The Church's Strange Smell / It's a Fallen Angel...

Well, well. All that was missing was an Abyss system.

D-rank bounty clues were free, while C- to A-rank ones cost 10 Crystals, and S-rank and above cost 100 Crystals.

That was not too expensive.

The minimum reward for a C-rank bounty was 20 Crystals, while the maximum was 100. Even after deducting the cost, there was at least a profit of 10 Crystals. Not to mention the rewards for other difficulty levels.

B-rank bounties awarded 100 to 300 Crystals, and A-rank bounties awarded 300 to 1,000. Above those were S-Rank Bounties worth 1,000 to 3,000, SS-rank bounties worth 3,000 to 10,000 Crystals, and SSS+ bounties worth over 10,000.

These ranks did not represent strength. Some A-rank quasi-demon kings were about as strong as S-rank Demon Kings. Therefore, the rewards for killing them were not too different, usually around 1,000 Crystals.

Of course, that did not include Collection Bounties. Compared to kill-and-challenge bounties, collection-type bounties offered two rewards. However, there were far fewer Collection Bounties than kill-and-challenge ones.

Although there were quite a few Sacred Gears, their number was still limited.

Collection Bounties were not limited to Sacred Gears, either. There were other items, such as Evil Pieces, Artificial Artifacts, and other strange objects.

The Strange Smell of the Church

Miss Moonlit took a rough look. There were approximately 500 kill-and-challenge bounties in total, and 300 collection-type bounties.

Not every demon, angel, or god had a bounty on them. Most bounties of the same type could only be completed once, such as a bounty for killing any intermediate demon.

Once it was completed, it disappeared.

There were also other bounties for intermediate demons, but they all named specific targets. Killing just any intermediate demon would not complete them.

Group 950180909

Collection quests were the same. There were many Common Artifacts like the ordinary Dragon's Hand, but the bounty could only be completed once. However, there was no limit on recycling them. Extra Dragon's Hands could all be sold to the system.

If she completed more bounties, raised her Valkyrie rank to SSS+, and equipped exclusive Holy Relics, there would absolutely be no problem. She might even have plenty left over.

"Then I'll start with the bounties that offer higher rewards!"

Compared to kill bounties, bounties to collect Sacred Gears of the same rank offered higher rewards. After all, if she did not like a Sacred Gear, she could still sell it for Crystals.

Two birds with one stone.

She might even encounter a kill target, making it three rewards. Three birds with one stone!

But she did not dare touch anything too powerful right now. She could consider that after raising her level. For now, she would at most look for bounties below A-rank. There would not be much danger.

"This one looks good! A B-rank collection bounty, and it's in this city, not far away..."

She accepted it.

B-rank Bounty: Obtain the Sacred Gear "Shield of Protection"

Quest Reward: 170 Crystals.

Quest Clue:...

The Sacred Gear Shield of Protection?

She had never heard of it. It was probably a defensive Sacred Gear!

The Sacred Gears the girl remembered most clearly were those Sacred Gears that could destroy gods, along with some powerful Sacred Gears second only to them.

As for other Common Artifacts, she only knew about the Dragon's Hand. That was because Brother Cheng, the Dragon Emperor and protagonist of this world, had initially had his elite Sacred Gear, the Crimson Dragon Emperor's Cage, mistaken for an ordinary Dragon's Hand by his first-love Fallen Angel.

The Dragon's Hand was also a Sacred Gear that strengthened its user, but it was extremely limited in power and practically everywhere.

"This thing should be much stronger than a Dragon's Hand, right? The bounty for collecting an ordinary Dragon's Hand is only C-rank."

Although she did not recognize this Sacred Gear, it should be far better than a Dragon's Hand. The number of Crystals she would get from selling it to the system should be higher too, right?

In any case, she would get her hands on it first...

After checking the clue, she found that it was in a small town not far from the city.

But for safety's sake, she needed to make some preparations first.

Looking at the sun, which had completely set outside the window, the girl took out the "Hana" Stigmata set.

Normally, Stigmata were not specific pieces of equipment. In essence, they were databases containing vast amounts of genetic information.

Over the course of history, "Honkai antibodies" had once appeared in girls' bodies with a one-in-a-million probability. In an exceedingly small number of those girls, the antibodies would also form special patterns. These were "Stigmata."

Girls who possessed "Stigmata" gained the power to control "Honkai" and fought against it throughout history.

Later, people created "artificial antibodies" and "artificial Stigmata" to greatly strengthen the power of "Valkyries." However, due to the lack of authentic "Stigmata" left behind by historical heroic souls, "artificial Stigmata" were incomplete and came with enormous side effects.

Compared with how Stigmata were defined in the Honkai world, the Stigmata she had here were merely equipment from a game.

The vast majority of Stigmata had no side effects and could be changed freely.

"I just have to equip them on my back like this?"

Following Ai-chan's instructions, the girl equipped the Stigmata through the system. Immediately afterward... she felt something strange on her back.

Warm and comfortable...

Her strength seemed to have improved somewhat as well.

"Does that mean there'll be Stigmata patterns on my back too?"

Thinking of something, Miss Moonlit hurried into the bathroom, then took off her clothes... and looked at herself in the mirror.

Sure enough, three crimson Stigmata marks had appeared on her jade-white back.

They were not ugly. Instead, they carried a bewitching beauty.

They made one want to reach out and touch them...

Returning to the room, Miss Moonlit took out her weapon again, the five-star cross weapon: Bloodstained Crimson Casket.

Holding it in her hands, the girl directly transformed it into a pair of enormous chainsaws.

"Too bad it hasn't been upgraded beyond its limits..."

The girl was quite happy to receive Bloodstained Crimson Casket as a welcome gift, but Bloodstained Crimson Casket alone was not enough. She had to upgrade it beyond its limits.

The six-star limit-break weapon, Bloodstained Crimson Box: Love's Cut, was the true signature weapon meant for her.

Upgrading it beyond its limits would cost a large number of Crystals again. She could not stop earning Crystals.

"I can set off now."

She glanced around the room once more. Although she had slept there for a night, it was not messy. No guests had checked in today either, and nothing had happened.

Perhaps business was not very good!

Without thinking further, the girl transformed into a swarm of bats and flew out through the window.

Since the journey was not far, Miss Moonlit quickly reached the small town mentioned in the clue.

It was only evening, and the sky had not yet completely darkened, though it soon would.

The small town looked somewhat ancient. Its streets were paved with stone slabs, every stone seeming to whisper tales of history.

The buildings lining both sides of the street carried a rich historical atmosphere, simple yet elegant. The mottled marks on their stone walls told of the passage of time.

At the center of the town was an ancient square, surrounded by buildings that formed a perfect circle. A fountain stood in the middle, its spray dancing through the air and reflecting the colors of the setting sun.

Some townspeople chatted beside the fountain, their faces seemingly filled with ease and cheerfulness.

In the distance, the church steeple looked even more solemn and mysterious beneath the sunset. The church bells drifted through the air, calm and peaceful, as though praying for the town.

The girl walked slowly through the streets, rather fond of the atmosphere. It possessed the beauty of a fusion between modernity and the Middle Ages.

There was none of that fast-paced feeling. It made one want to slow down and quietly enjoy the moment.

Only after the sky had completely darkened did the girl arrive at the church.

Her target was inside it.

Church people again. It seemed she had truly become enemies with the Church.

No, not necessarily.

The girl caught the scent drifting from within the church. It seemed something unspeakable was happening inside.

As a vampire, Miss Moonlit's sense of smell was far too sharp.

That was right. Miss Moonlit could even smell whether the Captain was lying. What was this by comparison?

It's a Fallen Angel...

Sensing that strange smell inside, the girl hesitated for a few seconds... then raised her right hand. A bat flew in from somewhere and landed on her palm.

Qianxun first release: 312814139

"Go take a look up there."

Miss Moonlit spoke softly to the bat in her hand. The palm-sized bat nodded with remarkable human-like understanding.

It seemed to understand the girl's words. It spread its wings, flew above the church, and stopped by a window set into the wall.

It looked through the window into the church. Through the bat's vision, Miss Moonlit also clearly saw what was happening inside.

Everything happening within instantly made the girl blush...

Although she had guessed what sort of scene she might find, witnessing it firsthand was still quite stimulating!

"It really is... disgusting!"

There were roughly four men and two women inside.

The four men were all humans, and they should have been Church priests? No! Perhaps they were no longer priests, or perhaps they had once been priests.

As for the two women, they were not human. That could be seen from the pair of pitch-black wings on their backs.

They were not some kind of bird yokai either, because they did not possess any demonic aura. Instead, their bodies were filled with the power of light. Their identities were obvious...

"They're Fallen Angels..."

They were Fallen Angels, one of the three major factions recorded in the Bible.

The first Fallen Angels had originally been angels... but after evil thoughts and desires arose in their hearts, they were expelled from Heaven—"fallen"—and became an entirely new race.

It had been mentioned before that angels in this world were almost entirely free of evil and were the most trustworthy.

They had white wings and halos, lived in the Heaven created by God of the Bible, and drew power from their believers' faith. If an angel developed desires or wicked thoughts, their white wings would flicker black and white. If they failed to restrain themselves, they would become Fallen Angels.

Because of this, angels could not become bad even if they wanted to!

Once an angel became bad, they were no longer an angel, but an enemy... a Fallen Angel.

Even desire between men and women was forbidden to angels. If it happened, they would fall.

However, in order to satisfy the original author's desire to let the male protagonist build a harem and take in angels, Michael specifically invented a "room where angels and humans can have sex without falling" and gave it to Irina, allowing her to boldly pursue the Dragon Emperor.

In short, unlike angels, Fallen Angels had nothing to worry about. They could do whatever they wanted.

They did not have angels' halos, but they could spread crow-like black Fallen Angel wings. Like angels, the more wings they had, the higher their strength and status.

However, the Fallen Angels of this world differed from Fallen Angels in other settings. After falling, their power did not become darkness; they still used angels' power of light.

"Looks like Azazel wasn't wrong. Compared to the purity of angels, most female Fallen Angels are naturally promiscuous, dress revealingly, and aim to seduce males of other races."

Qianxun 312814139

They did not even spare the human Lost Priests under their command...

Retracting her gaze, the girl recalled what that Fallen Angel Governor had said. The overwhelming majority of female Fallen Angels were sluts.

Even though Azazel was the leader of the Fallen Angels and the only Archangel who had fallen.

Speaking of which, he had fallen because of breasts, yet after becoming a Fallen Angel, he lost much of his interest in that area. Instead, he turned his hobbies toward researching Sacred Gears and watching entertaining spectacles.

"The target Sacred Gear seems to be in the hands of one of the priests..."

Looking at the church doors, the girl hesitated slightly.

Her target was on one of those priests, but given the situation inside, should she make her move now?

Considering what was happening inside, charging in and killing them now would be best. They would not even have time to react, but it somehow did not feel quite right.