(City of Lunarian- Varion Temple)


    (West Training Wing- Private Quarters)


    "Okay… so clothes… money…what else am I missing?" ire muttered to herself as she walked around her room.


    Her bedroom was already sparsely furnished but it was only when she started to pack up her things did ire realised just how little she owned.


    Other than the clothes that were in her closet, the armour on her body and the long sword attached to her hip…


    There was nothing else.


    There were no keepsakes, pictures or any mementos to be found. Clearly the original ire had lived a very frugal lifestyle.


    ire let out a heavy sigh and tried to gather her thoughts. Today was the day of their departure from the main temple.


    The former saintess Elisa was to be the head of the Varion Church''s branch in the City of Galrannor, but it was obvious that this promotion was actually an exile.


    ire as her personal guard would apany her during the journey and stay by her side when they arrived in the outer regions.


    The regions located near the outer edges of the continent were dangerous ces where monster attacks weremon.


    The nobles in charge of suchnds had little to no actual power as the royal family did not concern themselves with ruling over those wastnds.


    As a result, the true power was held in the hands of underworld gangs that ruled with a mixture of violence and fear.


    ire shuddered as she imagined poor innocent Elisa going to live in such a terrible ce.


    Rage bubbled up inside ire''s heart when she recalled the smug smile on the new saintess'' face.


    Wait a minute…


    ire''s eyes lit up as she suddenly realised something important. The pope and Saintess Marie were clearly suspicious.


    Why were they so eager to drive away Elisa?


    Why was Marie appointed as the new saintess without hesitation?


    ording to the original ire''s memories something would happen yearster that would lead to dark portals suddenly appearing across the continent.


    Shadowy beasts and lesser demons would emerge from the portals to ravage thend and kill any human in sight.


    That must have been the event that broke this world ne and the only person who could have done this would have to be the new saintess!


    There was nowhere else on the continent except for the main temple of the Varion Church where the spiritual energy was sufficient to open up multiple portals to hell.


    It was impossible to know for sure, but a faint theory had already emerged in ire''s mind and as she gave the matter some more thought…


    It seemed to be correct.


    If Saintess Marie was secretly a traitor, then it would make sense that she wanted to drive away the true saintess.


    Somehow, she had managed to charm the pope or perhaps the old man was aware of her ns from the start.


    Saintess Marie was the viiness that she needed to kill!


    ire''s lips curved up into a gentle smile as she considered the matter more carefully. The short haired pdin subconsciously rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.


    Her initial n was just toplete the original ire''s request and live the rest of her life as she pleased but that was not an option.


    Stopping the portals from appearing on the continent was the only way to ensure that her life remained peaceful.


    But how could she do it?


    ire was under no delusions that she would be able to sessfully make her way through the temple and kill both the pope and the new saintess.


    She wasn''t even a tier one knight yet.


    ire wasn''t sure just how powerful she was, but it would be foolish to attempt to kill the pope with only her strength.


    What to do? What to do?


    ire''s brows furrowed as she tried her best to think of a solution. The minutes passed by slowly as ire explored every option.


    Poison? Hiring killers to help? A bomb?


    No… where would she even get the materials to make a bomb? This world didn''t even have gunpowder so just shooting the saintess wasn''t an option either.


    ire eventually gave up as she nced out of her window and saw the bright sun slowly move towards the center of the sky.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The wagon would be leaving soon, and she needed to pick up Elisa from the inner sanctum.


    Well, the portal incident would not take ce until yearster so all she could do now was secretly gather her strength and one day return to finish her main task.


    ire carefully ced thest pieces of armour on her body and picked up therge brown sack on her mattress.


    Inside thisrge bag was everything that she owned… which was not much.


    ire took a second nce at her room with a trace of nostalgia in her eyes.


    She didn''t know when she would being back. Perhaps by the time she returned there would already be someone else living here.


    ire was not one to be overly concerned about her appearance but since she was about to meet Elisa, the holy knight could not resist checking the mirror.


    A western beauty with short cropped blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and sharp angr facial features stared back at her.


    ire smiled and flexed her lean muscr arms that were firm and toned after months of heavy exercise and training.


    ? Okay… she still looked great!


    ire took a deep breath and the gently exhaled. She nced at her room for one final time before leaving.


    The gossip from yesterday''s grand assembly was still a hot topic and ire was aware of the stares in her direction from the whispering nuns and servants in charge of maintain the temple.


    The brightest star among the young generation of pdins was now forced to spend the rest of her life in exile.


    Some would pity her, but ire knew that there would be others secretly thankful that she had decided to stay by Elisa''s side.


    Those like the members of her former squad.


    Perhaps the original ire had never noticed the jealous emotions in their hearts, but Sui Li could easily tell.


    There was a reason why Markus was able to get every member of the squad to agree with his decision.


    Well, there was no use dwelling on it.


    If anything, ire felt sorry for them for she knew that they would eventuallye to regret their choice.


    ire slowly walked through abyrinth of side passages and corridors until she arrived at the Inner Sanctum.


    The private residence of the saintess and the next sessor to the church.


    ire''s eyes widened as she saw a frail figure swaying in front of the entrance.


    Elisa was holding tworge bags and the heavy weight was causing beads of sweat to form on her forehead.


    ire dropped her bag without hesitation and ran over to the former saintess with her heart pounding in her chest.


    "Mydy, why are you outside?!" ire asked frantically as she hurriedly took the bags from the fragile girl.


    "ire… I''m not yourdy anymore," Elisa smiled gently as she touched ire''s cheek with a strange emotion in her eyes.


    "You can call me Elisa."


    "Mydy… I can''t suddenly," ire stuttered nervously.


    Elisa raised up her hand and ced one finger on ire''s lips. She leaned in closer and spoke in a sterner tone,


    "Call. Me. Elisa."


    "Mydy… I… I… I mean Elisa," ire hesitantly spoke.


    Elisa smiled happily as a ray of sunlight fell on her body. ire was lost for words as she saw just how beautiful the former saintess was.


    She wore a in ck dress with a single ruby embedded in front of the dress. Her brown hair was tied in a single ponytail, and she wore a pair of golden bracelets.


    Although Elisa''s body was thin and frail, it did not detract from her beauty but rather made her soft facial features invoke a feeling ofpassion.


    "The new saintess will be arriving soon so I decided to leave early," Elisa exined as she gestured towards her bags.


    ire''s face hardened as Elisa mentioned the new saintess. Marie was the viiness who would bring about the destruction of this world.


    For a moment, ire seriously contemted telling Elisa about her suspicions but eventually decided against it.


    A kind-hearted girl like Elisa would be unable to understand the actions that she needed to take to save everyone.


    ire wanted nothing more than to protect the innocent smile on her face.