Upon the vast and boundless sea, three warships with a distinct Church design were cutting through the sunlit waters. Between them sailed an ordinary vessel bearing the Church’s flag, escorted forward by the trio of military ships. Standing on the deck of the escorted vessel, Vania—dressed in a white nun habit—faced the wind as it whipped across the sea. She gazed out at the distant ocean, her expression tinged with a trace of sentiment. “After such a long rest… we’re finally setting out again. This time, our destination is the land guided to me by Aka. What will I encounter there?” Watching the white seagulls flying low alongside the ship, the white-clad nun pondered silently. At that moment, a man in a Church military uniform approached her and spoke. “Sister Vania, the seas ahead are rough and the winds strong. It’s a bit dangerous to stay on deck. Please return to your cabin and get some rest—you’ll need your energy for activities once we reach Moncarlo.” Looking at the nun before him, Gaspard offered his advice. Vania turned her head and replied gently. “Thank you for your concern, Brother Gaspard. I’ll return soon—just a moment longer. By the way, how’s your injury? If you’re still feeling unwell, don’t push yourself to stay on duty.” “Thanks to you, Sister Vania, my injury has mostly stabilized. It’s nothing serious. Hah, if not for those beasts from the Inquisition, we’d have fully recovered long ago. They were harsher than the heretics.” As he spoke, Gaspard rubbed his arm, feeling the lingering ache of his wounds. Even now, when he recalled those days aboard the Scourge of Flame, resentment surged within him. Vania then spoke at an appropriate moment. “It was thanks to all of you, who held fast to the truth and stayed faithful through torture, that I had the chance to clear my name and reclaim my innocence…” “It was nothing. Those blasphemous beasts committed inhumane acts—we couldn’t let them get their way. We all fought alongside you in Addus against heresy. We’re not so easily crushed by the Church’s shadows. I always believed that true justice exists within the Holy Church, and that sincere believers would not be defeated by conspiracies. In the end, you were the one who brought us salvation, Sister Vania.” Gaspard’s voice rang with conviction. Vania humbly responded. “I didn’t do much… The one who saved us was the righteous law inherent in the Church—it was the Lord’s blessing.” Seeing Vania’s pious expression, Gaspard nodded. Then, as if remembering something, he added. “Actually… while we were being tortured on the Scourge of Flame, I remember that despite how terrifying the punishments looked, they didn’t hurt quite as much as I expected. Those days were agonizing, yes, but never to the point of total collapse… I wonder if that was the Lord’s unseen hand protecting us—granting us strength in our unjust suffering. Maybe it was all a test, and if so, I hope we passed it.” Gazing out over the surging waves, Gaspard’s expression grew solemn with faith. Upon hearing his words, Vania briefly froze in thought. “Indeed,” she mused. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 “It was divine protection—but not from the Three Saints. It had been Aka, and more precisely, it was Miss Dorothea, one of Aka’s apostles, who had secretly protected them through the Marionette Marks she had implanted in their bodies.” “Yes… If we’ve always stayed true in our devotion, the Lord would never abandon us…” Vania offered this reflection aloud and followed it with a small prayer. Gaspard, moved by the atmosphere, bowed his head and prayed as well. When their prayers concluded, he turned to Vania once more. “By the way, Sister Vania, there’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask—why did you choose Moncarlo for your first pilgrimage? On the surface it may seem a land touched by divine light, but its corruption is well-known. It’s a dangerous place…” With a serious tone, Gaspard voiced his concern. Vania replied with a calm and devout voice. “Precisely because Moncarlo contains dark corners where ordinary light cannot reach, it is worthy of being a pilgrimage site. The purpose of a relic pilgrimage is to bring the radiance of the sacred relic to those on the fringe of the Lord’s grace, so they may feel Their call. That is why Moncarlo is, in my eyes, a place truly deserving of a visit. If we content ourselves with peace and comfort, the pilgrimage loses its meaning. May the Lord watch over our journey.” Facing the vast sea, Vania prayed again with deep sincerity. Gaspard, hearing her words, was deeply moved by her unwavering faith. He silently resolved to redouble his efforts to fulfill his duties as her escort. … At the same time, on the far side of the vast Conquest Sea, across the same endless expanse of ocean, a black-and-white mid-sized cruise ship sailed across the waters. Its large hull cut through the waves under the sun, leaving a long wake as it headed eastward. On the ship’s spacious rear deck, many well-dressed passengers were enjoying the sea breeze and the open ocean. Some lounged leisurely at dining tables bolted to the deck, eating in comfort. Others, with more free time, had gathered near the railings to fish off the high sides of the ship with their own rods—surrounded by curious onlookers. On a seat at the rear deck, Dorothy sat wearing a lightweight, knee-length dress, a sun hat, and sandals. She leisurely enjoyed the surrounding seascape while nibbling on the fruit laid out on the table in front of her. From time to time, her eyes drifted to the newspaper in her hand. It featured recent headlines about the Church’s rising star, Sister Vania, reporting her appointment as a Relic-Bearing Envoy and the beginning of her first pilgrimage—its destination: Moncarlo. “Sister Vania Becomes Bearer of Sacred Relic—First Pilgrimage to the Gambling Capital of Moncarlo, Seeking to Bring Grace to the Land of Desire.” “Once a Pirate City, Moncarlo to Host Its First Sacred Relic Pilgrimage—Can the Relic’s Radiance Calm the Restless Sins of Greed?” “Sister Vania’s First Pilgrimage Choice Reflects Her Resolve to Spread the Lord’s Call to All Corners—Under the Lord’s Light, There Are No Margins…” Dorothy’s gaze swept across the articles and commentary surrounding Vania’s actions, lingering repeatedly on the city name Moncarlo. After finishing the oddly shaped tropical fruit in her hand, she closed the newspaper and sighed inwardly. “Moncarlo… Looks like this place doesn’t have the best reputation in mainstream society. No wonder the media’s reaction to Vania choosing it as her first pilgrimage stop was stronger than expected.” After some thought, Dorothy peeled a banana and began eating slowly. As she ate, her mind wandered back to the information she had gathered about Moncarlo—much of which had been sourced from Beverly—and involved both the mundane and secret. Moncarlo was a port city located on an island to the eastern reaches of the Conquest Sea. It was an independent free-trade hub. Despite being a trade port, it wasn’t situated along the main commercial routes between the Main Continent and North Ufiga. In fact, it was rather off the beaten path. Yet, despite this, it remained one of the most prosperous ports in the region. Why? Because Moncarlo was the largest gray zone on the Conquest Sea—serving as a major transit point for many mystical trades and as the region’s largest legal gambling city, earning its nickname: the City of Gamblers. To speak of Moncarlo is to speak of its founder: the infamous pirate Edward Gibbs. Four hundred years ago, during the Tainted Stream War, Ivengard’s Arrogant King Leo, backed by the Afterbirth Cult, launched a war against the Radiance Church and its protectorate nations. The war began in Ivengard but eventually spread to the Holy Mount’s doorstep and across the Conquest Sea. This chaos shattered order across the region and gave rise to an explosion of piracy. After Leo and his allies were subdued, the Church immediately turned to quelling the pirate problem. But they soon realized this wasn’t something that could be resolved quickly—it was, in some ways, more difficult than the war itself. At first, the Church allied with powerful naval nations on the Main Continent and deployed fleets and elite fighters to wipe out infamous pirates with mystical abilities. Within a short time, they eliminated most of the major pirate leaders. But piracy didn’t stop. Small-time pirates continued to proliferate. These minor pirate crews—many of whom had no Beyonders among them—made up over 80% of all pirates and were the true root of the pirate scourge. Even when the Church’s navies won every battle, they couldn’t keep up with the sheer number. The cost in manpower, resources, and spirituality was enormous, and still, the problem wouldn’t go away. Eventually, the Church analyzed the root cause and discovered that the surge in piracy stemmed from displaced civilians from the war’s losing nations—those who feared the Church’s extremist purges. Due to the widespread influence of the Afterbirth Cult—particularly the Abyssal Church—in Ivengard and its neighbors, the Church carried out brutal “purification orders” during the war, razing cities and slaughtering heretics. Many innocents were caught in the crossfire. Whole populations fled, not necessarily because they were heretics, but because they feared being labeled as such. These countless war refugees—vastly more numerous than Leo’s original army—fled to the islands of the Conquest Sea or to North Ufiga. For survival, many turned to piracy. Former soldiers, displaced nobles, and desperate refugees formed new pirate groups, joining forces with native pirates to plunge the region into utter chaos. They raided merchant ships and coastal settlements. At one point, trade between North Ufiga and the Main Continent was nearly paralyzed. What began with the Tainted Stream War did not end when the war ended. In fact, piracy worsened. Adding fuel to the fire was the post-war religious crackdown by the Church to prevent a heretical resurgence. The Church set up numerous Inquisitorial Courts across the defeated nations. Heresy Inquisitors roamed the streets, arresting people on flimsy or fabricated charges. This ushered in a century-long reign of religious terror. During this period, countless people fled by sea to escape persecution, and they too became fresh blood for the pirate ranks. Sensing opportunity, the defeated Abyssal Church stepped in. They contacted pirate leaders and refugee groups, secretly recruiting them. They used their mystical prowess at sea to help pirate lords avoid Church forces, warning them of naval movements and even manipulating ocean currents to help them hide. With the Abyssal Church and other remnants of the Afterbirth Cult backing them, pirate lords began to grow stronger, not only surviving Church crackdowns but thriving. Some even attained Crimson-rank levels of power. The pirate era finally ended due to a policy shift within the Church. When it became clear that the Abyssal remnants were using the pirates as a springboard to rise again, the Church leadership began to re-examine its hardline stance. The once-dominant Inquisitor faction, which had failed to resolve the pirate problem, lost influence. The more moderate Redemption faction seized the moment. When the Pope returned from the Upper Realm, they used the opportunity at the Grand Cardinal Council to wrest control from the Inquisitors and take charge of pirate policy. The Redemption faction pushed for the repeal of the extreme religious policies that had blanketed Ivengard and other war-torn nations. They closed numerous inquisitorial courts, released thousands of prisoners accused under dubious charges, and within a short span granted amnesty to over 300,000 people. They also issued a Churchwide Pardon, announcing to all pirates and settlements across the Conquest Sea that any who returned to the faith of the Three Saints would be absolved of their sins and those of their ancestors—no matter how grave—so long as they repented. This pardon had immediate effect. The pirate threat collapsed overnight. Refugees stopped fleeing. Tens of thousands of so-called “sinners” living in North Ufiga and the islands of the Conquest Sea began returning home. For most, all they had wanted was a safe place to live. With their source of manpower cut off, the Church, under the Redemption faction, then turned its attention to the remaining pirate leaders. Using diplomacy and division, they drove wedges between the pirates and the Abyssal Church. Some pirates were co-opted; others were hunted down. Eventually, the pirate powers across the Conquest Sea were publicly wiped out. Though the Tainted Stream War lasted only a few years, its consequences were immense. From the 10th to the end of the 12th century of the Holy Calendar, piracy ravaged the seas. This so-called Pirate Era finally ended with the Church’s internal reforms. The final pirate to surrender was none other than Edward Gibbs. And Moncarlo? That had once been his base—a city built meticulously by pirates. After his surrender, the pirate city began to evolve with the changing times.