The room chilled.

Across the table, Vivendil had gone pale. Her lips parted slightly in horror. Then, all at once, she pushed back her chair and stood.

"I… I must go see my father." she said quickly, eyes avoiding everyone in the room.

Kirsten's gaze followed her as she turned, her pace brisk but controlled.

That was when he noticed it.

Her dress—it looked… different.

Smoother. Sharper at the edges. The fabric shimmered faintly in the low mana light of the upper clinic, as though a spell had settled over it. It looked even finer than when they had first arrived.

Had she woven a glamour while they sat there?

Maybe. Or maybe she had come in with it ready.

Either way, it told him more than her words ever could.

Their conversation was abruptly cut short by the arrival of a High Priest, robed in cream and gold, flanked by attendants in muted silver or white vestments.

Kirsten and several others stood at once, bowing respectfully. The air in the room shifted instantly—formality returning like a tide.

The Priest raised a hand, smiling gently.

"Be at ease." he said.

His eyes moved across the room—calm, composed—until they settled on Jeany, who had not risen.

Nor had her mother.

Jeany remained seated, justified by her pregnancy and, more pointedly, by her own insistence. Her mother mirrored her without hesitation. But the Priest's gaze lingered for just a moment too long.

Then, the smile widened.

"My dearest… Jeany." he said warmly. "How delighted I am to see you. Me—a modest Priest from the Delighted Eves and Lighterns Sub-Church. It shall be my joy to assist you and Miss Tammy as well, along with our modest flock."

His tone then shifted slightly—still pleasant, but with something colder beneath it.

"Alas, I bring terrible news."

Kirsten stepped forward immediately.

"What news, my Lord Eminence?"

The Priest smiled again, as if delivering a parable.

"It is about the child. The girl."

A hush fell over the room.

"She is too corrupted. And solidifying. Mother Earth must have been displeased to see it take such a form… and lent a hand. But never fear. We shall save the other one. The boy. One who takes after both his parents—and not some random ancestor."

Jeany's voice cracked.

She turned toward her mother.

However, it was Divara who responded—her voice trembling, her whole form shaking. Her hair had lightened visibly in the span of seconds, silvering under a rush of wild Mana. Her power surged uncontrollably at the edges of the room.

"There is no other child."

Jeany nodded confirming it.

The Priest's smile didn't falter.

"It must have been hidden, my child. Perhaps by a little fairy butterfly… one who's known for hiding teeth."

From the corner, Jimmy looked up brightly.

"Yes! She does that. I saw her hidden babies. They grow out of cabbage or herbs. Not flowers—she doesn't like those to come here."

He spoke with complete confidence, grinning.

"The babies grow really fast, within seconds, once they start crawling. One of them even ran to the Enclave of his Goddess—the Goddess of all Good Fairies. He brought us and Pullina pizza once. One with veggies and chicken. We had it with Miss Syl Celia."

Jahan, seated beside him, nearly smacked the back of his cousin's head.

"No wonder you keep running off to see that blasted fairy! So, that's what you're doing when you ditch the lessons you are supposed to have with Dad and me!"

Kirsten's fists tightened.

His voice was low, strained.

"My child will be… gone?"

The High Priest looked at him, still smiling faintly.

"I wouldn't say it was truly yours in the first place."

He turned his gaze back toward the center of the room, folding his hands with Priestly composure.

"Fear not. I shall send the rotten Soul where it belongs so it doesn't bring rot to all others."

Kirsten's jaw clenched.

"I beg your pardon?"

The Priest sighed, as if speaking to an impatient child.

"I suppose I must explain things."

He turned toward Jeany, eyes full of false gentleness.

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"First, I shall tell you, child. I don't blame you. Taking over that body was not your fault. The Soul meant to inhabit it was already preparing to depart. Neither do I blame your mother… who summoned you the same way she summoned herself after the main host of that body of hers was killed by Master Mathias's man."

That drew gasps.

Kirsten and his mother both looked up sharply, startled.

The Priest's smile deepened.

"No one speaks his secrets without consequence. The Soul was melting from his power… but it was saved. By whoever took control of the body. So, in a way, it was a good thing."

He tilted his head.

"His man may have been careless… or perhaps he gave someone the chance to take over the body. A classic strategy, one his father devised in ages past. And still effective, it seems. Especially on the foolish and the arrogant. That is why we are all taught humility."

Kirsten's voice was rough.

"What does that mean?"

The Priest's eyes glinted.

"It means this, young man: a Fallen Goddess of Spring, now reduced to Minion rank, sent her Faithwarden to hijack your fiancée's body after Jeany died during a tryst arranged by her mother with a few young Nobles."

The air in the room went still.

"The girl's Soul is still there, protected. But the body… it's contaminated. And the corruption, born of the Goddess' rotting power, has created… something else. A child, if one dares call it that."

His voice lowered slightly.

"If we leave it be, it will consume the Souls of those nearby. These things do not grow normally. When they are born, their bodies expel their liquid Soul in vapor and they emerge in a grotesque adult form. Sharp teeth. Hardened flesh. And an endless hunger. They tear flesh apart to drink what Soul remains."

Across the room, Mrs. Bimal pulled her daughter close, eyes wide with horror. She looked toward Divara, who sat frozen, her face hollow.

The Priest went on.

"I can provide you with illustrations." he offered. "We should thank the Mother Earth Goddesses for intervening. Nothing is worse than a corrupted Goddess let loose in mortal form."

His tone darkened.

"They know she's fully corrupted now. Unredeemable. She's been following Jeany for months—possessing her body from time to time, with help from her so-called Mother Goddess. Another one on the brink. One we should destroy while we can, leaving only her younger sister to hold things together. That one we already disposed of, after she confessed everything."

At that, Divara finally broke.

She fell to her knees, trembling, hands pressed together as tears poured freely down her face.

The Priest looked down at her with faint amusement.

"A bit late." he said. "Too little, too late."

His smile faded.

"Perhaps your remorse will spare you a fraction of the pain I had in mind. But do you even know what Master Mathias did to you?"

His voice was full of contempt.

"A higher Goddess from this very Realm… reduced to this."

The High Priest lifted his hand and smiled again, his voice smooth and almost reassuring.

"You shall not fear anything. Divara will return immediately. Or what remains of her will."

He turned to Jeany, gesturing gently.

"You, my dear, will resume full possession of this body once the Spring Goddess is gone. The Faithwarden she sent will simply disappear. Poof! Like magic."

He laughed softly to himself.

"In fact, both may begin to fade the moment we finish dealing with the Mother Goddess. I have been appointed to take over all their duties and their flock. Everything tied to them will be… erased."

He leaned forward, patting Jeany gently on the head.

"This body shall be yours again. And only yours."

Jeany's shoulders shook, and then the tears came fast and loud. She sobbed openly, unable to contain it any longer.

The Priest cocked his head.

"Now, now… those must be tears of joy."

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Or is it the effect of that Spiritus?"

Jeany glared at him through her tears, her eyes bright with fury and pain.

Kirsten's voice cut in, low and tight.

"And what of my child?"

The Priest turned to him, still composed.

"I shall deliver it soon." he said. "But be warned—it may be extremely painful."

He gave a casual shrug.

"The fairy butterfly is currently on strike… someone didn't allow her to play with the children and hide their teeth. She's sulking."

From the other side of the room, Jimmy beamed brightly, turning toward his cousin with delight. Jahan glowered at him.

He clearly hadn't been told that part. But Pully had. She looked pale with fear.

The Priest's tone shifted becoming lower, more solemn.

"Only I can perform this rite. A God in the flesh." he said smoothly. "But I will require a tribute in kind and in blood."

He smiled faintly.

"Master Mathias as well. He is, after all, the architect of some of this… whether you know it or not."

Kirsten felt cold all over.

"You mustn't worry." the Priest went on. "The child is sturdier than most. A reincarnate. Born from the ashes of the fallen Goddess's brother… long, long ago. Just like many others like him."

Jeany's eyes widened.

She turned, stunned, toward her mother who was now clutching her hands together, weeping even harder.

The Priest's smile sharpened as he leaned in, voice laced with mock sweetness.

"You have the boy now. Lords, how glad you must be, Goddess."

His words dripped with taunt and cruelty.

Jeany emitted a sound—half gasp, half whimper—something close to agony. Her body shuddered as he reached forward and lightly patted her cheek, as though she were a child being congratulated for something twisted.

His voice lowered, almost intimate.

"You can keep getting that divine Mana." he murmured, watching her face. "The more you get from us… through his Blessings…"

He grinned, bright and pitiless.

"…the faster you go. Poof!"

He flicked his fingers in the air, as though mimicking her vanishing into dust.

Jeany closed her eyes, but her tears wouldn't stop.

Her shoulders had begun to shake again.

Across the room, Kirsten had gone very still. His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

The Priest either didn't notice or didn't care.

***

Sylia watched the scene unfold on her magical screen, half amused and half enraged. They had just averted an apocalypse. All could have been lost within mere hours had they allowed the "child" to be delivered.

Her gaze hardened upon Kirsten's fiancée, who had brought this calamity upon them and endangered them all with that false child of hers. Sylia had to make preparations for the abomination Jeany intended to bring into their world.

The God disguised as a Priest was certainly managing the matter with remarkable composure, preventing sheer panic from spreading. Thanks to his efficiency, they could proceed with their next plans without interference.

After all, they still required Jeany and Kirsten as bait for corrupted Gods and Celestials. Those two were far too perfectly suited for that role to be discarded, despite the considerable risks.

Sylia clenched her teeth, truly incensed. To think that a Goddess would not only possess the body of Kirsten's fiancée but also summon a highly corrupted Calamity Disaster Monster into a Magirian's form.

The loathsome Fallen Deity had even dared to call a child the very thing capable of bringing ruin to the continent within mere days, as it transformed into a giant Abominy.

The contamination would be so vast that they would be forced to sink half this world to the Abyss.

Calamity Disaster Monsters already fed upon Souls, which was the reason they had been banned in the first place. Their name had been bestowed by the Dark Lord in person and was chosen by him to emphasize the extreme danger they posed.

Now, if such a creature were to be sent here, where corruption and Malevolence had already reached unprecedented levels, the result would be catastrophic.

The Abominy born from that thing would devour Souls at an even faster rate, growing to the point of threatening any world connected to this one. Such was the disastrous nature of the situation.

Seeing Kirsten fret over his "child," when he must have known it was nothing good, made her truly sick.

She would make them pay—both of them.

But first, they would help her ensnare a few corrupted Gods and Celestials.

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