By the time Xiaoxi arrived, the reinforcements called in by the Astrologer had already clashed with the Divine Summon Order.
Although it was unclear why Ye Xinglan was also here, the rich girl seemed intent on grinding the Third Divine Envoy into mincemeat.
Her attacks were ruthless, but they did not seem to be dealing much damage. Instead, the facilities of the Tianqi Church had suffered significant destruction.
Seeing the old man in the Archbishop’s robes jumping in anxiety but unable to say anything, Xiaoxi guessed what was happening.
It seemed her girlfriend was equally displeased with the Church.
In comparison, the Divine Summon Order did not seem to have much fighting spirit. They did not even have more personnel.
Once the Third Divine Envoy saw Xiaoxi arrive, he directly issued the order to retreat, leaving through the Mirror Space with Jingtong once more.
Xiaoxi was briefly stunned. ‘This… doesn’t fit the Divine Summon Order’s usual style.’
Even if she did not yet know their objective, had they really not made thorough preparations?
They had managed to infiltrate a place like the Tower of Commandments with great difficulty, yet they retreated so cleanly without even an attempt to put up a fight?
While the Divine Summon Order’s purpose remained a mystery, the old man was clearly fuming.
After Ye Xinglan chased after the Third Divine Envoy, he stood staring at the wreckage, clutching his heart.
“I accidentally caused quite a bit of damage to the Church. My apologies. However, this is an unavoidable part of combat. Surely the Archbishop won’t mind?”
The Astrologer slowly stepped out from the side.
It appeared that while there was friction between the Six Seats, the Astrologer held nothing back when it came to dealing with the Divine Summon Order.
Not only had he quickly summoned reinforcements, but he had also appeared on the scene himself.
“Archbishop” was the old man’s codename. The members of the Six Seats referred to each other by their titles; “Astrologer” and “Delta” were also codenames.
“Astrologer! Why is that person here? Wasn’t it agreed that this filthy Corpse Collector would not be allowed to set foot on Church territory?”
To the side, Qiuli blinked innocently. She had worked herself to the bone after being called to help, only to be verbally attacked by this old fogey.
The Archbishop looked ready to demand an explanation, continuing to ramble, “And why didn’t you let the Association’s Magic Girls come to the Tower of Commandments for support? If we had more hands, we might have been able to detain those two remnants of the Divine Summon Order. If they…”
The Archbishop wheezed heavily, but he did not continue.
“Calm down. The situation was unique. Miss Qiuli’s abilities happen to counter the Divine Summon Order, which is why I asked her to reinforce us. As for the Association’s Magic Girls…”
The Astrologer’s tone shifted, his previously soft voice turning firm. “I am sorry that the Church’s classified areas were breached, but the Association’s primary mission is to protect the general public. I hope the Archbishop understands.”
The Archbishop let out a resentful huff. He could not find a way to refute that, but his eyes lit up when he saw Xiaoxi. He immediately shifted the target of his anger toward her.
“And her! In such a crisis, not only did she refuse to follow my orders—the orders of one of the Six Seats—but she even talked back to me! Is this the level of character the people under the Association have?”
“Sister…”
Xiao Keke nervously gripped Xiaoxi’s hand. Even she could see that the Archbishop was just trying to save face by picking a fight.
He could not vent his fury on the Astrologer, who was his equal in the Six Seats, so was he really going to target a minor Magic Girl like Xiaoxi instead?
The problem was, would the Astrologer actually go head-to-head with the Archbishop for the sake of her sister? If her sister became the scapegoat…
Xiao Keke originally thought the Astrologer would likely give the Archbishop some face, but to her surprise, the Astrologer’s expression darkened.
He moved subtly, shielding Xiaoxi and Xiao Keke behind him.
“Talking back to one of the Six Seats is indeed wrong. However, Sirius belongs to the Association. The Association will naturally handle her punishment. You need not worry, Archbishop.”
“Furthermore, since Sirius is a Magic Girl of the Association, her actions during today’s mission were authorized by us. If the Archbishop has any issues, you may take them up with me.”
“You—”
The Archbishop clearly had not expected the Astrologer to show him zero respect over a mere B-Rank Magic Girl.
Xiaoxi was also surprised; knowing the Astrologer’s usual diplomatic style, she had already prepared herself to play along and give the Archbishop a performative apology.
“Fine! Then I hope the Association provides me with a satisfactory result!”
Although the Archbishop wanted to continue the confrontation, he seemed to have urgent business.
After a Magic Girl from the Church delivered a report, he threw out a toothless threat and hurried into the Tower of Commandments.
Xiaoxi no longer had to worry about the remaining matters.
After thanking the Astrologer and leaving, she reached out to check her messages, only to find that Xiao Keke’s hand had been gripping hers so tightly it was sweaty.
Ye Xinglan had failed to catch up to Jingtong and was currently messaging Xiaoxi to ask if they should head back together.
Xiaoxi suddenly remembered that Silver Bell was with her.
To prevent Xiao Keke from discovering Silver Bell’s true identity, Xiaoxi told them to head back first.
“Let’s go, Keke. Do you need me to walk you home? You didn’t get hurt during the fight, did you?”
Xiao Keke curled her lip. She hadn’t even had the chance to deal with many Magic Creatures.
She had just watched her sister dart around like an agile mountain hound, cleaning up the monsters before she could do anything. How could she have gotten hurt?
“Sister…” Xiao Keke’s voice was faint. “Let’s walk around a bit before we go back.”
Because of the event, the area surrounding the Apocalypse Cathedral was very lively today.
The commotion caused by the Divine Summon Order had already died down, and many vendors and shops nearby were still open.
In a rare move, Xiao Keke offered to treat her sister, leading Xiaoxi to buy milk tea and desserts before sitting down.
Xiaoxi was a bit surprised. Why was her sister’s temper… so good today?
When they first met earlier, hadn’t Keke been angry with her over the whole Sirius situation?
Xiaoxi had assumed it would take Keke a while longer to fully process everything.
The issue was that Xiao Keke wasn’t talking. She just poked at her cake with a fork, looking like she had something on her mind.
“What’s wrong, Keke? You look like you’re hesitating to say something. If you have someone you like, just tell me. I’m actually quite experienced in romance now…”
“That’s not what I was going to say!”
Out of habit, Xiao Keke almost threw an elbow at her in annoyance, but she eventually slumped back into her seat as if the air had been let out of her.
“…I’m sorry, Sister.”
“Huh? What are you mumbling?”
“I said I’m sorry! You’ve taken such good care of me ever since I joined the Association! But I’ve had such a terrible attitude toward you!”
“Wait, wait. Why the sudden change of heart?”
This was truly like the sun rising from the west.
Xiaoxi never would have imagined in a million years that Xiao Keke would one day take the initiative to apologize for something like this.
Since when did she have such a well-behaved and sensible sister?