The Defeated Saintess Is On A Journey To Tame The Evil God Book 01 Chapter 08.07.1 - Late September's Whispers

Once the officers had secured the scene, Alice guided Xing Mo back to the carriage and locked the door behind them.

“It’s time to interrogate him.” She said, turning to Aurora.

“Understood.”

Aurora tapped the air with a single finger. Slowly, the mad Wizard’s soul began to coalesce within the carriage.

His face was youthful, with bizarre runes etched across his skin. His eyes were hollow, as if he had suffered some immense mental shock.

Alice uncorked a small bottle and scattered fine spiritual powder into the air, forming a mass of white mist.

She spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper: “What’s your name?”

“...I have abandoned my name... That name served the Goddess... it was defiled...” The soul muttered.

Xing Mo’s tired eyes flickered, and she met Alice’s gaze.

He served the Goddess... some clergy, possibly a priest.

And now he claims his name is defiled... He’s renounced his faith.

Was this the doing of an Evil God? Xing Mo looked at Aurora, but found her smiling for some reason.

Can you stop looking so damn pleased with yourself all the time…? She grumbled internally.

“What do you want with the Angel’s Tear?” Alice asked, her tone steady.

The soul trembled, flickering like a faulty lantern. Then it murmured: “...I must go to the stars… I must go to the stars… I must go to the stars…”

“...But… I have no wings…”

The mad Wizard’s soul shuddered again. It was clear he had lost all sense of reason.

Still, Xing Mo parsed meaning from the mutterings. He needed wings to reach the stars. The Angel’s Tear was a sacred artifact capable of sealing certain traits; it could even suppress the godhead of a God for a period of time.

He needs a medium to seal something… and then claim it for himself. That means he knows the location of a great power.

Perhaps an Evil God. Or perhaps some treasure.

Xing Mo narrowed her eyes: “Who will give you wings? Where are they?”

The mad Wizard’s soul shivered, then murmured softly, “...In Wintershire… the Karadorran Mountains…”

Xing Mo immediately sat up straighter, a jolt of recognition running through her.

Wintershire… the Karadorran Mountains…!

Wasn’t that where Aurora had descended?

Wintershire marked the border between the Machiavellian Empire and the Fallouan Republic, a remote human settlement on the frigid edge of Mordheim, blanketed in snow and ice year-round and sparsely populated.

And there’s a great power buried there? One so dangerous it requires the Angel’s Tear to contain?

She shot a glance at Alice, who was already deep in thought.

“The Citadel’s church network is tight.” Xing Mo said at last, “If someone goes missing, it doesn’t take long to notice.”

“This man was clearly clergy. If we haven’t heard of him, then he didn’t come from the Citadel.”

“Could he be a priest from Wintershire?” She furrowed her brows.

“Exactly. Which means Wintershire and the Evil God descent may be closely connected than we realized. And something bigger may be hiding beneath the surface…”

Alice turned her eyes toward Aurora, noting the girl’s indifferent expression. It was clear she wouldn’t be getting any answers from her.

Raising her head, she addressed the soul again, “Who gave you power?”

The mad Wizard’s soul froze, completely still in midair. Then—

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!”

A scream of agony tore from the soul as it convulsed, and in the next instant, exploded.

Spiritual force burst outward like shards of light, swirling in the carriage.

Before anyone could react, the soul had already dissolved, disintegrating into drifting fragments of spiritual force.

“He… collapsed?” Xing Mo murmured.

Just from asking a single question?

Beside her, Alice’s brows were tightly knit. This wasn’t what she’d expected.

A heavy silence settled over the carriage.

After a long pause, Aurora spoke, her voice soft: “The truth of your world… really is quite heavy…”

......

Fifteen minutes later, Xing Mo and Aurora pushed open the door to Miriam’s apartment and stepped inside.

While Aurora was distracted, Xing Mo slipped into the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed into her nightgown, and dried her hair with a small fireball.

As she passed through the living room afterward, she caught Aurora glaring at her.

“So mean… It’s not like I asked you to help me shower. Why’d you lock the bathroom door?” Aurora grumbled, sulking.

“How did you know it was locked?” Xing Mo shot back without missing a beat.

Aurora quickly looked away, cheeks slightly puffed.

Smirking, Xing Mo headed into the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed with a long sigh.

“Phew… so tired…”

She rolled over twice, burying herself into the comfort of the sheets. After a full day of running around and burning through all her spiritual force, she was completely spent.

Nothing beat a bed at the end of a day like this. Seriously, if people had the choice, who would willingly get up early?

Sleeping till noon, that was the real dream. Morning light might be poetic, but it couldn’t hold a candle to Miss Pillow.

She hugged the pillow close, rubbing her cheek against it and letting out small, sleepy noises.

So tired, so tired… I don’t want to get up tomorrow. I just want to sleep in…

So tired… so ti—

Xing Mo’s pupils trembled as the realization struck; she might have gone a bit too far.

She rolled over and lay flat on the bed, eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling.

It’s been a long time since I’ve completely run out of spiritual force… I almost forgot how emotions get harder to control when you’re drained like that.

Just like two nights ago, when Senior Alice intercepted me. She’s normally so composed. But that night… she’d acted on impulse. She hadn’t even tried to speak to me...

Then again, it made sense. After all, to her, I must’ve looked like someone bewitched by an Evil God… And the best way to save someone bewitched…

…Beat them up first.

Xing Mo exhaled quietly. So many things had changed. Just one month—August to September—and her world had turned inside out.

And soon… I’ll probably be promoted to six-string.

That would place me at the peak of the Saint rank.

Purely in terms of combat power, she could probably wipe out a small principality if she went all out, assuming there weren’t any other high-ranking string players standing in her way.

When I meet Steam Man again… I should be able to fight him head-on this time.

And then there was the new spell—six-string magic Embers of the Fire—I learned from Archangel Saint Auroth. It would serve as my trump card.

In any case, things are probably going to get busy from here on out...

With that thought, Xing Mo closed her eyes, preparing to sleep.

But just as she was about to drift off, a question suddenly surfaced.

…Wait. Why didn’t the Tree of Life brand replenish my spiritual force today? It always did when I was running low before.

Her eyes flew open. That was when she noticed the vines, twisting silently beside the bed.