40. Black and White Duality

For this final selection, the saint candidates residing within the church were exhausting every effort. Not to mention the usual daily activities and three meals a day, they had to strive hard to maintain an image of “elegance and nobility,” even going so far as to deliberately pose in a proper manner while sleeping, daring not to turn over throughout the night.

However, the saint candidates soon discovered that maintaining such a deliberate image seemed to have little effect. Because… this final “test” came unexpectedly quickly; in just a day or two, all the saint candidates received the news that Sister Urasilu, the “examiner,” would select the new “Saintess” at a designated location.

How could there be no “exam” or “trial,” and yet a result was already reached!? What standard was this “new Saintess” being evaluated by!? Although everyone harbored such doubts, their impatience pushed them to cast aside these thoughts, each fantasizing that they were the one performing the best and surely would be chosen. Then… one by one, they arrived at the location Sister Urasilu had specified to gather.

The gathering place designated by the nun… was a ruin, or rather, it was beneath the enormous statue of the goddess, so massive that it could be seen clearly even from outside the church town. This grand relic was once a place everyone wanted to approach and observe closely, surrounded by crumbling walls and ruins, with traces of weapon damage on the stone floor, all of which left the saint candidates in shock, causing them to fall silent.

The overcast sky and the dust swirling around made everything here seem so hazy, as if they had entered a place entirely unrelated to the clean and sacred church. Yet, this was indeed the gathering spot, and they could only grit their teeth and approach the foot of the goddess statue.

Because, with her back to the statue, when everyone looked over, Sister Urasilu was already standing there waiting. The occasional gust of wind made her robe sway, her figure serene and graceful, and even upon seeing the saint candidates, her gaze never wavered.

She seemed even more like a “Saintess”! This was the shared thought of all the saint candidates at that moment, though none would admit it.

“Dear saint candidates, I will now decide the next Saintess.”

The voice, devoid of emotional fluctuation, drowned out all the excitement, tension, and anticipation of the saint candidates. No one bothered to think about when they had been “assessed” or why there was no “exam”; as long as a decision could be made, that was all that mattered!

“The new Saintess will inherit the duties and identity of her predecessor, and naturally, will receive the goddess’s grace and protection. She will become the center of the church’s faith and will gather countless believers for the goddess. As long as one holds faith and respect for the goddess, one will surely enjoy her love.”

“Are you all ready, candidates?”

Wasn’t this just a pointless question? All the candidates who had come here, was there anyone unprepared to become the new Saintess?

However, just as everyone was thinking this, the next words from the nun in front of them left everyone bewildered.

“Because, all of you are ‘new Saintesses.’ No, it should be said… no matter who becomes the ‘new Saintess,’ it actually makes no difference. You will become the new Saintess, you will ‘transform’ into the Saintess, and that is all. The believers only need to see the ‘Saintess’ and do not need to know more. Thus, this will be… the image of the ‘Saintess’ thereafter, and the goddess need not worry about the betrayal of the Saintess anymore.”

“Wait, what does this mean!?”

“Are we supposed to have a different person appear each day!?”

“Isn’t the Saintess supposed to meet everyone directly!?”

The candidates who had come here were not fools; they quickly understood what the nun meant by “new Saintess”!

That is: everyone is a Saintess, and as for what the Saintess appearing before everyone today looks like, no one needs to know. As long as the Saintess appears, that is enough! But, but shouldn’t the “Your Holiness” be like the previous Saintess, happily accepting the worship of all the believers? How did it turn into this? It has become like… a role played in the past while wearing a mask!?

However, just as the candidates were about to shout out their thoughts on this situation, they suddenly realized: if they said this out loud, wouldn’t it make it seem like they were only here to gain the supreme power of the Saintess!?

Everyone was stunned on the spot, but Urasiru’s voice did not stop.

In fact, she didn’t even consider acknowledging them.

“Of course, before arranging for you to become the ‘new Saintess,’ please allow me to handle some internal church matters first.”

Because, in the next moment, a scythe appeared in her hand, and before everyone could react, it struck the ground.

“Otherwise, the goddess cannot allow the ‘new Saintess’ to appear in peace.”

【Ding ding】

The sound of bells clashing echoed, and when Urasiru looked back at the Saintess candidates, all of them had already collapsed to the ground… except for one, the only one.

No, it should be one, plus an uninvited “guest” who was not welcomed by the goddess.

Urasiru stood firm, looking at the two girls before her. Nilu, and the “coincidentally” appearing Kfir at this time, both seemed to have agreed to appear together at this moment, and their purpose… was naturally very simple.

“You’re really ruthless, Miss Nun, even using techniques that interfere with the mind.”

As the azure fairy Alsas shielded Nilu and Kefir from mental attacks, Nilu sneered, “The goddess’s followers, your ruthlessness seems more akin to that of a great demon.”

“This is merely ordinary mental magic.”

Even sensing the hostility, Urasilu remained unwavering, her icy demeanor unchanged as she calmly regarded the two women before her.

“Kefir, Nilu, why do you both choose to interfere with the goddess’s will this time, disrupting the Church’s selection of the ‘New Saintess’? The goddess’s tolerance will not always be as generous as you imagine.”

“Is that so? Likewise, you can’t always rely on luck to encounter us when we’re burdened with a few deadweights and unable to unleash our full power.”

The white figure stirred up snowflakes that seemed capable of freezing the surrounding dust, air, and debris.

“And how unfortunate, Miss Nun, that your intelligence may label us as ‘enemies,’ but this time… even if we are reluctant, we are indeed cooperating~”

The black figure, with swirling black mist in hand, exuded an aura akin to the reaper harvesting lives, gradually spreading.

“After all, there is one thing we can agree upon.”

“To strike against him, one must pay the price!”