Chapter 2: The Saint Says—Yes!?

Returning to the tent, Ellen lay down on the small bed with a sense of relief.

The Princess was truly overbearing.

He couldn’t help but check the Zhesi Gem and Spare Compass in his robe once more.

They were his foundation.

As a renowned Philosopher Mage known across the continent, his abilities actually originated from his understanding of Daoist magic in his previous life.

Of course, his transmigration was also inseparable from these things.

It happened during a blessing ritual before the big exam with his friend Jocelyn—just fooling around.

Who would have thought it would pull them into this damn place?

At this moment, he looked down at the Teleportation Compass he had prepared in advance, tracing the array he had meticulously carved.

He finally felt a bit lighter inside.

When the time came, if he wanted to leave, even if he had exhausted his magic to defeat the Demon King, Belinda wouldn’t be able to stop him…

However, it was a pity that his bright future was missing a piece.

He couldn’t show his face anymore.

Otherwise, The Lion would surely mobilize its entire force to drag him back.

The tent flap was suddenly lifted.

A holy aura instantly dispelled the lingering pressure of the Princess from his body.

Reina, clad in a pure white robe, spotless and immaculate, walked in slowly.

The Holy Maiden’s Eminence’s face was delicate and cold.

As her power grew, she increasingly resembled a Saintess incarnate walking the world.

Her gaze toward others was filled with both compassion and alienation, as if judging objects.

Only the black mole beneath the corner of her right eye vaguely reminded Ellen of the fallen Saintess who loved to complain three years ago.

Now, beneath her golden lashes, a pair of icy blue eyes looked calmly at the boy.

“Ellen, while meditating just now, I heard hoofbeats coming from the direction of the Capital.”

Her voice was melodious, like a hymn.

The Saintess approached, and the sacred aura within the tent thickened.

“The Taya Empire’s elite ‘Blood Thorn’ Heavy Cavalry has been urgently mobilized.

Their movement forms a fan shape, slowly surrounding our current location and… the outer perimeter of Demon King City.”

“This is strange.”

She stopped in front of Ellen, looking at the boy’s now pale face.

“Ordinary armies, even ‘Blood Thorn,’ are mere lambs before the Demon King—meaningless. So, their target should not be the Demon King.”

Ellen’s hand holding the compass trembled.

Yes.

He had sworn to the Earth Goddess—to act with benevolence and never kill.

He looked up at Reina, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The Saintess’s gaze brimmed with compassion.

“As far as I know, the knights of Blood Thorn are mostly of Noble birth. From childhood, they bathe in Magical Beast blood, making them immune to most spells. Most critically, their Ritual Magic can lock down an entire space. Your Teleportation Compass likely won’t work anymore.”

“Kh… Belinda seems a bit too cautious. It’s almost as if she’s afraid I’ll disappear after defeating the Demon King.”

Ellen forced a laugh, trying to dispel his inner fear while silently putting the compass away.

“Isn’t that exactly the kind of person you are?”

Reina looked at him quietly, a hint of mockery in her tone, making Ellen feel as if the Saintess who once failed to ascend had returned.

Ever since she underwent the Baptism of Holy Light and returned to the Temple, she seemed to have formed a barrier between herself and the world—divine and inviolable.

The closer to divinity, the further from humanity.

Simply put, she was becoming less and less like a person.

No offense, but regardless…

These slightly mocking words sounded more like what the Holy Maiden’s Eminence from his memories would say.

“What nonsense!

Would a dignified Philosopher Mage just vanish into thin air?

All because of Belinda?

Ridiculous!”

Ellen tried to encourage himself, his gaze unconsciously drifting over Reina’s generous chest—a typical trait of Saintesses, which Reina had undeniably inherited and enhanced.

“I saw a corner of the future.

She’ll tie you up.”

The Saintess’s words were icy.

“Tch, I was planning to whip her instead.”

Ellen retorted stubbornly.

“You’ll experience a sweet beginning, but after the ecstasy fades, she’ll slowly twist because of your divided attention, your desire to stand out, and your longing for freedom. Her affection for you will change, little by little.”

Reina explained calmly.

“Reina, stop scaring me…”

He really was getting spooked.

“She’ll bind you with iron chains. In a marble palace with no sunlight, again and again…”

Reina pondered her wording, finally settling on a proper phrase.

“Whip. Flog. You.”

Whip. Flog. Me?

Ellen nearly failed to grasp the meaning, but soon realized—was flogging some sensitive temple word?

“I actually like that kind of thing.”

Ellen tried to maintain his bravado.

“Do you?

I saw your body surrender to her, your spirit teetering on the edge of collapse, your soul growing accustomed to restraint.

In the end, you became a suitable private treasure of the Empress.

And you enjoyed it too?”

Reina’s tone was flat, but to Ellen it struck like thunder.

“Okay, okay, I was wrong, I’m sorry, alright? I shouldn’t have joked about you with Hestia. But did you have to scare me like this? Your prophecy is a hundred times more terrifying than Hestia’s weird forest stories.”

Ellen complained helplessly, trying to dispel the gloom with humor.

“What did you and Hestia gossip about?”

Reina’s sharp instincts caught the crucial point.

“I didn’t say anything!”

Ellen immediately played dumb.

A trace of anger appeared on Reina’s face.

“Speak! Otherwise, in the name of the Goddess of Time, I swear I’ll—”

He hastily interrupted her oath and confessed:

“I said your feet were pretty… And some other stuff. I’m sorry, it was just a joke! I’m really sorry!”

“My feet?”

Reina looked down at her bare, fair soles.

She had a cleanliness obsession, so even while wearing Sanctuary Boots, she would use the Dust Purification Spell.

Later, finding it troublesome, she switched to Levitation Spell, floating in the air barefoot.

Pearl-like Feet, beautiful as gems.

She withdrew her gaze, looking at him calmly, her golden lashes casting a small, fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.

She sighed, lowering her voice with a sacred sense of trust.

“Ellen, just now, I sincerely prayed to the Goddess of Time for guidance. The Goddess bestowed two revelations.”

She lifted her eyes, sharp as blades, piercing straight into Ellen’s heart.

“First: Belinda von Taya will imprison you.

I saw her blade piercing you, and a prison more terrifying than death awaits you.

There will be no beautiful ending between you.”

“Second,”

Her voice grew sterner.

“Do not believe any words from the Elf Hestia.

Her promises are false illusions.

Her path ultimately leads to loss.”

As she spoke, she extended her hand toward Ellen—white and flawless, palm up, like a Madonna statue in a cathedral, offering redemption to a lost lamb.

“Ellen, when the Demon King falls, that is when the real Storm descends.

Come with me,”

Her voice carried a blend of compassion and resolve.

“To the Sanctuary of Time.

Receive the Baptism of Holy Light, and become a Saintlight Knight guarding the Law of Time.

Only beneath the radiance of the Goddess can you evade the impending harm and imprisonment.”

She paused, emphasizing once more.

“This is the only path to survival.”

When the Demon King falls, that is when the real Storm descends.

Ellen’s heart trembled violently, as if a long-standing unease had finally taken shape—the cracked Timeheart now seemed like a warning.

“Are you serious?”

He was almost certain in his heart.

Reina never lied in the name of the Goddess, not even during her period of lost divinity.

“Philosopher Mage, I doubt anyone on this continent would dare lie before you.”

Reina smiled.

Yes.

He had categorized tens of thousands of human expressions using the Freezing Spell and Imaging Spell, then fused them into the Zhesi Gem.

Whenever someone lied before him, the Zhesi Gem at his chest would immediately warn him.

So, Belinda hadn’t deceived him.

She hadn’t betrayed him.

She truly loved him deeply—just by different means…

Ellen felt a chill run down his back.

This sudden prophecy made it hard to breathe.

“You seemed to have sensed it already?”

Reina observed his state curiously.

“Reina, Time Reversal might be real.”

Ellen murmured.

At his words, Reina’s usually calm expression wavered, a ripple appearing in her eyes.

“Something must have happened at Demon King City—that’s why you had those strange prophecies.

The cracks on the Timeheart are echoes of countless failures.”

Ellen stared into her icy blue eyes, searching for any sign of turbulence.

“We may already be trapped, unable to escape.”

Reina’s gaze flickered.

After a brief silence, she slowly withdrew her inviting hand.

“Temporal Echoes…”

She repeated softly, her holy voice tinged with a sigh.

“Truly burdensome. I can sense a Temporal Vortex from the direction of Demon King City—chaotic and full of malice.”

Her icy blue eyes returned to the boy’s face.

“Your perception is sharp, Ellen. As a Philosopher Mage, you are more attuned to such dangerous ripples than others.”

She leaned in slightly.

As the Saintess approached, her sacred, cool aura enveloped him, both healing and imprisoning, separating him from the mundane world.

“But rest assured,”

Her voice was gentle yet firm.

“With me here, the radiance of the Goddess of Time will shield you from corruption and harm. I will protect you until the Storm passes—until you make the right choice.”

The tent fell silent.

After all, none of it had happened yet.

The prophecies of the Time Temple were never a hundred percent accurate.

Magic in the realm of space and time was always fraught with uncertainty.

It was like fishing a small fragment from the river of time—you could never deduce the whole picture from just a shard.

You could only speculate.

Ellen felt his unease stirring, subconsciously searching for a sense of “reality” to fight the fear.

To fear what had not yet happened was foolish.

He only wanted to distract himself for now and decide once he had calmed down.

His gaze wandered unconsciously, finally settling on the spotless ground beneath Reina’s bare feet.

The Holy Maiden’s Eminence’s white ankle and rounded heel seemed to emit a faint glow in the dim light, a stark contrast to the despairing atmosphere—yet strangely captivating.

He stared in a daze, unaware of how long his gaze lingered.

Reina sharply caught the direction of his eyes.

Her brow twitched ever so slightly.

Her voice remained ethereal but took on a hint of probing curiosity.

“Ellen? What are you looking at? Did my prophecy… distract you? Or are you seeking… comfort from reality?”

She spoke calmly, but the word “comfort” was pronounced with extra clarity, carrying a note of scrutiny.

Ellen snapped back to himself, blushing like a child caught misbehaving, hurriedly averting his eyes.

“Ah? N-no! I… I just…”

He blurted out whatever came to mind, only making things worse.

“Your… um… your Dust Purification Spell works really well! There’s not a speck of dust on the ground! Ha… ha ha…”

He gave a dry laugh, and the tent’s atmosphere grew impossibly awkward.

Reina did not immediately expose his clumsy lie.

She simply watched his embarrassment in silence.

After a moment, her holy voice returned with a knowing clarity.

“Ellen, that’s how it is. Mortals are easily misled by appearances, lost in fleeting and meaningless sensory temptations… even when facing prophecies of destruction.”

“And that, in itself, proves the prophecy’s truth—your soul needs a stronger anchor. It needs the guidance of Holy Light to resist the temptations pulling you into the abyss.”

She paused at the word “temptations,” her gaze brushing her own toes with subtle implication.

Ellen scratched his head, still trying to explain.

“What temptation… I just thought it was… clean…”

Reina seemed not to hear his protest.

She looked straight at him, her voice full of solemn compassion.

“Become my Saintlight Knight. Ellen, receive the baptism, and serve the Law of Time. Only then can you attain true purification and peace.”

She hesitated, as if weighing her words, then continued in a sacred yet subtly suggestive tone.

“Under the glory of the Goddess, many worldly… distractions—including excessive attention to fragile flesh—will be washed away. You will find an unprecedented serenity. And as your guide…”

Her gaze fleetingly touched her own toes, her voice as soft as a dragonfly’s wing.

“Perhaps, in the eternal future of your service, certain harmless… transgressions of yours are not entirely unacceptable to me.”

Ellen’s heart pounded!

“Transgressions”?

“Harmless”?

Even “acceptable”?

The Holy Maiden’s Eminence’s subtle implication instantly swept away his fear, the prophecy, leaving his mind spinning with hidden meanings—and those immaculate, sacred feet.

The Holy Maiden’s Eminence’s feet, delicate and smooth, their curve from ankle to toe graceful, especially the slender, elegant ankle.

White as jade.

Glistening.

He blurted out before he could stop himself, his voice tinged with longing.

“Then… does that mean… it’s okay…”

He didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear.

His gaze drifted again toward Reina’s feet.

A trace of offended stiffness flickered across Reina’s face.

She immediately stepped back half a pace, the hem of her white robe naturally dropping to cover her feet.

She returned to her compassionate, sacred, inviolable demeanor, her tone once more cool and distant.

“Ellen, please mind your words and gaze. The redemption of Holy Light is not a bargaining chip. What I said was only to explain the possible state under divine order. Whether to accept this redemption depends on your willingness to embrace purity—and become my exclusive Saintlight Knight.”

She bowed gracefully.

“Think it over. Before the Storm arrives, make the right choice.”

With that, the noble Holy Maiden’s Eminence turned and left the tent, her sacred, icy aura fading like the ebbing tide.