Elena walked through the hall, surrounded by several other students shuffling along in exhausted silence. After arriving back at the church, instead of being allowed to collapse into their beds, all of them had instantly been summoned to pray.

She wasn't a zealot, but she was a grateful person. And these people — the way they'd taken care of them since arrival was outstanding. Granted, they were also the reason she was here in the first place, ripped from her world and dropped into theirs.

But she wasn't going to hold that against them forever. She tried to be empathetic. The world needed saving. She wanted to return home. So she was just going to help save their world and get back to her own life.

But right now, she just wanted to sleep — hence the irritated scowl on her face.

They all stopped before the altar. Today, it wasn't Bishop Thomas standing there, but a young woman with golden hair flowing past her shoulders, wearing a pristine white nun's habit. She was tall, graceful, and her chest... those were so large they practically obscured her midsection.

'Too much.'

Did she have implants? Were those even possible in this world?

Elena didn't think so, but who really knew? Still, she was somehow certain the nun's assets were natural. She just couldn't fathom how the woman managed to carry them around all day.

'Even with the habit covering everything, they're massive.'

Elena found herself caught in a love-hate stare at the generous curves, then glanced down at her own decidedly modest chest.

'I'm not flat… she's just too much!'

She defended herself to no one in particular.

Despite the distraction, the nun's voice carried across the hall with crystalline clarity.

"Dear otherworlders, I welcome you and congratulate you on your first victory." Her voice flowed with such natural grace that even Elena, tired and irritable as she was, couldn't help but feel a spark of admiration.

"While we wait for the rest to return, I felt it important to lead you in a prayer of gratitude to our Eternal Sun — to thank him for your safe expedition. I believe none are lost. I hold strong faith that your companions will arrive whole and unharmed."

Her words, the way she paused and placed them with deliberate care, her straight and perfect posture — Elena found herself quickly admiring the nun's poise. She sounded like an incredibly kind and hopeful person, the type who made you want to fight through the darkness just to preserve that light in their heart.

"Oh, forgive my manners — I haven't introduced myself. I'm Cardinal Theresa. I was sent from the Mother Church in Solaris Empire to oversee your training and well-being here. The Church cares a great deal about you, and I am even more interested in every single one of you…"

Paladins entered the hall while she spoke but she did not stop. She merely glanced at them and continued to address the student.

They wore ornate plates reinforced with intricate blue engravings that ran along every edge and joint. A central engraving of a glowing blue sun with seven rays was embedded prominently on each chest piece.

One of the priests approached the lead Paladin as he strode forward. The Holy Light Paladins were men forged in the crucible of faith and discipline — there had to be a serious reason for their sudden entrance. The priest remained calm as he met the armored figure.

As the Paladin spoke, the priest began to shake angrily.

The students exchanged uneasy glances. Something was very wrong. There was tension in the air but it could barely flow with the Cardinal's graceful words that demanded attention.

The priest picked up his pace and hurried to Bishop Thomas, who stood to the right of the altar. He whispered urgently into the old man's ear, and the Bishop's bald brows furrowed in displeasure.

He turned slowly — agonizingly slowly given the sudden weight in the atmosphere — and climbed the steps to where Cardinal Theresa stood.

"Ha, excuse me…" The kind young woman said to the students and bent down gracefully so the elderly Bishop didn't have to strain on his toes to whisper to her.

Elena admired that instinctively.

'Even though she outranks him, she's so respectful.'

The smile on the Cardinal's face didn't fade even as she received whatever grim news the Bishop delivered. She showed no emotion the way the priest and Bishop did. Instead, she straightened with that same serene smile, her sea-blue eyes shining with calm authority.

"Since Gareth isn't available, have Lyanna handle it. Tell her I've ordered her personally, and I insist she not get hurt." She added with a stern, almost reproachful look that seemed directed at the absent Lyanna herself. "I do not want to see even a shallow scratch on her."

She returned her gaze to the assembled students, then belatedly turned back to the descending Bishop.

"Oh, and... capture. Not kill."

Elena caught that final instruction and frowned slightly.

'Someone's causing trouble. Has to be serious if they're mobilizing the Light Paladins.'

Cardinal Theresa looked upon the gathered otherworlders once more, addressing them with even more grace than before — as if the interruption had never rattled her composure in the slightest.

"I see your worried faces. Don't fret — prayer first." She smiled warmly, almost playfully. "Then I promise to fill you all in afterward. Perhaps over a hearty supper? I'd love to dine with you all and hear about your expedition."

She clapped her hands together and turned toward the towering statue behind the altar — a stern figure holding scales of balance in one hand and a radiant sun with seven rays in the other.

"Let us pray."

The cathedral bell rang out, its deep toll reverberating across the entire kingdom. Everyone — students, priests, nuns, and Paladins alike — bowed their heads as the prayer began.

***

As the bell rang, an armored woman in a small private worship room dropped to her knees and pressed her palms together in prayer.

Her armor was a sleek battle suit plated with heavy pauldrons and reinforced greaves, all traced with crimson lines that seemed to pulse faintly in the candlelight. A red sun with seven rays was etched prominently across her chestplate and both shoulders.

Her black hair was tied high in a severe ponytail, the length of it whipping gently behind her as she bowed her head.

Every part of the woman looked built for combat — the fitted plates that allowed full mobility, the flexible joints at elbows and knees, the layered straps and buckles securing everything in place for battle.

A priest entered the worship room, his footsteps hushed against the stone floor. He reached the small altar and stopped behind her, offering a respectful full bow even though she couldn't see it.

"Lady Lyanna."

She opened her eyes. A furious frown twisted her features, and her eyes — vicious, burning red — fixed on him with barely restrained rage.

"What is this dishonor?"

The priest bowed again, deeper this time. "I apologize, Lady Lyanna. The Cardinal has instructed that you lead the Light Paladins to suppress an insurgence at the execution ground."

She straightened immediately, her expression shifting from fury to cold calculation in an instant.

"Mother did?" Her voice sharpened. "What insurgence?"

She was already standing, towering over the priest.

He had to crane his neck slightly to meet her eyes. "One of the otherworlders — the rebellious one. He's... burning people."

Lyanna's eyes flared with righteous anger.

"Then he must be purged!"

She strode forward without hesitation, summoning a large round shield and a black longsword with a crimson groove running along its blade. Both materialized in flashes of red light, settling into her grip with practiced ease.

Lyanna had nearly reached the door when the priest's eyes went wide with sudden panic. He scrambled after her, robes flapping.

"Lady Lyanna! Capture! Capture — not kill!"

She paused mid-stride, her jaw tightening with visible frustration.

'Of course Mother wants him alive. She always does.'

But orders were orders. Even if this heretic deserved nothing less than the pyre.

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