Chapter 37 The Fallen Saintess (33)

(City of Galrannor)

(Local Temple Of The Varion Church)

"Sinners… sinners… SINNERS!" Claire screamed out as she wildly flailed her arms around like a madman.

The holy knight fell off the bed and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

Claire slowly opened her eyes and found herself laying on the floor inside a small bedroom.

There was only a single bed and a dresser table in the corner of the room, but it was fairly clean with no visible dust specks.

"What… what happened?" Claire groaned as she got up from the ground and a sharp burst of pain tore through her mind.

The golden threads, Elisa's confession, her loss of control…

These memories resurfaced in Claire's mind and caused a variety of expressions to flash across the young paladin's face.

This… what was going on?

The original Claire had no memories of some mystery power that she was secretly harbouring because if she did then her fate would not have been to die at the hands of lesser demons.

And that power…

Claire was unsure if it was a blessing or a curse.

It undoubtedly provided great strength, but Claire was uncomfortable being little more than a puppet to the will of the entity behind the scenes.

At certain times during her two nights of slaughter, Claire could not distinguish what was real or not anymore.

The desire to hunt down the ones connected to the golden threads was an all-consuming hunger.

Claire's hands slightly trembled as she remembered the addicting feeling of pleasure that entered her mind whenever she successfully killed someone attached to the golden threads.

It was a powerful urge.

Claire's eyes softly glowed as the remnants of the power stirred in her body.

A genderless voice whispered in her mind and promised her even more strength if she obeyed it.

The holy knight curled her fingers into a fist so tightly that her fingernails pierced the underside of her palms.

Blood dripped down from the open wounds and Claire used this burst of pain to clear the mental fog inside her mind.

Deep breaths… in… and… out… in… and… out…

Claire inhaled sharply and then gently exhaled while counting to ten. She remained frozen in place for several minutes until the voice faded away into a background hum.

It was still there but its presence had now been considerably weakened.

Claire walked towards the door but stopped when she realised something.

Where was her white armour?

She was currently wearing a plain brown robe that was one size too small for her tall physique.

Claire searched around the room and finally found her armour underneath the bed.

The holy knight carefully placed the armour pieces on the dresser table and then began to put them on.

A paladin must always be prepared for combat especially now that Claire had recovered her memories of the previous two nights.

She had killed a lot of dangerous people.

There was not a single major crime family in the city that did not suffer a loss.

However, her intimidating display of strength and status as a tier one knight should dissuade most of the underground organisations from seeking revenge.

Tier one knights were virtually invulnerable with a strength that transcended mere mortality and approached the first step to godhood.

Claire adjusted her bootstraps and stood up while doing one final check to make sure that everything was in place.

But setting those matters aside…

How was she going to face Elisa now?

Claire's ears slightly turned red as the fearsome holy knight recalled Elisa's passionate confession during her rampage.

"Okay… one thing at a time," Claire muttered quietly to herself.

She did have good feelings towards Elisa but was it love or just a simple crush was an important question to answer.

Her dark elf form was beautiful…

Unfortunately, things were pretty complicated considering that Elisa was a dark elf princess, while Claire was the host to some mysterious entity's power.

Claire let out a heavy sigh as she walked towards the door and left the room.

The holy knight wandered through the corridors of the church searching for anyone.

The local temple was surprisingly empty.

It made sense that none of the corrupt priests and nuns were walking around but Claire could not see any of the children who lived here.

Claire's mana heart spun frantically, and a thin thread of energy flowed through her veins and towards her ears.

The world briefly slowed down and Claire could hear the faint sounds of rustling and cheerful conversation coming from the distance.

The holy knight tilted her head in the direction of the sound and then walked towards it. It took around ten minutes for Claire to finally arrive at the large open banquet hall.

She pushed the heavy wooden doors open with ease and saw Elisa tiredly handing out bowls of food to the children.

She was standing behind a table where a large pot of soup bubbled.

The former saintess would dip a large spoon into the pot and place the contents inside the small bowls on the table.

The atmosphere inside the banquet hall was much lighter than the last time when Claire had been here.

Bright smiles flashed across the faces of the children, and they seemed to have come out of the shadows of their past.

Already?

It was not that Claire wanted to see them suffer but years of trauma could not be simply fixed within the span of a few days.

Claire's golden eyes gleamed eerily, and she saw tiny beads of darkness inside the minds of the children.

Clearly Elisa had done something to help them forget about the horrors that they had endured.

While Claire was contemplating the matter, one of the children spotted her near the door and whispered in Elisa's ear.

Elisa's face brightened up when she saw Claire lingering by the entrance and the dark elf girl waved happily.

Elisa's disguise was still applied so the children only saw a thin and frail high priestess who was a sickly beauty.

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Claire's golden eyes shone and the whispers in her mind returned but the holy knight ruthlessly fought them down.

She still wasn't sure how to face Elisa but for now Claire figured that the best thing to do was offer her assistance.

"Do you need any help?" Claire asked politely as she approached the former saintess.

"Yes please… I think I need some rest…" Elisa replied warmly.

As Claire got closer, she noticed the heavy bags under the dark elf's eyes and the lines of exhaustion on her forehead.

"Go sleep… it won't do anyone any good if you suddenly collapsed," Claire sternly warned as she took the spoon out of Elisa's hand.

Elisa opened her mouth to sharply retort but the only thing that came out was a heavy yawn that made her feel sleepy.

"Yeah… I think I could use a brief nap," Elisa sheepishly admitted as she leaned in closer to Claire.

"Can we talk when I wake up?"

"I… I hope so…" Claire hesitantly replied.

A mischievous glint appeared in Elisa's eyes as she briefly contemplated teasing her shy guardian knight.

If only she wasn't so exhausted…

Elisa tossed those naughty thoughts to the back of her mind and said goodbye to the children before leaving the banquet hall.