Chapter 118

Come to think of it, although she seemed lively and energetic before, even Theresa was in so much pain that she couldn't bear it. It wouldn't be surprising if Ilulu had endured even more pain, fainted at any time. The fact that she could struggle like that just now must have exhausted all her strength.

Thinking this, Theresa simply controlled Judas to push them forward a bit, then closed her eyes and kicked Ilulu off the cross, finding a comfortable position to lie down.

After all, Judas was only two meters tall. Although both of them were short, it was impossible for them to lie down on it together.

Not long ago, in the distance.

"Damn it...! You human trash!"

Reiner knew that time was precious, so he deliberately stayed behind on the way forward and dragged the two people who had just opened the door to the back of the group.

Tifa frowned as she watched his actions, but did not intend to stop him.

Those who break the rules must be taught a lesson, and simply sending them to a military court afterward is not enough to appease Tifa's anger; in fact, she is prepared to beat them up herself.

However, the two men who were pulled out were ashen-faced, like wax figures, as if they didn't know what had happened. Reiner felt his blood pressure soar, and he pulled out his sidearm from his waist and pointed it at one of the men's heads. "Even now, you're still putting on an act!"

He recognized these people, or rather, the clothing of everyone in the expedition team. Judging from their clothes and appearance, these two were India members.

As if just awakened, the person whose head was being pointed at blinked blankly, looking at their hands in disbelief. "What... what did I do?"

This reaction almost made Reiner laugh in exasperation, and he pressed the barrel of his gun directly against the other man's head. "What did you do? Want me to help you remember?"

"No... wait a minute!?"

Upon hearing this, the India immediately waved his hands frantically. Under the stimulation of fear and oppression, Reiner was able to carefully observe his expression.

"Why did you activate the 'door' without authorization!?"

He asked.

"I don't know! When I came to my senses, it was already...! And before that... it felt like a dream..."

His answer was full of emotion and contained almost no useful information, but one thing was clear: he admitted that his actions were not intentional.

Reiner frowned as he stared intently at his expression.

He couldn't detect any signs of lying. If the other person were an officer or soldier, it would be understandable, but the other person was just a botanist.

"What happened?"

Tifa, who was also paying attention to the situation, came over when she saw this. "You mean opening the door wasn't your intention?"

"Yes... yes!"

The Valkyrie seemed easier to talk to than the menacing-looking America. The botanist immediately turned to Tifa, hurriedly explaining, "I didn't mean to open the door without permission! By God's grace, I swear to my faith! The devil has possessed me!"

Tifa and Reiner exchanged a glance, then looked at the other person who was still in a daze.

In the previous world, Tifa and Reiner would not have believed in demons, but... in this world where gods and dragons exist, demons and monsters are not entirely unfounded.

Reiner temporarily sheathed his pistol, but his brow remained furrowed. If they were misled by the Evil Organization because of their own lack of willpower, Reiner could simply execute them without prior notice. But being misled by demons or devils... their value increased considerably.

It has research value.

Thinking of this, Reiner let out a breath. "Catch up with the group first, I'll keep an eye on you."

There should be more than just these two people who have been bewitched, but only these two have been discovered. To find out how many people have been affected, we need to interrogate them and see if there are any similar anomalies. However, these are not things that can be done right now, so we have to postpone them for now.

As Reiner sheathed his gun and prepared to catch up with the main group, he noticed Tifa staring intently behind him.

"The golden Barrier has disappeared..."

Noticing the situation, Tifa looked at Reiner beside her and said, "I need to go back and check on Bishop Theresa!"

Reiner turned around and saw the Barrier disappear, but he didn't immediately agree, "What if Ms. Theresa fails? You'll just be throwing your life away!"

"Bishop Theresa ... will not fail."

"But we must consider the possibility of failure. If you rush over there, you may expose our whereabouts."

"I will change my route during the journey."

Tifa gave Reiner a complicated look. Who would turn back after breaking away from the main force? We Valkyrie have some knowledge of warfare too.

Reiner let out a sigh of relief and said bluntly, "We can't afford to lose any more men."

"We cannot afford to lose Bishop Theresa!"

After hearing this, Reiner had no reason to refute it. In fact, he didn't want to object, but one of the two had to raise an objection so that the event could be analyzed more comprehensively.

"Come back as soon as possible, and take Ms. Theresa with you."

Tifa didn't say anything more, nodded, and disappeared from Reiner's sight with two leaps.

The mountain road was complex and rugged, and it was easy for unfamiliar people to lose their way. However, Tifa, as Valkyrie, had an excellent sense of direction and strong physical abilities. In less than ten minutes, she found Theresa lying on the cross and Ilulu lying on the ground.

Without even glancing at the girl on the ground, Tifa nervously checked the white-haired girl's pulse and breathing. Only after confirming that they were still steady and calm did she breathe a sigh of relief and finally have a chance to examine the little girl lying on the ground.

"This is... that dragon?"

Tifa was shaken as she looked at the little girl's red hair, as well as her claws and horns that maintained her dragon form.

She carried Theresa on her back and looked around. She found no signs of a battle, only a large crater left when the dragon fell.

So... did Bishop Theresa persuade this dragon to surrender? Or something else entirely?

Tifa was hesitant to make a decision, and even though she found a gold pendant around Ilulu's neck, she didn't dare bring her back to the main group.

After thinking it over, she decided to take Theresa and the magical cross back first. As for the dragon... she couldn't give an immediate opinion.

However, an embarrassing thing happened: although she could carry Theresa on her back, she unexpectedly found that she couldn't lift the cross, even though she had lifted it before.

With no other option, Tifa could only hold Theresa and hide in a tree not far away, waiting for Theresa to wake up.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Shelter.

Calculating that the time should be about right, Theresa stopped pretending to be asleep and slowly opened her eyes.

"Bishop Theresa ...!"

Tifa kept her voice low, after all, there was a dragon sleeping nearby.

Tifa... why are you back?

Theresa, who had just woken up, looked a little dazed, which was unusual for her. This wasn't the first time Tifa had seen her in this state, which was different from her 'Bishop' state,' but every time, it made Tifa want to reach out and pinch the girl's cheek.

Even though she knew very well that the other person was an elder who was older than her, no matter the age, Bishop Theresa was the cutest in the world.

"Because I saw the Barrier disappear, I was worried about the bishop's condition, so I turned back to check."

Although she felt a sense of healing, Tifa didn't forget the important matter. "Bishop Theresa, that red-haired girl...?"

"She is the dragon."

Having regained some consciousness, Theresa adjusted her position on the Valkyrie before jumping to the ground. "I've restricted her magic; she can't hurt anyone now."

Tifa felt a little regretful. Although she had hugged him for a long time, the bishop when he was awake was different from the bishop when he was asleep.

"Is it this cross that's restricting...?"

The Valkyrie leaped down from the tree. "Although I knew beforehand that it wasn't an ordinary cross, I never expected it could do something so amazing..."

As the Valkyrie guard captain who was closest to Theresa's life, Tifa often saw Theresa using this cross, but at the time she only regarded the cross as a large Swiss Army Knife, from which she could easily pull out pots and pans, brooms and mops, and even a bed. So many things did not seem to be able to be crammed into that small cross.

Therefore, she had anticipated the unusual nature of the cross.

"Judas was capable of much more than that."

Theresa proudly straightened her body, then controlled Judas to float in mid-air. "Tifa, put that child on the cross."

"Yes."

After guessing that Theresa's condition might still not be very good, Tifa threw Ilulu onto the cross. "The residents haven't gone too far, but the roads here are not easy to travel. Does Lady Theresa need my help?"

"... Then I'll leave it to you."

The two didn't need to worry about Judas, who was hovering on the ground. As long as Theresa held the chains, she could follow behind. Without any worries, Tifa, carrying Theresa, arrived at the main force in just five minutes by following the marks left by the Valkyrie.

They had arrived at a stream. Having traveled such a long distance, the group needed water, but there were no trees to shelter them. Although there had been no news of the dragon, there was no definite information either. No one dared to go out to fetch water and instead hid in the woods, looking back and forth.

"Still no news about Ms. Theresa?"

The priest moved from the front to the back and asked Reiner with concern.

"... No, but we sent people out to search an hour ago, so they should be back by now."

They didn't come back when they were supposed to, which is not good news.

Reiner's expression was not good, and the priest's face also paled considerably, but before they could continue speaking, a Valkyrie ran over from a distance. "I saw Lady Tifa and Bishop Theresa!"

"They're back?"

This news calmed the two down considerably. Not long after, the black-haired Valkyrie, dressed in special forces uniform, returned to the group with Theresa in her arms. At the same time, the group noticed the cross behind them and the red-haired girl lying on it.

What's particularly striking are the red-haired girl's dragon claws, which are unlike any other, and the horns on either side of her head.

"Ms. Theresa, thank goodness you're alright! But what's this...?"

Reiner expressed his delight at Theresa's return, but his expression became somewhat subtle when he looked at the red-haired girl.

Anyone who sees this would immediately associate the girl with a dragon, right?

"She is Ilulu, the former dragon."

Theresa didn't hide anything. "But don't worry, I've used Judas to limit her magic. Now she's not much different from an ordinary little girl."

Actually, there is some. Although restricting magic also restricts strength, even with the restriction, her strength is still far greater than that of the Valkyrie.

"Anyway, she's not in danger right now, right...?"

Reiner still found it hard to accept; even with the restrictions, it still felt like a ticking time bomb.

However, Theresa is currently the only person the team can count on, and at least Reiner doesn't think his judgment is more valuable Theresa's.

May the Lord forgive her...

The priests, on the other hand, didn't have so many thoughts. In their eyes, Theresa, as a bishop, was already God's Executor, and every move she made must have a profound meaning. Even if they couldn't understand it, they could only blame their lack of intellectual depth.

"The bishop is not in good condition, and we need to find a suitable place to rest as soon as possible."

Tifa said.

"The problem with the dragon has been solved, Father. You can arrange for the residents to collect water, and then we will go to a suitable place to rest as soon as possible."

Reiner then realized that Theresa had been carried back, cursed himself under his breath, and quickly made arrangements.

Do we have any tents, sleeping bags, or other things that are convenient for resting? Even one would be helpful!

After settling the priest in, Reiner looked at the Scout Team.

He didn't think they could find a place to rest for so many people today, but it was essential for Theresa to stay in top condition.

"Because I left in a hurry... so..."

The Scout Team was powerless to do anything about it.

After all, how could you possibly carry heavy or bulky items when you're escaping for your life?

"I can take a few people back to the town to get some supplies."

Tifa suggested.

The Valkyrie were ordered to help the townspeople take refuge, so they didn't have much time to collect supplies. They were either helping to clear obstacles or helping elderly people, children, and pregnant women with mobility issues to leave the danger zone as quickly as possible.

"No, there's still a dragon over in town. I didn't have time to deal with it. Although it's pinned down by Judas's spear and shouldn't be able to move, something unexpected could still happen."

Theresa rejected the proposal.

"But... if that's the case..."

Tifa's expression was rather unpleasant.

Their current situation in the Otherworld depends entirely on Theresa's condition. If Theresa cannot get enough rest, it will not be good for anyone.

"Don't worry, I have a way to solve the Temporary Shelter."

Theresa looked at Ilulu, who was fast asleep.

It's perfectly normal for her to contribute to the group so that she can better integrate into the community.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Scout Team's Dilemma.