Chapter 553: My Young Master Deserves A Religion Of His Own!

Joy blinked through the blood and saw another woman holding her close. This one was nothing like the other.

Her presence was calm, serene, her touch brimming with purity.

Just being near her made Joy’s mind clear again, her heart settle.

And just then, the woman’s voice soft, melodic like the whisper of wind through trees floated over.

"This is not a place you should be, child." She said gently.

Joy’s lips trembled. "W-What...?"

The woman woman spoke as if it was her own mother advicing her.

"You are trespassing where no mortal, no saint, no divine messenger should ever tread."

Her hand brushed softly across Joy’s cheek.

"The woman over there...she will destroy you if she catches you again. Torture your soul until not even your prayers can save you."

Joy’s body froze, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

"And the Goddess you serve..." The woman continued softly. "...will not be pleased if you die over here and it will become a big problem if you do so, so I advise you not to come back."

Before Joy could ask who she was, the woman smiled faintly and raised one delicate hand, touching two fingers to Joy’s forehead.

"Now, go back. And please...let off on my child a little bit."

"He’s not as bad as he may seem and is simply a tragic soul who has finally escaped his fate."

Light burst around her—blinding, warm, and overwhelming.

Joy gasped as the world shattered around her. She felt herself being pulled upward, faster and faster, until finally—

She opened her eyes.

She was back.

But she wasn’t standing anymore. She was lying flat on the cold floor, staring up at the ceiling. The first thing she saw were faces—worried, frightened faces.

"Lady Joy! She’s awake!"

"She’s back!"

"I thought she was a goner!"

Maria was kneeling beside her, tears in her eyes, while Aqua hovered nearby, her face pale with fear. Stella and the nuns were gathered close, all of them visibly shaken.

"Thank the Goddess." Maria whispered, her voice trembling. "You scared us so much, my child..."

"W-What...what happened...?" Joy whispered weakly. She tried to rub her eyes, but the moment her fingers touched her skin, she froze.

Her hands were slick. Warm. Wet.

She looked down and saw blood.

Her palms, her fingers, even her sleeves—all drenched in crimson.

Maria gasped and caught her hands quickly.

"Don’t touch your eyes, Joy!" She scolded, pulling out a cloth. "They’re bleeding—your cheeks, your face—let me clean it up before you hurt yourself more."

Joy stared at her bloodied hands in confusion.

"What...What happened to me?" She rasped. "What did I—"

Aqua took a deep breath, looking as though she didn’t want to recall it.

"You were standing there with your eyes closed." She began. "Both of you. You and Cassius looked like statues, facing each other. We thought it was just part of the ritual."

She hesitated, her eyes darkening. "But then...you started whispering to yourself. We couldn’t make out the words. And then your body started shaking."

Maria clutched her daughter’s hand tighter. "And then you screamed." She said, voice cracking. "You screamed so loud, the entire estate heard you. And blood—blood just poured out of your eyes, Joy."

"We thought you were dying." One of the nuns shuddered. "We couldn’t even touch you—the holy light around you burned to the touch. And then suddenly...you collapsed."

Aqua swallowed hard. "You just fell and we...we thought your soul was gone and then you woke up."

Joy sat there in stunned silence, her breath unsteady. Finally, Aqua turned toward Cassius, her tone hesitant.

"What about you, Cassius? You were there too. Did you...notice something?"

The crowd parted instantly, revealing Cassius standing a few feet away. Lucius and the maids stood beside him, all looking equally bewildered.

But before anyone could accuse him of anything, Cassius raised his hands defensively

"Don’t look at me." He said quickly. "I had nothing to do with this."

"And honestly, at first, I thought she was faking it." His tone was firm, his confusion genuine. "You know, to make it look like I was attacking her mind or something."

"But then she started bleeding, and I realized it was real."

He looked at Joy, eyes narrowed in cautious disbelief.

"Whatever happened in there, Saintess, it wasn’t me. I swear to the Goddess herself—I have no idea what that was."

And he truly meant it.

He genuinely had no clue what just happened.

For the briefest moment, when Joy had begun her divine appraisal, he had felt something like a strange warmth entering his body, a gentle ripple of energy brushing past his mind.

But then, nothing. Just silence. Emptiness.

He didn’t feel her presence. He didn’t feel resistance. He didn’t feel anything unusual. Which only made it stranger, because clearly, something had gone very wrong for her.

Cassius rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a tired sigh.

"Look, I did feel...something. Like someone was walking into me. But it only lasted a second, and then it was gone. I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know what I could’ve done."

"So whatever that was, Saintess, don’t start saying I attacked you with my ’dark powers’ or whatever you’re about to accuse me of."

He forced a crooked smile, half-joking, half-serious.

"I’ve had enough false accusations for one lifetime."

But before he could say anything else, Joy slowly began to rise to her feet.

Maria and Aqua immediately reached out to support her as she steadied herself, still visibly weak, her face pale and drained.

Her breathing was uneven, but her gaze was sharp, focused entirely on Cassius as though she were trying to see him again, to make sense of what she had just witnessed.

"W-What?" He asked, a little uneasy. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Joy didn’t answer immediately. Her lips trembled slightly before she finally spoke in a heavy tone.

"I...I think I have a faint understanding of what happened."

Her words drew everyone’s attention at once.

Joy took a slow breath. "Instead of simply seeing the light—the color—of his soul like I normally would...I was pulled into something else. A realm of darkness. I think...that’s where his soul resides."

A hush fell over the crowd.

She continued, her voice trembling. "I searched for his soul. It was like wandering through an endless abyss. And then, I found it. But that wasn’t all I found."

She swallowed hard before saying,

"There were two beings there. Two...deities."

At those words, several nuns gasped.

"What—two deities?"

"Impossible!"

"Only the heavens can—"

The whispers spread like wildfire through the room, but Joy silenced them with a raised hand, her tone steady.

"I know what I saw. And I know what I felt. Even though I wasn’t permitted to see their faces—something no mortal is allowed to do—their divine presence was unmistakable."

She closed her eyes briefly, recalling it with a shiver.

"One of them was...overwhelming. A woman of unimaginable beauty, of lust and temptation incarnate. Just looking at her back made my blood boil. Even now, I can still feel it, her power was suffocating, intoxicating, sinful."

"And when I tried to look at her face, I almost died."

The crowd murmured in disbelief, horrified yet fascinated.

"But." Joy went on, her tone turning thankful. "Then there was another. A different one. She was gentle. Pure. It was as if nature itself embraced me. Her warmth saved me. She held me and told me to leave—that I didn’t belong there. She said the other goddess would destroy me if I stayed."

She looked around the hall with grave eyes before finally saying,

"That means his soul isn’t just guarded by one divine entity...but by two. Two goddesses who are watching over him."

Her words fell like thunder.

Every person in the room froze.

Two goddesses protecting a single mortal?

It was beyond comprehension. Even Aqua and Maria stared at Cassius as if he’d transformed into something beyond human.

"That’s..." One nun whispered. "That’s completely unheard of."

Another added, trembling. "Even the Saintess only serves one Goddess directly..."

Maria looked at Joy in disbelief. "Joy...are you certain? Are you absolutely sure?"

Joy nodded slowly. "I may have bled, screamed, and nearly lost my mind...but I am sure. Those were divine presences. I could feel it in every fiber of my being."

All eyes turned toward Cassius. Even the most skeptical nun stared as though gazing upon some sacred being.

Cassius blinked, looking genuinely baffled.

"Two goddesses...protecting me?" He repeated, almost dumbfounded. "Well, that’s...new."

Inside, however, a thought flickered.

The first must be her.

The Goddess of Debauchery.

That made sense. She had been the one to send him here in the first place.

But the second one?

That he couldn’t figure out. He had a faint suspicion, a memory from his previous world, but nothing he could confirm.

Maria spoke softly, hope blooming in her eyes.

"Was it...perhaps the Goddess of Light?"

Her voice trembled with awe.

"You said she was kind, gentle, like nature itself. Maybe she’s the one protecting him?"

Aqua’s eyes lit up. "If that’s true, then that’s amazing! That means my brother is completely innocent, right? The Goddess of Light would never protect someone evil!"

All heads turned toward Joy again, waiting for her answer.

But Joy shook her head slowly. "No."

Her voice was heavy, certain. "That’s what I thought at first too. But when the second goddess embraced me...she spoke of the Goddess of Light as if she were someone else. She referred to her...in the third person."

Maria sighed with disappointment.

"I see...what a pity. To be blessed by the Goddess of Light would have been such an honor." Then her expression softened again. "But still, the fact that he’s protected by any goddess, let alone two, means he must be good, right? Goddesses wouldn’t guard the wicked."

Joy’s expression hardened. "It’s not that simple, Mother."

She clenched her fists. "The second goddess, the one who saved me was pure. But the other, the one who stayed by his soul, caressing it, loving it—that goddess was something vile."

"A sin given form. She was the embodiment of lust itself. The fact that she guards him so tenderly means only one thing."

Her gaze locked onto Cassius.

"She’s a Evil Goddess and he’s one of them. A devil in disguise. The Goddess herself keeps his soul close because he belongs to her."

The tension in the room thickened again and everyone gulped at the implications.

But Cassius raised his hand calmly. "Hold on right there, Saintess."

His tone was smooth but edged with annoyance.

"Let’s not get carried away, shall we? Just because you saw a very sexy goddess watching over my soul doesn’t mean I’m evil. Maybe she just found me handsome and decided to protect me. Can you blame her?"

A few of the maids stifled laughs; several nuns groaned or rolled their eyes.

Cassius shrugged. "And besides, you didn’t even get to see my soul properly. You fainted before the test was complete, remember? You can’t exactly use half a vision as holy evidence against me."

"That’s right!" Lucius raised a finger in support. "She can’t use that as proof! It’s invalid testimony!"

"Exactly." Cassius nodded approvingly. "And if anything, the fact that I have two goddesses protecting me doesn’t make me evil."

"...It makes me special."

He grinned, folding his arms confidently. .

"Even you, Saintess Joy, chosen by the heavens, have only one goddess watching over you. Meanwhile, I’ve got two. Doesn’t that make me—how should I say this—a higher holy figure?"

The room went silent again, this time in disbelief.

Then, slowly, a few uncertain nods appeared.

"Well...when you put it like that..." One maid murmured.

"That...actually makes sense." Another said thoughtfully.

"Blessed by two goddesses." Whispered a nun. "That’s...divine favor..."

Lucius’s eyes sparkled as he raised both arms dramatically.

"You see! I told you all! Our Young Master isn’t just blessed—he’s exalted! We should start a legion in his name! A holy order dedicated to his divinity!"

Cassius covered his face with one hand. "Lucius..."

But Lucius only doubled down, spinning in excitement.

"Not only is my Young Master blessed by one goddess, but by two! We should build temples, shrines—statues of his perfection across the continent!"

The maids giggled and clapped, half in jest, half in genuine admiration. Even a few of the nuns hesitated, their conviction wavering in the face of his ridiculous, but somehow logical argument.