My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Several martial artists, cultivators, and mages from Human Realm inspected the demonic site with a hint of awe.

"The traces of heaven and earth... Who could pull off a move like this? Perhaps, truly a God?"

"At the very least, one must be at Deity-level or higher in holy magic. This demon site has been destroyed. No demons are left alive?"

"No, sir. We couldn't find anyone within a fifty-kilometer radius. However, we found hints and traces of demonic cult annihilation."

"That's good. One demonic cult obliterated from the Demon Realm is good news. We report the current situation. It's time for us to leave before the demons arrive."

The humans of various factions rushed away after carrying out a quick investigation.

Several groups of demons arrived in the vicinity a few minutes after the humans left. They felt somewhat astonished but also curious about this situation.

"Tch, those humans are so adept at escaping."

"No trace of battle, but hundreds of demons vanished in one move... A Deity or perhaps a God eliminated them all?"

"By this trace, even the 6th Rank elder was unable to resist and was reduced to ashes. Seriously, what exactly is going on here?"

The demons discussed with each other, regardless of their origin. They had more time to investigate this incident than humans. Thus they relaxed about doing their jobs.

"Elder Shura, use your memory stone. We must know the situation here." The goat-like demon glanced at the six-armed demon beside him.

"Are you sure, Elder Erros? You have already witnessed the Light of Heaven from afar and its oppression from afar, right? We might also be affected even though what we saw was just the projection." Elder Shura felt reluctant to use his treasure.

"You can make it a bit blurry. We need to know the glimpse of what happened and who was involved." Elder Erros crossed his arms.

"Well then." Elder Shura was convinced. He took out a pure white gemstone and put it on the ground.

He put his hands together and activated his treasure. Soon, a three-dimensional projection appeared and revealed an event from one hour ago.

More than a hundred cloaked demons gathered around the pyramid for a ritual ceremony, and there were around two dozen human sacrifices. Two of them were first-rate rare beauties with flawless appearances. That was what everyone thought of that sight, even though it was a bit blurry.

Those two pitiful girls were thrown into the pit at the top of the pyramid. The demons all went up to the top to find out what was going on, and they were shocked to find the projection of a large purple egg there.

"A revival ritual?"

"Yes, this is unmistakable. They are trying to revive their ancestor using routine rituals."

"Those human sacrifices are nothing but nutrition for this egg."

"They are from the Vroblaphy Cult. I recognize this emblem."

"You mean, that sneaky cult?"

"Wait, that girl is sucked into the egg!"

The demons fell silent as the black-haired human was sucked into the egg. A phenomenon of dark clouds descending from the sky occurred and was soon replaced by divine light and heavenly thunder.

*Shine* *Crack*

The memory stone cracked because the divine light projection was too much. Even if it was just an illusion, the cause and effect leaked out somehow.

The demons were too absorbed to witness the projection in the sky. They didn't even notice their skin was burning bit by bit.

"Gyaa! So hot!"

"My eyes!"

"Argh, this is just a projection, but why the holy damage is real deal!?"

"Run, run from the divine light scope!"

"Turn off the memory stone. Argh, my skin is melting!"

The demons screamed in agony while tortured under the divine light projection.

*Crack* *Crumble*

The memory stone crumbled into powder and vanished in the wind. More than a hundred demons from various factions lay on the ground. They suffered some injuries, but they were relieved the torture was over.

"My Rank S treasure... Did God really descend with that human girl as a medium? But, the barrier to the upper realm has long been closed, right?" Elder Shura ignored his injury to save his memory stone, but it was too late. He suffered a great loss because of it.

"Damn, those bastards perhaps accidentally kidnapped the saintess from the holy land. She is under divine light protection!" Elder Erros clenched his fists. He then asked his people to go back to report the situation.

Meanwhile, the culprit and her disciples were already thousands of kilometers from the incident scene. They stopped in a village near Lumina City, soaking in a cozy inn's hot spring.

"Thank you, Gab-chan." Ely rinsed her long midnight black hair with clean water.

"I am honored to serve you, milady." Gabriella was flattered.

Ely then joined her female disciples to soak in the hot spring.

"We will conduct in-depth investigations into Luponia Magic Academy, Holy Church, and the last one is the Lumina Marquess Family." Ely announced her goals.

"Disciple obey." The female disciples answered in unison.

"I intend to move alone-" Ely stated her intention. Yet, she couldn't finish her sentence because her disciples interrupted her.

"Absolutely not!"

"You can't, master."

"At least, let me accompany you."

"Hou? Why is that? Are you worried that someone will hurt me when I'm going to act in the light, and you are in the shadows?" Ely was curious.

Usually, her disciples didn't dare to forbid her to go alone because she was more capable and stronger than anyone under certain circumstances.

"Master, human affairs can be a pain. It will save you the trouble if you have someone who can become your shield and blade beside you." Rafaela explained respectfully.

"I see... Maybe, I can ask Mika-kun to be my escort knight. I'll talk to him after this." Ely tapped her chin.

"!?"

"Good for you, Mika-kun~ You can accompany our master for this mission."

"Understood."

The male disciples in the hot spring next door made small talk after hearing their master's murmur.

"This could be trickier than it looks. The world hasn't been very peaceful lately." Ely closed her eyes and spoke no more.

"Affirmative." Gabriella glanced at the nervous Rafaela. She knew her master knew something that none of them could discover. And, it involved Rafaela.

'As expected of milady. Nothing can escape her mystic eyes. The truth has been revealed long ago, huh...' Gabriella muttered in her mind.

A few moments later, everyone came out of the hot spring. Ely had a brief discussion with all of her disciples.

They stayed one night at that fancy inn before going to Lumina City in the morning.

...

Michael was an abandoned child from the ruthless southern wilderness. He had short, wavy blond hair and blue eyes with the serpent-like pupil.

He had no parents, family, or even friends. If it wasn't for the harsh jungle environment, he would be similar to the vampire prince from the fairytale.

He was a human but had already given up on humanity long ago because of a particular tragedy. He succumbed to demonic possession as if he accepted his fate and became a monster for years. The once known as the slime demon overlord in the great southern river was swept away in flood and washed up to the northern region, crossing the realm's border.

After being saved by a powerful yet kind-hearted shrine priestess, he gradually regained his sanity and faith in humanity. He slowly returned as a human being with feelings, reasons, and senses. His master might be strict and scary sometimes, but she was so gentle and warm.

It was the first time he had something he could call home to return. He would do anything to protect his master and his fellow disciples, even if he had to destroy the world for it.

He had trouble sleeping the whole night because he was too excited. This would be his first hanging out with his honorable, beautiful master. It was just the two of them.

But... ｂｅ𝚍𝚗ｏｖｅ𝚕．𝚗𝚎𝚝

"Excuse me, please don't make a scene here. You can always resolve your grudge in the training ground or arena." Ely asked politely because the other parties blocked the road.

"Shut up, busybody btch!" The young master snapped harshly.

*Bonk*

"I'm in a good mood today, so please don't ruin it." Ely tapped the rude man's head with her wooden wand lightly.

"..." Michael had nothing to say. His master blatantly became the bright, benevolent saintess upon her first visit to the human city.

She healed random sick elderly, helped passersby in trouble, reconciled people in conflict, and many other generous things. For a glance, she was just like a naive girl with a profound sense of justice and kindness but backed up with power.

He knew that his master was always like that. She was generous, benevolent, and kind to anyone who deserved it. Even demon was no exception. However, she was merciless toward her enemies and terrifying when angry.

"Uh-huh, yes, you're right, my fair lady, hehe..." The young master laughed stupidly as he shook hands with a certain young man. They instantly reconciled.

The people around him were shocked at how easily the stunning beauty had turned the arrogant young master into an obedient boy all of a sudden.

"..." The certain young man was speechless. This young master came to cause him some trouble. Still, this person suddenly became like a dog before this gorgeous innocent girl.

"If you must resolve your dispute, please do so in a proper place, not on this bustling street." Ely turned around and raised her hand in farewell.

"Gulp." The young master broke into a cold sweat.

He was so scared, actually. This gorgeous lady tapped his head lightly with that wooden wand. It was like a direct hit to his soul, and he became brain-dead for a few seconds.

If she asked him to make up with this annoying country bumpkin right now, how could he refuse her with that kind of warning?

"Tch, consider yourself lucky, brat." The young master hurried away. He was curious about that lady's identity. It was faint, but he could catch the faint holy aura from her some time ago.

"What's wrong with him? But who is that girl? She is so pretty and elegant. Is it possible that she is a revered saintess?" The certain young lady grasped her junior brother's arm.

"How should I know? Are you satisfied to have me as your shield? Now, I need to go to the academy for my morning class. Don't bother me." The certain young man ran from his senior sister right away.