TFSAWE - Chapter 262: Divine Power (Patreon)

"Step aside!"

With a thud, Carl's body rolled on the ground. Someone who was running with both hands full of utensils from the altar had pushed Carl aside, claiming that he was in the way. It wasn't just that person. Those who were chasing after him also held relics and paintings in their hands. There were even those who tore down the curtains.

[Swoosh!]

One of them stumbled and fell, spilling the contents of his pockets onto the ground. Perhaps he had been plundering the collection box. The gleaming coins rolled aimlessly on the ground.

"No!"

The fallen man desperately reached out toward the rolling coins. But then he realized that he couldn't find those coins. They were covered by a brighter golden light.

"Oh..."

Before he could even scream, the golden light engulfed the man. He became a part of the divine. Carl, who was watching this scene, scanned his surroundings with a pale, disgusted face.

A little further away, Iris was watching him with her mouth covered. Elderly and young children who couldn't escape were clinging to each other, sobbing. The light that had enveloped the man a moment ago poured out to comfort them, but the golden light bounced off as if hitting a mirror.

"The divine power."

Carl bit his lip. It was a light that even the higher-ranked clergy couldn't stop. Carl, who had weak divine power, hadn't even thought of blocking it from the beginning. However, Iris not only protected herself but also those who were holding onto her.

"Damn woman."

Why did she cry and complain about not being able to use that divine power? Carl looked at the people cowering behind Iris without doing anything. The thought of using such precious divine power for those trashy individuals twisted Carl's insides.

It belongs to him. It should be used for his own sake.

Recalling the time when Iberina used her divine power exclusively for him, Carl approached Iris. His clothes, covered in dirt and dust, no longer bore the dignity of a high-ranking clergy.

Iris looked up at the sky with a fearful face, then noticed Carl and approached him. As the blue light surrounding Iris engulfed even Carl, the golden light that poured down on him disappeared. Despite having narrowly escaped death, Carl's face showed no joy. Without realizing it, Iris asked him.

"Where, where were you when the Holy Maiden. Where were you before the Holy Maiden came to the temple?"

Carl couldn't fathom what Iris was saying with such suddenness. Iris, unable to contain her excitement, continued speaking to Carl.

"Perhaps the saintess could be our sister! Before Mother passed away, she told me that there was a sister in the ancestral hall. This, um, phenomenon could be evidence! Maybe the saintess is my sister, and that's why she came to me, seeking someone with a similar phenomenon..."

"Ivette? Hans? The kingdom they lived in."

"That's right!"

As Carl uttered the names of his parents, Iris' eyes widened. Moreover, Carl accurately mentioned the name of the kingdom where Iris' parents supposedly resided.

Carl was as astonished as Iris, if not more. After bringing Evelina, he had informed her that her parents had sold her for money, allowing her to focus solely on the ancestral hall. Conversely, he had told her parents that Evelina regarded them with embarrassment and no longer wished to meet them.

Although her parents pretended to accept the money Carl pretended to give them, they had evaded it completely and begged him to let them meet Evelina. That was when Carl had decided to kill them, but it seemed like they had somehow caught on and disappeared without a trace. Little did he expect Evelina's family to show up here now.

Carl reminisced about Evelina when she first arrived at the ancestral hall as a child. She had cried, searching for her parents even in the arms of the attendants. And whenever the temple documents she read mentioned issues concerning other people's families, she would slow down her reading speed, pretending not to care.

"Where are your parents?"

"They both passed away. Father to the demons, and Mother to illness. Damn!"

Before Iris could finish her sentence, Carl grabbed her wrist. Iris let out a scream, unable to push Carl away.

"This woman's inability to properly utilize her powers could be helpful at this very moment."

Even though he had considered abandoning himself, the family she had yearned for was here.

This was the opening he could extend to Evelina.