Chapter 8: The Saintess’s Overwhelming Power

“Wait, wait, wait!”

“Sleep together? How did we suddenly leap to this stage? And even the address changed!”

Eve, like a startled rabbit, cowered in the corner. Seeing Alice’s gaze, which seemed to have her completely figured out, she suddenly began to doubt the correctness of her previous decision.

However, this thought vanished once more when she saw Alice cheerfully humming an unknown tune, flipping open the sacred text in her hand, and effortlessly clearing a swath of undead with a casual burst of Holy Light.

Between dying peacefully in Holy Light and being ‘reaped’ by a lesbian Saintess, Eve frankly chose the latter.

Alice turned back, smiling. “Is there anything strange about that, Eve-chan? We used to sleep together all the time.”

“Besides, ‘Eve-chan’ is a lovely name, isn’t it?”

Eve: “…As long as you’re happy, Saintess.”

“It’s Alice. You must call me Alice, alright? Don’t call me ‘Saintess’ anymore, Eve-chan.”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!”

Eve nodded quickly and submissively. She figured no matter what the other party said, simply agreeing was the right course of action.

Sure enough, as Alice brightened, she casually dispelled the Wall of Sighs that had been preventing Eve from escaping.

“Eve-chan, stay close behind me now. Once we find the mastermind behind this undead resurgence and purify all the spirits in the graveyard, I’ll take you out of here.”

‘She’s going for a complete massacre!’

Hearing this, Eve couldn’t help but silently mourn for the undead in the graveyard.

‘My undead brethren, don’t blame me for defecting. Blame this woman for being too terrifying. Rest in peace…’

Next, Alice cast aside all reservations. Instead of purifying them one by one, she stood her ground and began channeling a powerful spell.

The thick sacred text radiated a dazzling brilliance, hovering in her hand. Countless pages rustled ceaselessly, and twinkling particles of light converged in her outstretched palm.

An incandescent golden light sword, imbued with a divine aura, materialized. As she grasped it, the air itself seemed to crackle with a sound akin to shattering glass.

Upon seeing the light sword, Eve felt every pore on her body scream danger. Her mind fixated on one thought: ‘Get as far away from that thing as possible!’

‘However, reason told me that if I ran now, I’d likely be impaled by that sword instantly!’

So, after retreating several steps, Eve forcefully suppressed her fear and managed to stand still.

“Oh, Blazing Sun, cleanse the magic from the innocent and guide the bewildered souls of the departed into the embrace of the Goddess of Light.”

After a brief incantation, Alice swept her sword horizontally. The light sword’s blade carved a long, arcing rainbow light.

In that instant, the midnight graveyard shone as brightly as day.

Countless wretched undead didn’t even have time to react before they were engulfed by the mighty rainbow light. Their entire bodies instantly disintegrated, turning to ash.

The rainbow light, however, stretched onward, sweeping across the distance. It mowed down vast swathes of undead as if cutting grass.

Not a single wail or roar could be heard. After that one sword strike, the graveyard fell into an even deeper silence.

Yet, the rainbow light brought more than just destruction. Before the tombstones of many undead, where the light had swept, countless flowers and plants flourished even more vibrantly!

‘Who knew if it was the life force imparted by the rainbow light, or if the undead themselves had turned into bone meal to nourish them…’

Eve’s legs had turned to jelly, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief. She struggled to tear her gaze from the distant rainbow light, redirecting it to the girl who was now casually flourishing her sword before sheathing it with a flourish.

‘Wait, isn’t she a priest? What’s with that sword-aura-like effect? Where’s your staff?! Is this kind of destructive power something a priest should possess?!’

‘And is this truly the kind of enemy a newbie should encounter right after leaving the beginner village?!’

Eve was practically screaming internally at this point.

However, it wasn’t over. While the sword strike had cleared a large area of undead in the graveyard, its reach was limited. The rainbow light wasn’t vast enough to cover every direction in a full 360 degrees.

Thus, the light sword in Alice’s hand once again erupted with dazzling brilliance.

The girl’s soft chant echoed once more: “Oh, Blazing Sun…”

Eve watched as one blinding rainbow light after another slashed forth. The expression on her face shifted from terror to numbness and blankness as she unconsciously murmured.

“You… you don’t need any consumption at all, do you?”

At that moment, Alice suddenly turned, meeting her gaze. Eve felt a shiver run down her entire body, and her first thought was, ‘Surely this person hasn’t gone berserk with bloodlust, has she?!’

Fortunately, her worries were unfounded.

Alice merely smiled as she lowered the light sword in her hand, then thoughtfully explained Eve’s earlier murmur: “Consumption? Of course there is, Eve-chan. After all, this is a fifth-tier magic. If it were anyone else, they might run out of magic after just five consecutive swings.”

“However, with the blessing of the Goddess of Light and the Blazing Sun as a medium for casting spells, my magic consumption is greatly reduced. I only need a few minutes of cooldown to recover the magic I’ve just expended.”

Eve felt as though Alice was treating her like a harmless mascot, casually revealing such potent abilities.

‘While I don’t know what a fifth-tier magic truly entails, this kind of bug-like ability… how is it even fair to play without nerfing it?’

Eve couldn’t help but inwardly complain.

Thanks to this, however, she also realized that the Saintess truly held no hostility or murderous intent towards her. On the contrary, Alice seemed to care deeply about Eve’s every word, even her unintentional ones.

‘This means my current situation is still quite safe.’

At this realization, Eve finally let out a silent sigh of relief, her nerves no longer so taut.

Meanwhile, Alice, who had been secretly observing the changes in Eve’s expression, subtly curved her lips into a barely perceptible smile of delight.

‘It seems Eve-chan is finally starting to trust me. Hooray!’

Of course, Alice was skilled at managing her expressions. She quickly concealed her delight, then said, “By the way, Eve-chan, did you encounter anyone strange when you first revived and woke up?”

“Strange person?”

Alice nodded. “Yes, but the prerequisite is that they weren’t undead. They had to be a human with body temperature.”

“Think about it: who would come to a graveyard in the dead of night, right? That’s the kind of strange person I’m talking about. You must have met someone like that, Eve-chan.”

Alice had dealt with many necromancers. She knew these twisted individuals all too well; they would surely rush to the scene after casting their undead summons to admire the fruits of their magic.

Alice had initially thought her wide-ranging fifth-tier magic attacks would draw the culprit out, but so far, there was no sign of them.

Clearly, there were two possibilities now. One was that the opponent’s caution and patience far exceeded her imagination, and they would never show themselves until she revealed a moment of weakness, remaining hidden in the shadows.

The other was that the opponent hadn’t come to the graveyard at all. While the probability was low, it wasn’t impossible.

Alice had previously encountered cunning individuals who simply summoned undead to cause mischief and annoy people, then retreated immediately after their spells were cast.

However, determining which scenario was true would require testimony from Eve, the eyewitness at the scene.

In short, Alice had already speculated on every possible situation for the unseen enemy, even beginning to plan her subsequent actions. It was then that she noticed a peculiar expression on Eve’s face.

Alice instantly reacted, her voice filled with surprise: “Eve-chan, do you perhaps have a clue about him?”

“Uh, I suppose so, Saint—”

Noticing Alice’s suddenly sharp gaze, Eve decisively swallowed the ‘Saintess’ she hadn’t yet uttered, quickly correcting herself: “Ahem, Alice, is the strange person you’re talking about a necromancer?”

Only then did Alice retract her gaze with satisfaction, nodding.

After a brief hesitation, Eve spoke: “While I don’t know if it’s the person you’re looking for, they were indeed the only human I know of who wasn’t undead, besides you, Alice.”

“That must be him, then. Eve-chan, which direction was he heading when you last saw him?”

“Nowhere. He’s already dead.”

Alice: …?