Memories of the Past and the Envoy

That was a long time ago.

The castle, nestled amidst verdant mountains, was so peaceful and beautiful. In that castle lived a girl.

The young girl didn't understand her own identity or where she was. But she had loving parents and servants to take care of her. All of this was a dream called happiness for the girl, as if all the beauty in the world was condensed into this dream. The girl even felt that she had attained eternal happiness.

However, that only lasted until the girl's 13th birthday.

From that day on, everything changed.

At the girl's birthday party, where she was receiving blessings and praise, her older sister, who had always doted on her, suddenly collapsed and soon died a violent death.

Then, death began to spread rapidly.

The disease spread not only inside the castle but also throughout the surrounding territory. Many people collapsed and died, and no one knew what was happening. The entire territory was filled with fear and unease. No one knew what it was; since people had lived there, they had never encountered such a terrible and deadly disease. They didn't even have time to be saved before they closed their eyes forever.

From that day on, the girl's life plummeted from Heaven to Hell.

Her once doting parents gradually disappeared, and their gentle laughter was rarely heard anymore. The girl spent most of her time locked in her room, only able to idly gaze at the scenery outside the window. Gradually, she noticed that her older sisters, who used to take care of her, also began to avoid her. They no longer played with her as before, and even when they brought her food, they would put it down and leave immediately, as if she were some terrifying beast.

Even so, the girl never doubted anything. Her long upbringing had prevented her from experiencing the darker side of humanity. She naively believed that she had done something wrong, which was why her parents and her older sisters, who cared for her, disliked her more and more. So, the girl began to try hard to make up for everything she had lost. She studied harder than ever before and tried even harder to show her best side. But none of this could bring back what she had lost. Her father hadn't visited her in a long time, and even her mother would occasionally just watch her through a small hole in the door. All of this left the girl bewildered. She had no idea what she had done wrong, or why her parents no longer visited her as they used to.

Until the end of that summer.

One day, the girl's long-absent mother suddenly appeared in her room, much to the girl's delight. However, she never expected that her mother would push her into a huge trunk and lock her inside.

Just as the girl was still processing what was happening, her father's voice suddenly appeared. Unlike his usual gentle and stern voice, this time it was filled with a fury and terror she had never heard before. He began arguing with her mother, and the usually gentle mother had become increasingly violent.

While listening to her parents' argument, the girl finally understood what was going on. It turned out that as more and more residents died within the territory, and there was no way to save them, rumors began to circulate that the girl was the Root of it all—an evil demon incarnate, sent to spread death and disease. At first, her parents refused to believe that their beautiful and lovely daughter could be a demon. But gradually, even the people in the castle began to have doubts, until finally, the father couldn't escape the influence of the rumors. After all, this terrible disease was not uncommon even within the castle; the first person to die from it was the girl's older sister. But the girl showed absolutely no signs of illness, which naturally aroused her father's suspicion. Her mother, however, resolutely refused to believe the rumors, refuting her father's absurdity and doing everything in her power to protect her daughter.

The argument outside escalated. The girl could only cower in fear inside the large, dark box, trembling as she waited for it to end. But the noise grew louder and louder, finally ending with a piercing scream.

The father stormed out of the room, cursing angrily, while the girl heard nothing of her mother's voice. She sobbed softly, calling her mother's name. Finally, the heavy lid of the trunk was opened a crack, and her mother's voice came from inside—a voice as gentle as ever, but unusually weak.

"Stay inside, don't come out... It's dangerous outside. You must survive, my dear daughter..."

Then, the mother's voice disappeared, and the last sliver of sound closed up again.

After an unknown amount of time, the girl in the pitch-black wooden box could no longer bear the terrifying darkness. With all her might, she pushed open the lid and left the box. The first thing she saw was her mother's body, which had begun to turn blue and rot.

The girl ran out of the room in terror, trying to call for help. But all she saw were corpses. People she once knew and didn't know were now lying on the ground in all sorts of contorted positions, their faces mostly blackened, covered in thick bodily fluids. In the entire castle, apart from the girl, there was no living being. Her own father, that kind, stern man, had also died in his study in the same way. This castle, once filled with harmonious laughter and joy, had now become a complete ghost town.

No one could help the girl. The drawbridge that originally connected to the outside world was also hoisted high, blocking the only way out. The food had long since rotted, and even the water was polluted. Floating on the outer moat were dark green corpses that reeked of decay, and no one knew what they were.

Despite these circumstances, the girl still remembered her mother's last words to her, even though she could do nothing in this City of Death, filled with corpses and a stench-filled castle.

Autumn goes and winter comes.

The cold froze the spread of disease, and just then, the search party finally arrived in this city known as the Dead City. They entered the castle and found the only survivor.

This should have been a cause for celebration. But everyone was shocked and terrified by what they saw, even the most seasoned warriors trembled at the sight.

The rotting corpses were almost reduced to bones, but many of the remaining skeletal remains bore signs of gnawing. The only surviving girl was now naked, clinging to maggot-infested flesh and foul-smelling water, stubbornly clinging to life. She had devoured almost all the corpses in the castle; even when the soldiers found her, she was lying beside her mother's body, consuming her dried, bloody flesh.

The girl was quickly captured and locked up. Although it was unknown what had happened, what was happening now was undoubtedly the work of a demon, and thus, the fate of this terrifying girl was sealed.

She could still feel the rough ground beneath her, and the intense pain of the hot iron branding her back was excruciating. Clenched in chains, the girl was dragged to the execution ground, before thousands of people. She was suspended like a puppet, expressionless, listening to the bizarre trials. Then, merciless spears pierced her hands and feet, pinning her to the ground.

It was only then that the girl saw her own blood for the first time, the slowly flowing, bright red blood... As if drawn by something, the girl stuck out her tongue and licked the warm blood that had flowed out of her.

Then, the massive axe fell, ending her life.

On that day, the human girl named Angela Christie died completely.

"Um..."

Angela opened her eyes and looked out the window. She reached her hand to her eyes and wiped them away, looking at the bloody tears streaming down her cheeks. The bright red, obvious marks remained on her cheeks, showing no sign of fading.

How long has it been since I last thought about that time?

Angela frowned, pressing her petite, naked body closer to the man beside her. Li Lin was still fast asleep, his arms around the small girl like a steadfast haven. Angela had never imagined that she would one day meet such a man and experience such a life. She nestled into Li Lin's embrace, feeling the unique warmth of a human being and his gentle heartbeat.

Did she truly feel a fatherly attachment to Li Lin, or a romantic attachment?

Angela never wanted to think about these boring and complicated things. She only knew that only here could she feel what she, as a non-human being, had long lost.

"Owner..."

Gently stroking Li Lin's broad chest, Angela softly, then closed her eyes again and fell into a deep sleep.

But inside the Temple, bathed in moonlight, a completely different scene unfolds.

"Hello, Your Excellency Walast."

The bishop, dressed in red, strode out and nodded to the weary paladin.

I'm so glad to see you arrive safe and sound.

"I am honored to have been invited to this welcoming ceremony, Your Excellency the Bishop."

Although Walast looked exhausted, he still mustered his spirits.

"I hope I'm not the last one to arrive."

"Of course not."

The bishop smiled slightly.

"Although I can see you're very tired, I hope you can join the welcoming ceremony immediately. Tonight, we're here to welcome an important guest."

"An important guest?"

Walast repeated it with some curiosity.

"Excuse me..."

"He is the future of our Temple, and a very important figure for us. He is an indispensable vanguard and leader in our fight against darkness and evil."

The bishop didn't continue, and Walast didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded to the bishop and walked into the Temple's main hall. Once inside, Walast quickly noticed something amiss. As usual, moderate and radical paladins were clearly divided into two camps gathered in the hall. The moderate paladins mostly had furrowed brows, as if something significant had happened. The radical paladins, on the other hand, were laughing and talking loudly, appearing quite confident. Although they were always like this, Walast felt, perhaps it was just his imagination, that they seemed unusually confident today.

What exactly happened?

Thinking of this, Walast slowly walked into the group of people talking nearby and asked them in a low voice.

"Knight Commander Walast, you've finally arrived."

Upon seeing Walast's arrival, the paladins' expressions relaxed slightly, but soon their faces darkened again.

"Oh, right, you didn't know... I heard that His Excellency the Archbishop of the Temple has already chosen the next Grand Master of Knights."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Walast was also taken aback.

Although each Temple has a Knight Commander to manage its Paladin Order, only the Grand Master of the Knights is unique to the Main Temple. The Grand Master of the Knights not only leads but also rules over all the Temple's knightly orders, holding the highest position among the paladins. However, precisely because of this, the selection process is extremely difficult. To become the Grand Master of Temple requires not only wisdom and strength but also the blessing of the God of Justice. This is the most crucial point; the Grand Master of the Knights is equivalent to the God of Justice's messenger on earth, and no paladin can disobey his orders.

This is certainly a significant matter, but...

"Furthermore, I've heard that this Grand Master of Knights comes from the Northeast Parish."

"I see."

Upon hearing his colleagues' explanation, Walast quickly understood what they were worried about. The Eastern Diocese was mostly the territory of radicals, and their attitudes toward evil and good were far more severe than those of the Southern Diocese. Therefore, it was clearly not a good thing for the moderates to have a paladin from the Northeast Diocese serve as Grand Master of Knights.

I wonder what kind of person the Temple will send to serve as the Grand Master of Knights?

Just as Walast was pondering, the bishop stepped forward, gestured for everyone to be quiet, and then spoke.

"I think everyone understands why we've gathered here... That's right, our great God of Justice has issued a divine decree: a new Grand Master of Knights has finally been chosen after a thirty-year vacancy!"

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion. After all, although everyone had received some prior information, the Temple's official confirmation still brought them considerable shock.

The bishop didn't say much in response to the discussions among the paladins below. Instead, he stepped aside to make way for the people behind him.

"Then, please allow me to introduce to you our new Grand Master of Knights—His Excellency Sera Henderson!"