After the death of the last saintess, Sophia Varelis, the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory] had slumbered for nearly a hundred years. In a haze of chaos, she drifted through endless eons, most of the ti dazed and distracted, yet still conscious enough to sense her severe battle damage and the long, continuous sleep needed to restore her energy.
She didn't know what had beco of the outside world, nor the current state of the Varelis family, let alone the Church of Radiance. She didn't know whether humanity had lost to the demon race. Every second brought agony and loneliness, yet she never abandoned her faith, never fell into corruption.
When she finally awoke, the world's structure had changed drastically. She had never experienced such a long void before, and she felt utterly lost, especially upon learning the Varelis bloodline had withered away. She struggled to accept that there were no more saintesses, no more Varelis, and had no idea what her purpose should now be.
For as long as she could rember, she had been the Varelis family's most steadfast shield. What to do? The saintesses would tell her. The saintesses will guide everyone. All she needed to do was protect them, that was all.
But now, with no saintess left in the world, she had lost the one she was ant to protect and defend. She was completely adrift.
Fortunately, the goddess had not forgotten her. She wasn't left in silence for long before she was passed into the hands of a new generation of Radiance Saintess. Although there had been a minor mishap at first, she failed to recognize this generation's Saintess in disguise, causing a misunderstanding, the outco, at least, was good.
She had finally been placed into the hands of a new saintess, able to fulfill her purpose once more.
"Damn this shield… still such a nuisance." Seeing that no amount of slashing could penetrate the golden, radiant barrier, [Bloodied Debt]'s voice began to lose its composure.
"Master Charon, your cultivation level is simply too low. That limits my full potential.'"
"You're blaming now?!" Charon retorted, angered by the clear reprimand in [Bloodied Debt]'s tone.
"Just stating facts. Among the hosts I've parasitized, you're one of the weakest. If it wasn't for your decent talent, I wouldn't have chosen you at all. In fact, you'd never had the chance to wield a [Divine Weapon] in this lifeti."
"You're really one to talk, acting all high and mighty after getting what you wanted," Charon retorted coldly.
'"Forget it. Even so, she still can't win."
"Stop trying direct attacks. The [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory]'s barrier is a light-elent magic defense, it nullifies all attacks, both magical and physical."
"Use your imagination. Spread my power around her in a full 360-degree assault. Leave no blind spot."
Hearing this, Charon plunged [Bloodied Debt] into the ground. Instantly, the earth cracked and split, and ink-black dark elents surged forth like a violent tsunami, forming a curtain in midair that enveloped Vanessa.
[Thousand Dark Graves]
"Miss Winnie! Quickly, disperse my power to all sides, surround yourself!" Seeing this, the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory] urged urgently. "Miss Winnie, try it, You should be able to… "
But before the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory] could finish her explanation, Vanessa had already acted on instinct. Gripping the shield's handle, she channeled her mana and expanded the shield's power into a semicircular do, forming a barrier that blocked every drop of that inky assault.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?!" The little angel was utterly shocked. She hadn't expected Vanessa's talent to be this extraordinary, needing no instruction, learning instantly, grasping the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory]'s usage intuitively and building upon it right away.
"Miss Winnie is amazing! Truly worthy of being Miss Winnie!" the little angel praised.
"Miss Shield, you can just call Vanessa, you know."
"Oh! Oh! So that's it! So 'Vanessa' was your real na all along?! I knew it, 'Winnie' was just a fake na! Vanessa… such a beautiful, sacred-sounding na! Truly fitting for a saintess!" The little angel gushed with praise, her eyes now viewing Vanessa through a fan's adoring lens, as if everything Vanessa did was worthy of admiration.
Vanessa, however, had long since given up explanations. This wasn't the ti.
"Miss Vanessa, whatever you do, don't let [Bloodied Debt] dark-elent magic hit you! Its dark magic is extrely dangerous!" the little angel warned.
"I know. The characteristic of dark-elent magic is that the more dangerous your condition, the greater the damage when struck. Prolonged exposure can lead to ntal corruption and consumption. Is that correct?" Vanessa recited the textbook knowledge on dark elents.
"Exactly! Yes, that's right! Ah, of course, I don't need to be telling you this, Miss Vanessa. My bad for being so presumptuous!" the little angel flattered.
"I, the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory], as a high-grade [Divine Weapon], still have many functions waiting for you to discover, you know!"
"Miss Shield, can you counterattack?" Vanessa asked.
"Of course I can! But counterattacking requires certain conditions to be t!"
"She seems to have just acquired this weapon, how is she already capable of full-area defense?!" On the other side, [Bloodied Debt] was astonished beyond belief upon seeing Vanessa's actions.
"Full-area defense consus enormous mana. She shouldn't have any mana left at all?!"
"How should I know?!" Charon clenched his fists.
"Then focus your attack on a single point. If she's trying to guard every corner, she can't possibly defend them all. Her entire body becos hazardous."
[Bloodied Debt] continued to advise Charon from the sidelines.
"You think I haven't thought of that? Shut up already!" Charon roared, swinging his crimson demon blade towards Vanessa.
It carried not only dark elents, but also violently burning fire elents.
[Blazing Inferno Hurricane Slash]
Fire and darkness intertwined, rging into dark flas, doubling their destructive power.
As the crimson blade descended, it seed to drain the color from the surrounding world, dimming everything.
Vanessa raised her shield. The demon blade crashes against the holy shield. Multiple powerful magical forces collided, triggering an instant explosion.
"Saintess!" Amisa checked quickly how much mana she'd recovered, could she support Vanessa? Although her healing magic was like a firefly's glow compared to Vanessa's radiant moonlight, she would do whatever little she could to help when Vanessa had no hands free to heal her.
To her frustration, her mana had barely recovered. As an Artisan, her mana regeneration was limited, she couldn't cast any spells at all now.
The smoke from the explosion cleared. When Fanya and Amisa saw Vanessa still standing, shield raised, at the center of the massive crater, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Winnie… you've been hiding your true strength," Charon growled, determined to fight back even though the magic on both blade and shield had dissipated. He poured all his resentnt and fury into the fight, and [Bloodied Debt] scraped against the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory], sending sparks flying.
Staring at the unfamiliar face with eyes that held a flicker of sothing familiar, Charon gritted his teeth as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Although he'd never seen this stunning pink-haired beauty before, he could see a trace of familiarity in those shimring eyes.
Clearly, this was Winnie, there was no doubt about it.
"So I've been underestimating you all along. You're farther more cunning than I thought, so deep that you trust no one around you!"
"Even Princess Mirexia must have been fooled by you!"
"You used to shout on the streets every day, claiming you were a descendant of the goddess. I thought you were just a clown seeking special treatnt. Never imagined… you were actually telling the truth."
"Is that so?" Vanessa's tone was light, almost indifferent. "I, on the other hand, overestimated you, Charon."
"I originally thought you were just an immature knight. But I never expected you wouldn't even acknowledge your own humanity."
"Charon, personally speaking, I don't like you. But I never imagined we'd end up here."
"Have you ever considered when exactly you lost your way? When you forgot your original purpose?" Vanessa's voice was like a sacred hymn guiding the lost back, gentle, instructive, tinged with sorrow.
"Shut up!" Charon snaps. For so reason, his face flushed with anger, veins bulging like a demonic mask.
His emotions flared violently. "What do you know?! If it wasn't for you, everything would've been fine! Everyone would've been safe!"
"Even… even if you'd revealed your secret earlier, I wouldn't have gone to extres!"
"I see. In your world, Charon, there seems to be no living people, only cold labels."
"What… are you talking about?!"
"You divide people equally into ranks, slapping a label on each of their heads. Most are those you feel you can confront. A few are those you'd never dare to challenge. And a rare few, you believe, are destined to rot in the dust forever."
"The mont soone crosses the boundary you've set, or surpasses you, you burn with resentnt and jealousy."
"If the Varelis blood in were dead, you wouldn't allow to rise above you. But if the Varelis blood in is alive, you'd treat with respect, afraid to overstep."
"That's who you are."
"…!!!" Charon was silent, speechless.
"So now… are you regretting it?"
"!!!" Another critical hit.
Vanessa didn't utter a single curse word, yet each sentence was refined, elegant, the grace of a noble lady ingrained in every syllable. Yet each one pierced through Charon's defenses with pinpoint accuracy.
This ti, Vanessa's ntal assault was far more devastating than Winnie's had ever been.
Yes. Charon regretted it.
Truthfully, the mont he realized Vanessa's Varelis blood was genuine, he regretted it.
But regret was useless now. There was no turning back. He could only keep moving forward into darkness.
"Don't… say another word!" Charon scread. With his roar, millions of blood vessels crawled out from [Bloodied Debt] like tentacles, wrapping around Vanessa's legs, binding her ankles, then coiling around her wrists.
"What did I do wrong?!"
"I won't judge whether your actions were right or wrong. But the mont you chose extremism, when you slaughtered your own kin without hesitation, your guilt beca tangible, sothing that can now be judged." Vanessa spoke each word with deliberate precision.
Besides them, Fanya and Amisa watched in silence, like spectators at a Saintess's trial of a criminal.
"Judge ? Hah! Do you actually think you're a real saintess now?! What right do you have to judge?! You don't even have the Church's recognition! Should I remind you how awkward your position is? Even if you really are a descendant of the goddess, no one in the entire Church of Radiance will listen to you!"
"Instead, surrender to now. Obey . I might even help you take revenge, wipe out all those hypocrites in the Church!" Charon laughed.
"You can't move anymore, can you? Looks like your [Divine Weapon] isn't as strong as mine?" Seeing the pink-haired girl completely immobilized by the living blood vessels, Charon grinned.
"Charon… this will be your final mistake." Vanessa calmly reached out and gripped the living blood vessels binding her wrists.
"When your opponent seems full of openings, you should consider, could this be intentional? Could this be a trap?"
With that, Vanessa closed her eyes. Imdiately, the surrounding space began to warp under a strange, rising temperature.
She had let Charon bind her on purpose.
At her current level, the range of [Divine Blessing] was too short. It burned out too quickly, she wouldn't reach Charon. Even if she did, [Bloodied Debt] was too clever, it might escape.
What she planned was a double kill.
Yes. The technique she was about to unleash was the Varelis family's ultimate killing move.
[Flas of Myriad Divine Blessings].
'No good! Could she possibly be planning to—?!'
'Fool! Let her go now!!!' [Bloodied Debt] realized it too late. But it was Charon who controlled it, it only had half authority. There was no ti to retract its tendrils.
"Boom! Boom!" Rainbow-hued crystalline flas erupted, racing along the blood vessels like fuses, instantly spreading to Charon himself.
"Wha… what?" Charon's eyes widened in horror.
He rembered now, his father reading him bedti stories as a child, tales of saintesses slaying demons. The sacred flas used by those saintesses… were exactly this color.
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