Villain Steal the Heroines

Chapter 24: Holy Son and The Mark of Messenger

"Then please."

Hearing the cardinal's words, the elderly nuns standing before the altar who had been gawking at my earlier performance suddenly came to their senses and rushed over to him, as if they had been waiting for this moment all along.

I understood why they were called, but having myself taken care of by a gaggle of elderly ladies was not really my first choice.

It's not like all the nuns in the cathedral were old and wrinkled; I spotted a few young and attractive ones peeking at me stealthily from a side aisle.

Some of them were probably my age or a little older, but they were apparently still in training and therefore not eligible enough to be responsible for my care on this momentous occasion.

Though I really wanted to be dressed by those beautiful young ones, but what can I say?

For the successful implementation of my plans and to maintain my righteous and sacred image, I have to bite the bullet, sacrifice myself, and let these old women take advantage of the innocent me.

After receiving the order from the cardinal, as the group of nuns approached me, one of them spoke.

"You look so handsome, Holy Son."

"Thank you, Sister; you're also looking very beautiful." I said, somehow containing my face from making a distorted expression and barely squeezing out a smile.

"Hehe, so cute!"

'Hehe my ass!'

Shamelss grandma!

Have you ever had a grandma look at you not like a grandparent looking at a grandchild, but like a woman looking up to and adoring the man she loves?

If not for unshaken perseverance, I might have already puked here after receiving such a gaze.

Despite my thoughts, the group of cheery old women grabbed my arm, and as they dragged me, I cast a pleading glance at my mother.

who, instead of helping me, simply chuckled and looked at me playfully, as if to say, "Now act cute in front of others; good for you; it's the goddess' retribution on you for this poor mother," before walking away and sitting on a bench with a smirk on her face.

Mother! How could you abandon this cute son of yours?

Having received the "greatest betrayal" in my life, I reluctantly followed the group of old women, who took me to the side building of the cathedral and then into the separate residency area, where, after giving me a bath in the holy water, they dressed me in a long white robe adorned with intricate embroidery that flows gently around me, has a hood to cover my head, and a simple yet elegant sash tied around my waist.

The church's symbol was stitched on the hood, and the whole outfit gives off a feeling of purity and devotion.

"Now you look like the real holy son of our church. hahaha."

When I returned to the cathedral, the cardinal and other people first complimented my appearance.

Then, after speaking this line,

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"Becoming a holy son in the Church of Light is a solemn and sacred ceremony steeped in tradition and symbolism."

He led a procession of prominent church figures into the depths of the cathedral, down the spiral staircase leading towards a secret and luxurious hall that felt like a sacred ceremonial or praying place, was filled with magical lights, and had a big white statue of the goddess of light, Theia, at its centre.

The statue of the goddess stood tall and proud, towering over the people who came to pay her homage.

It was surrounded by a gold stanchion with red velvet rope and an altar with a circle of red carpet around it, which was probably used as a place to pray.

Just like a radiant and ethereal figure wearing flowing robes that seem to be made of pure light, her face was serene, with eyes that seemed to glow with inner wisdom and a smile that exuded warmth and compassion.

Her hair, which falls in gentle waves around her face, was made of delicate filaments of light that shimmer and dance in the slightest breeze.

In one hand, she held a staff that glows with an inner radiance, symbolising her power and authority over the forces of light and goodness; in the other hand, she held a globe that shines like a miniature sun, representing the light that she brings to the world.

Even to someone like me who doesn't have much knowledge about statues, I can tell just by looking that this statue was made of the finest materials, with every detail crafted to perfection.

Around the base of the statue, there were offerings of flowers, candles, and other tokens of devotion, left by the faithful as a sign of their love and gratitude for the goddess of light.

Even someone like me, who knew so much about the truth of this world, was able to feel a sense of calm and tranquilly wash over me, when I stood in front of the statue.

It was as if the goddess herself were bestowing her divine presence upon me.

Now I truly understood why she is so beloved and revered by the people of this fantasy world, and why they look to her as a beacon of hope and inspiration in a world that is often filled with darkness and despair.

Of course, I wasn't converted into a devoted follower of hers, and my thoughts and goals hadn't shifted in any way, shape, or form as a result of this.

It was just a new and strange experience for me, one that was nonetheless intriguingly novel.

As we all stood some distance away from the statue, the cardinal then began a series of prayers and blessings, invoking the blessings of the goddess Theia and asking for guidance and strength for the newly ordained holy son, aka me.

Next, I was called to the altar, where the cardinal placed his hands on my head and recited a series of ancient prayers.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally finished praying, at which point the statues of the goddess glowed brightly for a split second and cast a ray of light in the direction of my right hand.

As soon as the light hit my hand, I felt a surge of energy and light coursing through me, as if the divine power of the goddess was flowing into my very being.

In any case, I couldn't care less about the divine power because, at this precise moment, I contacted the system in my head and issued an order.

'System, add more divine energy, and help me convert my mark into that of the messenger.'

[Order received]

[Converting the mark being received into that of the messenger will require 200 Destiny coins.]

[Does the host confirm the purchase?]

'Only 200?' I was a little surprised by how cheap it got all of a sudden.

Although it sounds like a lot of coins considering that it took me about 150 Destiny coins to reach Early Stage Sword Master Rank, but one must remember that buying a messenger mark directly from the system without the divine energy provided by the goddess would cost around 8000 Destiny coins.'

'Considering that, it's really cheap now.'

It looks like the goddess was already giving me a very high ranking mark.

Anyway, 'System, confirm the purchase.'

[Order confirmed]

[Deducting 200 Destiny coins]

[Converting...]

Nothing obviously changed on the outside, but I could feel a profound shift happening on the inside as the divine energy generated by the system merged with the divine energy of the goddess to begin its work.

The ray of light lingered there for a brief period of time, during which it left behind a mark on the back of my hand before finally disappearing entirely into the statue.

[Coversion completed]

The mark that was created on the back of my hand was like "a crescent moon with stars inside," representing the light of the moon and stars.

It was the mark of the messenger, the highest ranking mark that can be granted by the goddess.

"Oh, my goodness! The mark of a messenger, hahahaha. It's the mark of the messenger, the one that would guide travellers and illuminate the darkness."

Upon noticing the mark on the back of my right hand, the cardinal suddenly yelled like a madman with a crazed grin on his face and the eyes of a crazed maniac filled with excitement.

It was as if he had earned this mark himself; however, I was only pleased with his madness in my mind because the crazier he is, the better for me.

Then, without giving anyone any time to react, he kneeled down in front of the statue, and started praying to the goddess for the benevolence and kindness she had shown by bestowing this mark upon me.

However, he was not the only member of the church to engage in this insanity.

Because as soon as the other members of the church recognised my mark, they almost passed out from the shock, knelt down in the same position as the cardinal, and began to praise the goddess.

Now only my mother and I were left standing here like fools, smiling wryly at each other as we looked at each other in mutual bemusement.

Thankfully, not for long, because the cardinal, being a highly experienced old man, quickly calmed down his emotions and also helped others regain their bearings.

"Today, I declare with this ceremony that Luke Steeline is now officially the Holy Son of the Church of Light."

And then, without wasting any time, he finally pronounced me an official holy son of the Church of Light, as the members of the church erupted into cheers and applause.

"Congratulations on officially becoming the holy son, my little sweetu~ ."

"Thank you, mommy."

"Praise the holy son; praise the messenger; praise the goddess."

"Praise the holy son; praise the messenger; praise the goddess."

"Congratulations, Holy Son!"

"Thank you, Cardinal, and thanks to everyone else."

Although I spoke with an embarrassed, shy smile on my face as if to say, "I really did nothing to be congratulated so much," but on the inside I was really gloating quite hard, because I knew the ceremony still had a final step left, and this "mark" was just the appetiser.

And as expected, it didn't take long before the cardinal stopped everyone's actions with a wave of his hands, and then, he looked at me, handed me an already lit candle that he took out of 'I don't know where,' and he spoke.

"The ceremony is almost over, Holy Son; now the only thing left is for you to take this candle and pray to the goddess."

Having already surpassed him in seniority and received the highest possible evaluation from the goddess, he no longer treated me as a junior, but as an equal, who was worthy of his respect.

The cardinal's eyes were wide with anticipation; his breathing was irregular; and he did not look at all like the calm, experienced old man who has weathered countless storms.

At the moment, he felt like a crazy gambler who just saw the winning number in his lottery ticket after betting everything on a losing ticket.

And it was just this look that I wanted from him.

So, to avoid further shaking our dear cardinal, I took the candle from him and placed it in front of the statue of the goddess while he led the others out of the hall and stood near the staircase, watching me expectantly.

Although even with the messenger title, what he was expecting had less than a 10% chance of happening, but who needs to play by the rules when you have the power to break them?

Then, once I had collected myself, I gazed into the goddess's eyes, closed my own, and began reciting the prayer I had said since I was a child at the altar of any church dedicated to the goddess of light.

'Now it was time to act; I am now a devout believer of the goddess.' I brainwashed myself to get into character.

Then, purposefully making my frail body tremble with anticipation, I whispered fervently.

To the people standing on the staircase, my words were barely audible over the gentle hum of the candles flickering in front of the statue.

But this slight calculation and adjustment just created the perfect mysterious atmosphere.

Although I was speaking word for word with a serious expression on my face, but inside my head I was busy with my own thoughts, talking to my system.

'System, can you activate the pre designed play when I am about to conclude my prayer?'

[Affirmative!]

[Reminder to the host: The play will cost 100 Destiny coins.]

Even though I had already checked and reviewed everything with the system before coming here, my heart still hurts seeing this amount, which was two-thirds of the cost of becoming an Early Stage Sword Apprentice.

'Shameless system, alright, activate it.'

[Task: Act of a goddess revelation activated]

[Deducted 100 Destiny coins]

And with that, as soon as my prayer reached its end, the system prompted in front of my eyes.

[Playing: Goddess Revelation]

Voom!