The Villain Saint is my secondary account

The evil god's skill tree has expanded again, with the addition of [Holy Light] and [Cynthia's Arm], now including [Osmon's Holy Flame].

The authority of the god of sunfire...?

Looking at the fire-related spells that extended from above, Ella's forehead broke out in a light sweat.

Ella sensed something was off when she was able to replicate the effects of Holy Light and Cynthia's spells using her own evil god powers.

As long as the corresponding chosen one is defiled, even the authority of the righteous god can be eroded. This... this is something that any evil god can do, or is it a strange ability unique to my identity as an evil god?

She hasn't seen many evil gods yet, so she can't draw a conclusion. However, considering the Full Moon Cult's pursuit of Cynthia in Liangqiu Village, other gods might also have ways to seize divine power.

However, Ella at least understood why the blasphemous saintess of the previous life was so powerful; it was probably because she had eroded a lot of divine authority.

Speaking of which... could it be that because that guy was too powerful and killed all the other random gods, he didn't see these strange things in his previous life like he does in this one?

Thinking about it this way, it seems to make sense. That guy probably just killed everything—the Beast God Full Moon Order, the Sunfire God Envoy Empire's Black Hand, and everyone, visible and invisible, so that in that life you only saw that one evil god.

Now that I've stopped indiscriminately killing people, all sorts of monsters and demons have started to emerge.

Thinking about it carefully, it does seem like that's actually possible.

Ella was somewhat speechless. It seemed that the world wouldn't be peaceful without the Holy Maiden.

There were some faint noises, and Lilia tried to sit up from the chair, but she simply didn't have the strength.

Ella had no choice but to help her up, otherwise the posture would have been quite unseemly.

"Thank you, God..."

Lilia's eyes seemed to be moist and glowing. She held Ella's hand, as if she wanted to say something, but her mouth opened and closed, and in the end it turned into a soft sob.

Listening to the faint sobs in the quiet night, Ella sighed.

No matter how risky and crazy her previous actions were, she was still a pitiful girl in the end.

Abandoned by the royal family because of her bloodline, suffering torment day and night because of divine favor, and now being hunted by assassins of unknown origin, she risks her life to negotiate with an evil god in order to cure her disease...

Sighing with pity, Ella gently stroked the girl's head. Such a clever and brave girl, and with that special identity, yet she had never heard of her name in her previous life. Perhaps she was harmed by an evil god in that life.

Fortunately, she made the right gamble in this life, and hopefully she can live the life she wants in this life.

"My God..." The black-haired girl lifted her head from Ella's chest like a kitten, her eyes filled with tears, looking pitiful.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked gently with a smile.

"It's so late, can we go to sleep together later?"

"Ah! Deity, why are you hitting my head..."

……

After changing her clothes, Ella boarded a carriage that very night to return to the sanctuary.

It wasn't that she was intentionally avoiding anything, but Ella needed to report this matter to the Sanctuary.

According to Lilia's speculation, the flesh puppet was probably a product of some kind of divine influence.

As Ella is currently the official future representative of the Sanctuary, she must consider these matters from the Sanctuary's perspective and report them in a timely manner. On the other hand, given the Sanctuary's capabilities, she cannot possibly keep this a secret even if she wanted to.

Of course, another reason is that if she doesn't hurry back, the sanctuary might send someone to look for her.

With the Holy Maiden of Light staying out all night, how could this sanctuary possibly remain unsettled?

Lilia assured Ella that she didn't need to worry about what would happen next; she would handle it all. Furthermore, she would later compile and send Ella information about the flesh puppet.

However, Lilia reminded Ella that there seemed to be an evil god in the royal family, which could very well be the reason for her assassination.

More specific information will have to wait for the integration results that Lilia will send over later.

However, this information alone made Ella somewhat apprehensive. Since there was a shadow of an evil god in the royal family, could there also be divine involvement in the royal succession struggle?

If this means that the entire struggle for the throne is not simply a change of imperial power within a human empire, but rather involves a power struggle among many other forces behind the scenes...

The more I thought about it, the more ominous I felt.

……

Freya was somewhat surprised when the High Priest informed her late at night that she was to go out and investigate an attack.

Logically speaking, investigation missions are such tedious tasks that, unless it is an extremely special event, can usually be handled by lower- to mid-ranking clerics. High-ranking arcane mages like her usually only participate after the investigation is completed and it is determined that her involvement is necessary.

When Freya arrived at her destination in the East District with a group of Templar Knights, she discovered that the Imperial Guard had already arrived ahead of her and sealed off the manor.

"Oh, Your Excellency, what brings you here?" The leader of the guard, Ralf, was startled when he saw this group of clergy suddenly appear out of the street.

He had received news that there seemed to be a small-scale attack here, so he rushed over to see what was going on. But when he entered the manor, the corpses and pools of blood all over the place almost scared him to death.

Now that the sanctuary has sent people, and the young girl leading them is dressed in such high-class attire, this matter is probably beyond his ability to handle as a mere team leader.

But... Ralf was sweating. He had already ordered the manor sealed off and sent people to contact his superiors, but had not received a response yet. Should he stall the forces from the Holy Temple at this point?

Although the Holy Temple was located in the Imperial City, the two sides did not get along entirely, and there were power struggles and conflicts of interest in various places.

For example, in the current case, Ralph didn't know whether he should let the people from the Sanctuary get involved before receiving instructions from his superiors.

“I’ve received information that there are signs of clandestine activity here.” Freya frowned slightly, looking at the junior guard who was deliberately standing in front of her horse. “The Holy Church will be involved in this investigation.”

"This... Your Excellency, this is a case that occurred in the Imperial City. I haven't received any news from my superiors yet. Would you please wait here for a moment?" Ralf's voice trembled. Good heavens, why are there so many Templars here?

"Waiting for what?" Freya asked, puzzled.

After all, she had been promoted to a high-ranking holy order without any prior experience with such "low-level" matters. Therefore, Freya was momentarily confused about what this little leader meant and why he seemed to be stopping her.

Chapter 42 Freya's Investigation

Ralph was sweating profusely and didn't know what excuse to make, so he just stood in front of the horse's head and waited until he saw his underling, whom he had sent out to report, finally run back.

"What did the officer say?" Ralph finally felt a little relieved.

The soldier glanced at the members of the Sanctuary, then at his captain, and approached Ralf with a pained expression. "Boss... the officer said... to stop the Sanctuary people from getting in..."

"Huh?" Ralf's eyes widened in surprise. He was just a guard squad leader, how dare he try to stop the people from the Holy Temple?

Even if it's difficult, he can't disobey his direct superior. Relf could only stiffly turn his head, looking at the increasingly impatient Freya, trying to find the right words, "This...this...the elders of the Holy Temple, this investigation is, after all, taking place in the Imperial City. Without prior approval from the municipal authorities, it's difficult for us to proceed..."

What procedures?

Freya looked at the timid man in front of her, too lazy to reply, and simply dismounted and walked towards the courtyard.

"Oh, sir, you can't..."

Freya raised her hand slightly, and the group of Templar Knights behind her immediately drew their swords. "Get out of the way, or I'll take it as you're planning to protect the Dark Cultists."

Seeing the several knife tips pointed at his nose, Ralf walked aside with amusement, letting the Templar Knight beside Freya push open the courtyard gate.

"These guys from the Holy See really don't make any sense," Ralf thought to himself. "Fine, I've already done my best. Why risk my life for a monthly salary of eight silver coins?"

The courtyard was pitch black. Freya waved her staff lightly, and several golden rays floated around, illuminating the entire courtyard.

There were many trampling marks on the lawn, a messy jumble of old and new, making it impossible to tell whether they were left by the guards or by anyone else. However, a few less obvious marks extended toward the walls and several broken windows, which were probably not left by the guards.

In the lobby at the entrance of the mansion, more than a dozen strangely shaped corpses lay sprawled on the floor, with pools of blood spreading from the inner stairwell all the way to the main entrance.

A young girl in a wheelchair and an elderly man with a white beard and wearing a tuxedo are being questioned by a guard in a corner.

"So after you and the Holy Maiden were attacked, you fled to this room downstairs?"

Lady Saint?

Freya's keen ears picked up on the word—was it referring to Ella Haviere? What was she doing here?

“Yes…yes, it was thanks to Mr. Winster’s swordsmanship that we were able to hold off these attackers,” Lilia said timidly. Although she was speaking to the guard in front of her, her eyes had already noticed the Holy Order members entering through the door.

The guard, only then realizing what was happening, turned around to find another group of people entering through the door. "Um, sirs, our guard team has taken over this area..."

Freya didn't say a word, but walked up to the guard, snatched the scroll he was using to record things, and took it in her hand to look at it.

The guard instinctively tried to take it back, but was forced back by the two gleaming blades.

"The Holy Maiden of Light came here after accepting the mansion owner's request... The two were suddenly attacked in their bedroom... They took refuge in a room downstairs... Winster defeated the attacker..." Freya glanced through the information and turned to Lilia, asking, "When exactly were you attacked?"

“Guardian…and this is…” Lilia didn’t answer, but looked at the guard who was being held up by the Templar Knights with a confused expression.

"Oh, these must be the adults of the sanctuary." The guard wiped the sweat from his brow. "Just answer their questions."

“Ah, okay.” Lilia nodded obediently. “But I don’t remember the exact time, it was probably in the evening.”

That's like saying nothing at all... Freya was speechless. "Where's the Holy Maiden of Light? Isn't she with you?"

“She rushed back to the sanctuary, saying she wanted to report this matter to the sanctuary.” Lilia was somewhat surprised. “Huh, the guard said you sisters came from the sanctuary. I thought the saintess had sent you here.”

The Holy Maiden "sent" here... For some reason, Freya felt inexplicably angry upon hearing this.

"Hmm." Freya didn't explain further; in front of outsiders, the sanctuary still needed to maintain a harmonious and unified appearance. "Do you know these people who attacked you?"

Despite saying that, looking at the corpses with their internal organs and metal parts mixed together, Freya felt that these things could no longer be called human.

"No... I don't know... I didn't dare to look at them much..." Lilia shrank back towards the old butler beside her.

“Lady Freya, although it is fading, there are indeed traces of evil corruption.” A Templar Knight knelt beside a corpse, a crystal ball in his hand with black spots resembling mold on it.

“This mechanical part doesn’t seem to be a product of bridging alchemical technology; it’s more like it was transformed and regenerated from the body.” Freya waved her staff, and a piece of flesh with only half metallic features floated into the air, enveloped in pale blue light.

On this piece of meat, you can even clearly see the boundary between the metal and the flesh, jagged like canine teeth, as if those shiny, dark steel parts are gradually eroding the flesh.

"Put it in a sealing box and send it directly to the sealing chamber on the third floor of the tower." As if she was still worried that it wasn't safe enough, Freya chanted a spell, summoning a magic circle composed of layers of golden runes to wrap the meat, and then controlled the meat to float into a silver box held by another Templar Knight.

Then she directed the surrounding Templar Knights to disperse and control the people in the mansion. Although the contamination was detected to be receding, there was still no guarantee that it would not spread in some incomprehensible way. Anything involving the gods had to be handled with extreme care.

First, a magical barrier must be set up to seal off the surrounding area. After checking and collecting the necessary clues, a purification ritual must be carried out. Although the East District is not as prosperous as the West District, it is still the city center. Once this pollution spreads, it could become a disaster.

However, this behavior displeased the guards. "This is not right, Your Excellencies. We did not specifically stop you from entering, but is it a bit too much to just drive us away?"

"Drive them away?" Freya scoffed. "Templar Knights, detain everyone present. It's clear that there's been contamination by the power of an evil god. Everyone here needs to be taken back for spiritual quality testing."

At a single command, both the guards and Lilia in her wheelchair were immediately surrounded by the Knights Templar.

Upon entering, Ralph saw the scene and immediately broke out in a cold sweat, turning to leave. However, a Templar longsword held against his neck from behind made him immediately abandon the idea.

"This...this is too unreasonable..." Ralf looked like he was about to cry. Helplessly, the combat power of his guard squad was no match for the entire group of people from the Holy Temple. He had no choice but to submit, otherwise, if someone found a reason to say that he had been corrupted by the evil god and tried to escape, and then killed him, he would have nowhere to complain.

Just then, a loud shout came from outside the door: "Those who try to break through the blockade and detain me, anyone who doesn't know better would think I'm not in the capital of Loren but in the Holy City."

As the words fell, a man with short brown curly hair, wearing a navy blue military uniform and leather boots, pushed open the door and walked in. Behind him, several soldiers with equipment far superior to the guard squad, carrying halberds, followed closely behind and surged into the room.

"Hey, I was wondering which lord of the Holy Temple was acting so domineeringly. Isn't this the future Holy Maiden?" As he spoke, the man suddenly paused. "Heh, sorry, Lady Freya, I almost forgot that you are no longer the Holy Maiden."

Chapter 43 Chloe's Dream

Such blatant provocation naturally drew glares from the surrounding Templars, who immediately pressed their hands on their sword hilts and lunged forward.

"Oh dear, Lady Freya, don't take your anger out on me if you're unhappy," the unshaven man said nonchalantly in the face of the Templar Knight's intimidation. "It's not like I stole your position as a saintess."

Beneath her long, golden curls, the girl's face remained calm and composed, showing no emotion despite the blatant provocation. "Commander, the corruption of the evil god is extremely dangerous. As the Holy Temple, we must be responsible for the safety of our citizens and handle this matter with utmost care."

The newcomer was none other than Isaac Eugene, the Grand Commander of the Imperial City Guard, who commanded the entire garrison of Valond.

“We are responsible for the safety of the citizens, so there’s no need for you to worry about it, sir.” Commander Eugene walked straight to the girl in the wheelchair beside him, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. “Your Highness, it’s been a long time.”

Lilia pursed her lips slightly, hugging a book that was half her body size and shrinking back like a kitten. Beside her, the butler, Winters, took a small half-step to block the two of them.

"Hey, don't be so tense." Eugene raised his hands and walked back to the center of the hall. "How about this, Lady Freya, you do your investigation and we'll do ours. Let's keep to ourselves, okay?"

Faced with a guard force that could almost surround the entire mansion, Freya had no choice but to acquiesce. If she forcibly took the guards away and a conflict ensued, things would be difficult to resolve.

Like a prisoner released from torture, Captain Ralph hurriedly approached Commander Eugene with obsequiousness, "Thank you, sir, it's all thanks to you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he received a resounding slap across the face.

"Useless." Eugene took out a handkerchief, wiped his hands, and turned to leave.

……

Time came to the second day.

The elders of the Holy Temple only asked Ella a few simple questions about what happened last night, so simple that Ella began to suspect that the upper echelons of the Holy Temple were suspicious of her.

However, to prevent Ella from encountering danger again, the High Priest forcibly assigned her a Templar Knight guard.

This gave Ella a bit of a headache; it was more like surveillance than protection.

This sturdy fellow was a head and a half taller than Ella, dressed in silver armor from head to toe, with a scabbard-sheathed greatsword on his back. He didn't say a word and had been following her every step of the way ever since she and Priest Chloe accepted the mission and left the sanctuary.

If you didn't know better, you'd think Ella was a summoner, with a whole alchemical golem following her around.