Vol 2. Chapter 53: She Knew Exactly What a Real Saintess Was Like

“I didn’t expect... so it really was true. Saintess Selina herself descended.” Mirexia murmured thoughtfully. “Did Her Holiness the Saintess say anything else to you?”

“About that...” Vinny froze awkwardly. No way he could tell Mirexia the real image of his ancestor—or how she tried matchmaking right after? “No... after she possessed me and expelled the Demon God Pillar, she seemed to have left.”

“That sort of thing... it actually happened.” Mirexia sighed in amazement. Sure, there were many ancient stories of supposed Goddess or Saintess manifestations, but they were so long ago, few believed them. It had simply been too long since the Goddess had shown herself—people had become unfamiliar with the very idea, and gradually stopped believing.

“Vinny, you’ve received Saintess Selina’s favor.”

“Ugh...” Vinny went silent.

If Mirexia knew what Saintess Selina was really like, who knew what she’d think.

“Perhaps... this is the Goddess’ will,” Mirexia continued, her gaze fixed on Vinny. “Destined. The position of the Radiant Saintess would not be left empty, nor without an heir.”

“Forget it. The Church these days is a cesspool. I’m not diving in there.” Vinny shook his head.

“Vinny, honestly... this can be seen as Her Holiness the Goddess sending a message to the people. If you ever wanted to become the Saintess, this would be your rightful reason to do so.”

Vinny understood exactly what Mirexia meant. A descendant of Fasylis, possessed by the Saintess herself, even estranged from the Church—so what? If he revealed the truth, he would become the legitimate successor to the title of Saintess.

But in reality, the Church would sabotage him at every turn. He’d face immense resistance, even threats to his life.

For someone like him who wanted a quiet life, the risks were astronomical. The Fasylis bloodline had been exiled from the Radiant Church for three generations already. Who could say how powerful the current Church and Pope’s forces truly were?

Conservative estimates? The noble families within the Church who dared oppose the Pope had probably all been wiped out by now.

“Mirexia, you know me. I’ve never had that ambition. Besides, turning into Vanessa and shouting a slogan isn’t enough. If I really wanted a foothold in today’s Radiant Church, I’d need serious backing—otherwise, I’m just a puppet on a string.” Vinny explained calmly.

Right now, they could pass the whole event off as divine manifestation. But if she stepped forward claiming to be the Radiant Saintess? She might as well broadcast to the Church, “Come get me~”

“Don’t you already have backing?” Mirexia’s voice was quiet, yet firm.

“Who? Which lunatic would risk standing against the Church for me?” Vinny shrugged, but as the words left his mouth, realization dawned, and his eyes widened at Mirexia.

Yet Mirexia’s expression didn’t change. Vinny knew his childhood friend wasn’t one to joke lightly.

“...Mirexia, don’t mess around. I appreciate the thought, but don’t drag the entire kingdom into a fight with the Radiant Church just for me,” Vinny’s tone darkened, heavy with warning.

If that happened, the continent would plunge into war. And if one side was the Radiant Church, this wouldn’t be an ordinary conflict—it would become an unprecedented human civil war. Worse, if they lost, opposing the Church would erase the Camella Kingdom’s legitimacy entirely.

Mirexia might be his childhood friend, but personal relationships were one thing—national affairs were another.

Mirexia might want to help him personally, but she couldn’t ignore her identity—First Princess of Camella, heir to the throne, the future Queen.

If she openly supported him as a princess, it would mean the entire Camella Kingdom was at war with the Radiant Church.

Vinny understood that. Mirexia understood that. That’s why he’d never imagined Mirexia, as his friend, would lead the entire kingdom to support him.

A monarch could have close friends and lend them personal help. But the moment they acted in an official capacity, they carried the weight of thousands—their will no longer their own.

Personal ties and national obligations were always separate.

“Vinny... you know I’m not joking. I believe in you.” Mirexia’s voice cut through the silence.

This wasn’t just about their childhood bond.

She had her own judgment. In her eyes, no one was more trustworthy than someone willing to sacrifice their life to save people who despised them.

Who would question Vanessa being the Saintess?

If the current Church did question that, Mirexia would seriously start doubting the integrity of certain factions within the Church.

“...Let’s talk about this later.” Vinny sighed. The topic was too heavy—he shifted the conversation.

“Fine. At least there’s a silver lining—this incident flushed out all the Bronze Blood spies planted in the Academy. Shocking, really—there were even Demon God Pillar agents in the Cathedral itself. They’re the ones who drugged the students with alchemical potions, turning them into Demon God Pillar thralls.” Mirexia handed Vinny a list of exposed cultists.

“By the way, Mirexia... those students who unknowingly took Elrunas’ potion and turned into monsters—are they okay now? Have they recovered?” Vinny asked anxiously.

“One moment... let me check the reports.” Mirexia flipped expertly through towering stacks of paperwork, quickly pulling out the relevant files.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A week had passed. Carillian Academy seemed to be emerging from the shadow of the Demon God Pillar attack.

Normally, survivors of such an event would experience lasting psychological trauma—possibly even mental breakdowns.

The Demon God Pillar was a being utterly alien to the Terrylis Continent. Just gazing upon a higher-dimensional Outer God was enough to cause cognitive disorders and mental corruption.

The only reason people recovered so quickly this time was the Goddess’ descent—the divine light from those falling feathers didn’t just heal physical wounds; it purified mental contamination and soothed the soul, erasing the corruption from anyone who had seen the Demon God Pillar.

Combined with the Goddess’ appearance uplifting everyone’s spirits, recovery had been miraculous.

Over the past week, the students who had been contaminated were steadily recovering in the Cathedral. Their bodies returned to normal human form, their minds slowly regaining clarity.

At that moment, inside the Academy’s Cathedral—

“What the hell? Where am I?!” Fred crossed his arms, frowning. Waking up, he expected to see a familiar ceiling—but today, everything was different.

“Strange... I remember I skipped the Holy Healing Festival because I had the flu. I was at home, sleeping... how the hell did I end up here?!” Fred muttered.

Did he sleepwalk? No way—he’d never had that habit.

Suddenly, stabbing pain wracked his head. He clutched his skull, groaning in agony.

“Ahhh! Damn it—what the hell are these?!” Fractured, fragmented memories flashed through his mind—images forcefully crammed into his head, his face twisting in pain.

Wait... what were these?

Familiar yet utterly alien, impossible to comprehend—the scenes made Fred’s pupils contract in horror.

He’d... been controlled by the Demon God Pillar? Sacrificed alongside other students like him?

And in the sky—six wings, radiant beyond comprehension...

The Goddess of Radiance?!

He was supposed to turn into a monster... but the Goddess descended and saved him?

These memories... what the hell?

They didn’t exist in his conscious mind, yet they felt real—as if he’d lived them. But trying to focus brought searing pain, nearly suffocating him.

“Student? You’re awake? Are you alright? Headache? Tell me where it hurts.” A gentle nun appeared, dressed in her uniform, a cross in her hand.

“Ah, yeah... kinda hurts a bit.” Fred froze. He used to be a card game addict, but suddenly he suspected he might develop a thing for nurses. His voice came out awkward and unsure.

“Hold on, lean in a little.” The nun reached for him, green healing light flickering to life.

“Don’t worry, Sister, this guy’s fine. I’d say his brain’s full of water from lying around too long.” A familiar voice interrupted, laced with sarcasm. A blue-haired young man glanced at Fred with exaggerated disdain. “Tsk tsk, you’re as creepy as ever. Always bragging about your ‘pure mind’—look at you now.”

“Hey! Vinny, don’t sabotage me here!” Fred snapped, glaring.

“See? If he can yell that loud, he’s fine,” Vinny teased, pointing at Fred.

Of course, it was Vinny. After finishing paperwork with Mirexia, he’d doused himself in cheap cologne and returned to the dorm to reassure Shikondell, who’d been sleepless with worry.

Guilt gnawed at him, so he urged her to rest—then came to visit his old card-playing buddies.

“Here to visit, are you?” The nun asked.

“Yeah, just making sure this idiot’s still alive. Looks like he is—unfortunately.” Vinny shrugged nonchalantly.

“I see.” The nun smiled politely.

She’d noticed this blue-haired boy hovering nearby over the past few days, clearly checking on Fred, even if he pretended not to care.

She didn’t expose him—just smiled knowingly.

“If you need anything, just call me—I’ll be in the hall,” the nun added, turning to leave.

“Eh? Wait, Sister, I’m still feeling kinda off...” Fred tried to protest.

“Cut the act. You shouted so loud I heard you from the hall.” Vinny rolled his eyes. “Controlled by the Demon God Pillar, yet you survived. You’ve got a damn hard life, don’t you?”

“Controlled? By the Pillar?” Fred frowned, fragments of memory surfacing.

“Memory loss? You’ve no clue how bad it got. You’ve been unconscious for about a week.” Vinny explained the entire situation.

“Damn... sounds like some made-up story. So much happened while I was out? Feels like barely any time passed—last thing I remember was us playing cards.” Fred muttered, stunned.

“Oblivious, yet unharmed—guess that’s dumb luck for you.”

“Jealous, are we?” Fred grinned. “I’m just lucky. Doesn’t matter how reckless I am—always got someone to bail me out.”

“My luck’s just stored for critical moments. Unlike you, wasting it all daily—what’ll you do when it counts?”

“Luck, huh?” Vinny thought back to how Fred survived.

Truth be told, it was luck. If Selina hadn’t descended at the perfect moment, things would’ve ended very differently.

Vinny wondered how Fred’s fate played out in the original timeline. Fred wasn’t even a named NPC. Without Vinny’s interference, he probably died in this incident.

After chatting a while, Fred complained he was starving. Vinny struck a deal—he’d bring food in exchange for a deck of cards.

As Vinny exited the room—

“Excuse me—!” A figure darted through the hall, colliding with his chest.

“Hey! Who the hell runs into me—the Young Master? Watch where you’re going!” Vinny cursed, recognizing the figure—familiar.

“Sorry, I...” Fenny froze when she saw him.

“You?!” They spoke in unison.

“...”

“About that day... I apologize.” Fenny’s expression shifted—clearly struggling internally—before she straightened, bowed deeply, and sincerely apologized.

“...Huh?” Vinny blinked, caught off guard.

He expected another argument—yet she apologized outright.

“What day? What’re you talking about?”

“I shouldn’t have made trouble for you that day.” Fenny admitted.

“But... even though I apologized, I still doubt your identity. After all...” After all, she knew exactly what the real Goddess of Radiance—or the Radiant Saintess—looked like. She’d seen it with her own eyes.

In her view, compared to the compassion, selflessness, and unwavering resolve of the real manifestation... this boy, surnamed Fasylis? Far from convincing. Nowhere to be found during the incident.

Fenny turned to leave—likely here visiting patients as well.

“....” Vinny scratched his head, watching her back fade into the distance.