Chapter 05

A group of masked black-clad figures surrounded them, each gripping at least ten crossbows.

The hunter girl startled, quickly aiming her bow at one attacker. But the numbers were hopelessly uneven.

"Don't get so worked up," the leader waved dismissively.

"Leave the Cockatrice corpse and scram. I'll spare your lives."

"Who are these people?" Leon asked.

"Bounty hunters who steal others' kills," Naya whispered. "I can't believe they're this brazen near town."

"Oh? You think you can take this rooster? Don't even dream of it."

"Exactly!" Naya deliberately raised her voice, sounding confident. "Leon just soloed the Cockatrice. I'd advise against picking a fight. In a real battle, who knows who'd win?"

"So what? We have over a dozen men! One of you is petrified, another poisoned. And among the three left, there's an unarmed Priestess. What can she do?"

"Not three—four!"

A voice suddenly rang out from nearby!

Everyone instinctively turned. On a rock stood a lively girl with golden hair in a high ponytail. She wore gleaming silver-white armor and carried a shield half her height.

A female knight? Her armor was blindingly bright.

"Just passing by, and I stumble upon scum like you," she said disdainfully, arms crossed. Arrogance dripped from her words.

The bounty hunters exchanged glances. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled, chin lifted proudly. "Holy Knight Aire of the Aeon Sect! Executing justice in Aio's name!"

"Ha! I've seen many 'just' fools like you! Their end was always—"

The bandit's words died mid-sentence. A shimmering silver hand materialized from nowhere, slapping all ten hunters together! It slammed them into the ground—instant wipeout!

"Huh? What was that!?" Naya, also an Aeon Sect Priestess, was genuinely startled.

"What was that just now?" the thief girl gasped. "Magic?"

Impossible. Everyone knew magic vanished a decade ago in the calamity.

"A miracle of Aio," Aire said lightly, jumping down from the rock.

Ignoring the unconscious thugs, she strode straight to Naya and pulled her into an intimate hug. "So nice. Seeing an Aio Priestess out here is like seeing family."

Naya's face pressed against Aire's prominent chest plate, utterly bewildered. "You said you're? A Holy Knight of Aio?"

"Yes! I'm a Holy Knight recently trained by the sect using the Holy Bible's Light Fragment! Spreading miracles in Aio's name!"

"The Bible? The sect recovered it?" Naya could barely believe her ears. Legends said the Bible recording Aio's essence was seized by Sorcerers. Lost for a century—now found?

Aire addressed everyone: "Only a fragment remains. But—you just witnessed Aio's power! Aio is real. The one true god!"

"S...eems... true..." the thief girl mumbled, still dazed from the miracle. Seeing is believing; no one argued.

After the Magic Empire's fall ten years ago, magic disappeared. Churches once crushed by Sorcerers finally revived. Sects worshipping various gods sprang up overnight. The largest were the Angelic Faith, devoted to the Mercurial Deity, and the rising Aeon Sect—gaining prominence through active Priestesses. Rumors claimed the second prince poured massive funds into training them.

"I... have a younger sister. Thirteen. Can she become an Aio Priestess?" the hunter girl asked.

"Of course. Bring her to Dawn City to find Father Mans," Aire replied.

They'd almost forgotten someone. Naya knelt beside the petrified warrior boy, hurriedly casting the Healing Art to cleanse his curse.

Purifying curses takes time—impossible mid-battle.

"Time's up. I've got a mission," Aire waved goodbye. "Fate will bring us together again."

Her energetic figure gradually faded from view. Judging by the direction, she seemed headed for Roaring Mountain Town too.

To be continued.