Tivian North Suburbs, Royal Crown University, outside King’s Campus.
In the dead of night, at the entrance of the Irrigation River Bridge, three lackeys of the Eight-Spired Nest hesitate as they watch the intense battle in the distance, discussing among themselves.
"What should we do? Should we go help Mr. Thorn Velvet right now?"
"No, look at how they’re fighting. That’s a battle between Beyonders! Can we even intervene?"
"From the looks of it, Mr. Thorn Velvet has the upper hand. The other side is about to collapse."
...
The three lackeys continue to discuss, commenting on the battle scene not far away. However, none of them notice the two figures slowly rising behind them.
In the distance, Nephthys watches in shock as the two corpses that had been killed earlier by Vania slowly stand up. One is Eli, and the other is another member of the Scholarly Society. Their eyes are cold as they gaze at the three men talking ahead. The words of the three men are transmitted through the ears of the corpse marionettes to Dorothy, deep underground, causing her to smile slightly and murmur.
"Still hesitating, huh? Well then, let me help you make a decision."
With that, Dorothy controls the two corpse marionettes to draw the small knives they carry and stealthily approach the three men. Each marionette covers the mouth and nose of one of the men and slits their throats."Mmm!!"
"Huh? What... ah!"
The third man, hearing the commotion, slowly turns around, only to be immediately restrained by the two marionettes. One of them covers his mouth while the other stabs him to death.
In an instant, all five of Thorn Velvet’s subordinates have been eliminated. Nephthys, watching from a distance, is left wide-eyed in shock.
“Corpses... the corpses actually stood up? And they killed people? Is this Miss Dorothy’s Beyonder ability? Where is she now? Is she nearby?”
As Nephthys is still processing her shock, Dorothy expands her control over the corpse marionettes to the maximum limit of five, immediately raising the three newly dead bodies as marionettes. Then, Dorothy controls all five marionettes to run toward the other side of the bridge.
…
Back on the battlefield by the river, due to the gap in their abilities, Vania is completely suppressed in her fight against Thorn Velvet. Under Thorn Velvet’s relentless attacks, even though Vania has switched to a purely defensive stance, she is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up.
No matter how rich her experience or how refined her skills, they cannot make up for the vast difference in their physical attributes. It is clear that if this continues, Vania’s defense will soon collapse completely, leaving her deeply worried.
However, the reality is that her weapon is giving out before her defense does. In the constant clashes with Thorn Velvet, Vania’s longsword is now full of chips and cracks. Every time it clashes with Thorn Velvet’s dagger, a piece of the blade is chipped away.
Under the high-frequency blocking, the blade of Vania’s sword is almost completely shattered, turning it from a sword into a metal rod covered in fine cracks. Meanwhile, Thorn Velvet’s dagger remains intact, gleaming with a deadly cold light under the moonlight.
Thorn Velvet is a Shadow Beyonder, and one of the characteristics of Shadow spirituality is its ability to easily attach to weapons, enhancing them.
Other types of spirituality require specific ranks, pathways, or special items to enchant weapons. However, Shadow is different. Enchantment is an inherent skill of all ranks in the Shadow pathways. Even an Apprentice-rank Shadow can infuse their spirituality into a blade to increase its sharpness, allowing it to easily cut through unarmored flesh.
At the Black Earth Rank, this Shadow enchantment grants the blade a slight armor-piercing ability. Although Vania is not wearing armor, this ability still manifests in their blade clashes.
Thorn Velvet’s dagger continuously clashes with Vania’s sword, chipping away at the blade and creating cracks. The sword, now reduced to a metal rod, has become severely damaged after just a few minutes of combat.
Finally, after a powerful slash, Vania’s sword, now riddled with cracks from the Shadow erosion, shatters into pieces. Vania, left holding only the hilt, stares wide-eyed in shock.
Seeing this, Thorn Velvet smirks darkly and prepares to thrust his dagger at the now defenseless Vania. However, at that moment, a voice suddenly rings out.
"Mr. Thorn Velvet! We’re here to help you!"
The corpse marionettes, having reached the other side of the bridge, shout as they charge at Thorn Velvet with their knives and daggers. Thorn Velvet, momentarily deceived by the voices of his subordinates, is caught off guard. He only reacts when a dagger is already swinging toward him.
Dodging two daggers at the last second, Thorn Velvet pays the price of having his sleeve torn as he counterattacks, slicing the nearest marionette in half. Blood sprays everywhere.
Thorn Velvet doesn’t immediately deal with the other marionettes but instead focuses his attention on Vania, who is now unarmed. He grips his dagger and thrusts it toward her, knowing that the key now is not to deal with these inexplicably rebellious but weak subordinates, but to finish off Vania while she is defenseless.
"Die!"
Thorn Velvet’s dagger speeds toward the unarmed Vania. Just as Vania is about to dodge in panic, a figure steps between them, taking the dagger’s thrust directly. The sharp blade pierces through the figure’s chest and abdomen—it is Eli, now one of Dorothy’s corpse marionettes.
"What! Flesh puppets..."
Seeing this, Thorn Velvet’s eyes widen in shock. He tries to pull his dagger out, but finds that his arm is tightly gripped by Eli.
At the same time, the remaining marionettes charge at Thorn Velvet from behind, stabbing him with their daggers. Though Thorn Velvet manages to dodge some of the attacks, he is still struck twice in the back.
For a Beyonder with Chalice as an auxiliary path, such minor injuries are insignificant. However, the marionettes, after stabbing Thorn Velvet, cling to him tightly, refusing to let go. Including Eli, four marionettes are now restraining Thorn Velvet.
For a moment, Thorn Velvet finds himself in a situation where he is surrounded by marionettes. However, as a Beyonder with Chalice auxiliary, his strength far surpasses that of these ordinary marionettes. Due to the difference in strength, the marionettes cannot suffocate Thorn Velvet as they did with Jim before. Thorn Velvet will eventually break free, but it will take some time.
"Quick! Now’s the chance!"
Eli, with blood trickling from his mouth and a dagger still embedded in his abdomen, turns his head and speaks to Vania, who is still in shock. Vania immediately snaps out of her daze.
“These are... Miss Dorothy’s puppets! I understand!”
Realizing this, Vania throws away the useless hilt of her sword. She focuses her mind, closes her eyes, and her expression becomes one of deep concentration. A sacred aura begins to emanate from her.
At this moment, Vania feels as though she has returned to the Hymn Cathedral, where she prays daily. In her mind, a sacred and majestic figure appears. The years of training as a nun have instilled in her a deep sense of piety.
Vania extends her hand, her piety reaching its peak. As she opens her eyes, she murmurs.
"Lord... grant me light..."
As she murmurs, the Lantern spirituality within Vania is rapidly consumed. As the Lantern spirituality flows out, a dazzling golden light gathers in her outstretched hand, extending into a thin, concentrated beam of light. The light emits a brilliance far brighter than the streetlights, dispelling the darkness around her. The beam twists and spreads, resembling a bolt of lightning.
"What? This is..."
Blinded by the intense light, Thorn Velvet’s expression turns to one of shock and confusion. At this moment, Vania, holding the beam of light, assumes a javelin-throwing stance.
"Sunlight Spear!"
Taking a step forward, Vania hurls the beam of light. As it leaves her hand, the beam transforms into a spear of light, piercing through the night sky and illuminating the riverbank.
As the light slowly fades, darkness gradually returns. When the radiance finally dissipates, all that remains are the charred, circular holes in the chests of the two marionettes and Thorn Velvet. The edges of the holes are blackened and smoking, and the smell of burnt flesh fills the air.
The Sunlight Spear had pierced through all three in one strike, burning through ribs, flesh, and spine. Thorn Velvet stares wide-eyed in shock before collapsing to the ground alongside the two marionettes.
Vania looks at the scene before her, then at her hands, murmuring in disbelief.
"The Spear of Light... the Spear of Lantern... the Sunlight Spear... is this the new blessing Aka has granted me?"
Meanwhile, deep in the underground chamber, Dorothy, watching through the two surviving marionettes, smiles lightly and says.
"The Sunlight Spear... even without all the buffs, its power is still impressive. As expected of Gwyn’s miracle, huh?"
When Vania was on her way to King’s Campus by carriage, Dorothy had worried that they might encounter a powerful enemy. To prepare for a potentially unfavorable situation, she decided to make use of the remaining space in Vania’s Soul Codex and have her perform an exchange, using the mystical texts given by Aldrich to acquire some knowledge from another world.
Dorothy used the Literary Sea Logbook to teach Vania how to pray, offering the mystical texts she had just finished reading through the information channel. Dorothy then handed the texts to the system in exchange for something, and the result was the ability Vania had just used.
The Sunlight Spear is a skill—or more accurately, a miracle—from the action RPG series Dark Souls, a miracle of the gods.
In the game, players can use miracles derived from the legends of various god clans. The Sunlight Spear belongs to the most revered god clan in the Dark Souls world, the Sunlight King Gwyn. It is said that Gwyn used the Sunlight Spear to strike down ancient dragons and, together with other Lords, ushered in the Age of Fire.
In the hands of players, the Sunlight Spear is a miracle whose power increases with higher faith stats. When equipped with miracle-enhancing gear and buffs, it deals tremendous damage.
After being exchanged, the Sunlight Spear retained its characteristic of increasing in power with higher faith. The object of faith does not need to be Gwyn. Although it no longer benefits from equipment and buffs, its power can be enhanced by investing more Lantern spirituality.
The minimum activation cost for the Sunlight Spear is 3 points of Lantern, and its power increases with additional Lantern investment, further modified by the user’s faith. The Sunlight Spear Vania had just used cost around 4 points of Lantern. For a Lantern-path Beyonder and a nun like her, this skill is a perfect fit.
“So powerful... such a formidable enemy, at least Black Earth rank... taken down in one strike? Is this the power of the new miracle granted by Aka?”
Looking at the corpses before her, Vania thinks in disbelief. As for Akasha, who granted her this power, Vania begins to form new thoughts.
“Such a sacred Spear of Light, such pure Lantern power... is Aka also a deity of the Lantern domain? Do They have some connection to the saints?”
“Aka claims not to be one of the saints, yet They have granted me such a sacred miracle... Could They actually be one of the saints, and Their denial is merely a test for me? Or is there some other hidden truth?”
After witnessing the power of her Sunlight Spear, Vania is lost in thought. Dorothy, watching through the surviving marionettes, immediately reminds her.
"Hey, Sister Vania, now’s not the time to space out."
"Ah! Miss Dorothy! Sorry, I was a bit distracted just now. Thank you for your help earlier. Are you nearby?"
Vania apologizes, having fully witnessed Dorothy’s marionette abilities at Field Manor, so she immediately recognizes these as Dorothy’s marionettes.
"I’m not there right now. Due to some circumstances, I’m temporarily unable to move freely. I’m just using some methods to control the corpses here and lend a hand."
"Unable to move freely... Is everything okay on your end? Is it dangerous, Miss Dorothy?"
Vania asks with concern, to which Dorothy replies through the marionette with a light laugh.
"My situation is a bit complicated, but there’s no immediate danger. No need to worry too much."
"Now that the trouble is dealt with, the person I asked you to pick up is on the other side of the bridge. By the way, did you bring a carriage?"
Dorothy asks through the marionette, and Vania nods in response.
"Yes, I came by rented carriage. Since the path the driver took doesn’t connect to this area, I paid him to wait for me on the other road, a few hundred meters away... I hope he didn’t run off after hearing the gunfire."
"Good. Then go and pick up the person and take them to a safe place in the city, near the church. I still have some tasks to ask of you later. Once I resolve my situation, I’ll pay you accordingly."
Dorothy promises through the marionette. Every time she asks Vania for help, it is with compensation.
"Actually... the compensation isn’t necessary. I just want to ask, Miss Dorothy, is this also the will of Aka? Are the enemies we faced this time, like the Eucharist, evil cultists?"
Vania asks with concern. She is worried that Dorothy is using her as a private force to eliminate her enemies, and that these enemies might not necessarily be evil but merely opposed to Dorothy. As a nun raised under the teachings of the Radiance Church, Vania hopes that her actions are guided by divine will and justice, not merely serving as someone’s personal mercenary.
In short, Vania is worried that Dorothy might be misrepresenting Aka’s will to have her do personal tasks, some of which might be questionable. She wants to understand the meaning behind her actions. Essentially, Vania wants to act based on divine will, not human will.
Having been repeatedly pulled into tasks by Dorothy, Vania feels like she is working for Dorothy rather than Aka. If she is truly carrying out Aka’s will, she doesn’t need compensation.
Hearing Vania’s words, Dorothy, understanding her concerns, smiles and says.
"Don’t worry. If tonight’s events weren’t Aka’s will, why would They grant you power again?"
"Ah... that’s true..." Vania scratches her head, realizing that since Aka has indeed granted her power again, it must be Their will for her to use this power against strong enemies.
“It seems Miss Dorothy holds a high position in Aka’s earthly organization... Many actions derived from Aka’s will are carried out by her. It’s a bit enviable…”
Vania thinks to herself, feeling a hint of envy for Dorothy’s position under Akasha. At this moment, Dorothy continues through the marionette.
"If you want to understand the meaning behind tonight’s actions and know what kind of enemies you faced, you can ask Nephthys, the person you’re picking up. She’ll tell you. Once you’re both in a safe place, contact me through the scripture."
"Understood. May Aka’s blessings be with you..."
Vania performs a Radiance Church gesture and then runs toward the other end of the bridge. Meanwhile, in the underground chamber, Dorothy frowns slightly upon hearing Vania’s words and murmurs.
"May Aka’s blessings be with me?"
"Hmm... that feels a bit strange..."
Shaking her head, Dorothy sets aside her thoughts and begins remotely controlling the marionettes to clean up the battlefield.