Advanced Divine Arts and the Filthy Blood Curse

During his visit to the Central Observatory, Iver obtained unexpected intelligence.

They couldn't find out where the troll's grandfather, "Old Rabbihe," was... but they did find out the origin of the corpse that was dumped out of the wardrobe.

...perhaps.

Although Iver felt this could only be half-believed, given Pure White's unstable mental state, it seemed to make sense. At least in her understanding, the Candidate Saintess named "Gloria Blue Rose" could indeed have killed Bishop Mercedes.

"... Saintess Highness, are you alright?"

Iver noticed Chunbai's less-than-pleasant expression and asked softly.

Chunbai simply covered her forehead and shook her head slightly. "It's nothing serious, just a bit of a headache. It hasn't gotten worse."

Her eyes, wrapped in bandages, revealed no emotion.

"Excuse me, who is Gloria...?"

Sherlock asked, "Who is he? Is he also your friend?"

He wasn't the kind of person who lacked emotional intelligence—quite the opposite, in fact, Sherlock had a very precise grasp of psychology.

The main thing is, someone has to ask these kinds of questions eventually. Iver isn't really suited for this kind of emotionally unintelligent task, so we'll just have to leave it to him.

"... No, Gloria was one of Mercedes ' childhood friends. She doesn't know Yanis... she's a friend who's closer to Mercedes' side, and our relationship... is so-so."

"She might be a little jealous of me, perhaps because I became Saintess, or perhaps because I got along well with Mercedes. But I always thought she was a good girl..."

Pure White's expression was complex. "In this respect, Cardinal Loki is right, the chances of a candidate Saintess being amber are indeed very high. There are many children like her who have ambered, and I talk to them every week. All the children who grew up with me have now ambered... Gloria and Mercedes are the last two of my generation."

"Wait, what does this mean..."

Lily, who had been watching for a long time, suddenly realized what was going on when she heard this. "Master Agnes, was she also Saintess Candidate before?"

"No."

The Pure White Saintess shook her head. "It is so. Saintess needs to resonate with the Nine Pillar Gods, and therefore must learn the arts of the Nine Great Paths at the same time. It was from that time that Mercedes and I met Yanis... The person who taught us girls the arts of beauty back then was Yanis's mentor, Betina Tia Blooming Flowers."

"... Gloria was eliminated too early, she hasn't even reached this stage yet."

In other words...

Hearing this, Iver slowly spoke, "Has she, Ningpo, been over two hundred years old...?"

"Yes, Gloria should be the person who has been in the Theocracy the longest."

Pure White nodded. "Gloria Ningpo is almost two hundred years old. Mercedes and I have been taking care of her all these years."

"From the moment amber began to form, Gloria's mind and age remained frozen at that moment. From then on, she was no longer able to do any other work—because any work is bound to be repetitive and can always become boring. And usually, once amber forms, it will completely solidify within a few months."

"Therefore, relieving the amber connoisseur of all work is also a humanitarian act of care for the dying. Not to mention, there will always be people who worry that spending too much time with the amber connoisseur might cause them to become amber themselves."

"Unlike Mercedes, Gloria's Dedication Path was not very intense, so she could not become a bishop. As a result, she eventually became a poet and writer. The new mentor I found for her was Stella Blue Rose."

"Selected Eighty Poems of Stella?"

Sherlock thought of his Elven Language textbook and blurted out, "Is it that Shidel? So she's still alive?"

Her poems skillfully utilize every rhyme in Elven Language, possessing complex yet standard grammar, making them melodious and easy to recite. Even in translation, they retain their beauty and are easy to memorize. Today, many countries use Shidel's poems as Elven Language textbooks.

She's not just Avalon... she's probably the most well-known elf among humans.

"Of course she's still alive," Iver retorted. "Master Shidel is not even four hundred years old; among elves, she probably wouldn't even be considered middle-aged."

Upon hearing this, the Saintess nodded slightly.

"Yes. I have some connection with Master Shidel. In fact, if Yanis hadn't left, I might have introduced Yanis to her as well."

"Perhaps it was because she still had some things to do that she didn't completely develop a scab. However, her pessimism hadn't dissipated, so the scab on her skin was very clear and hadn't improved... it could only be said to be slowly deteriorating."

Pure White lowered her head, looking somewhat lost, but not too sad. "It seems she may not like our advice. Forcing her to stay in the Human World has only brought her greater pain."

"...So," Lily began, "Was it because she had been tormented by Ningpo for too long that she decided to kill Bishop Mercedes, who was caring for her?"

"Then why would she put her body in my closet?"

Iver countered, "And why was she killed in such a sacrificial manner?"

Intuitively, Iver still felt that the Bishop Mercedes had been sacrificed to something.

Because the way she died was so strange, it didn't seem like an act of losing control under emotional distress.

He felt that the person who took action had a very clear will and purpose.

... But all of this is just speculation; no one has any concrete evidence. All they know for now is that Gloria confessed to killing Bishop Mercedes, and that she jumped to her death, instantly solidifying into amber in mid-air, shattering into countless gems upon landing.

So when Iver asked a question, he could only get silence from the others in response.

"... Uh, uh uh umm..."

But just then...

The troll, who had been cautiously remaining silent, suddenly let out a sound as if it were enduring something.

The sound was like someone struggling to defecate, making everyone involuntarily frown. Ironically, it caused everyone to stop discussing the conspiracy and turn away.

At that moment, the troll Ritual Mage named "Zumai Di," meaning "Bone Paste," suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

His skin, which looked as if it had been soaked in hot water for a long time or as if it were inflamed boils, was covered with clear beads of sweat at a visible speed.

In an instant, Zumai Di was drenched in sweat, and the sweat beads quickly turned cloudy and dark yellow.

Right at the entrance of the Central Observatory, a strong, pungent stench suddenly emanated from Zumai Di —the smell was like rotting shark. The acrid odor of urine mingled with the putrid smell of decaying meat and the fishy odor of a seafood market.

He finally couldn't bear it any longer and knelt down.

As the troll's towering body knelt on the ground, Iver even vaguely felt the ground tremble. Beads of yellowish sweat splattered from his body, staining the once pristine and technologically advanced ground black like mud.

The Troll Witch Rabbihe was suddenly startled, as if he recognized something.

He shouted something, then looked at Iver and Pure White, and cried out in Elven Language was much more fluent than Avalon Language: "It's a curse! He's cursed! Save him!"

In fact, he didn't need to specifically ask for help.

Just as Zumai Di knelt on the ground, the yellowish sweat seeping from his skin gradually turning into drops of blood, Iver and the Saintess Pure White had already reacted.

"I beseech the candle keeper, the god of the Sacred Number three..."

Iver gripped the Corona Scepter tightly and chanted softly.

At the same time, the Saintess extended her right hand and spread her five fingers.

Her aura suddenly became ethereal and serene, like a cool breeze blowing around her on a summer evening.

The next moment, a black wind blew out from beside her.

Before Iver could finish chanting, the gust of wind chilled Zumai Di to the bone.

A cloud of dark red blood mist was blown out of his body by the wind, condensing into a rough humanoid shape behind him before dissipating.

At this point, Zumai Di had already stopped screaming in pain.

The Saintess's aura once again became radiant and sacred, as dazzling as the sun—

With a casual flick of her wrist, golden flames erupted around Zumai Di. The flames ignited instantly and vanished in a flash, like a brief burst of flame in a frying pan.

Zumai Di breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly looked much healthier.

At this point, Iver hadn't even finished the first line of his incantation.

He had to stop chanting, and the flaming crown on his head gradually went out.

It wasn't that Iver chanted slowly... he could never catch up to that speed.

—Because it was not a prayer, but a "spirit invocation".

"See that, Iver?"

Saintess Grey also clearly realized that this was a very good lesson.

She turned to look at Iver and instructed him, "This is the ' Advanced Divine Arts ' you will be learning later."

"It is not about praying and asking the gods to listen and waiting for Divine Miracle to happen. Rather, it is about connecting with the gods who can perform Divine Miracle and using oneself as a medium to influence the Material Realm. Once a specific relationship is established, divine power can be released without chanting. Whether it is an apostle, a celestial being, or Pillar God, one can communicate with them and learn the corresponding Advanced Divine Arts."

"—To become Cardinal, one must resonate with at least one Pillar God."

The Saintess spoke very seriously, revealing profound meaning.

It was as if Grey was certain that Iver was capable of mastering Advanced Divine Arts and would become Cardinal Bishop.

She turned to look at the three trolls who were huddled together, comforting each other and still in shock. She frowned slightly and said softly to Iver, "You don't have anything else to do today, do you?"

"If not, bring them with you... This is the Filthy Blood Curse."

"... Filthy Blood Curse?"

Sherlock heard a familiar term. "No, that's something that can only be used on women..."

He remembered that Lu Lu had been cursed during the Fox and Lu Lu's first Promotion Ritual. Sherlock was deeply impressed by how malevolent the curse was.

"This is a modified curse. The definition of the cursed 'poisonous blood' is that it spreads from menstrual blood to the venous blood throughout the body. Therefore, once the curse is activated, it can immediately cause the failure of all organs. This is a curse that can kill quickly. The one who released it is at least Fourth Level Grand Wizard. His purpose is not torture but assassination... If it weren't for me and Iver being here, he would be in danger."

Pure White said earnestly, "The one who was cursed before was Iver, but now it's the troll who brought him here to find someone... It's possible that they've been discovered. But this troll who speaks Elven Language seems to have some clue about the current situation."

She hadn't forgotten her friend's death, nor had she recovered from the intense ordeal of Gloria's suicide after becoming a murderer—she simply had more important matters to attend to.

Even if they were just three trolls who had illegally crossed the border, even if they were complete strangers to her... if one of them were to be killed or murdered right before her eyes—Pure White still could not allow such a thing to happen.

"As long as I am here, as long as I am alive, I will not let anyone suffer in front of me."

Saintess Highness, holding Iver's wrist, said, word by word, "Come with me, let's trace the trail of the curse. With this gentleman as our probe, we no longer need to ask Cardinal Loki for guidance... I can find the person myself."

"—This is the Theocracy, and all murderers will pay the price."

Iver was pulled forward by her, looking at the pure white figure without hesitation.

Compared to her best friend whose cause of death remains a mystery, Chunbai decides to first help the surviving strangers... and does her best to help them without asking for anything in return.

She didn't even ask the names of the three trolls, nor did she know what they were doing there.

For those with whom she had a more distant relationship, Chunbai voluntarily gave up those with whom she had a closer relationship and who were more "belonging to her"... This is undoubtedly a pure act of dedication, and Chunbai is worthy of the name Chunbai and the reality of being Saintess.

... And this is precisely why Bishop Mathers did not want to continue climbing higher.