Yuna felt she was probably the unluckiest Saintess in history.
All her suffering began when she spent so much effort trying to join the Hero’s party.
First, the Hero she viewed as her future patron was so outstanding that he attracted the King’s intervention.
A noble Princess had descended from the heavens, becoming a massive boulder blocking her path forward.
Then, the Hero was far too simple.
He was easy to get along with but difficult to seduce.
After four months, her progress was more than just slow — it was completely stagnant!
Every scheme she designed failed for some inexplicable reason.
In the end, she had even been forced to tear off her disguise in front of the Hero, exposing her embarrassing side.
She originally thought the worst-case scenario would simply be ending up with nothing.
However, because of the Hero’s sudden bout of kindness, she had been forced to follow him in defying the King.
Finally, she had managed to turn a disaster into a blessing by discovering an **Auspicious Omen**.
She planned to use it for a religious performance to stabilize her position in the Church and make up for her losses, but then… something even more absurd happened.
The dead could actually come back to life!
When the **Angel** in the **Holy Coffin** suddenly woke up, Yuna froze like an ice sculpture.
Then, she let out a smile of resigned relief.
That smile grew increasingly bitter, causing the corners of her eyebrows to droop lower.
Yuna closed her eyes in pain and prayed silently in her heart:
‘God, are you punishing me?’
‘If your sinful servant has ever offended you, I beg for your forgiveness. I am willing to fast and pray for three years to atone for my past sins.’
“Saintess! Saintess!”
The panicked voice of her subordinate forcibly pulled Yuna back from her regret and trance.
She steadied her mind, knowing she couldn’t afford to be despondent.
This terrible situation still needed to be handled, and she was the only one present who could do it.
She released one Divine Power after another.
Fortunately, the Goddess responded to her call as usual.
Starlight pierced through the dark clouds, and soft, pure white lotuses bloomed across the night sky.
Pure lotus petals fell alongside the deep raindrops — one white, one black, one slow, and one fast.
The contrast was vivid and dreamlike.
As the rain fell to the earth and flowed into rivers, the lotus petals dissipated into tiny specks of light, seeping into the hearts of every believer.
A sense of warmth dispelled the cold and suppressed their hunger and pain.
The believers felt the Goddess’s compassion, and their wavering faith suddenly became firm again.
A moment later.
Another figure appeared in the believers’ field of vision.
The petals filling the sky fell like snow, seemingly competing with the cold night rain for dominance, and they briefly claimed victory.
On the Consecration Platform, the pure white lotus petals burst forth one after another, illuminating every inch of Io’s skin and turning the area around the **Holy Coffin** as bright as day.
The sleeping night sky was startled awake.
Yuna moved gracefully, walking through the air upon those snow-like lotus petals.
They shattered under her toes, falling away as shimmering light.
Her exquisite features looked as if they were carved from jade.
Her lips were a vibrant red, and her chiffon dress was engraved with delicate, lovely flowers.
She did not look gaudy at all; instead, she appeared pure and ethereal, so much so that even the crescent moon seemed ashamed and hid behind the clouds.
Yuna landed lightly beside Io, facing the majestic blue sovereign.
She lowered her head, first adopting a humble and weak posture.
Then, she lowered her voice, attempting to persuade the other party with her usual lures of profit and political compromise.
“Miss Io, perhaps we could speak in private…”
But Io suddenly interrupted her.
She spoke loudly, ensuring everyone below the platform could hear clearly.
“If you have something to say, do not hide from others. Speak openly and honorably.”
“If this matter cannot be seen by the public, then I have no interest in hearing it. As a Saintess, you shouldn’t be speaking of it at all.”
The words Yuna was about to say came to a grinding halt.
Her originally gentle and holy expression slowly faded, and her cheeks turned a deep, purplish red.
Her small fists clenched and loosened as her strained heartstrings snapped.
She suddenly realized that, judging by the other woman’s attitude and the contempt in her words, this matter would not end peacefully.
She had brought another huge mess upon herself and Uncle Robert.
Now that things had reached this point, Yuna suddenly didn’t want to think too much anymore.
In her capacity as a priest and a believer who had piously served the Goddess for over ten years, she looked seriously at Io.
“The Goddess is no lie. You are far too arrogant.”
“Do you see this floating light filling the sky? This is the power the Goddess has bestowed upon us. She has never been silent; she has always existed.”
Io’s words were sharp as she replied mockingly, “I never denied there was some strange thing in the sky constantly providing you with the power to bully us.
But why is she a god?
Why isn’t she a machine?
An opportunist?
A demon wearing a beautiful skin?”
“Because God loves the world, they are gods,” Yuna answered using the doctrines.
“Love? With what love? With people like you? With indulgences? With the **Tithe**? Or with omnipresent religious inquisitions, exploitation, and fraud?”
Right there on the Church’s Consecration Platform, the newly crowned **Angel**, Io, launched an attack against the deity.
Yuna’s expression remained unchanged as she responded calmly, “God has bestowed so much upon us. Naturally, we must give back to God. This is our duty as believers.”
“Then why are you the ones who receive the gifts, while the millions of commoners are the ones who must bear the duty?”
—
21:23
“We are also bearing it, in places you cannot see,” Yuna said frankly.
“We piously serve God and pray to her. As the link between the commoners and God, that is the very meaning of our existence.”
“Heh… Hahaha! You really have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
Io suddenly began to laugh, her voice growing colder.
The lotus petals stopped falling, the flying snow ceased, and the world fell into a dark silence.
Only Io’s voice pierced through the curtain of rain, echoing in the ears of every believer.
“If God loved the world, all you fat, mediocre, and incompetent priests would be in hell.”
“Since you are still alive, that means… there was never any love.”
“There is only your hypocrisy and the unrequited affection of the believers.”
Yuna hadn’t expected Io to say something so heavy and treasonous.
She instinctively took a few steps back, her face looking extremely unsightly.
‘No! This person can’t be reasoned with. I can’t let her keep talking!’
She screamed internally.
“The Goddess’s will tells me… that this angelic body has been occupied by a demon from the abyss. Forgive me, but I must follow the Goddess’s command and purify the demon within the **Angel**.” Yuna’s beautiful face turned stern.
She immediately activated her emergency plan one — kill the opponent, then use Divine Power to disguise the corpse as a demon to show the believers.
She prayed for a miracle once more.
This time, the response from the ‘Light’ was exceptionally joyful—even more so than when she faced actual demons.
Io noticed the blatant, decisive murderous intent in Yuna’s eyes.
She did not flinch or show even a hint of fear, as if she were not heading toward death, but rather returning home.
“See?”
She tilted her head slightly, mocking her with a light laugh.
“This is the ‘love’ of your god. Those who obey her, she deceives and uses; those who question her, she coldbloodedly erases.”
Yuna did not respond, nor did she show a trace of mercy.
She thrust a sharp blade of light, condensed from **Divine Power**, straight toward Io’s heart.
However… the blade did not pierce Io’s chest as intended.
Even though Yuna could feel the joy and anger of the Light — the Light was already eager to kill the blue-haired monster before her — the **Goddess’s Blade**, which was supposed to cut through all evil, remained frozen three inches away from Io’s left breast.
Two rough, heavily calloused fingers had pinched it.
They caught the **Divine Power**, which was capable of melting all things, as easily as if they were catching a caterpillar.
Yuna looked up, her face stiff.
The light in her beautiful eyes wavered like autumn water, filled with loss.
Her weak voice carried a deep plea.
“Jon…”
“You said she was occupied by a demon. Have you performed a test?”
Jon looked directly at Yuna, asking her slowly in a tone that was almost entirely devoid of emotion.
The little pink girl was still sitting on the Hero’s shoulder.
The gaze she cast toward Yuna was full of contempt and irony, as if she were mocking a pathetic loser.
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Yea you done, should have just cut your loss and leave.