The SSS Ranked Villain's Return - Chapter 353

Chapter 353: The Temple
The three walked inside, and the door immediately closed behind them.

They were now standing in total darkness, but of course, it didn’t last long since Jane extended her hand, summoning a few beams of light that hovered around them like fireflies.

Because of that, they were finally able to see the interior of the temple. And it was surprisingly clean.

There wasn’t even a single speck of dust, and added to that, there were dozens of ornaments scattered on the walls.

Of course, there were also several rows of abandoned chairs everywhere. They were slightly chipped and broken. He could also see bloodstains on some of them.

And as he looked at one row in particular, he froze.

Neraxis saw two skeletons, one tiny, and the other adult-sized. It didn’t take long for his imagination to piece together who had died here.

It seemed like Jane noticed this sight too, as she walked past him and up to the two skeletons.

Then, to their surprise, she crouched down, murmured a prayer, and placed her hands atop them. Immediately, the skeletons began to disintegrate, and within seconds, there was nothing left.

She stood up and walked back to the two of them silently.

And, as insensitive as Evangeline usually was, she remained quiet as well.

With that, they began walking forward, looking for any bit of information that would display the temple’s inner structure.

After a few minutes of searching, they finally found it.

“Hey, check this out,” Evangeline said and reached under the seat, pulling out a small map.

It was the map of the city that used to exist before it became a Chasm. But most importantly, it was like a traveler’s logbook.

Because of that, they managed to flip through the pages until finally, they found the temple.

The description of the temple was scratched off, but the pictures remained. Though they were a little blurry.

But once Neraxis paid closer attention, he realized that these pictures were actually paintings.

That meant they were painted by hand, not captured by a camera.

Ha… these guys are a little more advanced I guess, Neraxis mused, browsing through the pictures.

There were five pictures in total, and the biggest one of them all displayed the temple from a bird’s-eye view.

As for the other pictures, they were the interior. Using those pictures, he managed to see what this room they were in looked like in the past. And frankly, it was pretty luxurious.

The seats were decked out in gold, and several dozen chandeliers hung above. But this was only the first and initial room that acted as a sort of church. As for the rest of the rooms? They were much, much bigger.

Neraxis and the rest strolled through to the pedestal and inspected it. But there wasn’t anything on it.

Just like the rest of this temple, it was fully abandoned, so after crossing the initial church room, they went to the right and entered another hallway.

This was the hallway where all the dorm rooms were scattered around, and out of curiosity, Neraxis approached one, trying to open it.

To no one’s surprise, it didn’t take much effort, so with a simple push, it opened, revealing the room inside.

It was mostly decayed, with mold everywhere. However, on the windowsill, he saw a single toy plushie with its eye missing. Yet it had a neat little pink ribbon tied around its neck.

His stomach churned upon the sight, so he immediately closed the door and walked back to the two girls who continued along the hallway.

Once he caught up, Evangeline slowed down, walking side by side with him.

“Hey… do you think all of this went to shit before or after the demons appeared?” Evangeline asked. “Because… there were so many… you know.”

“Children, yes.” Neraxis finished with a blank look. “Temples were usually seen as orphanages in most cultures. Though not in ours. Temples are like a facade we use to extort the rich for alms.”

She giggled. “Right… it was the same in my world. Though in some parts, we had this culture you mentioned. In fact, my kingdom had it too… though not initially.”

His brow rose. “Oh? Why’s that?”

Evangeline let out a sigh. “Let’s just say it used to be a Holy Empire before it became my kingdom of vampires. Though they weren’t exactly the most holy bunch around. They stole from the poor and gave to the rich. No one batted an eye because everyone was rich, you know?”

“So how did they function then?” Neraxis asked, puzzled. “Wouldn’t the economy… you know, go to shit?”

“And it did. Multiple times even,” Evangeline replied with a sad smile. “And that’s exactly why it changed rulers every 3 years, because someone always used to rebel, take the rulers’ place, and for some reason, repeat the same mistake they had made, just a lot worse.”

“So what happened after?” Jane chimed in. “Did you forcefully take over the Holy Empire?”

“You wish…” Evangeline giggled. “No. I was still too little back then. I had only just been born at the cathedral. After I turned 18, they kicked me out, and that’s when I realized how bad it was.”

“I see… sorry,” Jane murmured.

“Don’t be. I honestly didn’t have as hard of a time as you might imagine,” Evangeline replied, showing her vampire canines. “I’m a vampire, remember? All I need is a drop of blood, and I can live for a decade.”

A small frown appeared on her face. “But not the other kids. Not even the innocent shopkeepers who were exploited beyond repair… I had to do something, you know?”

Neraxis gently patted her head, listening to her story.

“I found a group of kids who were like the thugs of the empire. I became their leader, and bit by bit, I fed them my blood. I didn’t really trust them that much, but I didn’t want them to die either. But back then, I was naive… I didn’t have full control over my vampiric powers, so I had no way to control the others either.”

She halted, heaving a deep sigh and glancing at both of them in the eyes.

“So because of my incompetence, my vampires destroyed the entire Holy Empire.”