From day into night.
The Saint Prayer ceremony showed no signs of stopping.
According to the prescribed procedure, the saintess candidates had to continue praying nonstop, from the first day until the second—without a single break.
It was an immense drain on a saintess candidate’s holy power and stamina.
So tiring.
Via sat on the kneeling cushion, her body going numb.
She hadn’t gotten a moment’s rest. Throughout the entire process, she had been chanting the holy verses like some flawless machine that couldn’t afford a single mistake.
What a torment.
She thought to herself.
Just who had come up with this ritual procedure anyway? Standing here endlessly reciting holy words—did the Divine Lord even hear them?
Did this so-called Divine Lord even exist?
If the Divine Lord truly existed in the world, then why, when the human race fell into suffering, did the Divine Lord never lend aid? Why no miracles to save the people?
Back when the demons and humans were locked in war, the Divine Lord hadn’t lifted a finger either.
In the end, it was the Silver Sword Princess who had taken down the Demon King with her, in mutual destruction.
Pathetic.
Believing in gods is less reliable than believing in me. After all, I’ll become a god myself someday!
The pink-haired girl regarded the entire ceremony with utter disdain.
She found the notion that this ritual alone could bring peace and prosperity to the nation utterly absurd.
If anyone knew about these blasphemous thoughts of hers, she’d be branded a heretic and dealt with on the spot.
So, she kept it all to herself, merely putting on a show.
As Via chanted, she snuck a glance at Sophie nearby.
The red-haired girl was pouring her whole heart into the prayer.
Unlike Via—who didn’t believe a lick of it and was just mouthing words and pretending—Sophie was utterly sincere. She brimmed with conviction, constantly channeling her holy power to keep the ceremony going.
Sweat had already beaded on Sophie’s forehead, and her body trembled faintly.
The ritual’s toll was no joke.
Once the ceremony reached a certain stage, the priest raised his ritual staff.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he approached the divine statue on the altar step by step. He first knelt in reverence to the sculpture symbolizing the Divine Lord, then turned to face the crowd and raised the staff high.
“The Divine Lord has heard the prayers of His people! Divine grace descends, safeguarding our kin! The coming year shall bring bountiful winds and rains, peace and prosperity!”
It was as if the priest had received divine guidance—the staff in his hand glowed with a faint golden light.
At once, the other clerics in attendance echoed him in unison.
“Divine grace descends, safeguarding our kin!”
“Divine grace descends, safeguarding our kin!”
“Divine grace descends, safeguarding our kin!”
The melodious bell tolls rang out.
The golden light cascading from the heavens shifted, transforming into a vast curtain. Within it flowed visions of rushing rivers and abundant harvests, foretelling the Saint Luo Empire’s future.
This grand, prosperous scene shook everyone present to their core.
Golden light scattered from the curtain, falling upon the people.
Those afflicted with illnesses could clearly feel their symptoms easing.
“My body… it doesn’t hurt as much anymore!”
“This is divine grace—divine grace!”
“Through the saintess candidates’ prayers, the Divine Lord has bestowed His blessings upon us!”
The crowd surged with uncontainable excitement.
“Incredible—truly incredible. Could Sylvia’s bloodline really commune with the Divine Lord?”
Ole’s eyes widened.
This wasn’t his first Saint Prayer Day, but no other saintess candidate had ever achieved this level.
Manifesting the legendary divine grace in the mortal world—that was something only Sylvia and her daughters could accomplish.
“An angel—is that an angel?”
Someone spotted a mysterious figure slowly descending within the golden curtain, seemingly about to alight in Kado City.
“The Divine Lord’s messenger is about to descend!”
The priest’s voice grew fervent. He raised his hands skyward, assuming a posture of utmost devotion.
The other clerics followed suit, ready to receive the divine grace.
“Angels on top of divine grace?”
“This is worth it—seeing an angel bearing divine grace descend on Saint Prayer Day!”
“Amazing, amazing! This will be the most unforgettable day of my life!”
The crowd was in a complete uproar.
According to the planned procedure, no angel was supposed to appear here.
Yet the prayers of Sylvia’s inheritor had moved the Divine Lord to dispatch one.
This was forging an entirely new legend.
Everyone here could bear witness to history—how could they not be thrilled?
“Hm…?”
Via furrowed her brow.
She sensed something off, so she halted her chanting.
The entity about to descend upon Kado City didn’t fill her with any sense of sanctity. Instead, it carried a familiar chill—like…
Abyssal aura?
“Miss Via, what are you doing?!”
The female priest assisting with the ritual spotted Via suddenly standing up. Not only had she stopped chanting, but she was also staring up at the “angel” with her head raised—showing zero respect. This infuriated the Holy Land contingent.
“Get back to your position—the people are all watching!”
“…”
Via ignored the female priest entirely. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the figure in the curtain more closely.
“Miss Via, this is a warning. If you intend to disrupt the ceremony, the Holy Land will take measures against you!”
The female priest was seething.
Everyone from the Holy Land knew full well that Via was just tagging along with Sophie for the ride. No one expected this holy-powerless saintess candidate to contribute anything—as long as she didn’t cause trouble, that was enough.
And now she couldn’t even manage that!
The other clerics noticed Via’s odd behavior too, and dissatisfaction rippled through their ranks.
Some of the more zealous ones even moved to approach the altar, intent on dragging away this blasphemer who was desecrating the ritual.
The head priest caught sight of it as well. He shot Via a glare of extreme displeasure, but with the ceremony at this critical juncture, he—as one of the officiants—couldn’t just halt proceedings on a whim.
“Let us, with utmost reverence, welcome the angel’s descent!” the priest proclaimed loudly.
This is bad!
It was then that Via’s expression shifted. She hurriedly seized Sophie’s arm, yanking her sister out of the chant mid-verse. Without another word, she dragged Sophie and leaped off the altar.
Sacred light bathed the world, illuminating the night.
Amid all the devout prayers, a colossal black shadow burst from the curtain of prosperity. It raised its dark claw and slashed viciously toward the altar.
Boom—
In an instant, the ritual altar and divine statue were obliterated by the horrific force. Countless clerics perished on the spot. The head priest’s head flew free, his face frozen in the ecstatic joy of his final moment, landing right before the crowd.
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