Chapter 48 : The Book of the Rose Ritual

Enya quickly recalled that so-called emissary from last time.

Ever since she let that person go, the organization behind the emissary hadn’t tried to contact her again.

If the Blood God Cult in Red pine City really had close ties with that organization, there was no way they would have stopped reaching out.

That left only one possibility…

If the Blood God Cult in Red pine City could get connected with that organization, then the Mist Lord Faith in White Stone City could naturally do the same.

The names might be different, but in essence, they were all evil cults.

Birds of a feather flock together; it wasn’t surprising at all.

“So, the Mist Lord hasn’t spread widely in Red pine City, only sent a few people to probe the waters. That means they’re just testing the reaction here. If I don’t do something…”

If Enya did nothing, the Mist Lord would surely start expanding here in earnest.

Evil cults were like colonies of fungi—once a colony took root somewhere, it was hard for others to encroach.

But Red pine City’s ‘fungus’ had already been cleaned out completely, turning it into fertile ground for new powers.

Naturally, these lunatics would flock here.

Understanding this, Enya let out a cold laugh.

“You want to know where I stand? I’ll show you what it means to really feel the pain.”

In an instant, she made up her mind.

The identity Enya had given herself in front of that emissary was “Rose Priestess” of the Blood God Cult.

Now, she intended to maintain that identity.

In nature, many creatures use a special survival strategy: they mimic the colors of dangerous predators, using such camouflage to scare off opportunists.

What Enya planned to do was exactly the same.

But she wasn’t trying to avoid trouble—she was planning to infiltrate, to see what this organization really wanted.

If possible, she’d be more than happy to stretch her muscles a bit.

“If that’s the case, I’ll have to find a way to support Herna.”

“But her situation isn’t very good right now… Maybe I can use this opportunity to help her wipe out the stubborn old powers in Red pine City, and let the city board the train to a new world.”

“But… what about money?”

Just thinking about spending money gave Enya a headache.

This wasn’t like buying her daughter’s favorite treats.

Even with a pile of gold coins sitting in her account, she could hardly bear to invest it into Red pine City’s development.

Never mind whether she’d get a return—how would she even spend it in a reasonable and effective way?

They were all problems waiting to be solved.

As she was fretting about where the money would come from, Black Dragon Princess Pandrake, who lived in her mind, spoke up.

“Didn’t I tell you last time? There’s a Ruin in the northern mountains. If you don’t want to use your own money, just go dig up all the gold in there. It’s just sitting around anyway—why not use it?”

Pandrake truly couldn’t understand humans’ obsession with gold coins.

Hearing this, Enya’s thoughts suddenly cleared up.

If Pandrake hadn’t mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten about that Ruin.

She’d become a Sword Saint later on only because she’d met a witch in that Ruin.

That’s right—she’d been to that Ruin before.

The dream world’s barrier was something she’d copied from the underground Ruin!

Back then, Enya didn’t know how to use the “Library.”

She’d only stuffed two bags of gold coins into her arms and left the mountain of gold behind with great reluctance.

After that, she’d never found time to return, and eventually forgot all about it.

“Haha, thank you, Pandrake. If you hadn’t reminded me, I almost would’ve opened up my private vault.”

Enya let out a sigh of relief.

She did want to see Red pine City develop—after all, her daughter Rosily would be living here.

Besides, she wasn’t made of stone; she wasn’t the type to turn a blind eye to others’ suffering.

The main reason Enya was so passionate about destroying evil cults was because, in this world, they all profited by exploiting the desires of ordinary people.

The power and wealth of these cults were built on the lives of mortals.

In Enya’s garden, they were nothing but weeds stealing nutrients from her seedlings.

If she saw them, she had to pull them out by the roots!

After clearing out the “weeds” that had grown in her own yard, Enya returned to the study at the core of the formation.

She took out the pale wooden spear, and on that spear was strung a phantom soul.

The phantom soul struggled endlessly, letting out cries of pain.

This soul was the very first cultist priestess Enya had killed.

In other words, the so-called “Rose Priestess.”

Though faint, it was still clear that she was an elderly woman.

The surface of the pale wooden spear was as smooth as jade, but the whole thing resembled a bone spike.

Once Enya pulled this spike out from the Rose Priestess’s soul, the woman was finally freed from endless pain.

Without a body, the Rose Priestess’s soul was helpless before Enya.

She looked up at Enya, but her indistinct face made it impossible to see her expression.

Her soul trembled.

She said something to Enya.

“Please… kill me. My sins are unforgivable.”

“……”

Enya was stunned.

She’d thought the Rose Priestess would beg for her life, but she hadn’t expected her to beg for death instead.

It was a little surprising.

“I know, I know what that is…”

The Rose Priestess spoke haltingly.

“That’s a Thorn Tree spine from the Golden Empire. It once hung full of the souls of slave masters, so their evil would be returned to them.”

“My name is Lilith… No, I no longer deserve that name…”

“All the sins are mine alone. They have nothing to do with Henna Asades…”

The wooden spear in her hand came from a Thorn Tree fed by the blood and bones of slave masters a thousand years ago.

Legend said it was the final resting place of all evil.

Enya had snatched this particular spine from a certain witch’s home.

“Henna…”

Enya softly repeated the name, then placed her hand atop the Rose Priestess’s head.

A glow lit up, and the phantom soul was sealed into a book titled Book of the Rose Priestess.

The book was surprisingly thick—four fingers wide.

That meant this “Rose Priestess” had lived for a very long time…

Enya reached out with her senses.

Little Rosily was sleeping soundly.

She’d added another filter to the dream barrier, blocking out any abnormal souls from entering.

After finishing these tasks, she walked to her desk, pulled out a chair, sat sideways, and placed the Book of the Rose Priestess on the table.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the book.

She blinked—and in the span of an instant, Enya found herself in a misty, gray world.

She saw a young red-haired girl who looked somewhat like Henna.

This was a memory recording.

At that moment, a hand pressed down on the girl’s head, and a cold voice said,

“Lilith will be the name you use from now on. Your mission is to do whatever it takes to restore the Asades family’s former glory. Do you understand?”