“How did you find out?”
Sillirora turned around, her gentle face now twisted and distorted. She glared at Trinice with eyes full of thwarted rage.
Trinice tapped her lips with her finger and giggled. “I am extremely sensitive to the Magical Power of those I absorb. Ever since Lady Vista Green entered the Sanctum of Life for her retreat, the responsibility for my daily supervision and Cleansing fell to the Sixth Saintess.”
“However, the current Sixth Saintess has a few impurities in her originally clear and pure Magical Power, as if she has been possessed by something filthy.”
“To be able to disguise yourself so convincingly… I suppose only Saintess Sillirora, who possesses the Mimicry Trait, could achieve such a feat.”
Actually, the reason Trinice could identify Sillirora so quickly was partly due to her extra attention toward the Exiled Saintess during this period. Before Vista was semi-forcibly sent to the Sanctum of Life, she had deliberately met with Trinice upon the princess’s return to the Royal Capital.
The two of them, whose relationship was originally discordant and even slightly hostile, had rarely sat down to exchange the information they both desired.
Trinice told Vista everything she knew about Ailaira’s recent situation. In return, Vista truthfully informed her about Sillirora’s schemes against Ailaira and requested that Trinice protect Ailaira during her absence—or at least ensure that such tedious matters did not disturb her.
Trinice, of course, accepted the request with pleasure. From then on, she came to the Sanatorium every day. On the surface, it was for treatment to suppress her Devouring Magic, but in reality, she was monitoring Sillirora’s situation.
And now, she had finally caught her.
A serious expression befitting the Nobility gradually appeared on Trinice’s youthful and innocent face. She took out a Messenger badge. Driven by only a meager amount of Magical Power, it sent a signal directly to the Guard Squad under the Second Princess’s direct command.
Noticing Sillirora’s movements, her form shifted instantly, transforming into the appearance of Vista Green. Scorching Holy Light flames immediately took shape in her palm, and she hurled a concentrated Magical Power bomb of high-purity Holy Light at Trinice.
The bomb let out a violent roar the moment it left her hand. A wild torrent of Magical Power washed over everything in its range, collapsing half of the Sanatorium’s gate and walls. Trinice, standing at the center of the explosion, was instantly buried, her condition unknown. Sillirora was also within the blast radius.
However, because Vista herself was immune to her own Magical Power, Sillirora, who was mimicking her, remained unharmed. Instead, she used the impact of the explosion to flee into the distance.
But before she could catch her breath, Kadella’s attack followed immediately. The knight did not allow herself to be distracted by helping the Princess withstand the attack; the task her Highness had given her was to intercept the woman in front of her. Kadella’s wrist flickered for a brief moment, and countless sword strikes—invisible to the naked eye—transformed into a series of startling afterimages that lunged straight toward Sillirora!
‘Damn it.’
Sillirora cursed inwardly. She had intended to use the Princess’s safety to distract Kadella, but she hadn’t expected the knight to ignore it entirely and focus solely on her offensive. Sillirora used Vista’s form to expand a Holy Light Barrier, but Kadella’s speed far exceeded the efficiency of her defensive magic.
Since Vista was not known for her magical defense, Sillirora had no choice but to concentrate all the Magical Power stored in this form onto her body’s surface to endure Kadella’s sword thrusts.
Noticing that the opponent had suddenly abandoned her defense, Kadella hurriedly restrained her sword strikes and took two steps back to maintain a safe distance for a sudden assault. After all, the Princess’s order was only to suppress the target and strip her of the ability to resist.
The dust kicked up by the Magical Power bomb gradually dissipated, revealing Trinice’s unharmed body. A layer of bright yellow shield swirled around her, helping Trinice block all the impact and damage; she hadn’t even moved her feet half an inch. Trinice obsessive-compulsively stroked the Silver Ring on her right ring finger. It was a token of love given to her by her past lover.
‘You protected me again, Miss Ailaira.’
This was also why Kadella had not worried about Trinice’s safety. No one knew better than her just how thick the “tortoise shell” Ailaira had created truly was.
However, compared to Trinice’s easy handling of the situation, Sillirora appeared quite wretched. At this moment, her entire body was covered in bloody holes left by the sharp sword qi. Half of her body hung limply, and she knelt on the ground, having completely lost the ability to move.
Sillirora had only recently escaped, and the injuries Vista had previously inflicted on her had not fully healed; they had merely been suppressed within her body using Mimicry. Now, facing an opponent of the same rank, her resistance proved insufficient.
The Guardian Knights, drawn by the explosion, finally arrived. Trinice waved at them and ordered, “Take Saintess Sillirora back to her room.”
The Guardian Knights were startled upon hearing this, realizing they had been derelict in their duties. They surrounded Sillirora with awkward expressions. However, just as they approached and took out the Mana-Sealing Shackles—before they could even place them on Sillirora—they discovered golden light flowing within her wounds, like cracks in a container about to burst!
“O Gods, I offer you this decayed shell. Please bless me.”
As Sillirora’s whisper fell, Vista’s appearance completely shattered. Dazzling light, accompanied by terrifyingly high temperatures, rose and swept through the area. A deafening roar echoed throughout the entire Royal Capital, and all the residents looked up to see a mushroom cloud over the city.
At the critical moment, at Trinice’s request, Kadella grabbed her and moved quickly to the front of the explosion. Trinice frantically poured Magical Power into the Silver Ring, driving it to manifest a massive barrier. She blocked the explosion’s range, preventing it from spreading into the Royal Capital’s residential areas.
In the direction of the Sanatorium, the Captain of the Guardian Knight Order arrived and raised his shield. With his own strength, he blocked half of the impact, redirecting it into the deserted sky.
A moment later, everyone stared at the massive crater at the center, where Sillirora’s figure had vanished. Captain Will’s face was ashen as he sent his heavily injured and unconscious subordinates for medical treatment. Only then did he look at Trinice, who was being held in Kadella’s arms and was clearly showing signs of a Magic Surge.
Kadella also looked displeased. Even facing this long-renowned senior knight, her words were sharp. “Captain Will, isn’t it the responsibility of the Guardian Knights to protect the safety of the Church and oversee the prisoners? Why did you fail to arrive in time when the battle broke out?”
Will’s brow furrowed tightly, his voice carrying suppressed anger. “I was originally guarding the outside of the room, but I was suddenly called away by the Chief Inquisitor. In fact, the moment Saintess Sillirora left her room, the hidden measure I left behind detected it. It was just…”
“Just what?!”
Will sighed, looking toward the Cathedral of Life with a gaze full of incomprehension and confusion. “I was blocked by the Chief Inquisitor. He wanted to allow Saintess Sillirora to act freely. He even said it was an order from the Pope.”
***
What happened in the Royal Capital would not reach the border with the wind. At the center of this series of events, what was the protagonist of the story doing right now?
She was chatting with a beautiful Elf.