"Is this some kind of new joke?" the king inquired, a genuine trace of amusement pying on his lips. Seated upon his ornate throne, he graciously granted the pope an audience. His attire was exquisite, consisting of a bck tunic vishly adorned with delicate gold threads along its sides. Draped across his shoulders was a luxuriously soft cape fashioned from the pelt of a sin beast. Although his visage appeared youthful, his loyal guards were well aware that he was approaching his thirties.

  Despite his regal opulence, the king was renowned for his humility among those within and around his realm. In spite of his kingly stature, he regarded himself as a man first and foremost. He never hesitated to extend a helping hand to those in distress, readily disembarking his carriage to aid a fallen dy. Yet, this noble act from the prince unwittingly spawned a peculiar trend, with dies "falling" every time his carriage passed. Subsequently, he ceased this gesture to avoid being the catalyst for such mischievous charades. More such trivialities in his youth turned him into the man he is today.

  "If it is indeed a joke, it's quite effective," he mused, his eyes crinkling with said amusement. He knows the pope out of all people would be the religious one, but to ask for an audience with him just to spout about how one of these messengers from his faith descending from the skies? Perhaps they need a new pope, this one is getting old.

  "Your highness, if you would kindly listen..."

  However, even the king's humility had its limits. King Killian Otto of Asterin was not a man who pced his faith in ethereal deities. Although he allowed the church to practice their beliefs, he himself believed solely in the diligent toil of humanity. He was a man of practicality, who relied on tangible results. Not a person of faith, but a person of belief still. He was a good king,

  Was.

  The saga began in the aftermath of a territorial conflict, a harrowing war that erupted between the kingdom and its neighboring realm, the enigmatic and nameless dominion of the demons. Rather than bestowing a proper title upon their nds, the denizens simply accepted being referred to as "Demon Country" by the popuce of either kingdom. Why? Who knows? What goes on in the horned head of those walking heresies.

  Motivated by an insatiable hunger for power, fueled by sweet encouraging words from the church, the human king dispatched his forces to engage in warfare, blindly fixated on “safeguarding” the nds his forefathers had id cim to.

  Little did he realize that this decision marked the beginning of his undoing.

  The demons, resilient in their defense, emerged victorious from the conflict brought to their doorstep, thus unveiling a new, formidable ruler to lead them, born from the chaos the humans themself wrought.

  Moreover, the king's audacity further ignited the ire of the ancient dragon Thaumiel, as he brazenly encroached upon the creature's sanctuary to establish his encampment throughout the year-long strife. And so, Killian, the human king, found himself overwhelmingly outmatched by the circumstances he had foolishly courted.

  The wedding would be most awkward.

  "Listen? To what? To anymore of your talk of some god high above in those clou-"

  Suddenly, a soft voice, like a gentle breeze, rudely jolted the king from his outburst.

  "Um...hello?" the voice delicately penetrated his consciousness, accompanied by the presence of a radiant maiden adorned with a halo and mystical wings. Clearly burdened by some quandary, she unwittingly interrupted their solemn gathering, peeking her head from behind the door to his throne room.

  Realizing her unintentional intrusion, the maiden rapidly apologized before quietly shutting the door she had entered through. The king and his retinue were left stupefied, their minds struggling to comprehend the ethereal sight that had confronted them. They blinked in disbelief, momentarily questioning the heathy state of their own eyes.

  "Your Highness, do you still believe my words to be mere jest?" The pope's statement resounded in the room, urging the king and his astonished guards to reconcile with the reality before them.

  "She is undeniably an angel, both in appearance and in heart," the pope continued, reaffirming his conviction. He had borne witness to her celestial essence firsthand and bore conviction in his words, after all.

  ??

  Earlier...

  Maple was utterly confused as she asked, "Eh? Meeting the king? Like, right now?"

  Regaining her composure, she proceeded to hand the old man with the blue staff some potions. She always carried plenty, just in case she encountered a rare event, much like the one she was experiencing now, or so she had believed. And by plenty, she meant the gamer's version of plenty.

  A few hundreds.

  Of Bulks.

  Not individual potions.

  "Hmm..." Maple seemed bothered as a menu popped up when she handed the potions to heal the child, and to the old man, who was now examining her and the potions closely. Maybe now his brain decided to address the elephant in the market.

  "..."

  A new title: 《Kind-Hearted》.

  However, that wasn't the source of her unease. Another quest menu popped up, indicating a new mission. The reward seemed to be an upgraded version of 《Loving Sacrifice》.

  The quest was titled 「Unyielding Compassion」. Probably, the name of the new skill too.

  To complete it, she had to Solve the conflict of the Fallen Angel Lucifer, whatever that means.

  "Woahhhh..." Maple couldn't help but feel excited. She now had two quests simultaneously. She was so thrilled that she asked the pope if he knew the whereabouts of Lucifer, seeing how advanced the NPCs are now, it might just lead her straight to this boss.

  "A-a Fallen Angel???!!!" the pope yelped with a worried expression, which quickly turned serious. "....We must first present you to the king!" He coughed right after, still contempting how to treat a king to be higher than an angel in rank, or the opposite and bring the king to the divine one. He settled for the one that seemed easier to achieve.

  Maple frowned but eventually gave in. It was probably part of the first quest, after all.

  ??

  Present time...

  "I must finish this quest quickly!" Maple panicked, gncing at the in-game time. The next event was about to begin, and she have to do her homework after that!

  "Ummmm...." she pondered for a moment and decided to message Sally.

  However, Sally was not avaible.

  Even when the event is starting? That's weird.

  Maybe she can reset the quest?

  "What?" Maple tapped the logout button but found it missing, leaving an empty little corner on the system interface.

  She frantically searched for it, along with her friends and even her loyal pet turtle, Syrup.

  "Is this quest really trapping pyers in an entire quest map?" she wondered, still full of doubt. After all, she could still access her game menu, but with the removal of the logout button....

  ".......Emergency logout!" Maple yelped. It was her st resort if anything went wrong—a command that immediately disconnected her from the game.

  Or it was supposed to. As, nothing happened.

  As panic consumed her, she felt a wave of desperation wash over her. She couldn't simply log out; there had to be another way. An idea crossed her mind, causing her gaze to fixate solemnly on the quest menu.

  Lost in her thoughts, she stood outside the throne room as instructed by the pope. Time seemed to drag on endlessly, but her curiosity gnawed at her relentlessly. Without thinking, her hand instinctively reached for the door handle and grasped it firmly.

  With a slow and cautious movement, she pushed open the door, revealing an apparently empty throne room. Tentatively, she called out, "Um...hello?" The door creaked open further as she peered inside.

  Suddenly, all eyes turned towards her— the king, the pope, the royal knights. The disbelief in their gazes was palpable, and her heart skipped a beat. Overwhelmed by panic, she blurted out an apology, desperately smming the door shut behind her.

  Inside her mind, an internal scream echoed. 'Ahhhhh!' she cried, hands csping her head in distress. Then again, she did just smmed the door on the king, his own door at that. Her thoughts spiraled, imagining a quest failure or something of the same level. A king NPC is still a King, no?

  "I messed up..." she whispered, rubbing her head, her body now huddled in a crouching position in front of the closed door.

  Suddenly, a voice broke through her self-condemnation. "Out of the way, I'm carrying an urgent message for the King!" Startled, she excimed, "Gah!" her wings unfurling into a full stretch.

  Perplexed, a man approached her. Adorned in a worn wooden saddle and dressed in dark garments, he seemed puzzled by the situation. Nevertheless, determination burned within him, and he pressed forward without hesitation. Not even an angelic figure could deter him from delivering this urgent message to the king.

  It was his entire purpose as the royal courier after all.

  As soon as the man entered the room, the door smmed shut abruptly, likely closed either by the man himself or the knights stationed nearby. However, this minor obstacle did not deter Maple from her eavesdropping intentions. She delicately pressed her right ear against the doors, straining to catch every word. Amidst the muffled conversation within, she managed to make out a few fragments...

  "The kingdom is under attack?!" Maple gasped, taken aback by the shocking revetion. Yet, she swiftly regained her composure.

  "Could this be connected to the quest?" Maple pondered, thoughts racing through her mind. Without hesitation, she came up with an immediate response. "It's time to gain some experience!" she excimed, forgetting her problems already.

  Footsteps echoed, followed by the sound of a window being opened. And without hesitation, Maple vanished into thin air.

  Minutes ter, the pope burst out of the room, desperately searching for Maple, who had mysteriously disappeared. "Where is Her Radiance!?" he called out to a passing maid, his tone sounding rather peculiar.

  The maid paused her sweeping of a dusty knight statue and turned to face the pope. Without a moment's hesitation and professional gusto, she pointed directly towards an open window behind him. As the pope spun around, he noticed the open window and furrowed his brow, clutching his head as if attempting to contain a scream.

  But after a brief period of internal struggle, a calm smile spread across his face. He had unraveled the mystery. The king, who had left the throne room just moments before, was undoubtedly intrigued by the maiden he had just encountered before.

  Gracefully, the pope approached the king, gently addressing him. "Your Highness, didn't you wish to verify her existence? Let's witness it," he proposed, extending an invitation for the king to follow, who have grown quite tired of his overdone way of talking.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  .

  Maple gazed in awe at the vast army amassed outside the city's southern stone wall. It was a sight to behold—countless humans, not demons, were attacking. This unusual turn of events suggested that the culprits were not affiliated with the demon kingdom.

  Why?

  "What on earth is happening?" Maple wondered aloud, activating her skill. "Anyway, I need to protect this pce, right?" Landing atop the protective city walls, her wings, halo, and the comforting aura of sacred light faded away, repced by an eerie transformation.

  Dark, metallic appendages materialized across her body—《Machine God》.

  "All Guns Port Out!" she commanded, extending her right arm and directing it towards the sea of enemy soldiers. With a swift motion, she unleashed her arsenal of weapons and opened fire.

  She's in a hurry, after all.

  ??

  The imperial soldier, one among the thousands relentlessly assaulting the kingdom, anxiously tugged at the sleeve of his commanding general, like a child trying to get the attention of his father. With a perplexed expression, he gestured towards the sky.

  "E-excuse me, General," he stammered, "but umm..." he pointed to the top of the high third yer of the castle town's wall, or is it to the figure falling down from the wall?

  In response, the commander let out an exasperated sigh and swiftly reprimanded the young soldier with a gentle knock on the head.

  "Are you seriously asking me that?" the commander snapped. "Return to your position immediately! You little wan-"

  Before he could finish, a deafening and peculiar hum reverberated through the air, abruptly halting the verbal exchange. The soldiers' attention was drawn upwards, searching for the source of the sound.

  "What in the world?" the commander muttered.

  MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

  Is that.......a second sun?

  In that moment, a massive beam effortlessly swept across the battlefield like a deadly broom of light.