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With a concerned look in her eyes, Annie glanced at Lius, then slowly exhaled, giving the blond boy a serious and earnest nod.
"That's right, just like you said, Xiaoli. What the church wants to do is create their own god, a savior with immense power, truly like a god descended to earth, to influence everyone in the kingdom. And to achieve this goal, they need to conduct numerous experiments to turn humans into gods." Turning humans into gods... that's impossible. With human power, it's simply impossible to achieve such a thing.
At this point, the System girl perched on Lius's shoulder frowned and interjected, and Lius, mimicking her tone, gave a similar account to Annie in front of him:
"Is this really feasible? Turning humans into gods sounds like a complete fantasy. Even though I just made a deduction, I still find it hard to believe. Is it really as you say, Aunt Annie?"
“I know it’s hard for you to believe, Xiaoli, but for me, this is how it happened. The church doesn’t need a real god, just a powerful being, a powerful life form capable of resolving the crisis at hand. With these qualities, plus the church’s propaganda, one can be considered a god in this world.”
"Therefore, the so-called gods in the church are merely people with abundant magic power and great strength... But even so, in order to convince everyone, the magic power they possess must be enormous, so enormous that it is beyond the reach of humans, so that people can believe that gods have truly descended."
"That's right, and that's what I'm going to talk about next, the experiments within the church. The experiments on the candidates for sainthood involved modifying their bodies under the control of various potions and magic."
Clenching her fists, Annie's eyes flashed with anger once more. A wave of emotion rippled through her usually calm voice as she addressed Leus:
"The Church... often searches for orphans with magical talents, or seeks out noble families willing to cooperate with the Church, sending gifted children into the Church under the guise of adoption, but in reality... they secretly experiment on them to find candidates to become gods." Aunt, are you very knowledgeable about this? "Lius continued to ask.
"That's right, because I... saw all of this with my own eyes, and I saw the experiment on my senior with my own eyes."
As Anne spoke, the intensity in her eyes deepened, and her arm, gripped tightly by her nails, bled crimson blood.
Chapter 277: The Nun's Past (Part 1)
"Have you witnessed a similar experiment?"
Repeating Anne's words, Leus's gaze deepened with inquiry, and he became even more focused on Anne.
“That’s right. Back then, after I joined the church, I witnessed the experiment within the church in an accident.” Anne exhaled slowly, looking particularly serious. She clasped her hands together tightly and continued to tell Lius, “Little Lius, you don’t actually know how I joined the church, do you? Now, let me tell you a little about it. In short, when I saw my senior sitting in the carriage heading to the church, with a look of despair in his eyes, I’ve kept it in my mind ever since. I’ve been constantly thinking about why my senior would show such a look. This thought has lingered in my mind for a long time, and I can’t forget it.”
"So, Auntie, you later joined the church and decided to look for this senior lady, right?" Lius tilted his head and asked.
"That's right... Back then, I was quite naive. I thought that as long as I became a nun in the church and went to the Royal Capital Church where my senior was, I could meet her again. At that time, no matter what grievances or pain my senior had in her heart, as long as I was by her side to confide in her, there would always be a way to solve it. But... Looking back at what happened, I was indeed too naive back then. I didn't realize at all how big a conspiracy was hidden behind it all."
At this point, Anne sighed again, turning her gaze to the distant street beyond the rooftop, staring at the road leading to the capital as if deep in thought.
"In short, in order to become a member of the church, I spent a lot of time learning all kinds of knowledge. At that time, my family was not too poor, so it was enough to support my school expenses. After a series of efforts, I finally passed the church's test and became a member of the church. At that time, because the capital was short of manpower, I was transferred to the capital and met the senior I had been looking forward to."
"In that case, Aunt Annie, you must have been very excited when you met this senior lady again, right? After all, you hadn't seen her for so many years, and you must have had a lot of things to ask her. This senior lady must have felt the same way. I imagine the scene when you met back then must have been very lively."
"Lius asked, and Anne sighed again, shook her head, and replied to the blond boy in front of her, "I really want to say that's true, but actually... when I met her, I didn't know how to start the conversation, because she didn't just meet me alone. She came to the church surrounded by many people and greeted us nuns who had just joined as the bishop."
“Oh? A bishop? From what you’re saying, Auntie… this senior lady already held a very high position back then?” Leus glanced at her and asked for further confirmation.
“That’s right. After all, even back in the countryside, I was able to hear about the Royal Capital Church. I also knew that my senior had won an election and become the new bishop of the Royal Capital. She was of a very different status from me, a nun who had just entered the church. Therefore, before going to the Royal Capital, I had already prepared myself to suppress my excitement and avoid getting into an awkward situation with her because of the difference in our status.”
“Hmm…thinking about it carefully, that’s true. After all, we’ve been separated for so many years, and the difference in our status will inevitably create a barrier. That doesn’t surprise me.” Listening to Annie’s words, Leus nodded thoughtfully, muttering to himself. Annie, on the other hand, suddenly smiled helplessly, as if recalling something interesting. She changed her previous serious attitude and continued to tell Leus:
"However... what happened next might surprise you, Xiaoli. Although I tried my best to suppress my excitement and silently watched my senior from a distance, trying to avoid putting her in an awkward situation because of me, she... didn't want to ignore me like that."
"Oh? Could it be that this lady who was previously dizzy... took the initiative to acknowledge you, Aunt Annie?"
Upon hearing this, Leus looked at Anne expectantly, and Anne nodded silently, slowly saying:
"After offering condolences to everyone, the senior bishop should have led everyone to the center of the church to pray, thus completing the welcoming ceremony for us nuns. However, before leading us to pray, she secretly did something: she came to my side, spoke softly in front of me, and whispered something that only the two of us could hear."
"Let me guess... it's something like 'long time no see,' right?"
Looking at Annie, Leus made some intriguing guesses, while Annie shook her head slightly, a faint smile appearing on her lips, and continued to speak to Leus, "No, little Leus, what she said to me was, 'How is everyone? How are you all doing?' She wasn't just asking about me, but was inquiring about the other companions in the village."
"Oh? So, even after all these years, she still can't forget those experiences?"
"That's right. When I heard those words, it felt as if a huge boulder that was about to fall had finally landed on the ground. My hesitation and wariness disappeared immediately, replaced by a familiar warmth towards my senior. Because I knew that she hadn't changed at all; she was still the senior we knew and respected."
After saying this, Annie's smile deepened, as if she had recalled a memory that brought her the most peace of mind, causing her tense body to gradually relax. After taking a sip of her freshly poured black tea, she continued to tell the blond boy in front of her, "It was around that time that I began to follow my senior as her assistant, helping her handle all sorts of miscellaneous matters in the church. From time to time, I would bring other companions to the church to chat with her. She would tell us about the various things happening in the church, and we would tell her about the peace in the village, putting her at ease."
“That sounds wonderful. Just like when you were in the orphanage, Aunt Anne, many children who had left the orphanage would come back to you and tell you their stories after they left. Thinking about it that way, you and this senior lady are really of the same ilk.”
Lius smiled slightly at the dark-haired young woman before him, and Annie, upon hearing this, paused for a moment before returning a gentle smile to the blond boy.
"Ha...you mean I'm like a senior? Little Li, you're really sweet-talking, making me unsure what expression to make." That's my most profound impression of you, Auntie Annie. Don't be shy, just accept it. "Reaching out, he grasped Annie's delicate, fair hand, and Lius continued with a smile."
"Oh dear. Xiao Li, you're really something... Alright, then Auntie will accept it."
With a slight smile and a gentle pursing of her lips, Annie stroked the boy's small hand before reluctantly parting from it, continuing to speak:
"In short, that period was the happiest time for us. Although we were very busy, we were still full of hope for life. I believe that was true for both me and my senior. However, I never knew how to express my feelings about the emptiness and despair that she once showed in her eyes."
"Auntie, haven't you ever asked about the troubles your predecessor faced back then?" Lius asked.
"Well... I did want to ask her why she showed that expression back then, but... feeling her high status in the church and her good living conditions, especially seeing her gentle smile that she always maintained, I even..."
With a hesitant tone, Anne shook her head and continued:
“I even wonder if I made a mistake in my eyes back then, causing me to misread the emotions in my senior’s eyes? Did I make a mistake that led me to misjudge the current situation? My senior is clearly living a very happy life now, with an extremely noble status both in the church and among the common people, so how could he have any thoughts of despair?”
Anne paused here, then changed the subject, her voice low and heavy as she spoke, "Until... that day, what happened that day made me understand why there was that despair in your eyes, and I knew that even after all these years, that despair had never faded, but had always existed in your heart, causing you to be immersed in it for so many years." Oh?
As he listened to Anne's words, Lius moved closer to her, looking intently at the dark-haired woman with a serious expression, waiting for her to tell him what she was about to say.
Chapter 278: The Nun's Past (Part Two)
"If that's the case, then what exactly happened afterward that made you, Aunt, realize the darkness within the church?"
Sensing Annie's emotional fluctuations, Leus continued to ask, and Annie, after hearing this, slowly exhaled and her lips trembled as she slowly opened them to say:
"There's a lot to say about this, including her experiences and the preparations she had to make as a candidate for saintess. It's all too complicated to explain. What I remember most vividly is the day she came to my room and started looking for me."
"Hmm? Senior lady came to see you, Aunt Anne, on her own initiative?" Lius asked thoughtfully.
"That's right, I remember it clearly. It was a cloudy morning. I had just finished my morning prayers and was resting in my room when my senior suddenly knocked on the door and entered my room with a very anxious look on his face. He said that he had to come to see me and had something very important to tell me."
Anne closed her eyes slightly, as if immersing herself more deeply in reflections on the past, her lips moving more rapidly in this state of contemplation.
I was quite surprised at the time, because my senior rarely showed such an expression; she seemed almost completely at a loss, and she rarely came to find me so early in the morning. Most importantly, I saw that same despair in her eyes again, the same despair I had witnessed before.
“Despair?” Leus muttered to himself thoughtfully.
"That's right, that bottomless despair resurfaced in your eyes, senior. There's absolutely no mistake about that. So my intuition tells me that you've encountered something very serious that you can't handle on your own. You're also very flustered, so you've come to me, the person you know best, to ask for my help."
"It's a big deal... Is it about the Church?" Lius continued to ask. "That's right, it's about the Church. When she came to my room in a panic, she wanted to talk to me about something—the trials she needed to undergo as a candidate for sainthood."
At this point, Anne clenched her fist again and continued to tell Lius in a hurried tone, "At that time, she was very flustered, but she still explained to me the ins and outs of the church's saintess in the most calm tone. She let me know about the selection of the saintess and the experiments that needed to be carried out afterward. And that experiment was the trial that she had to endure to officially become a nun."
"For this senior to show such panic, something must have happened. What exactly happened? What kind of experiment could have caused her to show such an expression?"
"I asked her the same question back then, and she only said that time was running out and that I should pack my bags quickly and go to the church’s back garden to meet her at midnight. Then we would escape from the church together and break away from it completely, never to have anything to do with it again."
"So, Auntie, did you do the same afterwards?"
Lius continued to ask, and Anne nodded slightly, continuing her explanation:
"That's right. I was surprised by my senior's hasty reaction at the time, but her words carried an undeniable firmness, so I followed her advice, packed my luggage immediately, and waited in the room until midnight before sneaking out to meet her in the back garden."
"Was the plan a success, or a failure?"
Although he had somewhat anticipated the final outcome, Leus still held a sliver of hope and asked the dark-haired woman before him this question. Annie shook her head slightly, sighed, and gave her answer:
"Xiao Li, you probably already anticipated this, right? Our operation didn't ultimately yield a satisfactory result. I sneaked into the already sealed-off back garden under the cover of night, and just as I was about to turn the corner... I saw my senior's figure, along with a group of cultists who surrounded her and controlled her with magic. They tightly surrounded her, using magic to create a prison and confine her inside."
"So, was this senior lady's escape plan discovered from the very beginning?" Lius frowned and continued to ask. "It's possible that it wasn't discovered from the beginning, because there's never been a precedent for an escape in the church, so the guards were relatively lax. This is one of the reasons why she wanted to take the opportunity to escape. It was precisely because of the lax guards that she had the chance to escape."
At this point, Anne's sighs became more pronounced. After shaking her head, her lips continued to tremble as she poured out her heart: "However... perhaps it took too long, or perhaps the operation at night was too hasty, which led to some abnormalities in the senior being noticed. Ultimately, the nuns figured out the senior's escape plan, surrounded him, and regained control."
"And what about you, Aunt Annie? Has no one noticed anything amiss?"
"My words...it seems they didn't reveal anything. They didn't discover that my senior had contact with me in the morning, nor did they realize that I was actually hiding in the shade of a tree not far from them when they captured my senior. This allowed me to escape their pursuit and witness the entire process from the shadows."
When Annie opened her eyes again, she looked at Lius, exhaled, and finally made up her mind to recall what had happened that night and tell the blond boy in front of her the pain and resentment she least wanted to remember.
"At that time, I was hiding in the shadows under the trees. It was a cloudy day with a lot of wind, much like today. As a result, the nuns in the distance did not notice my presence. However, I could clearly see them walking under the lamplight and hear what they were saying to their elders."
With her lips slightly pursed, Annie's gaze flickered, as if she had returned to that dark, lightless night more than a decade ago, and seen that figure flickering under the lamplight.
Chapter 279: The Nun's Past (Part 3)
Many years ago, in the back garden of the royal monastery, under a dark shady tree, tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, the thick clouds obscuring the starry sky above the crescent moon, and not a single ray of moonlight could be seen. The clouds showed no sign of dissipating anytime soon, and everything made the whole land feel in a silent and oppressive atmosphere.
On the silent earth, only gentle breezes blew continuously. In contrast to the unchanging sky, the breeze gradually became faster as time went by, like a mountain torrent about to burst forth, adding a sense of tension to the already oppressive atmosphere.
"In this atmosphere of oppression and tension, a girl hid under the bushes, using the large and dense shade to firmly seal her body in this invisible barrier of shadows, allowing her to extricate herself from the crisis before her and observe everything that was about to happen from the perspective of an outsider."
With a rapid, panting breath, Anne covered her hands with her nun's habit, her chest heaving with each breath, her body trembling uncontrollably, barely able to contain the fear and anxiety within her.
Because in her line of sight, in the very center of the garden in the distance, there were figures strolling about, swaying back and forth under the flickering lights.
These figures moved with aggressive steps and light, yet sharp, movements, surrounding a beautiful woman with long, fiery red hair. They used their staffs to unleash the magic power they had gathered within them.
"boom!"
After a series of explosive sounds, under bursts of magical blue light, the magic underwent countless transformations in the air, releasing an energy body that resembled a cage, firmly imprisoning the red-haired girl in the very center among the crowd.
"And that red-haired beauty was also biting her lip, watching everything that was happening around her, trying her best to squeeze out the last bit of magic power in her body to resist the attack from the other nuns."
If you look closely, you can also see that the red-haired girl's eyes are very complex. They are filled with pessimism and despair about the current situation, as well as concern for a girl hiding in the shadows in the distance. These emotions come together, making her fight with her last bit of strength to try to break free from the cage that everyone has placed on her.
"boom!
After a loud bang, the dust settled, revealing fine, even cracks on the cage. These cracks appeared to have greatly damaged the magical cage, but even so, they were still insufficient to free the red-haired girl inside.
Looking at the other nuns, they were also frowning and coughing amidst the swirling dust, their fingers gripping their staffs tightly and trembling slightly as they increased their strength.
"Cough cough cough. As expected of the Bishop. Even after we've used up so much of your magic, you still retain such immense power and talent. No wonder you're the Pope's most cherished candidate for Saintess. Indeed, with you participating in this trial, you're sure to create the most outstanding deity..."
Gripping her staff tightly, the white-robed girl, the only one unaffected by the fluctuations, spoke slowly. At this moment, there was no panic in her voice, only a firm determination to the current mission. Her right hand, holding the staff, remained unshakable, firmly trapping the red-haired girl in front of her.
"Now, Your Excellency, please stop struggling and come with us to the underworld. The Pope has been waiting for you there for a long time. Once you undergo this test, you will become a god. This is what our church has always been pursuing. You have known this from the beginning, which is why you joined our church."
Despite not being able to clearly see the girl's face, the red-haired girl in the middle of the group gritted her teeth and mustered her last strength to angrily rebuke the white-robed girl in the lead:
“You. It was all you who threatened me with my friends to force me to comply. If I didn’t obey your orders, you would have harmed Annie and the others… This is one of the evil deeds committed by the church, and I knew this from the very beginning.”
The red-haired girl shouted these words with all her might, as if she wanted Annie to hear them. She was extremely excited. After shouting these words, she began to cough continuously. Her standing body gradually slumped down, and with heavy breathing, she gradually knelt down in the garden. Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and it seemed that her last bit of strength was about to be exhausted.
The white-robed girl at the head of the group didn't react to the red-haired girl's words. She simply continued to unleash her magic, binding the red-haired girl's arms and speaking to her as before:
"Just as you said, you were prepared from the beginning, so why do you want to escape from here now? Don't you care about your family and friends anymore?"
"Because I... I know that what you are trying to do is far more than just creating a god... What you really want to do is destroy this world and then use the god you created to create a new world that you will rule. That is the purpose of the church."
"Hmm? How did you know?"
The girl in white robes rarely showed a hint of surprise, while the red-haired girl continued biting her lip and saying:
"For this reason... you not only want to create gods through me, but also... you want to plunge the world into crisis! If I'm not mistaken... you are trying to contact a group of cultists, aren't you?" Hearing the words of the red-haired girl, the white-robed girl fell silent for a moment, and the other cultists also fell silent, seemingly unwilling to give a direct response to the red-haired girl.
"What? You finally admit your purpose? Are you going to start acting now for the conspiracy orchestrated by your female pope? Hmph… If your plan is truly implemented, not only my friends, but countless people throughout the world will be plunged into disaster. Countless people will die, and you care nothing for them. For your lust for power, you cultists are willing to do such heinous things… You…" The red-haired girl coughed violently again, seemingly from overexertion. The white-robed girl remained silent, glancing at her companions before slowly opening her lips to address the red-haired girl surrounded in the center:
"In any case, there is no possibility of anything changing now. The Church's plan will definitely be implemented, and you, Bishop, will become the god we have created. This is what we will do next. If you insist on resisting, we are willing not to send you to the underground of the Church's monastery, but to let you embark on the final trial right here and now."
"Hmph, do you really think that with my power... I can create the gods you desire?"
The red-haired girl forcefully lifted her head, looking at the crowd before her. She clenched her fists, uttering words of resentment and despair. The white-robed girl, however, remained calm and composed, nodding to the woman before her.
According to Her Majesty the Pope's deductions, given your current state, Bishop, this is already our best possibility. If even this cannot make you a god, then... we still have other options.
Other options.
Faced with the words of the girl in white robes, the red-haired girl showed a rare look of surprise, while the other nuns did not explain anything further, but continued to walk towards the girl they had surrounded, slowly approaching her.
"Now, do not resist. Come with us back underground for your final trial."
Chapter 280 The Nun's Past (Part 4)
"You... want to take away everything I've protected... just for your lust for power, you've committed such a despicable act." Looking at the nuns approaching, the red-haired girl's eyes revealed sorrow and despair, but even more so, a rage at the current situation. Especially when she looked at the white-robed girl leading the group, her eyes blazed with fury like flames.
"Don't even think about it... For my companions, for my friends, I will never... I will never do anything that would hurt them." Biting her lip, the red-haired girl tried to back away, then took a deep breath and shouted with all her might at the white-robed girl in front.
"You...you're not allowed to come any closer! If you dare to come closer, I will use my last strength to fight back. You're absolutely not allowed to come any closer!"
The loud noise echoed in the back garden. The nuns nearby didn't seem to care much about her reaction. Rosalind, in particular, showed a disdainful look and continued to walk towards her.