This adventurer is overly righteous.

"Daughter of the Night, Queen of the Underworld, you walk in the darkness, your gaze like a torch, watching over all injustice and punishing all arrogance."

"The hunt for bloodshed never ceases; you make sinners tremble, expose evil deeds, just and merciless, ancient and majestic..."

Kroya bowed her head and chanted hymns to the goddess who symbolized death and vengeance, while the other worshippers around her looked at Kroya in terror.

She was a goddess symbolizing death and revenge, and ordinary believers avoided her like the plague. They would only reluctantly offer sacrifices during various large-scale rituals. Often, only avengers with deep-seated grievances or even those assassins who roamed the shadows and inspired fear would treat her with utmost respect.

But Croa, from any angle, was not that kind of person. He appeared upright, well-mannered, and extraordinary, most befitting the goddess who sat at the head of the table, symbolizing justice and judgment.

But these believers watched as Kroa bypassed the other statues and went straight to the last one—the terrifying statue of the goddess of death—and worshipped it devoutly.

If Kroya didn't seem to have anything to do with being a serial killer, someone would have already sneaked away to report him.

Just as the believers were feeling slightly uneasy about Croya's behavior, Candy emerged from inside the church, walking faster than usual.

"It's Pastor Candy..."

If it were Pastor Candy, he should be able to handle this situation.

Whether it's expelling him or taking other measures, Candy, as a pastor, would surely make the right choice; he seems so wise...

A strange thought arose in the minds of some believers: they actually felt that the guy who was closing his eyes and concentrating on worshipping the goddess of death looked more holy and more suitable to wear the priest's robes than Candi.

This somewhat rebellious idea startled them, and they shook their heads repeatedly. Then they turned their hopeful gazes to Candy, hoping he could prove them wrong.

Candy stopped, paused for a long time in front of Croya, and carefully prepared himself before speaking:

"Mr. Croya, you are very welcome. May I ask what brings you here? Regarding the food distribution you mentioned earlier, we are now doing it daily..."

How could someone command such respect from a pastor?!

The believers almost all stopped what they were doing and stared in astonishment at Candy, who was showing a humble and respectful attitude towards Croya, as if the boy who looked only sixteen years old was an extremely important person.

"I only came to pay homage to this goddess," Kroya murmured as he finished reciting the hymn. Candy had been waiting for a while. "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

Kroya noticed many astonished gazes converging on them, so he decided to end the ritual quickly.

  

"I want to seek God's help, that's all."

Seeking God's help?

Candy was slightly surprised. As a pastor, he was naturally familiar with such stories: a saint who was in deep danger prayed to God in despair and eventually received God's help to get out of danger.

He had tried to do it in private, but none of the gods responded to him.

At that time, Candy was disheartened by this, but the experienced pastors in the church easily comforted him. They told Candy that in order to seek God's help, he needed to perform a rather complicated ceremony.

Burning incense and changing clothes are just the basics; there must also be abundant offerings and a large number of believers. Even so, pastors may not be able to truly seek God's help.

"It's just a ritual, the same thing as the divine magic we possess. We perform it, and the ritual produces the effect we want."

"We perform a ritual to pray for rain, and then the rain will come. Whether you see God or not, whether God responds to us or not, don't overthink it."

"Gods are not so easy to come into contact with, but we need to tell believers that we have come into contact with God so that their faith will be stronger."

"Otherwise, we'd be no different from those magicians..."

Candy wasn't sure whether higher-ranking priests, like bishops, could truly contact God if they performed ceremonies, but ordinary priests like them had absolutely no way of contacting the divine.

But he wasn't quite sure about someone like Croa.

Kroya placed a package he was carrying on the altar in front of the statue and untied it.

A charred and grotesque head suddenly came into view, and Candy couldn't help but take a step back. The other believers also showed expressions of fear or surprise.

What kind of monster's head is this? It's so terrifying!

However, Kroya remained unfazed, picked up the head—which he had personally severed from the corpse of the colossal mutated goblin—and continued chanting.

"My hunt never ends, I follow its bloodline, my hatred for it is endless, goddess of avengers, I offer you a hunt."

"Please give guidance to your believers."

The goblin head in Kroya's hand turned to ash in an instant. The ash swirled around the statue like a gust of wind, gradually dissipating until it disappeared completely.

"miracle..."

Candy gaped in disbelief. Could it be that the goddess had truly answered Kroya's request and was about to use her power to help him?

How exaggerated, how enviable! Candy recalled what Pastor Sanchez had told him earlier, and his eyes were filled with nothing but endless respect as he looked at Croa.

A pure white son of man, a born saint...

Indeed, the person before him truly deserves such a title. The gods favor him so much that Candy can no longer feel the slightest jealousy towards Kroya.

The other believers couldn't help but lower their heads, for she was the goddess of death, and now she seemed to have appeared here and was wielding her power; how could they not be afraid?

But who exactly is that white-clad man who can so easily elicit a response from the gods and command such respect from Father Candy?

Your request amused the goddess.

[Divine Favor effect increased: Hunter, Bloodline Tracing (temporary)]

[Hunter: Can exert a certain deterrent effect on the creatures they have hunted. The specific effect is affected by the number of kills. Killing prey can restore stamina to a certain extent and increase agility.]

[Bloodline Tracing (Temporary): Able to sense creatures that share the same bloodline as prey that it has killed]

Kroya's eyes lit up; the few lines of small text that popped up in the lower left corner of his vision contained almost everything he needed.

A generous and magnanimous goddess...

Kroya sighed inwardly, while at the same time realizing something was amiss.

I didn't mean to imply that other gods are stingy...

Your piety pleases the gods.

[The effect of divine favor has been slightly improved.]

This made Kroya even more respectful of the gods.