Near noon, Elliris and Nino arrived at the abandoned seaside temple, Sela Temple.
Her mother had mentioned in a dream that Sela was the High Priestess of the God Race three thousand years ago. For every Saintess, passing the Divine Trial here before being promoted to High Priestess was a mission ordained by fate.
Since she had come this far, Elliris was naturally prepared. She wanted to live up to her mother’s expectations, to Sophia, and to Nino.
This time, there would be no retreat!
Furthermore, the fact that they could successfully bypass the eyes of the Witch Hunting Group and enter the temple was thanks to the help of Catherine and the others who accompanied them.
They had volunteered to help Elliris. In Catherine’s case, there were personal feelings involved as well. When no one was looking, the way she gazed at Elliris was so intense her pupils almost turned into hearts…
Additionally, Catherine wanted to confirm one thing — she wanted to know if Christina was nearby.
The grudge regarding her father’s death that the Knight Princess could never let go of was actually a complete misunderstanding. The Pope’s deception had caused Christina to be nearly blinded by hatred.
Perhaps the encounter between Elliris and Christina was inevitable. It was a matter of destiny, not just a design of the game, but the result of the gods’ invisible hands pushing from the shadows.
Just then, the group arrived before the secret realm of Sela Temple. The details described here matched the images Elliris’s mother had shared.
Inside the passage of the abandoned temple, only this area remained perfectly preserved. It seemed as though some kind of barrier protected it, preventing it from being eroded by time or destroyed by the Pope’s forces.
However, it seemed the Knight Princess had been waiting by the stone door of the secret realm for quite some time.
…
‘So that is the Knight Princess. I should use a skill to take a little peek… how can a scholar call this stealing?’
[Status Window]
Name: Christina Parisius
Level: 60
HP: 10560
MP: 2465
Class: Paladin
STR: 4129 / CON: 3027 / AGI: 2716 / INT: 831 / SPR: 865 / LUK: 200
Personal Talents: …
She possessed a beauty of raw numbers that was impressive for this stage. Her level was lower than Marcus’s, but some of her attributes were actually higher than her father’s. Most of their skills were identical…
Elliris didn’t have time to carefully examine the Knight Princess’s personal talents. At this moment, the air at the entrance of the Sela Temple secret realm was thick with the scent of gunpowder, and her mind was focused on the trial.
…
Christina froze the moment she saw Elliris. The information transmitted by her eyes matched the portrait on the witch’s wanted poster perfectly.
Finally, they met!
This was the enemy who had killed her father, whom she had sought for so long, and the primary criminal on the witch’s wanted poster.
She had to fulfill her duty as the leader of the Witch Hunting Group and stand up for the vulnerable groups persecuted by witches. More importantly, out of selfishness, she wanted to use her sword to prove justice — to use her sword to avenge her father, the beloved and respected former Grand Knight!
“Must… drive the witches… to extinction!” Pope Dussel’s command suddenly echoed in Christina’s mind, causing her to mutter strangely to herself.
This was a form of brainwashing reinforced by the Pope through the Power of Words. This restriction caused Christina, who was encountering Elliris for the first time, to have her existing emotional anger stirred up without reason.
Christina was about to lose control of herself. Her right hand trembled as she twitched the sword at her waist. That was the important heirloom of the Parisius family — the Sword of Justice. She had inherited it after the “fall” of the previous head, Marcus.
When the Sword of Justice was fully unsheathed, it produced a steady metallic ring. The blade was as sharp as ice, reflecting a golden glow under the sunlight as if it contained some kind of holy power.
Complex magical patterns were carved into the blade. Those elegantly curved scripts were the names of previous Grand Knights and their oath to protect the Desorian Continent.
It was worth mentioning that the last five generations of Grand Knights, including Christina, were all heads of the Parisius family.
“Tch, this is trouble. I can’t believe she brought that out today. Saintess, Goddess, please be careful of that Sword of Justice. It can significantly enhance the Knight Princess’s abilities.” Catherine immediately went on guard and signaled the two little ones behind her to be vigilant.
Red light flickered in the Knight Princess’s eyes, and several veins popped on her forehead. To others, she looked to be in a state of uncontrollable rage, exuding an aura that was no longer governed by reason.
Even if she felt like she wasn’t herself at this moment, she had to avenge her father!
“Father… I will use the family’s Sword of Justice to execute justice!!!” Drawing the Sword of Justice, Christina suddenly lunged toward Elliris.
However, the dozen or so members of Catherine’s elite guard formed a small-scale knight phalanx in front of Elliris, building a human shield.
Two heavy, muffled thuds rang out — the sound of clashing metal as Christina’s precious sword met Catherine’s spear.
Catherine was Level 48. Before Christina unleashed her full strength in a probing attack, Catherine was still able to barely manage a parry.
“Knight Princess, please listen to my explanation! This person is the genuine Saintess. Please, do not be deceived by the Pope any longer!”
“Catherine, Elsa, Elli, and everyone else! You… you have all been bewitched by these two witches! Ugh…” Christina roared in fury, but in the gaps where everyone could see her, she clutched her head as if struggling in pain.
“Saintess, please go inside first. My friends and I will help you hold back the Knight Princess,” Catherine said resolutely, her eyes filled with determination. Since she had been close friends with the Knight Princess for nearly 10 years, Elliris could trust the power of such a bond.
“Sister El, go do what you need to do. Don’t worry about Nino. I’ve already sent a signal to Uncle Marcus.” Nino also raised her staff, preparing to face Christina. Elliris was naturally confident in Nino’s ability to protect herself; if things went south, Nino still had a teleportation scroll to make an escape.
“Sister El, just as Mama said before, start chanting the incantation passed down by Lady Felicitala to open the Sela Temple secret realm. Don’t panic, no one will interfere with you!”
“Alright, Nino. Don’t overexert yourself, okay!” Elliris was still a bit worried about Nino, especially since she hadn’t had time to use her Appraisal Eye to further investigate the Knight Princess’s hidden talents and skills.
“I know… Sister El, just focus on your own task!”
Elliris channeled a large amount of mana, and the Divine Mark on her forehead emerged. Because she was directly re-establishing a connection with a secret realm that had been dilapidated for a long time, she consumed nearly 1,000 MP before even entering.
About 1 minute later, an unusual light blossomed from the ancient magical circuits on the stone door of the secret realm. At first, a large amount of blue mana gathered in the circular area at the center of the door, and then, like an integrated circuit inside a computer, the mana scattered as the light and electricity formed paths.
Then, the stone door of the secret realm began to open automatically. The friction between the stone slab and the stone floor created a heavy sound of passing ages. Inside was a secret realm entrance that resembled a white spatial vortex.
Taking a deep breath, Elliris spoke calmly to everyone behind her.
“Nino, Catherine, thank you.”
“If you want to thank us, wait until Sister El comes out! Nino will protect this secret realm and the barrier!”
“Saintess, my subordinates and I will protect you. I came here specifically to resolve your worries!”
Both Nino and Catherine believed that Elliris would bring a turning point to this continent after this trial, so they chose to protect her without hesitation.
“Don’t run…! Wicked witch, Elliris…” Christina clutched her forehead and let out a curse, looking as if she were about to lose her mind completely. Catherine, her group, and Nino faced her onslaught, assuming combat stances without responding.
Without any hesitation or delay, Elliris responded to their protection by walking straight into the white spatial vortex…