The next morning, Castorice woke up early, her internal clock already in motion. She opened her still-sleepy eyes, yawned, and slowly climbed out of bed.
With her exceptionally long hair, it was hard to tell whether she had slept on the bed or on her own tresses. Inevitably, a few rebellious strands stuck out jauntily from the crown of her head and the sides of her forehead, adding to her adorable, just-woken appearance.
Castorice first slipped on her easiest-to-wear white stockings before starting on her dress. Fortunately, she had carefully studied the garment as she took it off the previous day, so she simply reversed the steps. Even so, it took her over ten minutes to get properly dressed.
Finally, she slipped into her high heels. Glancing back at her long hair cascading down her back, she paused in thought before heading to the washroom to relieve herself and look for a mirror.
After all, styling hair without a mirror was nearly impossible. Castorice let her hair hang loose and went to the washroom to look for one, but found none.
After a quick wash, she tentatively called out, "Aisha?"
This time, Aisha didn't suddenly appear from some unexpected place. There was no response; perhaps she was still asleep.
Castorice pondered this as she descended the stairs. She didn't encounter any priests along the way, which wasn't surprising given the early hour.
Usually, only Feidric would be awake at this time, reading. Aria and Douglas were likely still asleep.
However, when Castorice reached the ground floor, she discovered the main hall packed with over two hundred people kneeling tightly together. All the priests were present, their eyes tightly shut, hands clasped in silent prayer.
Aisha stood at the front of the assembly, her eyes also closed and hands clasped, but facing the congregation.
A ray of morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Aisha's profile and lending her an almost divine aura. Indeed, when silent, Aisha's beauty was undeniable. Combined with her deeply devout expression, Castorice couldn't help but wonder if this was the true Holy Maiden of the Death Church.
As the prayers concluded, Aisha slowly opened her eyes and immediately spotted Castorice watching from afar. Her eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she scurried over.
"Holy Maiden! You're awake! How did you sleep last night?"
The moment she spoke, Aisha's 'Holy Maiden' aura vanished completely, replaced by an overwhelming air of eager devotion.
Unaware of how utterly charming she looked, Castorice's hair cascaded down her back, a few stray strands sticking up prominently. Her expression was adorably dazed and innocent, like a princess who had wandered out of the castle after waking up without her maids, her hair still unkempt.
"I slept well," Castorice replied. "But Aisha, do you have a mirror?"
Aisha instantly realized what was happening and eagerly asked, "Would you like me to do your hair?"
Castorice hesitated. This was the first time she'd had hair this long, and she had no idea how to manage it. While help would certainly be welcome, if that help came from Aisha...
In the end, to avoid a fuss, Castorice gave a quick, birdlike nod. "Mm-hmm."
Unfortunately, Aisha was a genuine human. If she were a Beastman with a tail, it would undoubtedly be wagging like a high-speed fan right now.
Aisha immediately took Castorice's hand and led her to a room on the second floor, apparently her own. After Castorice settled into a chair, Aisha began brushing her hair with practiced ease.
Meanwhile, in the main hall downstairs, over two hundred priests exchanged glances. Normally, after daily prayers, the Archbishop would outline future plans and offer words of encouragement. But today, Aisha had abruptly vanished because of Castorice.
At that moment, Kaia, standing calmly among the crowd, spoke. "Patience. Wait quietly."
With that, the priests closed their eyes and resumed their silent prayers.
About ten minutes later, in a room on the second floor, Castorice stared at her hairstyle, which was identical to the previous day's. A mixture of astonishment and bewilderment spread across her face. "How did you do that...?"
Aisha beamed with satisfaction. "Holy Maiden, I memorized every detail of your hairstyle yesterday. Replicating it was no challenge at all."
Castorice was even more stunned. Most of the previous day, her hair had been concealed beneath her Black Robe, exposed only briefly when she lowered her hood. How could Aisha have captured every detail in that fleeting moment?
Ah...
After Aisha finished arranging Castorice's hair, the two returned to the main hall. There, Aisha publicly reaffirmed Castorice's identity as the Holy Maiden.
Although all the Death Priests had heard rumors of the Holy Maiden's arrival, many had never seen her. Now, every Death Priest indelibly imprinted Castorice's face in their minds. Clenching their right fists to their chests, they reverently knelt on one knee, pledging their loyalty.
Aisha continued, "From now on, we will abandon these pointless funeral rites and instead focus our efforts on finding the Heroes and Divine Artifacts, as well as investigating the bizarre phenomena of the Extreme Cold and Divine Concealment in Chaos City!"
"And today, our first task will be to raid the Black Hand's headquarters!"
Investigating the Heroes and Divine Artifacts, probing the Extreme Cold and Divine Concealment—a normal person would likely deploy teams for a systematic city-wide search. But Aisha thought differently. She reasoned that the other two local tyrants in Chaos City had been here far longer and must possess valuable information.
Rather than starting from scratch with her own tedious investigation, she decided to confront them directly. This approach would undoubtedly save a tremendous amount of time.
As for what to do if they refused to cooperate, Aisha hadn't even considered that possibility. If they dared resist, she would simply find ways to encourage their cooperation.
Perhaps by capturing the Black Hand himself for interrogation, among other methods.
Everything was secondary to the Holy Maiden's commands, and Aisha's sole focus was on executing her duties with maximum efficiency. That was her mindset.
Still somewhat bewildered, Castorice watched as over two hundred Death Priests marched out in orderly formation, heading toward the city's tallest spire.
After a moment of stunned silence, she hurried back to her room, threw on her Black Cloak (leaving the hood down this time), and snatched the Round Sparrow, which was still sleeping belly-up on her bed. When she reached the main entrance on the ground floor, she found that only Aisha and Kaia, who had been deliberately waiting for her, remained; the other priests had vanished without a trace.
How could they have moved so quickly? Castorice wondered.
Aisha explained, "Our primary objective today is negotiation, so we can't have too many people crowding their doorstep. We don't want to scare them off. I've ordered the other priests to remain hidden for now. If conflict arises, we'll summon them then."
The Death Church's 2nd-level divine spell, Shadowless Step, diminished the caster's presence, allowing them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings like chameleons. It was essentially a weaker version of a wizard's Invisibility spell.
It's important to remember that all Death Priests are masters of stealth. For them, Shadowless Step is often more practical than Invisibility.
As Aisha led the way, she explained, "Black Hand's headquarters is located in the tallest spire in the city. As far as I know, this tower was originally the Mage Tower of Demon King's City, filled with a vast store of magical resources. That's why Black Hand chose it as his base of operations."
"However, Black Hand and his followers aren't spellcasters, so most of the tower's resources are useless to them. The only items they can use are the tear-and-use Magic Scrolls, which is something we need to be cautious about."
After a pause, Aisha added, "Holy Maiden, there's no need for you to intervene in this operation. Simply observe from the sidelines. We can handle enemies of this caliber ourselves. That's precisely why we're here."
Wait a minute! You just said the purpose of this mission was negotiation, to avoid scaring them off. Now you're calling Black Hand the enemy? What exactly are we here to do?!
Suppressing the urge to retort, Castorice gave a slight nod.
A short while later, a group of "three" approached the entrance of the Mage Tower. However, Castorice's gaze swept across her surroundings, revealing several Death Priests concealed within the dilapidated houses lining the road and amidst the roadside weeds. At least as many as she could spot.
The most absurd sight was in the middle of the road. One moment the path had been completely empty, the next a "corpse" lay sprawled on the ground. Castorice clearly saw the figure sprint into position, execute a flawless sliding dive, and collapse into place with practiced ease.
As Castorice and her companions reached the tower's entrance, there was no need to knock. Five oddly dressed individuals emerged almost immediately.
One sported a bright yellow afro, a green short-sleeved shirt, pink shorts, and slippers. Another wore a sleeveless tank top, black pants, and went barefoot.
Even more bizarre was a figure clad in leather armor on his upper body and plate armor on his lower half, topped off with a full helmet.
It was clear that the people here wore scavenged, mismatched clothing, patched together for the sole purpose of being wearable. Functionality was their only concern.
When the five men emerged from the spire and saw Castorice, they froze, their faces briefly betraying greed. But before they could act, Aisha stepped forward, shielding Castorice from their view, and bluntly asked, "Do you know anything about the Seven Heroes and the Divine Artifacts they wield?"
The men exchanged glances. One raised an eyebrow and replied, "You came all this way just to ask that?"
"Refusing to answer?" Aisha paused, then pressed, "Where's your boss, Black Hand?"
The men burst into laughter. "Seriously? You think we'd just spill the beans like that?"
As they spoke, they rubbed their thumbs against their index fingers, clearly hinting at a bribe. "If you're willing to hand over that pretty little thing..."
Before the group could finish speaking, Aisha interrupted, "I see. So, negotiations have failed."
With a sharp clap of her hands, she whispered, "Darkness!"
Instantly, a dense black mist erupted from Aisha, spreading rapidly outward like a tidal wave. The suddenness of her attack caught everyone off guard, including the five men and even Castorice.
Seriously, Aisha? Castorice thought. Is that what you call "negotiations"—throwing all your demands on the table right away? If they don't immediately agree, it's a failure?
The group clearly intended to continue talking. Castorice had assumed they would move on to bartering or, at the very least, some coercion and persuasion. Isn't a negotiation supposed to involve tactical exchanges of words until someone refuses to budge? A dance of verbal sparring until one side finally refuses to budge?
For some reason, Aisha always gave Castorice the impression that she saw negotiation as nothing more than a formality: ask a couple of perfunctory questions, wait for silence, and then proceed directly to interrogation.
In truth, Aisha did entertain such thoughts. However, the primary reason for her abrupt assault wasn't her disdain for diplomacy, but rather the unfinished sentence left hanging in the air.
Castorice remained unaware that the enemy had set their sights on her, but Aisha certainly noticed. How dare they target the Holy Maiden? This insolence will not be forgiven!
The Third-Level Death Cult's divine spell, Darkness, had no offensive capabilities. Instead, it conjured a vast, pitch-black fog where visibility was less than ten centimeters. This fog also blocked light and absorbed sound.
In other words, entering the fog with a torch was no different from entering with a wooden stick. Everyone within would be plunged into total blindness and silence, effectively becoming both deaf and blind.
However, the Death Priests were immune to this blinding effect. They could see clearly within the fog as if it were daylight.
Instantly, the priest who had been feigning death on the ground sprang to his feet and plunged into the darkness. With a dagger in hand, he lunged at a figure and stabbed them in the chest.
"Aah!!!" The victim screamed in agony, but only he could hear his own cry. His four teammates remained completely unaware of what had happened.
PS: I've seen some people asking why the protagonist doesn't reveal that she's the Death Titan or the Death Ancient God. Initially, she wanted to tell Aisha, but she knew it would be pointless. Aisha would simply filter out anything she didn't want to hear. Later, when they arrived at the Death Church's headquarters and saw the Death Priests weeping with joy, the protagonist had already accepted the title of Death Holy Maiden.
Why didn't she reveal her true identity? Because she's kind.