Chapter 229: I told you again and again, but you can call me—

While Lucian was speaking with the Director...

At the same time, inside the now-empty training hall of the Association, on the floor where the test had taken place only a short while ago, something strange was happening.

The training hall had fallen completely silent, and beneath that silence...

A faint glow suddenly appeared across the floor.

Slowly, light flickered beneath the stone as, one after another, strange symbols began forming across its surface, connecting with one another in perfect symmetry.

The markings spread outward, creating an intricate formation that almost resembled a spell circle.

The entire formation began glowing brighter and brighter.

Then—

FWOOM!

A burst of mana suddenly erupted from the formation, and a figure immediately flickered into existence at the centre of the magic circle.

It was a woman.

She wore a long, curved, pointed hat that covered most of her head, while a staff rested firmly in her right hand.

The staff looked anything but ordinary.

Multiple spell engravings had been carved across its surface, glittering faintly as she appeared before gradually dimming.

The spell formation beneath her began losing its lustre as well, though it didn’t disappear entirely.

The moment the woman appeared, her eyes immediately began darting around the training hall, scanning the entire room as if searching for something.

"Where is it...? Where is it...?"

Her eyes gleamed with curiosity as she hurried around the hall, her staff tapping lightly against the floor with every step.

After nearly a minute of searching, she reached the edge of the training hall and finally found what she had been looking for.

A compass...

The same Bloodline Compass Lucian had recently used.

The woman’s face immediately brightened.

She rushed forward, hurriedly picking up the compass before examining it from every possible angle.

"Hmm..."

She hummed softly.

After a few seconds, however, her expression became even more intrigued.

"It couldn’t classify the Bloodline..."

She muttered the words to herself, curiosity flashing brightly in her eyes.

Her fingers moved across the compass before, with almost no hesitation, she slowly pulled the red gemstone from the centre.

The gemstone easily came free with a faint click.

She stared at it closely, bringing it nearer to her face.

Mana gathered around her hand, and almost instantly, a spell formed over the gemstone as she quietly whispered another incantation.

And then—

SHATTER—!

The gemstone broke apart.

Something hidden inside it immediately began to fall.

Yet the woman didn’t even spare the scattered shards a glance.

Instead, she muttered something beneath her breath before instantly creating another magic circle.

The falling drop of blood suddenly stopped in midair.

It remained suspended above her palm, maintaining the shape of a small, dark crimson sphere.

"Hmm...?"

Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared closely at the blood before her.

Something about it... wasn’t right.

There just seemed to be something different about it, though she couldn’t quite understand what.

After examining it more closely...

Her lips parted as she spoke another set of coherent words, and the moment she finished, a spell circle appeared directly before her eye.

A few seconds passed.

Her eyes slowly widened, and her lips parted in genuine shock.

Her expression shifted from confusion to disbelief.

And then... into excitement.

"Wow..." Her voice trembled slightly.

"Just whose blood is this?"

She had only come here because she had felt something strange happening with one of her creations and wanted to investigate what had gone wrong.

Mainly because she was curious.

But now...

"Hehe..."

A strange smile slowly spread across her lips.

"First the Chosen One’s blood, then the Saintess’s... and now..."

She swallowed.

Her breathing became heavier as she stared feverishly at the tiny crimson drop, her gaze completely locked onto it.

"Now... this."

Her hand slowly moved toward it, her fingers almost touching the blood—

"STOP RIGHT THERE—!"

A loud voice suddenly came from behind, almost making the woman flinch violently.

Her entire body jerked as she spun around, quickly pulling the blood away from them, only to see two men standing at the entrance of the hall.

Both were Association guards.

And both had their guns raised directly toward her.

"Who are you?! And what are you doing here?!"

The woman stared at them.

For a few seconds, she said nothing.

Then, slowly...

A long sigh escaped her lips.

She was genuinely annoyed that she had allowed herself to be frightened by these jokers.

Instead of answering their questions, she lightly tapped the bottom of her staff against the floor.

Instantly, the entire staff flared with mana.

"Ael’vra nethis... ul’na sereth kai."

The guards immediately became alert, especially when they realised that the woman was carrying some kind of magical weapon.

"Stop whatever you’re doing or I’ll sho...o...t."

Before the man could even finish his words, both their bodies suddenly swayed.

And without even being able to complete their threat—

Thud.

Thud.

Both men collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"The apocalypse started, and they still can’t survive a minor spell."

She shook her head, genuinely disappointed.

Her attention immediately returned to the blood, the two unconscious guards already forgotten as she stared at the tiny drop with extreme, unfiltered curiosity.

"Let’s test this with the Chasen... one...? Chosen... whoever that was!"

She couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

Carefully storing the single, minuscule drop of blood, she immediately ran toward the magic circle at the centre of the training hall.

The moment she stepped into its centre, she planted her staff against the floor.

The spells engraved across the formation instantly flared brightly, covering her entire body in dazzling light.

"Hehe... let’s see what I’ll be able to do with this..."

Her body shivered faintly in anticipation.

And then... she vanished.

Leaving behind nothing but two unconscious guards... and the Bloodline Compass.

Though, before leaving, she had restored the Compass with an entirely new, high-grade gemstone... for free!

The training hall slowly returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

...

Inside the Cathedral of Valtaris...

Within one of the bright corridors of the Church, a figure slowly walked across the polished stone floor.

Warm sunlight poured through the large glass windows lining one side of the corridor, casting colourful patterns across the pristine floor.

The air around the woman was peaceful, gentle, and serene, as if even the wind itself was purified simply by being in her presence.

The woman wandered through the corridor, each step careful and measured, as she lightly tapped the bottom of her long, white staff against the floor before taking each step forward.

Tap.

Tap.

A white priestess dress covered her body, flowing naturally around her figure while still maintaining the gentle curves of her body.

Her long golden hair fell behind her back, moving slightly with every step.

But the most noticeable thing about her appearance was the black blindfold covering her eyes, completely blinding her.

And yet...

She continued walking.

For a few seconds, she continued in silence... then suddenly paused. Her head tilted slightly to the side before her lips slowly parted.

"Iris..."

Her beautiful voice echoed softly through the corridor.

"I know you’re here... so stop walking so silently."

The woman following her flinched slightly.

"Miss Saintess, you really are something..." Iris muttered beneath her breath, a trace of reverence visibly present in her voice.

"Being able to sense me, despite not being able to..."

She suddenly stopped, and her eyes widened in horror.

"I’m sorry!"

She immediately apologised, lowering her head deeply.

She couldn’t believe she was about to say something so rude... especially to the Great Saintess.

The Saintess remained still for a moment before turning her head toward the sound of Iris’s voice.

"It’s fine..." she muttered gently, appearing not even a bit angry.

"And Iris, I told you again and again, but you can call me Stella... no need for the formalities."

Her lips curved into a faint smile.

Iris looked at the Saintess, and despite seeing her every day, she couldn’t help but feel her faith growing simply by looking at the calm, serene face of the Saintess.

But—

"I’m sorry..."

She again lowered her head slightly.

"But it feels rude of me to call you by name."

Stella stared at the dark, empty space before her before, slowly, her perception shifted, and a faint white silhouette of Iris appeared within her vision.

Feeling the stubbornness of the woman, Stella sighed inwardly but simply nodded before continuing to walk.

’It seems only Cath will call me by name.’

She shook her head with a faint, wry smile.

Iris, seeing the Saintess continuing forward, immediately rushed after her.

"Miss Saintess, you shouldn’t walk like that." Her voice became worried. "You might injure yourself."

"I got bored, and there wasn’t anything to do after healing the poor survivors." She spoke in a soft tone, yet there was a faint sadness she couldn’t quite hide.

She had only recently returned here after helping the injured survivors, many of whom had fought against monsters, while others had barely managed to escape from them.

Remembering the fear in their cries and the scent of blood that seemed to cling to the air, Stella’s fingers slowly tightened around her staff, and she felt her chest tighten.

She didn’t like seeing them suffering like that, so despite the other healers telling her to leave, she couldn’t bring herself to do so...

Though the most she could do was heal them completely.

"Miss..."

Iris’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Please... can you give me your hand...? I’m afraid you might slip while walking."

"Are you saying I’m clumsy?"

Stella immediately pouted, instantly causing Iris to apologise again.

"No! No, Miss Saintess! That’s not what I meant!"

Chuckling to herself, Stella brought her empty hand forward.

Unfortunately... she held it completely in the opposite direction from where Iris was standing.

Iris, seeing this, gave a sad smile before gently taking her hand, helping her along as they continued walking.

For a couple of minutes, neither of them spoke.

The peaceful atmosphere of the Cathedral remained around them, undisturbed by anything beyond their quiet footsteps.

But eventually...

"Iris..."

Stella’s voice changed, coming out quieter and more serious, prompting Iris to turn toward her.

"Did you..."

Stella hesitated. Her fingers tightened slightly around Iris’s hand.

"Did you find anything about... him?"

Iris frowned slightly before shaking her head. Though she knew the Saintess couldn’t see the movement, she still answered aloud.

"There’s no current information on Lucian Foster registered yet... not even about any of the members of his family."

Both of them came to a stop.

Or rather... Stella’s feet stopped moving the moment she heard those words.

Those same words again.

Iris’s expression became complicated.

"And Miss... that city has already become a dead zone. Rarely have more than a few people escaped that place—"

She stopped talking, feeling a tremor beside her.

"I-I see." Stella nodded, a faint tremor travelling through her entire body at the thought of his death.

Her breathing became uneven. Her lips trembled, and before Iris could say anything—

"I... I-I want to go home," Stella suddenly said.

Iris quietly watched the tension in the Saintess’s normally calm and composed face and slowly... gave a faint hum, helping the Saintess of the Cathedral.

Carefully helping her inside the car, Iris entered as well... before driving her back to a massive building, slowly leading her to her own apartment.

The entire building was protected by many guards, and this was the most protected place in the whole city, with many C Rank and D Rank Awakened guards protecting the building.

This was where many of the important Church members lived.

The moment Stella entered her own apartment... she released Iris’s hand, walking unsteadily toward her own couch before sitting down.

All the while, Iris’s previous words echoed loudly inside her head, over and over again.

’Lucian... could he really be—’

"Miss... the Chosen One wanted to meet—"

"I’m not interested."

Stella’s voice came out colder than before, not because she hated him or anything... but because she wasn’t in the state to think about anything else.

The apartment fell silent... and a faint, tense atmosphere surrounded Stella as she bit into her nails.

Iris quietly exhaled, feeling a faint grief upon seeing her so restless.

She wanted to say something, something comforting... but she wasn’t exactly someone who knew how to comfort people.

Her lips parted... before she closed them again.

But then—

"I-Iris..."

Stella’s voice suddenly reached her.

"Please look through him again... he must be somewhere..."

Her voice trembled.

"...I’m sure."

It almost felt like a hope she was giving to herself, especially after hearing nothing from Lucian since the day they had last gone outside... with... Julia.

But there wasn’t anything she could do other than fill herself with belief—a belief that he was alright... even if that sounded like nothing more than delusion to others.

Julia... her mother wasn’t anymore.

And now... even Lucian...

"Please..."

Iris’s breath hitched as she saw a bloodied tear slowly appear from beneath the Saintess’s blindfold, rolling down her cheek.

She immediately rushed forward, carefully wiping away the tear while repeatedly reassuring her again and again until Stella’s breathing gradually became calmer.

’Just who is this man... that is causing such agony to her...?’