Chapter 633: Light Returns

There were plenty of abilities that could alter one's appearance, so Loren didn't take her seriously at all.

That said, this did give Loren some guesses. Most likely, that woman was the serial killer. After killing someone, she would take their place, and finally use their identity to kill the victim's lover or family.

But even if he'd figured all this out, Loren couldn't be bothered to care. Most of the people she'd killed weren't ordinary folks, and the Church did take her somewhat seriously, they just simply lacked the competence to catch her.

Leaving her alive would just cause more trouble for the Church, so why not?

In the end, Loren ignored her and flew into the sky.

...

Loren and the others flew across the territory of the God of Pain, and no matter where they went, there weren't many people around.

Loren even passed over some demon territories, which were even more empty than everywhere else.

War was where demons were most useful. The Church of Pain had raised them for so long, it was about time they were put to use.

Moreover, the very existence of demons was already questionable. The Church had been lenient enough with them, so they couldn't possibly refuse the Church's conscription.

As the sky suddenly dimmed, it confirmed that Loren had now entered the territory of the God of Night and Thunder.

"Luna is in a small country north of the Uridia Kingdom."

Laila timely pointed the way for Starnight.

"Got it."

Starnight flew in the direction Laila indicated. The Uridia Kingdom was longer east to west, but not very long north to south, so it wouldn't take much extra time.

"Let's wait until we find Luna before eating."

Anna was indeed hungry, but she also knew what needed to be prioritized, so she had no objection to Loren's suggestion.

Besides, if they didn't find Luna, she wouldn't have much appetite anyway.

Starnight didn't land in the Uridia Kingdom, flying straight across it.

The Uridia Kingdom wasn't much different from before, it was just that with war approaching, people were having a harder time.

Because the technology here was advanced, not many people needed to go to the battlefield. Instead, more people entered factories to produce equipment needed for the war.

The god-to-god matchups were carefully selected by Loren. With firearms in play, the Church of Night and Thunder would crush any other Church in terms of low-tier combat power.

An ordinary person holding a firearm had the chance to kill a mid-tier mage.

If they were facing other ordinary people, then it was simply mowing grass.

But the followers of the God of Vows and Wind were an exception. Wind magic and vow magic could both effectively counter firearms.

Wind magic could blow bullets off course, and vow magic could simply prevent gunpowder from igniting altogether.

So these two gods were fighting to a fifty-fifty, fairly balanced standstill.

Same as with the God of Pain's side, the Church of Night and Thunder was also forcing vampires onto the battlefield. The vampires counted as a sort of surprise force, but their limitations were quite significant, they could only appear at night.

Even if they went to war, it would be the low-tier vampires going. The pride of high-tier vampires wouldn't allow them to personally step onto the battlefield, which was also the result of their negotiations with the Church.

The lower classes went to war, the nobles enjoyed themselves in the rear, and the vampires were the same.

Starnight accelerated, quickly crossing the Uridia Kingdom and arriving in the wilderness. There was still some distance before the next country.

"You've worked hard, Starnight."

Loren stroked Starnight's scales. Since leaving the God of Pain's territory, Starnight hadn't touched the ground once.

"Rest here for a while. Laila and I will set off first, and we'll meet up there later."

"Yes, Master."

Starnight obeyed Loren's command and began to descend.

When Loren and Laila moved alone, they were actually considerably faster than Starnight, and Starnight was indeed a bit tired by now.

"Please be careful."

Before leaving, Anna gave Loren a worried reminder.

"Yeah."

Loren didn't say much, to avoid jinxing himself. Loren even suspected that maybe he'd set too many flags before, which was why he'd actually died for a while.

Before Starnight touched the ground, Loren activated the Dusk Crow ability, and carrying Laila, flew toward Luna's direction.

...

This country felt lifeless and gloomy, but that was normal. After all, with the Uridia Kingdom right next door, anyone with ambition would go straight there to develop, which left this place with basically no young people.

Besides, this place was too small and didn't have much value. Even if the followers of the God of Vows and Wind attacked, they might not bother with it.

"Why did Luna come here? For safety?"

The territory of the God of Night and Thunder had better compatibility with Luna's Arcane Ability, so her coming here was normal. Loren just didn't understand why she wasn't in the Uridia Kingdom or the wilderness, insisting on coming to this tiny country.

There were Night Watchers here searching for witches too, so hiding from their searches didn't make sense either.

The people here were much weaker though. Even if she was discovered, Luna could fight her way through this entire place.

"It's just ahead..."

Laila pointed out the direction for Loren. Loren arrived at a small hut on the edge of the area, and inside, he found Luna.

Her body was covered in severe burns, looking absolutely tragic.

Luna had only a faint breath remaining, but she was still holding on by a thread.

"What happened?"

He never imagined his reunion with Luna would be like this. He quickly fed her some healing potion from his belongings while simultaneously using Abundant Magic to treat her.

"Luna..."

Seeing someone she knew reduced to this state, Laila's heart ached terribly, especially since she'd already come to think of Luna as her own child.

The current situation was strange. Luna's stats were naturally high, and on top of that, she'd been stimulated by Loren's death. Loren estimated that even if she were surrounded by angels, she could still escape unscathed. Basically, no one should be able to beat her to this state.

And someone capable of beating her to this state wouldn't have let her live either.

But this wasn't the time to think about that. After stabilizing Luna's condition, Loren immediately carried Luna and ran outside. He needed to get her out of here fast, something was very wrong with this place.

But just as Loren stepped out of the hut, the sky was instantly illuminated. The intense light made it impossible for Loren to open his eyes, and Laila beside him was directly blinded.

She instinctively grabbed onto Loren. Even if she couldn't see, as long as Loren was there, she wouldn't panic.

"What's going on?"

Loren forced his eyes open. One of his eyes was nearly blinded by the intense light, only the eye bearing the True Sight Eye blessing could still see clearly.

Then, he saw the sun. This scene stirred up Loren's memories, the memories from right before he died.

"God of Light and Fire?"

Loren recognized what this ball of sun was, it was the God of Light and Fire, the god with whom Loren had the deepest grievances.

"Why would He be here?"

This was the time of the Divine War. If He left, the other gods might directly destroy the Holy Flame Empire and slaughter all His believers.