The Fallen Saintess (59)

(City of Lunarian- Varion Temple)

(Inner Courtyard- Private Building)

[That dark elf princess… she is in the way of… I need to deal with…]

Fury burned inside Claire's heart, and it almost drove her insane.

As she heard Marie's voice whisper in her mind… she had to resist the urge to kill the saintess on the spot.

No… now was not the time… don't lose control… don't overreact…

And it was just a thought…

Marie… had not done any actions to hurt Elisa… at least not yet…

Claire took in a few deep breaths and exhaled softly. Her body kept moving automatically to kill the remaining survivors of the pope's faction.

A few high priests clasped their hands together and prayed to the Lord of Light to save them from the monster in the room…

But their prayers went unanswered.

Claire casually swung her blade forward and neatly bisected the bodies of the sinners who used Lord Varion's name to justify their vile corruption and degenerate practices.

"Oh, please deliver us your mercy o' lord of light!" Saintess Marie cried out as a warm burst of holy light erupted from her fingertips.

Holy runes floated in the air above her body and the entire hall felt an immense spiritual pressure descend.

Elisa wrinkled her brows and stepped closer to Claire as she felt the spiritual energy flowing out of Saintess Marie's body attempt to cleanse her dark mana heart.

Claire noticed her discomfort and shot Marie a warning look that only the two of them understood.

Elisa was her bottom line.

Saintess Marie realised that her secret thoughts were exposed, and an unknown emotion surfaced in her eyes.

She dropped down her hand and the spiritual pressure in the room disappeared. Claire's golden eyes shone eerily as blood still dripped off the edge of her blade.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air as corpses were scattered across the floor. Almost every single high-ranking member of the church in the capitol city was now dead.

There were still some members who were fortunate enough to not attend today's service, but they would be unable to stir up any waves.

Especially since Saintess Marie now had the full backing of both the royal family and the inquisitor faction.

"Thank you for your assistance, Claire," Saintess Marie walked over and smiled peacefully. She stopped a few feet away and glanced at the pair with a relaxed expression.

"As promised here are the locations of the foreign race slaves that they kept."

Saintess Marie reached into her white robe and pulled out several sheets of paper that included a few maps.

She handed them over to Claire and just for a brief moment… she used her fingers to lightly touch the top of the female knight's knuckles.

Claire pretended not to notice her small movement and checked the information on the papers in front of her.

There were at least twenty-five dark elves, seven orcs and a few other foreign races held in locations across the capitol and in the neighbouring regions.

Time was of the essence since word of the slaughter in the Varion Church would eventually come to light and Claire could not predict what would happen to those slaves.

"Thank you," Elisa spoke warmly as she glanced at the sheets of paper.

She could tell that the current saintess was not fond of her but the information that she gave out would help her to rescue her people.

Elisa did not care about Marie's attitude towards her since her number one priority was to free her people who were enslaved.

Saintess Marie gritted her teeth and replied in what she pretended was a friendly tone, "It is my pleasure…"

Claire held Elisa's hand and subtly moved her girlfriend behind her body. The female knight glanced one more time at the carnage and then turned to face Marie.

"We will be going now to rescue the remaining foreign race slaves… I assume that you will be able to handle the aftermath yourself," Claire coldly spoke.

Saintess Marie said nothing but her fingers beneath her robe curled up into a tight fist as she helplessly stared at Claire and Elisa's departing figures.

Just as the holy knight was about to step out of the hall, Marie could not resist asking the questions running through her mind.

The golden wings that sprouted behind her back trembled slightly as if sensing their master's bad mood.

"Wait…" Saintess Marie suddenly spoke.

"Why… why did he pick you? You have no interest in helping me reform the church and you spent all your time with a fake saintess?"

"Why? Why can you live the way you want?! WHY DO YOU GET TO DECIDE YOUR OWN DESTINY?!"

Claire froze in place as Saintess Marie's words rang out. She could feel Elisa's body shiver as the dark elf princess waited for her answer.

Saintess Marie for once decided to put away her false appearance and speak to Claire directly. This was the first time that she expressed the ugliness and fear in her heart.

Claire could sense her turbulent emotions and decided to answer her questions seriously.

"I don't know why Lord Varion picked me," Claire freely admitted as she stared directly in Marie's eyes.

"But I can only assume that the Lord of Light has no interest in controlling those whom he blesses with his power."

"I have never communicated with him and aside from a general order to kill sinners… it is as though he does not exist."

"But… but… he must have given us these powers to rule the church!" Saintess Marie stammered as she spoke.

"Did he? Marie… are you reforming the church because you WANT to? Or just because you feel like you HAVE to?" Claire softly spoke.

For the first time she held a bit of sympathy in her heart for the silver haired girl who was looking at her with tears in her eyes.

"You have been given a tremendous gift… no one can force you to do anything that you do not want to do," Claire explained gently.

"Don't put on an act. If you want to reform the church… don't sacrifice yourself in the name of the greater good."

Tears rolled down Marie's face as the current saintess knelt down and wept. Her sobs filled the hall, and it was as though she was crying out a lifetime of pain and hurt.