Chapter 1005 - 1005: D393. Let It Go

"So, what do you want to ask for?"

Late at night, Isolated Island Church.

In the tidy bedroom prepared for the Saintess, the Hero posed a question to the other self.

The sea breeze rustled the curtains, bringing echoes of distant construction.

Outside the window, the lights were bright, the work at the pier never ceased for a moment.

During the day, the Offshore Nun earnestly requested her, hoping the Hero could provide a personal item to become the new Holy Artifact for the Isolated Island Church.

Facing that sincere gaze, the Hero ultimately didn't voice a refusal, only asking for some time to seriously consider.

After all, choosing a Holy Artifact is of great importance, and one can't just give out any item at random.

But before that, she still had an agreement with her other self to fulfill.

Though everyone continued their diligent work, the Depraved Hero had long changed into a thin nightgown, rolling around on the bed, her ink-black hair scattered messily, devoid of any grace.

"Oh, have you changed your nature?" She stopped her rolling, lazily spoke, resting her cheek in her hand and looking at the Hero, "Actually admitting defeat on your own, I thought you would drag it out as if it was nothing."

As two sides of the same coin, there was an unspoken understanding between them, so the Depraved Hero's remarks were a simple provocation, leading the Hero to ignore her.

"I'll count to three." Her tone was calm, "If you don't speak, I'll consider that you've given up."

"Don't rush." The Depraved Hero laughed, stretched out a finger leisurely, raised the thin veil on her thigh, revealing faint curves, "Been on the ship for so long, aren't you going to 'relax' a bit first?"

"Though the time is quite ample, we're not here for a vacation." The Hero disregarded her seductive posturing, reminded her, "There's an entire island of Goblins waiting for us to clear them out."

And once the clearing is complete, she must return to the Cathedral, to begin preparations for the century's performance.

So, before things get busy, naturally she should settle matters with her other self first.

Furthermore, because with each passing hour dreams become more grandiose, if one gives the other self too much time to think, heaven knows what strange demands she may come up with.

In terms of being "completely untrustworthy," the other self was indeed trustworthy.

"It's all an excuse." The Depraved Hero clicked her tongue, "You just want to brush me off quickly."

What else could it be?

Though unsaid, the Hero still conveyed it with her gaze.

The Depraved Hero puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but before her other self could lash out, the Hero urged:

"Hurry up."

So the Depraved Hero's brows relaxed, she sat up cross-legged on the bed, revealing an enchanting smile.

"Alright, alright, since that's the case." She licked her red lips, her tone was ambiguous as she slowly spoke.

"I want to choose a person, and let them fall."

"—No."

The Hero furrowed her brows, responded unwaveringly and firmly.

"Why not?" The Depraved Hero raised her eyebrows, provoked, "The people here have been meticulously selected by the Church and the Kingdom, don't you trust their willpower?"

"This is a test bestowed by the Saintess — if they knew you trusted them so little, wouldn't they be heartbroken?"

"It has nothing to do with that, you understand." The Hero shook her head.

Charm is a weapon.

Under the Fourteenth Princess's tutelage, the Hero had already understood this point, and she had utilized it more than once.

Though not every time was successful, not to brag, since she could make sinners of the Cult sacrifice loyalty, she could certainly induce even the devout believers to willingly fall into the Abyss.

Since it's a weapon, naturally it shouldn't be recklessly misused, nor easily aimed at innocent people.

Even disregarding this, even if there were truly devout believers capable of resisting her other self's temptations, could it be said, knowing one wouldn't be killed, one could tolerate others wielding a knife against them?

No need for verbal rebuttal, the Hero knew her other self wouldn't agree with this reasoning.

Therefore, she certainly wouldn't approve this request.

The Church indeed excelled in spiritual strength, but it was not blind faith. Precisely because it knew how to make the spirit stronger, it understood where the weaknesses of the spirit lie.

Thus, although the Church had a considerable number of ascetics and monks, there were no related mandatory regulations.

Even ignoring the factor of being the main guild of the Church, the Holy City was also the Kingdom's largest port city and medical capital, with economic strength second to none — cultivating steadfast faith and spirit, living a hard life was never necessary.

How fragile blind faith not based on correct understanding can be, just look at the number of ancient Divine Statues the Church shattered on its path to becoming the Kingdom's sole Church and you'll understand.

The Hero's thoughts fluctuated.

"Tch, alright."

Somewhat unexpectedly, the other self didn't hassle much further, just nodded simply.

"Then change the request — let the whole island fall instead? Since it's far from the Kingdom's mainland, nobody would care."

The Depraved Hero chuckled wickedly again, "If the whole island is too much, half would do."

Make the island fall.

The Hero's brows furrowed even deeper.

She didn't doubt her own ability — since she could purify land with tears, she could certainly twist the world with Magic Power.

Recall the highlands where the Corrupted Phoenix's pitch-black tide blocked out the sun, the Hero shook her head again, her tone resolute.

"That won't do either."

"This won't do, that won't do —" The Depraved Hero spread her hands, pretending to be impatient, "Do you have any sincerity at all?"

"You are the one, knowing that I won't agree." The Hero glared at her.

Retreat to gain advantage, a very simple tactic, but it had to be said it was effective.

The girl sighed.

"Speak quickly, what's your real request? I'll seriously consider it."

"Actually, those were it just now." The Depraved Hero smiled meaningfully, "But, since my main body says so."

She leapt from the bed, landed barefoot on the ground.

The girl with black hair and red eyes, with sun-kissed skin, stepped lightly like a cat, circled behind the Hero, wrapped her hands around her neck.

"Of course, I indeed have little interest in those two matters. This wasteland devoid of value, transforming it is time-consuming and laborious, while those sailors, though strong-willed, have long been conquered by me, including that old Nun who is already mine.

"What value is there for these kinds to fall? At least comparable to that bald guy's level, worth my personal effort."

The other self's warm breath climbed sticky from the Hero's earlobe upward.

"But the core, surely you haven't forgotten my essence, right?" She chuckled softly, her tone becoming increasingly gentle.

"—The one with the greatest potential for depravity and meaning is right here."

Upon hearing these words, expected yet reasonable, the Hero let out a deep sigh.

"At this point?"

"Precisely because it's at this point."

With a light laugh, the Depraved Hero whispered:

"Don't you think you've lived too rigidly as a Saintess?"

"What's wrong with living like this?" the Hero responded matter-of-factly, "I haven't done anything wrong."

"And what's wrong with not living like this? Who can decide right from wrong for a Saintess?" The response from the Depraved Hero left the Hero momentarily at a loss for words.

"Besides, aren't all the other Saintesses just reckless? Why must we follow rules?"

The Hero opened her mouth but didn't know how to refute the other self's illogical lines.

"What, do you think the other Saintesses are very disciplined?" The Depraved Hero mocked.

"Yes, the Liberation Saintess ended slavery through negotiation. Sounds law-abiding, doesn't it? But in reality, she'd 'liberate' entire families of defiant Lords without mercy.

"You know, back then, slavery in the Kingdom was legal. From those Nobles' perspectives, wasn't she just trampling 'rules' underfoot?

"Not to mention she even tried using Necromancy and the Great Demon's power to resurrect herself later. Isn't that simply heretical?

"As for Divine Knowledge, that big-chested woman slaughtered many innocent Subhumans. Didn't you also criticize her? What right does a doll-like her have to decide the fate of a Species? Just because her chest is larger? Mine isn't too small now."

"...I never said it that way," the Hero refuted, even though she had said similar things, not that excessively.

"But you understand, right? If you must say it, that's actually a good example of a Saintess."

It's unclear whether she was being sarcastic or admiring, leaving the Hero speechless.

"But what about us?" The Depraved Hero suddenly sneered, "Since taking the position of Saintess, all I've done is act like a thug, beating up clueless creatures, cleaning up the mess for those inept weaklings. You might not mind, but I can't stand it."

"But you seemed quite happy when fighting..."

"That's a different matter!"

"These tasks weren't forced on me. Everyone helped me a lot too," overall, the Hero remained unconvinced.

"Have you ever actively asked for any reward? It couldn't be sneaking into the kitchen for snacks at night?" The Depraved Hero scoffed.

"The stage for the performance, this fleet, the canal and dock profits, and many other things... The Church prepared all these for us."

The Hero counted on her fingers, trying to convince another herself.

"Ridiculous, I never asked them to do that." But with an unusually harsh remark, the Depraved Hero ended the discussion.

The Hero stopped her movements, speechless.

"And ultimately, I still have to work off the debt. It's forced labor!" The Depraved Hero continued to complain.

"I am the supreme Saintess. They should be at my beck and call, willing to sacrifice their lives for me!"

"This..." The Hero hesitated.

Although unwilling to agree, from her other self's perspective, it wasn't entirely wrong. After all, fulfilling this request was also because she resolved a Demon Group enough to capsize the fleet.

Despite feeling that human interactions shouldn't be such cold exchanges of interests, saying this to another self would naturally mean nothing.

At least she didn't refuse to fight for everyone as a Saintess.

That was kind of progress... right?

The Hero thought as optimistically as possible.

"But I'm still just an acting Saintess." Yet she tried to make the final struggle.

Although now it seemed no one cared anymore, the Hero hadn't forgotten that she was just an acting titleholder without the official designation.

"Once I become a real Saintess, maybe there'll be a chance..."

The Hero paused, and didn't continue.

Because the other self didn't even bother to speak, merely looked down at her with a gaze meant for fools.

"Alright..." The Hero sighed reluctantly, conceding:

"What do you want me to do?"

"Hey, that's more like it." Upon hearing her, the Depraved Hero's smile stretched to her ears, and the Hero's foreboding instinct surged.

But having spoken, there was no turning back.

"I'm not some demon. After all, you are the core." The other self's tone even turned sweet.

"How about this — for this few days on the Isolated Island, you must do as I say."

The Depraved Hero's fingers slid back and forth on her collarbone, whispering close to her ear.

"Of course, the demands won't exceed your bottom line, that's alright, isn't it?"

The girl swallowed, finally nodding slowly.

"...No problem."

The moment she made the promise, her heartbeat involuntarily quickened slightly.

"Good." The Depraved Hero snapped lightly in front of her chest, her expression showing an unsettling glee.

"Don't cause too much trouble for everyone..." Seeing her triumphant expression, the Hero resigned herself to wait for her request.

"That's not for you to decide." The mischievous her raised a brow and smiled oddly.

"Then, the first thing—"

1.5. Take it off for me first!

2.6. Hero Statue

3.7. Saintess Magic House

4.8. Alice's Prank

9. One, two, three, four of Seven Sins (D)

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=3

♛: Saintess Magic House