Chapter 526 - 213: Trash Authority, It’s Blind

"It was him," Celestia said, a look of realization on her face. "It seems you don’t remember him anymore."

"Don’t remember?" Kali’s eyes filled with confusion. She asked, baffled, "Sister Celestia, did I know him before?"

"You could say that..."

"Then why don’t I have any memory of it?"

Celestia sighed and turned away, not wanting the blonde girl to see the look in her eyes. Her voice was tinged with melancholy as she said, "It is all as the Dawn guides. It’s a good thing you don’t remember."

"Oh, is that so?" Kali pondered for a few seconds before a smile returned to her face. "Since you’re handling this personally this time, I’m sure that Mutated Mage will face the judgment of the Dawn."

’For sure?’

Celestia fell silent for a few moments before saying seriously, "Kali, an Authority is not omnipotent, and we are not great Angels."

"What’s wrong? Are you not confident you can do it?"

"No," Celestia shook her head. She wanted to say more, but the sight of the innocence on Kali’s face made her sigh again. Instead, she said, "Besides judging him, our second objective is to bring Pavla back to the Holy Sanctuary."

"I know. Archbishop Helieta made a point to mention that before I left." The image of the stern Cardinal flashed through Kali’s mind, and her voice faltered slightly. "Sister Celestia, do you ever feel like... a lot of people in the Holy Sanctuary hate me?"

"Yes!"

"There aren’t... huh?" Kali stared at her, astonished. "You’ve noticed it, too?"

’Or does that mean she hates me, too?’

"I have no idea what you’ve been looking at during your time in the Holy Sanctuary," Celestia said with a wry laugh. "Haven’t you looked for the Era Relics concerning the Desecration Authority?"

"I’ve read some of them," Kali said, understanding dawning on her as her brow furrowed. "Are you saying it’s because they fear the power of the Authority? They’re afraid of being... sacrificed by me?"

"And shouldn’t they be? You must understand, everyone who enters the Holy Sanctuary is a servant of the great Dawn. The vast majority have struggled for countless years to reach their current positions. Take Archbishop Helieta, for example. He started as a simple Missionary and worked his way up."

"Therefore, you can’t expect them to give up their lives just because you say it’s a ’sacrifice for the Dawn’."

"But—but I would never needlessly sacrifice servants of the great Dawn! Or are you saying they’re unwilling to do so for the D—"

"Silence!"

Celestia raised a hand to stop her. While she was fond of the somewhat naive girl, she was also keenly aware of the power of the Desecration Authority.

"Do not entertain such extreme thoughts, Candidacy Saintess Kali Morris!"

Kali gazed at the Judgement Saintess before her, who seemed majestic and imposing even while seated. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Sister Celestia, I don’t understand..."

"Because we are human, too."

Celestia extended a finger, pointing toward the resting Judgment Legion in the distance. "They are, and so are you!"

"Human?"

"Yes! You cannot guarantee that every time you use the power of the ’Sacrifice’ Authority, it will be for the greater glory of the Dawn!"

Kali started, "I..."

"Get some rest. We have a long journey tomorrow."

Before Kali could finish, Celestia stood, took up her longsword, and leaped down from the cabin, walking toward the nearby Judgment Legion.

She knew that the four Authorities of supreme power—Valor, Judgment, Benevolence, and Adjudication—were fundamentally different from the dark-side Authorities like Desecration and Corruption.

The Inheritors of the former were zealots of unwavering loyalty and firm belief. The Inheritors of the latter, however, were loyal zealots who still held doubts about the Dawn...

From the moment one became an Inheritor, the Desecration and Corruption Authorities would continuously corrupt them, altering their perception and gradually shifting their thoughts and mindset in a direction better suited to unleashing the Authority’s power.

Therefore, everyone in the Holy Sanctuary, including Celestia herself, knew full well that when the Saintess of Desecration truly emerged, her goal would be to eliminate all enemies of the Dawn.

And to achieve this goal, they would stop at nothing—even proactively sacrificing those they deemed suitable, even if it was... a fellow Saintess, another wielder of an Authority!

"Why..."

Kali stared blankly at Celestia’s retreating back. She was a servant of the great Dawn. Every act of sacrifice, every offering, was for the glory of the great Dawn...

’Why would they think that way?’

’Don’t they trust me?’

Behind a nearby tree, Melbel leaned against the trunk, head tilted slightly up to watch the crimson moonlight filter through the leaves. He let out a soft sigh.

’So-called "Desecration"... isn’t it just smearing filth all over the Dawn Radiance?’

’Is that so hard to understand?’

’That woman—no, Kali... she’s so naive it’s almost cute.’

’Hah, if I were a woman, would the Desecration Authority have even gone to her?’

’Useless Authority. So blind.’

...

...

「Meanwhile」

Wei’en, having returned to his workshop, healed his injuries and changed back into his uniform from the Secret Investigation Department. He stored the robe damaged by the Great Demon Commander in his Space Ring, planning to request a new one from Ghost when he had the chance.

After finishing, he sat at his workbench and wrote down what Leonard had told him.

"Origin Fusion Method. At the Director Level—" he wrote, then crossed it out. "—no, starting from Advanced Mage, one must fuse their origin and soul ahead of time to enhance the origin’s amplification effect..."

As he wrote, he contemplated the next steps on his Wizard’s Path.

’The Origin Fusion Method seems to be what non-Wizard Extraordinary use to advance to the legendary realm. But Wizards must have their own exclusive method of advancement.’

’He had to figure this out, at least before he attempted to fuse his origin and soul. Otherwise, it could jeopardize his entire Wizard’s Path.’