Maia collapsed in front of an iron door, the last barrier that prevented her from confirming her bad premonitions. However, even without opening it, she already knew the answer.
This place...
Was the Temple of Light.
The very place she had been raised in and the only place she could call her home.
Yet now, who can tell her...
Why was she imprisoned within it's cells?!!
She had always thought only those two ungrateful people were behind her suffering. That they had locked her up and kept her in captivity for their nefarious deeds someplace else, far away from the reach of temple.
However, faced with the scene in front of her, pain and despair filled Maia's eyes, drowning her sanity and dragging her deep into the abyss.
No wonder...
No wonder no one came to find her.
It turns out, it wasn't because those two people were too capable at hiding their tracks, but because someone had chosen to turn a blind eye and acquiesced to their behavior.
"High Priest Jeroen..."
Maia whispered the name, recalling the warmth of the old man's smile as he patted her head and guided her step-by-step in learning the doctrines of the Temple of Light.
No.
She shouldn't be guessing wildly here. She needed to confirm it herself.
Maia clenched her fist, her eyes determined as she pushed against the door, alarming the two paladins guarding outside.
"Who... How did you get out...?!"
Maia paid them no heed as she cast a Sleeping Spell with a wave of her hand, rendering them unconscious.
Walking down the familiar quiet and pristine white hallways, she no longer felt it's serenity but instead found herself being enveloped by a pervading chill.
Has it always been like this?
Why hadn't she noticed it before?
Feeling insecure, Maia cast a Concealment Spell on herself and slowly headed towards the Main Hall, the only place High Priest Jeroen should be in at this time of day.
Behind her, a certain vampire's face stiffened for a moment after he noticed the direction they were headed to.
However, seeing the girl's deadpanned expression, he swallowed his suggestion of turning around and silently followed after her.
...
"High Priest, is it really alright for us to do this? Saintess Maia was someone chosen by the goddess of light after all. What if we get punished for it?"
"If there is punishment, then so be it." High Priest Jeroen sighed. "Maia was a good child. But unfortunately..."
The rest of the crowd fell silent for a moment.
"Yes." Another priest added. "In order to spark the hatred of the people and mobilize them to get rid of those filthy dark creatures once and for all, what else can be more instrumental than the death of the most beloved person in the empire?"
High Priest Jeroen expressed his sorrow by wiping a few tears streaming down the corners of his eyes. "It is also a worthy sacrifice. At most, when the war is over, we'll hold a grand funeral for her and build a shrine in her name."
"As it should be."
The people in the main hall unilaterally agreed to the proposal, unaware that standing not far from them was the very subject of their conversation.
Listening to them, Maia felt cold all over.
A worthy sacrifice.
Was that what they thought of her?
Did they even ask her for her permission whether she was willing to or not?!
Maia felt like a fool.
All these years serving the temple, doing her utmost to be the perfect saintess for everyone, was this how they repaid her?
"Hahahahaha!"
A loud mocking laughter resounded in the main hall, startling everyone, and in that very moment, Maia's Concealment Spell came undone.
"Maia?! How can you be here?!!"
"Heh! Surprised?" Maia gritted her teeth and her eyes turned red.
Raising her hand, time paused for a second before countless light elements from all directions crazily rushed towards her outstretched hand, forming a vortex on top of her head.
"Bad! Everyone retreat!" The High Priest shrieked before hurriedly activating the defensive artifact hanging on his chest.
BOOOOOM!!!
An earth-shattering explosion was heard all over the Imperial Capital and soon, news of the Temple of Light being razed to the ground spread in every nook and cranny of the Lucien Empire, terrifying not only the common people, but also alarming the nobility and the emperor.
Word has it that the goddess of light had been angered and sent down heavenly punishment because someone among the higher-ups of the temple committed a grave sin.
Other rumors stated that the vampires had succeeded in raiding the temple and therefore, the flames of war and chaos that erupted.
However, what was strange about the incident was that despite the place having been reduced to rubble, all the people residing in the temple remained unharmed, including the statue of Lucille, the goddess of light, that stood intact amidst the ruins of what used to be the majestic main hall of the Temple of Light.
Regarding this, many expressed their relief, concluding that the goddess had only wanted to issue a warning, telling them to change their ways, and had not truly abandoned them.
As for the truth of the matter? That would remain untold until any of the priests who had been at the center of the incident regained consciousness and explained the cause and effect of the wide-ranged explosion in it's entirety.
That, if they don't add fuel to the fire and twist the facts into their favor, which was very much likely to happen.
....
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the capital, Maia laid dazedly on the ground, her mind blank from the onslaught of the explosion.
However, having once been subjected to no small amount of pain gained from continuous physical and mental torture, she soon regained her senses and found herself in an awkward position.
There, she laid on the ground in the middle of nowhere with her clothes, bloody and tattered, and with a man lying on top of her, his face buried on her chest...
Maia "!!!"
"Y-you... You! Get off of me, this instant!!!"
"Lack of mana. Out of energy. Can't get up." The man drawled and laid contentedly on top of her, obviously enjoying their current embarassing situation. "Darling, I'm so exhausted teleporting the both of us all the way here, can't you just let me rest for a while?"
"No! Get off! What if someone sees us?!"
"Wouldn't that be better? Anyway, I can't move now. When somebody passes by sometime later, won't they still help us up eventually?"
Maia was enraged.
"You asked for it!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Woman, be gentle will you?!"