The Inquisitor lowered his weapon slightly, but the thug was already leaving, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Edith sighed, sheathing his blade. "Saintess Lilith, if you keep behaving like this—"
"I know! I’m sorry, Edith," the girl said, slightly downtrodden. They began making their way back as she explained. "It’s just, tiring. Trying to be good all the time. I’m always cooped up and watched over by the Church, I could not stand it. I’m a regular person too, with her own wants and needs."
"But you can’t just do whatever you want, Saintess. You have your virtues to uphold. Breaking them would be breaking your Sainthood vows. You’ll forego the powers the Goddess has given you. Do you want that?"
"I don’t, I don’t." Saintess Lilith repeated herself and ducked her head. Her face shadowed over. "Edith, is it wrong to want to enjoy yourself?" She fidgeted with the bracelet— no, the shackles that bound only her right hand, keeping her tracked at all times. She tried to pull it out, but it did not come loose. It was enchanted— crafted by the best tinkerers of the Holy Xan Empire to be incredibly resilient.
The Inquisitor paused midstep. He looked at the girl who was still clinging on to him, tears forming on her eyes. "I— why are you asking this?"
"You probably don’t trust me after I already snuck out once. And you’ll probably report this back to the Grand Inquisitor or the Archbishop,right?"
How did she know— Edith shook his head. "I don’t know what you’re referring to."
She sighed, letting go of him slightly. "I know you’ll deny it, but please don’t tell anyone. I’ll do anything— but just for tonight, I want to enjoy myself."
"I’m not letting you out of my sights, Saintess," Edith said simply.
"I know you won’t." The woman— incredibly beautiful by anyone’s standards— paused, and turned to him. A smile drew across her face, and she leaned over. "And you won’t have to," she whispered.
Edith gazed upon this sight. Felt her voice touch softly at his ear. And as annoying as he found her— as much trouble as she caused him— he could not help but gulp.
The next morning, Saintess Lilith was in a much more cheerful mood. Edith looked tired, but not unhappy either. Their companions gave them an odd look when they emerged from the same room, but none of them commented on it.
"We’ll be heading for Bys soon. It would be a few more days' journey even if we travel at top speed. But from the information we’ve gathered, it is unlikely the situation would change even if we take our time getting there."
"Yes, and since it’s been months and it hasn’t left the city, this Amalgamation is probably a greedier one. It wants to absorb all the bodies it can, rather than try and grow its horde," Saintess Lilith said nodding in agreement.
All five Inquisitors stared at the young woman in shock, confused by her more amenable personality. She was their expert in dealing with the Abominations, but up till now, she had been… difficult. She blinked back at them.
"What? I’m just saying— if the Amalgamation was not being greedy, it would’ve moved on to the next city after three months, rather than incubate in Bys for another six."
"I— no, it’s nothing." Edith frowned. Was it really that easy? But the Saintess just shrugged as two Bolerian officials passed by.
"I don’t know what’s gotten into you guys. But I need to use the toilet." She spun around, calling after one of the Bolerian officials— a brown haired woman in her 40’s— and ran after her. "Hey, wait, do you know where the bathrooms—"
The squad leader just sighed, letting her stop the Boleria officials for a moment. He ignored her conversation with them since they were out of ear shot, and turned to the rest of his companions.
"Once we reach Bys, our plan is to target the Amalgamation. Carve a path through all the other Abominations to destroy it. Without their leader, the regular Abominations would become mindless Monsters and disperse on their own."
"But what about the surrounding cities?" Hadi protested. "I know most of them have already been razed to the ground, but there’s still some left— both Free and Chained Cities! And Boleria too— they asked for our support. They’ll be in danger!"
"Boleria asked us to clear Bys from Abominations because they felt threatened by its presence so close to their city. And that’s exactly what we’re doing," Edith said snappishly. "If they want, they can ask for protection from the Holy Xan Empire, but unlike this extermination mission, we won’t be doing that for free."
There was a logical approach to this. By answering their call for aid, Boleria and both the Free and Chained Cities, would already be indebted to the Holy Xan Empire. But if they were to once again ask for more support, it sets up the possibility of an alliance of sorts between them. One where the Holy Xan Empire held the leverage over them, of course.
And if they did not ask for their support to combat the dispersing Abominations— well, it was always a good thing when your enemies were in disarray. Chaos was a good thing to inflict upon those you did not like. It primed the Free Lands for a possible full scale military intervention by the Holy Xan Empire, if the need ever arose.
Both outcomes were beneficial. Although they were merely possibilities, and nothing was set in stone just yet. Everything was to be done with the best interest of the Holy Xan Empire in mind. And that was all Edith care about— to support his country. To support the Church.
Because, in the whole entire world,
