Volume 1, Chapter 56 – The Asrita Scripture

Stella lowered her eyes, her gaze falling upon her left hand.

Sanctity had already completely sunk beneath her skin and could no longer be seen, yet Stella could clearly sense its existence.

That was because Sanctity seemed to be trying to synchronize with her Holy Light, strengthening its power while gradually purifying the magical power within her body.

The Inquisitor had really dumped one hell of a problem on her.

As for the Eye of the Black Mass mentioned at the end of the letter, Stella had originally planned to burn the letter after reading it and pretend she had never seen a thing.

After all, staying alive by any means necessary was currently her number one priority.

She already had so many problems that they were practically overflowing. Where would she possibly find the time to play phantom thief and steal something belonging to the Principal?

But that sealed artifact called the Eye of the Black Mass just happened to contain an extremely high concentration of abyssal magical power…

If she didn’t want Sanctity to completely purify the effects of the Valentine elixir, she had to find something containing enough abyssal magical power to counterbalance Sanctity.

Otherwise, sooner or later, she would turn back into that human Saintess without even the slightest trace of magical power.

She probably wouldn’t even live long enough to see how the Valentine family reacted after receiving the letter. Someone else would kill her first.

Stella had already imagined a three-act script for her death.

Act One, “The Fall of a Succubus Genius.”

Act Two, “Desperate Holy Light Streaking.”

Act Three, “Free All-You-Can-Eat Buffet for the Entire School.”

The Eye of the Black Mass? Abyssal magical power?

How could it possibly be some evil, blasphemous sealed artifact? It was practically salvation sent down to her by the Lord.

‘Praise you, my Lord!’

No matter what, she had to find a way to get her hands on it.

Stella pursed her pink lips.

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She had no idea where Principal Gehenna had hidden it, and the letter had even mentioned that other demons were coveting it as well, but this wasn’t an impossible situation.

By sheer coincidence, she had just happily earned herself a six-year volunteer service contract that might as well have been a deed of enslavement.

Although she had no idea what tasks Principal Gehenna would assign her, at the very least, she now had a legitimate reason to enter and leave Gehenna’s office, and perhaps even gain access to certain confidential areas.

This was probably what they called hiding right under someone’s nose.

For the sake of staying alive by any means necessary, Stella decisively made robbing Gehenna her highest priority.

‘Forgive me, Principal.’

‘Forgive this evil Valentine family “illegitimate daughter” who had bullied the eldest daughter of a prestigious family the moment she enrolled, trespassed into the restricted book section and destroyed public property, developed a prohibited interrogation art in the Forbidden Forest, paraded someone around in public, tortured and tormented her “little sister” in the dueling arena, dumped an entire mountain of trouble on the Principal, and was now going one step further by planning to loot the Principal’s secret treasure clean.’

‘Lord, if you truly are watching, please believe that I am still that pure and kind Saintess.’

Really.

As for the Valentine family…

Maybe that so-called prestigious family wouldn’t care at all about an illegitimate daughter who had suddenly appeared with SSS+ talent and even possessed a Primordial Echo?

As if!

Stella tried her best not to think about those future problems.

Since she couldn’t think of any way to deal with them anyway, she might as well stop thinking for now. She could leave the headache to her future self.

Of course, that assumed she lived long enough to become her future self. If she turned back into a human, both she and Lainia would die together, and they’d even need to pay for two cremations.

Speaking of Lainia…

Stella remembered that in the letter, the Inquisitor had specifically mentioned sending her a copy of the battle nun scripture she personally used.

She rummaged around and, sure enough, found a thick tome beneath the long-tailed owl’s perch.

Its cover was made of rough parchment without a single ornate decoration. There was only one line of ancient Church script stamped onto it in gold leaf.

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“The Asrita Scripture.”

Stella furrowed her brows slightly.

While preparing for the Saintess examination at the Holy See, she had practically memorized every scripture and canon until they were burned into her brain, yet she had absolutely no impression of this “Asrita Scripture.”

It seemed that this wasn’t something meant to be read by a Saintess like her, who lived amid flowers and hymns, but instead belonged to those extreme ascetics who walked in the shadows and whose names were never entered into any records.

Even Stella had never come into contact with it, much less Lainia, who was only a novice nun.

Stella opened to the first page.

The yellowed pages were densely packed with methods for tempering the body and forging the will.

【All mortals must die. Only suffering is eternal.】

【The flesh is the prison that confines the soul. Only through extreme burdens, extreme hunger, and extreme pain can the prison be hammered into an indestructible fortress.】

【Three thousand sword swings each day are merely a warm-up. Sitting in meditation among thorns is what counts as rest.】

【If you feel exhaustion, silently recite the scriptures. If you feel despair, sing the name of the Lord. Without pain and torment, the soul cannot transcend itself, nor can one become the sharpest blade in the Lord’s hand.】

【Decree: During such ascetic training, one who wields divine grace must be present to administer Holy Healing throughout.】

Stella lowered her eyes.

The book also recorded all sorts of astonishing training methods in great detail.

For example, holding one’s breath beneath a layer of freezing ice until consciousness began to fade in order to temper one’s tolerance toward death, or sewing lead weights into the lining of a nun’s habit and wearing them throughout everyday life…

There was even sensory deprivation training, where one would be confined for several days inside a deep well devoid of light and sound to sharpen one’s perception of Holy Light.

Stella quickly skimmed through the contents.

Although it looked rather frightening, it couldn’t really be called heretical.

Unlike a Saintess like her, who was responsible for divine arts and prayer, the ascetics responsible for purging heresy truly did need this sort of nearly self-abusive, grueling training in exchange for the strength to fight demons.

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It made perfect sense!

And it was very practical.

Stella closed the thick scripture and lightly tapped the cover with her fingertips as she began seriously thinking things over.

Since the Inquisitor couldn’t send Lainia away and had even incorporated her into Stella’s spy team, then Lainia could only stay and serve the Lord.

Having a compatriot who understood her and acknowledged her as a Saintess wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Besides, she would definitely need extra hands for the theft plan later, and not long ago, Professor Katerina had dragged her into becoming a teaching assistant for Defense Against Holy Magic. She just happened to be missing an assistant for demonstrations.

If Lainia remained an ordinary novice nun, she probably wouldn’t even survive the first class, much less become useful to Stella.

Special training was mandatory!

No sooner said than done.

To the training grounds.

Stella carefully read through “The Asrita Scripture” and effortlessly memorized every step.

She strode forward, heading straight toward Lainia, who was standing by the windowsill staring blankly outside.

At that moment, Lainia was trying to count exactly how many gargoyles were flying past the window.

Suddenly, an enormous shadow enveloped her, and within a single breath, a bone-piercing chill spread through the air.

Lainia stiffly turned around.

With the light behind her, Stella’s delicate face appeared especially oppressive.

The silver-haired girl lowered her eyes and looked down at her from above.

“…M-Master?”

Lainia trembled and instinctively shrank backward.

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‘What is she… going to do?’

“Lainia…” Stella’s voice was very soft, without the slightest hint of agitation. “Bad news, Lainia. Something unexpected has happened. Considering you’re one of mine now, I have no choice but to change the arrangements I had for you.”

“Change the arrangements for me?”

Lainia’s eyes widened in terror.

She even had the illusion of seeing pitch-black currents of air surging up behind Stella. Without a doubt, that was the demonic aura emitted by a soul steeped in the sins of a succubus and reeking of blood.

“Lainia.”

Stella murmured softly, then smiled.

“Let’s begin your ascetic training.”

Ascetic training?

Lainia saw the corners of Stella’s lips curve upward, the lingering trace of a smile still upon them.

She really was going to make her move.

Not only did this succubus intend to enslave her body, she even planned to enjoy the twisted sight of Lainia clinging to her faith through suffering while still being forced to obey her?

‘How vicious…’

‘How blasphemous!’

‘But…’

“As you wish… Master.”

Lainia closed her eyes, and a single tear of humiliation slid from the corner of her eye.