Four Split Personalities

[Hei Fan! You conniving little bastard!]

Almost instantly realizing why the person behind him had appeared at this moment, Ruka Tifilo roared furiously in his heart, but outwardly he shivered as if he had been startled.

"Silently returned to this city you abandoned, didn’t even greet your old friends, and even changed into Sun Sect attire, tsk tsk."

The First Saintess of the Church of the Dawn, Summer Lotus·Bamboo Leaf, leaned against the entrance of the third underground floor of the small judiciary, arms crossed, looking at the trembling back with an ambiguous smile. Her complex emotions changed again and again but ultimately settled on ’anger.’ She said leisurely, "You’ve certainly lived up to the ’Saint’ in your name, His Majesty Tifero."

A hazy gleam flashed in the blindspot of Summer Lotus’s vision as Ruka Tifilo discreetly changed his appearance, coughed lightly, and curiously said in a distorted voice, "This... Did you mistake me for someone else?"

"Turn around..."

Suddenly raising her voice, Summer Lotus slammed the Star Gold Cross that had been the source of so many childhood and young adult fears for Tifero heavily on the ground: "Face me! You bastard!"

Tifero hurriedly turned to face Summer Lotus, his face completely transformed under Mor’s decree, staring blankly at her before hesitantly focusing on the God’s Badge at the collar of Summer Lotus’s advanced priest robe, and asked in bewilderment, "You are... uh, which esteemed member of the Church of the Dawn?"

"Ha, still pretending, are you? Since when have I seen through your lies, you little rabbit?"

Summer Lotus beamed in a flowery smile, walked briskly up to him, and during this transitioned the Star Gold Cross to her left hand, then raised her fair and slender right hand high to slap the unfamiliar face in front of her, yelling angrily, "Little—Ti—fe—ro—!!"

One must say, Her Highness the Saintess was very confident in her judgment, for with her strength, if the slap landed solidly, even if the opponent was truly a low-rank Sun priest, the force could definitely smack his head off, resulting in sure death without a corpse.

Even though she majors in Divine Arts with only a hobbyist interest in Body Techniques, the slap thrown in Summer Lotus’s fury still boasts epic-tier lethality, enough to deplete the blood bars of Mor, the Snow Bathing Sword, and Wang Badan altogether.

However, this lethality was overwhelmingly excessive from any perspective; even Great Knights like Green dared not touch its edge. It only brushed away the dust on Tifero’s sealed memories, causing him to recall the days when he was beaten thrice a week and pummeled every five days by the woman in front of him, untouched by time.

Bang—

As an invisible barrier resisted Summer Lotus’s right hand, gently dispersing the explosive power in her palm, Tifero smiled bitterly and dismissed the decree with an effect akin to plastic surgery, revealing his original visage, aged yet still spirited and fit, complete with iconic goatee.

"Long time no see, Her Highness Summer Lotus, glad to see you are still in good health."

Reluctantly refocusing on the opposite’s pretty, delicate, and fiercely intimidating face, Tifero touched the tip of his nose and smiled bitterly while bowing to Summer Lotus: "I am no longer the Pope of the Church of the Dawn, so please refrain from using titles like ’His Majesty.’ Feel free just to call me Ruka or Mr. Tifero."

The Elf Holy Woman’s smile grew more radiant, yet she swapped the cross back to her right hand, a faint vein surfacing on her smooth forehead and fair hand, pronounced one word at a time, "So many years without seeing each other, your attitude towards me has become quite estranged, hasn’t it, kid?"

"People grow up, Your Highness, although I might have matured late, I’m somewhat wiser now."

"You matured late? Crying and pleading to enter the Combat Nuns’ Abbey to ’learn divine arts’ when you hadn’t even grown a full set of hair yet, then doing nothing but peeping at everyone bathing, you little bastard saying you matured late?"

"Yes, it’s shameful to say, but I have reflected over the years. A mature man wouldn’t deliberately enter the abbey to train his [Eye of Dawn]."

"Are you sure you want to keep this attitude with me?"

Summer Lotus lightly bit her silver teeth, gripping the cross furiously, seemingly ready to escalate, and directly pound the head of this younger ’old relic’ before her.

"Of course, I understand things now, and for Your Highness the esteemed Saintess..."

"One!"

"Uh, don’t you think..."

"Two!"

"Her Highness Summer Lotus, please, don’t force things, I’m no longer the Tifero of those days..."

"Three!"

"You old witch, what’s your problem! Can’t just talk it over calmly, need two curses to make you happy? You’re sick!"

Driven purely by an instinct created from being stubborn after hearing a count of three and getting beaten into living disability, Tifero’s eyes instinctively widened, baring his teeth and pointing at Summer Lotus’s nose, shouting: "Put away your sinful cross! That thing isn’t for cracking skulls! Nor for spanking butts! You, as a Saintess, can you please slightly mind your image? If not for your own image, at least care for the image of the one getting beaten! Even if you’re honestly an incurable humanoid female tyrant, at least act as a more gentle tyrant!"