Under the large tree in the backyard of the lord's mansion.

With only thin rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves, the noon sun didn't appear too strong as it shined on Dekan and Cornelia.

"Phew, done for the day."

Dekan leaned against the tree, leisurely basking in the sun.

Cornelia sat beside him.

The two of them were as relaxed and comfortable as when they used to play with cats in the school backyard.

But this time, they brought Countess Lysilina to the backyard to sunbathe with them.

They had spent quite some time here, finally using "Blood Purification" to purify the blood from Countess Lysilina's body.

It was just like when they gave therapy to Viscount Augustin, the boss of the snowy mountain mansion.

Every time Dekan used [Blood Purification] to wake Lysilina up from the pain, Cornelia would use [Blood Detective's Book] to knock her out again.

Under the sunlight, Countess Lysilina was as easy to lull to sleep as a baby.

One was responsible for anesthetizing, the other for treatment. They repeated this process dozens of times and ultimately completely purified the vampire countess.

When the blood on a vampire's body was completely exhausted, even if her recovery ability and vitality were strong, she couldn't repair the injuries on her body.

Naturally, [Blood Purification] was also a card specifically designed to deal with vampires.

Seeing that Dekan and Cornelia had finished their work, and Countess Lysilina was completely quiet, the lord who had been hiding in the mansion finally came out and walked over to Dekan.

"Lord Priest... Is this vampire dead?" The lord inquired.

"Well, of course. Mister Lord, you can rest assured." Dekan answered calmly with a smile.

It was the smile of an expert, a professional in their field. Seeing the smile, the lord felt extremely reassured.

When Dekan and Cornelia successfully subdued all the vampires in the mansion, they first made sure the lord regained consciousness.

In theory, once the caster of the mental control lost consciousness, the abnormal state of the controlled person could be easily resolved.

However, the abnormal state imposed by Countess Lysilina required high-tier purification magic to easily dispel. The high tier was a sore spot for Dekan and Cornelia.

However, they had their ways too. Sometimes, physical means were much more effective than magic.

Cornelia just so happened to be a master of strength magic. So, with a big bump on his head, the lord managed to luckily break free from Countess Lysilina's control.

Although the lord felt confused, like was having a nightmare, when he was being mind controlled, he had a rough idea of what had happened. Upon waking up, even without Dekan's persuasion, he quickly understood the situation.

Undoubtedly, it was this mysterious priest and the nun who was always with him who saved the lord's mansion and the city. Although their behavior and methods were extremely sinister, the lord was clear about how to treat these two. After all, he was a discerning person.

Besides, ignoring whether these two were allies of justice or not, no one dared to provoke them for fear of their lives! Undoubtedly, these two were even more terrifying than the vampire countess who brought him nightmares!

"About the vampires locked in the basement..." the lord spoke hesitantly. Naturally, he hoped these two masters could help him deal with those potential troubles. But seeing Dekan and Cornelia looking like they wanted to take a nap and live leisurely, he didn't want to force them.

"Wouldnt it be okay to send those vampires to the Holy Rites Church in the city for disposal?" Dekan raised an eyebrow, asking somewhat puzzled.

He and Cornelia only planned to take out the boss themselves to prevent any future trouble. But dealing with those elite mobs with high health was not something they wanted to slowly redeem.

"Milord, I no longer trust the Holy Rites Church in this city," the lord said, his expression turning resentful.

"Why do you trust me then? Aren't I also a priest of the Holy Rites Church?" Dekan asked.

"No, you're different. You and Grand Priest Kevin are both priests from the north. You are truly noble priests, trustworthy people."

Upon hearing the lord's response, Dekan was first stunned. Then, he became a bit more serious. He hadn't expected such an Easter egg-like plot to appear after the main missions had ended.

Dekan realized that he wasn't a local priest. Instead, he came from the Holy Capital?

Could it be that when he fooled the prisoners by saying he was "a close friend of Grand Priest Kevin," it was actually true in the background story??

What an unexpected turn of events.

"Please convey to me as much information as you know. For example, about the issues with the branches of the Holy Rites Church in this city," Dekan began probing the lord's words.

"..." The lord fell silent, seeming to have something he was hesitant to say.

"Please, feel free to speak up. I won't let anyone know what you've told me, and I'll take responsibility for anything that happens," Dekan said, showing particular interest in this information. He gently patted the lord's shoulder, looking at him with a serious expression.

Even though the Shadow World had been cleared, he could still gather intelligence. This indicated that the story of the Holy Kingdom might not be over yet. Moreover, Dekan strongly suspected that the "Shadow World: Desolate Mountain Blizzard Cineaste" they entered before and this "Shadow World: Secrets of the Declined Sacred Ritual" were from the same world. If this could be confirmed, then Dekan might very well enter more Shadow Worlds related to the Holy Kingdom in the future.

Generally, most challengers enter Shadow Worlds randomly. They might challenge many Shadow Worlds but never enter the same world background twice. However, there are also challengers who enter several interconnected Shadow Worlds consecutively. It was as if these challengers had an inexplicable connection with those Shadow Worlds settings!

Compared to randomly entering Shadow Worlds, it felt more like certain fixed Shadow Worlds chose them! When they entered the Demon Academy and the Blizzard Mountain Villa, Dekan didn't feel it. But after entering this Shadow World, Dekan had a very strong feeling - he seemed to really have a connection with the Holy Kingdom.

The lord sighed, as if realizing something. He clenched his fist and said in a low voice, "Actually, it's not just the issue with the Holy Rites Church in this city. The entire southern Holy Rites Church is like this. I think the root of the problem lies in the Holy Capital."

"Dekan: "The Holy Capital?"

The Holy Capital is the imperial capital of the Holy Kingdom, located in the central-southern part of the kingdom.

"Rumors say that the northern part of the Holy Kingdom is currently embroiled in a war with the demons, while the south seems to be turning a blind eye, just pursuing their own interests," the lord said.

"Their attitude is akin to abandoning the people of the north; they only care about their own safety," he continued.

"This time around, I've come to know that the Holy Capital isn't just neglecting the north, theyre indifferent to the safety of all its citizens! Even the ones in the south!"

"It is you, priests from the north following Lord Lunen who truly protects us."

"You all are about to engage in a battle against the demons in the north. Yet, you still came to the south to guard against the vampires. Sooner or later, the Holy Capital will end up dragging you all down!"

The lord grew more and more excited as he spoke, seemingly willing to say these words even if it meant risking his head.

Dekan nodded upon hearing the lord's response. "Lord, thank you for your honest and brave words. I have a few more questions I'd like to ask you."

"Please, go ahead and ask!"

After a series of inquiries, Dekan roughly pieced together the background story for this Shadow World:

Grand Priest Kevin was dispatched to the south by Cardinal Lunen many years ago to guard the seal on Marquess Roderick. Recently, the north heard rumors about vampires and dispatched another priest, Dekan, to assist Grand Priest Kevin in the south.

However, just as Dekan arrived in the city, he heard news from the town about Kevin missing and the bridge being broken. Following the knights who had come seeking help from the town, Priest Dekan made his way to the town, thus initiating the start of the Shadow World...

Dekan now understood why Grand Priest Kevin encountered trouble in the town, and why he was the only priest sent from the city to investigate the town. It was because the priests of the southern Holy Rites Church were truly negligent.

"Don't worry, I will report the situation to Lord Lunen," Dekan said, updating his language now that he understood he was a priest in Lunens faction. From what Dekan knew, Lunen was the youngest Cardinal of the Holy Rites Church, and also the core force on the northern frontlines.

Dekan didnt expect that his identity wasn't that of an ordinary priest either.

He had a major backing called Lunen.

Will his backer Lunen come up in future Shadow Worlds?

"Cardinal... Lunen..." Just as Dekan was pondering, he suddenly heard his master's murmuring in his mind.

"What? Master, have you heard of this name?" In his mind, Dekan responded with surprise.

"No... I can't remember... but it seems familiar I might have had some contact with this person," Dekans master seemed to be trying hard to recall.

The name Lunen stirred up memories for her, and some fragments of memory seemed to be picked up and pieced together. But her memories were like damaged modules. She wasnt able to find the key points and was only able to barely organize some originally insufficient fragments.

Her memory was as broken and fragmented as her soul, some things about herself she couldn't recall no matter how hard she tried. Especially about the first half of her life, she had no impression at all - as if it had been completely severed.

The only things that were relatively clear were the most important memories before her death, and her vast knowledge.

"I can confirm, Ive met this human named Lunen!" Finally, Dekans master seemed to have made a discovery, conveying her thoughts to Dekan with some excitement.

"!" Dekan was also excited, never expecting that, in the third Shadow World, he would successfully find a clue related to his masters backstory.

"...So, is it due to some sort of connection with you that I am entering this Shadow World connected to the Holy Kingdom? " Dekan asked.

Since his master had met Lunen, it meant that his master had been to the Holy Kingdom in the real world.

However, that must have been thousands or even tens of thousands years ago. So it means that the timeline corresponding to this Shadow World is actually thousands of years ago in the real world - a story from ancient times.

"No..." Suddenly, Dekans master denied Dekan's words.

Dekan's brow furrowed slightly. How could it be yes one moment and no the next? If it's not related to you, could it be related to me?

Dekans master continued, "Its also because of your own relations that you came to this Shadow World relating to the Holy Kingdom I have seen you... by Lunen's side..."

Her words echoed in Dekan's ears like thunder.

"How is that possible..." Even with his brain spinning quickly, Dekan couldn't understand what his master meant. How could he possibly be related to the Holy Kingdom?

Between him and Lunen, between him and his master, where did the connections come from?

"Look." Dekans master tried to share with Dekan a fragmented image she had pieced together from her memories.

Dekan gradually felt like he could sense his master's memories. It was an extremely blurry image. It seemed like two people were talking in a grand hall, surrounded by indistinct onlookers. Among the two main figures, one looked dignified yet somewhat weary. Presumably, this figure was Lunen. The other figure seemed to be speaking to Lunen. Although the image was blurry, it was not difficult to see that it was Dekan!

Dekan observed the scene as if seeing a ghost. The only difference between the current Dekan and the one in the image was that the Dekan in his master's memory had golden eyes.

And from his master's perspective, she was standing right beside Dekan. Dekan's golden eyes in that image, so very familiar to him, were exactly how his eyes appeared when his master possessed him.

But here's the problem. In the scene from his master's memory, clearly back when she was alive, his master was right beside him. How did his eyes turn golden?

"Thats impossible. How could I appear in another place in the Holy Kingdom?"

Dekan felt a tingling sensation on his scalp. His master's memories should have been from thousands of years ago. Dekan shouldnt exist in that timeline at all.

Even if, in the future, Dekan were to enter a Shadow World related to the Holy Kingdom and meet Lunen, it would still be a Shadow World!

Shadow Worlds are parallel worlds created from real worlds, alternate worlds, and historical recollections! It's completely different from the real world! If these were his master's memories from the real world, then it could only mean that Dekan had indeed appeared in ancient times!

"Could it be that I will travel back to ancient times in the future?" Dekan asked, puzzled.

"Thats impossible. Even for tier 10, it's not possible to travel back ten thousand years and reverse causality," his master replied with great certainty. She had a clear understanding of the limits of the power system in this world.

Dekan and his master fell silent for a long time. They completely ignored the lord who was waiting in the courtyard. For them, clarifying this issue was more important than anything else.

"There is only one explanation then," Dekan pondered for a long time, finally conveying his thoughts, "The Holy Kingdom has an inexplicable connection with me, with you, master, and with our past lives."

Perhaps meeting his master was not a coincidence. It was a necessity. These entanglements could possibly only be found in other Shadow Worlds related to the Holy Kingdom.