News came from Aili Town that the pagan organization there was becoming increasingly rampant, and the church was asked to send someone to deal with it.

  Under the aftermath of that vampire incident, all these strange and bizarre things were shrouded in a layer of terror, as if the back could kill the sky at any time. All officials, especially the emperor's nerves, were tight like a tightened string, and any slight movement would immediately make a loud noise. In this situation, anything related to heresy or monsters would naturally require the presence of clergy to exorcise evil spirits.

  This matter naturally fell on Asa's head. Firstly, because of the Emperor's trust, and secondly, due to Bishop Ronis' recommendation and operation.

  Bishop Ronnis immediately summoned Asa to the Magic Academy and assigned him a task.

  "After your last achievement, I had expressed my intention to promote you to the position of High Priest to the other High Priests, but they were all opposed to it, especially Cuthbert, who strongly objected. It's not surprising, though - their positions were earned through years of hard work at the Magic Academy, and seeing someone as young and inexperienced as you suddenly on an equal footing with them is indeed difficult to accept. I can directly appoint you as a Priest, but promoting you to High Priest requires me and the three High Priests to jointly recommend you to the Church."

  "So this is your good chance. The heretics in Aili are making a big fuss, seemingly because something happened in the Forest of Whispering Voices. You should be more suitable to handle this matter. If you can clean up those heretics neatly and efficiently, I recommend that you become the High Priest. No one else will be able to object then."

  A Sa frowned, but now this Shinto priest was getting started and felt extremely troublesome. Adding another "big" word in front of it was really a bit overwhelming.

  "As long as you're a high priest, I can also lay my cards on the table with the spirits."

  "What's with those guys?" Asad had almost forgotten about them, the only one he still remembered was the spirit girl who nearly got choked to death by him.

  "Probably now Wang is the only city on the entire continent that doesn't have a wanted poster of you. I've already had people from the Adventurer's Guild and Thief's Guild collect your wanted posters, and also informed them to stop accepting any more bounties on you." Bishop Ronis took out over ten portraits of Asa from his drawer.

  Asa picked up a portrait and saw his wanted poster for the first time. The elves' hands were very skilled, with fine lines that accurately outlined his appearance. Asa couldn't help but nod in admiration: "It's well-drawn, at least better-looking than myself."

  "As long as your identity can be recognized by the Vatican, then the wanted notice for the spirits will be equivalent to a waste of paper."

  The influence of the Church of Light is like a giant beast compared to the Spirit Clan, which is just a small rabbit. Even if the Spirit Clan puts out all its pitiful wealth as a reward to hunt down a high-ranking official of the church, adventurers and bounty hunters would rather go rob them directly.

  "When the time comes, I can propose to the spirits again that they join our alliance, and they will have no choice but to accept. According to their nature, they originally disdain working with humans. However, you are indispensable to them, and if they can't capture you, they can only help you and stand with you. With the addition of the spirit tribe, our strength will increase greatly, and together with the surrounding countries and empires, we can demand that the church support us against the Death Spirit Association, and the church will no longer be able to ignore us."

  "Oh, I see." Asa nodded, although it was a bit complicated, but he finally understood.

  "This task is very important, so I plan to let Rodhart and you go together to assist you in completing this task."

  "Oh? Has he come back already?" Asa hadn't seen him for a long time. Although they were indeed friends and had been through thick and thin together, Asa always felt that they didn't quite get along.

  "He has been doing quite well in other places, dealing with heretics. He is a capable and promising young man who can be of great help to you. By the way, last time the local official and imperial envoy were killed by heretics in Aili, you might as well take care of that while you're at it. That would add another achievement to your political capital."

  Asa looked at Archbishop Ronis calmly and silently, recalling that he had indeed never told him about the Imperial Envoy case. For some reason, however, the archbishop seemed very confident that this sensational unsolved case of the empire could be solved as easily as eating a bun. He asked tentatively: "It's been so long since then, and there are no leads, I suppose it's unlikely to catch the killer now?"

  "This I naturally know." Bishop Ronis smiled inscrutably. "Finding one is not easy to find, but you can create one. Anyway, there are so many pagans there, find a few suitable targets, fabricate some suitable stories and evidence, that would be another great achievement."

  "Oh, I see." Asa nodded.

  "You're not quite suited to handle these matters. I'll have a word with Lord Hart, he'll arrange things properly." Bishop Ronnis furrowed his brow and looked at Asa, "What's wrong? I've noticed you seem rather distracted lately."

  "No... I'm probably just a bit tired. Anyway, you can discuss the details with Rodhart, I have something else to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

  After leaving Bishop Ronis, Asa came directly to the library's data room. What he was more interested in than Bishop Ronis' plan was here.

  However, from noon to afternoon, he had searched until his shoulders ached, and Arsa only found the name 'Vedrina T. Grefenhart' three times in the thick files and records.

  However, this does not explain anything. All three are the same, and they are all recorded in the student roster of the Magic Academy. This name is placed together with countless other names, without any noticeable features, only to prove that the Magic Academy has indeed had this person before. But there is no information about what this person did here or what kind of experience he had.

  No matter what, a former student of the prestigious Magic Academy who later became a lich would not be unknown. This probably only explains that most of her records in the Magic Academy were deleted. Becoming an undead necromancer is indeed not something worth commemorating.

  Asa put down the dusty book, shaking her sore neck and arm. She came to the library's data room to see what kind of person that strange classmate was before, but unexpectedly gained nothing, extremely disappointed.

  Although it's not a long time ago, twenty years should be someone who knows that in the Magic Academy, there are many white-haired and wrinkled faces who still have to bow respectfully when they see him. However, Asa didn't dare to ask questions randomly. This might be a taboo topic in the Magic Academy, if he asked recklessly, others might report it to Archbishop Ronis, which would be troublesome. It seems that anything related to Vidina can make the archbishop very sensitive. If he knew that his dangerous classmate had contacted him and even invited him to join, the lightest result would be a long lecture and admonition.

  But curiosity was like a restless cat scratching in her mind. At this critical moment, Marquis appeared in the data room, he came to bid farewell to Bishop Ronis, he would travel again in two days and came to say hello to Asa by the way.

  Asa immediately realized that this was absolutely a suitable person to ask. The marquis was also a famous figure in the Magic Academy twenty years ago, and he didn't seem like someone who would go to report to the Archbishop either.

  "How did you know this name?" The Marquis looked surprised after hearing Asa's words and asked.

  "Ah... I just occasionally heard that she's a very interesting person, so I came to check it out. Unexpectedly, I couldn't find anything. Do you know anything about her? Can you tell me?"

  The marquis did not answer, but only let out a long sigh. This expression was extremely rare for someone as full of vitality and spirit as him. He walked over to the bookshelf, searched through the dense rows of books, and pulled out one volume.

  At first glance, this was just an extremely ordinary theological book. Students of the Magic Academy had to study such things. The thick layer of dust on the cover indicated that no one had flipped through it for many years. The marquis blew off the dust and turned to a page with an illustration.

  The illustration is a half-naked image of the Virgin. The engravers undoubtedly poured much heart and soul into this great image, with lines that are extremely fine and beautiful. Mary's face is full of kindness and gentle expression, vividly lifelike.

  Asa didn't understand what connection this Holy Mother icon could have with a witch, but saw the marquis flip over the illustration.

  The back of the illustration was originally blank, probably out of respect for the Virgin Mary, no lead type was printed on her back. And in this originally reverent blank area, there is a painting. It's a side profile portrait of a woman. It seems to be drawn with a pencil or charcoal, the lines are not very fine, and the paper has already turned yellow due to its age. Just such a simple drawing, but Asa was shocked as soon as he saw it.

  The holy and delicate carvings on the front are compared with this painting, which immediately makes people feel that it is just a stupid thing made of wood and iron blocks stained with ink and pressed to leave marks.

  Those black lines perfectly form a woman's beautiful image and charm, even with an elegant and lively temperament. The carbon ink on the white paper doesn't have the slightest idle or useless place, every trace is strongly expressing this woman's extraordinary beauty.

  Just like classical sculptures, the proportions of her body are perfect. Her facial features are clear and distinct, yet gentle and soft as water. Her long hair is scattered behind her back, and although it's rough charcoal, you can feel the softness and smoothness of her hair. These already beautiful places are combined together with a broader and deeper sense of harmony, and anyone who sees her will be shocked and have no way to escape.

  This beauty is the highest in the mundane world, enough to make any man surrender and infatuated, and women cannot help but suppress their jealous hearts with admiration and respect. This painting does not depict the woman's frontal features, but just this profile is enough to make all viewers fall head over heels.

  "This was me when I was young, painted twenty years ago." The marquis's eyes were filled with a radiant glow of youth, nostalgic and sentimental.

  "......It's really too beautiful." Asa sighed in admiration. He was amazed at the beauty of the woman, and also admired the Marquis' ability to express such a beautiful hand. Of course, he himself didn't understand anything about painting or art, but as soon as he saw this painting, he felt shocked, although he also felt a little regretful. "But why not paint her full face, so we can't see what she looks like."

  "With these clumsy hands, corrupted by worldly desires and lust, how can I possibly capture her otherworldly beauty?" The marquis gazed at this youthful work, his voice as enchanting and intoxicating as a young man's, lost in emotions.

  "You must be very fond of this woman." Asa nodded, he could feel the emotions in every stroke of the marquis's brush. Such a stunning beauty was indeed worthy of the marquis's infatuation.

  "I once proposed to her, using 99999 flowers of every kind I could gather to spell out 'I love you' on the outskirts of the capital. The Marquis's eyes, deep and beautiful under his two black eyebrows, shone with a light that was like wine brewed from memories, enough to make any woman who dared to look directly at him drunk. And if one were to imagine this pair of eyes without the faint crow's feet at the corners, combined with the Marquis's somewhat androgynous beauty, even Asa suspected that not a few men would fall for him back in his youth."

  "Every kind of flower? 99,999 flowers? Your spirit is really good!"

  "I'm just resentful that my spirit isn't good enough, and I couldn't complete this task entirely on my own. It took mobilizing almost all the florists in the country, using a month's time, and spending thousands of gold coins. The characters had to be pieced together by riding a horse along the strokes before they could be clearly seen. But she just smiled when she saw them. You know, it was this smile that made me feel like everything was worth it."

  Asa was shocked in this legendary and poetic romance, twenty years ago, to experience the beauty of that peerless beauty and the marquis's equally peerless pursuit. After a moment of stunned silence, he finally remembered what he had originally wanted to ask. "But what does such a beauty have to do with Vidyana? Could it be...?" Could it be that his own classmate was jealous of this beauty's looks and harmed her or ruined her appearance? Based on Vidyana's identity, Asa subconsciously arrived at this sinister and vicious conclusion.

  The marquis's words were gentle: "The person in the painting is her, my classmate from 20 years ago at Magic Academy, Wang Du, no, the number one beauty, Vidyana T. Grefenhart."

  The muscles around his mouth completely lost control, Asa's mouth opened wide and couldn't be closed, and his eyeballs almost fell out along with his tongue and chin.

  A Sa felt that his brain had become like the miscellaneous porridge in Ou Fu City, rolling and boiling with a strong flavor yet slippery and unclear. The two extreme impressions were difficult to reconcile no matter how hard he tried to use his rational thinking. He couldn't connect this elegant and unparalleled woman with that ugly and terrifying witch. He had once torn off her mask in the Whispering Woods and seen her skull-like, withered, and disgusting half-face, yet the profile on this painting was indeed breathtakingly beautiful. On one hand, she was an angel in the mortal world; on the other hand, she was a living devil.

  "What's wrong?" The marquis asked him with an overcast expression.

  Asa took a deep breath to calm her emotions and words, asking: "What happened to this person afterwards? What events occurred, why had she never heard of someone like that before, and yet in the records of the Magic Academy, only one name could be found without any data?"

  The marquis sighed and began to recount the story of his beloved in a nostalgic tone: "She was a member of the royal family. But for someone like her, any title or status was meaningless. In terms of magical talent, she was a rare genius who appeared only once in a century, advancing from junior magician to intermediate in just one month. As for intelligence, she was exceptionally brilliant, never participating in theological debates, and I, the debate champion, had never won against her in private debates. She said she had already read all the theological and philosophical works and found them to be nonsense. But compared to her beauty and elegance, these talents were insignificant, mere trifles. At that time, all the most outstanding heroes of the country were captivated by her charm, willing to risk life and limb for a single smile. However, she seemed to focus solely on seeking truth and mastering magic. Due to her exceptional talent, even the Archbishop Ronis took her as his disciple in an unprecedented move. At just over twenty years old, she was about to be promoted to Royal Chief Scholar." The marquis's voice suddenly dropped, and the legendary tale came to an abrupt end. "But then, she suddenly died."

  "Dead? How did he die?" Asa asked. However, he knew that it shouldn't be death, but probably became a lich and joined the undead guild.

  "It's not very clear. I just returned from the Sundfirth Mountains and heard that she had died. Bishop Ronnis announced that she had violated the taboos of the Magic Academy, conducting a forbidden spell experiment on her own, which ended in failure and death. The aftermath was severe, I recall that even the Grand Cathedral was completely destroyed, nearly half of the Magic Academy's buildings were reduced to rubble, and many lives were lost. Probably to protect the reputation of the Church and the Imperial Family, Bishop Ronnis and the Emperor at the time ordered all her materials to be destroyed, and issued a ban, strictly forbidding any further discussion about this person."

  Asa suddenly remembered the lament that Bishop Ronis had once expressed, a lament for someone who had strayed from the path. It turned out that person was her. But the reasons and process behind it were now unknowable.

  "Ah Sa asked: "What were you doing running to the Sand Fissure Mountains at that time?"

  "I'm going to find a poisonous dragon flower that only blooms there. It's the most beautiful flower on the continent, and legend has it that if you propose with this flower, no girl can resist."

  "So you're going to get it..."

  "After seeing the countless flowers I had prepared for her, she said that these were all brought out by others' hands and many people in the world have seen them. She wanted to see the legendary poisonous dragon flower, so I went to the Sand Fissure Mountains to find it."

  "Unable to help himself, Ah Sa sighed: 'To propose to a woman alone and run there by yourself, even I can only say you have a problem with your brain.'"

  The Sandwraith Mountains are the most perilous region on the continent. Even with the presence of two-legged flying dragons and wild aurochs, the poisonous insect-infested lizard swamps there make it a haven compared to this place. Not even the top adventurers and travelers on the continent dare to set foot in that place easily.

  "It took me almost a year to cross the barbaric highlands and enter the Sandfiss Mountains, searching for that flower. I nearly died several times along the way, but finally found it. I plucked the flower and used ice magic to seal it in frost to preserve it. However, when I returned to the Magic Academy, all I saw was a scene of devastation, not even her corpse remained... After hearing about her death, I stood there in the ruins for three days, stunned. The flower lost its icy protection, exposed to the mundane air, and withered away completely in my arms..." The Marquis fell silent, lost in his final memories.

  Asa also fell silent along with the Marquis, half because of his resonance with the Marquis' sorrow, and half because a strong thought had emerged in his mind. The transmission scroll left by Vedenina was still in Sandru's large house, he wanted to go to Deya Valley to see this legendary classmate, and ask her personally what made her willing to give up such unparalleled beauty, choosing to become an undead monster that wasn't even qualified to be ugly.

  If Marquis knew that she didn't die but became a witch, what would be his reaction and what would he do? Asa couldn't help but take a glance at the Marquis.

  The Marquis's expression, immersed in memories, was not sorrowful, but had transcended sorrow to a kind of dead stillness and bewilderment. He remained silent for a while, then softly said, "Goodbye, I'm leaving." And turned away.

  Watching his back, Asa suppressed the urge to call out to him and tell him the truth. Maybe he didn't know what was best for him after all.

  Back in the big house, Asa hesitated for a moment and still didn't go get that scroll, but instead asked Sandru: "Did you know Vedenina before she became a witch?"

  "Understood." Shandru nodded weakly.

  "So tell me why she came to the Death Knight's Guild and became a Lich..."

  Shandru's eyes suddenly lifted and looked at Asa. The black and white eyes didn't have any dazzling light, but a majestic aura, however, with just one look, Asa immediately stopped talking unconsciously.

  "I find you're getting more and more annoying, what's the point of prying into other people's private business?" Shandru's tone and expression weren't severe, seemingly no different from usual, but Asa felt quite uneasy.

  "I'm just curious..."

  "Some things are better left unknown." Sandru said lightly, closing his eyes as he sat on his simple wooden bed.