At the darkest time before dawn, Lancelot looked towards the sky. The sky here was no different from the sky of his hometown. Beautiful stars embroidered it forming a river and the moon glowed like jewels.

Would the night sky also be as beautiful where Den is? Would he be looking up at the same sky? Lancelot snickered at the thought.

Den had once said he liked the night sky. He'd said that at times only after seeing a starless night when he encountered a beautiful scene, one would be moved to tears.

Lancelot was a little scared thinking that he had never seen a night sky without stars. A starless sky would be very dark and lonely.

But when had Den seen such a lonely night sky?

Lancelot answered his own question. Den was a magician, so he should be able to see and hear anything.

"I want to hang out together."

Thinking that Den might be able to hear him, Lancelot let the words escape his mouth, but it only added to the loneliness. It was as if the starless night sky that Den had mentioned had settled into his heart.

"What are you doing there?"

As Lancelot was looking up at the night sky in front of the bonfire, Leisha came out of the carriage and asked.

"Nothing, I was just looking at the night sky."

Leisha took a pot out of her pocket space. Then, she made water with magic, poured it into the pot, and hung it on a thin rack over the bonfire to boil.

"Um, There's no blood in there, is there?"

Seeing Lancelot's reluctance, Leisha tousled his hair.

"No, I made it in a hurry last time, so I drew in all the water around me. But this time, I extracted it from the water mana, so don't worry." Leisha waved a bluish stone at him.

The stone that Leisha was holding was a natural mana stone and had only one attribute, unlike the demon byproducts. It was known as 'nature stone' because it was born in nature, as well as 'spirit stone' because it could be used for spirit magic.

The Olympus Forest was an environment where spirits could not exist, so Leisha had never learned spirit magic. However, a spirit stone could be used for various magic besides spirit magic.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Seeing that Lancelot was relieved, Leisha chuckled and took out something from the pocket space to add to the hot water. "What would you like to drink? There are Mandrago flower petals, fruit of Fragach, and 1000 year honey."

All of them were sold at astronomical prices in the market, but in Olympus Forest, they were food and magic materials that were scattered around the earth just a short distance away from the village.

"Then I'll have the fifth flower petal of the Mandrago."

Although each Mandrago petals had a slightly different fragrance, the scent was maximized by boiling them with 83 degrees of purified water, allowing each scent to be distinct.

"How many spoons of the 1000 year honey do you want?"

"Three spoons please."

"Your teeth will rot." While speaking playfully, Leisha put three spoonfuls of the 1000 year honey and the fifth petal of Mandrago in the cup. She took the pot of boiling water out of the bonfire and cooled it down to 83 degrees using magic. She then poured hot water into a cup and cast a spell to keep the temperature from dropping.

"Thank you." Lancelot took the cup and waited for the spell to disappear.

About three minutes later, the spell slowly disappeared and the temperature began to gradually drop. Three minutes was enough for the flavor of the petals to come out.

"Oh! Can I have a drink, too?" Mac approached the bonfire and asked after having smelled the sweet aroma while patrolling the surroundings.

Leisha nodded.

"I'd like the third petal. Oh, and no honey is fine. Sweet things aren't to my taste."

"Yes, yes."

Leisha put the third petal of the Mandrago in an empty cup and handed it to Mac.

As he received the cup, Mac took a slightly cooled pot and placed it on a bonfire. Then, before the water even boiled, he poured hot water into the cup and wrapped it with mana to maintain the temperature. After about three minutes, the aroma wafted.

"Wow, how do you get the temperature so accurately?" Leisha stuck her tongue out and asked.

Mac smiled slyly. "If you want to seduce a woman, being able to make tea with the right temperature is basic."

Leisha snorted. Despite him saying that she had never seen Mac with a woman.

"Oh my, such a nice aroma."

Hillis spoke in a slightly tired voice while stretching as she came out. Leisha poured a lot of water into the pot and began to boil it. As the paladins crawled out of the tents one by one, she made tea for them all.

"Thank you, Miss Crow!"

"Wow! I don't think I've ever had such a fragrant tea even in St. Percival."

The paladins drove out the coldness of the desert night from their bodies and warmed up as if they were imminently going to charge in.

"So now, let's divide the men who will stay to protect Miss Saintess and those that will go to the slaughter of the black magicians."

Hillis shook her head at Albatoss. "No, I'm going too."

"Miss Saintess"

"You can't! It's dangerous!"

Despite the paladins' dissuasion, Hillis was resolute.

"The power of the World Tree in the Holy Land is the same as poison to the black magicians. I'll be fine."

She looked in Zaharam's direction. Although still far away, she could feel the power of the World Tree, which filled Zaharam. Others didn't know it, but the power of the World Tree was welcoming her. It was not possible to know why. But Hillis could feel it.

She could feel a scent of loneliness from the power.

"But it isn't only the black magicians who are in Zaharam. You must also consider the existence of the Mercenary King, no, the black knight."

Inside the Holy Land, the power of black magicians was greatly reduced. But the black knight, Malecia, and his men were just pure soldiers who had nothing to do with black magic.

But Hillis was confident. "It's all right because no one can harm me if it's in the Holy Land."

It was not conceit but certainty. It was something that couldn't be explained, but kind of an intuition that Hillis could feel because she was a saintess.

"And didn't you say that as you stood on your watch, you saw the black knight and his soldiers go out of the Holy Land?"

The paladins shook their heads.

"That's why it is dangerous. It could be an enemy strategy to cause confusion."

"Even if there are only black magicians in the Holy Land, it is still dangerous."

Hillis faltered in the stiff opposition of the paladins.

Then Lancelot asked the paladins, "If the black knight and his soldiers went out of the Holy Land, isn't it dangerous out there?"

"What do you mean?" The paladins looked at Lancelot with questionable eyes.

After flinching at the sudden attention, Lancelot spoke with courage because he did not want to waste any more time. "Honestly, isn't it so? If you split the guards and enter the Holy Land, Miss Saintess's guards will be reduced. Shouldn't we consider the scenario where the troops who came out of the Holy Land would attack Miss Saintess?"

The paladins' faces stiffened at Lancelot's comments. It was a probable theory.

Nevertheless, Albatoss shook his head. "If the ones that remain receive Miss Saintess's blessing then they will be able to fend off the attackers," he said as he recalled that the five of them had an equal fight with an entire battalion of troops.

But Lancelot sighed. "Think about it. If that's the case, it doesn't make a difference whether or not she enters the Holy Land."

"But considering the possibility of danger and jumping into enemy territory is a starkly different story," said Albatoss.

"Yes, it is. But that possibility will force you to increase the number of people who protect Miss Saintess, right?"

Albatoss nodded. The first thing was to ensure Hillis's safety.

"Then, if the number of men going into the Holy Land will be reduced, will it be enough to recapture it? If we don't recapture the Holy Land, it's the end. No, there's a possibility that it'll become even more dangerous for Miss Saintess and others waiting outside."

"That's…," said Albatoss.

"Or just back off altogether. Let's step back, get some support, and take back the Holy Land."

The paladins were silent at Lancelot's words. It didn't matter to Lancelot whether they attacked the Holy Land or not. He just wanted to go to the capital and find Denburg as soon as possible.

Hillis looked at Lancelot and made a declaration. "No. We can't back down."

"Why not?" Lancelot looked straight into her eyes and asked.

When Lancelot, who had been afraid of her until yesterday, looked at her so confidently, Hillis was slightly shocked.

"That's—" Hillis searched for a reason to answer Lancelot's question. We must not back down as it is. Why not?

Thinking rationally, it was right to step down as Lancelot had said. But they couldn't. Because of religious teachings?

No, Hillis thought that actual life was more important than a phrase that was only written.

And yet, why didn't they step down?

Come to think of it, why did she want to make an unplanned pilgrimage to the Holy Land? Because she thought having a large group of escorts would be bothersome?

No. No, that wasn't it. That was just a reason she used to justify her action afterwards. The reason that the escort was bothersome was not wrong because it was what she actually thought.

But the action was an impulse that came before the reason was given. What for? Why did she leave on impulse?

Hillis felt indescribable displeasure pondering over it.

No, was it anxiety?

Yeah. It was anxiety. There was uneasiness at the root of Hillis's behavior. Because of this uneasiness, she had left on an unplanned pilgrimage with a minimum number of people to quickly get to the Holy Land.

Perhaps the uneasiness was a sign from the feeble foresight given only to a Saintess, or a signal from the Holy Land's World Tree. Or it was possible that religious thinking which she had been taught since childhood had dominated her subconscious.

Complex emotions entwined in Hillis's mind revealing themselves through her expression.

The paladins were startled by the sight of the Hillis struggling. This was because she didn't show her emotions easily. Seeing her distressed mired in the complex emotions, the paladins interrupted.

"Don't worry, Miss Saintess. We will do as you wish."

"Yes, if you want to go to the Holy Land with us, we will follow. So—"

"Please don't make such an expression."

The paladins knelt down. They felt a pang of unbearable guilt seeing a Hillis very different from her usual bright and cheerful self.

Hillis closed her eyes. "Thank you." She was sure that she was someone who had received a blessing. She felt like her heart was filled just by the fact that there were people who cared about her with all their hearts and not in pretense.

"Everyone, let's go to the Holy Land."

"Yes!"

The paladins answered Hillis with a roar.

Lancelot nodded and backed away as the direction was set. Whether they attacked or retreated, it didn't matter if they could just head to the capital quickly.

Hillis silently thanked Lancelot and looked towards Zaharam.

Then she said softly but powerfully, "I don't know what the black magicians are planning on doing in the Holy Land, but let's teach them how foolish it is to camp in Zaharam."

-o-

The old man persistently memorized the incantations in front of the altar. The preparations for the ceremony were insufficient and the most important item, the carnelian crystal, was not present. However, it was possible to fill the gaps with the flesh and soul of the black magicians that he had just killed.

The mana, which was supposed to be dense, was rather loosely woven as it entered the altar, even so, the ceremony continued. It felt like he was walking on a tightrope, the old man concentrated on not failing even as he broke into a cold sweat.

"We're in big trouble! The paladins, huck!"

The black magician that hurriedly entered the room was startled at the sight of the ceremony.

The old man, the head of the black magicians, was working hard to adjust the mana in front of the altar. The problem was the sight of the black magician's teacher and others that had turned into corpses and were being used as offerings for the ceremony.

On the surface, it was a crazy act to use human sacrifices. However, even in the eyes of black magicians, it was not something that humans should do. It was even more frightening to see it from the eyes of a black magician as his greater knowledge would allow him to understand the scene better.

The black magician, who came to tell the news, backed away in a dilemma. Right now, the Saintess had arrived and started a massacre, and right in front of him, his superior was carrying out a ceremony that violated a taboo amongst taboos.

Turning on his heel, the black magician went out of the temple. If he died fighting outside or was caught by the paladins and handed over to the heresy interrogators, at least his soul would be safe.

Of all the worst options, he chose the one that seemed the least bad.

To the darting black magician, there was no such thing as the lesser of two evils.

Hillis had done away with the walls of the carriage as she drove into Zaharam in a now open carriage. Accompanying her was Leisha, she created barriers with magic where the walls would have been and looked at the carriage with amazed eyes.

"Wow, was it capable of opening like this?" Leisha said in admiration.

Hillis shrugged. "It's a special pilgrimage service carriage from the temple. It's nice and cool to ride it like this!"

"I think the sand will come in though?"

"If it couldn't even stop that much, it would be undeserving of the word 'special'. Do you see that over there?"

There was a magic circle drawn where Hillis was pointing. Leisha was amazed by the magic circle.

"It's a magic circle that even blocks dust depending on the size. If they were going to engrave something like this, I'd rather they put magic to make it cold inside." Leisha pointed.

It was really the height of inefficiency. Hillis smiled bitterly. Even if she wanted to, those spells were listed under forbidden magic as they had been banned in the past.

"I see the wooden fence! Be careful!"

At the paladin's warning, the servant who was riding in the carriage with them, crouched between the carriage chairs. They determined that it would be more dangerous to leave the servant alone outside of Zaharam just because she was a non-combatant. So, she had had no choice but to follow along.

Standing at the front, Leisha aimed her magic wand at the wooden fence.

"Fireball! Ten shots!"

A series of fireballs as big as camel heads were fired from the magic wand.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwagwagagwang!

The wooden fence was blasted apart and burned down at once.

"Keupl!"

Leisha resisted the power of the World Tree governing Zaharam, she started feeling tired as a result of using magic.

The flames created by the fireballs quickly died down under the power of the World Tree.

"Are you all right, Miss?!" holding a bow on the wagon and guarding the surrounding area, Mac asked.

"It's okay! It's much more comfortable than in Olympus Forest!" Leisha replied.

At least here, she didn't have to worry that magic would suddenly make a U-turn and attack her. Using magic in Zaharam felt like running in a space with five times the gravity. Although difficult, it was not an environment where magic could not be used for a magician at her level.

"Still, it's harder than in the village," Leisha muttered as she got ready to use magic again. She had to be prepared in case magic was shot at them at any moment.

The initially nervous paladins couldn't help but be dumbfounded by the sight inside as they passed through the broken wooden fence.

It was because black magicians were already fighting against paladins.

"Die, dirty black magicians!"

"Keuk! Devastating Wind Blades!"

Ten paladins holding large shields blocked the black magician's magic as they continued to cut down the black magicians.

Albatoss had thought it was going to be a lonely fight, now, he couldn't hide his confusion.

"What is this?"

They hadn't even informed the temple and rushed to recapture the Holy Land from the black magicians, but the support forces were already here.

At that time, one of the paladins in battle raised his helmet visor shocked.

"Paladin Albatoss?! How come you are here?!"

The face beneath the raised visor was one that Albatoss knew.

"Paladin Mario! How come you're standing here?"

These people who were fighting the black magicians first were paladins following Cardinal Fernando.

Fernando was a hard-liner priest working with the capital as his base. As such, he never thought he would see them in Zaharam, so far away from the capital.

Mario tried to say something to Albatoss, but stopped to block a black magician's attack with his large shield. With that, Albatoss realized his priorities and drew his sword.

"First, we will take care of the black magicians!"

"Ohh!"

The paladins on the camels rode fast and quickly began to cut down the black magicians. Thus the black magicians began to attack Hillis's paladins.

"God, protect your children!"

For those paladins under her that did not carry shields, Hillis performed defensive holy magic.

The sight astonished Mario.

"Sa... Saintess?! No! Paladin Albatoss! Are you out of your mind? How could you have brought your Saintess to the battlefield!" Mario reprimanded.

Albatoss swung his sword looking ashamed.

"Keuak!"

One black magician was killed by Albatoss's sword.

"Sorry! Paladin Mario!"

Mario bit his lips at Albatoss's apology.

"Eagle squad! As of now, we are changing priority from destroying the altar to safeguarding the Saintess!"

"Yes!"

The paladins under Mario moved in their squad and surrounded the area to guard the carriage that Hillis was on.

Perched atop the carriage, Mac looked for Malecia amid a battlefield filled with paladins and black magicians. He clicked his tongue. "Chet, he isn't here as I thought." He wanted to try fighting him again if possible, so it was regrettable.

Mac shot the arrows and hunted the black magicians. Each of his arrows struck and cut through in between the brows of the black magicians.

Mouths agape, the paladins admired Mac's archery skills as if there was nothing left for them to do.

"Paladin Albatoss, just who is that person?" Mario asked admiringly

Albatoss took a moment to look for the apt explanation and then replied, "He is Miss Saintess's guest."

Mario was genuinely concerned. "Are you sure of his identity?"

Apart from Mario's relationship with Hillis's older sister, Vibrio, the position of Saintess was too important in the temple. It was impossible to allow anyone near the Saintess without knowing their identity with certainty.

"I'm sure. If we hadn't been sure of his identity, would we have let him approach Miss Saintess?"

After Hillis had offered to have them join their party, Albatoss, had confirmed Leisha's identity by looking at her identification card without Hillis's knowledge. Thus, he believed that they were from the Crow Tribe. Moreover, he was convinced by Mac. And above all, being that strong at that age, it was impossible not to believe it.

Mac had been constantly shooting arrows from atop the carriage, he came down below the carriage when he ran out of shots.

"Are you out of arrows?" Leisha took the arrow out of her pocket space and asked.

Mac flashed his characteristic sly smile. "Yes, that's the case. It doesn't look very dangerous, so I think I'll go jump in." He pulled out his sword and tried to run toward the group of black magicians.

"Wait!"

As Leisha stopped Mac, he cast her a curious look. Leisha spoke as she descended from on top of the carriage.

"I'm coming with you."

Mac looked at Leisha incredulously and said, "It could be dangerous."

"That's right!" Lancelot agreed with Mac.

Leisha, seeing Lancelot's worried gaze, patted his head and said, "It's okay. I'm pretty strong too, you know?"

"I know that, but—"

Leisha smiled at Lancelot.

"And besides aren't we curious as to what the black magicians are trying to do in places like this?"

The reason why Leisha wanted to go with Mac was because of her the intellectual curiosity of the magician within her.

Lancelot nodded determinedly. "Then I'll go too!"

"What? But—"

Leisha honestly couldn't trust Lancelot.

To be exact, he was reliable for common sense and knowledge outside the forest, but she did not want the delicate Lancelot to witness the bloody battleground.

Sensing Leisha's thoughts, Mac patted Lancelot's shoulder. "I leave my back to you."

Lancelot answered vigorously, "Yes!"

"Oppa!" Leisha looked at Mac in surprise. When Mac fought, he fought alone and was never someone to easily hand his back to others.

Mac shrugged at Leisha. "Even though Lancelot looks like this, he is about as good as a warrior from the village."

"Really?"

When Leisha looked at Lancelot with astonished eyes, awash with embarrassment, he scratched his bright red cheeks. Playing with Den and often getting caught up in Doomstone's education had naturally strengthened him.

"I'm confident."

Lancelot's words helped Leisha nod.

"Sir Paladins! We'll be right back. We're going to go sightseeing for a little bit!"

Then Mac began to run forward. Lancelot and Leisha also followed with a sprint.

Unlike the outside, Zaharam was not a desert but solid land, so it was easy to run.

"Wa... Wait! Paladin Albatoss! Is it okay to let them go?" Mario asked.

Albatoss smiled meaningfully. "It'll be alright. Miss Saintess's guests are strong."

Mario briefly glanced at the trio who had run over before refocusing on the battle, holding the shield against the fierce attacks of the black magicians.

-o-

Mac was dashing to the center of Zaharam cutting down the black magicians. He asked Leisha, "Now, where shall we go?"

As Leisha used magic to obstruct the black magicians' magic, she shot back magic bullets. The use of magic was suppressed by the power of the World Tree, but that was true for the black magicians as well.

"Over there! I can feel a strong mana wave over there!"

The place she pointed to was the temple in the middle of Zaharam. The black magicians blocked their way to the temple.

"You mustn't let them enter!" a black magician said.

Mac whistled at the sight.

"Wow, so kind."

It was like telling them that there was something important there.

"Let's go! Lancelot!"

"Yes!"

As Mac pointed his sword and rushed amid the black magicians, Lancelot followed, drawing his sword.

"Block them!"

Black magicians gathered black magic and fired magic bullets, but Mac and Lancelot both avoided them with light movements. Thanks to that, the black magician's magic bullets flew straight at Leisha.

"Barrier! Kyak!"

Leisha shouted as she tried to block the sudden mass of magic bullets with a barrier.

"You're able to deflect them! Deflect it!"

She wouldn't have said this if this was outside Zaharam, but it was unnatural to use magic inside Zaharam. It was like running in the water.

"Oh, my bad!"

Mac and Lancelot had overlooked the fact that Leisha was slow because she was a magician. So, instead of dodging the magic bullets, they charged into the group of black magicians. The duo cut down the black magicians one by one, securing each other's backs.

Thanks to Leisha's magic that hit the group of black magicians from time to time, the black magicians blocking the way were quickly wiped out.

Lancelot and his party quickly started heading for the temple again but stopped when they were right in front of it.

"Phew! This is getting exciting."

Mac felt tense at the powerful mana that was seething out from inside the temple. So it was inevitable that the corners of his mouth would go up.

Leisha tightly gripped her magic wand at the mana that leaked out of the temple. She had only felt this much magic when Elder Mirpa was actually angry or when Denburg had used his magic blast while escaping from the forest. Feeling a force two to three times the power of her own magic, she gulped hard.

Lancelot clutched the two swords in both hands and said, "Let's go in."

Lancelot was the first to step inside the temple. He was fully aware of how powerful the power coming from the temple was. Nevertheless, the reason he was the first to move was simple.

"There's no time to lose here."

He had to go deal with the black magicians inside quickly so he could go see Den.

At the sight of Lancelot's imposing gait, Mac and Leisha followed with a smile.

The old black magician who continued the ceremony in front of the altar felt its power. Due to the absence of the carnelian crystal that was supposed to suppress the World Tree's power and ensure the stability of the ceremony a great deal of power was being consumed.

The old man had even used his men's mana and soul as a sacrifice to forcefully start the ceremony. But now was the limit. It was self-evident that the ceremony would fail at this rate.

He then sensed the footsteps coming from behind.

Is it the black magicians waiting outside?

No. It was obvious that if it were the black magicians, they would have felt the mighty power coming out of the altar and not approached it. If so, the sound of the approaching footsteps meant that the paladins had arrived.

The old man bit his lips. He didn't even know when they had charged in because he was too engrossed in the ceremony. However, reaching this far was no different from saying that they had dealt with all the black magicians outside. It was obvious that he would fail at this rate.

The old man got rid of his nervousness and let go of the control of the ceremony.

"Glory to the great person."

The old man sacrificed himself to make the ceremony a success. The mana of the altar greedily tied up the body of the old man eventually swallowing him.

The altar began to emit black light.

-o-

"Get down!" Leisha exclaimed as she suddenly felt the mana wave intensify.

Lancelot and Mac crouched.

Leisha quickly conjured up a spell so that they wouldn't be blown away by the mana waves. She let out a coarse breath after enduring a few minutes of violent waves.

"Huha!"

The perspiring Leisha ran to the source of the mana wave without even taking a break to wipe off the sweat. Feeling nervous and tense from the unknown ominous mana, she prepared herself.

In the room deep inside the temple, there were the bodies of the black magicians, an altar, and an old man.

The old man stood dazed at the altar. Then his head turned in the opposite direction of his body and looked at them.

Seeing the old man's head turn at an impossible angle, they realized that he was no longer a human but something that was in the shape of a human.

At that moment, Mac quickly wielded his sword and shot a sword aura towards the monster in the form of an old man. It was the result of instinctual discomfort and rational judgment that the monster needed to be eliminated immediately.

The monster raised his hand and tried to stop the sword aura by shooting out black mana, but the arm was cut off before it could conjure up the black mana.

- Akniatkyu Yiseokyi. (Is this a body?)

The monster shook its truncated arm in a strange manner while making an incomprehensible sound as if the sound was being played in reverse. Then the black mana wrapped around its severed arm and turned towards the truncated arm. And in an instant, the severed arm clung back to its shoulder.

Then the monster looked at Leisha.

- Ahnookssi ohkyiak reungukryuk yigohok. (You have the carnelian crystal.)

At the same time as the sound, the monster gave off a grotesque laugh.

- Ahtssuhssi ootreuduh reunitgyu. Ahdnatah mak akehun. ( I'm thankful to you. I was able to gain a body because of you.)

Leisha didn't know what it was saying, but feeling goosebumps from it, she poured a lot of mana into attacking it.

- Apnuap anah reugitaht uinakni. Ahknigitap uiahtniahtmak yiseokyi. (Is this how humans respond to thanks? I'm learning something about human common sense.)

Despite Leisha's attack, the monster's body quickly regenerated.

Mana exhaustion made Leisha's body tremble. She felt like she was going to faint immediately, but she still closely observed the monster's regeneration.

"The altar...! Ugh! Ha-ah-ha-ah. The monster's mana is coming from that altar!"

As Leisha pointed to the altar with a trembling hand, without a word, Mac immediately rushed at the monster. Lancelot followed.

The monster shouted as he saw Lancelot swinging his sword wrapped in sword aura towards the altar.

- Yanyissik neutoom! (What do you think you're doing?!)

The monster ignored Mac slicing its body and tried to attack Lancelot. However, due to its physique, it could not chase after Lancelot as it kept having to regenerate from being repeatedly cut apart by Mac.

When Lancelot hit the altar without mercy with his sword aura, it cracked and began to break.

- Utbuh neunoot reugut eckhurri! Ehtninit kyu the ekhutt! Whetna! (No! I just gained a body! I can't die like this!)

Mac thrust his sword into its head. The monster wildly shot out mana in every direction to get rid of him.

"Hurry!"

Sensing Mac's urgency, Lancelot smashed the altar with even greater strength.

Mac flew toward the wall from the monster's mana. Recovering from Mac's cut, it attacked Lancelot.

Kang!

As the monster was about to strike Lancelot, the altar was completely broken and the black light that was emitting from the magic circle on the altar began to fade. At the same time, the body of the monster began to turn to dust from the tip of its body, and the unmatched ominous mana scattered.

- Leseok lesanna neunyitgut ehkurri ohtohssuhbuh namnitgyu. Ehtnineup reussehnwuh reuni gyuuhjeul… (I just wanted a body. I wouldn't have died like this if I didn't have a body...)

When the monster disappeared completely, Lancelot collapsed on the spot after seeing its attack that had reached as close as his nose.

"Hua! That was scary." Lancelot wanted to cry right away from relief and fear.

After seeing the monster disappear, Leisha finally fainted after barely holding on to her consciousness.

"Oof!"

Mac was flung with force enough to smash the walls of the temple, which had been supported by the power of the World Tree. Nevertheless, he ran over quickly and caught Leisha's body as it fell down.

"Aigo, my body is aching all over."

Mac slowly put Leisha on the floor and tried to move his body. He felt he had about three broken ribs.

Mac, whose ribs had not broken just once or twice, naturally tried to take the Mirpa Special medicine out of the pocket on the belt.

"Oh no. Lancelot, I think you should carry her on your back."

The impact from flying into the wall broke the bottle containing the medicine.

"I can't move my legs."

As Lancelot looked at Mac with moist eyes, Mac sighed.

-o-

The paladins had wiped out all the black magicians in the holy ground. They shook off the blood from their swords and resheathed them.

"Thank you, Miss Saintess. Thanks to your support, we were able to wipe them out quickly."

At Mario's greeting, Hillis smiled with benevolence. "No, it's all thanks to the strength of the paladins. Rather, I feel that I was insufficient and was just a shackle to you all, so I'm sorry."

That smile, which seemed more sincere and holy than anyone else, seemed to purify his heart.

Mario was convinced of the rumors that the Saintess was kind to everyone and disliked those who were evil. His colleague and lover, Vibrio, always had a troubled smile whenever there was talk regarding Hillis. He assumed that she had that smile because she worried that if she openly boasted about her sister, then she may look foolish.

"But Paladin Mario, how come you are here?" asked Albatoss.

Mario hesitated before he answered, "Actually, I came at the behest of Cardo Fernando."

"His Excellency, Cardinal Fernando?"

"Yes. He obtained information that there might be heretics in the southeast of the empire and told us to come check it out."

Albatoss nodded in response. "I see. Indeed, His Excellency is always at the forefront in punishing heretics."

Inside the temple, Fernando was with the hardliners. He was a devout believer serving as the head of the heresy interrogation department when he was young. If there were rumors about heresy, it was quite understandable that he would send his own paladins.

"But how come Miss Saintess is—"

As Mario tried to ask, there was a sudden fluctuation of ominous mana.

"There must still be some black magicians left!"

Hillis and the paladins quickly headed to the source of the mana in indignation. The said source was inside a temple in the heart of Zaharam. The paladins became more resentful of the fact and went in.

As they entered the room at the deepest part of the temple, they saw the bodies of the black magicians, the broken wall, and the mysterious altar that was destroyed.

"Oh, you've arrived? Miss Saintess, I'm sorry, but could you please heal me?"

When Mac raised his hand from in between the black magician corpses, Hillis was shocked and quickly treated him.

"Eya, thank you."

After his ribs stuck back together in one go, Mac moved his body about. He found no abnormality. It seemed to be even more effective than the Mirpa Recovery Medicine.

Hillis asked after the ominous mana that still lingered in the room, and Mac told the truth.

"The altar was certainly destroyed."

Mario checked the front of the destroyed altar.

After pondering over Mac's explanation, Hillis spoke, "Could you perhaps come with us to St. Percival? I really want to give you a reward for this."

Mac stared at Lancelot, the latter naturally shook his head.

"We have to go straight to the capital. We don't have time to go all the way to Percival."

Mario and his subordinates were about to fume at Lancelot for daring to refuse Hillis's offer, but Hillis was quick to act.

She approached Lancelot and said, "Who did you say you were looking for in the capital? The capital is very wide. It's going to be hard for just the three of you. But in our temple, there are so many believers. If I cooperate with you, it wouldn't be hard to find a single person in the entire empire, let alone just the capital."

Lancelot said without even a moment's thought, "We will go. St. Percival."

If they could get Hillis's help in finding Denburg, it may take less time.

In the past, Denburg the wise man told him to use all the things that could be used.

-o-

In the middle of the mountains somewhere, a middle-aged man rode a horse to visit an old mansion that had ivy and vines climbing its walls.

Malecia, the one-eyed man, had been riding for days without even being able to bathe. He tied his horse to a nearby tree and went straight into the mansion.

He entered the mansion without knocking or wiping off his shoes and headed straight to the second floor. He took a deep breath in front of the largest room in the mansion.

Knock, knock!

The door opened on its own.

Inside the room, an old man in a black mask sat still in his chair, looking out the window.

When Malecia entered the room, the door closed by itself. He knelt on one knee on the spot.

"I am sorry. I failed the 'experiment' you ordered."

The old man in the black mask spoke calmly, "Is that so."

The reaction indicated that everything that happened in the Holy Land Zaharam was good. He wondered if he should ask for the name of the old man, who had commanded him to try and succeed. But the question was truly useless.

"I'll have to prepare for the next experiment."

The old man in a black mask got up and picked up the letter lying on the table. The paper had twelve constellations and a picture of a sheep.

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