185. Inherited Surname (Part 2)

Sister Mary was looking around the area, and from afar, she could hear the loud cries of men and women alike, "Is something going on?" she asked.

"Gunr and Helvor were called to the Central Plaza. Someone reported that a commotion had happened." Sister Pel answered with reluctance.

"Two Valkyries were sent there? Is the emergency that big? Are you two not needed there?" despite her cold tone, Sister Mary was concerned.

Sister Pel shook her head, "Kara has confirmed that it is not a matter of incurring imbalance. It is just that the Saintess is there… complicating another tourist, it seems."

"…oh, so Gunr and Helvor are the ones who lost the draw lots this time around?" Sister Mary watched Sister Pel nod her head. With a sigh of relief, Sister Mary could already see the benefits of leaving this place.

The three walked down a hallway while actively ignoring the whatever headache-inducing bullshit the Saintess had done.

Sister Mary held a stiff expression. She was not sad; rather, she was calm and slightly glad.

Looking to her left, there was a courtyard where one of the seven Serpentine Trees that survived the Great Calamity. 

"So, it still stands to this day, that's good to know. That is good to know." Sister Mary said with a smile, but seeing it empty without a life around it saddened her to some degree, "Has there been no one allowed in the Garden?"

Fer listened to her words and shook her head, "The Mother Cardinal has yet to approve of the next generation; she wants to consult you about it, at least."

Sister Mary scoffed at her words, "Consult? That's something I didn't expect her to try and wait for someone like myself. She usually does her things without a care about the repercussions, are you perhaps partaking in unholy substances? You must be dillusional."

She smiled, remembering a time when she was but an ordinary child. Well, with a shrug of her shoulder, she disregarded everything Fer was trying to say otherwise. Sister Mary simply reminisced of the past. 

It was a time where she was still pure and innocent, 'Such were the good days.'

Sister Mary held onto these memories with fondness.

However, she decided to throw these sentiments as she stood before a pair of heavy doors. Sister Mary took a deep breath as he pushed it open.

Behind that door, he saw an old woman with a pleasant smile. She wore a pair of round glasses and a gray robe loosely draped over her body. On her forehead was a pair of glorious black horns speaking of her royal Demon lineage.

She was seated on a couch, and on her hand was an old book; she placed it down after seeing Sister Mary. Standing up, she picked up the cane adjacent to her to support her movements.

Fer and Pel quickly went to her side, but the old woman waved her hand to say it was all right. The woman walked towards Sister Mary, smiling. The old woman suddenly tapped the ground with her cane, and seven bright red magic circles appeared. 

"Fiery Chains." The old woman shouted for no apparent reason.

Chains sprouted out of the red magic circles. These chains shot up to bind Sister Mary, but Sister Mary moved her hands and produced wind around her with an uninterested expression.

The wind picked up speed and became a gale before finally turning to a scythe that cut every chain surrounding her, "Cardinal, are you still doing this at your age!?"

"You fell for it, you fool, Fire Split Serpent Spell!"

The frail old woman, however, was not done. She took a step back and waved her cane. A giant red magic circle encompassing the entire room appeared, the room's temperature raised, and shortly after

Pel brought out her shield, and Fer stood behind her. Two serpents burned the room, and its contents, the valuables within turned to ashes as both rushed to attack Sister Mary.

"A Minor Supreme Spell? Do you really think I have weakened, Cardinal?" Sister Mary said and drew out her short sword. She gathered the wind on her feet and the edge of the blade, the Gifted speed she got from the Rocs activated, and then, she swung the short sword without restraint.

Slash!

The short sword cut through the serpents' bodies and destroyed the Supreme Magic Circles; it was unrestrained and only stopped a few inches away from the old woman's neck.

Sister Mary raised a brow, "Do you want to die now, or are you going to wait for your time to come?"

"… I'll wait…" the old woman considered death for some time before deciding to live her life out. The old woman threw her cane away before having her laughter fill the room, "HAHAHA, you're as ruthless as ever Freyja, wait, it's supposed to be Mary now, right? Have you forsaken that name, yet?"

Sister Mary showed her a weak smile, "No, I have not. The Cardinal Mother should know best what I am like."

"Yes, I know what kind of child you are, and that's the reason why I fail to understand why you asked to have a first name in the first place. After all, you once said that the name Freyja would be the only title you would need… the Goddesses' will work in mysterious ways, I suppose."

The one before Sister Mary was referred to by many as the Cardinal Mother. She was the one who nurtures and picks the strongest Offensive and Defensive Force — the Valkyries.

Sister Mary treated her as her mother. Her was Yvse'raszqueta Z'll Porsampierla — it was a hard name to pronounce as it stemmed from the Demon Race's ancient language; thus, she is simply referred to as Cardinal Mother.

Like a Demon should be, she was free-willed and liked to do things her own way. That bout of magic against Aura was her way of testing and welcoming the daughters she had reared for years.

Despite Sister Mary already abandoning her role as the Queen of the Valkyrie, the Mother Cardinal laughed, "Well, enough of that. Though it might be wrecked, why don't we have a talk first? The First Cardinal demanded to hold information from being said while you are away to reflect and cleanse your bias, so a lot of time had already passed."

Sister Mary nodded her, the doors closed, and the Mother Cardinal was just about to offer Mary to take a seat on the burnt sofa when a woman wearing a Golden Dress, a white stiff crown band, and a black veil. On the side of her dress were gray linings…

This woman was breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. She was a young woman, and her jade-like skin and almond shape eyes made gave her an alluring kind of beauty. She was eye-catching but not for the right reasons because on her right hand was a fainted man.

The young woman smiled at the Mother Cardinal and then shouted with great energy, "I-I found him, Mother… I have found my perfect husband!"

The young woman announced as she lifted the man to show his countenance to everyone else, "Look, he's the perfect candidate!"

Seeing this woman, the Mother Cardinal face-palmed herself before turning to Sister Mary so she could ask her if the offer of death still stands.

However, the Mother Cardinal only saw Sister Mary with a slacked jaw while staring at the man in the young woman's hands…

Just as Fer and Mary came to recognize who it was, pure and undiluted intent to kill enveloped the entire Dracian Fate Church!

"What's happening!?" Pel asked, with an alarmed voice, "Is there an enemy? Mother, I thought the ones we rejected would only initiate their attack in three weeks!?"

Pel expected an answer, but to her surprise, it was not the Mother Cardinal who answered, but Sister Mary, "I do not know who's this enemy you speak of, but… I can tell you that this intent does not come from those people."

"What? Then, do you know what's happening?"

Sister Mary's eyes turned to Colt and then at the young woman, "The Saintess had angered his wife."

The fainted young man was Colt.

Sister Mary and Sister Fer knew not why he had fainted, nor did they understand why the Saintess claimed him as her husband, but one thing was for sure.

"His wife will not stay her hand unless she gets her man back."

"Young Master Colt?" it was not Sister Mary who spoke, but Fer… her voice trembled from fear.

Sister Mary and Fer looked at each other and managed to put the necessary information…

"You both know him?" The Mother Cardinal know not who this man was, but seeing their reaction, knowing his identity should be an understatement.

The Mother Cardinal would have loved to ask the two who this man was, but, before she could, an intense amount of pressure appeared… it was .