Secrets: Priestess
Chapter 157 Competitive Desire
Chapter 157 Competitive Desire
In the small conference room of St. Samuel's Church, Archbishop Anthony Stevenson, the rotating leader of the Red Gloves, Crested Cecima, and Alicia, the chief leader of the Night Watchmen of the Backlund Diocese, gathered together for a rare occasion.
"With the death and containment of Lanevus, the Aurora Society's cultists' activities in Backlund have quieted down considerably. We've lost leads on the Fallen for the time being... My team has reported that a rather troublesome demon has appeared in East Tucker County. I need to go there."
Crested Cecima habitually clasped his hands on his knees, lowered his chin into the high collar, and his magnetic voice floated out from the shadow of the high collar.
Anthony nodded and said, "Two consecutive strikes against the Aurora Society will calm Backlund down a bit. The rest can be left to the Nighthawks. After all, the Red Gloves are stationed in Backlund to recuperate. We can't neglect supporting other regions because of Backlund's affairs."
Alicia, the head of the Nightwatchmen, sighed and said, "I'm remiss. If I hadn't personally applied for the holy relic, I wouldn't have let Her Excellency Cesimar shoulder this burden."
"Alicia, you're welcome. Whether it's the Aurora Society's divine messengers or vessels of evil gods like Lanevus, they all fall within the purview of the Red Gloves."
Anthony also smiled and said, "Alicia's successful application for the holy relic has greatly enhanced the strength of our Backlund Nighthawks. This is a good thing, and it's not just a personal matter for you. Speaking of which, Alicia, what power did the holy relic you obtained this time mainly rely on?"
Hearing this, Cecima looked at Alicia curiously.
Alicia, staring at them, looked a bit confused. "Type... I originally thought I'd get the 'Corpse Collector' path' holy relic, but in the end, I was chosen for a holy coffin."
"Holy coffin?" Cecima couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Let me take it out and show you. This way it will be more intuitive." Alicia stood up, her eyes suddenly turned pure black, and at this moment, an illusory female spirit floated out from her body with her palms clasped together.
The illusory female spirit opened her arms amidst the ethereal chanting. A cold aura filled the conference room, and a pure black coffin slowly emerged from her abdomen and appeared in the small conference room.
Cecima looked at it intently. Except for its smaller appearance, it was exactly the same as the holy coffin he had brought to Claire Meazza!
Alicia noticed the strange look on Cecima's face and smiled gently, "After becoming the owner of the Holy Coffin, I have the authority to view the loan records of the Holy Coffin. Your Excellency Cecima has come into contact with this Holy Coffin before, right?"
"Oh? Crestai, have you come into contact with this holy object?" Anthony also asked.
Sesima recalled the favored one who had impressed him, and recalled the girl's death in Tingen, and murmured softly, "Hmm."
"This holy relic was once held by Claire Meazza, who died in Tingen. I did bring it to her from the temple."
"It's that child..." Anthony suddenly realized. With a look of pity and a hint of nostalgia, he said, "I once met her in her childhood at the Count Meazza's house. She was a precocious child back then."
Alicia drew a crimson crescent shape on her chest and said:
"I am deeply honored to inherit the hero's relic. However, I am somewhat disappointed. Due to my frequent battles, I would rather obtain an offensive relic like Lord Cecima's. This holy coffin focuses on concealing power..."
Anthony smiled upon hearing this and said, "Alicia, secrecy is the goddess's authority, and this sacred object actually shares this part of the goddess's authority. It's truly remarkable."
After a brief thought, Alicia smiled wryly, "But the Holy Coffin possesses abilities like sleeping, storage, and sealing. And to be honest, these abilities don't really fit my fighting style."
Anthony shook his head and said, "The abilities bestowed upon the holder by a relic require further development. Just like Creste, the Holy Lance in his hand was only developed into an offensive relic in his hands. I remember the Holy Lance possessing the power of doom... right, Creste?"
Seeing Anthony looking at her, Cecima responded in a deep voice:
"Yes, Alicia. Now that you have become the holder of the Holy Relic, you should also know that the Holy Relic itself is a relic left behind by a high-sequence powerhouse of the church, and it embodies the Beyonder characteristics of a high-sequence."
Sesima said solemnly, "It was the Holy Relic that chose us, making us its bearers. This allows us to fight against divinity-empowered enemies with our mid-Sequence bodies. Only divinity can fight divinity."
At this point, Cesimar paused, her expression softening from seriousness. She continued, "But we are not vassals of the holy relics. The holy relics will respond to our expectations and evolve the extraordinary abilities we desire within their own authority."
Alicia nodded in agreement, and once again allowed the special spirit she had housed to retrieve the holy coffin that was placed in the room.
Seeing this, Anthony smiled again and said:
"Alicia, I know you still have considerations about your future promotion path."
"Didn't we teach you this time in the Sanctuary? 'Some high-sequences can replace each other.'... Later, you can jump from the 'Corpse Collector' path to the 'Sleepless Man' path, and thus be promoted to a Sequence 4 'Night Watcher'."
"You, the holders of Sequence 5 relics, are the very seedlings of becoming demigods. A deeper understanding of these relics will greatly benefit you."
"But I still say... Alicia, you're too impatient. Be humble and you'll go further and more steadily."
"Thank you for your teaching." Alicia responded humbly.
Anthony nodded and said, "The Aurora Society's petty actions have decreased, but the Backlund Diocese is still facing its share of troubles. There are demons, witches, cultists, and even the troubles of the secular world... Alicia, I hope you can remember, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"
Cecima also said at this time, "The Red Gloves' sixth, seventh, and eighth teams will remain in Backlund this year unless there are any major incidents. They will also have the spare capacity to help with Backlund's affairs."
Alicia nodded solemnly.
Afterwards, the internal meeting among Backlund's top management ended, and Alicia returned to her office in the cathedral.
There was a woman in her forties waiting respectfully in the office.
"Ms. Alicia!" The woman had shoulder-length brown curly hair and was wearing a formal dress. She looked quite capable, but the smile on her face was feminine and charming.
"Thank you for your hard work during this period, Ms. Doherty." Alicia sat behind the desk and smiled gently at the woman in front of her.
Messerli Doughty, Sequence 6 "Necromancer", although not the most powerful Nighthawk captain in Backlund, is the subordinate who does things most in line with Alicia's wishes.
Moreover, due to his age and seniority, when communicating with the rest of the Nighthawks team, Messerli Doughty was able to push forward various matters in an orderly manner.
Alicia was young, the youngest genius in the Backlund Diocese, and she didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the Nighthawks. She was more focused on improving her own sequence, and was one of the few Nighthawks who was not afraid of crazy dangers and pursued power.
Most of the official night watchmen followed the routine, and almost no one submitted a special application to the temple as soon as they met the requirements in order to achieve rapid promotion, as Alicia did.
Therefore, the affairs of Backlund's Nighthawks were basically handled by Messerli Doughty.
Especially during the time when Alicia was not in Backlund.
Messerli Doherty's smile was gentle, filled with humility. "The stronger Your Excellency Alicia becomes, the easier it will be for us, your subordinates, to work. My small contribution is ultimately due to your support." Alicia simply smiled gently, revealing nothing beyond her customary gentleness. She asked, "Ms. Doherty, you're waiting here. Is there something you need?"
Messeri lowered his head slightly and replied, "This is what happened... Your Excellency Alicia, someone from the Red Gloves recently distributed the organization to an unknown individual."
"Huh? Who is it?" Alicia asked without raising her head as she flipped through the books and materials on the "Sleepless Man" path that she had obtained after her authority was increased.
Messeri poured Alicia a cup of hot tea and replied, "It's a Red Glove Captain named Galadilla. She's only a Sequence 7."
"Doesn't Captain Red Gloves have this authority?" Alicia turned a page and took a sip of hot tea. The temperature was just right and the taste was excellent.
Messeri quickly explained, "But three times in a row, Captain Galadya has used the secrecy of the mission as an excuse to only receive the organization and contract from us, without leaving any documentation for us."
"Even I have no idea of the names, sequences, or origins of Galadria's three new Nighthawks. If anything were to happen to Galadria, wouldn't that be a major risk?"
Alicia didn't take this matter too seriously and just said gently, "You can handle it as you see fit."
After receiving the expected response, Meseri felt a little relieved. With this, she could put pressure on the Red Gloves and obtain the information of the new members of the Red Gloves team.
The reason why Messeri cared so much about the Galadriel team was because Daly Simone, who was also a "Necromancer" sequence, was transferred to that team.
Meseri was once quite talented in the path of "Corpse Collector". She had successfully been promoted to "Necromancer" before she was forty years old.
However, later on, the worry about the loss of control of higher sequences made Messerli fearful. Coincidentally, Alicia appeared at that time and quickly met the requirements for promotion to Sequence 5 "Gatekeeper" and was successfully promoted.
That hesitation caused Meseri to miss out on a promotion opportunity. She didn't take it seriously at first, but later on, Alicia became the head of the Nighthawks of the Backlund Diocese due to her high talent and high sequence, which made Meseri regret it.
In countless late nights, Messiri wondered if she would be able to replace Alicia and sit here if she had not hesitated and been afraid.
This regret lurked like a poisonous snake in Meseri's heart, gnawing at her soul in the lonely night. Therefore, becoming a "gatekeeper" became Meseri's obsession.
But even within the Goddess Church, Sequence 5 Beyonder materials were in short supply. Before Messeri received a new batch of "Gatekeeper" Beyonder materials, he first received another genius from the "Corpse Collector" path, Daly Simone.
Moreover, some time ago, Daly Simone, who had been relatively content, suddenly revealed an undisguised desire for promotion.
Messeri privately inquired about Daly's transformation and learned that Daly wanted to gain more powerful strength in order to avenge her sacrificed descendants of the Nighthawks.
Revenge...Messeri couldn't understand this mentality, but she knew it would make Daly stronger and more powerful.
This gave Meseri a sense of crisis.
However, this sense of crisis was not that strong at the time. After all, she was already the assistant officer of Lady Alicia, and Daly was just an ordinary member of the Red Gloves. She could not compare with her in terms of status or the speed of gaining merit.
What started to unbalance Meseri's mentality was that Daly was suddenly transferred to the new Red Gloves team.
After much inquiry, Messeri discovered that Daly's new captain was a mere Sequence 7!
A Sequence 7 "Nightmare" had become the captain of a Sequence 6 "Necromancer"?! To Messerli, this clearly indicated something fishy.
Messeri continued to inquire and learned that Galadria was specially promoted to the captain of the Red Gloves during a certain operation. Moreover, before coming to the Backlund Diocese, she didn't even have any team members, and was a lone commander!
How could such a person be qualified to be the captain of the "Necromancer"? After much thought, Messeri suddenly thought of a possibility -
Because Daly Simone wasn't qualified enough to be the Red Gloves captain, she volunteered to join the Galadilla team! This was the best way for Daly to quickly gain more merit!
After further investigation, Messeri discovered that the mission entrusted to Galadilla's team was "tracking and investigating the serial murder case", and Daly was mainly following up on it. Galadilla, as the team leader, did not participate much!
Once this case is solved, a large amount of merit will naturally fall on Daly! This kind of merit value for being alone is particularly high!
Messeri even suspected that the Red Gloves team was formed specifically for Daly, to facilitate her rapid achievement acquisition! Otherwise, why would the team continue to expand and recruit members after Daly joined, without any delay?
The more he thought about it, the stronger the sense of crisis in Messeri's heart became. He even thought about whether there was any way to slow down the progress of Daly's mission.
For this reason, Messeri ignored the existing investigation team for the "serial murder case" and personally led a team of night watchmen to join the investigation on the grounds that "the investigators were incompetent", just to solve the case before Daly.
Moreover, Messeri was able to obtain information about the El team's investigation progress by using Alicia's cover, but she did not share the clues of her investigation with the El team.
Even so, Messeri was worried that the new recruits of the Galadilla team were related to the investigation of the case, so she used some tricks today to make it easier for her to properly investigate the identities and details of these new recruits.
Just as Messeri was congratulating herself on the success of her plan, she heard Alicia ask her, "I asked you to look for Beth Lioness. Don't you have any leads yet?"
Messeri quickly explained, "Sir Alicia, we've been dealing with a lot of cases lately and our manpower is a bit tight, so we haven't found any valuable clues yet."
Alicia looked up and glanced at her, then said calmly, "Send more people and search quickly."
The gentle smile on Meseri's face became a little stiff, but he still nodded repeatedly.
Deep down, however, Meseri was even more eager to be promoted to Sequence 5.
But Messeri, blinded by her own desires, did not realize that her desires were always stronger when she was with Alicia!
……
In the Backlund Bridge area, when Tessa heard the man mention "all the spinal fluid of the evil-marked black panther" again, her heart moved slightly.
Judging from the pharmacist's reaction, someone had previously helped him find the "Medullary Crystal of the Elven Spring" in exchange for clues to the pharmacist's formula at a gathering, and now someone was asking to buy "the entire cerebrospinal fluid of the Evil-Striped Black Panther" at this gathering...
It just so happens that the new member of the Tarot Club, "The World", is looking to buy these two extraordinary materials.
Tessa didn't think it was a coincidence.
Are these people related to the "world", or is this person the "world"?
(End of this chapter)
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