Angels and Demons

[Reality]

[April 17, 625 Light Calendar, 18:05]

[Comment: Congratulations! You have unlocked a new title—"King of Modification"!]

[To think you actually learned to exploit system loopholes! Your spirit of exploration and experimentation is commendable. You traversed a significant amount of time in this simulation and obtained a great deal of intelligence...]

[Rating: B]

[Reward: Points * 60]

[Remaining Points: 60]

[Unlocked Skill: Magic Immunity Lv2]

[You may select one magic skill from an opponent; once selected, you will be permanently immune to that magic effect.]

[Note: You may change your selection, but upon re-selecting a different magic skill, all previous immunity effects are cleared. In other words—you can only be immune to one magic skill at a time.]

When the familiar system prompts appeared, Ansu felt a wave of dizziness.

He gently steadied his forehead, taking a long moment to regain his composure.

"Lord Ansu..." Freya looked at him with concern. "What is wrong? Is your head hurting?"

Ansu stared intently at the living Freya before him, watching her for so long that she began to feel uneasy.

"Lord Ansu, why are you looking at me like that?" Freya touched her cheeks in confusion, wondering if there was something on her face.

"It's nothing." Ansu shook his head.

"I just drifted off for a moment. Please, continue..."

Returning from this simulation left him with a surreal, lingering sense of detachment. Only after seeing Freya and the small chapel around him did he realize the simulation had ended and he had returned to reality.

It couldn't be helped; the crazed, terrifying Cecilia from just moments ago had left an "indelible impression" on his heart, and it took him quite a while to shake it off...

"Mm." Once Freya was certain Ansu was truly alright, she nodded and continued, "Lord Ansu, you don't need to worry anymore. As long as you return to the Church with me, under the protection of those three powerful bishops, absolutely no one will be able to harm you! You can rest easy!"

With that, she flashed a confident smile, waiting expectantly for Ansu's reply.

Ansu looked at the little saintess's confident smile, a mutter rising in his heart.

Rest easy? I can't rest easy at all!

He had seen the mangled corpse of Bishop Paul in that rocky wasteland; looking at it that way, perhaps the other two had died there as well...

You think having a "three-on-one" advantage means you've already won...

Ansu couldn't imagine how powerful and terrifying Cecilia was when forced to unleash her full strength. The Church's three great bishops plus the saintess Freya weren't enough to stop her, and that wasn't even counting the other clergy members...

Not to mention that the current Cecilia hadn't even encountered her "fateful turning point" yet. Once she blackened, she would be the complete form of the [Witch of World Destruction].

It was truly terrifying.

"I think..." Ansu stopped Freya's fantasies at the right moment, "let's just forget it. I won't be going back with you."

"Why?" Freya looked at Ansu, bewildered, her tone crestfallen. "Does Lord Ansu not trust me? Do you not trust our Church of Holy Light?"

"I do, but this matter is not as simple as you think." Ansu studied Freya, whose head had been successfully "reattached." "Besides, I am doing this for your own good."

How cute the energetic little saintess is; if I go back with you, you'll end up "losing your head" for good...

"Oh..." Freya sighed and lowered her head. "Alright then. Since it is Lord Ansu's decision, you must have thought it through carefully..."

Ansu reorganized his thoughts. Aligning with the Church was merely an attempt, but the intelligence gained from this simulation made him realize that investigating through the Church's line might yield unexpected results.

"Of the three bishops you mentioned, is there a significant conflict between Bishop Paul and Bishop Terry?"

Freya blinked in surprise. "Lord Ansu, how did you know..."

If you enjoy this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

"Don't ask too much about that." Ansu smiled mysteriously. "Do not underestimate me; I have my own intelligence network."

Freya, however, didn't think too deeply about it at all.

She nodded blankly; after all, given the status of a Chosen One, it was within her expectations that he would have his own intelligence system...

"The conflict between Bishop Paul and Bishop Terry is indeed quite significant." Freya furrowed her delicate brows as she recalled. "Bishop Paul is a very open-minded person. He does not wish for the Church to continue adhering to the rigid, outdated rules from hundreds or thousands of years ago. He wants the Church to be more open and to help more people..."

"Bishop Terry, on the other hand, is very conservative. He believes the doctrine cannot be changed. He has many followers and stands in direct opposition to Bishop Paul regarding their philosophies."

"There is even a major disagreement between them regarding the matter of the Chosen One. Because Bishop Terry harbors a hint of hostility toward me, he does not believe the 'divine oracle' is real."

"After arriving in Benalu City, he has said impatiently several times that there is no such thing as a Chosen One, and that the Church used to have several Chosen Ones show up every two years. If they were all real, the Church would have unified the entire world long ago..."

"Oh, is that so..." Ansu caught a hint of abnormality in Freya's words.

This Bishop Terry clearly doesn't care about the Chosen One at all, nor does he believe that cultists would stir up trouble or hold any sacrificial rituals, yet he wanted to pry information out of me?

That is somewhat hypocritical.

It suggests that he only pretends not to care, while deep down, he is very concerned about the Echo of Truth Cult.

I would even believe it if someone said he was a mole planted in the Church by the cult...

After chatting a bit more about the internal affairs of the Church, Ansu checked the time.

"In that case, Freya, you should return to The Church first. If I have any need for you, I will find a way to contact you."

Freya gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. Although she hadn't managed to bring the Chosen One back with her, simply finding him today was already an incredible stroke of luck.

"Also," Ansu said with a serious expression, "did you remember what I instructed you earlier?"

"I remembered!" Freya's small face immediately tightened, and she replied just as seriously: "I will definitely not reveal your identity to anyone else, and I will keep my distance from you as well. You can rest assured!"

Ansu nodded. Next, he had to pay a visit to Cecilia's home...

To be honest, after going through all that, he was genuinely feeling a bit apprehensive about seeing Cecilia again...

Yet, he had reasons he simply had to go.

Fortunately, the reward this time gave him a bit of confidence.

[Magic Immunity Lv2]

The upgraded version of this skill was a qualitative change. From now on, Ansu wouldn't have to worry about the Scum Witch suddenly having a mood swing and testing him with [Hypnosis] at the drop of a hat.

As long as he selected her [Hypnosis Technique], he could show off his acting skills to his heart's content in the future.

Not to mention, this skill had a lot of room for tactical application, and it would be very useful for defending against other magic casters as well.

After bidding farewell to Freya, the little saintess watched Ansu leave the church with lingering reluctance.

Ansu pretended that nothing had happened and followed the students who were just getting out of class as he left the Royal Academy.

Arriving at Cecilia's mansion in the Riverside District by carriage, the head maid, whose expression barely changed, welcomed him inside.

After he gently knocked on Cecilia's door, she didn't seem surprised by his arrival.

"Not bad, you're quite punctual~"

Cecilia's door opened quickly. Although her tone was the same as usual, the sparkling light in her eyes betrayed her inner thoughts; it was clear she was happy about Ansu's arrival.

"Come in quickly!"

She pulled Ansu into the room with a beaming smile. "If there are any magic tomes you want to see, just go find them yourself. Oh, that's right, I have a new research project today that you absolutely must see! It's so interesting!"

Watching this excited and jubilant Cecilia, Ansu sighed inwardly.

Between angel and demon, which side was the real her?