In a dense grove within the oasis of Bastis, Dorothy, through her control of a corpse marionette, continued questioning the recently healed Savior's Advent Sect member, Arima, about Bastis’s history, Withering Plague, and the circumstances surrounding the Longevity Church and the Savior's Advent Sect. With her mental profile already fully established, Arima answered every question with complete honesty. From her responses, Dorothy began to deduce the Longevity Church’s true motive for unleashing the plague in Busalet. “Busalet is remote—not only outside the Church's sphere of influence, but also a stronghold of the Savior's Advent Sect, a faction that opposes the Church. If the Longevity Church really wanted to create a massive plague to target the Church, then Busalet would be the perfect training ground. The Savior's followers here could serve as free sparring partners, giving their virus the ideal environment to evolve—eventually producing a super virus highly resistant to Redemption Path abilities. “Once this virus reaches full maturity, conventional medical methods and Redemption Path powers would struggle to counter it. If the Longevity Church released it across the main continent in a synchronized, large-scale outbreak, it could trigger a widespread pandemic. The Church’s Black Earth and White Ash-rank Redemption Path Beyonders stationed in various countries and cities wouldn’t be able to contain it. Perhaps Crimson-rank Redemption Path Beyonders might manage—but how many of those are there?” “Each nation is only allocated a single Crimson-rank Archbishop at most. The very reason the Church’s influence hasn't expanded indefinitely lies in how few Crimson-rank Archbishops exist. Although the exact number isn’t public, based on Vania’s intelligence, there are likely twenty to thirty at most, most of whom are assigned to uphold faith in strategic regions across the main continent and its critical outer zones. Areas without a stationed archbishop see a steep drop in Church influence.” “And among those archbishops, the ones belonging to the Redemption Path are few. There may not even be ten. The true backbone of the Church’s healing efforts still lies in the ranks of White Ash and Black Earth-rank Beyonders. If this virus evolves to a level where even they struggle to contain it, it could deal a devastating blow to the Church’s core faith base. And judging by its current state… it’s already close to that threshold.” Sitting atop an ornate carpet inside her tent, Dorothy sipped a cup of local desert milk tea while furrowing her brows in deep thought. If her deduction was correct, the implications of this plague were even graver than she’d initially feared. “It seems… the Longevity Church may be plotting something much bigger. Could this tie into the recent consolidation of the Three Afterbirth faiths? They’ve been moving more in unison lately… What exactly are they planning?” Despite these unsettling speculations, Dorothy had no solid evidence yet, so she set them aside for now and focused on the present matter. She directed Ed to question Arima again, who was now munching quietly on bread. “Let’s continue—how exactly were you defeated by the Longevity Church?” Arima wiped her mouth, finishing a piece of bread, then pondered briefly before replying. “Well… it was through treachery that they managed to defeat us. As the plague in Bastis grew stronger and we struggled to cope, they began infiltrating the city in secret. They exploited the pain and despair caused by the plague to win over the faithful—those who once belonged to the Lord were gradually seduced by promises of relief.” “Without our knowledge, some of those who strayed into heresy became their hidden pawns—betrayers who aided the cult in their plot against us.” “These cultists, through their infiltrators, tainted our water and food with tiny insect eggs—dormant larvae cultivated with great care. These eggs contained so little spirituality that they were indistinguishable from mundane matter, completely slipping past our detection. We consumed them unknowingly. Once inside our bodies, the eggs used a unique structure to remain anchored in place, dormant.” “Then, when we were physically and spiritually exhausted from treating the plague, the cult launched a sudden assault. They unleashed miasma and mosquito swarms to inject spirituality into our bodies. This spirituality awakened the dormant eggs, which rapidly hatched into larvae. These larvae grew at alarming speed, gnawing through our flesh and nerves to strengthen themselves, hindering our movements and draining our spirituality. Ultimately, it was this internal sabotage that led to our defeat and capture.” As Arima explained, Ed gave a slight nod and asked again. “Did you request aid from your Holy Church? Were they aware of what was happening in Busalet?” “They were aware of the plague’s severity. We submitted formal reports. But I doubt the Holy Church had the resources to intervene. Ever since the Addus Incident last year, northern heretics have been mounting intense pressure against us. Their recent activities have been increasingly erratic. Some areas have grown radical. In Igar… direct large-scale conflicts have already broken out. The Mufah Council has redirected most of its focus toward dealing with the northern threat.” Picking up another piece of bread, Arima continued eating as she answered. Ed raised an eyebrow and asked. “Mufah Council? What’s that?” “It’s the leadership body within the Holy Church. ‘Mufah’ refers to high-ranking leaders—it means ‘Expositor.’ They form the Mufah Council, receiving the teachings of the Revealed Saint and conveying his will. All lower-ranking clergy look up to them.” Still chewing, Arima continued her explanation. Dorothy’s interest piqued again, and she prompted Ed to ask. “And who is the Revealed Saint?” “The Revealed Saint is the most authoritative figure in the Holy Church—second only to the Lord. He is the chosen one, the Lord’s messenger of truth. He calls himself the ‘Expositor of Scripture.’ It is he who delivers and interprets the Lord’s revelations, organizing and guiding us to uphold the truth. Someday, under his leadership, we will purge all heresy and restore truth to this world…” Her tone calm and devout, Arima shared this while eating. Ed raised a brow and remarked. “So in other words… this Revealed Saint is the founder of your Holy Church?” “Yes. The Holy Church was indeed founded and maintained by the Revealed Saint. Throughout the Church’s 800-year history—rising and falling under pressure from northern heretics and other cults—it is the Revealed Saint who has kept it alive. As long as he exists, the Holy Church will never perish.” Arima stated this firmly while tearing into another piece of bread. Hearing her words, Dorothy rubbed her chin in contemplation. “The Revealed Saint, huh? Interesting… So the Savior’s Advent Sect has managed to survive eight centuries of relentless suppression by the Church, and maintain its title as the most prominent Radiance heresy—thanks to this figure. Just who is he? How powerful must he be to resist the Church for so long without being destroyed?” With that curiosity in mind, Dorothy had Ed press for more information about the upper ranks of the Savior’s Advent Sect—especially regarding the Revealed Saint. However, Arima’s low rank meant her knowledge was limited, and in the end, Dorothy couldn’t extract any concrete intel. Finally, as their conversation drew to a close, Dorothy had Ed pose one last question to Arima. “By the way... if I wanted to learn more about the history of Busalet, how should I go about it? Is there any written record of Busalet’s past? And have you ever heard of a place called Heopolis?” This question from Ed was, in fact, driven by Dorothy’s true objective in coming to Busalet—to search for Heopolis. No matter what state the plague or the Longevity Church was in, her pursuit of clues about Heopolis could not be interrupted. “Heopolis, huh... I’ve lived in Busalet for some years, but I’ve never heard of that name,” Arima replied. “But if you’re talking about Busalet’s history—yes, there are written records.” “Despite Busalet’s chaos, it once had a few brief unified dynasties. The most recent one was called the Santo Dynasty. In an effort to legitimize its rule and bring long-term unity and stability to Busalet—ending the ongoing chaos—the Santo Dynasty heavily promoted a shared cultural and national identity.” “For generations, Busalet’s instability was rooted in conflict between its many resident tribes. So the Santo Dynasty tried to establish a shared ethnic identity—a ‘Busalet people’—to unify the various tribes and maintain lasting peace.” “To achieve this, the Santo Dynasty launched a cultural unification campaign during its reign. This included not only widespread propaganda and education but also sending people to collect legends and historical records from every tribe. These were to be compiled into an official history of Busalet and promoted as a state-sanctioned chronicle.” “Unfortunately, just after the collection was completed, the dynasty’s founder—King Santik, its most capable ruler—passed away. His successor, though somewhat competent, couldn’t manage the complex political landscape that Santik had held together. The long-suppressed tensions erupted once more, plunging the land into war and destroying the dynasty before the historical records could be formally compiled.” Arima said this while finishing another piece of bread and gazing off toward the direction of Bastis. “The capital of the Santo Dynasty was right here in Bastis. All the records collected back then were stored in the Bastis Museum, hidden in an underground archive. Because of its secret location, it survived multiple rounds of warfare. After we took over Bastis, Jemalhai discovered the hidden archive while clearing the ruins of the old library. Many documents that had survived the destruction were still intact.” “Most of those materials were written by ordinary mortals and contained little to no mystical knowledge, so Jemalhai wasn’t particularly interested. She organized them a bit and left them as they were. But due to the archive’s secrecy, she began using it as her personal study and research room. During the plague outbreak, she spent most of her time there researching the strange virus. I often helped her, so I frequently went in and out of that archive. The stories there—Jemalhai told them to me…” As Arima’s voice trailed off, a faint trace of sorrow crept into her expression. Dorothy paused briefly. When Arima had mourned enough and resumed eating, Dorothy had Ed follow up with another question. “So, how does one access that underground archive? Do the Longevity cultists know about its existence?” … Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Bastis oasis—at the lakeside Church encampment during the black of night. While Dorothy was conversing with Arima to gather intelligence, in the center of the camp, inside a large white tent, Vania had just sent off a reporting nun. The spacious interior of the tent was now quiet, with only Vania remaining. Sitting in the massive tent, Vania gazed at the firelight dancing across the canvas walls, casting shadows of passing figures. The murmur of activity outside filled the background, and for a moment, she fell into deep thought. Just then, a shimmer distorted the air inside the tent. A translucent image of a nun appeared out of thin air. Sensing the phenomenon, Vania turned to face the unexpected projection. “Sister Ivy... You’re able to manifest now?” “I’ve been able to for some time. I found a suitable anchoring point around Bastis and could connect via the relay device on your body as early as midday. But you were always surrounded by others—it wasn’t the right time to appear,” said Ivy, her voice calm as Vania rose from the carpet. “You could connect since noon… So you’ve seen everything that’s happened since then? You know the current situation in Bastis?” “Yes,” Ivy nodded. “The circumstances in Busalet and Bastis are far beyond what we anticipated. To be frank, the situation has become severe enough that you could file for a mission withdrawal.” Startled, Vania spoke without thinking. “Withdraw... We can do that?” “Of course. Your primary objectives are to complete the relief and achieve your promotion. But with this bizarre plague spreading and heretics interfering, the difficulty of accomplishing relief here has escalated far beyond what our current resources can handle.” “You have full right to abandon the relief mission in Busalet. Leave everyone here behind and move to another, more manageable location to complete the ritual. There are many places in this world in need of salvation, not just this one. Since this setback is due to unforeseen circumstances, it isn’t your fault. So long as your report is proper, no one in the Radiance Church will blame you.” “In a place like this, our capabilities are severely restricted. But if you move to a region suffering a more conventional famine or war, you may have a better chance of conducting effective relief and achieving your promotion…” Ivy finished with a meaningful smile, looking at Vania expectantly—waiting for her answer and her choice.