Chapter 890: Your Holiness… Isabella
Isabella was overwhelmed seeing the city again.
In a single year — barely a year — the church, which had been humanity’s only credible hope against the demons, had become an obstacle to the human race’s survival in the Battle of Divine Will. She turned it over in her mind as Maggie made her approach, and could not quite make it feel real.
She had lived here a long time. She was not, in the end, sentimentally attached to it. The teachings of His Holiness O’Brien had stayed with her through everything: results matter more than process. If humanity could not defeat the demons, all their efforts amounted to nothing. She had believed this for as long as she could remember.
She had followed it as a guiding principle, not a comfort. She had chosen to support Zero rather than Archbishop Mayne because the soul swallower had shown more potential in defeating the demons. When Zero lost to Roland Wimbledon, she had transferred her service to the king. If even now she encountered someone more capable than Roland, she would make the same choice again without hesitation. This was not inconstancy — it was the only coherent position. The continuation of the human race outweighed any personal allegiance.
She knew this. She believed it.
And yet.
Something persisted in her, small and resistant to logic, and she had not understood what it was until the city came into view below her. Now she recognized it.
She had been grieving Zero.
All this time, without naming it, she had been grieving.
The Pure Witches had always felt the distance between themselves and Zero, who had lived for more than two hundred years — a gulf of time and authority that some of the younger ones resented as arbitrary mood shifts from a woman too old to be questioned. Isabella had never experienced it that way. She had gotten along with Zero more honestly than she had with most people. Where other Pure Witches had quietly planned for what the Battle of Divine Will might yield them personally, Zero had been direct and uncompromising in her commitments. More straightforward. More willing to be what she claimed to be.
Isabella had thought of herself as fundamentally an assistant — someone whose nature inclined her to support rather than lead. Zero had been a leader. But she had begun to suspect, lately, that this difference wasn’t temperament at all. It was what two hundred years of accumulated weight did to a person who refused to stop caring.
If Zero had met Roland ten years earlier.
The city might have looked very different.
But everything had happened too late.
After two passes in the sky, Maggie landed outside the city gates. The camp was there, organized and orderly.
“We’re here. Let’s go,” said Agatha, from behind her.
Isabella nodded and dropped off the beast. A waiting soldier stepped forward immediately. “Lady Edith is expecting you in the tent. Please follow me.”
Roland had sent Maggie to bring both her and the Ice Witch, and had made his terms clear: Isabella was to operate under the watch of another witch for the duration of her “prison term.” She had accepted this without complaint — it was already far more generous than she had any reason to expect. No God’s Locket of Retribution around her neck, no shackles. Even the clothes they’d given her were new.
Inside the tent, a woman stood behind a desk and smiled as they entered. “I’m Edith Kant, a member of the Ministry of Defense, and temporary commander of the Holy City campaign.”
Good-looking. Composed. Genuinely composed, not performing it. Isabella took her measure quickly. “I assumed you would secure the Hermes Plateau before moving on the old city.”
“That was the original plan.” Edith gave a concise summary of what had changed. “His Majesty’s standing order is to ensure the safety of the monasteries — which isn’t difficult. The more complex problem is how to evacuate the orphans in an orderly way. They were raised entirely within the church. I suspect forcing them out would create more problems than it solved.” She paused. “His Majesty indicated before the expedition that he had assigned this task to you. I expect you know a way.”
Isabella’s brow furrowed. “Wait — you came through Cloud Ladder?”
“Yes. Is that significant?”
“Cloud Ladder is strategically critical. It’s always been guarded.” She shook her head slightly. “Sylvie didn’t find anything unusual there?”
“Nothing. The merchants described it as a little-known smuggling route.”
“The church has been based here for centuries and accounts for every passage into the city not covered by the walls.” Isabella’s voice was flat and certain. “They didn’t overlook Cloud Ladder. They allowed the smugglers to operate there deliberately — and they maintained hidden sentry posts in the natural limestone formations in the mountain. That’s why the merchants never noticed the guards. That passage was being held in reserve against the Coalition of the Four Kingdoms during the Months of Demons.”
Edith’s expression sharpened. “And now it’s unguarded?”
“The sentries stationed at Cloud Ladder are positioned outside the city walls. They shouldn’t be affected by whatever is happening inside.” She kept her voice even, but her thoughts had moved several steps ahead. This doesn’t look like disorder. This looks like evacuation. Like abandonment. “If you’re willing, I think I should go to Hermes directly and examine the situation myself.”
“The monasteries first,” Agatha said. “Miss Lightning has already done aerial surveys of the three main ones. What she found gives me some concern — the orphans appear to be organized by someone, and they’re prepared to defend the building to the last. That’s part of why we’ve delayed action.”
Edith spread her hands. “My soldiers came through the Bomber Action without a single casualty. I’d like to keep that record intact when we enter the city.”
“Someone organized the orphans.” Isabella thought for a moment. “Let me go in and talk to them.”
“Alone?”
She had been about to say yes. Something stopped her — a flicker of caution, a recognition she couldn’t quite name. She swallowed the word. “No. Agatha comes with me.”
“La— Lady Isabella!” Margie came to attention the instant she saw her, right hand moving instinctively to her chest in the old gesture of respect.
“I’ve told you before — you don’t need to use the courtesy title.” Isabella’s voice was level, neither warm nor cold. “We’re not Pure Witches anymore. My name is sufficient.”
“Yes, my lady!” Margie nodded rapidly.
Isabella breathed out. His Majesty had restricted her movements but had left Margie and Vanilla free to come and go as they pleased. These former Pure Witches still kept the old monastery habits, still drifted to the Foreign Affairs Building to talk with her about the strange and wonderful things they encountered in the Witch Union. Agatha had never objected. It was a small mercy.
“Take us into the city.” She pointed toward the walls.
Margie summoned the Magic Ark and turned back to glance at Edith, who had come out to see them off. “The First Army won’t be coming?”
“Not until you’ve confirmed it’s safe.”
The ark sank into the earth. The soil above their heads became transparent and she watched Lightning’s pale shape tracing circles in the sky, marking their path forward.
Four monasteries occupied the old Holy City, though in practice they functioned as a single institution — built in a ring around the Reflection Church, linked by underground tunnels, connected to the Secret Temple in the mountain through a hidden passage. New witches had moved through those tunnels to the incarnation ceremonies, generation after generation, until a newly awakened Extraordinary burned down one of the monasteries and the church sealed the underground routes.
The Magic Ark emerged in the outermost building, the Western Zone Monastery. The courtyard was empty except for two thin girls stationed at the lobby entrance, each holding a spear taller than she was.
“We go up now,” said Isabella.
“Shouldn’t you slip in quietly first?” Margie asked.
“No.” There were too many God’s Stones embedded in this building — she could sense the edges of their suppression even from here. Their power could reach a hundred steps in every direction, and she couldn’t neutralize the effect. There was no advantage in stealth.
The ark broke the surface, and the two girls at the door stumbled backward in alarm. The women had appeared from nowhere.
A shrill whistle cut the air.
Windows flew open along the courtyard walls. Nuns poured into the space, leading orphans, carrying swords and wooden shields and short bows and hand crossbows. Agatha summoned ice to her palm and watched the bow arms for movement.
“Wait! Wait!” One of the leading nuns threw up her arm, voice cracking. “Stop!”
Silence.
“Are you — the Pure Witch who served the Supreme Pontiff?” Another nun spoke, and her voice was unsteady. “Lady Isabella?”
Every drawn weapon held still.
“Yes.” Isabella nodded.
She had expected recognition. She had expected the task His Majesty had set her to proceed without incident.
She had not expected what came next.
“Lady Isabella! Thank the Gods — we’re saved!”
“Your Holiness Isabella — Your Holiness, please help us—”
“Supreme Pontiff! Don’t leave us!”
The voices multiplied and merged. Weapons clattered to the stone. The nuns and orphans dropped to their knees in a spreading wave, bowing forward until their foreheads nearly touched the ground, their voices rising together into a single chant —
“Your Holiness. Your Holiness. Your Holiness.”
Chapter 890 Your Holiness… Isabella
Isabella was overwhelmed by her emotions when she saw the city again.
Unexpectedly, in only a year, the church, who had been the only hope of humanity to defeat demons, became a barrier to the human race’s success in the Battle of Divine Will.
She had lived here for a long time but was not sentimentally attached to the church. The teachings of His Holiness O’Brien, kept ringing in her ears and reminded her that the result was always more important than the process. She was certain that if humanity could not defeat the demons, all their efforts would be meaningless.
She followed out O’Brien’s instructions all her life. She had chosen to support Zero instead of Archbishop Mayne since the soul swallower had shown more potential in defeating the demons. After Zero had lost to Roland Wimbledon, she had chosen to serve the king. If even now, she could find a leader more powerful than Roland, she would choose the more capable one again without hesitation.
She did this for good reason.
In her view, the continuation of the human race was far more important than any personal interests.
Despite that, she still could not let go of some strange regret deep in her heart. She did not understand why she felt this way until she returned to the old Holy City.
She discovered that she had been feeling sorry for Zero all this time.
Back then, the Pure Witches had believed that the gulf between them and Zero, who had lived for hundreds of years, would have been exceptionally wide and many of them had secretly complained about the soul swallower’s sudden change in moods. However, Isabella had gotten along well with Zero. She found that, in comparison to the other Pure Witches, who had planned to follow their personal interests throughout the Battle of Divine Will, Zero was much more straightforward and strong-willed.
She believed that Zero was not very different from herself except that she was more accustomed to being an assistant while Zero was used to being the leader.
She was afraid that it was not Zero’s nature but an inevitable choice for an experienced witch who had lived for more than 200 years.
She guessed that the Holy City would have looked very different if Zero had been able to meet Roland ten years earlier.
Unfortunately, everything had happened too late.
After circling the sky twice, Maggie landed in the camp outside the city.
“We’re here. Let’s get off,” said Agatha, who was behind Isabella.
Isabella nodded and leaped off the beast. Some soldier that was waiting around immediately came over. “Lady Edith is waiting for you in the tent. Please come with me.”
Roland had asked Maggie to bring the Ice Witch with Isabella to the old Holy City and had explicitly told Isabella that she had to act under the watch of another witch during her “prison term”. She had willingly accepted this condition. For her, this was already unexpected preferential treatment. She
did not have to wear any God’s Locket of Retribution or shackles on her hands and feet. Even her clothes were brand new.
After walking into the tent, she saw a woman who stood behind a desk with a smile on her face. “I’m Edith Kant, a member of the Ministry of Defense and temporary commander for the Holy City campaign.”
“A great-looking common woman,” Isabella thought. “I thought you would control the Hermes Plateau first and then seize the old Holy City.”
“That was the original plan, but the army of the Kingdom of Dawn moved faster than we expected.” Edith gave a rough explaination of the situation. “His Majesty’s order is to ensure the safety of the monastaries, which isn’t a problem. The real problematic thing is how to orderly evacuate the orphans from the monastaries. If I remember correctly, they are all nurtured and brought up by the church. I’m afraid it’ll hinder our plan if we have to force them out. I think you may have a solution to this problem. After all, His Majesty assigned this task to you before the expedition.”
Isabella could not help but frown. “Wait… you said you came here through Cloud Ladder?”
“Yes, is there something wrong?”
“That place is of great importance and is usually heavily guarded. How come there was no one protecting that passage?”
“Is that so?” Edith’s voice got deep. “But the merchants thought it was just a little-known, secret passage and Sylvie didn’t find anything special about it.”
“The church has been based in this place for the past several hundred years and is meticulous about everything here. It’s impossible for the church’s people to neglect such an important path into the city, which isn’t under the control of the city wall.” Isabella shook her head. “They just intentionally let the smugglers pass freely and planned to use this passage against the Coalition of the Four Kingdoms during the Months of Demons. Its sentry posts were hidden in natural limestone caves in the mountain. That was why the merchants didn’t see any guards there.”
“This passage is left unprotected now. Is it because of the breakdown of order in the Holy City?”
“Cloud Ladder is guarded by forces outside the city wall. Theoretically, its sentry posts won’t be affected by the situation inside the city. If it’s okay with you, I think it’s a better idea for me to go to Hermes to have a look.” With that being said, Isabella was quite stunned by this situation in her heart. She thought to herself, “Does this look like a breakdown of order? No, it’s more like giving up the city and escaping.”
“Let’s address the issue of the monastaries first,” Agatha said. “Is it possible for us to investigate the situation inside them from the sky?”
“Yes, Miss Lightning has examined all three of the main monastaries and found a big issue. It seems that the orphans are organized by someone and are determined to defend their homes to death. That’s one of the reasons for us to delay this action.” “All my soldiers were unharmed during the battle against the army of the Kingdom of Dawn. I don’t want to see any casualties inside the city.” Edith said with her hands laid out.
“Somebody organized the orphans?” Isabella pondered for a moment. “Let me go in and talk to them.”
“By yourself?”
She was about to say yes but soon realized something was wrong and swallowed her words. Instead, she said, “No, Agatha will go with me.”
…
“La-Lady Isabella!” Seeing Isabella, Margie suddenly stood upright and put her right hand on her chest unconsciously.
“I’ve told you countless times. You’re not required to use the courtesy title anymore. Just call me by my name,” she said with a straight face. “We’re no longer Pure Witches.”
“Yes, my lady!” Margie hurriedly nodded.
Isabella secretly sighed. His Majesty had only limited her movement but did not restrict Margie or Vanilla. These former Pure Witches still kept to their old habits from the monastery and occasionally came to the Foreign Affairs Building to talk with her about the interesting things they discovered in the Witch Union. Fortunately, Agatha did not mind it.
“Take us into the city.” She pointed to the city that was not far away.
Margie summoned the Magic Ark and turned back to look at Edith, who came to see them off. “The First Army isn’t going with us?”
“They won’t go into the old Holy City until you make sure that it’s safe.”
The ark quickly sank into the ground and the soil above their heads turned into a transparent ceiling. Through it, they could see Lightning who flew in the sky and showed them the way.
There were four monasteries inside the old Holy City, but they could be thought of as a unified institution. They were built around the Reflection Church, linked together by underground tunnels and connected to Secret Temple inside the mountain through a secret path. New witches could be easily sent to the incarnation ceremonies through these underground passages, but they were sealed since a newly awakened Extraordinary had burnt down one of the monasteries.
The Magic Ark quietly sneaked into the outermost monastery, the Western Zone Monastery. Just like Lightning had said, no one was in the huge courtyard except for two skinny girls. They stood at the lobby entrance with spears in their hands, which were much taller than themselves.
“Here we are. Go up now,” said Isabella.
“Don’t you need to slip in to check first?” Margie asked in surprise.
“No, there are too many hidden God’s Stones inside. We don’t have to take the risk.” Isabella was certain that in important sites such as the monasteries, the church usually placed giant God’s Stones, whose power could reach up to 100 steps away and she was unable to eliminate their effects.
The ark swiftly popped out of the ground, causing panic among the guards. In their eyes, these two women seemed to appear out of nothing.
A shrill whistle immediately rang out. All the closed windows were opened one after another and a dozen of nuns that leading a group of orphans swarmed into the courtyard, holding swords, wooden shields, short bows, and hand crossbows. Agatha summoned her Ice in her hand and planned to cover Isabella with it if they began to shoot arrows.
“Wai-Wait! Stop!” Suddenly, the leading nun shouted loudly.
“Are you… the Pure Witch beside the Supreme Pontiff… Lady Isabella?” Another nun asked with a shaky voice.
Hearing this, all the people stopped.
“Yes, it’s me.” Isabella nodded calmly.
Seeing that these nuns still remembered her, she thought that the task given by His Majesty could be completed smoothly.
However, the next moment she was caught off guard by the abrupt change in their attitudes.
“You really are Lady Isabella! That’s great. We’re saved!”
“Lady, no, Your Holiness Isabella! Your Holiness, please help us!”
“Supreme Pontiff! Please don’t leave us!”
More and more people dropped their weapons, knelt down, and chanted loudly, “Your Holiness.”