Chapter 103: Via, Cry

Mia’s words truly stunned everyone.

No one had expected the abyssal aura she mentioned to be connected to Via.

All eyes turned to Via.

Via fell silent.

Her heartbeat quickened slightly.

What’s going on?

How does Mia know I have abyssal aura on me?

Is she really onto it, or just guessing?

“Mia, are you sure you didn’t get it wrong? Would Via really have abyssal aura on her?”

Nana sidled up to Via and circled the pink-haired girl once, even sniffing deliberately.

“I don’t sense anything at all.”

“This is… what the hell?”

Via lowered her head, letting her bangs curtain her eyes, her tone growing tense.

She took a step back, clutching her skirt, reverting to her old timid demeanor to buy herself some thinking time.

With the situation unclear, she’d play it by ear for now and figure out a response.

“Mia, are you absolutely certain? No matter how poorly Via performs, she’s still Lady Sylvia’s own daughter—a saintess candidate of the Holy Land.”

Isher voiced her doubt.

“She’s different from us; she grew up in the Holy Land from childhood. For someone raised in that environment to get tainted by the abyss… the odds are minuscule.”

“Minuscule, but not zero, right?” Mia replied calmly.

“You’ve all heard of my innate ability, haven’t you?”

“Of course—we know Mia’s sensitivity to abyssal aura is the best among all the saintess candidates,” Janice said.

“It’s even stronger than Sophie’s in that regard; she can sniff out demonized hiding among the populace.”

“Now that you mention it, I remember—Mia assisted the heresy inquisitors in the Holy Knight Order before and captured those demonized named Ford and Klent, right? They were concealed in the crowds, masking their auras through special means, but Mia still detected them.” Isher gradually grasped the gravity.

“Yes, exactly. Since Mia’s so confident, it means something might really be off with Via.”

Janice’s smile remained unchanged.

“Via, you’re really not going to explain anything?”

The invisible pressure converged entirely on Via.

She bore all the stares, feeling the air grow heavier by the second.

If they discover the abyssal aura inside me here, that’s ironclad proof—I’m a heretic.

This is the Holy Land’s heart, after all.

The Great Purification is unavoidable.

“Via, I hate to say it, but the scent on you right now really resembles those demonized,” Mia continued pressing.

“Staying silent won’t help you; if the heresy inquisitors investigate, things won’t be so simple.”

“…Via, Mia’s got a point—better explain the abyssal aura thing clearly.” Isher agreed with Mia’s suggestion.

“If Via truly won’t clarify, that’s fine too; let Janice use her sacred art. Some things can’t be summed up in a few words, after all.”

Mia’s intent was crystal clear.

She wanted Janice to deploy her mind-reading sacred art and directly probe Via’s thoughts.

That way, no secrets could stay hidden.

“Janice, if I recall, your mind-reading, when used in earnest, can force through even if the target’s resisting, right?”

“Yes, but forced mind-reading leaves the other person feeling violated inwardly. Normally, I wouldn’t want to use it.” Janice replied.

“Do you think this is a normal situation?”

“…No choice, then.”

Janice sighed softly and raised her hand; holy power flowed around her.

“Via, please entrust your heart to me. I’ll listen to your troubles and relay them to everyone.”

“I—”

Via retreated another step.

She could clearly sense her inner resistance failing; someone intended to breach her mind by force.

“This all feels so weird—what everyone’s doing!”

Nana stepped in front of Via, blocking everyone’s line of sight.

“Via hasn’t done anything wrong, yet you’re all bullying her like this?”

“Nana, move aside—don’t block Janice.” Isher reached to pull Nana away.

But Nana gripped Isher’s wrist.

“I don’t really wanna. Even if there’s suspicion, you can’t go this far, right? All this pressure, and now forced mind-reading.”

“You—”

Isher found her wrist clamped like iron; no matter how she struggled, it wouldn’t budge an inch from Nana’s grasp.

“Uu…”

Via seemed unable to bear the mental strain; she clutched her head and slumped to the floor, crystalline tears welling in her eyes.

Besides her tears, a small black box tumbled to the ground.

Clatter.

The black box rolled into the group’s midst, its crimson single-eye emblem catching Mia off guard.

In the next instant, the crimson eye on the black box glowed, unleashing abyssal aura.

“Danger!”

Before the other saintess candidates could react, Nana lifted her foot, channeled her holy power, and stomped down hard.

Boom!

Everyone felt the ground shudder; in the blink of an eye, the black box shattered underfoot, and vicious cracks spiderwebbed across the floor.

“Nana, don’t just go wild like that!”

Isher hurriedly cast a purification spell, trying to cleanse the abyssal aura drifting in the air.

Every saintess candidate present had brushed the abyssal aura and felt clear discomfort.

“Now we’ve all gotten tainted by this nasty stuff!”

“Sorry about that!”

Nana grinned.

She quickly joined Isher in purifying the abyssal aura.

“This is something I accidentally got from a demonized in Doff City.”

Via explained to the group in a quavering, aggrieved voice laced with sobs.

“I meant to bring it back to the Holy Land and hand it over secretly, but I didn’t realize it was so dangerous. My oversight.”

“That emblem is definitely Abyssal Eye’s—I saw it before during an op with the Holy Knights,” Mia said.

“Looks like we jumped the gun.” Isher sounded a bit helpless.

“But seriously, Via—why not just explain it upfront?”

“That’s just how Via is; yell at her, and she gets scared, all soft and meek. If she could speak up clearly under this pressure, that would be the weird part,” Nana shot back.

“That’s… true.”

Isher didn’t dispute it.

“Sorry, it’s all my fault…” Via wiped at her tears, full of self-reproach.

“I wanted to provide intel to the Holy Land, but I messed it up again. Later, I’ll go confess to Archbishop Belon myself…”