Returning to the perspective of Elliris and Nino, the two had finished their adventure in the snowfield cave and returned to Nino’s home, having obtained the information they sought.
This was actually a task Rachel had assigned to Nino, but Elliris’s intervention had led to unexpected results.
However, that Dark Realm gate…
‘Let’s explore the area in front of us later!’
A level restriction had been added directly. It was likely just the system acting out of a sense of protection.
Elliris really wanted to drag this system out for a serious talk. Sometimes it protected her, and other times it screwed her over until she was half-dead. She really wanted to start cursing; just who on earth had designed this dog system?
“Sister Elliris, you have to do your best at the Sela Temple trial. I’ll be cheering for you from here!” Nino pumped her fists, speaking with great excitement as she encouraged Elliris.
“Nino… But my trial is a solo mission. Nothing weird is going to happen, right? Right?” Elliris was indeed a bit lacking in confidence regarding the Divine Trial.
‘A red-grade, top-tier main quest, the trial of Sela Temple…’
‘If the trial goes well, it’s called passing. If it goes poorly, should it be called “try it and die”?’
Then, Nino told Elliris about how she had passed the trial of the Frost Phoenix in the heart of the Northern Snowfield to master the essentials of ice magic. She had suffered quite a bit before gaining the Frost Phoenix’s recognition and blessing, which finally allowed her to cast various large-scale ice spells.
“I was almost frozen into an ice sculpture back then, and Mama Rachel just watched from a distance. But I had made up my mind long ago, and I held on until the very end, enduring the Frost Phoenix’s blizzard!”
Stars twinkled in Nino’s eyes. She firmly believed that Elliris could complete the trial; after all, she was the Saintess of this generation.
‘A hero can’t run away at the last minute… That’s right.’
“Mm! I’ll do my best! I won’t let you or Aunt Rachel down!”
Shaking her head to toss her stray thoughts aside, Elliris slapped her cheeks hard. With her face slightly flushed, she spoke to Nino.
“Nino, let’s head back to the Resistance headquarters together tomorrow! We’ll get ready there, and then you can accompany me to Heliwood.”
“I would be happy to be of service, my dear Sister.” Nino elegantly lifted her skirt and performed a noble lady’s curtsy. Although it looked quite good, Elliris knew she was just being playful.
***
The two returned to the Resistance headquarters, but as soon as they arrived, Elliris noticed they were taking in refugees again.
“Aunt Rachel, what’s going on with these suffering civilians?” Elliris asked urgently, rushing to Rachel’s side.
“Lord Marcus recently discovered the Pope’s latest movements. The previous act of sacrificing two thousand people from Sindar Town caused a backlash in many regions. It was indeed the people from the towns near the Peak of Phantoms who spread the word,” Rachel said continuously, her expression grave.
“Those matters were suppressed by the ruling elite. The entire continent is controlled by the Pope’s black hand…”
“The Pope’s sacrifice targets have shifted toward remote areas, even small villages in the mountains. Even if something happens in these places, they are so isolated that the outside world won’t know the truth for a long time… Fortunately, Lord Marcus has been investigating constantly during this period and found out about these things.”
Rachel’s emotions were stirred by the events she described. With red-rimmed eyes, she pressed her hands together in prayer.
It took quite a while for Rachel to calm her emotions before she added to the two of them:
“The Resistance soldiers fought with everything they had to save over 100 villagers. This battle cost the lives of more than ten kind knights… Please, go with Nino and check on their current condition.”
Elliris and Nino anxiously headed to the refugee gathering area. They found that although the refugees’ lives had been spared, their general symptoms were consistent with the miners from the Tanazk Great Mine.
Following the contents of the medical books left by her mother, Elliris began treating the patients step by step.
“Nino, come help me! This uncle’s condition is very serious!” Adhering to the principle of treating the most critically injured first, Elliris shouted to Nino.
“Nino, prop this uncle’s head up. Have the priestess over there bring a slightly firmer pillow!”
“Okay, Sister Elliris. I’ll leave it to you. I’m sorry, Nino’s talent for light healing magic is too mediocre. I can’t help at a time like this…” Nino said with a bit of self-reproach.
“It’s fine. Your ice magic talent is unmatched on this continent. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Don’t dwell on it.” Elliris patiently comforted Nino while quickly treating the severely ill man in front of her.
“Kind Goddess Althea, please shower your healing upon the world. **[Cure Disease]**, **[Holy Hymn]** three times!”
The core ultimate healing skill of the Priest class was activated once more. The aura of necromantic magic on the over 100 mountain villagers gathered there dissipated completely. Countless particles of pure energy carrying holy light showered down upon them.
The severely ill man in front of her felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a large mouthful of black blood, which Nino quickly caught with a disposal bag.
The man, who had been pale and bloodless moments ago, now had a ruddy complexion and had regained consciousness.
All the villagers were awestruck by the healing spectacle before them. The miracle of the Goddess displayed by Elliris even brought tears to the eyes of many elderly people.
“We can never forget Lady Elliris’s kindness!! Loyalty!!”
“Thank you for your treatment, Saintess. I am the village chief. The last time I saw something like this was when I went on a pilgrimage to Calonpolis in my youth and saw the miracle performed by Lady Felicitala.”
A hunched old man leaning on a cane walked over slowly, telling Elliris about his past.
“It is my honor to be able to help the villagers. Grandfather Village Chief, can you tell me in detail what happened to you?”
Elliris’s level had increased, and her skill usage had become more mature; after three casts of **[Holy Hymn]**, she wasn’t even out of breath. However, she still wanted to know exactly what the Pope had done to them.
“It was cultists! The cultists were capturing villagers in large numbers. Those who were taken away never returned… There were even some villagers who went mad. Their condition was not human at all; they even attacked others indiscriminately and couldn’t be killed…”
Elliris’s brow furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with sorrow and gloom. It seemed the Pope was committing heartless atrocities again, sacrificing civilians and spreading the aura of necromantic magic everywhere.
At that moment, Nino noticed two poor, pitiful sisters ahead and walked forward to talk to them.
“Little sisters, you were just healed as well. Do you feel better now?”
“Thank you, Sister from the God Race. My sister and I are fine now. Excuse me, is that Saintess sister your older sister?” the older sister asked with a playful and curious look.
“Yes~ That Saintess sister is my most beloved sister. How about it? She’s amazing, right!”
“I want to join the Church and become a priestess in the future!”
“If Sister is going, then I’m going to be one too!”
The playful bickering of the two little girls caught Elliris’s attention. She walked over slowly and felt a pang of pity seeing the two girls in their ragged clothes.
“Little sisters, where did you come from?”
“Saintess sister, we are villagers who lived halfway up Black Flame Mountain~”
“Black Flame Mountain? Then how did you get here?”
Elliris asked with a hesitant look, hoping to gather some information. Although children spoke innocently, the words from a child’s mouth were often more reliable than those of an adult.
“There were bad people! Lots of bad people! They wanted to go up the mountain but were taught a harsh lesson by the traps set by the village chief and the uncles. The village chief told us to come out and call for help, saying they couldn’t hold out much longer and only had enough food for two months.” The older girl spoke urgently, revealing a lot of truth about the village.
Looking at the oversized clothes the two girls were wearing, Elliris roughly estimated that she and Nino could probably fit into them.
Elliris took the two little girls back to her room and gestured to Nino. Nino followed her, understanding the signal.
“Nino, I have a plan. I’m going to conduct a grand investigation into these cultists,” Elliris said with a light laugh, the corners of her mouth curling upward.
“Once we resolve the crisis at the Black Flame Mountain village, we’ll head to Sela Temple.”