Guardian
Guardian
As the smell of burnt flesh and molten metal wafted throughout the room, the deacon turned his gaze back to the third princess, and the royal guards felt their heartstrings being pulled taut.
If something really happened to the princess under their watch, not only them, but even their families might be implicated!
The deacon didn't seem to care about the desperate struggle of the royal guards at all, though, and simply aimed the glowing yellow gem at the puple-haired girl. "Any last words?"
After a short pause, he smiled. "Maybe if you repent and pledge allegiance to the lord right now, I might consider letting you go."
The initiates at the back couldn't help but chuckle in their hearts. When their deacon asked this question, they could obviously tell that it was already too late.
Of course, just like him, they also wanted to enjoy seeing the look of desperation on this arrogant girl's face as she realized that even after being humiliated, she couldn't save herself.
For just a backwater empire's princess to dare to be so arrogant in front of them, this kind of death was already too generous. If the deacon left her to them… they would definitely make it much more 'memorable'.
Contrary to their expectations, however, the third princess still didn't seem to realize her situation, and remained standing there arrogantly. "From what I have heard, the status of an initiate is the lowest possible in the Temple of Shinra, is it not? No better than a servant, I'd say. And that of a deacon… heh, isn't it just slightly better?"
The purple-haired girl sneered. "Do you think you can act so arrogantly now that you are in our empire? Even if the overall strength of the Temple of Shinra is slightly better, can glorified servants like you behave so arrogantly in front of this princess?"
The obvious derision in her words caused the initiates to seethe in unbridled fury, but with the deacon in front of them, they knew it wasn't their place to respond. If they really end up exposing any insecurity, they couldn't even imagine the consequences.
After all, while a deacon was truly an elite member of the Temple, initiates like them really were no better than their glorified servants.
Of course, considering they could be promoted to the position of a deacon as long as they worked hard and got some recognition, they didn't believe their future status was any lower than some backwater empire's insignificant princess.
In contrast to the obvious fury of the initiates, the deacon's reaction was much more calm. "I suppose it's fitting for one like you to remain arrogant till it's too late to repent. Oh well, can't say I didn't do my duty to try."
Had it not been for the subtle fire of rage in his eyes, the third princess might really have believed he was being sincere. Of course, it didn't matter even if he was. Even if it was only verbally, she would never surrender to anyone but her queen.
The deacon sneered at her unfounded confidence. "Very well, then. As the deacon of the Temple of Shinra, I shall cleanse you from this world for your sins!"
As the gem glowed brighter, not to mention the initiates, even the leader of the border town couldn't help but feel moved.
It really was a wise decision to cooperate with the deacon! Look, even the princess of his old empire has to perish for laying her hands on a mere initiate!
How wonderful would it be if too could become one? Even if he would be below the deacon, his status wouldn't be any lower than a king!
"Cleansing Light!"
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Evelyn jolted in shock when she saw the deacon melt the royal guard so easily.
With her eternal ripple, she could tell that while the third princess had quite a few more royal guards on standby… they may not make a difference at all.
Perhaps a squad of them could even suppress a junior professor of the academy, but under the strange aura being used by the deacon, they didn't even seem to be able to muster much resistance.
How could they possibly protect the princess, then?
She wanted to test Lorraine, not let her die here! Without her, not only would she lose a valuable informant in the Lavinian Empire, but the plan to rescue her family would fall to pieces as well!
Just as she was about to move to protect the girl, however, the pink-haired girl paused.
A vaguely familiar aura was rushing to their spot, and Evelyn's expression soon turned strange when she recalled where she recognized it from.
At this time, the 'Cleansing Light' had already slammed into the barrier protecting the third princess, but Evelyn wasn't worried at all.
Even as it cracked, the purple-haired girl was already preparing another artifact to defend herself, but there was no need for her to do that.
Before even her first barrier shattered, a spear of dark energy shot from high up in the air and straight into the closed chamber, with most people only being able to catch the faint glimpse of a dark line passing by.
If the deacon hadn't hurriedly shifted the 'Cleansing Light' to intercept it, it might have shot straight through his heart.
The moment they made contact, there was a blinding flash of light, followed by a thunderous impact that sent everyone reeling back in shock with the exception of the well-protected princess.
The deacon, who was the closest to the point of impact, was sent flying straight out of the mansion and into the garden outside, rolling through the mud and grass till his face turned green in both shock and fury. "Which bastard dares?!"
Evelyn naturally recognized the purple shield badge proudly displayed on the descending man's white overcoat, but the deacon couldn't be expected to do the same.
After all, there were only ten guardians in the empire, and they were exclusively used to protect the 'most important' people. Had it not been for that 'coincidence', maybe even Evelyn wouldn't recognize who he was.
The white- haired man took one look at the uninjured princess before breathing a sigh of relief, and then landed in front of the deacon with a solemn look on his face. "To dare to attack our princess within the Lavinian borders… bold!"
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