[Vol. 8] Chapter 121: Everyone Knows Urban Legends Are True
After saying this, the Saintess stopped talking. She waved her hand lightly, and dozens of high-ranking nuns who had been waiting by the training field each moved to stand beside the glowing gates. At each gate, they placed a strange long stick or staff made of metal, clearly made to work with the main device, standing it upright on the ground in front of the gate.
In the next moment, the jewel at the top of each staff seemed to sense something and lit up brightly, creating a shining light bridge that connected to the Six Gates of the Paths!
“Hum~”
The church had obviously prepared everything very well. Each staff had many common words written on it to mark the gate it belonged to. Faced with this almost unbelievable trial, the candidates looked at each other. After some hesitation, they followed Philomena’s instructions and went up one by one to test the gates.
As before, the first to try was Mr. Dead Soul. He tried all the gates in order, gently placing his hand on the jewel at the top of each staff as the nun instructed. But he never felt anything special until he reached the last gate. Then, the light bridge connected to that gate naturally shone on him, making the young man show a slight surprise.
“So this is... the so-called connection,” he said softly.
Looking down, he saw the character written on that gate was clearly “Human.”
The nun in charge nodded professionally.
“The Saintess’s judgment is never wrong. The path that suits you best is the Path of Humans. Please get ready. The trial space will soon call you in.”
“Mr. Dead Soul...”
Beside him were the other three members of the Reaper’s Scythe team who also passed the first test. Seeing this strange and magical scene, the younger twin sister, Miss Dark Spirit, showed some worry. But the team leader just gave them a reassuring look and quietly reminded them:
“It’s okay. According to what Lady Philomena said, the Human Gate is actually a relatively safe choice. I’m fine. In the next trial, we might be separated into different spaces. Protect yourselves, stay safe, and if it’s too dangerous, don’t hesitate to give up. After all, we came here to grow stronger, not to risk our lives fighting for those six spots.”
The oldest and calmest member, Mr. Ferryman, nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
“I’ll pass on the same message. Be careful. Don’t be reckless like before. This time, we won’t be there to watch your back.”
“Ha ha, don’t treat me like a kid! See you later!”
The swordsman smiled confidently and waved goodbye. The light bridge connected to him suddenly glowed brighter. His gray-haired figure instantly turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the huge Human Gate not far away.
Scenes like this kept happening at the six glowing gates. Only a little more than five hundred candidates qualified to enter the second trial. The process of feeling the connection and choosing a gate was simple and quick. In just half an hour, all candidates found the gate that suited them and entered their trial spaces. The training hall gradually became quiet again.
But for some unknown reason, two figures stood still in place, quietly watching as one candidate after another entered the divine gates. They didn’t move forward to test the gates themselves. After all the candidates had entered, the nuns who were helping finally noticed them. Just as they were about to ask them, something strange happened…
Without any sound or movement, the two women suddenly disappeared from where they were standing.
“?”
The nuns looked at each other in surprise.
“By the Goddess... Did I see things? There should have been two people just now, right? How did they suddenly vanish?”
“No, uh... I don’t think so?”
“Well, actually, I think I saw it too.”
“Hey, hey, could it be a ghost...?”
“Hmm!”
“Stop talking nonsense! This is the Grand Church, the place where the Goddess herself watches over the divine trial. Evil spirits and ghosts are scared to even come near here. How could they dare to cause trouble?”
“But Sister... those two just now...”
“No matter what, we should report this to the Saintess first!”
And so, what later became one of Angel City’s famous ghost stories, the story of the “People Who Both Exist and Don’t Exist”, was firmly established because of a careless action from a certain priestess.
Of course, Violet would not enter those six gates, not like the others did. The second trial, as one of the most important parts of the selection, was much more dangerous, difficult, and complex than the first test, which was just to filter out weak candidates.
Most importantly, Violet would personally take part in the trial as an examiner, carefully watching and controlling the whole process, enjoying herself a little… and also to clearly see the true abilities and character of each candidate.
After confirming the rough situation of all the candidates with her own eyes, the priestess activated the [Anchor of Time] and, together with her dragon companion, went to the top floor of the Grand Church, the important room that faced the statue of the Goddess in the square, and which only Edwina and her authorized people could enter.
As agreed, a certain high-ranking priest was already waiting for them there.
At the door today, there were no legendary Holy Knights guarding it. Those two who had been transformed from the dead. But the door was locked with the highest-level magic, completely sealing the inside from the outside. It was clear something very important was going on inside.
Violet had already received the only permission certificate from the high priest beforehand. After leaving the [Still Flow of Time] state and opening the door with her dragon, she immediately saw Miss Holy Knight sitting quietly in meditation inside the room.
Under her feet, a very complex and beautiful golden magic circle was glowing. Within it was a mysterious black and white energy that did not belong to the holy light. This invisible energy gently blew the girl’s golden hair, clear and crystal-like, causing it to wave softly. Her holy and noble aura naturally spread out, making people almost want to bow and worship without thinking.
Although Edwina’s beautiful eyes were closed, her current strength and senses were far beyond normal. She could see and feel changes around her even better than with her eyes. She opened her golden eyes, glowing with the black and white energy, and looked at the two women.
When she saw the dark-haired girl, Miss Holy Knight breathed a small sigh of relief but did not stand up right away.
“Miss Violet, you have arrived...”
Seeing the faint tiredness and light sweat on her forehead, the dark-haired girl’s eyes moved slightly. She nodded gently, then quickly went over to Miss Holy Knight, placed her hand on her shoulder, and slowly poured pure light magic into her. At the same time, she absorbed the mysterious energy that did not belong to the pope back into herself.
“You’ve worked hard. From now on, leave it to me.”
Actually, the room they were in was not only the high priest’s personal meditation place, but also the core center of the protective barrier of the Angel City.
As long as someone passed through the magic circle here, they could easily control the huge magical power of the entire Angel City, even instantly turn off or overload the protective barrier. Because of how important this place was, it was one of the most heavily guarded areas of the church.