Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 622 - 623: The Goddess’s Command

Mengxi: ’So it is like a spiritual coffin?!’

As Kael’s words echo in her ears, Mengxi’s delicate body shudders, her pupils quiver, and her pale violet eyes fill with indescribable shock and emotion.

Even in the deceitful world and Asumos Church’s lies, there was one thing Mengxi never doubted: the existence of the Goddess.

After defeating the Demon Lord, the Goddess had left this world, but she still silently watched over everything from the shadows, safeguarding the development of humanity and its various races. The blessing within Mengxi’s body was the living proof of the Goddess’s presence.

And now…

The sudden revelation from the Pope that the nearby statue is the Goddess’s resting spiritual coffin left Mengxi utterly astonished.

After a moment of daze, the Girl of Destiny takes a deep breath to steady her emotions.

She gazes solemnly at the approaching golden-haired man, a flicker of doubt barely perceptible in the depths of her eyes.

"The Goddess... is she dead?"

"Dead, you say?"

Kael smiles slightly, then shakes his head to deny Mengxi’s assumption:

"Strictly speaking, our Goddess has not died. She is an eternal, undying entity. How could she possibly die?"

"Then, Your Holiness, what did you mean by your earlier words? What exactly is the relationship between this statue and the Goddess?"

Mengxi presses for answers.

There are few things in this world that Mengxi cares about. Apart from the safety of her Yumo, Mengxi is most concerned about information regarding the Goddess. As a chosen one, she feels a special, indescribable connection with the Goddess, a divine being she has never met.

However,

Feeling the invisible, soul-shaking terror emanating from the statue of the Goddess, Mengxi speculates:

"Is the Goddess sleeping within this statue?"

"Heh, worthy of being the Girl of Destiny, you sensed it, didn’t you?"

Kael laughs proudly, his hands clasped together in devotion as he looks at the statue of the Goddess:

"To outsiders, this statue of the Goddess may seem like a golden sculpture built out of devout faith. But in reality, the will of our great Goddess is slumbering within it. In the entire Asumos Church, only I and the four Holy envoys know this truth. The Archbishops, Heavenly Apostles, and Earthly Apostles are all unaware. Mengxi, you are the sixth person in the whole world to know this. Feel honored, child."

Mengxi: "..."

Upon hearing this, Mengxi fell into a brief moment of silence.

Although Kael’s words were completely unexpected, Mengxi did not doubt him at this moment. After all, the fact that this statue of the Goddess had remained intact, even after being attacked by the Higanbana, already spoke volumes about its extraordinary nature.

Furthermore, it possessed the ability to bestow holy energy upon the faithful.

So, the idea that the consciousness of the Goddess slept within it was not entirely implausible.

Moreover,

Kael’s expression did not seem like he was lying.

Taking a deep breath and reluctantly accepting this bizarre reality, Mengxi continued her questioning with growing curiosity, "Didn’t the Goddess leave this world after defeating the Demon Lord? Why would she be sleeping within the statue?"

"Left this world? That’s just a lie woven by the elders of the Church,"

"A lie?"

"Yes, when the Goddess and the Demon Lord fought in the Northern War, she defeated the source of all evil, but the Goddess also paid a considerable price. It was a mutual defeat. After defeating the Demon Lord and establishing Asumos Church, Our Goddess had almost exhausted her strength and fell into a deep slumber. And the Goddess, well, she sleeps within this statue."

"I see..."

Raising her gaze to meet the golden gemstone eyes on the Goddess’s statue, Mengxi bit her lip in contemplation.

At times,

She couldn’t help but glance at Kael, who appeared devout and even displayed a hint of fanaticism.

Whether it was her illusion or not, but she feels an indescribable discomfort about the Pope at this moment.

"Your Holiness, if this is such a highly confidential matter, why are you telling me now?"

In response to this question,

Kael only smiled faintly and did not directly answer Mengxi’s question. Instead, he approached her with measured steps and praised her with admiration,

"Mengxi, you are truly not disappointing. You have not only gained the recognition of the Sacred Dragon’s Heart but also broken through to level 7 amidst that crisis. It’s truly admirable. Worthy of being the chosen Girl of Destiny by the Goddess, you quickly became a Saint Rank and completed the first trial of the Saintess assessment."

"Assessment? Your Holiness, it seems I haven’t successfully brought back the heart of the Sacred Dragon."

"That was an unforeseen factor, who could have expected the heart of the Sacred Dragon to be tampered with by Higanbana. The Goddess is not unreasonable. Since you have gained the recognition of the Sacred Dragon’s heart, the first phase of the Saintess assessment is considered complete. To encourage you, I now entrust you with the command of the ’Sunlight’ Squad."

As he speaks,

Surrounded by the glow of dark red holy magic, a delicate pure white token appears in Kael’s hand and is presented to Mengxi:

"From now on, you are the leader of the Sunlight Squad, the new Archbishop, and also the new Saintess of the church."

"..."

Taking the token handed over by Kael, Mengxi frowns slightly in astonishment.

The events unfolding are completely beyond her expectations.

"Saintess? But isn’t the assessment supposed to..."

"To protect the believers and innocent civilians, you took a huge risk to personally lure away the demon dragon and inflicted serious damage on it, which has already proven your character and strength. You don’t need to pass any more assessments to prove yourself. Therefore, the Goddess has decided to end the assessment and directly bestow upon you the title of Saintess. The coronation ceremony of the Saintess will be held in a month. You should prepare well."

Kale spoke with a meaningful tone.

"I understand, thank you, Your Holiness and the Goddess, for her trust."

Mengxi replies courteously.

Although she appears calm, her heart is already swept up by a tsunami of ’confusion’ and ’doubt’. She indeed wants to attain the position of Saintess, but isn’t this ’Saintess’ title coming too easily? Too suddenly?

It seems that Kael is not keen on selecting a new Saintess and sharing power with her. Otherwise, the Church would not have gone three hundred years without a Saintess.

’Why, at this time, why does he want me to become the Saintess so fast?’

’Is it because of the Goddess’s will?’

Before Mengxi could ponder further, Kael’s slightly excited words quietly reach her ears:

"Now that you’ve become the Saintess, Mengxi, you should fulfill the responsibilities of the Saintess, shouldn’t you?"

"Responsibilities?"

"Yes, that means leading the faithful to rid the world of evil."

"Evil?"

Mengxi’s brow furrows,

Vaguely, she felt something unusual.

"Pope, what do you want me to do?"

Facing Mengxi’s straightforward question, Kael instantly flashes in front of her, placing his hands on the silver-haired girl’s shoulders, speaking excitedly, even eagerly:

"The Goddess needs you to eliminate someone. A terrifying existence that threatens the survival of all humankind."

As the words left his mouth, Mengxi felt a shiver in her heart. She uneasily noticed that the crimson eyes of Kale seemed to gradually reveal an eerie pentagram pattern. In that instant when the pentagram appeared, the holy energy within Mengxi’s body began to surge uncontrollably.

A strong sense of dread envelops her.

At this moment,

Under the shocked gaze of the girl, a golden phantom even vaguely appeared behind the Pope.

With a slight smile on his lips, Kael leaned down and whispered softly into the ear of the silver-haired girl,

"By the way, that terrifying being, you know her. It’s your homeroom teacher… Yu-Black-Rose~"

Mengxi: "?!!!"

....

.....

In a dormitory room at Luminous Royal Academy.

It was supposed to be a normal day of classes,

But due to the severe damage caused by Sword Demon’s rampage, the Education Committee had uncommonly announced a three-month suspension of classes.

As a result, Aya, the girl with emerald green hair, was sitting comfortably on the dorm room sofa at this unusual time, sipping tea and glancing at the newspaper.

However,

Just as she picked up her teacup, the contents of the newspaper made her eye twitch involuntarily.

Subsequently, she gazed thoughtfully at the teacup in her hand. Memories from the early morning yesterday flashed through Aya’s mind like a slideshow.

--

"Pssst, this tea~ I specially brewed it just for you, Miss~ Come on, give it a try~"

"For me? Pipi, are you being this nice to me?"

"Huh? How... How could I not be? We’re partners, you know? I noticed you’ve been working so hard lately, and you didn’t get enough rest last night. So, I deliberately prepared some tea to help you recover your energy! Once you drink it, you’ll be full of energy! You won’t feel tired anymore!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Yes! You have to trust me! I’m just being kind-hearted!"