Chapter 694: Duties of Saintess

"This is the temporary shelter we’ve established to care for patients. Because the facilities are quite limited and conditions are far from ideal, only four patients are currently staying here. Each has been transferred from nearby towns due to the severity of their illness. Although their conditions are serious, they are not in immediate danger of dying."

The "many inconveniences" the Knight Commander spoke of naturally referred to the delicate situation on the frigid plateau, where the two armies faced each other from afar and bloodshed could break out at any time.

Although Kales was a Church Knight, his temperament was not the least bit rigid. He understood the art of speaking. Since he had decided to trust them this once, he would omit whatever could be omitted, there was no need to spell out facts everyone already knew, only to make everyone hear them again and breed more resentment.

Feeling the surging Holy Light around her, and looking at the sanatorium, utterly different from the council hall they had just piled up from earth and stone, instead laid out with light screens and holy bricks, Astrid nodded, her voice soft and gentle.

"Knight Commander Kales has gone to great lengths, using the inner hall of the Holy Radiant City to house them."

Compared to ordinary timber-and-earth structures, this sanatorium, built at the cost of a mage’s considerable mental power, with dense light-element particles serving as bricks and tiles, could suppress the spread of plague to the greatest extent. It could also ease the agony felt by the gravely ill while their bodies were being treated. Even if they did nothing and merely stayed here, it was far more comfortable than their own homes.

Her own office and the council chamber used to receive visitors were built from simple earth and stone, yet these ordinary patients from the lowest walks of life were given the best accommodations available. Astrid’s respect for Kales deepened, strengthening her confidence that it was possible to reform the faith and restore the Church of Light.

Although the highest authority, the Pope of Light, Hebrew, had been bewitched by Brennild into revising a slew of radical proposals, the overall brainwashing had not lasted long. The old conservative foundation of the clergy still remains; there was still room to turn the ship around.

Hearing Astrid, Kales shook his head, his tone low.

"The Holy Radiant City can only reduce the plague’s transmissibility and fatality. It cannot cure it at the root. Once a patient leaves here and loses the dense light elements around them, their condition will rapidly worsen."

"Even if they stay here, setting aside the maximum capacity the holy city can hold and the manpower required to keep it active at all times, after some time, the low-activity plague lingering in their bodies will still kill them. It’s only that dying that way hurts a little less, and is easier for people to accept."

This was exactly what the clergy of the Church of Light had done when the first plague broke out in the western regions of the kingdom. They lacked the ability to create the magic site "Holy Radiant City," so they gathered patients in churches for centralized housing, temporarily halting daily prayers and ticket-raising activities, keeping the sick within the richest concentration of light-element particles to minimize the plague’s impact.

But the interior space of a church was limited, anyone could see it was a drop in the bucket. The all-pervasive plague spread at lightning speed, seizing vast swaths of the Kingdom of Velys’s southwest before anyone could react.

"Do we not need to wake them, Knight Commander Kales?"

Stepping on slim high heels, Astrid walked to the center of the sanatorium. She turned, her black dress swaying slightly, her beautiful red eyes watching the patients lying on both sides upon beds of light, shrouded by some light-attribute magic, unaware of everything around them.

"That is a nourishing spell that heals their bodies and blocks their senses. Miss Astrid and Miss Lyra may begin directly," Kales said.

At this point, being able to clearly sense the pain radiating from one’s body was nothing but double torment, of mind and flesh alike.

"..."

Earlier it had been "usurper Lyra," and now it was "Miss Lyra."

It seemed that with Kales seeing their confidence in stepping into the sanatorium, he already had a certain guess about what would happen next.

Astrid gave a slight nod. In accordance with the agreement at the negotiation table, she had the head maid scan the surroundings with mental power, confirmed there was no hidden danger, then passed Lyra a look.

It was time.

At that moment, the silver-haired woman’s gaze shifted to Monica, the Saintess of Light. Monica continued to carry herself with quiet dignity. Her long legs, clad in pristine white stockings, remained firmly beneath her, and for once, her flawless knees did not bend before Astrid.

Instead, they supported her graceful figure as she stood tall. Her clear, tranquil eyes rested on the Imperial Regent, reflecting a subtle yet unmistakable sense of devotion.

Receiving Astrid’s signal, Lyra gently lifted her left hand and took Astrid’s slender, pale hand, one that had been in black silk gloves just moments ago, but had now been put away into a spatial tool and turned to motes of light, leaving it bare.

Countless soul fusions, plus days of deep communication, Astrid and Lyra’s tacit understanding had reached a height it had never known. With only the touch of palms as they began channeling mental power, that familiar sense of resonance with the other appeared in Astrid’s mind, and the uniquely irreplaceable undertone of the other’s soul manifested on the spiritual plane.

With her free right hand, Lyra gripped the hilt and drew the "Sword of Light" from its ornate scabbard. The silver-white holy sword flashed with scorching brilliance in the light; the next second, it seemed to shake loose ten thousand clusters of light motes, revealing a half-transparent blade.

Seeing Lyra draw her sword, Kales, who had witnessed the girl’s strike with his own eyes, couldn’t help tense. His armor clinked sharply with the movement, and his gaze locked onto that light sword, dazzling as a sacred sun.

Back then, within the barrier formed by the intermediate Arcanist light-attribute magic "Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment," Lyra had wielded this very weapon to cleave a world-shattering sword strike, shattering the "Holy Radiant City" and filling the barrier with cracks.

If she truly chose to act here, even with site magic to rely on, the Church of Light might not be able to restrain her.

But the outcome was obvious. Lyra made no excessive move. She merely flicked a deft sword flourish, then reversed her grip.

The sharp tip stabs straight into the ground by her boot. In an instant, the floor woven of light screens seemed to split into streaks of luminous. Holy-white brilliance surged like a flood, covering the entire inner hall in the blink of an eye.

Compared to the broad, expansive "Holy Radiant City," the private light field Lyra created with "Surging Tide of Light" was more concentrated and precise, with stronger effects. There could be no better foundation upon which to release the "Resonance Hymn of the Glorious Cathedral."

The next second, as Astrid silently recited an ancient incantation in her heart, the divine magic, chanted at high speed, was delivered into the world through Lyra’s mental power, then drew light-element particles with extreme efficiency, sending them sinking into the bodies of the patients on both sides.

Kales was not directly baptized by the magic, but relied on his excellent affinity with light elements, and the magical knowledge he had accumulated through years of studying clerical texts, he instantly discerned what was different about the spell Lyra released.

Compared to ordinary purification-type light magic, this spell’s effect was more direct, and its formation, while trending toward stability, also possessed a concealed quality that resisted probing. The entire magic seemed veiled in a hazy gauze, making its true nature difficult to glimpse.

Why does it feel... a little strange...

The thought had barely surfaced when Kales noticed their clasped hands. With his mental power already fixed on them, a slight probe immediately revealed another unexpected fact.

Astrid and Lyra... were casting together...

Kales had heard of soul-resonance casting. Compared to team-based site magic, which required both parties to have extremely high compatibility and share certain experiences, this kind of chanting method had basically been eliminated within the Kingdom of Velys. It could indeed work wonders in certain circumstances, but its exceedingly high threshold and low general applicability makes it far less practical than combining magic with similar function, like the "Holy Radiant City" beneath their feet.

"..."

And there was one more thing, something he had ignored earlier, that Kales suddenly realized.

If they truly were using combined casting, Astrid and Lyra’s speed was far too fast.

From hand-clasp to releasing the light magic, at most five seconds had passed. Even twins of the same womb, without long-term training and without the experience of often sleeping in the same bed, probably could not reach that level of synchronicity.

There was no time to be surprised. Still full of doubts, Kales soon sensed the light-element particles in the air finishing their arrangement, then falling into disarray.

Was it true?

Kales withdraws from his probing to his original viewpoint. Staring at the black-dressed girl’s rare crimson eyes, still as calm as an ancient well, he seemed to see a shocking truth.

It hadn’t failed.

It had already ended.

"Lord Kales, the task is complete."

Releasing Lyra’s hand and withdrawing from the spiritual connection, Astrid felt that faint lingering trace of citrus scent in her mind. Her gaze lingered half a second longer on Lyra’s pretty face, then she slightly arranged the silver hair by her shoulders and parted her pink lips.

"I also cleared any residual plague miasma that might have remained in the air. These patients have already been freed from their suffering, and in the short term they possess a certain resistance to the plague. So long as the plague does not undergo a major change, they will not be reinfected repeatedly."

Hearing Astrid, Kales, still half-believing because it had been too fast, furrowed his brow, walked to the bedside, and used mental power to inspect carefully.

"..."

That indescribably gloomy aura was gone, as if it had never existed. Only the severely damaged organs and depleted blood-essence of the body still reminded Kales how serious this commoner’s illness had been before receiving Lyra’s light-magic baptism.

Not drawing conclusions slightly, Kales continued a thorough examination from head to toe. Only after scanning each patient’s condition truthfully with mental power did he finally confirm his thoughts.

A plague that had troubled the Church of Light for months, one that countless Bishops of Light, holy court knights, and professional physicians had poured their hearts into research to no avail, even the Pope of Light Hebrew himself unable to do anything about, had been discussed so cleanly, so effortlessly, by the Imperial side.

And from the start of casting, altogether it had taken less than a minute, somehow even simpler than using the restroom, eating, or drinking.

A powerful sense of absurdity surged into Kales’s heart, so much so that this knight commander who commanded many knights even felt a trace of spiritual daze.

Monica, quietly standing to the side, was not surprised. Standing by the bed of light, her pale arms lightly gathered the ribbons that had fallen down, and when she looked at Astrid, her eyes shone brighter.

As expected... She is the Lord’s incarnation walking upon the earth, the fated one in the scriptures who will lead humanity to peace and into a new era...

When Kales remained silent for a long while, Astrid walked forward, coming to Monica’s side. Her slender, smooth legs in black stockings crossed as she moved, producing a string of bright, crisp footsteps.

"The plague itself has been eradicated, but the damage it caused has already taken hold. Many of these patients are suffering from failing organs and severe internal injuries. How they are treated from here is up to Knight Commander Kales. Whether to restore them quickly through healing magic or guide them through a slower, more gradual recovery is a decision for you to make."

They were citizens of the Kingdom of Velys, and they were brought by Kales. What came next was not for her to interfere with.

In any case, the most important objective had already been achieved.

"Well? Lord Kales?"

When the Regent called his name, the red-haired Knight Commander remained motionless for a long moment, a flicker of hope lighting his eyes. Yet the miracle Astrid had demonstrated did nothing to ease the tension etched across his face. Instead, his tightly drawn brows furrowed even deeper, as if the hope before him only weighed more heavily on his mind.

"In the past, when a plague erupted at the border of the Valeria Empire, it was Regent Astrid who, together with the Empire’s bulwark, went deep among the common folk. In the end she eliminated the plague, saved the towns, and minimized casualties."

Monica spoke at the right moment, sealing the matter with a final word.

"It seems the intelligence officer’s report back then was indeed not baseless."

Seeing it with one’s own eyes in reality was far more convincing than hearsay.

Thinking that the true identity of the striking figure before her was essentially confirmed, that she was the ’Lord’ Monica had believed in since childhood, the one to whom she was willing to offer everything in service, Monica felt her heartbeat quicken, her body unconsciously growing warm.

The thin fabric rose and fell with the fullness of her chest, seeming barely able to contain it. The brown-haired Saintess gently caught her soft lower lip between her white teeth as she slowly lifted a hand to rest over her heart. A warm blush spread across her delicate face, while her long legs, sheathed in white stockings, shifted uneasily. The sharp clicks of her black high heels echoed across the tiled floor, their dark color standing in striking contrast to the purity of her white attire.

But at this moment, Knight Commander Kales clearly had neither the energy nor the attention to spare for the Saintess’s reaction.

Lyra had easily accomplished what the Church of Light could not. She could subdue the other half of the holy relic, and she could resolve the plague that most tormented them, like an omniscient, omnipotent god truly standing on their side.

Setting aside whether those earlier claims were true, the results spoke for themselves. If they truly wished to save those afflicted by the plague, there seemed to be only one choice: entrust everything to the Holy Light Knight who possessed such extraordinary power.

Entrust it to Lyra, and to the silver-haired Regent who always carried herself with the quiet confidence of someone certain of victory.