"Sister, will this work?" Yui asked nervously.

"Let's hope so. If those Shattered Church idiots are willing to offer up their scripture, we won't have to find it ourselves." Zoe swallowed.

She was currently using the psychic power she'd been studying all day to control the mist before her, looking pretty strained.

Just relying on the ability granted by a first-tier ritual, trying to control the Shattered Temple was still too much of a stretch. Right now she could at most make the mist display some visions, creating a "divine oracle" without any real authority...

Seeing the high priest take the bait, the two sisters immediately bounced up and down on the thrones in celebration.

But Efnathis's next words poured cold water on the twins.

"My Lord, please forgive our incompetence. The Shattered Scripture has been lost over the past several hundred years. Even though we've done everything to reclaim Your glory, we've only collected a small portion. Moreover, our team preparing to infiltrate the imperial capital didn't bring the scripture..."

Zoe was dumbfounded. That Shattered Scripture wasn't even in their hands?

Actually, aside from knowing their supernatural path was recorded in the Shattered Scripture, they knew absolutely nothing about the scripture or the Shattered Church.

"Rest assured, part of the scripture is currently stored in the Shattered Church headquarters underground in the Dragon Ridge Mountains to the southwest, guarded by another high priest...

However, they're currently supporting Duke Agamemnon's holy war. The perimeter of Dragon Ridge has been completely blockaded by both sides. To retrieve the scripture, I'm afraid only Lord Divine Envoy could make the trip personally..."

Efnathis carefully looked toward David standing nearby in a daze.

David froze. He'd just been thinking about other things, assuming this cult's exchange with the gods had nothing to do with him. He never expected to suddenly find himself volunteered for the job.

Behind the curtain, Zoe got anxious. She wanted to manipulate the mist to issue a second "divine oracle," demanding those cultists send the scripture no matter what.

Just then, young master David below suddenly manifested two massive deep red arms, immediately scaring her.

That terrifying sense of oppression made her feel like a stripped lamb. The little maid even forgot how to control her psychic energy.

"...Ahem."

David extended his Hand of Divine Corpse and gently tapped the equally terrified Efnathis on the head.

"Dear high priest, you've done very well. I've already received your arm..."

Efnathis shivered and showed an ingratiating smile.

Lord Divine Envoy was truly our Lord's "right-hand man." Look, the Shattered God had already bestowed an arm on him... Hard to imagine how powerful He'd become if He obtained a few more arms.

Too bad that little nobody he'd sent to his death hadn't recognized the lord's noble countenance.

"But..." The Divine Envoy's tone shifted, becoming sinister. "...I'm very busy."

"Huh?"

Efnathis froze. This was something he couldn't understand: wasn't that a divine oracle from our Lord? No matter how busy You are, shouldn't You prioritize what our Lord commands?

David didn't see it that way. Have him make a trip to the Dragon Ridge battlefield in the southwest? No way!

Unless the Shattered God specifically called him out by name!

David knew a thing or two about those Dragon Ridge Mountains in Duke Agamemnon's territory.

The famous Duke Agamemnon had openly rebelled against the Empire three years ago. He'd been fighting the Goliath Empire's army at the edge of Dragon Ridge for three solid years and was still at it.

That place had long been turned into a death zone by artillery fire and psychic energy, not to mention those twisted "dragon demons" supposedly lurking deep in the Dragon Ridge Mountains...

Who'd want to wade into those muddy waters?

Efnathis said anxiously, "But... we no longer have the strength to cross the blockade. If that stubborn duke is defeated, the scripture will fall into the hands of heretics, and even the divine arm inside won't be spared..."

David's heart stirred. Hearing "divine arm," he immediately perked up again.

So there was also a Hand of Divine Corpse deep in Dragon Ridge?

This made him a bit hesitant. Obviously, with his current strength, trying to break into Dragon Ridge would be incredibly stupid. He knew that battle line had already seen many mutations. The beings participating in the fighting now were all heaven-defying monsters...

Like his teacher he'd barely met—the legendary hunter, Olivia.

Looked like he could only list Dragon Ridge's Hand of Divine Corpse as a distant goal for now.

Mm... better fool these idiots and the Shattered God on the throne for now...

"What I mean is, I'm busy and don't have time to make the trip right now... but I will go, high priest."

David retracted his arms, paused, then said, "Actually, as our Lord's faithful servant, you, Efnathis, surely remember the contents of the scripture, don't you?"

Efnathis's mouth dropped open.

Behind the curtain, the twins' mouths dropped open too...

David continued, "Perhaps you can transcribe what you remember first, recreating the scripture you're familiar with as much as possible..."

As he spoke, he turned to glance at the curtain. Seeing the mist had no reaction, he knew he'd probably said the right thing.

The gods didn't care whether the scripture was the "original." The gods just wanted a complete scripture.

"I... I see..."

Efnathis also "understood." He bowed deeply toward the throne with delight, shouting loudly:

"Rest assured, my Lord. Your servant will definitely complete Your orders. Once we finish transcribing the new scripture, we'll present it to Lord Divine Envoy..."

Why give it to me? What do I need the scripture for??? Just burn it to your gods!

David secretly rolled his eyes, but he didn't stop Efnathis to avoid exposing himself.

Worst case, he'd burn it himself...

Behind the curtain, the twin sisters happily grabbed each other's hands, wanting to high-five right then and there. Looked like they'd be getting the higher-tier advancement ritual soon!

The mist slowly surged forward, covering the high priest's face ecstatic about the upcoming honor of "writing" the scripture, covering the Gatekeeper's numb praying face, covering David's indifferent face...

The Shattered Temple receded, and the dream was about to fade.

The sisters on the thrones slowly let out a breath. They'd already discovered that while they could pull people into this temple at night anytime, they couldn't choose who to pull.

Those souls that had been summoned would all appear at once no matter what. This meant they didn't dare touch that light filled with red dots anymore. Who knew if the next summoned person would be an uncontrollable maniac...

...

The maids woke from their beds. Dawn was approaching, and they needed to prepare breakfast for the young master.

In the Shattered Temple, they played "gods," but in reality, they were still that pair of beautiful, adorable little maids...

...

In the morning, after packing everything, David left 9 Michelin Avenue with a light travel bag.

Just like he'd said, he really was busy.

Before leaving, David even sent a letter to the Fourth Prince. The content of the letter was... borrowing money.

Hopefully His Highness Roland wouldn't blacklist him.

The goal of this trip was naturally one of the most important materials for his second-tier ritual—a glowing heart.

To obtain the freshest "glowing heart," he needed to take a steam train to a special little town near the imperial capital—Dark Valley.

That place bred large numbers of synthetic beasts created by the Empire's alchemists, and the monsters with glowing hearts were locked up deep underground in the town.

Fernandes had specifically given David a guide to the "Monster Cage."

Supposedly, Dark Valley was very close to an entrance to the Shadow Realm. It was a mixed bag where even the Order's authority might not hold much weight...

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