Divine Grace Descent

The sphere of light above Crimson Cathedral grew ever more dazzling, making Kaster City-State seem as bright as day.

People throughout the city-state nearly all stopped what they were doing and looked toward the cathedral.

Some were astonished, some enraged, some cheering...

Countless believers of the Church of Dawn lowered their heads, crossed their hands over their shoulders, and responded softly, "Praise Dawn!"

For a time, the words "Dawn" echoed throughout all of Kaster City-State.

At that moment, a golden pillar of light tore through the dim sky and shone upon the sphere, coating its silver-white surface in a layer of golden radiance.

Then, a whisper arose.

It was like someone whispering in his ear, yet it allowed him to "hear" the majesty within it.

"Thorpe, Sensi, Deneal, Nisoraxi..."

As Wei En listened to the whisper, his brow furrowed. Was this Gonzalez Language?

He tried to make sense of it. "Dawn, ever-bright and long... something descends, something bears something... death?"

"What the hell is all that supposed to mean?"

Even with his proficient Gonzalez Language, he could not understand the meanings of those words.

Seriously...

Just then, night fell!

A gigantic Red Moon slowly emerged in the night sky, casting down its dim crimson glow.

In an instant, the low and resounding whisper ceased.

The golden pillar of light vanished.

Bathed in the Red Moon's light, the silver-white sphere dimmed and was no longer so dazzling.

"Dawn!"

As that voice rang out, the sphere disappeared, leaving only a slender figure lying horizontally in midair.

"Hm? Why was she wearing... that was armor, right?"

Seeing this, Wei En could not help feeling disappointed. Hadn't she been naked before?

Before long, the figure slowly drifted down, while the strange phenomenon above the cathedral faded away as well.

It seemed that even Dawn's radiance had to keep a low profile beneath the Red Moon.

[Having listened to the Voice of Divinity from an unknown existence, your mind has been cleansed. Evaluation: For some, it is cleansing; for certain "people," it is Blasphemy. Reward: Survival Points +3, Mental Level -1 (temporary).]

When Wei En saw the message, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his head, making him clutch his head with both hands and cry out.

"What the hell? Was the blasphemy against certain people referring to me?"

Wasn't it supposed to be cleansing?

How had it cleansed away one of his Mental Levels instead?

It took Wei En quite a while to recover. He angrily shut the window, muttering curses under his breath.

"What kind of trash Voice of Divinity was that? What was divine about that piece of crap?"

It had deducted an entire Mental Level from him. The fact that he had not cursed its mother was already giving it face!

Wei En shook his head and secretly decided that, from now on, he would rather die than watch any commotion involving the Church of Dawn.

But no matter what he thought, there was nothing he could do.

A Mental Level that had already been cleansed away could not possibly be restored...

Clink.

At that moment, a familiar sound rang out, and the Blue-White Box began to Blink.

Wei En opened the box in confusion and saw several Coins lying inside. After taking them out and counting them, he said, "Three Shillings and six Pennies, this is..."

Only then did he remember that the Specter School's letter had stated that all knowledge exchanges would be given to him at a ten-percent discount.

"Unexpected wealth. Not bad." A smile appeared on Wei En's face once more.

The money was not much, but a little surprise was still a surprise, and it brightened his mood again.

It was only one Mental Level. There would be plenty of chances to raise it again later.

With that thought, he activated the Typewriter and transmitted a detailed account of what he had just witnessed.

His intuition told him that what had happened at the Church of Dawn today was anything but ordinary.

"August 9th, 1578 of the New Calendar. Clear weather."

"Today, an extraordinary event occurred at Crimson Cathedral in Kaster City-State. A beautiful, completely naked woman, wrapped in silver-white light, rose into the air..."

In only five minutes, he had completed an intelligence report filled with flowery language, easily exceeding a thousand words.

This was huge news, top-secret intelligence... Surely they could not call him a salary thief again this time, right?

Wei En looked expectantly at the Blue-White Box. How much of a reward would the Specter School give him for intelligence like this?

If it was still only six Pennies, he would absolutely quit—were they trying to fool an idiot?

Clink, clink, clink.

A crisp, pleasant sound came from within the Blue-White Box, and Wei En's excitement rose with it.

He did not know whether it was an illusion, but he seemed to hear countless Coins bouncing inside the box.

Click.

The box opened.

"Hm? One Gold... Gold Pound?"

Wei En stared in surprise at the Gold Pound and an envelope inside the box.

Although he had expected something, he had not thought the Specter School would be so generous as to reward him directly with one Gold Pound.

This was the greatest reward he had received since becoming an Intelligence Officer, including the rewards received by his predecessor!

"Very good, Wei En Loft. You have finally regained your sensitivity to the value of intelligence. I am very satisfied with this report."

"At the same time, I have decided to make some changes to the contents of the punishment assignment issued earlier."

"An additional task has been added—investigate the person responsible for the abnormal phenomenon known as 'Divine Grace Descent,' along with the strange disappearances in the Slums. Complete both within three days."

"Once the task is completed, my department will not only refrain from holding you accountable for your previous mistakes, but will also grant you additional rewards."

"On the road in pursuit of knowledge, death is not the end—Olivia Tapia, Liaison Officer of the Specter School's Shetland Kingdom Intelligence Department."

The Specter School had defined the abnormal phenomenon at the Church of Dawn as "Divine Grace Descent"?

Wei En frowned at the term in the letter. He seemed to have heard Kali mention it before; it referred to receiving the favor of the Lord of Dawn.

Could that unknown existence just now have been the Lord of Dawn?

Was the Voice of Divinity also spoken by him?

Damn it, he finally knew who had screwed him out of one Mental Level.

Yet he did not have the slightest thought of taking revenge...

That was a god. Even a single strand of hair could crush him to death. He ought to think about something more practical instead.

Wei En frowned as he looked at the new task listed afterward.

Why was the Specter School so interested in that person from the Church of Dawn?

Still, compared with investigating the strange disappearances in the Slums, looking into one person's information seemed exceptionally easy.

He had many ways to investigate information about "that person."

The most direct method was to find someone from the Church of Dawn, or someone who had attended the event near the cathedral at the time, and ask around. He should be able to learn the general details.

But such a simple task had been given an additional two days... Could it be that, in the Liaison Officer's eyes, this task was on the same level as the case in the Slums?

Though Wei En was somewhat puzzled, he did not continue dwelling on it.

Such an arrangement was also a good thing for him, giving him more time to investigate the case in the Slums.

He had originally planned to use the Secret Investigation Bureau's resources tomorrow to look into the disappearances in the Slums.

If there was no relevant intelligence within the Secret Investigation Bureau, he would personally take a trip through the Slums.

But if he still could not find any useful intelligence that way...

Then he still had one final move—blame everything on that Abyssal Hound that had been running wild in the middle of the night!

After all, whether the people had been eaten or made to disappear by some other existence, the outcome was the same...

Abyssal Hound: Awooooooo!

(Feeling offended!)