The Fallen Saintess (58)

(City of Lunarian- Varion Temple)

(Outer Gate)

Claire and Elisa stepped through the gates and walked into the courtyard of the Varion Temple.

It had been five years since the former saintess, and her loyal holy knight had been sent to the outer regions of the continent, and now they had returned.

Nuns could be seen in the distance kneeling down on the ground in prayer, guards patrolled the corridors and priests walked by holding copies of the holy texts.

Claire wore the standard white armour of the templar paladins with a longsword attached to her hip while Elisa was dressed in a white robe with golden threads.

A pendant in the image of a sun hung from her neck. The pair did not bother to hide their appearances and soon whispers began to fill the courtyard.

"Wait… is that the old leader of the saintess' personal guards?"

"The former saintess? Isn't she exiled to the border region?"

"Hush! It was not an exile! The pope said that it was a promotion!"

"Maybe they are here for the ceremony…"

Elisa smiled warmly and nodded at the nuns who also bowed respectfully.

Unlike in the original Claire's memories, Elisa was still decently liked by the ordinary members of the church who remembered her old deeds of healing the sick and the injured.

Claire's cold gaze kept away the questioning knights who stared in their direction curiously. It only took a small trace of her killing intent to send shivers down their spines.

The golden threads surrounding Claire's body twitched violently as if they sensed the immense spiritual energy found inside the temple.

Kill the sinners… kill the sinners… kill the sinners…

A hoarse inhuman voice kept whispering relentlessly in Claire's mind and it was slowly driving her insane.

Claire took in a few deep breaths and focused on Elisa's beautiful face in order to distract herself.

Elisa was using her human disguise, so her appearance resembled a sickly beauty, or a withering rose.

She was delicate and fragile which provoked the protective instinct of anyone who saw her soft features.

Claire carefully escorted the former saintess through an endless labyrinth of side passageways and corridors until they arrived at a large building.

This building had two long black spires that extended outwards towards the heavens and a row of statues were placed outside of its golden door.

These statues depicted the images of the former popes who had made notable achievements in the service to Lord Varion.

There were over one hundred statues in total, and each seemed to almost be alive since the sculptors who created them carved out their features in an incredibly life-like manner.

Beyond the door one could faintly hear the sounds of terrified screams and pleads for mercy.

The faint scent of blood lingered in the air which caused Claire to exchange a look with Elisa.

The pair nodded simultaneously, and Claire stepped forward to open the door. It appeared to be blocked by something, but Claire used her enhanced strength to easily rip the door in half.

What came into view was an almost unimaginable sight.

Pope Emmanuel stretched out his arms and a golden bubble covered him and his blood-soaked companions who lay lifelessly on the floor.

These injured men and women were all high-ranking members of the church that included paladin commanders, high priests and clergy.

On the opposite side of the large hall was Saintess Marie and a team of Inquisition knights who were also heavily injured.

Two golden translucent wings sprouted out from behind the saintess' back and the sound of trumpets could be heard coming from the distance.

Saintess Marie's long flowing silvery hair swayed gently from side to side as she chanted an incantation under her breath.

She appeared to be an angel sent down from the heavens to deliver divine justice and order onto the world.

"You… you… TRAITOR… I AM THE CHOSEN POPE BY LORD VARION HIMSELF!" Pope Emmanuel roared in anger.

He could not understand why the saintess and the inquisitor faction of the Varion Church had turned against him.

Was it because of the slaves?

But that didn't make any sense!

Those foreign races weren't humans… they were mere beasts! They did not matter in the eyes of the Lord of Light…

Pope Emmanuel glanced at his companions and secretly cursed them for being useless.

Somehow whenever they tried to use their powers to directly harm the saintess, their holy aura would disappear.

"Your sins… have brought shame to the Lord of Light…" Saintess Marie dully spoke as a cold gleam surfaced in her eyes.

"I am the flame that will burn away the corruption…"

She stopped midsentence and turned to face Claire who had just entered the hall followed closely behind by Elisa.

An unknown emotion flashed across Marie's face as she watched the pair enter the room side by side.

"Claire? Elisa? PLEASE SAVE US!" Pope Emmanuel hurriedly yelled before Marie had a chance to speak.

"Save you?" Claire coldly laughed as she felt the familiar urge to kill surface in her heart.

"When you abandoned Elisa to the outer regions… did you think that I would forgive you?"

"When you turned a blind eye to the corruption in the church and enriched your own pockets… did you expect mercy?"

Two translucent wings sprouted out of Claire's back as her golden eyes shone eerily with purity and righteousness.

"I will deliver onto you…" Claire spoke without emotions.

"Destined death."

Claire unsheathed her longsword and swung it forward with almost casual movements.

A beam of holy light erupted from the tip of her blade and slammed into the golden barrier surrounding the pope.

Crack!

The golden barrier shattered into thousands of pieces right before the pope's unbelieving eyes.

Claire's figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as she reappeared right next to the pope who was still in shock.

Pope Emmanuel opened his mouth to try and plead for mercy, but Claire's blade had already pierced his throat.

She flicked her sword upwards and messily separated the pope's head from his body. Pope Emmanuel's headless corpse fell to the ground motionless.

Claire continued to move forward and slaughtered the high-ranking members of the church like a wolf in the middle of a flock of sheep.

No matter how much they begged and pleaded… there was no mercy.

Saintess Marie clasped her hands together in prayer and a warm current of energy flowed into Claire's body.

The mental connection between them got stronger and Claire could now hear Marie's innermost thoughts echo in her mind.

(She… is perfect… the perfect weapon… the perfect 'blade'…)

(The two of us… we will create in world… a world of righteousness and order.)

(That dark elf princess…. she is in the way of… I need to deal with…)