene's breathing gradually calmed down. She soon fell asleep.

But the ends of Irene's hair gradually turned a light gray, as if the leaves had dried up.

Angel wiped away her tears, sat on the small chair by the bed, and said, "Master, I want to stay here with Sister Elena."

AX patted her head: "Okay, you stay with her, I'll go out for a bit."

Ex walked out of the room and gently closed the door.

Then he noticed that his acquaintance, Deacon Samuel, was waiting outside.

"Deacon Samuel?"

"You want to know about Elena, right?" The other person glanced at him and said bluntly.

"Yes."

Ex came out to find a doctor and find out what was wrong.

Since Deacon Samuel is here, that's even better.

"You two are already friends with Irene?"

"Of course," Ax replied naturally.

"That's good... She hasn't made any friends in so long," sighed Deacon Samuel.

"What exactly is Elena—" Ex wanted to press further.

But Deacon Samuel simply raised a finger, making a shushing gesture.

"Irena needs to rest... Come with me, we're going to see the doctor."