Chapter 22: The Saintess’s Despair and the Undead’s Rebirth

Without exception, every suit of armor worn by the Silverwing Knights had to pass through Alice’s hands. As the Saintess, she was required to perform a standard, complete baptism of Holy Light upon these warriors’ armor, thereby imbuing them with blessings.

This ritual served not only as an honor bestowed upon the warriors but also as a crucial layer of protection. With her Holy Light’s enhancement, the armor gained increased durability, and its defensive capabilities became remarkably more potent.

Furthermore, the Holy Light infused within the armor possessed a degree of autonomous defense. It could instantly summon a burst of Holy Light the moment its wearer was attacked, striking down any assailant with a force comparable to directly facing the Holy Light itself.

However, these capabilities were a closely guarded secret of the Holy See. Due to the stringent trigger mechanism, even the wearers of the armor—the Silverwing Knights themselves—remained completely unaware of this hidden power.

It was precisely for this reason that Alice felt a surge of terror, her scalp prickling with dread. Unbeknownst to them, Joedi’s armor had somehow activated its autonomous defense, and the Holy Light was now engulfing Eve!

“My sincerest apologies, Your Holiness…”

The knight captain had intended to explain the situation with the maid in his arms. However, before he could finish his sentence, Alice swiftly rushed to his side.

“No time for explanations! Turn around and squat down, quickly!”

“Yes, Your Holiness!”

Though he didn’t fully grasp the Saintess’s urgency, Joedi obediently complied with her command.

Alice hastily reached out and carefully lifted Eve from Joedi’s back. In her unconscious state, Eve had clung to Joedi’s back purely out of instinct. Now, as her arms unclasped from around his neck, she collapsed into Alice’s embrace like a boneless doll.

The delicate body, soft as if without bones, felt warm in Alice’s arms—a warmth that shouldn’t exist in an undead creature. This unexpected sensation sent Alice’s heart plummeting into despair.

Carrying Eve to the study, Alice gently laid her on the sofa. She then produced a handkerchief to wipe away the faint foam from Eve’s lips, before retrieving the last bottle of her homemade healing potion from her satchel. After a moment of profound hesitation, she administered it to Eve.

After all, this was the only method Alice could conceive of to save Eve in such a short timeframe. Even if it came with potential side effects, it was a desperate attempt to revive what might already be lost.

Holy Light flared around Eve once more. However, this time, it did not persist until the duration of the blessing expired, as it had before. The radiant glow flickered briefly before fading away completely, dissolving into nothingness.

Such a reaction indicated only two possibilities. One was that the blessed individual had sustained wounds far exceeding the shield’s capacity. The second, more grim possibility, was that the person under the Holy Light’s protection had already perished, becoming a lifeless husk devoid of consciousness, thought, or vitality.

Neither scenario offered good news, yet Alice desperately clung to the hope of the former, for it implied Eve might still be saved. But the Holy Light’s glow had been agonizingly brief—too short for her to even delude herself.

“No… it can’t be…”

“Eve will be fine… she has to be fine…”

Alice’s composure completely shattered. She muttered incoherently, reassuring herself with frantic whispers even as tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes.

Yes, her dream from last night had clearly served as a warning. Why had she been so careless, failing to consider the possibility that Eve might be accidentally harmed by the armor?

Eve was an undead creature—a fact only Alice herself knew! How could she have been so thoughtless as to entrust Eve’s protection to her knights? She was practically condemning her!

Now, however, regret was a bitter and belated companion.

“I’m sorry… it’s all my fault…”

Alice bent down, clutching the girl’s warm, soft body tightly, unwilling to let go even for a moment. Her tears fell freely, soaking the fabric of Eve’s clothes.

It was as if by holding her, she could prevent Eve from being purified by the Holy Light, from dissolving into countless specks of light and vanishing from this world. Though it might be futile, in these final moments, Alice yearned to engrave into her memory that Eve had once revived as an undead, appearing by her side…

*Crack—*

‘Hm?’

‘Did Eve’s body just make a sound like bones cracking?’

‘Was it merely my imagination?’

Alice remained lost in her sorrow, even wondering if her intense grief was causing her to hallucinate sounds. And so, Alice held her even tighter.

The result was painfully clear. Like corn kernels popping in a microwave, Eve’s body began to emit a series of crisp, crackling sounds—a symphony of painful pops.

Joedi, still squatting by the door with his back turned, couldn’t witness the scene unfolding within. Yet, the sounds he heard sent a chill through his entire body.

‘Sounds of that magnitude…’

‘She’d be paralyzed for life, wouldn’t she?’

“L-let go…”

“You’re… crushing me…”

At that moment, an incredibly faint voice drifted into Alice’s ears.

“Eve?!”

Alice snapped her head up. Her eyes, still red-rimmed and brimming with tears, disregarded everything else as she stared in the direction of the voice.

There, in her arms, the girl had somehow awakened, now staring at the ceiling with a thoroughly miserable expression.

“Eve, you’re alright! Oh, thank goodness… I thought…”

“Alice… I think… if you don’t let go now… something might actually happen to me…”

“Ah, I’m so sorry! So sorry!”

Alice quickly released her hold. Seeing Eve’s twisted, deformed arms and her even more sunken chest, Alice’s face flushed with immediate embarrassment, followed by a wave of profound guilt.

Eve still couldn’t move, but these new injuries were purely the result of Alice’s crushing embrace, not her previous physical condition or the suppression she experienced during the day.

If one were to overlook Alice’s ‘masterpiece’ of a hug, Eve actually felt her body was immeasurably better than before.

[Face a Holy Light Baptism (Progress: 1/1)]

[Job Change Quest Completed]

[Holy Spirit Martyr: An undead survivor who has undergone a Holy Light Baptism. During the day, they possess the same mobility and characteristics as ordinary people, allowing them to blend seamlessly into crowds. Yet, night remains their domain. Holy Spirit Martyrs are still undead creatures, but they are no longer bound by hollow thoughts; neither good nor evil can define them.]

[Physique +2]

[Spirit +2]

[Agility +2]

[Congratulations! You have advanced to Lv. 19.]

[Skill Unlocked: Listen/Sense Share]

[Skill Unlocked: Holy Light Spell]

[Skill Unlocked: Assault/Assault Command]

Yes, the job change quest was complete. The moment Eve had slumped onto the knight’s back, the silver armor, without a moment’s hesitation, subjected her to a full Holy Light Baptism.

Logically, Eve, suppressed by the daylight, should not have survived. But by a stroke of luck, Alice had fed her a vial of Holy Water in the final moments, bringing her back from the brink! The temporary shield granted by the Holy Light’s blessing, in particular, had been nothing short of miraculous!

It was only then that Eve successfully completed her perilous and thrilling job change. Recalling it now, if even a single step in the process had gone awry, it could have been game over for her—or rather, for the entire story.

Of course, the premature completion of the job change quest was merely an unexpected bonus. Eve hadn’t forgotten the true purpose behind asking the single-minded knight to bring her along.

“Alice, don’t worry about me right now. Go check on the maid; she needs you more than I do.”