Book 01 Chapter 08.01.1 - Late September's Whispers
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The Defeated Saintess Is On A Journey To Tame The Evil God Book 01 Chapter 08.01.1 - Late September's Whispers

Early the following morning.

"Where’s that little lass?"

"She ran out first thing, said she’d be back by evening."

Xing Mo pulled open the curtains, letting in the soft Northern District sunlight as she stretched. Behind her, Alice groggily emerged from bed, clutching her forehead.

“I overdid it yesterday…” Alice murmured.

“Well, you did use Mourning Bird’s Cry. Even you don’t use that move often, Senior.”

Xing Mo turned, her long black hair swaying gently with her movements. Alice blinked at her, then smiled faintly.

"You used Flame Spirit’s Authority outright. Weren’t you afraid I’d notice?"

"You’d have figured it out sooner or later." Xing Mo muttered, "And if I hadn’t given it my all, we might be dead now."

Alice studied her—familiar yet strange—standing in the sunlight. Mixed emotions swirled within her, but a gentle smile touched her lips.

"You’re alive, Mo-mo. That’s all that matters." She said softly.

"Don’t say it like that, Senior." Xing Mo stepped closer, "See? I’m fine. Don’t be sad."

Their eyes locked, and the moment stretched. Then, unexpectedly, Alice burst into laughter.

"Eh? What’s so funny?"

"Mo-mo, you’ve really become a girl." Alice teased, a grin lighting up her face, "So cute."

She reached out, pinching Xing Mo’s cheek, causing her to flush crimson.

"He… hey! I—!"

"This suits you. You’ve always been so quiet and gentle… like a girl." Alice continued, her fingers still playing with Xing Mo’s cheek, "It’s much more pleasing to the eye now. Adorable."

Without warning, Alice pulled Xing Mo into her arms, pressing her head to her chest.

"Ah…" Xing Mo felt her vision going darker, her cheeks burned hotter.

"Don’t leave me, Mo-mo." Alice murmured, "I’ll say it ten thousand times if I have to."

"I… I won’t." Xing Mo stammered, "I’ll never leave you… Never."

After a long embrace, Alice finally let go, her gaze locking earnestly onto Xing Mo’s emerald green eyes.

Xing Mo, still reeling, swallowed hard, "W-what are you doing?"

"But." Alice began, enunciating each word, "You still need to be punished. Do you have any idea how heartbroken I was at your funeral? Even Vivian got jealous."

"I… I actually saw it… I was there, in the back." Xing Mo admitted softly.

"You saw? You saw and didn’t come to comfort me?" Alice grabbed Xing Mo’s ear, giving it a playful yet reprimanding twist, "You told Instructor Lucius but didn’t think to tell me?"

"I… I didn’t want to drag you into… I…" Xing Mo stammered, her face crumpling.

Alice sighed, looking at the smaller Xing Mo in her arms, her tear-streaked face glistening in the sunlight. She sighed, gently stroking Xing Mo’s cheek.

"Anyway, what’s done is done. But we need to figure out our next move. I’ll keep your and that little lass’s secret, but only if you let me in on what’s going on."

"No use asking me. I honestly don’t know what she’s after." Xing Mo replied, shaking her head.

"Then what do you know?" Alice pressed, "At least tell me what she’s done—beyond what I already know."

She intends to piece together Aurora’s purpose using her deductive skills… The thought struck Xing Mo suddenly, and she perked up.

"Let me think…" She paused, then continued, "First, she took over Saint Auroth Cathedral, uncovered the secret of the Starsea Spring, and altered the direction of its faith force transmission."

"What’s the secret of the Starsea Spring?" Alice asked, her tone sharpening.

"I’m not sure." Xing Mo admitted, "But when I used the Tree of Life mark to extract information, I saw the Goddess’s Saint Angels. Both Saint Auroth and Saint Nero were entangled in a curse."

"Wasn’t that because you polluted them?" Alice asked, thinking back to the scene she saw at the cathedral.

"No." Xing Mo said firmly, "The Starsea Spring was already corrupted before Bishop Freyr Sunlight went missing. Senior, you must have seen the Bishop, right?"

Alice’s eyes narrowed as the pieces began to shift into place, "Now that you mention it, I did see the Bishop… It seems I misunderstood at the time. I thought that little lass had tainted it."

"Senior, please have some faith in your Junior [1] Xing Mo’s character." Xing Mo said, her tone serious.

"It’s junior [2]." Alice corrected with a faint smirk.

"…" Xing Mo quivered slightly, a wave of helplessness washing over her.

"Since the cathedral incident, she hadn’t been particularly aggressive… She’d mostly just followed her around… mm, right, except for that one thing. She kidnapped Miss Aimer."

"Miss Aimer?" Alice frowned thoughtfully, "The librarian?"

Xing Mo nodded and proceeded to explain everything Aurora had done to the library spirit.

"A library spirit, huh…" Alice sighed, "How long ago was this?"

"Today’s Wednesday. She was captured last Thursday…" Xing Mo calculated aloud. "It’s been almost a week…"

The thought of Miss Aimer being relentlessly drained by those vines for nearly a week sent a chill through Xing Mo. Her legs felt weak.

Goodness… by now, she’s probably completely out of it by now…

Alice shivered, gazing at Xing Mo with pity before letting out a sigh.

"In short, based on what you’ve told me, her goal is to enter Merlin’s Superstring Magic Formation and gain access to the White Tower. Correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. And that's what concerns me." Xing Mo nodded, her expression darkening.

Whatever Aurora planned to do inside the White Tower, it was unlikely to be anything good. Xing Mo had spent a lot of time trying to figure it out, but no clues had surfaced so far.

"Then let’s go over everything. We need to establish some connections." Alice contemplated for a moment before speaking with careful deliberation, "First, let’s assume that ‘gaining faith’ is directly related to ‘entering the White Tower.’"

"They’re related…" Xing Mo murmured, lowering her gaze, "You mean she can only enter the White Tower after accumulating enough faith force? This…"

Alice continued, "A God’s power largely depends on the number of believers. Let’s work backward from here. Is it possible… that she didn’t have enough power to begin with?"

"But she’s an Evil God!" Xing Mo protested, incredulous, "When I first met her, she crushed all the Undying—and me—like it was nothing."

"Mm… that doesn’t add up." Alice nodded, her brows furrowing in thought, "But let’s consider a possibility. What if, for some reason, she lost her power? Could gathering believers be her way of regaining it?"

Xing Mo furrowed her brows, deep in thought.

Indeed… Aurora’s power didn’t always match the miraculous level you might expect from a God. For example, when she encountered Steam Man in the alley, she let him get away.

But no, that didn’t necessarily prove anything. Xing Mo reminded herself that Aurora’s primary reason for holding back was to avoid revealing her whereabouts—a fact she could confirm firsthand.

"There’s not enough information to deduce anything concrete." Xing Mo finally said, shaking her head.

"That’s fine. The key is to keep pondering."

With that, Alice stood and tidied up her dress. She suddenly chuckled wryly, "Who would’ve thought the day would come when I’d run out of spiritual force and pass out…"

Alice was a Saint-level Wizard, a prodigy from a young age. In the academy, she had always stood out—excelling at everything. She usually partnered with Vivian, and together they were a devastating force against lawbreakers in the Citadel.

Yet yesterday, facing Steam Man, Alice had been pushed to her limit. She needed Xing Mo and Vivian’s help to drive him away.

I’m not strong enough.

Alice took a deep breath, forcing the thought aside as she looked around, "Do you have any plans for today? If not, why not spend the day with me?"

"I don’t have any plans, and I’m already skipping class." Xing Mo replied, shaking her head, "And Aurora isn’t here, so—" She paused, blinking, "Eh?"

Had Aurora deliberately chosen this time to disappear, casually mentioning she’d return in the evening?

Xing Mo’s lips curled into a faint smile. That little lass… is surprisingly thoughtful.

......


[1] - junior (male version)

[2] - junior (female version)