Near the Nightmare

Gawain was momentarily stunned—what Veronica had said was completely beyond his expectations.

"An aura of a god..." Only after several seconds did he break the silence, rubbing his chin as he spoke slowly. "What kind of aura, specifically? Is she a god's follower? Or is she carrying a high-level holy relic? There are many possible explanations for a god's aura."

"The aura is extremely faint, and it seems to have undergone some kind of mutation. I cannot determine whether it is contamination or 'divine favor,' but she should not be a god's follower," Veronica said gravely. "First, there is no intelligence indicating that Matilda Augustus is a devout believer of any god—according to Typhon's public official records, the Augustus Family is not close to the churches. Only Prince Hadrian has closer ties with the God of War Church, but no member of the family is an openly declared believer. Second, if she were a god's follower, there would definitely be an uncontrollable leakage of sacred aura around her, and her entire temperament would change because of it. Since gods stand far above humans, such a change cannot be concealed or reversed."

"Sacred aura leaking out..." Hearing that, Gawain suddenly thought of something else and could not help glancing at Veronica. "Like the sacred aura around you?"

"...Yes." Veronica nodded. "The Holy Light affinity phenomenon on my body is the manifestation of this uncontrollable sacred aura—strictly speaking, I really am a follower of the God of Holy Light."

Gawain looked at Veronica, with faint Holy Light lingering around her, and recalled her true identity as a Defying the Gods. He could not help feeling an indescribable absurdity. "...Someone who defies the gods by nature, yet is genuinely a follower of the God of Holy Light. All I can say is that