At the same time.
Inside the Construction Space.
A massive dome covered the entire chapel. Dim light filtered through the stained-glass windows on either side, casting mottled shadows over the shattered pews strewn across the floor and the cold stone slabs.
Snow seeped in through the cracks around the doors and window frames, laying down a thin layer of white frost across the floor.
This was a chapel.
And at the far end of the chapel stood a slender figure.
She was Sister Friede, dressed in a gray-black robe, her face mostly hidden beneath her hood's shadow, revealing only her snow-white chin.
The moment she saw Lu Xiu.
Sister Friede slowly raised the enormous scythe beside her, nearly as tall as she was. She gently ran a hand over its sharp blade, then stepped barefoot onto the icy tiles and began to advance slowly.
Past Sister Friede's slender figure, behind her, Father Ariandel sat there, huge as a hill and shaped like a grotesque crow-man.
Bound to a massive chair, he clutched a golden Lordvessel resembling a brazier in his withered hands.
Within the golden Lordvessel, blazing flames surged upward.
The priest hung his head low, continuously letting out pained whimpers, as though suppressing something.
"----That must be freezing."
Lu Xiu looked at the familiar scene before her. Then, her gaze shifted from the priest to Sister Friede's bare feet on the floor, and she teased her.
But Sister Friede clearly had no intention of responding.
White mist suddenly burst through the chapel.
Sister Friede moved.
She swung her scythe fiercely, then slid forward with a light step and leaped high into the air. The huge scythe came crashing down toward Lu Xiu from above!
Boom!
The sharp scythe smashed heavily into the stone tiles.
The instant it struck the