On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Without a doubt, this nun was also a cursed one.

The strange occurrences that just happened here, and the sudden appearance of the three people, suggest that they used a "teleportation" ability or a rare item, and the teleportation distance was definitely not short.

However, unlike Irene...

After activating the power of the turbid calamity, the dark red patterns on the nun's body now covered almost her entire body, like the roots of an old tree in the ground, spreading and extending uncontrollably, as if greedily absorbing the body's nutrients, making her look particularly terrifying from the outside.

Fortunately, at this moment, the crosses on the nuns' chests began to glow with pure white light. The dark red patterns that covered the nuns' bodies gradually faded under this white light, eventually disappearing completely into the nuns' bodies.

"Archbishop Marya!" The two nuns following behind rushed forward to help her up.

The blindfolded nun named "Maria" waved her hand to indicate that she was alright, then slowly stood up. She looked around the area they were in, finally fixing her gaze on the entrance to the cave, and the cross on her chest began to flash abnormally.

"Let's go. The place the goddess pointed to is down here."

Maria took the lead and ventured deeper into the crypt, while the two nuns behind her exchanged a glance, both of them seeing confusion and bewilderment in each other.

after all

They went to such great lengths, even using the "Grade A" tainted artifacts sealed in the deepest underground confinement chamber of the church, only to end up in this desolate wilderness.

Despite their curiosity, they dared not be negligent or lax in the slightest. They immediately quickened their pace, following behind Archbishop Maria with nervousness and trepidation.

There is only one reason.

This is the guidance of the goddess!

It is important to know that since the goddess Sciutia, who single-handedly founded the Holy Kingdom and the Church, announced her entry into the "Confessional" three hundred years ago, their goddess has rarely appeared in the world. In fact, later on, even news of her became increasingly scarce, which once made her loyal followers very worried.

Now that the goddess has taken the initiative to contact them and issue a holy guidance mission, how could they not be excited and thrilled? Even the chief bishop Maria personally took action.

If the goddess's message hadn't specifically emphasized that this operation must commence immediately and be kept under the highest level of secrecy, they believed that the Church's crusaders would have completely surrounded the entire Black Hole Plain in less than half a day.

The three nuns walked silently through the dim, winding underground tunnels. They needed no torches or maps; the Holy Cross, shining brightly on their chests, was their best light and guide.

at last.

“This is it.” Archbishop Maria, who was leading the way, stopped.

It was clear that even this tall, veiled nun was slightly nervous at this moment. The cross on her chest was shining at its brightest, and it was even faintly resonating towards a certain spot in front of her.

And there

Following the line of sight, there was a large hole where the ground had collapsed.

When the three of them cautiously approached the hole, the first thing they noticed was the strong burning smell wafting from below the hole.

Maria took the lead and jumped off without hesitation.

She was able to become an archbishop not only because of her faith, but also because of her absolute strength as a powerful Evil One.

As soon as she landed, Maria frowned at the chaotic scene around her, which resembled a fire scene.

Structurally, this place resembles a sealed room, but unfortunately, almost everything inside has been burned to a crisp, making it difficult to obtain any useful information.

Maria lightly touched the embers on the wall with her fingers. Judging from the temperature, the fire in the sealed room had only recently been extinguished. As for the cause of the fire...

"Archbishop, there are many corpses over here!" The two nuns who were with him also jumped down easily. Judging from their movements, they were undoubtedly also Evil Ones.

The three found many charred and unrecognizable corpses. Although they were all unrecognizable, they could still deduce from their general outlines that they were probably humans and kobolds.

Thus, the outline of the entire incident has become fairly clear.

It appears to be a group of human explorers who were lucky enough to discover this underground chamber. Unfortunately, before they could even evacuate, they were attacked by the native kobold monsters within the cave. Judging from the final outcome...

It's highly likely that this expedition team fought a desperate battle with the monsters, but unfortunately, they were all wiped out in the end. The sparks from the battle ignited the secret chamber, resulting in the scene we see today.

So, why would the goddess guide them to come in such a hurry?

Fire can cover up many traces, but it cannot cover up the lingering gloom in the air, something Maria sensed the moment she jumped.

So

Could this secret chamber not be an ordinary imperial treasure, but a truly valuable legacy from legend?

Maria thought of this, and so did the two nuns behind her.

The three immediately exchanged glances, their hearts pounding wildly in their chests.

Now everything makes sense.

Indeed, in this world, only that "Great Emperor" could command such attention from their goddess.

"Archbishop, so what are we now?"

"Don't rush, keep adjusting," Maria said as she continued walking deeper into the secret room.

To her surprise, she had only spoken halfway through her sentence when, as she moved, a seemingly ordinary stone coffin came into view.

In an instant, the church cross on Mary's chest seemed to have been subjected to some intense stimulus, and suddenly burst forth with a brilliant white light as bright as day.

Along with it, there was also a chilling atmosphere of terror.

Amidst the shocked and stunned expressions of the three nuns, just as they had seemed to have appeared out of thin air on the Black Hole Plain, a hazy, holy figure was rapidly coalescing in the secret chamber before them, bathed in brilliant white light.

Although it was just a blurry light and shadow.

But one could still see that her long, flowing hair, as blue as the ocean, was partially hidden under the long robe and hood. The cross-collar shirt on her upper body covered her heavy, rounded breasts, and the elegant holy ribbon tied her slender waist. The close-fitting dress also opened from the middle to the sides, revealing her long, straight legs covered by pure white stockings.

It's easy to see that the design of the nuns' uniforms in the church was completely inspired by this dreamlike light and shadow.

The white light gradually faded, but Maria's entire body was completely soaked in sweat.

With excited and trembling eyes, she didn't even dare to look directly at the three nuns who had already bowed their heads respectfully. Even though it was just out of the corner of her eye, Archbishop Maria couldn't help but keep peeking at the new figure in the secret room.

A rounded forehead, long eyelashes, clear and bright sea-blue eyes, and a swan-like white neck.

Her flawless features brought a breathtaking beauty; her delicate yet upturned nose, paired with her cherry-like slightly pursed lips, made her not only stunningly beautiful but also endearing.

Even though Maria was a woman, her cheeks were burning and her eyes were filled with infatuation.

After all, he was the most perfect person in the world in her heart, and the only unchanging faith she held in this life.

Their goddess.

Styutia.

"God, God..." Maria's voice was so tense and excited that she stammered.

She never dreamed that the goddess would personally descend upon this place, even if it was just a avatar of light and shadow, it was the first time in a hundred years.

however.

The dreamlike light and shadow did not respond to the three most faithful nuns behind her.

Or perhaps...

In the eyes of this illusory goddess at this moment, in her entire world, there was only one thing left.

Stone coffin.

Chapter 13 Sthimitia (Part 2)

My intuition was correct.

After all, only that person can use her power.

The girl walked straight to the stone coffin.

Her exquisitely crafted, low-cut holy boots made a crisp sound as she stepped on the floor of the secret chamber, and the silk ribbons tied around her fair ankles swayed gently with her movements.

Finally, the girl stopped directly in front of the stone coffin.

She removed her gloves, revealing hands as smooth and delicate as jade, a stark contrast to the rough, dilapidated stone coffin covered in a layer of charred embers from the fire.

The girl seemed completely unaware of this, and ignored the dust on it, placing her hands directly on the stone coffin and gently stroking it with her head down.

The three nuns behind her, seeing this scene, barely managed to suppress the urge to speak up and remind the goddess.

After all, in their eyes, goddesses are holy and flawless, how could they casually touch such dirty things? And they even took off their gloves!

however.

If this scene only made Maria and the others feel uncomfortable, then the next scene was enough to make the three nuns gasp in surprise.

Because, it seems that just seeing it isn't enough to just touch it.

Far from enough.

The girl's figure flashed, and the next scene showed her lying down inside the stone coffin.

"Goddess-sama!!"

This was something that Archbishop Maria could no longer tolerate.

The thought that their most sacred and noble goddess was now pressed against such a filthy and broken stone coffin made Maria feel as if ants were crawling all over her body.

The archbishop strode forward, trying to stop the goddess from doing so.

Sometimes, becoming someone else's idol is like this: you have to maintain a good image in public.

And for young girls, this has been the case for hundreds of years.

She gave the refugees hope for life.

She showed the way to the lost.

She brought joy to people.

She became a symbol of faith for the people.

But today.

This time

The girl lying in the stone coffin no longer radiated that holy glow; instead, she blended into the darkness within the coffin.

Those sapphire-blue, clear eyes, in the instant Maria moved, at that moment...

It turned scarlet.

hum!

Outside the sarcophagus, Archbishop Maria's figure came to an abrupt halt. Pain was evident on her face. Maria opened her mouth as if to cry for help, but no sound came out, as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping her neck.