Chapter 39

Lisa had anticipated this expression and smiled: “The Corrosion Scar requires regular medication; otherwise, your whole body will rot and itch unbearably. You must have been injured and sought treatment from a church priest, who told you this was a side effect requiring ongoing medication, correct?”

Silver Coin’s eyes nearly popped out—Lisa’s description was as if she’d witnessed it herself. What did this mean?

“Don’t be surprised. I once had this same ‘side effect.’ Do you want to know how I got rid of it?” As she spoke, Lisa cast a Purification Spell, sweeping it over Silver Coin’s exposed arm. Where the rotting, oozing scabs had been, the flesh visibly healed to its original state under the holy light.

No—it was even whiter and softer than before. Did this holy light also have skin-rejuvenating properties?

Perhaps noticing his stunned expression, Lisa awkwardly explained: “Habit, habit. I just tidied it up a bit. Free of charge.”

“Then how did you cure it?” Looking at his fully restored arm, Silver Coin knew his guess must be true.

Even when taking medicine, his skin had always felt tight. Now, after the light’s touch, even that faint tightness was gone. For the first time in years, Silver Coin felt his skin truly belonged to him.

“I reincarnated myself as a Lich,” Lisa said.

When the World Transit Station suddenly cut off and she lost contact with her superiors, Lisa lost access to her medication. Faced with the choice between dying in agony from rotting flesh or abandoning her faith to become a Lich, she chose the latter.

“A Lich!?” Silver Coin gasped, staring at Lisa in disbelief. How could such a vibrant, beautiful woman be a Lich?

Seeing he didn’t believe her, Lisa could only exhale a wisp of Soulfire to show him.

“Can you perform a miracle and heal my entire body?” Silver Coin asked.

“Of course. But do you believe in our Lord Ang? If you don’t believe in him, why should you receive his divine protection?” The light in Lisa’s eyes reminded Silver Coin of the ox-headed aunts in the imperial capital’s streets, handing out flour and rice to lure people into prayer.

But things weren’t so simple. Silver Coin had come on a secret mission. If he was cured of the Corrosion Scar but switched his faith, could he still return safely?

Seeing his hesitation, Lisa smiled: “The two maids following you—are they Holy Servants of Light?”

Silver Coin nodded, slightly surprised but not shocked. After all, Lisa was someone with the authority to control Corrosion Scars—recognizing Holy Servants was only natural.

“Who sent you? For the Sacred Essence Liquid? To seize it by force? Two Holy Servants mean you can pinpoint the location quickly—just one transmission and a full squad can teleport here. Clearly, whoever sent you already planned for a raid.”

Silver Coin nodded, adding: “First, we preach. If you convert to the Light and offer it willingly, best of all. If not, we seize it by force. But the moment I saw the Inscription on Lady Lan’s body, I knew it was impossible. That’s a Shroud Inscription—she’s a Lich too, using the same method as you: making herself appear human.”

Lisa immediately wore a reverent expression: “That is the power of our Lord Ang.”

Silver Coin took a deep breath: “I know what you were before. Judging by this… priestly… er, devout look of yours—you weren’t a Holy Maiden, were you? One whose duty was to spread the glory of the divine, preach the gospel, guide lost sheep, and illuminate the abyss with holy light?”

“Priestly? That’s because you don’t understand. Once you comprehend the power of our Lord, you won’t think I’m deceiving you.” Lisa smiled, unoffended.

…

Claiming they’d found the producer of the Essence Liquid and needed to scout ahead, Lisa and Silver Coin staged a performance: “Our headquarters is in a hidden corner—we can’t bring many people. Even you must wear a blindfold if you come.”

Silver Coin feigned argument, then reluctantly let the two maids stay behind.

Having fooled the maids, he was still worried about tricking Anna and Lan and the other Ice City elites—until he saw the two women waiting for him on the road.

“You… you’ve been cooperating in this act all along?” Silver Coin realized. He’d thought Ice City was riddled with spies—turns out the biggest leak was Lan and Anna themselves.

Lan shrugged: “The moment Lisa saw your maids, we knew to play along.”

“Sigh. With Lisa the Holy Maiden here, the Church’s every trick must be obvious to you. This mission was doomed from the start. But that’s exactly my value—if there were no risk of failure, Leonhard would’ve come himself. Ha.” Silver Coin’s laugh was bitter.

Anyone would struggle to accept it. Silver Coin had once been grateful to the Church for supplying his medicine—only to learn the disease itself had been their doing.

“So I’m an apostate now. Come on. By the way, we should reach our destination today—spending the night outdoors would be unbearable.” Lisa rubbed her wrists, looking slightly disgusted—probably because of her skin.

Although Lisa had explained projection and sentinels to him on the way, Silver Coin still couldn’t accept it when he saw Ang, a heretical skeleton, trudging through mud and slashing vegetables with a sickle.

Though the Corrosion Scar had turned his feelings toward the Church to hatred, years of devotion and self-hypnosis had ingrained in him an instinctive revulsion toward heretics.

He knew this emotion was wrong and was preparing to adjust himself—when he heard flapping wings behind him. He turned and saw an angel, flapping slowly, carrying a bucket of farm fertilizer.

Silver Coin’s jaw dropped. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, pointing at the angel-skeleton and staring at Lisa: “This… this… this…”

If Lisa, the Holy Maiden, still belonged to the realm of “human,” then the angel belonged to the realm of “sacred.” Humans could apostatize—but angels were sacred. How could they possibly… how could they possibly be hauling manure?

The Corrosion Scar had made Silver Coin hate the Church—but an angel hauling manure shattered his faith entirely. He began to doubt whether any of this was real.

Lisa merely smiled and shrugged, offering no explanation. One couldn’t reveal everything. A touch of mystery was the key to preserving awe—only with awe could reverence be born.

Just then, Ang, who had been slowly cutting vegetables, suddenly moved. He crouched, leapt into the air, rolled, and wind elements surged around him like a cannonball, slamming into the corner—like a war god crashing before the ox-headed aunt.

The ox-headed aunt and her calves had been sneaking behind the crops, nibbling on sugar beet leaves. The sugar beets, several times sweeter than ordinary plants, had made the ox-headed family’s eyes close in bliss.

Only when Ang crashed before them did the ox-headed aunt realize—she shrank her neck, turning slowly, rusted and stiff, until her gaze met Ang’s hollow eye sockets, glowing with blue flames.

Stealing vegetables!