Four days later, the borrowing period for the Golden Dungeon expired, and the adventurers who had been barred from entering once again flooded into the dungeon.
The stalled gold mining operations resumed in full swing.
Two days prior, every member of the Rose Knights had cleared the Golden Dungeon, marking a temporary pause in their training.
Their next mission was to head to Sand Fortress and exterminate the Abyssal Demons.
Although the training in the Golden Dungeon was not particularly long, it effectively stripped away the girls’ naivety. Many bore scars on their once-pristine skin, which they regarded as lessons.
Only by remembering these lessons could they continue to improve.
Before the Rose Knights boarded the Magic Airship to fly to Sand Fortress, Fili sought out Isavel to say farewell.
She wanted to leave the Oracle Hall and head to Viscount Vanessa’s territory to collaborate with her, in hopes of breaking free from the chains of the Guerrero Family together.
With the borrowing rights to the Golden Dungeon ended, Isavel naturally had no reason to keep her, so without hesitation, she agreed to Fili’s departure.
Before Fili left, however, Isavel told her that the Oracle Hall would always be her refuge.
……
“Wow, this is my first time on a Magic Airship.”
Aboard the Magic Airship, Aelia gazed out at the low-lying white clouds and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
Just as she was about to open the deck door and step out onto the deck, a girl behind her grabbed her wrist.
“Teresa, what’s wrong?”
The girl named Teresa had long, pale blue hair. She was beautiful, though a slender scar on her brow slightly marred her looks.
“This Magic Airship’s deck isn’t imbued with gravity magic. If you step out carelessly, the wind currents will blow you away.”
“Huh?”
“That’s right. It’s surprising someone even noticed.”
“Lady Isavel?”
Da-da-da——
At that moment, Isavel, dressed in black, walked gracefully into the Magic Airship’s hall.
She glanced at Aelia standing by the deck door and covered her mouth to smile:
“You all went through the trials of the Golden Dungeon, so how could you still be so careless? Aelia, if Teresa hadn’t pulled you back just now, you would have been blown away and lost your life.”
Feeling the cold gaze settle on her, Aelia lowered her head and nervously gripped the hem of her skirt.
In Isavel’s words, everything was the girls’ fault to encourage vigilance.
In reality, she had simply forgotten to warn them.
Still, the fact that someone had noticed there was no gravity magic on the deck was no small feat.
Before joining the Rose Knights, Teresa’s status and background likely weren’t low, since not everyone can board a Magic Airship.
“I’ll say it again: the place you’re heading to next is Sand Fortress, a city overrun by Abyssal Demons celebrating their dominance. Compared to other monsters, these Abyssal Demons are a thousand times more cunning!”
“If you approach this war with the mindset of exploring the Golden Dungeon, your fate will be to be devoured by the Abyssal Demons and become nothing more than their prey.”
“This is my warning. Whether you heed it or not is entirely up to you.”
Before arriving at Sand Fortress, Isavel still couldn’t help but remind them a few times.
However, she suspected few would take her words lightly now.
After all, they had already learned the hard way in the Golden Dungeon what happens when they don’t listen.
The magical life-saving tools she initially gave them were not kept by any team.
“Also, when inside Sand Fortress, suppress your compassion. If you encounter so-called survivors, do not approach or save them. Your own lives come first.”
“You must remember: you are tools of salvation, not tools to save these people. Their deaths have little impact on this world, but your deaths will rob the world of its future.”
“I do not want you to sacrifice your lives trying to save those survivors.”
From Isavel’s cold words, the knights were still regarded as mere tools.
This made Duchess Nola, who was traveling with them aboard the Magic Airship, furrow her brow and look at the Saintess with increasingly complicated emotions.
She had an issue with these views.
Clearly, treating the Rose Knights as tools was wrong, and life was equal. Just because the knights contribute more to the world did not mean the survivors could be disregarded.
But regrettably, Nola had no way to argue with her.
At this moment, if they wanted to save the world, following Isavel’s orders was undoubtedly correct.
It might be cold-hearted, but it greatly increased their chances of success.
Nola understood this, but she simply disliked such emotionless choices.
Meanwhile, Meilin’s thoughts were entirely different.
All she felt was heartache.
She knew very well that Saintess Selis and Isavel were the same person.
By playing the villain and degrading the knights as tools—mocking them not to sacrifice themselves for the survivors—Isavel was actually trying to ensure their survival on the battlefield.
Doing this meant she was choosing between the knights and the survivors.
As a gentle and kind Saintess who treated everyone equally, such a choice must have been tormenting her soul.
Meilin pursed her lips and clenched her hands beneath her sleeves.
The Saintess had given them so much.
……
After half a day of flying, the Magic Airship arrived at the front lines behind Sand Fortress.
Before even approaching, Isavel saw a huge mechanical eyeball floating in the air—the Eye of Divine Sight.
This eyeball was one of the Norwich Empire’s sacred artifacts.
It served two purposes: to monitor demon movements inside Sand Fortress and to trap demons within the fortress.
That they brought it along to suppress the demons showed the front lines were in a dire situation.
The Magic Airship finally docked behind the Norwich Imperial Army’s camp.
When the ramp dropped, dozens of soldiers dressed in uniform stood before the ship, holding long spears and standing at attention.
The first to disembark was Saintess Isavel.
Her appearance made countless soldiers’ eyes light up. The black dress she wore fluttered like a veil, weaving into their hearts and making them lose themselves in her beauty.
It wasn’t until the commanding officer cleared his throat that the soldiers regained their composure.
“Norwich Third Imperial Army Commander, Mars, pays respects to Saintess Isavel.”
With that, the white-haired officer bowed deeply before her.
The Oracle Hall’s Saintess was not just the Empire’s Saintess; she was humanity’s Saintess.
Therefore, even the commander of the Norwich Empire was obliged to show respect upon meeting her.