[Vol. 8] Chapter 77: The Unlucky Scholar
As the priestess walked, she spoke in a voice so soft that only the two of them could hear. The Dragon God, who also knew what had happened in this country, didn’t comment much but didn’t disagree either.
“This is a good change,” Xiao Guang finally said. “If nothing had changed, then when the Twilight Council and that God of Subversion and Paradox arrive, the Holy Empire would probably be the first to fall. They have no idea what kind of power they’re relying on.”
She added, “I wonder how that guy called Sluthel is doing now. Last time, master defeated him with one strike before we could really finish our fight. The reason I later went looking for new power was because that battle showed me a new kind of possibility. I’d love to fight him again if I get the chance.”
“The Demon Lord of Slaughter, huh…”
The priestess nodded slightly.
Now that she thought about it, that actually made sense. Even though the Demon Lord of Slaughter was removed from the timeline by Violet with a single blow using the [Sword of Origin], which was powered by countless believers' faith. It was kind of the same as how the Twilight Council had banished Violet into the Time-Space Rift. Both relied more on special powers or rules, not because the person was weak enough to be beaten so easily.
After all, he was a god only one step below a main god level power. If Xiao Guang saw value in him, he must still be strong.
Looking back at the demon realm’s situation, among the Four Demon Lords, whether it was [Slaughter], [Corruption], or [Defilement], they all seemed to stand against the Demon Lord of Chaos. That was similar to what was happening in the Spirit Realm. Plus, back when the priestess fought [Kanrfis], she had felt an energy very similar to that of [Taotie], which she had encountered later.
She hadn’t thought much about it during the battle, but judging from the way the Demon Lord of Chaos appeared, it probably couldn’t be described as just a “god.” It had the terrifying power and authority of a god, but didn’t really act like one.
Still, if that being was part of the [World Sustainers], just like Taotie, then a lot of things would start to make sense.
The Ancient Spirit Realm, the Demon Realm… The native gods of both places were fighting against the [World Sustainers]. If the gods of the Origin Realm hadn’t been wiped out, and if the world barrier hadn’t been formed, maybe the situation would be similar there too.
According to the memories left behind by the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden Dawn, the name [World Sustainers] was almost completely unknown before the [Divine Catastrophe]. But Hen had said they were very old, so old they had existed since the beginning of creation.
So… just what are the [World Sustainers], really? Where did they come from, and what do they want?
“…Hm?”
While the two were walking and chatting on their way to the Grand Church, the priestess suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye. Her expression changed slightly.
At almost the same time, the Dragon God noticed the change in the girl beside her and followed her gaze. She quickly understood what was going on.
“Master? Oh… I remember her. Wasn’t she the one researching faith-based magic before? Do you want to go say hi?”
“No… not yet. She doesn’t really know me, after all. And didn’t you notice? Something… dirty seems to be following her.”
As if she had discovered something interesting, the priestess’s lips curved into a small smile, and she quietly changed direction.
“How fun. Let’s follow and take a look. That little one always manages to entertain me every time we meet~”
……………………………………
Ayla Light was feeling very upset lately.
To be honest, she had been way too unlucky these past few days.
As a respected senior scholar from the Theology Department of the Holy Academy, Miss Ayla Light was supposed to attend the World Academy Joint Exchange Conference held in the Sainz. She was scheduled to give a public speech and present her research at this world-famous academic event.
Everything had been confirmed long ago, and she had made all the necessary preparations. But just before she was about to leave, something unexpected happened. One of her close research partners had a serious accident during an experiment. The explosion destroyed the laboratory they shared, and her partner was badly injured in the process.
Well… “badly injured” might be the right way to describe it?
Anyway, because this partner and friend of hers had a very special condition, even the holy healing magic from the temple didn’t work on her. Only scholars like them knew how to treat her injuries. Since Ayla knew her friend had no one else to rely on in the Holy City, she couldn’t just leave her alone like that. So she made the difficult decision to give up her spot at the conference and stayed in the Angel City to care for her.
And just like that, a world-class academic event passed her by.
But bad luck didn’t stop there, it kept coming. While trying to “treat” her friend, Ayla ran into more trouble. Some of the parts used in her friend’s body were so finely made that even someone as experienced as Ayla couldn’t easily repair or replace them. Plus, they didn’t have the right materials, which caused a major delay.
With no better option, she reached out to two business groups she had worked with before, both of whom had always been helpful to her. She hoped they could use their connections to help her find what she needed.
Thanks to the support of a certain respected figure, the Cecilia Family didn’t hesitate to help. They provided many rare metals, things normal people could never get, and had their blacksmiths craft them exactly as Ayla asked, solving her urgent problem.
The Cecilia Family truly meant well, and that part wasn’t a problem. However, their involvement accidentally drew the attention of some groups that had secretly been watching this for a while. They followed the clues and turned their eyes toward Ayla and her friend.
The materials Ayla needed were strange and rare, and the lab explosion had caused quite a stir in the Holy Capital. As a result, trouble slowly began to gather around them.
In just a month or so, three or four groups of unknown people had already tried to break into their home, looking for secrets related to Ayla’s friend. Even though she caught and chased them away each time, and people in the Holy Capital wouldn’t dare act openly due to the good security. It was still stressful and troubling.
After learning about their situation, the Cecilia Company offered to let them move into a private estate under their full protection. The estate was guarded by the divine-blooded family and would be very safe. But Ayla, being from the Lightborn race, disliked losing her freedom the most.
She also didn’t want to keep troubling others. Her friend felt the same way. After talking it over, they politely declined and decided to continue living in their own home near the Holy Academy.
Because of the recent news about a goddess appearing, the number of people moving through the Angel City had increased by several times. A wide variety of people had arrived. Even though the holy knights had also increased their patrols to keep things under control, security wasn’t quite as good as usual.
And now, that change was clearly affecting Ayla, too.
“……”
On a noisy and crowded street, a girl with pure, glowing short hair that stood out no matter where she went slightly turned her gaze. Under her bangs, the dark circles under her eyes made her look tired. But deep inside her bright blue gemstone-like eyes, a sharp glint and a trace of helplessness flashed.
She sighed inwardly.
Here we go again… someone was following her again.