“So you’re saying that after a chance encounter with a priest—someone you didn’t even know if was human or ghost—you’ve been plagued by nothing but bad luck, even marked by a Hunting Mark from a demon, yet instead of avoiding her, you want to befriend her?”
At the bottom of the abyss in Hell, the Eighth Saintess Mary and Suna were exchanging stories about their backgrounds.
Suna spoke first, and then Mary noticed that this young lady couldn’t stop talking about a little priest named Truth.
“But she…” Suna lowered her head, cheeks faintly flushed.
“She kissed me…”
Suna had just roughly recounted the recent events she had experienced but hadn’t mentioned that Truth had been brainwashed by demons. Meeting demons was just her own bad luck.
The main reason was that Truth was now a Saintess herself, so if Suna mentioned it, Mary would definitely report it to the Goddess of Life.
“You’re obsessed with her just because she kissed you once?!”
Mary was baffled by Suna’s reaction. Was she innocent or, as Soros said, just a little slow?
Tsk, a little virgin…
Still, hearing this made Mary curious about that priest who had been sealed for five hundred years and could bring misfortune to those around her.
Since she was from five hundred years ago, she must be knowledgeable about ancient scripts and all sorts of forbidden knowledge about the gods, right?
So Mary pressed on with questions, but Suna said she hadn’t really discussed such things with Truth.
“Idiot! Are you still studying for exams?! You have such a rare living fossil right in front of you, but instead of asking questions, you want to fall in love with her? Do you have any brains?”
Mary grabbed Suna’s collar with both hands, exasperated. That was someone from five centuries ago!
One word from her would be earth-shattering secrets.
If it were her, she’d treat that priest like royalty by now, but this young lady only had studies on her mind!
“Because… some knowledge is cursed. For Truth’s safety, I didn’t ask too much…”
“Cursed?”
Mary finally released Suna. So some ancient knowledge was cursed. No wonder the living fossil idea clicked in her head.
But that was no excuse for Suna to be obsessed with her studies!
Mary wanted to see just how fascinating this priest really was and test her authenticity:
“Where is Truth now? I want to see her.”
“Huh? You can just go out like that?” Suna was stunned. Could the Eighth Saintess really come and go from Hell at will?
“No, I’m not going out. I’ll have my demon friends ‘invite’ her over to visit for a while.”
“Wait, wait, wait! What does that mean? You can command those demons? You’re not a Saintess?!”
Suna was willing to chat with Mary because she was the Eighth Saintess, but a question remained: if Mary was a Saintess, how could she command demons?!
The Church of the Goddess of Life hated demons the most. Both sides were at odds like fire and water.
So at first, Suna thought Mary was someone like her, forced into service by demons.
But now, Mary seemed to have great status, especially after mentioning something called the “Lord of Hell”…
“Don’t overthink it—I really am a Saintess.”
Sensing Suna’s suspicion, Mary immediately showed off a dazzling array of priest skills enhanced by the Goddess’s life force, putting on a ‘You must trust me’ expression.
That only made Suna more doubtful. After all, there was Truth, who became a Saintess even as a demon follower.
If Mary was some kind of “demon pet,” it wouldn’t be surprising.
“You’re definitely not ordinary!”
Suna raised her guard against Mary on all fronts. No matter how much Mary coaxed her, she didn’t reveal a single thing about Truth.
Helpless, Mary shouted toward the ceiling:
“Hey, dark face, have you collected any info on a priest named Truth in the past few days?”
“Let me think.” The sharp voice of a Shadow Demon echoed around.
“Ha! I knew you were in cahoots with demons!” Suna pointed at Mary and shouted.
Soon after, the Shadow Demon’s voice returned:
“As far as we know, there’s only one priest named ‘Truth’ in Deya City—that’s the Ninth Saintess who just passed the Divine Selection Ceremony yesterday…”
Divine Selection Ceremony?
Ninth Saintess?!
After confirming the Shadow Demon’s info repeatedly, Mary widened her eyes and grabbed Suna’s shoulders, shaking her back and forth:
“Why didn’t you come to me earlier? How did that living fossil end up beaten to the punch by that stinky mark of the Goddess of Life?”
“Mark?!”
Suna’s eyes widened. Wait, aren’t you the Eighth Saintess? What did you just say about the Goddess of Life? And I was forced to come see you. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t come!
“Well…”
After a long pause, Mary spoke again:
“It seems it has to be this way. Suna, what I’m about to say, you may not believe, but you have to listen. This concerns the life and safety of your little priest, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
“No, I want to hear everything in detail.”
“Fine, then follow me.”
Under Mary’s lead, Suna began walking with her through the ruined depths of Hell. Since there was no escape anyway, she might as well see what this woman wanted to do.
“Suna, how much do you know about me, the Eighth Saintess?” Mary suddenly asked.
Suna thought for a moment before cautiously replying:
“Hmm… From Water Marsh City, said to be an almost ‘perfect Saintess.’ In just two short years, she developed Water Marsh City into one of the top five southern cities. But after announcing her journey for experience, you rarely hear of the Eighth Saintess… that’s about it.”
“Oh, so you know I went out for training, huh.” Mary said coldly, then gave Suna a meaningful look:
“What if I told you I was betrayed by a traitor, captured by demons, and have been held captive ever since? What would you think?”
“Uh, I’d find that hard to believe. You’re a Saintess—the Goddess of Life would never just leave you like that, right?”
“What if I said, after I was captured, the Goddess of Life not only didn’t want to save me but actually wanted me dead?”
“Ah… why would that be?”
“Because that stinky mark looks down on me!”
Mary suddenly stomped hard on the ground ahead, grinding her teeth:
“What Saintess, what not Saintess—none of it matters. It’s all just tools controlled by that mark, able to abandon their followers at will. And I used to admire Her so much!”
Mary then began to tell her story. Through her words, Suna heard a very different version of the Goddess of Life.
Before becoming a Saintess, Mary was already famous in Water Marsh City, known as the “Perfect Heiress of the Meyek Family.”
In every respect—from academy grades to noble etiquette—she surpassed her peers.
Coupled with an ever-worsening perfectionism, she demanded everything be “perfect.”
Her drive came from the praise she received—the simple phrase of “the child everyone else wishes they had.”
Thanks to her excellent performance and the advantage of being a priest, Mary was selected by the Church as a candidate Saintess and emerged as the Eighth Saintess after two months.
At the time, she knelt before the benevolent Goddess of Life, swearing to lead people to a better life.
The Goddess promised that Mary’s name would be forever remembered.
That day, Mary’s mind was filled with images of bathing in holy light, worshiped by the world.
She worked tirelessly to realize this dream, earning the love of all in Water Marsh City.
Mary was arguably the hardest-working among all the Saintesses.
As for her capture by demons, her story was much like the Sixth Saintess Aisia’s.
But in Mary’s telling, demons became her protectors, while the Goddess of Life turned into the one who wanted her dead.
Due to the intense faith conflicts in the South Marshlands—far worse than the Dea Plateau—false gods, evil gods, and heretics ran rampant.
Soon after becoming a Saintess, Mary encountered heretics called Desecrators.
The Desecrators tried to recruit Mary, who wielded great influence in the South Marshlands, by listing the sins of various deities, especially badmouthing the Goddess of Life, warning that if things continued, the Goddess would destroy the area.
Mary outright refused, asking why she should give up her good life to join their rebellion.
“Come on, I’m already the Saintess with followers all over the South Marshlands. Also, you badmouth the Goddess, but where’s your proof?”
The Desecrators lacked evidence and failed to persuade Mary, but to prevent her from expanding the Goddess’s influence, they enacted Plan B.
Within days, the Desecrators summoned the Dark Demon and successfully captured Mary.
When the Dark Demon Dakros held Mary hostage and demanded that the Goddess of Life keep her hands off the South Marshlands of the Sylvia Kingdom, Mary felt invincible.
She believed the Goddess would protect her in every way.
After all, she had diligently gathered countless faiths and expanded the Church’s influence in the South Marshlands by dozens of times.
A Saintess capable of holding an entire region alone—Mary was the first. No matter what, the Goddess had to keep her!
But when the Goddess of Life saw her for the first time, she unleashed an eleventh-tier Elemental Explosion to incinerate her.
At the same time, She scolded the Dark Demon Dakros harshly:
“You worthless scum, how dare you threaten me with such a cheap pawn?”
The Goddess of Life despised making deals with demons and refused to bow her head for a dispensable Saintess.
She absolutely couldn’t let the Eighth Saintess become a bargaining chip.
If She compromised now, there would be endless trouble later.
So, between saving face and the Eighth Saintess, the Goddess chose the former…
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