An Uninvited Guest

“I wouldn't say I'm too late,” Tina smiled. The Chaos Mask was of little use against its creator.

“Hmph, it's all because of you.”

Actually, even without Tina's interference, Ulrich would have killed the Astral Sage.

This was because the Sacred Mutiny could not afford any mistakes. He planned to use all the students of the Holy Academy as hostages, kill a large number of high-ranking officials as leverage, and wage war against the Pope. Now, because his right-hand men had all been killed by Tina, and even Babarol had died in the fortress, Ulrich's primary goal was to accelerate his plans and quickly deal with his next targets.

Perhaps this would also "lure" Tina out.

The result was obvious.

The moment Tina stood before Ulrich, he understood.

Ulrich immediately leaped backward to distance himself from Tina and ordered all the inquisitors to halt their attacks.

He slowly circled Tina, carefully sizing up this powerful opponent.

“Chris and Sheffield are dead. I originally thought it was Sathya's doing, but it seems the real culprit is someone else.”

“Mhm.” Tina simply nodded, offering no further explanation.

“You are strong. The fact that you could assassinate those elites on your own shows you've long possessed the strength to rival me. I look forward to this battle.”

With that, Ulrich caught the sword thrown to him by an inquisitor.

Tina also pulled up her mithril dagger, which had been deeply embedded in the floor.

In the next instant, Ulrich vanished.

By the time she could react, his sword was already coming down toward her head.

In that split second, Tina managed to react, gripping her dagger with both hands to block.

The friction and clash of metal produced a bone-chilling screech, as if the sword was pushed to its weight-bearing limit with every passing second.

To any onlookers, this would have seemed like an evenly matched duel between two top-tier fighters.

Yet, in a brief flash, Ulrich's eyes widened, and he immediately leaped back.

“You... are you the Pope's personal guard?!”

“...” Tina remained silent.

In his moment of distraction, his wrist had been sliced open, dripping blood.

“Your fighting style is entirely her handiwork. I never expected to encounter it again today.”

“How nostalgic. To think the Pope actually planted an informant by my side to spy on me.”

“No, wait. You aren't her personal guard... Otherwise, she would never have sent you alone to deal with me.”

With that, Ulrich made a hand gesture, signaling a retreat.

The inquisitors nodded in unison. Accompanied by several flashes of golden light, they vanished along with Ulrich, leaving behind only the devastated library.

Only then did Miranda breathe a sigh of relief. Exhausted, she descended and landed on a bookshelf.

“I thought you were really going to abandon me. I was terrified I'd die here today. Thank goodness, thank goodness~”

“You are my companion.”

Tina shook her head.

“Did you record it?”

“Of course.”

A black crystal appeared in Miranda's hand.

An image crystal. It could record light paths to a certain extent, capturing static scenes like a camera. Now, the evidence of Ulrich's crimes had been fully gathered.

Next, according to Tina's plan, she only needed to hand this crystal over to Sathya. By making Sathya the hero who exposed Ulrich's Sacred Mutiny, she would not only become the center of attention as the Saintess but also a highly respected key figure throughout the entire Church.

Once a person's status reached a certain height, nothing in this world could threaten her anymore.

In the past, Sathya had been the ultimate authority among humanity. Even when traitors tried to assassinate her, people would willingly shield her and bear everything in her stead.

Tina set about tidying up the scene, neatly arranging the books scattered all over the floor. Of course, this was merely to show respect to the Astral Sage. Tina wasn't very skilled in magic, so it was difficult for her to make the books float and return to their original places automatically like Miranda did.

Magic truly was convenient.

Tina had once lost the opportunity to further her magical studies, but that did not mean she was weak.

By a stroke of luck, she had met her teacher and learned swordsmanship and body-tempering methods, enabling her to contend with a vast number of mages. Coupled with the guidance of the System, she had been forged into such a swift and fierce warrior. Tina was one of the few who had slain magical beasts single-handedly during the subjugation campaigns, yet her deeds had never been written down as a legend.

Neither had Sathya's.

She, too, had been betrayed by the Church, ultimately dying under those spells of holy light.

Suddenly, she sensed a wave of killing intent rushing at her from behind.

It was so fast that Tina barely had time to react.

“Demon King, I've finally found you.”

The newcomer was Sathya.

She was floating in the air, as if an invisible force was holding up her body and wings. She glared angrily at Tina—the girl wearing the Chaos Mask.

As it turned out, Sathya had also anticipated Ulrich's assassination attempt.

She had previously searched for clues regarding those involved in the Sacred Mutiny, which was how she had been able to find Babarol.

Knowing that Ulrich would come to assassinate the Astral Sage, she had rushed over as well.

The fury she unleashed made it seem as though the gentle, considerate Sathya had never existed.

And the reason she could be so composed was precisely because the curse on Tina was her winning card.

“Ugh...”

Suddenly, Tina's legs buckled, and she collapsed uncontrollably to the ground. Intense pain flared up at the site of her wound, making it impossible for her to even breathe.

She clutched her chest, trying to ease the pain, but ultimately lost all her strength. On the verge of complete collapse, she slumped onto the floor.

Sathya landed on the ground, walked over to her, and placed her hand under Tina's chin to lift it.

“I want to know exactly whose face is hidden beneath this mask.”

“Ngh...”

At the critical moment, a searing ray released by the Astral Sage struck Sathya's hand.

But to everyone's surprise, Sathya was completely unharmed!

“What did you do to Tina?”

Only after tidying up the library did the Astral Sage realize a female student had broken in.

The Tower of Stars cared deeply about the situation at the Holy Academy, and she had come as one of the highest-ranking figures of the Tower of Stars to recruit talent. While she did not possess strong combat capabilities, she had achieved mastery in all fields of magic, and she could tell at a glance whether a student's magical strength was formidable.

Yet the girl before her was so powerful that she instinctively wanted to keep her distance.

The magical circuits within the girl's body were even more precise than her own. More terrifyingly, both her mana capacity and her talent far surpassed hers. Her instincts told her that this was an enemy she could not possibly hope to fight back against!

The apprentice Saintess, Sathya.