ire was oddly silent as she gripped the reins of the carriage and directed the horses to move in a northeastern direction.


    The sun crept down towards the horizon and the forest was illuminated by a warm orange glow.


    Elisa was currently sleeping inside the carriage since she was still tired from spending most of the day looking after ire while she was unconscious.


    ire did not want to disturb her rest and besides…


    She did not know how to face the former saintess.


    The fact that Elisa was secretly a dark elf was already a shocking matter but there was another dark secret that ire had discovered.


    The holy knight turned her attention to the mercenaries escorting the convoy of caravans and her golden eyes glowed even brighter.


    This mysterious ability allowed her to observe hidden things that she could not normally see.


    "Men! Don''t forget to check the surroundings for any concealed threats!" Captain Brian ordered in a firm tone.


    He received immediate replies from the nearby warriors who quickly raised their vignce.


    "Yes sir!"


    "Yes captain!"


    "Right away!"


    Several mercenaries closely guarded the caravan where the former dark elf ves were housed with the determination to give up their lives for those in the caravan.


    At first nce nothing seemed wrong but as ire narrowed her eyes and focused on the body of the nearest warrior…


    She could see a tiny ball of shadowy mes inside her mind that flickered and oozed with an oily texture.


    Dark tendrils erupted from the center of the shadowy ball that slowly spread throughout the rest of her body.


    The female warrior who ire was observing did not outwardly suffer any negative effects or disy any peculiarities.


    ire noticed that the female warrior was not an exception, and every other mercenary also had a ball of shadowy mes in their mind.


    Captain Brian especially had a ball of shadowy mes that wasrger than the ones imnted in the minds of his men.


    A few clues slowly began to piece together in ire''s mind as she suddenly recalled some details that made no sense in retrospect.


    Why would a random group of mercenaries be so obedient to hermands?


    Although she was a holy pdin from the church, mercenaries by nature were very resistant to authority and some should have hadints or intentionally made trouble.


    And more importantly… mercenaries were individuals who sold their services for money.


    There was nothing wrong with such a profession, but these were not the kind of men who would give up their lives for a client.


    No… not a client…


    During the battle with the bear-like monster, the mercenaries rather than focusing on the protection of ire or even Elisa…


    They solely protected the shivering dark elves.


    ire''s fingers tightened on the reins as the kind-hearted impression she initially had of Elisa was gradually beginning to crack.


    A seed of suspicion had been nted in her heart that was buried so deep that even the holy knight herself did not realise that it was there.


    And that seed would one day bear a bitter fruit…


    ire reached into her pocket and pulled out the hand mirror that she had gotten from Elisa a few hours earlier.


    She checked her reflection carefully and activated her new ability. Her golden eyes shone brightly with purity and righteousness.


    ire could now see tiny flecks of golden light and holy runes surroundings her body. The power inside those strange runes was oddlyforting.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was hard to describe but it was almost like wrapping yourself in a warm nket on a chilly afternoon.


    ire felt safe and protected as she allowed the unknown power to flow through her body from a ce beyond the void.


    The holy knight did not forget her true purpose and stared at her forehead searching for any trace of ck magic.


    There was nothing.


    ire slowly put down the mirror and stared at the endless trees in the forest with aplicated expression on her face.


    Why was there no trace of ck magic?


    If Elisa could control the minds of the mercenaries, then why wouldn''t she do the same to the holy knight tasked with defending her?


    ire knew that her promise to the original owner of this body meant that she would never break her vow to protect Elisa but the former saintess could not have known that.


    There was no better way to ensure your safety than to fully control the mind of the person tasked with protecting you.


    Loud roars and the sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance, but ire was too distracted to pay any attention.


    Shezily gestured to Captain Brian to move in the opposite direction of the noise and then returned to her contemtion.


    Was it even possible to get answers?


    There was a not so small part of ire that desperately wanted to go inside the carriage right now and confront Elisa about her secrets.


    "Damn it!" ire groaned as she absentmindedly touched the hilt of her sword.


    This mission was already going to be difficult and now she had this troublesome matter to deal with!


    ire had been able to make a vow with Lord Varion to protect Elisa which meant that her actions must have gotten the approval of the Lord of Light.


    Or… the disguised dark elf somehow managed to trick the God who blessed humanity…


    Why couldn''t that so-called ''system'' give her some help or clues to know what to do next.


    ire felt like a blind man desperately working her way through the darkness without a guiding light.


    While she did have the original ire''s memories…


    They werepletely useless since the original ire spent the rest of her life in some godforsaken vige in the middle of nowhere.


    Did she know who made the portals connected to the demon world? No.


    Did she know who the viiness was? No.


    Did she know that dark elf spies infiltrated the Varion Church? No.


    ire rubbed her temples in frustration as she felt a pounding headache begin to set in. Her eyes started to itch, and the golden glow surrounding them gradually dimmed.


    The holy knight''s vision returned to normal, and she could no longer see the shadowy balls of me or the mysterious runes.


    "Five hundred meters away from our destination!" one of the mercenaries called out. ire raised her head and saw a scout pointing in a certain direction.


    Beyond the forest was an enormous city surrounded by massive concrete walls that towered towards the heavens.


    Known as the ''Last Bastion'', this city was thergest human settlement in the outer regions and was controlled by several powerful crime families.


    Those thick walls were a necessity against the frequent wave of monster attacks and the hostile foreign races.


    It was said that this city was the only thing keeping the rest of the continent from the wrath of the foreign races.


    Although that rumor was merely an old wives'' tale.


    The official name of the city was the City of Galrannor, and it was named after a famous pdin who allegedly yed thest member of the dragon n.