Could there still be “coincidences” happening now?

Staring at the collapsing sky, the weakened Vanessa thought to herself.

This place had been created entirely by Foreno. After Foreno’s death, the Cube Space naturally began to collapse.

Vanessa couldn’t understand how Foreno, merely a Master-rank priest, had managed to create such an intricate and complex alternate dimension. But then again, considering he was acting under orders, and that the one standing behind him might be Pope, she wasn’t so surprised. After all, they had once completely ransacked her family’s estate. How could they possibly have taken nothing valuable from it?

Even if they hadn’t found anything back then, the Church of Radiance’s heritage was undoubtedly filled with countless treasures, most of which were left behind by past Saintesses, or were outright gifts from the Goddess herself.

The sky was decaying, heavens falling like a scene of apocalypse. The world’s outer shell seemed to have been torn open by some force. Gravity spiraled out of control, pulling people in multiple directions, as if trying to rip them apart.

‘W – What should I do?’

Clutching her lips between her teeth, Vanessa winced in pain as she watched the three of them being dragged in different directions by invisible forces.

‘At the very least… I must protect them.’

Vanessa bit her lip until it bled. Luna had bought them some time, and although the poison’s peak effects had passed, leaving her far less exhausted than before, she still hadn’t fully recovered. Fighting through the weakness in her limbs and the tearing pain, she opened her [Flawless Holy Wings]. With magical essence in utter chaos, forcibly channeling it meant enduring the sensation of her own mana violently ramming against her blood vessels and organs, like countless tiny beings pounding from within.

Blood tricked from Vanessa’s lips. Yet, driven by sheer willpower, the angelic wings stretched wider, enveloping the three of them as they lost grip on the crumbling ground, shielding them inside.

Luna, nearly unconscious, suddenly felt her freezing body wrapped in unparalleled softness and warmth. This warmth feels just like the silk blankets at home, dry, cozy, tender, with exquisite texture.

She blinked drowsily, a single white feather drifting past the tip of her nose. Only then did she realize she was sheltered beneath a pair of enormous angelic wings. These beautiful, sacred feathers protected them all, yet continued shedding plumes from the external impacts and falling debris from the shattered sky.

Luna instinctively turned her gaze, sure enough, she saw the immaculate cherry-haired girl. Although blood now trickled from her lips, her hair was disheveled, and her body and wings bore countless wounds, her pure white angelic vestments torn beyond recognition, she appeared more sacred than ever before.

Luna was reminded of the museum piece displayed in her home gallery, the Saintess with hands clasped in prayer, enduring suffering and punishment to alleviate the world’s pain.

The contrast of brokenness and holiness, two completely opposite styles, was perfectly expressed in a single artwork, creating an overwhelming sense of contrast that delivered a powerful visual impact.

That feeling, once seen, never forgotten.

Luna slightly widened her platinum-white cross-shaped pupils. Despite the inappropriate timing, a flicker of obsession and fervor still passed through her eyes.

Paintings, after all, could never compare to experiencing it in person.

Fanya and Amisa, having briefly lost consciousness from the earlier collapse, both awoke to this sight, their expressions filled with their own unique shock and awe.

But Vanessa was already exhausted to begin with. No matter how hard she pushed, she couldn’t possibly hold on forever.

Vanessa had no idea how long she could endure. Gasping for breath, she heard her own broken feathers flutter past her ears. Although her appearance was disheveled and pitiful, her cherry-blossom-like heart-shaped eyes still burned with determination and resolve.

Until she collapsed from exhaustion, she had to protect them.

That was Vanessa’s only thought now.

The will may defy blades and swords, but the flesh cannot. Vanessa felt her weakness intensification, her vision blurring into obscurity.

She realized she could no longer sense temperature. Worse, all her senses were fading, weakening.

Her eyes could no longer perceive light. She felt herself sinking into a realm of darkness and shadow, endlessly plummeting into an abyss.

Vanessa’s ears rang as her gaze slowly lost focus. Just before losing consciousness completely, she seemed to hear something tearing through space, a sound like a violent, discordant rip across a white canvas.

Vanessa had no time to think. Exhausted, her consciousness faded. Her eyes slowly shut, and she began to fall.

She should have plummeted into the bottomless abyss, but at that moment, a force caught her.

The roar of an explosion stirred Vanessa’s faint awareness. As she slightly opened her eyes, she realized her body was being supported by an invisible force.

“Ugh… huh?” Feeling uncomfortable, Vanessa shifted slightly. Her blurry vision gradually focused, and when she finally made out her surroundings, her poor condition meant she couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing at first. Only as her brain slowly processed the signals did her eyes widen in shock.

She found herself in a place consumed by flames. Below lay scorched, blackened earth. The sky, stained by thick black smoke, had lost its original hue.

Before she stood a towering, crimson giant, nearly three meters tall.

It had a humanoid form, its body covered in explosive, bulging muscles. Entirely red, it bore a pair of massive black horns on its head, and pitch-black wings, dark as curtains, spread wide, blotting out the sky.

Its eyes, devoid of pupils, glowed with hellfire as it calmly gazed at her, as if appraising her.

W-What is this…?

It took Vanessa a moment to realize, this was clearly not human.

Was it… a demon?

Vanessa recalled that demons were featured by extreme ugliness in males and extreme beauty in females. This was unmistakably a male demon.

How could a demon appear here?!

Vanessa surveyed the demon’s surroundings. This place resembled a swamp of hell itself, anyone trapped here would suffer eternal torment.

It felt as if this space was a domain carried by the demon himself.

Vanessa found herself completely unable to move. She didn’t know if it was due to her injuries or if the demon’s power was restraining her.

There could hardly be anything worse, yet Vanessa felt something strange.

This demon… didn’t seem to harbor any malice towards her.

Now that she thought about it, there was no collapsing sky here. Although this hellish place looked dangerous, it was remarkably stable.

Honestly, if this demon was the one who pulled her into this space, one could even say he had just saved her life.

Vanessa’s intuition told her this demon could kill her with just a breath.

It was an overwhelmingly direct sense of power. She didn’t even need to stare at him, just seeing him, even with her eyes closed, she could feel his immense strength. Like a mayfly glimpsing a giant tree, she couldn’t see the limits of his power.

“Daylight has ended.” A deep voice echoed through the hellscape.

Vanessa flinched.

Clearly, the voice came from the demon before her, yet she saw no movement of his lips.

The towering demon raised his head. His eyes, blazing with infernal fire, looked at Vanessa, but also seemed to look past her, as if gazing at something behind her.

Faced with this eerie scene and the demon’s strange behavior, Vanessa remained silent.

“Dawn follows dusk. Dusk follows dawn.” The demon’s words were in a language Vanessa didn’t understand. Yet strangely, perhaps because his speech carried some form of cognitive energy, Vanessa somehow grasped the general meaning despite not knowing the language.

“This is the last time I will help you.”

“Milady Medilia.”

With that, the towering demon raised his hand. His body loomed like a mountain. His eyes transformed into twin moons. His vast, sky-blocking black wings folded down over her.

Vanessa didn’t have time to comprehend the demon’s words before being enveloped. Everything she saw was swallowed by darkness, consumed by the void.

W-What was that…?

Then, her consciousness sank into silence.

An endless black sea. She felt herself sinking, drifting, tossed about by waves, soaked and freezing cold.

She felt as if she had returned to that nightmarish place, shivering from cold, unable to feel anything but profound despair, unable to feel that she was even alive.

She didn’t know how long she remained in that state. Then, she felt herself touch a warm current. The suffocating pressure in her chest, like seawater clogging her lungs, slowly eased.

Gradually, she began to see colors again. She began to hear sounds.

That voice… sounded familiar.

Her heavy eyelids twitched, slowly opening a narrow slit. The sudden light and long-missed sunshine overwhelmed her eyes, forcing them to shut again. Instinctively, she tried to shield her face, but found her hand held in place by something warm and unyielding.

W-What’s going on…?

Confused, Vanessa moved her fingers slightly.

“Ah!” At that moment, she nearly recovered and caught a sound, like a cute, fluffy creature started in fear.

“Little Fanya, Lady Luna! The Saintess is waking up!” Then, Vanessa heard that voice, brimming with joy and excitement.

That voice… Was it Amisa??

Then, she heard two sets of hurried footsteps.

“Did the Saintess wake up?! Let me see, Saintess, Saintess?! How are you feeling? Are you alright? Any discomfort?!”

“Fanya, please don’t bombard her with so many questions at once. The Saintess hasn’t fully recovered yet. Besides, if you ask her so many things, she won’t know which one to answer.” Luna’s voice, as elegant and composed as always, gently scolded.

“Oh, sorry, sorry!” Fanya immediately fell silent.

“It seems the healing spell worked.” Luna speaks again, her tone is calm.

“Truly remarkable, Lady Luna. Your understanding of healing magic is astounding.”

“Compared to me, Amisa, you are the one with true potential. As a new generation blessed with both [Holy Light] and [Flawless Eyes], your future mastery of healing magic will surely surpass mine.” Luna replied with a soft laugh.

“It still seems like the Saintess isn’t feeling quite well.” Amisa said, then reached out and cast a healing spell on Vanessa.

“Ugh… hmm?” After hearing so many familiar voices, Vanessa felt a warm, gentle warmth wash over her body, as if the previous dampness and darkness had been mere illusions.

Like a drowning person finally pulled ashore.

Vanessa’s eyes gradually adjusted to the sunlight. She slowly opened them, the silhouettes of the three girls before she sharpened from blur into clarity.

She blinked her enchanting heart-shaped eyes, her delicate pink lashes fluttering as she changed between the three of them, still not fully grasping the situation.

“Saintess, you’re finally awake! How are you feeling? Any discomfort?” Fanya quickly asked.

“Fanya…? And Amisa…? Miss Luna? W-Where are we?” Vanessa’s voice was still weak, but her mind had mostly recovered.

“Reporting, Saintess, this seems to be somewhere in a forest along the border between the Northern Tribes and the Tyrell Empire,” Luna answered. As she spoke, she gently placed a hand on Vanessa’s wrist, eyes closed as if assessing her condition. Only after confirming multiple times that she was unharmed did Luna finally relax.

After finally welcoming a successor and new hope, she will never allow tragedy to repeat itself.

“Discomfort? Hmm… other than still feeling a bit tired, I’m fine, Fanya,” Vanessa replied. Even in her weakened state, her voice carried a soothing, healing quality that calmed Fanya’s anxiety.

“Really? Is it really true?!”

“Fanya, repeatedly asking a lady the same question isn’t very polite, you know?” Vanessa teased gently.

“I’m so glad… so incredibly glad! Saintess, I’m so sorry! I’ll train harder, I promise! Next time… next time, I’ll definitely protect you!” Fanya sobbed, burying her face beside Vanessa.

“Fanya, there’s no need to cry like that. I don’t have a handkerchief to comfort you with,” Vanessa said tenderly.

Plop. Before she could finish speaking, she felt a warm, damp sensation on her forehead.

“I’m so glad the Saintess is alright…” Amisa was crying too, like a little squirrel that hadn’t eaten enough, her tears dripping onto Vanessa’s forehead.

“Oh dear, you two…” Vanessa sobbed inwardly, feeling as if she were taking care of two little daughters.

“Miss Luna, thank you for your hard work,” Vanessa turned to Luna. Despite the honey-haired girl’s tattered clothes and disheveled hair, her innate elegance and composure remain unchanged.

Earlier, when she had been unconscious, Fanya and Amisa must have been scared. Luna probably spent a lot of time calming them down.

Like a mature adult caring for two children.

This made Vanessa realize Luna was indeed reliable. Aside from her occasional quirky sense of humor, she was composed and dependable in crucial moments.

“It’s nothing. What matters most is that the Saintess is safe,” Luna smiled.

“Are we… safe for now?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes. For now, we’re safe.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep