Four Split Personalities

"Shh..."

A deep, gentle voice arose beside her ear, and Dora turned to look, only to see a stooped figure cloaked in dark gold, wearing a hood, standing beside her, extending his index finger to his lips in a gesture of silence.

"Where is this? Who are you...uhn, who are you?"

Curled up on the stretcher, Dora asked in a delirious murmur, and the next second, the sharp pain from her injuries spread rapidly, causing the broken-bodied knight to convulse in agony. At the same time, her consciousness, now returning to clarity, also remembered what had happened before.

She seemed to have been taken to a chapel for recuperation and had seen a highly revered Patriarch, surrounded by many unfamiliar faces. His Eminence had asked her some questions, about Lord Black Fan, and then... then nothing was clear anymore...

The person beside her seemed to be the one who had brought her here.

Why had she followed him?

No good, she couldn’t recall anything at all...

"This place is beneath the Sun Worshippers’ Chapel in the Midtown District..."

The person beside her dimmed the flame between his fingers slightly, then slowly removed the hood emblazoned with the sacred symbol of the Sun God: "My name is Yuna Hodson."

She appeared to be an older lady with pale grey eyes, difficult to describe in appearance not because she was unspeakably ugly, but because Ms. Yuna Hodson was a Lizardman, which left us no choice but to blandly describe her with terms like "pale golden scales," "all facial features intact," and "no obvious disabilities."

Unlike Half-Dragons or Half-beasts, who possess only slight racial characteristics, Lizardmen, while humanoid in stature and capable of standing upright with five-fingered hands, have heads and skin that are very much... lizard-like, making their appearance quite indescribable.

But for now, dear readers, please set aside her appearance for a moment, because more than that, the utterly flabbergasted Dora was more concerned about the person’s identity.

"Yuna Hodson..."

The ’former knight,’ now utterly powerless, repeated dumbly, then gasped in disbelief: "The Chief Priest?!"

Indeed, this new member of the minority assembly, an elderly lady named Yuna Hodson, was none other than one of the Chief Priests of the Sun Sect, ranking only below the Pope, a being on par with Patriarchs and God’s Chosen Ones.

It’s worth noting here that each Sect within the Holy Church Union has its own distinct hierarchy, aside from the unique pinnacle that is the Pope.

For instance, in the Sun Sect, below the Pope at the top of the pyramid, come the Ten Patriarchs, the Three Chief Priests, the Saint Heirs who are God’s Chosen, followed by the Knight Commanders, Diocese Leaders, Chief Judges, and Golden Crown Chief Priests, and then further down are the High Priests, Archbishops, and so forth.

In the Church of the Dawn, to which Motan belonged, ranking just below the Pope were the Saintess Xia Lian (yes, it’s Saintess, not Saint), the Eleven Knight Commanders, Five Patriarchs, Three Heads (of the Heretic Court), Grand Nuns, and the Great Ascetics, among others. Going further down comes the Luminous Archbishops, Novice Saintesses (in name but powerless), and Diocese Leaders, which seems somewhat similar but is vastly different in structure.

In short, the Hodson lady who appeared before Dora was one of the three highly Detached Chief Priests of the Sun Sect. Although she usually kept to herself, her name was well-known within the church.

"It’s me, girl. Please keep your voice down," the Chief Priest Hodson said with a somewhat forced smile, her right hand alight with a golden illusionary flame, gently brushing over Dora’s forehead to relieve her pain, "Time is of the essence. In short, I want you to leave this place and not to return to your previous home. Don’t contact your family, either. If possible, leave the Holy Land as quickly as you can."

Dora was taken aback, staring at the elder in front of her, whispering, "Why?"

"Because of some very complex... or rather, some rather unsavory reasons. If you don’t leave quickly, you may well die here. You’ve come to know some things you shouldn’t have, although you may not even realize what has happened, but..."

The Chief Priest Hodson shook her head, then pulled something from beneath her cloak and stuffed it into Dora’s hand, speaking softly, "This is a Sun Brooch I made myself. It can stop the deterioration of your health for a short time. Leave the City of Light before it loses its effect, and settle somewhere before the Divine Power fades. Afterward, you can exchange it for some gold coins. It’s made from valuable materials, so you should get at least five thousand Gold Coins. If you can’t dispose of it quickly, you could sell it a little cheaper on the black market, and then have peace of mind while you recover."

Dora shook her head in confusion, "I don’t understand... Chief Priest... what exactly is this..."

"It’s better if you don’t understand, child. Ask nothing. If I have a chance, I’ll try to find you."

Yuna Hodson interrupted her firmly, then activated the precious Sun Brooch with Divine Power, allowing the severely injured Dora to briefly possess the Physical Fitness of an ordinary person. She then lowered Dora down from the stretcher and pointed down an alleyway, whispering, "Go straight along this road, turn left at the intersection, repeat it nine times, and you’ll see an Active Hatch leading to the surface, located in the southern house of the Midtown District. Exit through the back door, then leave the City of Light immediately—the sooner, the better."

"But..."

"If you want to see your family alive again, and that Black Vatican Priest from the Church of the Dawn, you’d better hurry!"

"Tha...thank you... Your Eminence."

Perhaps shaken by Hodson, or maybe Dora had also perceived something, after hesitating for a few seconds, she nodded vigorously and then staggered towards the exit with a pale face.

"I’m sorry, child."

The High Priest murmured softly, then suddenly raised his hand to slam down, unleashing a scorching golden Flame Stream that etched out the ashen silhouette of a humanoid cinder on the tiles in front of him, then looked up at the almost invisible figure in the distance, shook his head slightly, "You probably won’t be able to see that Black Vatican Priest again..."

Five minutes later

Sun Sect Daily Worship Chapel, Underground Prayer Room

"I’m back."

Yuna Hodson, who had put her hood back on, pushed the door open and walked in, speaking hoarsely to the Great Patriarch seated at the head, "Dora Hika has been dealt with. I hope her family will receive appropriate compensation."

The latter nodded slightly and said indifferently, "Don’t worry, someone will take care of it. Now..."

He stood up, looking around at the companions surrounding the long table, "It’s time we assess the threat level of that ’Black Vatican Priest.’"

"I think, if Dora Hika wasn’t lying, given time, that Black Vatican Priest is bound to occupy a place in the upper echelons of the Union." A burly brute shook his shoulders and said in a deep voice, "Clearly, he’s a genius."

"Not only that..."

The man with the scholarly voice tapped the table and added, "He is also very young with boundless potential."

"But gentlemen."

The woman sitting opposite shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands, "Let’s not forget that he was only facing a bunch of brainless, weak Undead Creatures."

"But he only had a tenth the number of those Undead Creatures, and they were no more than a ragtag bunch of low rank."

The short figure on the chair back said coldly.

A brief silence...

"It seems the conclusion is quite clear, that Black Vatican Priest is indeed a threat."

One of the ten Archbishops of the Sun Sect hummed lightly, speaking indifferently, "However, there shouldn’t be any issues in the short term. With the Lay Saintess still unconscious and Xia Lian severely wounded, we don’t need to worry excessively..."

Bang!

The door to the prayer room burst open, and a plain-faced man stumbled in...

"The Morning Forgotten Language has awakened!"

And then, a new silence fell...

...

Twenty minutes later

Dora had just pushed open the hatch and was about to peek out when she felt a sudden sharp pain at the back of her neck, falling unconscious before she could even make a sound.

Chapter 510: The End