Half an hour later.
At the Demon Suppression Corps' distant encampment on the second level, a golden halo flashed across the sky. Ophiel, clad head to toe in armor, descended in an instant and returned to camp.
"Archbishop! You're finally back?!"
"Well? Did you find out what caused it?!"
The moment she returned, the clergy accompanying the expedition, already frantic with worry, rushed over in alarm.
Before leaving, their Archbishop had told them that she had faintly sensed a trace of their Valkyrie's presence and would investigate personally. Throughout her absence, they had been like ants on a hot pan, every second feeling like a year.
Her armor gradually dissolved into light, revealing her exquisitely beautiful face.
But the instant they saw her face...
They froze.
There seemed to be tear tracks on their Archbishop's face, and her eyes looked as though she had only just finished crying.
"Th-this... what exactly..."
They could think of nothing that could have made their Archbishop shed tears. As one of the Seven Divine Attendants, the strongest figures in the Church, what in this world could possibly move her so deeply?
But she made no attempt to hide it. Her still-moist eyes immediately turned toward them.
"Hear my orders!"
The clergy around her immediately dropped to one knee.
Ophiel faced them and wiped the tears from her face. Her gaze and tone became more severe and chilling than ever before, as though she had suddenly become a different person.
"Starting today, I expect every one of you to hold yourselves to strict standards. If any of you have violated our teachings or committed any heinous acts, once I discover it, I will personally send you to the Judgment Court for judgment, without waiting for Her Majesty the Valkyrie to punish you!"
Her words shocked