"Hilia, this is a trial for the candidate Holy Daughter. We won't interfere or assist you in this process; we'll only step in if you're in danger. Are you ready?"
Facing the huge cave before her, Hilia nodded resolutely.
"Don't worry, Ms. Alina, I will definitely bring all heretics to justice."
The girl wore a serious expression. She was dressed in a black-and-white corset long dress, with lustrous black hair falling to her waist. Her slender fingers brushed past her hair as she approached the cave. Those clear, crystalline eyes seemed to flicker with a bright light, her skin as smooth as cream, as though she stepped out of a painting.
Today was Hilia's first trial as a candidate Holy Daughter. Her task was to eliminate a heretical stronghold. After some investigation, she arrived at the location, accompanied by her mentor Alina and four classmates as witnesses.
"Be very careful. This is not the kind of heretics who are just charlatans. This is a sect that worships the legendary, one and only Evil God—Ross. Sects connected to the true Evil God are always bizarre. If possible, I'd rather you chose another stronghold. Those fakes who parade the Evil God's name would be more suitable for you at your current level," Alina instructed.
"I understand, but since I'm already here, Ms. Alina, just wait for my good news."
Coming from a remote border town, Hilia knew all too well that, although fortunate to be chosen as a candidate Holy Daughter, she still couldn't compare to the other candidates from noble families. So when the others chose easy heretic leads to investigate, she picked the riskier Evil God cult.
The girl tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and, in her mind, reviewed the Holy Court's information about [Evil God Ross].
He was active a thousand years ago, rising in an era when the Gods no longer bestowed miracles, turning the entire continent into his backyard. He burned down the Star Spirit Tree and brought disaster to the world.
The endless filth and despair awakened the sleeping Gods; the Divine King led the Twelve Main Gods to battle him for three full years before finally burning away his body and sealing his soul in the Endless Abyss. Even after his death, he left five hundred years of calamity and a heresy that lingers to this day.
As a Holy Court candidate, a representative of the Gods in the world (in training), Hilia would never allow these heretics to dream of awakening Ross and bringing disaster!
She lifted her leg and walked into the cave.
After walking in the cave for a bit, she faintly heard voices ahead.
"...The Holy Court's relief is only for those who donate to the Court... The nobles don't want to see us starve, so they drove us out..."
"Think of your children. They are starving, but the nobles sell us a piece of bread for 50 copper coins..."
"...Give everything you have! Poor people, let's awaken the great Lord Ross and restore the wonderful dream from a thousand years ago—where everyone is equal, everyone has bread and milk!"
"Long live Lord Ross!"
Turning the corner, the cave suddenly opened up. Hilia saw over a dozen people kneeling in the spacious chamber. They were all sallow and emaciated, probably peasants from the neighboring villages, fervently crying out "Long live Lord Ross."
In front of them stood five people in black robes, their backs to the crowd, faces toward a vaguely human-shaped statue, hands raised high.
They're actually conducting a summoning ceremony.
Just in time!
Hilia raised her hand, "Holy Light!"
White light flashed from her palm, instantly flying across and bursting open before the crowd.
"Aaaah, my eyes!"
"Holy Light? They're with the Holy Court! The Holy Court is here!"
"Run for it!"
"Don't step on me!"
The bewitched commoners were thrown into confusion by the flash of Holy Light, scattering their ranks, but the five heretics remained surprisingly calm. Squinting and blinking furiously, they tried to maintain order.
Hilia charged forward, her face stern. "I am a candidate Holy Daughter of the Holy Court and student of the Divine Magic Academy—Hilia. We received a tip-off and suspect you are conducting an Evil God ceremony. Worship of the Evil God is a crime. Drop your weapons, do not resist, submit to the Holy Court's cleansing, confess for leniency and resist for severity. Accept reformation and become good people again."
The Holy Light's effects faded and the commoners, upon hearing someone from the Holy Court, panicked, scrambling to escape the cave—only to be blocked by Alina at the entrance.
These commoners weren't part of the trial, so Alina acted on Hilia's behalf, containing them all.
Hilia faced the five heretics head-on.
"Lackey of the Holy Court, you've come just in time, but you cannot stop Lord Ross's descent!"
"The evil Gods have oppressed the great Ross, plunging the world into five hundred years of suffering, returning the world to its former state. But today, Lord Ross will return and bring equality and bread once more. You cannot stop this."
"If you want to stop the summoning, you'll have to go through us first!"
The statue behind them was glowing, as if the interruption hadn't halted the ceremony at all.
But Hilia wasn't worried in the least.
If Evil God Ross were really that easy to summon, why hasn't any cult succeeded in the past thousand years?
A glowing statue? Hmph, a cheap trick and nothing more.
As a Tier One Mage, Hilia could instantly see that none of the five heretics before her had any magic power, and the slight glow of the statue showed no trace of pollution at all.
These heretics really were bold, daring to use Ross's name to deceive people without even a hint of Evil God's taint.
"Your summoning is a joke; it's like you're making fun of Evil God Ross, gentlemen heretics."
The five heretics, prepared to fight, were left momentarily stunned by Hilia's words.
Behind her, Alina was restraining all the would-be escapee peasants. She turned back and whispered to her observing students, "What Hilia is using now is the core spell [Holy Word], first form: [Holy Word: Persuasion]. By using magic and words, she tries to persuade the target—to resolve things without combat."
One student muttered, "Looks impressive, but what's the point of a spell that only works on ordinary people? Can't even control a magic puppet."
Another whispered, "Right, shouldn't a Holy Daughter win people over with true strength? How could you get high marks with Holy Word persuasion?"
Alina shot them a glare, making them bow their heads immediately.
Up front, Hilia hadn't heard any of this; she continued facing off with the five suspicious heretics. "If the statue glowing meant the Evil God was about to be summoned, how come Ross hasn't appeared even after all this time?"
"It's because the hour hasn't come; now is the moment of descent!"
"Really? Yet the statue you made doesn't even have a clear face for Ross. Why is that? Is it because you don't really know what he looks like?"
Without waiting for their reply, Hilia continued, "I know more about Ross than you do. Your so-called summoning is deceiving the ignorant, using fake Evil God legends to ruin countless families!"
The heretics reacted hotly to Hilia's dismissal, rebuking her right away:
"Everything we say is true!"
"In the era of the great Lord Ross, everyone had bread! This is real history!"
"Yes, but then the damned Gods took all the bread!"
Hilia's voice echoed with invisible magic, "I know you don't believe it, but if I were to summon him, the light would shine brighter than yours. The chance of success would be higher. Do you believe it?"
The fervent heretics were startled for a second.
"Raise your hands, and watch closely. This is how you summon the Evil God."
Normally, no one would believe that, but the five heretics found themselves unconsciously raising their hands in surrender, without even knowing why.
"Let's see what you can do, hah! Holy Court lackey, as if you know more than us!"
Without another word, Hilia calmly went over and tied up all five of them.
Alina praised, "Well done, Hilia. You can… Wait, Hilia, what are you doing?!"
As she spoke, Alina rushed over.
She saw Hilia, after tying up the heretics, go to the statue, rise on tiptoe, and press her index finger to the statue's forehead.
The statue, which had been only dimly glowing, suddenly blazed with intense light, illuminating the entire cave. Everyone instinctively squinted their eyes.
The subdued commoners, upon seeing this, immediately dropped to their knees, shouting excitedly:
"It's Lord Ross!"
"Lord Ross has arrived!"
"..."
The heretics were already staring in utter disbelief. It was as if their faith collapsed—their strength failed and they simply dropped to the ground.
The light faded quickly. Alina went to Hilia's side, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her away from the statue.
Hilia quickly whispered to Alina, "Don't worry, Ms. Alina. I used the Holy Court's summoning prayer; the light is just from the Holy Light Skill."
Alina couldn't help but laugh and cry, "After you tie them up, you should stop Holy Word."
"I know, but I can't do that, Ms. Alina. I use Holy Word not just to subdue them, but... to make their faith collapse! That way, when we get back, the Law Enforcement Court will have an easier time questioning them."
After explaining to Alina, Hilia asked the limp heretics, "You see? Anything else you want to say?"
Silence.
They stared at Hilia with eyes full of fear.
"Get up and come with me for judgment."
The heretics staggered to their feet and shuffled dazedly out of the cave.
Alina cast a binding spell on them, calling out to the other students, "That's it. Let's all escort the heretics and the commoners back."
Hilia went to the peasants and noticed the enthralled looks of reverence and fanaticism with which they stared at her. She had a bad feeling.
A peasant spoke up first, eyes shining with excitement, "You... you really did summon Lord Ross, didn't you?"
The rest quickly joined in:
"You must be a Divine Envoy!"
"Divine Envoy, can you ask Lord Ross to grant us some bread and milk?"
"My child hasn't eaten a bite in two days..."
"The divine servants said the mighty Lord Ross wouldn't let anyone go hungry, and you're the envoy..."
"Please, Divine Envoy, I just want to bring one loaf of bread home for my child..."
"Potatoes would be fine too..."
They seemed to forget they'd just been tied up. In their eyes, there was only Hilia—the girl who made the statue blaze with light, as if she'd really summoned Ross.
Ross? Bringer of bread?
Hearing their words, Hilia bit her lip.
These heretics...
Infuriating!
"That evil God who only brings disaster—how could he bring peo..."
"Hilia, let me handle this."
Hilia was about to speak when Alina patted her shoulder gently and turned to the peasants.
"All of those words are just lies the heretics used to deceive you. Wake up! The heretics only ever take your wealth; their promises have never come true. Losing yourselves in their delusions is why you and your children go hungry. We understand your situation now. Go home—the Holy Court will bring bread and milk, our warmest comfort, to help you through these hard times."
Her voice, as magical as Hilia's but even more convincing, quickly soothed the peasants into silence.
Alina assigned some students to keep watch on them, while Hilia walked another round through the cave to check for anything missed.
She came before the vague statue, stared at the Evil God for a moment, then pursed her lips, muttering, "Heretics will say anything to deceive—they even claim the Evil God gives people bread. Then what does a true God do?"
"Why, they take their bread away, of course."
A sudden voice sounded, and Hilia saw a phantom slowly take shape in her mind.
"So my reputation has fallen this low, huh? Is this what 'to the victor goes the spoils' means?"
Hilia was frozen: "You, you, you..."
"Hello, I'm Ross."