Fina, Soul Wound

The intense pain jolted Fina awake from her unconsciousness.

"Here it is..."

She opened her eyes blankly, looking around. It looked like a prison, but it wasn't quite like one. Gentle holy light streamed down from the ceiling, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility. When she was human, Fina loved this light. But now, that originally sacred and gentle light stung her body like fiery stings. She tried to escape the holy light, but the sturdy chains restricted her movements. Normally, Fina could use her vampire powers to break free, but now, enveloped in the holy light, her Vampire Species instincts were completely suppressed. Fina was now powerless, no stronger than an ordinary girl.

Fina thought back carefully and quickly recalled what had happened. She never expected that her former friend would take advantage of her unpreparedness to launch a sneak attack on her.

Am I dwelling too much on the past?

Thinking of this, Fina's heart sank slightly. Although she was no longer a priest, Fina had never felt any pain during her time in the Temple. She cherished those days—they were happy and wonderful. But now everything had changed; she was no longer a priest, or even human. Even so, Fina still missed those days. It was precisely because of this that she had let her guard down while chatting with that priest. Otherwise, with Fina's current magical skill, she would have had no chance of noticing the divine attack he was secretly preparing.

We must get out of here quickly...

Fina quickly regained her composure. She looked around anxiously, carefully examining the space that imprisoned her, trying to recall what she might be doing. But Fina couldn't remember a room like this. She had been in the Temple for so long and had never seen anything like it. What was this place? Why was she imprisoned here?

The question had barely crossed Fina's mind when she immediately stopped thinking about it. She had already keenly heard footsteps coming from the corridor outside. Although most of her Vampire Species abilities had been suppressed by the Holy Light, some were still functioning normally. Having spent so much time with Angela, even instinctively, Fina could easily discern the number of people from the weight of the footsteps. Her body tensed involuntarily. As a former member of the Temple, Fina knew very well what such a lineup meant.

The door opened.

Five heavily armored knights entered the room first. They stared at the girl through their helmets, their gazes filled with seriousness and hatred making Fina tremble slightly. She naturally recognized that these paladins were the most powerful guardians of the Temple. Clearly, their presence here meant that she had become the most important person under the Temple's watchful eye.

After the five knights took their positions, a middle-aged man in a white robe walked in. Standing behind him was Fina's former friend.

"Fina Alicia."

The middle-aged man stared at Fina, who was bound, and spoke expressionlessly.

"What kind of evil must a pastor possess to have fallen to such a state?!"

Fina trembled violently. She lowered her head, unwilling to meet the middle-aged man's holy gaze. He looked at her as if she were an insect, an evil monster...

"I..."

"What else can you say before the God of Justice?"

"..."

Fina was speechless.

Although she didn't willingly become like this, regardless of her inner thoughts, she had now become an immortal spirit. She should have died long ago, instead of living like this. But could she even call her current state alive?

"Your Excellency Bishop Kaili."

Just then, the girl who had been silently following behind the man spoke. Her voice was calm, indifferent, and completely devoid of emotion.

"Shouldn't we report this to our superiors and let them handle it? After all, Fina, she..."

"Of course we need to report to our superiors."

For some reason, the bishop known as Kaili had a smug smile on his face.

"The divine servants they painstakingly trained have turned into undead creatures. This time, I'll see how those guys explain it."

"..."

Fina said nothing; she was beginning to understand why she was being treated this way.

Although Fina is gentle and somewhat timid, she grew up in the Temple and has some understanding of its Temple. Currently, the Temple of the God of Justice is divided into two factions, particularly disagreeing on the interpretation of its doctrines. One side insists on "protecting goodness," believing that as long as goodness exists, justice will naturally follow. The other side insists on "fighting evil," believing that if all evil in the world is eliminated, peace will naturally prevail under the light of justice.

It's easy to imagine that although both factions share noble goals, they choose completely opposite methods. Fina and Mina belong to the former faction; they prefer to help others achieve their objectives and have little interest in fighting.

Judging from the bishop's tone, it's clear he belongs to the latter group, and falling into his hands probably won't end well.

"Raise your heads, you filthy undead."

The bishop stepped forward and used his scepter to lift Fina's chin, forcing the girl to raise her head.

"Under the light of justice, what sins do you still have to confess that need forgiveness, you wicked one? But before that, I'd like to know more about how you fell into evil and became an immortal."

"... I have no idea."

Fina was indeed telling the truth; Angela had never told them how they became Vampire Species. These secrets of Vampire Species were something they, as mere lower-level vampires, had no right to know. However, the bishop clearly disliked this answer; he forcefully swung his cane and slapped Fina across the face.

"Smack!"

With a crisp sound, Fina was struck and lowered her head. Her mouth was wide open, but she couldn't make a sound. Although the bishop's own power was not very effective against Vampire Species, he was, after all, a servant of God, and the divine power he possessed was something Fina could not withstand.

"You lowly undead creature, even under the radiant light of a great god, you still refuse to reveal the truth? And you used to be a priest serving the god!"

"..."

Faced with the bishop's angry rebuke, Fina could do nothing but grit her teeth and offer no further resistance.

"Your Excellency, isn't this a bit too much...?"

Gazing at the scene before her, the young priestess showed a hint of reluctance. After all, that was once her friend. Although the feedback she had received clearly told her that Fina was no longer her friend, but merely an evil undead creature, the girl still clung to a sliver of hope. Perhaps, she hadn't become undead, but was simply being controlled by someone... It was precisely for this reason that she chose to strike down her friend and bring her to the Temple, hoping that the gods could help her escape the shadow of evil.

"This is our duty, remember that, my dear child."

The bishop used his cane to lift Fina's chin again, allowing the young priestess to see her face clearly.

"Look closely, she has abandoned the glory of being human, throwing herself into evil and death. Whatever her reasons, she has abandoned human honor. Now, she is nothing but a walking corpse. What do we protect humanity for? Isn't it to prevent them from being tempted and harmed by evil? Or are you willing to watch those humans give up their lives, merely for the sake of a meaningless immortality, becoming such puppets?"

"..."

The pastor said nothing more. She gazed at Fina, her expression becoming somewhat complicated, but ultimately returning to its original indifference.

Fina closed her eyes, unwilling to look at her expression any longer.

That wasn't the expression she wore when looking at old friends; it was merely contempt and hatred for the wicked. At the same time, she heard that cold, indifferent voice.

"That's right, just as His Excellency the Bishop said, the only thing we can do now is to release her."

"Master, how is the situation?"

Looking at Li Lin and Nia emerging from the Temple, Angela asked, half-annoyed. Due to their innate nature, neither of them wanted to approach the temple, which was filled with sacred aura, so only Li Lin and Nia went in to check the situation. Fortunately, Li Lin was good at disguise, and Nia had at least "part-timed" as a saintess, so they found out about Fina's situation without much effort. However, they didn't rescue Fina; instead, after observing her for a while, they chose to leave.

"It seems the Temple considers Fina a strange undead creature, and therefore intends to hand her over for disposal."

Li Lin's expression remained unchanged, while Angela raised an eyebrow.

"Stupid guys should be taught a lesson."

She gave a cold snort.

"Does she think she's still human? How could she so easily lower her guard against others? Since ancient times, Vampire Species who don't know how to protect themselves have only met a dead end."

"Miss Angela... you..."

Mina wanted to say something, but Li Lin simply gestured to stop her.

To be honest, Li Lin didn't want to lose Fina. Aside from the fact that having a servant to do chores was indeed difficult, Li Lin also had his own selfish motives. After completing his revenge, the revival of the Magic Empire required the assistance of many people, but not many knew about the ancient Magic Empire. It was precisely because of this that Li Lin decided to teach Fina magic. This way, not only could she become his assistant in the future, but she could also teach others about the ancient Magic Empire in his place. Furthermore, Fina was very intelligent and had a good grasp of magic; it would be a pity to lose her like this.

However, Li Lin couldn't simply storm into the Temple and snatch her away; that wouldn't be in line with his style. Moreover, Li Lin didn't want to turn against Temple so soon, nor did he want to be targeted by it.

"Let's put Fina's matter aside for now."

Ultimately, Li Lin made his decision.

"We have another way."