At the edge of the massive shadow cast by the Tower of Judgment, in an inconspicuous corner, a girl clad in a worn travel merchant’s cloak—Kris—pressed herself against the cold stone wall, blending seamlessly into the darkness.
She had just watched the knight order, a symbol of the Church’s cold will, vanish into the night toward Raven Territory.
She had also seen the icy statue-like figure of Regilief Eisenhart, Captain of the Holy Shield Knights, and the pure yet worrisome golden silhouette of Saint Maiden candidate Roswisse.
After confirming no one was nearby, Kris slipped silently like a shadow into an extremely hidden and abandoned drainage pipe entrance near the tower’s base.
Deep within the pipe, faint light flickered, and muffled voices could be heard in restrained conversation.
This was the Secret Liaison Point of the Shadow Sword Order beneath the Tower of Judgment.
Kris pulled back her hood, revealing a young yet weathered face, her eyes sharp and heavy with pain.
She hurried to the group seated around a dim oil lamp.
“Sisters, brothers,” Kris’s voice was low and urgent, “the storm has come early. That devil Heinrich, on charges of ‘collaborating with witches’ and ‘killing heroes,’ has sent the ‘Sword of the Goddess’ Janace and the ‘Crown of the Goddess’ Ingrid, each leading elite knight squads, already heading toward Raven Territory! Their target is the Marquess of Raven’s daughter, Aileen, and… Miss Rita!”
“What?!”
“Using Miss Rita as a decoy for Roswisse to die in her stead was our plan, but the timing’s too soon!”
“…Before this, didn’t Mr. Eisenhart suggest making Aileen the banner of the Saint Maiden? What do we do now?”
“It’s our negligence. Some outside believers were caught by the Church, probably betrayed Rita’s location. Luckily, they didn’t make it into the core council! At least for now, Lady Roswisse is still safe!”
A stifled outcry and angry growls instantly shattered the underground silence.
The oil lamp’s glow illuminated faces filled with shock, anger, and despair.
These people wore various disguises—some as craftsmen, some like Kris as traveling merchants, even some in low-ranking Church deacon robes.
They were branded heretics by the Church, yet ironically the most devout and clear-headed followers of the Goddess.
The Shadow Sword Order.
“Geralul! That abyssal hound who usurped the Pope’s throne!” An old man with white beard and hair, old whip scars etched across his arm, slammed his fist on the stone table, voice filled with grief and rage.
“Where she hunts is not witches! She is hunting the incarnation of the Goddess! She extinguishes the light of salvation!”
“Miss Rita exists as a decoy for Lady Roswisse, but letting this innocent girl die for our ideals—how are we any different from Geralul?!”
“Is this the enlightenment we gained from listening to the Goddess’s teachings? This is our so-called justice?”
At the mention of Roswisse’s name, all eyes grew heavier with pain and reverence.
They all knew the Saint Maiden candidate, a taciturn yet innocent and kind girl, was the true earthly vessel of the Goddess’s soul—the real Saint Maiden.
Regilief’s father, Archbishop Eisenhart, the former highest Church leader and the Goddess’s staunchest protector, had, years ago, seen through Geralul’s conspiracy and, to protect the infant Lady Roswisse, decisively broke with Geralul.
He was slandered as a “traitor,” ruined, forced into hiding and exile.
The decoy and shadows plan was their painful compromise.
They believed not all Church members willingly obeyed the Pope, only that most were deceived by her.
In recent years, they had secretly rallied countless believers. The Shadow Sword Order’s ranks gradually grew, but they needed a spark to destroy Geralul utterly!
“We can’t wait any longer!” A burly man with a scarred face, a former Church knight, growled, burning with long-suppressed fury.
“Archbishop Eisenhart risked everything to protect the Saint Maiden’s flame. And us? For more than ten years, we’ve been doing ‘internal infiltration’ and ‘subtle influence’?! Look outside! Look at the burned villages! Hear the cries of the innocent dead!”
“The Goddess’s mercy is not an excuse to watch her children suffer under false believers’ blades! That so-called ‘mercy’ is weakness, retreat, complicity in the face of Geralul’s bloody crimes!”
His words sparked fierce resonance.
“Yes! We can’t endure this anymore!”
“How many brothers and sisters’ blood has been shed in vain?”
“Geralul’s power is deeply entrenched. How long will our small-scale efforts save the Saint Maiden? Overthrow the false Pope?”
“It’s time! We must raise the banner of ‘justice’! Tear Geralul down from her desecrated throne! Let the Goddess’s radiance shine on this land again!”
Fury and the flames of rebellion blazed in every heart.
Yet some faces showed worry.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses, a former Church scribe, pushed up his lenses and said with concern, “I understand the anger, but… Geralul has ruled for decades. The Church’s upper ranks are almost entirely under her control. How many kingdom officials and generals are coerced or bribed? The battle prowess of ‘Sword of the Goddess’ Janace is unfathomable… What are our chances in a frontal clash?”
“Archbishop Eisenhart’s plan to use Miss Rita as a decoy… cruel as it is, at least it can numb Geralul and buy time for Lady Roswisse…”
His words poured cold water on the heated atmosphere.
Reality was brutal.
The Shadow Sword Order’s strength was like fireflies before a full moon against the vast Church machine.
Kris listened to the fierce debate, a heavy weight pressing on her heart.
She understood both sides’ concerns.
Sacrificing innocent decoy Rita to secure Lady Roswisse’s safety and conceal her movements was Archbishop Eisenhart’s agonizing but seemingly “safest” plan.
Yet, seeing refugees struggling under Church atrocities outside, hearing the silent accusations of those falsely condemned as witches and cruelly slain, her heart bled.
“There’s one more way…” a hoarse voice broke the silence. An elderly woman turned her gaze toward Kris, “If… if Lady Roswisse could, at a critical moment, display the Goddess’s miracles before enough knights and believers… even just a fleeting awakening of the divine soul… If the foundation of faith is shaken, Geralul’s rule will fracture! At least… we could sway the will of some knights!”
“No!” Kris immediately rejected the idea, her voice pained but resolute.
“Archbishop Eisenhart repeatedly emphasized that Lady Roswisse’s soul has not fully fused with the Goddess. Forcing the Goddess’s power to awaken would be catastrophic to her fragile mortal body! The moment of awakening, Lady Roswisse’s consciousness would very likely be completely assimilated or dissipated!”
“That’s tantamount to… killing Lady Roswisse! The Goddess would never allow that!”
Silence fell again.
To sacrifice the true Saint Maiden for victory was no different in nature from Geralul’s atrocities.
It would betray the very faith they sought to protect.
Kris took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over faces filled with anger, worry, and despair before she made her decision.
She recalled Mr. Eisenhart’s unusual appraisal of Aileen Raven during his exile in Raven Territory—a “variable”—and his deep love for his adopted granddaughter, Rita.
Yet he always disguised himself with cold indifference, trying not to let himself care for this orphaned girl doomed to be a decoy!
The father and daughter—Eisenhart and Regilief—were truly alike: rational, calm, even cold-blooded.
And his later plan to crown Aileen as Saint Maiden was not without selfishness.
After more than a decade together, who wouldn’t have feelings?
He couldn’t bear to see Rita die and sought this last option.
“We can no longer follow the old rhythm!” Kris’s voice grew firm, filled with resolve to burn her bridges.
“Geralul has already made her move! Raven Territory is her next target! Archbishop Eisenhart’s original plan needs time, but the enemy will not give us any! We must change strategies!”
She stepped closer to the oil lamp, the light dancing in her eyes.
“According to Archbishop Eisenhart’s backup plan—let Aileen Raven become the ‘Saint Maiden!’”
“Aileen Raven?” someone asked in doubt, “The Marquess’s daughter? She’s not the Goddess’s incarnation…”
“She doesn’t need to be! As long as she can bring miracles!” Kris explained, eyes gleaming with wisdom.
“She must become a banner! A symbol! A spiritual leader to resist Church tyranny and expose Geralul’s true face!”
“She is noble, backed by the Marquess of Raven’s army, and has the courage to oppose the Church’s ‘heroes’ and inquisitors! If we reveal Geralul’s conspiracy, Lady Roswisse’s truth, and the Church’s crimes of these years through her…”
“She can ignite the flame of rebellion! Draw those who resent Church atrocities and yearn for justice! Raven Territory can become our first and most important stronghold!”
She paused, looking toward the Tower of Judgment as if piercing the stone wall to see the young Holy Shield Knight Captain.
“And… don’t forget Regilief! She’s Archbishop Eisenhart’s biological daughter! Though now bound by family duty and Church shackles, if… if she learns the truth of her father’s past, the reality of Lady Roswisse’s plight, and that the Church she serves has long since fallen… Her Holy Shield Knights might yet become a great help to us!”
“Captain Regilief? She…” someone expressed doubt, “She’s Heinrich’s trusted aide now, responsible for burning many innocents…”
“That’s because she doesn’t know the truth. For years, Archbishop Eisenhart withheld everything from his daughter to protect her from cracks showing!” Kris said solemnly.
“Besides, her father—our leader, Archbishop Eisenhart—is right here in Raven Territory!”
Kris had observed Regilief for a long time in secret.
As a disguised traveling merchant, she had even contacted Regilief multiple times when she was still a member of the Rainbow Bonds.
She could see beneath that cold, icy exterior hid a ‘burning’ heart, just smothered by family responsibility and the stigma of being the traitor’s daughter.
If Regilief knew the truth, would she need to endure in silence any longer?
She could proudly raise her sword and be her true self again!
“What? Archbishop Eisenhart is still alive? In Raven Territory?!” The group was stunned.
“Yes!” Kris nodded vigorously.
“He’s using the alias ‘Winston’ and is the one who adopted Miss Rita, protecting her as Lady Roswisse’s decoy! He’s been hiding in Raven Territory, protecting Rita while observing and guiding the ‘variable’ Aileen Raven! Now it’s time for him to step out from behind the scenes and reunite with his daughter and us!”
The news thundered through their hearts, instantly igniting hope.
The leader was alive! He stood at the very eye of the coming storm!
“Time is tight! The Church’s army is already moving!” Kris decided swiftly.
“I’ll depart immediately and rush to Raven Territory to inform Mr. Winston and Miss Aileen! At the same time, activate all our networks to spread Geralul’s conspiracy and Lady Roswisse’s truth as far and wide as possible—to all levels of the kingdom and to knights with a conscience! To build momentum for Aileen’s ‘Saint Maiden’ banner!”
“Good!”
“Understood!”
“For the Goddess! For the true Saint Maiden!”
Low vows echoed through the secret base.
Kris pulled her cloak’s hood back up, glanced one last time at her companions’ resolute eyes, then without hesitation turned and melted back into the dark passage leading to the surface.