Volume 5 Chapter 236: The Imminent Mission To Recover The Holy Maiden Of The Radiant Church
Translator: The Light
Edits by Kenny
In the secret conference room of the St. Louis Church Academy in the southern part of the Olsylvia Academy, the discussion on the joint excavation of the Scripps Cemetery continued.
Chief Gralen of the Radiant Church’s Law Enforcement Team, advocated hiring a professional excavation team to handle the matter. What all the partners had to do was to pay.
The group of people led by Carlos opposed the proposal. It wasn’t that they had no money, but that it was a capital crime to steal and dig the church’s cemetery and destroy the ruins. In case of an accident, Gralen would definitely throw all the blame on them!
The Fraternity and another faction headed by Charlotte, who was a crossdresser, advocated that they employ a group of people to form a joint team and regard it as a joint exploration.
Gralen didn’t dare to agree with this proposal. He wanted to wait for his partners to dig up the spoils and divide them. The matter of him employing other people would only be something they could hold against him. The Light Pope wouldn’t step down because of this and would probably use Gralen as a scapegoat.
Bella was watching the play, but she didn’t know that some of these n.o.bles quietly took her as their leader and even moved their seats behind Bella. If Bella didn’t say anything, they would also continue watching the play.
The partner she suspected to be royalty seemed to have no interest in the three parties and sat where he was. Bella guessed that the people present had a.s.sumed that “he” was part of Bella’s faction and treated him as a bystander watching the play.
Bella’s eyes began to wander around in her idleness. Bella wasn’t interested in this grave-robbing meeting that had turned chaotic. Her interest was in other aspects.
Unfortunately, in this entire venue, it was all men and not a single girl, except for Bella, which made her somewhat frustrated. A place without a single beauty was simply h.e.l.l for her.
The crossdresser, Charlotte, was actually quite good-looking, but Bella had a normal s.e.xual orientation after all, so she wouldn’t go for a crossdresser. After much deliberation, Bella’s gaze returned to the one she suspected was royalty.
The mysterious Imperial “Duke” seemed to have discovered Bella’s rudeness. Any ordinary person would be able to detect it if someone were to stare at them with strange looks. Besides, the Imperial Duke wasn’t an ordinary person.
“What are you looking at? Stop staring, and I’ll pretend that nothing happened!”
Bella was startled by the voice that suddenly sounded close to her ears. Fortunately, she had been through a lot. Bella had heard of this secret communication magic that transmitted sounds thousands of miles away.
“Imperial d.u.c.h.ess, although your t.i.tle is higher than mine, I don’t think you’re allowed to violate n.o.ble etiquette either!”
Bella also knew a similar kind of magic that she had learned from Ariel. It just so happened to be perfect for the situation. The Imperial d.u.c.h.ess had obviously been frightened. After that, the d.u.c.h.ess didn’t reply to her.
This made Bella lose any annoyance. The d.u.c.h.ess was a girl. Bella could hear it from her voice. There was a tad of regality in her solemn voice, which was in line with her Imperial d.u.c.h.ess’ status.
At the end of the secret meeting, the result was that the two sides had each taken a step back. The partners would pay for people, but in return, the Law Enforcement Team had to send one or two captains to follow, so everyone was on the same boat, and no one could run away.
Bella had been flirting with the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess using the thousand-mile voice transmitting magic. She didn’t even listen to the contents of the meeting. When it was her time to pay up, she casually put a few precious rubies without a second glance.
Carlos looked incredulous. He wondered if his bitter rival was suddenly an acting lady and wouldn’t go against him. But this was good as well. It was better to avoid direct conflict with Bella. Carlos now tried his best to avoid any confrontations with Bella.
When preparing to leave the conference room, Bella found something unusual. There was no one in the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess’ seat. Bella glanced at the mirror in the back of the conference room but didn’t see the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess’ reflection either.
When Bella turned to look, the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess had disappeared. Was she a ghost? It is unlikely that any ghost was so bold as to dare to appear on the site of the St. Louis Church Academy. After ruling out the possibility of her being a ghost, Bella chose a more direct way and asked President Charlotte.
Bella wondered if that the mysterious d.u.c.h.ess was like Charlotte and might have some mysterious power to travel through parallel worlds.
“Did you see her? Big sister Bella, it seems you’re not as simple as you look. I won’t tell you her name. This is what’s going on...”
Bella’s guess was indeed true. Apart from her and Charlotte, the other people, including the Chief of the Radiant Church’s Law Enforcement Team, didn’t notice the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess.
There was nothing mysterious about the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess. She was a princess of the Aldridge Empire. For some special reasons, she was deprived of her Princess status and given the t.i.tle of Imperial d.u.c.h.ess.
What Bella saw this time was an image she had conjured up with magic from a different dimension. As Bella was a high-level Demon G.o.d, she had easily seen through the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess’ magic.
Bella didn’t know it was because of her Demon G.o.d ident.i.ty that she had seen through the phantom of the fake Imperial d.u.c.h.ess. If she had known, she might’ve doubted Charlotte’s real ident.i.ty as well.
After Bella left the conference room, she saw the elusive Imperial d.u.c.h.ess under the big tree not too far away.
This time, Bella turned to leave as if she hadn’t seen her. This made the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess a little anxious. She was now in a special form and couldn’t touch anyone.
“Stop, don’t go. I have something to...”
“Okay, I was wrong. Would you please stop? I really need your help.”
“No, you’re covered with a cloak. I can’t even see how you look. Besides, isn’t your t.i.tle no higher than mine? What would I be able to do for you!”
“My profession is special, so I can’t show you how I really look right now. Can you help me? I also know astrology. I can help you read your future.”
The Imperial d.u.c.h.ess simply explained that she was different from President Nina. President Nina had too much reservation when it came to astrology, but she could read something that Nina couldn’t.
Bella chatted with the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess’ image under the tree for a long time before leaving. According to the Imperial d.u.c.h.ess, Bella had to alter some of her plans temporarily.
It wasn’t easy to enter the underground Scripps palace. The special mechanisms inside required six key sacred objects. These sacred objects were now with President Maria, Holy Swordsman Cynthia, and the four Holy Maidens of the Radiant Church.
President Maria and the others had moved to Bella’s dormitory, but as the future leader of the Radiant Church, the Light Pope had given them some sacred objects.
There was something wrong with those sacred objects. They would gradually control their owner’s thoughts. Besides controlling high ranking church officials with forbidden spells, the Light Pope would occasionally place this sort of sacred object with mind control abilities on members of the church who were disobedient and might rebel.
When Bella and her friends returned from their conquest in the Beastman Continent, Maria and the others were called by the Radiant Church for a meeting as soon as they returned to school. It seemed there was a problem since they hadn’t yet returned to Bella’s dormitory “Pure White Heaven.”
If Bella had received the news a little later, that might’ve put Maria and the others in danger because Bella had secretly placed dark energy restraints in their bodies. When the time came, the two kinds of energies would flare up simultaneously, killing Maria and the others.
Before it was too late, Bella hastily held a secret meeting with Noreya and planned to infiltrate the St. Louis Church Academy to destroy the strange sacred objects on Maria and the others.
Noreya was the only one directly involved in this operation. One of Bella’s closest aides, a.s.sa.s.sin Lola, was responsible for investigation and support, helping Bella and Noreya determine the whereabouts of their targets.
The group of rescued female thieves had grown into excellent thieves through the training of Interdimensional Demon Noesha and Poison Origin Betty. They were perfect for this operation.
The Imperial d.u.c.h.ess, who had reminded Bella, wasn’t involved in the operation. What she needed was something inside the Scripps Cemetery.
Her original plan was to remotely manipulate one of her partners present at the scene and act according to the situation, but Bella and Charlotte had both discovered her, which eventually forced her to shelve her plan.
The St. Louis Church Academy was quiet at night. Since the Law Enforcement Team of the Radiant Church was digging up the Scripps Cemetery, the security of the entire academy had been raised to the highest level.
Bella’s task tonight was rather heavy. She planned to obtain the four sacred objects from the four Holy Maidens of the Radiant Church, and then secure the two most crucial sacred objects which were with President Maria and Holy Swordsman Cynthia.
The targets of her mission weren’t in the previous dormitory building, which disappointed Bella, who wished to repeat her feat of “catching them all in one fell swoop.”
The first sacred object she would retrieve was the Netherworld Stone. It was with Daisy, one of the four Holy Maidens, and a representative of Salo’s faction.
Daisy’s location wasn’t hard to find. In a black hotel on the outskirts of the St. Louis Church Academy, some of Lola’s Demon Thieves had discovered her tracks.
Bella arrived at the scene with Noreya immediately after receiving a tip-off from her subordinates. It was a rather romantic hotel, so ordinary Clerics wouldn’t be here.
From a distance, Bella saw Daisy dressed in a black, revealing evening gown, flirting with people all over the hotel. Many Casanovas took the opportunity to offer her a toast, presumably to get her drunk and take advantage of her.
‘This girl actually went behind my back to flirt with other men. It looks like I’ll have to...’ Bella was so angry that she almost went over, but Noreya, who was watching, pulled her back in time.
“Bella, calm down. She’s not Daisy; she’s just pretending to be her.”
“Hmm... Let me take another look...”
As a professional a.s.sa.s.sin, Noreya was very accurate in judging her target. Now, she wasn’t going to kill her. She was merely confirming her target.
After Bella had calmed down, she too found that there was something wrong about Daisy. Her figure didn’t look right. Daisy was currently wearing a dress designed by Bella, and Bella was well-acquainted with Daisy’s figure.
In the restroom of the Black Hotel, Bella and Noreya obstructed Daisy’s path. The imposter didn’t know that Bella had already seen through her ident.i.ty. Before she could respond, Noreya knocked her out.
Bella quickly stripped the imposter of her clothes, and after some groping, she found a ring on her finger that could change her appearance.
“Mmm, d.u.c.h.ess Bellina, why... are you here? This is...”
“Who the h.e.l.l are you? Where is Daisy? Tell me now!”
“What are you talking about? I’m Daisy... Don’t mess around. Although you’re a d.u.c.h.ess, insulting a Holy Maiden...”
Bella pulled off the imposter’s appearance-altering ring, revealing her true face. She was merely someone who looked somewhat like Daisy and could hardly be called beautiful. Bella already tied her with rope in the restroom cubicle.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll leave you like this next door. What do you think...”
“Isn’t next door the men’s... Wait, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything. Daisy is in a room upstairs.”
Hearing that Bella would leave her naked in the men’s restroom next door, the imposter turned pale with fear. She knew all too well the kind of men who frequented the hotel.
If they saw a naked beauty in the men’s restroom, they would want to do that to her even if they were blindfolded. Then, she would be miserable and unable to get out.
It turns out that the real Daisy had almost been controlled by the sacred object, Netherworld Stone, as soon as she received it. Suspicious that there was something going on, Daisy ran away and hid out in the hotel.
This imposter was someone the Light Pope had placed beside Daisy to watch over her. Seeing that Daisy hadn’t been successfully controlled, she locked the door and informed the Radiant Church to send people to take Daisy away.
Daisy didn’t expect that this personal maid who had been with her for many years to be a traitor and was now trapped in the room.
After succeeding at her task, the traitorous maid wanted to go out and celebrate. She pretended to be Daisy so she could drink for free because the senior members of the church enjoyed a number of privileges in the stores within the area of the St. Louis Church Academy. Unexpectedly, her operation was discovered by the thieves who had been sent by Bella to investigate.
Bella stopped talking to the fake Holy Maiden as soon as she got the information she wanted. She directly blindfolded her and placed her in a sack that hadn’t been completely sealed.
The real Daisy had fainted on a bed in a room on the second floor of the hotel. Even when Bella and Noreya entered, she didn’t awaken.
Bella saw Dark Holy Maiden Daisy lying naked on the bed. Her clothes were probably removed by someone.
The floor of the room was still littered with several pieces of s.e.xy black lingerie. The person who stripped her clothes didn’t know how to remove the new lingerie Bella had specially designed for Daisy, and could only tear it off.
The Netherworld Stone Daisy wore around her neck gave off a strange glow. Bella speculated that this “Netherworld Stone must have done this.”
“This is the sacred object? I think that the Light Pope has a serious problem.”
Bella held out her hand and tried to tear off the Netherworld Stone necklace, which annoyed her greatly. Just as she reached out, a huge shadow descended from the originally empty ceiling, targeting Bella.
Bella stepped back and threw a kick upwards, hitting the mysterious figure in the chest. The strong impact forced the figure back to the ceiling.
Noreya drew out a throwing knife. It shot out, nailing the figure to the ceiling. It was a black shadow. After being stabbed by Noreya’s special throwing knife, it melted into a pool of black ink-like liquid, which stuck to the ceiling.
“That’s a Shadow Predator... Bella, if you had been a little slower, you’d have to change clothes again...”
The Shadow Predator was a demonic being, that was attached to the Netherworld Stone, and excelled in stealth and sneak attacks. Its sneak attack on Bella had been a mistake. With one move, it was kicked back to its original place by the other party. Noreya happened to have a weapon that was very destructive to illusory beings.
Without the Shadow Predator’s interference, Bella managed to remove the Netherworld Stone necklace easily. When the Netherworld Stone was taken off, its l.u.s.ter turned much dimmer.
“Bella... You’re here. Hmm, where are my clothes? Meanie, you couldn’t be thinking of doing...”
“You little vixen. Even now, you’re thinking of... Tell me what’s going on!”
Bella carried Daisy and left the Black Hotel through the back door with Noreya. Soon after they left, the Recovery Team of the Radiant Church appeared. They went to the designated room and brought away the fake Holy Maiden, who had been moved over.
After dealing with Daisy, the task was a little simpler. The sacred objects given by the Light Pope to the Holy Maidens all had issues. Daisy was able to escape because there was dark magic in the magic that she practiced. Because she could see that there was something wrong with the sacred object, she had been prepared, so it couldn’t successfully control her.
The Light Pope had originally wanted to arrange for Holy Maiden Susan or Holy Maiden Hayley to go on a date with the dignitary of a great empire, but Hayley and Susan, who had always been obedient, were somewhat conflicted this time.
Holy Maiden Daisy and Holy Maiden Sophia also took part in rebelling against him. The unity of the four Holy Maidens was the last thing the Light Pope wanted to see. Having checks and balances had always been the management style that the Light Pope preferred. If his subordinates were united, that would threaten his authority.
President Maria and Holy Swordsman Cynthia agreed with the actions of the Holy Maidens. As a last resort, the Light Pope had to take action himself, using these evil sacred objects.
Aside from the Netherworld Stone that was already in her hands, there were three other sacred objects, Heart of the Ocean, Sky Feather, and Crystal of the Earth, that Bella hadn’t yet obtained. The sacred objects were with Holy Maiden Hayley, Holy Maiden Sophia, and Holy Maiden Susan, respectively. Daisy knew the approximate location of the three Holy Maiden, and they were all in different places.
After obtaining the three sacred objects, Bella still had to get the Golden Key, from Maria, the successor to the Light Pope, and the Crystal Map from Holy Swordsman Cynthia. There was still much to do in this night attack, so Bella planned to divide her team into two.