Even after confirming these individuals were Artemis Priests, Aglaea didn't immediately act. Instead, she decided to tail them for a while to see what they were up to.
But in the next moment, as many passersby disdainfully averted their gazes from the Black-Robed figure, their eyes lit up upon spotting Aglaea. They surged forward, excitedly exclaiming:
"It's Lady Aglaea!"
"Lady Aglaea, you look especially beautiful today!"
"May I paint your portrait?"
The crowd behaved like starstruck fans. Having resided in the city for a short time, Aglaea wasn't a complete recluse. She occasionally ventured out, making her presence known to nearly every Believer of the Goddess of Love in the city.
Grey immediately stepped forward to shield Aglaea, pushing back the crowd. "Make way, make way! Lady Aglaea is very busy! Don't push!"
However, the commotion had grown too loud, clearly drawing the attention of the Black-Robed Artemis Priest. Stealthily following them was now impossible.
Aglaea pondered for a moment, then subtly curled her fingers behind her back where no one could see. Instantly, invisible golden threads coiled around the Priests of the Goddess of Love surrounding her. "As you suspected," she said, "the Black-Robed Artemis Priest is no friend of ours. Would you please keep a close watch on him?"
Hearing this, the Priests were immediately energized, as if they'd received a shot of adrenaline. "Lady! We guarantee the mission's success!"
With that, the three of them fixed their gazes intently on the Black-Robed Artemis Priest. Skirting the crowded street, they hunched over and scurried forward in small, stealthy steps, as if entering "stealth mode."
To be honest, the stealth skills of these Priests were rather unimpressive. With most of the crowd gathered around Aglaea, the street was nearly deserted. The sight of a hunched, skulking figure in black robes being followed by three hunched, skulking Priests was utterly absurd.
Watching this spectacle, Aglaea was inexplicably reminded of the Tom and Jerry cartoons from her previous life—there had been similar scenes there.
It could only be said that if Death Priests, all masters of stealth, had been here, the Black-Robed Artemis Priest would have vanished in the blink of an eye.
However, because Golden Threads were woven around the three Priests, Aglaea could clearly perceive their surroundings. Even if an emergency arose, she could provide remote assistance.
Besides, three Priests of Love against one Artemis Priest...how could they possibly lose?
Snapping back to the present, Aglaea forced a smile as she faced the enthusiastic crowd of admirers. If a group harbored malice, she could naturally respond in kind. But every person here radiated overwhelming adoration and goodwill. Aglaea couldn't possibly resort to violence to drive them away, could she?
Just then, a carriage arrived. Noticing the congested road ahead, a young-looking elf man inside frowned and glanced out the window. "What's going on here?"
The guard outside the carriage looked equally perplexed but replied, "Lord Councilor, I'll clear the road immediately."
The occupant of the carriage was none other than one of the thirty-six High Elf Councilors attending the conference. The onlookers were merely starstruck, but they hadn't lost their reason. Recognizing the arrival of a prominent figure, they exchanged resigned glances and grudgingly cleared a path.
In a way, this also helped Aglaea out of a tight spot. She let out a silent sigh and glanced at the carriage. At the same moment, the elf inside looked back at her. Their gazes met briefly before the carriage resumed its journey and departed.
Aglaea mused silently to herself, An elf? Not a half-elf, but a pure-blooded High Elf? They're exceptionally rare even within the Alliance.
However, after this brief delay, the Artemis Priests and Priests of the Goddess of Love had long since vanished. Though she could sense their locations through the Golden Thread, Aglaea decided against pursuing them. Instead, she turned to Grey and asked, "When exactly is the Alliance Council meeting, and where will it be held?"
Grey answered immediately, "Tomorrow afternoon, at Councilor Perseus's residence."
It sounded rather informal, but given the emergency nature of the meeting, efficiency likely took precedence over protocol.
Aglaea said, "Since we still have some time, Grey, could you take me to meet Councilor Perseus now?"
Roughly half an hour later, the Black-Robed Artemis Priest furtively arrived at the most secluded corner of the city. The city was enclosed by a square wall, and this corner was the uppermost right corner of the wall's interior.
As the Artemis Priest looked up, he saw the right-angled city wall looming above him. Because hardly anyone ever came here, the area was overgrown with weeds. He removed the hood of his cloak, revealing a somewhat pale face.
He was a human male, not unattractive in appearance—in fact, he could even be considered a bit handsome. He knelt down, closed his eyes, and prepared to pray.
But in the next instant, three golden chains shot out from the distance, wrapping around his abdomen and both arms. To his credit, this Artemis Priest was remarkably straightforward.
The three Priests of Love's stealth and tracking skills were so laughably poor that the Artemis Priest inevitably noticed them. In fact, it would have been more surprising if he hadn't!
Abruptly abandoning his furtive movements, the Artemis Priest began to run. He cast a Third-Level Divine Spell that created a disorienting illusion, successfully shaking off the three Priests.
Unbeknownst to him, the Artemis Priest had already been locked onto by the Divine Magic Bloodthirsty Tracking. Even if he managed to shake them off temporarily, the Priests would catch up again shortly after.
The three Priests each grabbed a golden chain and yanked the Artemis Priest toward them. Their figures blurred as they circled him rapidly, binding him securely with the golden chains.
The Artemis Priest immediately struggled. "Damn it! What do you want? I am a Priest of Artemis, one of the Twelve True Gods!"
But as he thrashed, one of the Priests merely looked at him with disdain and muttered, "How utterly hideous..."
In truth, the Artemis Priest's Beauty Value wasn't particularly low. Yet, strangely, all three Priests wore identical expressions, as if they were witnessing something utterly hideous.
This was because the Believers of the Goddess of Love perceived Beauty Value differently from ordinary people. Just as a Death Priest could instantly discern the living from the dead, like how Death Archbishop Aisha had immediately recognized Castorice's unique nature, the Priests saw beyond mere physical appearance.
Priests of Love possess a unique ability: they can discern the purity of a person's heart. To them, a person's outward appearance only accounts for half of their "Beauty Value," while the other half is determined by the purity of their inner self. The sum of these two factors constitutes their true "Beauty Value."
Therefore, the Priests statement, "How could someone so beautiful be evil?" was entirely valid. Their invitation to Aglaea to become Archbishop stemmed from their ability to discern her profound inner purity, making it impossible for her to be wicked.
As for the Artemis Priest currently before them, despite his decent outward appearance, the three Priests could immediately discern that his heart had festered with darkness. This was the reason they had previously remarked on the Black-Robed figure's foul odor, Priests of Love can not only assess Beauty Value visually but also detect its aroma.
This explains why the Believers and Priests adore Aglaea so deeply. She possesses exceptional Beauty Value in both appearance and inner purity, and even smells fragrant.
The Artemis Priest continued to struggle, hissing, "Damn you! You're violating the Holy City's regulations! I'll report you to the Holy City!"
This world is divided into the Four Great Kingdoms and Three Major Factions. The Holy City, mentioned by the Artemis Priest, is one of these three factions and the sacred sanctuary for all priests. It houses the shrines of the Twelve True Gods, roughly analogous to the United Nations from Aglaea's previous life, except this "UN" governs only the priests of the Twelve True Gods.
According to the Holy City's regulations, under normal circumstances, a True God's priest is strictly forbidden from attacking another True God's priest. This is considered an absolute violation of the rules!
If reported to the Holy City, the offending priest could even be stripped of their priestly status and reduced to an ordinary citizen.
Hearing this, the three Priests showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, they tightened their grip on the Artemis Priest. One of them demanded, "What is your true purpose here?!"
Incredibly, the Artemis Priest actually blurted out, "To set up the Array Core for the ritual..."
He immediately froze, a look of utter bewilderment spreading across his face. This was all due to the golden chains binding him, a Fourth-Level Divine Magic of the Goddess of Love called Truth-Binding Chains. These chains could be used as weapons, but more importantly, they forced anyone bound by them to speak only the truth, making lies impossible. Furthermore, silence offered no escape; any question posed would automatically be answered by the bound individual.
The Priest of Love pressed further, "What ritual?"
The Artemis Priest tried to remain silent but failed. His face contorted in a grimace as he snarled, "The Descent Ritual of Artemis's Blessing!"
The Priest of Love frowned. "Artemis's Blessing? What is that?"
The Artemis Priest bit his lip so hard it drew blood. He howled, "Aaaah! Beautiful Silver Moon! Origin of the night, great Mother of Flesh, behold me!"
The moment his words faded, the Artemis Priest's body began to swell rapidly, like an inflating balloon. He quickly burst through the golden chains binding him and tore through his own robes.
But this was far from the end. The Artemis Priest continued to expand at an alarming rate, soon transforming into a massive Flesh Sphere at least three meters in diameter, its surface crisscrossed with bulging veins.
Thump~
Thump~
The Flesh Sphere began to pulse rhythmically, like a beating heart. Witnessing this, the three Priests snapped out of their momentary shock and immediately adopted grave expressions.
"How utterly grotesque."
"Just the sight of such a thing existing in this world fills me with revulsion."
"Enough! I can't take it anymore! Let's attack together!"
The three priests simultaneously unleashed new Divine Magic:
"Fourth-level Divine Spell: Punishment Mark!"
"Third-level Divine Spell: Purify Corruption!"
"Third-level Divine Spell: Purify Corruption!"
The first spell was an upgraded version of the Third-Level "Bloodlust Pursuit." Its effect: any subsequent Divine Magic from the Goddess of Love series cast upon the marked target would inflict massively amplified damage, manifesting as true damage to the target's soul.
As for the Third-Level "Purify Corruption," though it sounded like a supportive spell to cleanse negative status effects, it was actually a purely offensive Divine Magic.
Golden light erupted from the palms of the two Priests, bathing the Flesh Sphere in its radiance. The light crackled with a sulfuric, corrosive sound.
In truth, among the Twelve True Gods, the Goddess of Love ranked among the most formidable in combat, brimming with martial prowess and formidable strength.
Under the golden light, the Flesh Sphere convulsed violently. Human hands erupted from its surface, flailing wildly as if trying to seize the surrounding priests. The arms multiplied rapidly, growing longer and longer, creating a grotesquely surreal spectacle.
At the very top of the Flesh Sphere, a human-like face slowly materialized, as if something were hatching from within.
But less than thirty seconds later, the flailing arms abruptly ceased their movements and hung limp. Only the Flesh Sphere itself continued to pulse rhythmically, yet it remained completely still otherwise.
The Flesh Sphere itself seemed to possess formidable defenses, its resilience astonishing. However, due to the effects of the Punishment Mark, the Priest of Love's attacks bypassed the Flesh Sphere's physical defenses and targeted its soul directly. Clearly, the creature's soul lacked the resilience of its physical form.
Its soul had been completely "purified," burned away to nothingness. Without a soul, the Flesh Sphere was now little more than a vegetative husk—still "alive" in a sense, but no longer posing any threat.
Meanwhile, at Perseus's mansion, the High Elf Councilor, who had only recently arrived, suddenly turned to gaze out the window in a particular direction, a faint expression of surprise on his face.