Chapter 23: Little Saintess, Caren Hortensia!
What made Rizel most excited was evolving and gaining a (spatial teleportation) ability.
A spatial-type ability, huh? After all, time and space abilities are considered top-tier powers—time as the sovereign, space as the king. This is no joke.
Based on his understanding, this ability should originate from the super Kryptonian H'el's powers.
H'el was the strongest Kryptonian warrior, immune to the effects of Kryptonite. In the comic, it was shown that Superman would be paralyzed every time he fought against him.
Not only that, but he also possessed the ability to traverse time. One could say this individual combined space and time abilities into one.
And Rizel, who possessed the Doomsday gene, already encompassed all Kryptonian powers. With continuous evolution, he could gain full mastery.
Thus, this evolution was another series of astonishing abilities.
Although he hadn't yet evolved time-related powers, Rizel felt a bit regretful.
Then Rizel recalled the rewards from his mission.
The task of defeating Goetia included, beyond the World Forge as a reward, the (Omega Effect).
This also involved time and space abilities.
Remember how Batman, in order to avoid Darkseid's Omega Beams, had to constantly traverse parallel timelines and universes, while the Omega Beams relentlessly tracked him?
This showed just how powerful the Omega Beams were.
Afterward, Rizel stopped hesitating and immediately decided to test (spatial teleportation).
Rizel expanded his soul energy, locating the solar corona far away, and then activated (spatial teleportation).
A beam of light flickered, and Rizel arrived inside the solar corona.
It worked—quickly too. While his current flying speed already surpassed the speed of light, (spatial teleportation) had its own charm.
Then Rizel considered whether he could teleport directly from the Sun back to Earth. He decided to test it.
... ... . .
Italy.
In the annex of a cathedral.
A little girl wearing a nun's outfit was surrounded by several church staff, all pointing at her.
"Isn't that little girl...?"
"Yes, she's the nun's daughter."
"I heard her mother committed suicide, and her father abandoned her entirely."
"How pitiful."
"Don't talk nonsense. This child has a rather peculiar constitution."
"She can sense demons."
As long as there is a demon nearby, her body will start bleeding.
"What? That convenient?"
Everyone was actively discussing this when a dignified priest appeared and spoke to the little girl.
"Caren Hortensia, your constitution is rather unique. From now on, you will be treated as the church's anti-demon radar."
Caren remained expressionless, seemingly indifferent to how others so casually decided her life for her.
At that moment, a mocking laugh rang out.
"Ha ha ha, the church is truly righteous and moral, huh? Using a little girl as a tool? What a farce."
"Who is it?"
"Who dares insult our church?"
The crowd reacted angrily, searching for the source of the voice, intending to tear apart the audacious speaker.
However, no matter how they looked around, they couldn't find anyone.
What's going on? Where's the person? The church staff were baffled and murmuring among themselves.
"Blind fools. I'm above you."
As the voice resounded, everyone, including Caren, looked up.
They saw a young man with messy black hair and eyes as deep as the stars floating in mid-air.
Behind the young man, the radiance of the sun illuminated him, resembling the divine light of Jehovah shining brilliantly.
The one who had arrived was none other than Rizel.
While testing (spatial teleportation), Rizel sensed this place in Italy and noticed the girl with silver hair, golden eyes, pale skin, and a petite frame. This reminded him of someone he had heard about.
Caren Hortensia—the tragic saint.
Her father was the jovial priest Kotomine Kirei.
After her mother committed s·u·i·c·i·d·e, her father abandoned her, leaving her to be raised by the church.
Caren's unique constitution was known as the Masochistic Spirit Host.
A type of body that automatically creates spiritual wounds whenever near demons, causing her to experience the equivalent of physical harm.
The church, aware of this, treated her as a mere tool, allowing her to be exploited by so-called demon-possessed individuals.
Moreover, she had never developed a sense of suffering, much like her father, who was born emotionally hollow.
She was an incredibly pitiful girl.
However, since Rizel encountered her today, he wouldn't let these things continue.
So, Rizel used (spatial teleportation) to arrive here.
Caren and the group of church staff looked up, their faces filled with disbelief as they stared at Rizel.
For a moment, they thought this was Yahweh descending.
Rizel increasingly enjoyed this feeling of descending in such a grand manner. In the past, when watching the great heroes like Darkseid and others make such dramatic entrances, he hadn't felt anything special.
Now, Rizel found it extremely comfortable.
Rizel extended his long, white hand and used his telekinetic power on Caren.
Suddenly, Caren's body became weightless, slowly rising, and floated toward Rizel.
The church staff around them looked on in shock as they witnessed Rizel controlling Caren to float in mid-air. Although they were familiar with mystical objects, some mages could perform such feats, they could feel that the young man was not using any magic.
At this moment, they dared to speculate—could he be a god? But whatever the case, it was clear that they couldn't afford to offend him.
An older priest, well-versed in knowledge, persistently asked,
"May I ask, are you a god?"
Upon hearing the word "god," Caren felt herself floating in mid-air and saw the young, handsome man approaching her. Perhaps only a deity could possess such power.
"A god? Ha ha ha, maybe."
"I'm not one of those lofty gods."
"I'm just a destroyer wandering through the mortal realm."
Rizel shook his head. He wasn't a god; he didn't possess divine traits.
He stretched out his hands and used his energy control ability to directly condense an energy sphere, which he hurled into the church.
Boom—The entire church was obliterated, leaving only a massive crater.
"Destroy... annihilate... all..." The church staff, witnessing this, swallowed nervously.
Hearing those words, everyone immediately thought of something bad, as the term was not one to be taken lightly.
And to make matters worse, he mocked their church and then instantly destroyed the entire church. It was clear how much he despised them.
They could only think of one thing—was this man a demon? A Demon King?
At that moment, some of them started thinking about fleeing.
Some quietly lifted their feet to retreat, but were afraid of alarming Rizel, so they could only move step by step, slowly trying to withdraw.
Rizel, of course, noticed this and couldn't help but sneer inwardly. How weak, trying to back off like this.
He then directly took Caren into his arms, extending his arms and holding her.
Caren, feeling the presence of a man, had a strange, unexplainable feeling in her heart. Perhaps it was the same kind of irresistible charm she had sensed from Rizel's overwhelming aura.
She didn't dislike this feeling.
Rizel carefully observed Caren and couldn't help but think that she truly had the potential to be a beautiful woman.
If she hadn't met him, her future, living a simple life like that of a courtesan, would have been nothing but a nightmare.
Thinking of this, Rizel looked at Caren with a gentler gaze, filled with more pity.
Caren sensed Rizel's gaze. What was it about this man's eyes? They were different from her father's—more like her mother's.
"Truly a special physique," Rizel sighed.
The church staff, upon hearing this, began to speculate if Rizel had been attracted by Caren's unique physique.
They knew that this type of physique attracted demons, and now it seemed that this man, too, must be a demon drawn by Caren's special nature.
Some even voiced their thoughts aloud.
"How infuriating, this monster actually attracts such powerful demons."
"Monster, get lost. We, the church, don't welcome you."
Some even pointed at Caren and cursed.
"Great demon, take this young maiden, please spare me."
Others fell to their knees, repeatedly banging their heads on the ground, praying for mercy.
For their lives, they had abandoned Caren.
Rizel watched them like a clown, the laughter of their farce making him scoff. His eyes suddenly turned red as he stared at those who had cursed Caren.
His gaze was intense, and a fiery red light shot out from Rizel, directly hitting one of the men.
The surrounding people felt the scorching rays of sunlight-like heat and watched in shock as the man vanished in an instant, leaving nothing behind.
Fear was all that remained in their minds.
Caren opened her mouth slightly, staring at Rizel.
After dealing with one person, Rizel turned his attention to another.
This man, seeing Rizel's bloodshot eyes, hurriedly fell to his knees, begging for mercy.
"Please spare me, great one. I'll work like a beast for you, just spare my life." He repeatedly knocked his head on the ground, the sound echoing.
At this moment, Caren extended her small, fair hand and gently touched Rizel's face.
"Don't, please spare him," she said, twisting uneasily as she looked at Rizel.
She knew that Rizel was standing up for her, but she didn't want to see these people killed by Rizel, even though they hadn't treated her well. Perhaps it was because of the reason they called her the Saintess.
Rizel sensed her small hand and his eyes returned to normal.
He smiled and stroked Caren's head.
"Truly a Saintess, you really make people want to cherish you and never let go."
"That being the case, little Saintess, I'll take you away."
With those words, Rizel paid no mind to the church staff's opinions or Caren's. He activated (spatial teleportation), and a beam of light appeared, carrying Caren away.