Saintess Vanessa

"Greetings, Your Holiness. I'm Bucky Custer. I was entrusted by LordByrne to give you something important."

"Something important?"

Vanessa looked at Bucky curiously. She then saw him pull out a green crystal.

"A Recording Crystal?"

Clayton walked forward and took the Recording Crystal from the man. After examining it and ensuring that there were no problems, he held the Recording Crystal in front of Vanessa.

Despite having confirmed its safety, Clayton did not let his guard down.

The Recording Crystal began casting its projection in Claytons' hands.

When red-eyed monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared before her, the smile on Vanessa's face vanished.

The monsters in the image were the perfect embodiment of 'berserk'.

There was no audio, only video. But even Bucky who had never watched the video before shuddered in fear.

The knights and attendants of the Divine Temple on the other hand had quickly schooled their expressions back to normal after the initial shock. Fully displaying the quality of training those under the Divine Temple underwent.

It was immediately obvious which side was superior.

Vanessa stared at the monsters in the projection then at the person who brought the Recording Crystal over.

"When did this happen?"

Bucky was also shocked by the contents of the video. He had only been instructed to deliver the crystal and knew nothing of the details.

He had never expected the video within the Recording Crystal to be this terrifying. Moreover, the Saintess seemed to have deemed it to be a dire situation.

With that thought in mind, Bucky couldn't help but feel nervous. Had it been his younger self, he would still have possessed some capabilities, being Byrne's butler and all.

But now, he was just an old gentleman whose intellect had been eroded by comfortable days.

"I'm sorry Your Holiness. My master only instructed me to send the items over and didn't say anything else."

"Is that so?" Having stayed in this city for some time, Vanessa knew that the Lord Mayor was exceedingly average and also wasn't on good terms with the Divine Temple.

"Alright, I understand. You may leave."

"Understood Your Holiness. I bid the Saintess Good Day."

Bucky was unsettled, his initial amazement at seeing the Saintess had all but vanished.

"From the looks of things, could it be that a beast tide was coming? Should I pack up some valuables and run away with milord?!"

Vanessa didn't know what Bucky was thinking about, nor did she care. She only wanted to know more about the red-eyed monsters.

"Investigate who the Lord Mayor was in contact with today. I want to know where he got this information."

"It shall be done!"

At Vanessa's words, the knight who had been kneeling on the floor immediately got up and left.

Then, Vanessa ordered the attendant standing beside her,

"Write a report of what you just saw and send it to the higher ups immediately. And I mean this instant. Tell them that there are suspected traces of the Devil's Apostle."

"It shall be done!"

When Vanessa and Clayton were the only ones left in the room, a smile returned to Vanessa's face, and she said to Clayton,

"What say we head to Volcano Giant? It just so happens that I haven't eaten the food there before."

However, Clayton, who had just been urging Vanessa to meet George, suddenly changed his tune and said,

"It doesn't matter when we meet the saint candidate. The Devil's Apostle situation is far more important. I beg Your Holiness to please reconsider your priorities."

His words displeased Vanessa, and she shot Clayton a disgruntled look.

"How can you be like this? You just told me not to forget my mission here. Now that I'm going to complete that mission, you want to stop me again."

Clayton remained unfazed and he responded with a straight face,

"That was a moment ago, this is now. The situation has changed."

Looking at the stubborn and rigid man before her, Vanessa couldn't help but feel stifled.

"Saintess, please stop thinking about running away. What must come, will come. Please accept reality."

"I understand. So let's go. We're going to the Volcano Giant now."

Clayton frowned as Vanessa continued to insist on meeting George instead of dealing with the red-eyed monsters.

However, he was only a Guardian Knight. He could advise or even give suggestions, but he had no authority over the Saintess' decisions.

It was not his place to stop what Vanessa had decided on.

"Your Holiness, then what should we do with the red-eyed monsters?"

Vanessa waved her hand nonchalantly.

"There's no hurry. Let us go take a look at this saint candidate of ours. It's perfect, we can form a party with him and put him to the test."

Just as Vanessa was getting excited, Clayton reminded her very opportunely, "Please note that we don't have the right to administer candidate tests."

Vanessa looked at Clayton testily.

"How are you so wearisome? Of course I know that. But if I say I do, I do.

In the first place, why don't I have the right to test him? I am the Saintess, the fiancée of the Saint-to-be.

Although it's just a pre-selection, it's possible that the word 'candidate' will be dropped from his title. He might be the final Saint.

As the wife, I have all the right in the world to inspect my spouse."

To sum it up, it didn't matter what anyone said. She was the Saintess, she could be as willful as she pleased.

When Vanessa got like this, not even Clayton had a good way of dealing with her.

"…"

Seeing Vanessa walk out willfully, Clayton did not hesitate and followed behind her silently.

No matter the situation, Vanessa had the final word.

——————————————————-

Boneyard Mountain Range

What was usually a deserted and desolate mountain range welcomed some long-awaited hustle and bustle on this day.

A large number of crimson-eyed monsters were making their way across the mountains and straight for Gainsborough.

"Ah-whoo~"

A lone wolf looked at them, alarmed. Without thinking, it turned its tail and ran away.

However, just as it turned around, its pupils contracted and its eyes widened. Wisps of red spread across its eyes like spiderwebs.

When it howled again, its eyes were completely red.

A violent roar came from its mouth.

It quickly joined the demonic monster army, becoming an insignificant cannon fodder amongst their ranks.

A pale, spindly man sat on the back of a red-eyed Kodo Beast and looked in Gainsborough's direction with equally crimson eyes.

"Gainsborough was it? I'm a little nostalgic. The home of the King of Adventurers."

The man looked down again.

"What exactly is Yshtal doing? Why hasn't there been any news yet? Could something have happened?"

Then, a spot of red appeared on the barren ground and with it, the entire mountain seemed to come alive. Cracks appeared everywhere, from which large amounts of red liquid flowed out. It was as if the mountain was bleeding.

Seeing this, the worry on the man's face disappeared.

"It seems like we have indeed encountered a rather prickly situation… Just like we planned."