The air grew tense for a moment. Pastor Lynn rubbed his dirt-streaked hands together, then futilely tugged at the wrinkles in his clergy robes. With the motion, it became even clearer that the black robe was now smeared with more white-brown dirt — a kind of barren soil found in only one place in Seth Town.

The cemetery.

Stolen corpses. Missing townsfolk.

Maria remembered that just before dawn this morning, her father Lynn had walked in from outside the church, drenched in dew and streaked with mud. A cold chill had climbed her spine and shot straight into her head.

"Father, I've heard from the townsfolk that things haven't been peaceful lately. I can offer my help."

"Mm… Don't worry. I've already asked the Church for aid."

Lacking the gift for deception, Pastor Lynn's stammered words carried the obvious hint of a guilty conscience. Using observation on a loved one might be a little underhanded, but the urgent Constitution Check warning Maria received told her plainly: her home had become a danger zone.

A Constitution Check could only mean one thing — disease, extreme heat, deadly cold, or another hazardous environment.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine!"

Whatever came to mind made Pastor Lynn's expression first cloud with guilt, only to be quickly overtaken by a flush of excitement and joy. Maria caught every subtle shift in his face. She no longer dared to imagine what could turn a kind, devout servant of the Radiant Lord into the man standing before her now.

It might be even worse than she thought…

Though the idea seemed unthinkable, a terrible suspicion was forming in Maria's mind — and in that scenario, what role would she herself be playing?

"Father, have you seen Felia?" she asked smoothly, concealing her grim thoughts behind the same poise and grace as always, her actions deliberate and pleasing to the eye. For now, the only reassurance she felt was that her father still saw her as his daughter and trusted her.

But for how long, she could not say.

"Felia? Probably off playing somewhere. Hah, children at that age eat a lot and grow fast. I remember you were the same — one blink and you'd shot up this tall." Pastor Lynn looked at his tall, elegant eldest daughter, and for a moment his gaze seemed clearer.

He still remembered that winter night eight years ago, when the noble little girl had been so small and pitiful. Now, she could hold her own.

"Whew…"

Hearing his words, Maria let out a quiet sigh. She wasn't sure if this was truly good news, but at least she could be certain that Felia wasn't in her father's grasp.

Unwilling to speak further with Pastor Lynn, the black-clad nun felt that every second in his presence was a fresh torment to her heart. Until the truth came out, she would rather keep her distance. The pastor made no move to stop her retreat; he only murmured at her back:

"Don't be afraid, Maria… It won't be long before I bring Ruth back… Then our family can be together again, just like before…"

———

Once out of her father's sight, Maria bolted straight for the side hall. There lay Seth Town's only means of contacting the outside world — a divine spell array, laid down when the church was founded by a high-ranking priest sent from the Cathedral of the Eleven Pillars.

Constructed with lavish materials and powered by faith itself, the array could remain active for at least a hundred years.

Maria knew she could not handle what was happening in the town alone; she needed to send critical information out. But someone had clearly thought of that before her — when she kicked the door open, she found the array in the side hall completely destroyed.

Father's doing?

Her first suspicion fell squarely on Pastor Lynn, who had claimed to have already requested aid from the Church.

Prepared for this possibility, Maria wasted no time. She grabbed two shovels and headed out.

By now, the town was shrouded in a thin, cloying white mist that seemed to cut everything off. But not everyone had vanished — the cloaked Foreigner had been lingering near the church, and when he saw Maria emerge, he followed immediately.

Without a word, the nun tossed him a shovel.

"Come with me."

"My pleasure, milady~"

With a roguish grin, the Foreigner drew in the rare cool fragrance in the air. He was beginning to fall for this ice-cold beauty — his only regret was that her heart was too soft. In a life-and-death hunt, that softness could be fatal.

He was more than willing to play the gallant escort, as long as the rose was beautiful enough.

Maria's destination was a grave — and not just anyone's grave, but the fresh one of her mother Ruth, buried only days ago. In this, Maria truly lived up to the title of a devoted daughter.

Her reason was simple: she had to confirm her suspicion.

"I'm sorry, Mother. Forgive me for disturbing your rest. May your soul protect me from harm…" Maria crossed herself at her mother's grave.

Thunk!

Before she could finish the prayer, the Foreigner was already driving his shovel into the mound. Maria's face darkened, and he only shrugged innocently — time was life, after all. But letting a daughter strike the first blow on her mother's grave? That would be far from gentlemanly.

Both transcendents worked quickly, tearing into the earth with visible speed. The coffin, still adorned with the white flowers from the burial, soon lay exposed. Maria's face had gone deathly pale — this was pushing her spirit to the limit.

Crack.

The Foreigner jumped down, pried open the coffin lid, then looked up at the nun and tilted his head toward the contents. The coffin was empty. Ruth's body had vanished.

Could a corpse walk away on its own?

A body blessed by a pastor's rites shouldn't simply get up and disappear. There was only one explanation — someone had dug up Pastor's wife and stolen the remains. And that someone was most likely Pastor Lynn himself, whose mind was clearly not sound.

"What now?" Sitting casually on the coffin, the Foreigner wiped mud from his boots against the wood.

Maria was silent for a long time. Finally, she made her decision.

"You guard the town gate. I'll handle the problem. If you don't see me there in an hour… kill everything still alive in this place."

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