When I turned my head, I saw a group of demons dressed in black priestly uniforms furiously chasing us.

“There are too many taggers. Divine Hymn!”

I applied an auxiliary skill to us both and kicked the floor even faster with our legs.

And so finally.

Kwaaaaang!

The sound of the temple’s massive gates clicking together echoed loudly.

Fortunately, it happened behind my back, not in front of my nose. We succeeded in escaping in the nick of time.

But instead of stopping to catch our breath, Thesillid and I kept running. It was necessary to get as far away from the temple as possible.

It was after we had gone deep into the Forest of Wood-Faced Trees that we were able to rest our legs, which had been overworked to the point of tearing muscles.

“I think we’re safe now, Eli.”

“Gasp, ugh, huff……really?”

“Yes.”

We had run a good distance at full speed. Exhausted, I slumped forward at the waist and clutched my knees.

“Y-you worked hard, Terry.”

“You too.”

But for some reason his voice was calm.

I forgot to catch my breath and looked up at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Eli?”

“I’m wondering why you’re so okay.”

“…… I know, it’s strange.”

Only then did Thesilid realize that he didn’t seem to be very tired, and he was puzzled.

What on earth? Is the physical difference between me and Thesilid this bad?

The answer to this question was given by God.

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ says that the special effect included in ‘Guardian of the Beloved’ has been applied.]

Was there such a thing in ‘Guardian of the Beloved’? Why can’t I remember?

I was curious because I only knew it as a passive skill that multiplied healing by five in Tesillid.

[‘The Critic who Adjusts the Balance’ clucks his tongue at you for not keeping track of your main skills properly.]

This was clearly something that deserves criticism. Getting serious, I immediately pulled up the skill’s full description.

There was some unusual information written in the reference section.

-This is a skill book that Count Orsche saved to give to his future Fiancée. It has a significant clinical effect on recovering the partner’s stamina, so it is useful in bed……

I immediately turned off the explanation window.

“Hm, yeah. That’s why I erased it from my memory.”

“Eli?”

“It’s nothing, Terry.”

Thankfully, Thesilid was not deeply curious about the strange cause of his stamina recovery.

“Shall we take a quick break and look at the souvenirs we acquired?”

“Sure.”

I began purifying the pair of rosary rings with divine power.

Because it was a fairly high-grade artifact, it took some time.

In the meantime, Thesilid had changed into his paladin uniform from behind the tree, apparently uncomfortable in demon garbs.

“Done.”

Finally, the black part of the ring turned blue, signaling the success of purification.

“Here, Terry. Let’s put these on.”

I handed one to Thesilid and put on the other.

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ regrets that you did not directly put the ring on his finger.]

I pretended not to hear the message and waited for the change.

After a while.

“Oh?”

Sure enough, a completely different phenomenon occurred than when equipping or using ordinary items.

The artifact was linked to the system and opened a special status window that only I could see.

[<Status Information> ‘World Church’

Main God: The World-building God

Leader: Ellet Rodellain

Evaluation grade: D (▽Details)

-Market Share of Believers: 0.000004% (F

-Number of 8th rank believers: 2 (A)

-Entries in the Saint List: Agnes Azlit 1 (C

-Number of parishes: 1 (F)

Note: Based on market share and number of parishes, it is no different from grade F, but it rose to grade D thanks to the addition of Ellet Rodellaine, Aaron Jake Hispenril, and Agnes Azlit. There is still a lot of room for improvement, so let’s work hard at missionary work.]

I received a report card for the World Church out of the blue.

D-class…that’s terrible. Still, the buff effect wasn’t bad.

[<Status> ‘D-class Rosary Ring effect’

Increases the wearer’s Holy power by 10%.]

[<System> The power of the Holy Skills you use increases significantly.]

[<System> Your Sacred Power has reached the level limit of the 8th Rank.]

I clenched and unclenched my fists, enjoying the change.

<How do you feel?>

“I think I’ve gotten pretty strong.”

<Congratulations.>

“Thank you. It’s thanks to Agnes.”

<What did I do?>

Later, when Thesillid is not around, I will have to secretly tell her that her very existence has raised the level of the World Church.

When you receive a report card, it’s human nature to want to compare yours to the person next to you.

I slowly leaned towards Thesilid to dig up information about the rival religion.

“What about you, Terry?”

Actually, there was no need to ask.

The Transmigrator’s Support System also had access to Thesilid’s artifacts. Thanks to this, I was able to spy on the state of the Order Church to my heart’s content.

[<Status Information> ‘Order Church’

Main God: Strict Order and Goodwill

Leader: Benedict Delaud

Evaluation grade: B+ (▽Details)

-Market Share of Believers: 57.57% (A)

-Number of 8th rank believers: None (F)

-Entries in the Saint List: 11 people including Valkus O’Drek (S)

-Number of parishes: 319 (S)

Note: A monotheistic religion that the majority of people believe in on the Serentra continent. However, because God ran away from home and their divine power deteriorated, the score was drastically reduced in the number of 8th rank believers. It will only go downhill from now on, so it would be better to convert quickly.]

Indeed, as befits a monotheistic religion that has taken root on the continent for a long time, the report card was excellent, except for one item.

Accordingly, the compensation also differed.

[<Status> ‘B-class Rosary Ring Effect’

Increases the wearer’s sacred power by 30%.]

Wow. A whopping 30%.

‘I-I’m jealous!’

I clamped my closed fist over my mouth, sending Thesilid an envious glare.

“……Ah.”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Terry?”

I asked, puzzled by his soft exclamation.

“I think I just went up a level in divine power.”

“You’ve reached the rank of cardinal?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, congratulations!”

I completely forgot about my jealousy from earlier and applauded with all my heart.

Thesilid seemed genuinely pleased.

“It must also affect Divine Aura. It’ll make it easier for you to become a Master.”

In the original, he had to pass the 40th episode to become an Aura Master, so it would have been great if he could do it sooner.

At that time, Agnes, who had a strong competitive spirit, responded.

<I can’t lose, Ellet. Let’s make you a Master first!>

“Yes!”

“……”

I felt very good to have obtained a useful artifact.

Even excluding the amplification effect, we now have the means to understand the situation of the World Church and Order Church at a glance.

As I proudly looked at the rosary rings, one on my finger and one on his, I had a sudden thought.

I turned to Thesilid with a serious face and sid.

“We have to make it clear to the Church. This is a rosary ring.”

“Okay.”

I finished my break and stood up.

“Okay, now let’s go around the forest and find the exit gate. We have to get out of here before the demons catch up to us.”

“Yes, Eli.”

As I took out the night stone to light up the forest path at night, an unusual weather phenomenon occurred.

[<System> Warning. ‘Welcoming Rain of Vengeful Spirits’ falls in the Forest of Wood-Faced Trees.]

Tuk.Tuktuk.Tuk.

Shaaaaa……

As soon as a few raindrops pelted the top of my head and the bridge of my nose, it started to rain heavily.

“Eli.”

Thesilid quickly took off his uniform robe and placed it over my head.

Then, he just gave me a good-natured smile, as if he didn’t care that he was getting caught in the rain.

I sighed and pulled him into the uniform.

Naturally, our shoulders were close together and our heads were tilted near each other.

<Don’t you have an umbrella in your inventory?>

“……”

“……”

……Agnes, please be quiet.

Meanwhile, the heavy rain in the demon world was creating a surreal phenomenon.

As the rainwater soaked into the ground, translucent white things began to slowly rise to the surface.

They gradually expanded in size and took on the shape of heads and limbs.

Agnes asked as if she was displeased at the sight of shimmering white figures being born all over the place.

<What are these things? A legion of ghosts?>

“It may seem that way, but in reality, it is just an illusion imitating the appearance of the dead. It was created because of the rain that is falling now.”

<That’s a nasty rain.>

“I think so, too.”

After speaking, I glanced at Thesilid.

In fact, my explanation about this white stuff imitating the illusion of a ‘dead person’ is a bit misleading.

To be precise, it was showing the illusion of a ‘killed person’, and most of the illusionary ghosts that appear now will be in the form of humans killed by Thesillid.

Fortunately, he did not show any signs of agitation.

I moved my gaze towards the front again. Things that were blurred like a haze just a little while ago have evolved into something that looks like it has quite a solid mass.

I continued my explanation as I looked at the apparitions that were similar to crushed clay dolls.

“If you look too closely, facial features will appear, so you have to be careful not to do that. It’s a mental attack, so once you get into it, it’s hard to get out.”

After speaking, I covered Thesilid’s eyes with one hand, because I did not want him to recognize in these spirits the faces of the sacrifices that had to die in the Valley of the Heretics.

It was a somewhat casual touch, but Thesilid silently accepted it.

Phantoms of vengeful spirits wandered around, occasionally glancing at Thesilid, but never acting aggressively.

After a few minutes, they would disappear on their own.

So I was planning to wait out, but……

<By the way, Ellet.>

“Yes, Agnes.”

<I think there are too many of these illusions. Are you sure it’s okay?>

It wasn’t until I heard the words that I realized.

Illusions continued to spring up from all directions, leaving no room for movement. It was so dense that it felt like there was fog in my vision.

I was a little flustered.

“I know, right? Why so many? I don’t think a cemetery would be like this.”

The number of people killed by Thesilid couldn’t have been this high, right?

We’re the only ones in the forest.

But why are the visions spawning endlessly……?

Chapter 188
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