Chapter 25: The Saint Who Passed By Ordinarily and the Brave Man Who Happened to Meet by Chance.
Facing the gilded, carved door woven with defensive magic yet pierced by a gaping hole, Suna used water magic to form a wrist that reached through the hole to unlock it.
She deftly sliced off most of the golden carvings with a high-pressure water blade, manipulating the water to sweep the fallen fragments into her storage satchel.
After this small act, Suna opened the door and stepped into the “boss’s” room.
Despite the chaos, she found a middle-aged, burly man in a black suit still seated in an armchair behind the desk.
His slightly graying hair was meticulously combed, complementing his stern, resolute face and the commanding posture of his interlocked hands on the desk, exuding an aura of fearlessness.
“You didn’t run? Is that confidence or stupidity?”
“I’m the boss here. Whether founding this organization or watching it fall, I belong here.”
Hearing the boss’s steady, unflinching words, Suna approached the desk, tilting her head to study the man, clearly not at the golden tier.
“Hmph, you don’t fear death at all, do you, Landon Griffin?”
At Suna’s words, Landon rubbed the ring on his left thumb with his right and continued.
“I accepted death the moment I entered the [underworld]. But before I die, I’m curious about your identity and why you attacked us. You’re not from a rival group or a personal enemy, are you?”
“You already heard my identity. As for why I attacked, I just happened to witness your organization’s vile deeds.”
As she spoke, Suna’s perception magic detected rising chaos in the building.
Despite River’s signal, which should’ve rallied a flood of guards, they seemed to be attacked on their way to the fifth floor, scattered and fighting on different levels.
The fifth floor, however, was eerily quiet, though the “fake windows” laced with defensive and trap magic could only delay another wave of attackers briefly.
Deciding not to waste time, driven by instinct and her hatred for certain evils, Suna cut to the chase.
“But I’m curious about you. Who’s really controlling this body?”
With her words, a swarm of clear water snakes coiled tightly around Landon’s body, lifting him over the desk to face her.
As a mimic beast, Suna was keenly sensitive to transformation and puppet magic, especially those involving flesh.
Perhaps because some of his secrets were exposed, Landon’s head trembled slightly, but before he could cast a spell, Suna lifted her veil, revealing her scarlet eyes.
“Veil of Truth.”
Solemnly invoking her blessing’s name, she continued in a clear, vibrant voice.
“Lifting the veil of truth means facing reality, where all false disguises turn to ink, forming words that depict the truth.”
Golden light merged with her scarlet eyes as Landon, already bleeding from self-destructive magic, involuntarily locked gazes with her.
The layers of prohibition magic etched into his brain began to peel and shatter under her blessing’s effect.
But the sheer complexity and number of these prohibitions strained Suna, forcing her to channel more magic into the blessing.
Golden-brown branches with radiant veins sprouted from her dazzling golden hair, intertwining into a crown-like ring above her head.
Green leaves unfurled, and golden flowers, as if forged from sunlight, bloomed in a crown-like formation.
Focused on tracing the mastermind behind Landon, Suna paid no mind to these changes.
When the prohibition magic finally overwhelmed her blessing, melting Landon’s brain and causing him to spit blood and die, Suna obtained the information she sought.
“Even if you uproot the stump of this empire’s sins, its roots still burrow deep underground. Was I too impulsive, acting on fragments of past memories? Feels like I’m stirring trouble again.”
Muttering this, Suna heard rapid, heavy footsteps.
Lowering her veil and dispersing the water snakes, Landon’s corpse thudded to the floor.
She turned to face the approaching figures.
Two knights in sturdy, plain silver armor from the Golden Branch Temple stood before her.
Their chest badges and sun-emblazoned helmets marked their mid-tier golden rank and status.
Clearly surprised by Suna’s presence, they noted her blood-splattered, tattered priestly robes and veil, yet remained courteous.
“Are you the saintess? Are you on a mission?”
As Golden Branch Temple knights, they didn’t recognize Suna, but the “byproduct” atop her head—a crown of Corona Flowers—was unmistakable proof of the Golden Branch Goddess’s blessing.
“It’s not convenient to say. I was just passing by and couldn’t stand their evil deeds, so I acted. Since you’re here, please handle the cleanup.”
Exhausted from fully using her blessing and nursing a headache, Suna retracted her perception range and turned to leave.
But as she passed the saluting knights and stepped into the corridor, a strange, non-lethal sense of danger stirred in her heart.
Instinctively, she reactivated her blessing [Veil of Truth].
The next moment, Skull, clad in light novice knight armor and chainmail, appeared at the far end of the broken fifth-floor corridor.