Reject me, you damn woman.

As Celitia said, killing your benefactor...even if it is a last resort, you just need to do it yourself, and there is no need for your "sisters" to do it.

Even if she succeeded in hiding her hair on the white mask, she was just trying her luck.

But now, one of them, by chance, has returned to his hands.

This can only mean one thing, that is, the real body of the white mask is nearby, or even that he might be one of the bustling people leaving the theater.

Celitia originally just glanced down casually, without any special emotions.

But soon, a black carriage that was so familiar that it couldn't be more familiar caught her attention.

Because the owner of the carriage was Lin En.

At this moment, memories came back to her, and Celitia seemed to remember that the reason why Lin En sent a letter to apologize for not being able to come to church tonight was also to watch the opera?!

White mask, Lynn, the opera house, and knowing Lynn’s close relationship with church members on the same day... Could such a coincidence really be possible?

The seeds of doubt are terrifying because once they are sown, they will grow wildly in all kinds of unexpected ways.

Celitia could not imagine what she would feel like if she knew that Lin En, the kind and gentle girl whom she loved from the bottom of her heart, was actually a terrifying and terrible conspirator who had been hiding something from her.

I am afraid that the trust and enthusiasm for the mortal world will completely collapse.

Many people in the church hoped that she could become that person, replacing the previous "butcher" who was irresponsible and withdrew from the Tribunal without permission.

But, Celitia didn't want to be like that.

Become the one who will do anything to slaughter sinners and heretics, a "butcher" bishop, who will scare even the members of the church.

What she wanted to be was a compassionate and true priest like her adoptive father, Father Arnel.

Even though she became a member of the Inquisition because she possessed the power of God, hers was the most humane of all the Hound Sisters who were known for their "cruelness".

In fact, Celitia has a secret.

She once "lost" a friend who could have been saved, so she cherishes her current teammates especially.

Lamina was once framed and slandered as a heretic because of her love of reading, and she almost died at the hands of her own people. The potions researched by Bellamyah were never recognized by others, but were alienated by others because of her eccentric personality. Candice, whose eyes are holy relics, was once nicknamed "the monster who sees through people's hearts."

As for Natalie, she had planted the werewolf blood curse on people with her own hands. Whenever she woke up from a dream in the middle of the night, she would struggle painfully between the illusions of being human or wolf.

But these people are still very sunny and cheerful, and they can laugh and play even in the Church of the Goddess of Light.

Because Celitia is their "anchor".

As long as there is this reliable, gentle, and elder sister-like headmistress who was recently discovered to have a special fetish for younger brothers, they can still laugh out loud.

Because the Patriarch was so gentle and omnipotent, everyone forgot to ask what Celitia's anchor was.

Once, if someone asked this question, Celitia would say that it was the teachings of her adoptive father, Father Arnel, and the glory of the goddess.

But after joining the Inquisition, as time went by, and after witnessing one purge and killing after another that made her doubt herself, that so-called anchor was no longer simple.

After her former teammate showed signs of betrayal, the former head priest issued a killing order without any explanation. The terrifying and cold look in his eyes made Celitia feel that this once bright church was so chilling.

It was not until she arrived at the Rose City that Celitia felt that she had found a new anchor point that was more solid than before.

The boy named Lin En, his sunshine, his warmth, his tolerance, all tell Celitia the meaning of protection.

In fact, although she never said it explicitly, Celitia had already been mean in her heart and secretly regarded Lynn as one of her anchors.

Now, this anchor point, which Benji thought would be the strongest, is shaking to an unprecedented extent.

"Sister, are you okay?"

A hand patted Celitia's shoulder and she turned around to see Candice looking at her with concern.

"It's okay. I'm just a little tired from this mission and I want to get some fresh air alone."

Celitia heard herself chuckle.

After staring at Celitia for a few seconds and not noticing anything unusual, Candice heaved a sigh of relief, but still said:

"Then we'll go back first. If you need anything, please contact us in time."

"Of course."

After receiving a positive answer, Candice turned around and left with the other nuns.

Celitia turned her head away, and the smile on her face disappeared bit by bit.

There is no betrayal, small enough to be tolerated.

That was the last piece of advice the former Patriarch, her Patriarch, gave her before he was pierced by the claws of the heretic and bled to death.

Once upon a time, Celitia did not agree with this statement.

But now, she just clenched the lance in her hand, staring at the bloodstain on the flag, numb and cold, and quietly followed the black carriage.

She saw Lynn meet two girls and share roasted sweet potatoes with them.

Seeing the guard at the gate coming over, he invited Lin En to his home with a servile and extremely envious look.

I saw the black carriage moving, passing through long streets, from the bustling central city area, heading towards Historia's "palace".

Until she saw several people returned to the villa under the greeting of the head maid, there were countless suitable plans during the process, but Celitia never showed up to stop them or tried to stop them once.

She just watched a few people smilingly enter the villa which was lit with warm lights and heated by the fireplace, then she let out an imperceptible sigh, and then, looking a little dazed, she turned around and walked into the night and snow.

Before entering the villa, Lin En turned his head to look at the dark but peaceful night outside the villa, as if thinking about something.

On the way back, the nun felt that her steps were extremely heavy.

In fact, Celitia herself didn't know why she didn't try.

Maybe they don't want to, maybe they don't dare.

Perhaps it was a shameful escape.

Before she knew it, she had walked into an empty alley.

.........

Inside the theater box, the prince looked at the chess piece that the man in black robe had thrown on the table. His eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he had seen something extremely absurd.

"are you joking around with me?"

The prince picked up one of the many chess pieces on the table.

"I am happy to know that your true elite have been preserved, but is this the trump card you are going to use tonight? Not all of your troops, but only one fallen bride? You want to use this chess piece, plus a few bastards, to exchange for a candidate for the 'butcher', the Hound Patriarch?"

"Yes, because that's what's going to happen."

The man in black robe spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Absolutely ridiculous!"

The prince was dismissive.

"Don't be so hasty to draw conclusions, my Lord,"

The man in black robe was not angry.

"Why don't you condescend to take a look at the origin of this chess piece?"

The prince was skeptical. He picked up the chess piece and took a look at it, his eyes changed slightly.

........

In the dark alley, a closed barrier suddenly enveloped the alley.

heresy!

The nun was instantly alert and entered combat mode. The familiar and disgusting smells made her feel so nauseous that she wanted to vomit.

And now, she was extremely happy about the appearance of these guys.

Joyfully preparing for the upcoming fight... and massacre.

Until, a soft and charming laugh was heard, and the tall woman who had been hiding in the corner walked out, took off the coat covering her shoulders, revealing her graceful figure and the charming symbols on her exposed skin.

The nun's hand holding the gun suddenly trembled, and her pupils suddenly shrank:

"Sa...Salina, is that you?"

Chapter 191: I'll open my heart to you a little bit (5.4k)

In the dim alley, a spell array that was set up in advance by someone unknown covered the entire alley. The array stones floating in the air emitted a cold light, making the atmosphere of the entire street even more eerie and chilly.

Until the light emerges from the darkness.

Celitia took out the holy flag that had been folded at her waist to store rare items. As if sensing the breath of heresy, a warm but not dazzling holy light shone from the darkness, like a sun rising from dark clouds, competing with the dark array stones.

The entire dark alley seemed to be roughly cut in half, half of it was sacred light, and half of it was sneaky shadows.

Standing in the light, Celitia looked at the graceful figure standing in the darkness with disbelief, at her silver hair that spread into the snow, her blood-pumping skin that was exposed without fear of wind and snow, the charming tattoo engraved on her skin, and the inverted cross on her smooth collarbone.

A fallen person, or an apostate.

Only those who have voluntarily abandoned the gods and fallen into depravity will have such patterns tattooed on their skin.

That is the most blasphemous and despicable magic pattern. Only the most fanatical and crazy blasphemers would tattoo such a mark on their skin to please the god who corrupted them.

Traitors are more hateful than enemies. When you meet such people, there is no need to hold back or send them to the court for conviction. It doesn't matter if you kill them on the spot.

The smell of depravity and blasphemy was so strange and evil that the devout nun almost wanted to vomit and purify the other person immediately. However, every vivid detail and expression on that face made Celitia's hands tremble as she clenched the holy flag.

This blasphemer did a very stupid thing, she hid very well, and was able to suddenly cast the barrier stone and attack without Celitia knowing, but she was extremely stupid and stood in front of Celitia openly, giving her time to open the holy flag and the domain.

But now, a sneak attack is no longer possible, and in fact, the advantage is on Celitia's side.

Being in the field of the Holy Flag, she can easily suppress the enemy in front of her with the Holy Light. The barrier may have some unexpected effects, but it will also be weakened.

But the nun didn't do that either.

Her body was already burning with rage, and she wanted to immediately punish the blasphemer in front of her with divine punishment, to vent the pressure brought by Lynn's incident, and to make the traitor get what he deserved, but her soul was trembling because of the vivid face that was exactly the same as the deceased.

In just a few breaths, scenes from the past flashed through the nun's eyes like a kaleidoscope. Those were the things that happened before she became a reliable bishop and the head priest in the eyes of her "sisters".

The girl was overwhelmed with emotion. When she was feeling uneasy because she secretly joined the Inquisition against her adoptive father's wishes, the naughty senior took the initiative to put his arm around her shoulders and talked to her.

In the dark battlefield of hunting heretics, he had fought alongside her countless times, and was a reliable comrade who had rescued her from danger countless times.

And...the undead soul who was expelled and hunted to death by the former priest himself because of suspected corruption.

Yes, the person in front of me should be dead. Even if he is a ghost, he should be resting in peace.

There used to be many kinds of relationships between them, seniors and juniors, friends and rivals, but now, there should be only one kind of relationship between them, that is, the living and the dead.

Although the aura of the fallen person in front of her was completely different from the person in her past memories, Celitia couldn't help but read out the other person's name in a trembling voice:

"Salina, is that you?"

A brief silence enveloped the alley again.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of the visitor's lips.

The corners of her eyes, which seemed sharp and aggressive, slightly raised, making her charming and beautiful face look a bit playful and lazy:

"You are still like this, Celitia. I just made a bet with myself in my heart that even if I showed up, you would not take action immediately. Now it seems that I won."

The nun received the expected response, but her mood did not ease at all. Instead, her heart felt heavy as if it was being grabbed.

Celitia looked at her teammates who looked like ghosts walking out of her memory and couldn't help but ask loudly:

"Why are you still alive, why...are you here?"

"Does this need to be said?"

The woman named Serena sighed helplessly, turned her head to the side, combed her shoulder-length silver hair, and said lazily:

"In order to survive, I blasphemed God and joined a certain organization. I am working for a terrifying guy... Well, I will tell you directly. The name of our organization is Dark Night Rose. I guess the mastermind behind it is a ring of the Magic Bell Tower. I'm sorry that it is difficult for me to tell you who it is."

"You have indeed fallen."

There was sadness in the nun's eyes.

This was the only word she seemed to hear in this long speech.

"Yes, I am fallen,"

The other party answered very happily, as if it was just a trivial matter. Then, she raised the corners of her lips, looked at the nun with flowing eyes, and sighed:

"As for why I'm here, I can tell you. Of course, it's to kill you, my dear Celitia. When I knew that the target of this mission was you, I was really surprised. The reckless little sister at that time has become a great figure, the youngest bishop. Wow, you're really amazing."