Chapter 80: Hood

The sky above Falisa was suddenly swallowed by an inky darkness. All light vanished in an instant, as if the world had plunged into an eternal night without stars or moon.

But in the very next moment, the blackness receded just as abruptly. A clear sky spread open once more, blazing sunlight pouring down as if nothing had ever interrupted it—cloudless, leaving only a harsh brilliance blanketing the entire city.

Across the streets, whether nobles clad in fine garments, busy merchants rushing about, or beggars crouched at the corners, everyone stopped at the same time and looked up at the sky, their faces filled with shock and curiosity.

This fleeting upheaval of heaven and earth was enough to halt the entire city, murmurs spreading through the streets like a rising tide.

Inside the church, before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, Josuna was also gazing at the sky. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the silver cross at her chest.

Unlike the confused onlookers, she knew very well—within Falisa, only Feiye could cause a phenomenon of this scale.

“Feiye… are you fighting someone?” she murmured softly, brows tightly furrowed. The worry in her eyes surged uncontrollably—

—but none of it was for the one who caused the disturbance.

From beginning to end, that concern belonged solely to Pereti.

As for Feiye, Josuna didn’t care in the slightest whether she lived or died. In fact, a faint thought even surfaced—if Feiye were to die here, it might make it easier to keep Pereti in the Empire, by her side, with no one left to take her away.

“Josuna, what are you looking at?”

A familiar voice came from behind, light and tinged with a smile.

Josuna’s body stiffened. She turned abruptly and saw Pereti pushing open the church’s side door. Sunlight streamed in along her silhouette, outlining her figure in a soft glow.

“Lele!”

The moment she recognized her, all of Josuna’s composure collapsed. She rushed forward, her hands anxiously gripping Pereti’s shoulders, then moving along her arms to her face, trembling uncontrollably.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does anything hurt?”

Pereti was caught off guard by her sudden actions. She raised her hands helplessly, avoiding the overly eager touch. “I’m fine. It’s not that easy for me to get hurt.”

“That’s good… that’s good…”

Josuna let out a long breath of relief, her trembling gradually subsiding. Only then did she realize she had nearly lost control again.

The disturbance caused by Feiye had hung over her like a boulder, making her forget to restrain her emotions.

Calm down, Josuna. Don’t scare her. If she gets afraid, she’ll want to leave. You absolutely can’t let her leave… absolutely not…

She took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of emotions, and forced her tone to sound calm. “What exactly happened? Why did Feiye suddenly go out and make such a huge commotion?”

“It’s nothing serious. I just… suddenly wanted to see how strong she really is.”

So that girl was called Feiye. As expected—an absurdly powerful monster.

Just her disappearance was enough for her to storm the church headquarters and confront the leader. If anything had really happened to Pereti, that monster would probably have torn the entire Falisa apart.

Still, the identity of “Pereti” was unexpectedly useful. Her authority within the church far surpassed that of “Dunn” before. With this, infiltrating the church could go even further.

Josuna didn’t grow suspicious.

Feiye had always obeyed Pereti without question. Let alone showing her strength—if Pereti told her to walk into blades or fire, she wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

Reassured, Josuna gently patted the back of Pereti’s hand. “If that’s the case, then I’m relieved.”

“Oh right, I just received a letter that felt a bit strange.”

“Pereti” seemed to recall something and took out a sealed letter from her robe, handing it to Josuna casually.

This letter was forged—completely unrelated to the original one Pereti had written.

She knew Josuna was the closest person to Pereti within the church. If she wanted to uncover Pereti’s past relationships, Josuna was the perfect entry point—and this fabricated letter was her first test.

“A letter for you?”

Josuna took the envelope, slightly frowning as she opened it and read carefully.

The greeting used “Pereti,” meaning it was someone she had met after becoming a witch.

But after becoming a witch, Pereti had hardly ever left Falisa. Even if she had close acquaintances, they would meet in person—sending letters like this would be rare.

Could it be another witch?

With that thought, she continued reading, her gaze moving line by line—until it reached the signature at the end.

Hood Delanforz.

With a boom, Josuna’s mind went blank. Her eyes turned hollow and cold.

That name was like a blade, stabbing straight through her carefully maintained calm, dragging up painful memories buried deep within her heart.

It was a nickname she had given Pereti’s father when they were children—something only she and Pereti knew.

Since her father’s death, Pereti had avoided that name completely. For years, she had never once mentioned it. It was a shared scar between them—something that would never be brought out so casually, let alone shown to her without reaction.

The person before her… was not Lele.

The realization struck like thunder.

In an instant, Josuna’s aura turned sharp and frigid. The warmth vanished from her eyes, replaced by piercing cold.

She slowly raised the letter in her hand. Her other hand moved behind her back, silently gathering dense light elements at her fingertips. Yet her voice remained eerily calm:

“Do you know this person?”

“I do—”

Before “Pereti” could even finish those two words, a fist condensed with immense light energy smashed violently into her face.

The force sent her flying backward instantly, crashing heavily into the stone wall of the church. With a thunderous boom, rubble scattered, and a deep crater formed in the wall as dust filled the air.

“How dare you… use her face… and stand before me!”

Hearing the commotion, several clergy members rushed over—but upon seeing the scene, they all sucked in a sharp breath.

Some were so terrified they froze, while others hurried off to inform the bishop.