The Rebel Army was an organization opposed to the Church that existed in every corner of the world. They maintained contact with one another through a complex network of relations, hindering the Church's unscrupulous and wicked deeds.
Unlike Ulrich, they did not wish for the Church to undergo reform; they simply did not want the Church to exist at all.
Magnar told her everything that had happened in recent days.
First of all, except for Velrose and Sathya, all the other Saintesses had been rescued by the Sword God.
Secondly, tension was running high within the Church, and they were putting all their effort into searching for Sathya.
Furthermore, they had already begun mobilizing their military forces, preparing to respond to a magical beast attack at any moment.
“Lastly, and most importantly, a new Cardinal has been confirmed within the Church. Her name is Elcalan.”
“...” Sathya recalled the figure who had been defeated by her sister Tina. She had originally fallen into a coma, but was later sent away by teleportation magic.
Sathya still remembered that spell.
It was the Pope's magic.
Had she actually joined forces with the Sword God? Or rather, perhaps they were always meant to be of the same mind, and the current Pope was merely a pitiful figurehead stripped of power.
If so, the Sword God becoming a Cardinal was merely to help the Pope consolidate her position.
It seemed the road ahead would not be an easy one.
Before setting off, Sathya still had one afternoon to prepare.
She took Tina for a stroll through the town market, buying some ingredients needed for dinner. Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't picked up the custom-tailored clothes for Tina back at the Holy Academy, which filled her with a pang of regret. After all, they likely wouldn't be returning to the Holy Academy for a very long time.
Upon returning home, Sathya began to give Tina a physical exam... in the truest sense of the word.
She settled Tina onto the bed, which would make her less resistant.
“Sister Tina, come on, open your mouth a little~”
Tina did as she was told. To her, Sathya was her own possession.
Of course she had to agree to whatever Little Ya wanted to do.
She opened her mouth, revealing teeth that had already grown sharp, just like a real dragon's.
She could easily bite through any metal.
This conclusion had been reached when Tina was drinking soup.
At the time, with only a slight application of pressure—or rather, by simply resting the metal bowl against her teeth—Tina had bitten off a piece of it as if it were bread.
But when she bit Sathya, she would be very, very gentle~
“Little Ya... I won't... hurt... you.”
Seeing her examine her teeth, Tina also sensed something.
Because biting into flesh with these sharp things would hurt a lot...
Little Ya was so soft, and she would feel pain too. She must have realized how sharp my teeth were only after I accidentally hurt her.
I'll never be so reckless again.
Thinking this, a look of apology appeared on Tina's face.
“I'm sowwy...”
“Sister Tina didn't bite me, and you didn't use any force last time either...”
Sathya felt that this topic shouldn't be continued, so she simply laughed it off.
She continued to examine Tina's body.
Brushing aside her dark-blue hair, she checked the dragon scales on the back of her neck. They had previously covered two-thirds of the area, but upon this inspection, only a few scattered scales remained?
How strange...
Sister Tina's degree of magical beast transformation had increased, yet her physical beast-like characteristics weren't all increasing.
She suddenly noticed that there were faint traces of scale patterns around the corners of Tina's eyes as well, but they seemed to have fused with her skin.
Upon closer observation, Sathya suddenly understood. She discovered that Sister Tina's body was actually covered in translucent dragon scales.
These dragon scales were much more resilient, feeling as soft as skin to the touch, and they had transitioned from the previously hard dragon scales.
Was this to be expected of the “Demon King”?
Sathya lifted the hem of her shirt.
Had it been the original Sister Tina, she would have resisted fiercely if treated like this.
However, now she merely blushed slightly, voluntarily exposing her little tummy.
The dragon scales on her fair waist were in the same state, indicating that Sister Tina was transforming into a true magical beast.
To be honest, Sathya was deeply comforted.
As a result, she was more than happy to see Sister Tina become one of her own kind.
The transformation into a magical beast was a process that went from agonizing, heart-wrenching pain to confusion and despair.
But if Sister Tina could maintain her human consciousness and continue progressing gradually like this, could she achieve a different outcome?
Sathya didn't know; she was simply doing everything in her power to protect her.
“Little Ya... this time... be gentle... too...”
At some point, Tina had covered her face and opened her mouth, just like last night.
Seemingly because she hadn't received an answer for a long time, Tina quietly peeked with one eye, only to realize that Sathya had no such intention at all!
It must be because I didn't do well enough, right?
Or does Little Ya hate me now?
As these thoughts swirled in her mind, a tear escaped from Tina's eye.
Seeing Tina like this, Sathya couldn't help but smile warmly. She stroked Tina's head and said softly, “How much time has even passed since then?”
“Mgh... so... that's... why...”
...
The next morning, at dawn.
The four girls sat together, using magic to illuminate the entire carriage.
Velrose stared at the map, her green eyes shining like fireflies in the darkness.
“Our route ahead will take us through two small towns, and then we'll reach the outer ruins of the old Lystra site to deliver the designated cargo to the imperial border. During this time, we'll pass by several knight order garrisons... By the way, is anyone actually listening?”
Velrose looked up.
Shetiel was lying with her head in Velrose's lap, while Sathya was stroking Tina's head like she was petting a kitten in her lap, murmuring, “Good girl, Sister Tina~”
Sathya was the easiest of their kind to talk to.
However, whenever she was comforting Tina, Sathya would always be somewhat distracted.
Speaking of Tina, she was the universally recognized Demon King in the hearts of all magical beasts.
“Little Ya... you are... the Saintess.”
Tina mumbled. Her head was being gently rubbed, but she insisted on speaking.
Sathya smiled. “I'm not the Saintess. I'm your Sathya~”
“No... Little Ya... is the Saintess... you must... become... the god... of everyone.” Tina recalled some images.
She remembered that the girl before her was supposed to be a dazzling, god-like existence standing above tens of thousands of people. Yet now, she wore dusty, drab clothes, sat in a low-class carriage, traveled along muddy paths, and was even hiding from something. This was clearly not how a Saintess should live...
Little Ya must have been hurt by some damnable bastards.
Sathya merely continued to comfort her, as if coaxing a child, and also as if soothing an injured lover.
She seemed to have grown accustomed to it.
Velrose took all of this in and decided to wait a bit before discussing the route further.
The driver was Magnar of the Rebel Army. As long as he knew the way, nothing should go wrong.
However, she felt there was one thing she needed to clarify.
She looked down at the girl resting on her lap. “Should I call you the White Magical Beast, or Shetiel?”
“Call me Shetiel.”
“Alright, Shetiel. Did you see any suspicious magical beasts in the White Dusk Forest?”
She and Sathya had previously noticed a peculiar presence that might be orchestrating all the conspiracies behind the scenes, so she asked casually during their free moment.
But Shetiel's answer caught her completely by surprise. “I know.”
“It's Lady Isobel.”
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