"Pain..."
Syl's consciousness felt as if it were in a dark space.
All around were frenzied roars; those unintelligible languages constantly seeped into Syl's spirit, yet as they reached the deepest parts, they seemed to be blocked by something, only for a new round of mental pollution to interfere again.
Interference, resistance, pollution, purification.
After this cycle repeated an unknown number of times, just as Syl was about to sink into despair, a golden light broke through the dark mist.
A brand new power surged from the depths of Syl's soul.
"Name: Sil·Saint"
"Class: Church of the Goddess of Hope · Saint (Gold)"
"Rank: Ascetic · Saint Rank (II) Incomplete"
"Strength: 15"
"Constitution: 29"
"Inspiration: 39"
"Agility: 17"
"Charisma: 32"
"Skills: [Divine Art: Basic Elemental Control], [Hand of Redemption], [Divine Art: Self-Sacrifice], [Hand of Suffering], [Mental Barrier], [Burden of Sin], [Gospel of Suffering]"
"Card Pool: [terrifying clown], [mysterious physician], [Heart-Stealing Love Saint], [rapping missionary]"
"Draw Count: 0"
"Overall Evaluation: I hate to say it, but isn't this Saint Rank just a total masochist?"
After an unknown amount of time, Syl slowly opened her eyes and saw the system panel before her.
Before Syl could react, a faint voice came from in front of her.
"Awake?"
Syl looked up and saw Archbishop Aishala; she was currently standing by the bed, silently watching Syl.
"Arch... bishop?" Syl's voice was somewhat weak, and the buzzing in her head hadn't lessened much. It was as if Syl had been forcibly elevated to a high level; not only was her entire body incredibly weak, but frenzied ravings also continued to echo in her mind.
This left Syl feeling not that she had become much stronger, but only that her spirit had become more frail.
"Don't move." Aishala gently pressed down on Syl's shoulder, stopping her attempt to sit up.
Then, Syl watched as Aishala helped tuck her in, went to the washroom to fetch a clean towel, and carefully wiped the beads of sweat from Syl's forehead that had fallen due to the pain.
Knock, knock, knock—
It wasn't until a knock at the door sounded that Aishala stopped her movements.
Slowly standing up under Syl's gaze, Aishala walked toward the door. Whether it was Syl's imagination or not, the Archbishop's steps seemed somewhat unsteady.
She looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
Aishala opened the door, and Sharon walked straight in, passing by Aishala without even giving her a glance.
"Syl! Are you feeling better?" Sharon sat by Syl's bedside with a worried expression, on the very stool Aishala had just occupied. She looked at Syl and continued, "How does your body feel now?"
"A bit weak..." Syl looked behind Sharon, watching Aishala push the door open and leave before withdrawing her gaze. "It doesn't feel very good."
"It's fine, you'll be better after a few days of rest. Don't go out for the next few days," Sharon said with a smile. "This can be considered part of your asceticism."
"Then I won't disturb you further. Having been away for so long, there are many matters waiting for me to handle." Seeing that Syl was not in serious danger, Sharon stood up and walked directly out the door.
Lying on the bed, Syl clenched her fists with some force, her nails digging into her flesh until blood flowed, yet she showed no reaction.
If Syl had been somewhat uncertain before, she was now almost certain that Sharon had other designs on her.
Frenzied ravings roared in Syl's mind, and the previous pain and despair seemed to still linger upon her. A surge of mad killing intent, no less than that of the Clown, surfaced in Syl's heart only to vanish in an instant.
In that moment, Syl even found it hard to distinguish whether she was the Clown or someone else.
Is this the influence of the character card?
Syl slowly closed her eyes and began to think about the mission in Ibiza with unprecedented clarity.
She wanted power, and she wanted it now.
Over the next few days, Syl stayed in her room, never taking a single step outside.
Aside from meals and newspapers being delivered, nothing else was allowed into Syl's room.
From the newspapers, Syl learned of the current situation in Ibiza.
After a day of unrest, the Great Saya Empire's army moved out. They captured a young man named Kyle and threw him into prison, seemingly intending to charge him as the mastermind behind the riots.
Losing Kyle's mobilization, the people of Ibiza seemed to have lost their pillar; they never gathered for a decent assembly again, and the army also imposed a curfew on Ibiza.
On the second day of the curfew, the streets were covered with numerous portraits of a green-haired clown and forged signatures, as if the people were calling for a certain figure to arrive. That day, the police captured more than a dozen 'criminals' who were posting the images.
On the third day, Syl wrote a letter and sent it to the Church of the Goddess of Justice. Then, in the afternoon, another letter was handed over to Vera by Jane's hand.
That night, an anonymous article titled [I Have a Dream] hit the headlines.
The next day, a large number of laborers in Ibiza took to the streets. Some held newspapers, reciting something for the illiterate workers. That evening, a person wearing a clown mask with Molotov cocktails made of strong spirits strapped to their body charged into the army's ranks.
The riot was thus ignited.
In the dead of night, Syl sat by the window in her bathrobe. The firelight from the direction of Ibiza lit up nearly half the night sky. Though she couldn't hear the sound, Syl seemed to be able to feel the commotion over there.
"System, is it complete?"
Syl asked in her mind.
"A riot has been incited in Ibiza."
"Mission [The Fall of Iviza] Complete."
"Reward Upgrade — Choose one of two."
"Reward 1: [Elegant Terrifying Clown] (Purple)"
"Reward 2: [The Misfit Seed-Bearing Young Dragon] (Purple)"
Syl leaned back against the chair and let out a soft breath.
The gloom of the past few days was completely dispelled by the sheer absurdity of the second new card the system had randomly generated.
"What kind of garbage card is this?! And what the hell is a Seed-Bearing Young Dragon!"
"Wait, seed-bearing?"
"Is it a male dragon?"
"Don't even think about it ^^"
"Can it make people pregnant?"
"That, it indeed can."
Originally, when Syl saw Option 1, she had already decided to choose Option 2.
Because choosing 1 would just advance the Clown by one rank. While abilities might be significantly improved, it wasn't as good as picking another purple card.
At least it would mean an extra life.
But now, hearing the system mention the phrase 'can make others pregnant,' Syl decisively made up her mind and chose 2.
A flash of purple light passed, and a strange card appeared in Syl's hand.
Purple, eerie patterns twisted around the entire card. Inside the card was only a bizarre egg... no, rather than an egg, it was more like a fleshy ovum, tightly attached to a corpse.
"The Misfit Seed-Bearing Young Dragon"
"Class: None"
"Rank: None"
"Strength: 103"
"Constitution: 114"
"Inspiration: 21"
"Agility: 49"
"Charisma: 12"
"Skills: [Dragon Egg Parasitism], [Cocoon-Breaking Necrogenesis], [Dragon Swarm Will], [Eerie Grudge], [Spore Breath]"
"Professional Evaluation: Well, finally a card with some operational potential has arrived... it's just a bit anti-human..."