บท 30: Holy Church's Wrongdoing

"Holy saintess from Sacred Sakura Holy Land, your accomplishment of repelling the Demon God from the upper realm is worthy of praises. Is there anything you desire from this gathering?" The God of Light went straight to the point as he felt it unnecessary to exchange pleasantries with the one he suspected of being a saintess from an upper realm.

It was an all-gold light that formed a human figure. A man with long hair with a thick beard reaching to his chest.

Ely felt the God of Light was not as omniscient as she thought. As Rafaela said and suspected, this entity was nothing more than a projection of holy power. If the God of Light had a divine-like power, she was sure he would act as soon as the Demon God descended.

Also, this God of Light's sacredness was nowhere near her Goddess Master! Whether it was the divine appearance, sacred aura, or spiritual sensation. Everything was incomparable!

Where would the real God of Light be if this projection was never the real deal? Could it all be just a lie all along?

"???" The God of Light's projection was flustered because the holy saintess fell silent, looking at the glass wall and himself several times in a turn.

[Xinos (FV: 5860) | God Of Light (Remnant) | 11th Rank Late Stage]

[Favorability: 70%]

[Talent: 5 Stars | UR]

Ely looked at the glass wall painting again and found the status screen popped out before her vision. However, nothing appeared before God's projection.

Therefore, Ely brought her finger to her chest, touching the disguised telepathy talisman as she wished for a secret private talk. 'Pleased to meet you, the God of Light Xinos.'

'Huh!?'

An entity within the glass wall was taken aback, feeling extremely shocked. No one could know his true name in the mortal realm, and no beings from this era should know that name.

'You, you, who are you? Are you someone from the second circle? What do you want?' Xinos stuttered a bit as he felt anxious.

'I was hoping for a pleasant conversation with the human-friendly God.'

'Is that all?'

'Yes, and if you don't mind, I have some confusion, and I hope you can enlighten me, honorable one. Can you grant this girl's wish?'

'Exchanging information, and it's a fair deal. I am also intrigued about you now. Speak, your real name isn't Miko, right? Also, that's strange... You are clearly a complete entity, but why do I feel you are only a fragmented soul with a broken spirit?'

'???' Ely wondered what that meant, but she soon realized the real meaning of that statement.

Thankfully, she hid her shock perfectly as she had long since accepted her situation. That might be related to her lost memory.

'Three questions and the answer must be answered honestly without hiding anything.' Ely offered the deal, and the other party agreed with it.

She then allowed Xinos to ask first.

'What is your true aim?' Xinos asked his first question in a solemn tone.

'Fulfilling the requirement to save my family and friends.' Ely answered honestly.

'What is your true identity?'

'My name is Ely, the shrine priestess of the Sacred Mountain. Miko is my other name.'

'...' Xinos found no lie in this girl, but he could not understand this holy saintess' origin!

'That's your two questions. Now it's my turn. First question. Please tell me, what do you know about heavenly curses?' Ely immediately threw the question.

'Its origin came from the Heavenly Demon Gods from the previous circle that led to the second world's destruction. If you have read the ancient bible, you may have heard more about what I am describing. However, it was a curse that cursed the souls of opposing Gods and would not disappear even into their reincarnations.

Their bloodline and descendants are also inseparable from the curse. I don't know in depth because I wasn't involved in that great war, and I'm helpless if you want to ask for help regarding that kind of curse.'

'My second question. I realize that Holy Church is running inhumane experimentations, but why are you and your people doing that?'

Ely didn't know the details, but she felt her quest's information should be brought to light soon. The Holy Chruch should not carry out such a heinous activity.

'Inhumane experimentations? That's wrong because it's actually their holy training. Humanity will prosper when we have countless healers and holy knights.'

'You are a remnant soul. You died in the previous world's destruction, but you are not evil. You're lying. But, why stain yourself with guilts and sins?'

'Ugh... Humanity needs someone to guide them. It is a blessing for those chosen even though it is necessary to go through a painful process.'

'And what price must be paid? Is it worth it?'

'...'

Xinos fell silent. The price was too heavy for Holy Chruch to bear since it could be considered a heinous practice. Not to mention the war situation with the demon armies. He didn't fully know everything, but he knew humanity was slowly being pushed back by the demon's invasion.

'What do you suggest?' Xinos chose to ask for advice.

'Please stop those inhumane experimentations. There is always a righteous path to train people to become stronger.'

'I'm afraid it will be difficult.'

'If I move to stop those experimentations, the situation won't end peacefully. What is the difference between the righteous path and a demonic act? Please consider it one more time for everyone's sake.'

'...' Xinos then fell silent as he contemplated something.

He was indeed just a remnant soul, and the damage this holy saintess would cause could be too severe for his Holy Church if she decided to intervene.

It took time to stop the project to spawn many disposable new healers and holy knights. But, the demons were still superior to humans even after a few decades. So, where was the point of errors?

'Why do so many humans switch to the evil path? Perhaps, there is something wrong with the conventional method, and it deviates from the righteous path all along? We found some Holy Church people on the side of the demons and demonic cults. You need to act to organize your people before it's too late.' Ely added a little, and she felt that was enough for the conversation.

She already knew what she wanted to know from the conversation just now. She gave some suggestions because she felt God's remnant soul was unaware of the situation.

'I will do something about it. The Holy Church and humanity will continue to prosper.' Xinos considered several things, but the holy saintess' request was difficult to fulfill, though it was possible.

'I'm relieved to hear that. You are the wise and powerful God. I hope humanity will become what you dreamed of.' Ely's eyes glistened like stars. She was surprised because the God of Light would hear her request.

Truth be told, she still had no idea what kind of inhumane experimentations the Holy Church was carrying out.

'It will take time, but we will work to find the best solution. Before that, I would like you to wait and withhold all information regarding the Holy Church.' Xinos was worried this holy saintess brought this confidential matter to the fore.

It would be like the city lord's fate, but it would be worse if the other churches from other Empires found out about this news. The impact was unimaginable.

Fortunately, the holy saintess came and talked about it peacefully. So, he could do something about this.

'Okay. I will wait for future good news. Then, for my third question...' Ely rubbed her hands.

'Huh!? You're still so shameless to ask the third one after all that just now? I'm careless because I got carried away with the topic you brought up. Instead of that, I just asked two out of three.' Xinos was irritated, but he couldn't help it.

'No, no, this is the most important thing. The previous ones are just because your reaction is so big. It shouldn't count. My next question isn't anything sensitive. I just wanted to ask about the whereabouts of some people if you know about them.' Ely responded with a pitiful tone, as if she was being treated unfairly.

'Sigh, alright then. Who do you want to find out? Is it about your family and friends?'

Hearing that, Ely immediately mentioned several names. Unfortunately, Xinos did not know any people by the names she mentioned. She felt a bit disappointed, but she would definitely meet them soon.

'My last question. If you fight against Demon and Evil Gods, how confident are you that you can come out victorious?' Xinos used his last question to uncover more about this holy saintess.

Not to mention, this girl could repel the Demon God with just the 0th Rank cultivation base!? He was a God, but he could not see her real strength. He couldn't believe it was as simple as a shrine priestess since she probably had multiple identities.

'I don't know what to answer because getting ganged up on is unpleasant. However, my innate is related to evil's nemesis. All my techniques and moves are super effective against them.' Ely was overwhelmed. She would choose to flee rather than fight a group of Demon Gods.

'I see, that's good enough.' Xinos could interpret something great and bright from the holy saintess' answer. He felt now everything made sense as to how she could exert such unimaginable power against the Demon God despite being still in the lower realm.

Ely stood up from her seat, gave a respectful bow, and bid her farewell.

The God of Light projection gave his consent, then Ely walked away.