After bidding farewell to Fina, Syl was in no hurry to leave the Ivisa District.
Because right now, just staying in the Ivisa District—looking at the dilapidated streets, the ubiquitous thick smoke and flames, and the Joker marks painted everywhere on the walls...
All of this made the Joker feel an unprecedented level of comfort. Not only was her spirit extremely excited, but even the fusion progress was skyrocketing, reaching a figure close to 60%.
And this number was still steadily climbing.
However, Syl didn't dare to walk too brazenly on the streets; she only overlooked it all from the rooftops.
She felt that if she stayed just a little longer and enjoyed this wonderful result a bit more, the fusion progress could reach its maximum.
Unfortunately, time was far from enough.
If she delayed any longer, she wouldn't make it back to the Church in time.
At the thought of this, Syl felt a sense of irritability in her heart.
"F*ck Sharon, f*ck the goddess of hope, f*ck all of you! I just want to stay here; I don't want to go anywhere."
With a crazed expression, Syl raised her cane and swung it fiercely toward the adjacent building, knocking several fragments off the chimney.
The webbing between Syl's thumb and index finger was slightly numbed by the vibration of the cane.
Under the influence of the Joker's consciousness, some of the suppressed emotions in her heart were vented out violently.
Only after venting this frustration did Syl feel less stifled.
As expected, vulgar language was the best for venting; although it wasn't very civilized, it felt really good.
A drop of rain fell on the tip of Syl's nose, bringing a hint of coolness.
"Is it raining?"
Syl frowned and raised her hand to touch the wet spot on her nose.
"Rumble—"
Another muffled roll of thunder sounded in the sky, and raindrops began to fall continuously.
"I hate rainy days..." Syl frowned and muttered, "Muddy leather shoes, wet hair—none of it can be considered elegant..."
As Syl said this, the residual smile on her face faded, and she snapped her fingers expressionlessly.
"Saintess—"
A flash of dim light with a few black patterns appeared, and Syl's original Saintess form manifested on the spot.
Then Syl froze, her eyes widening slightly as she felt the rain getting heavier.
"Wait, Joker, you don't like the rain, so you're making me come out to get soaked???"
Although the transformation was indeed something only Syl could control, the consciousness that wanted to transform could be influenced.
Syl now felt a sense of absurdity.
It felt like you owned a cat, and when it started pouring rain, the cat, being afraid of water, held you up to use as an umbrella.
"To hell with you!"
Syl silently cursed the Joker in her heart, feeling completely numb.
She reached out to pull up her hood and began looking for a way down from the rooftop.
It wasn't that she didn't want to turn into the Dragon Loli or another character card to jump down directly, but she felt it would be too troublesome.
First of all, the character card's clothes would get wet, and the next time they came out, they would still be soaked, making it impossible to act immediately.
If the Saintess got wet, at least she could change her clothes after returning tonight.
"Sigh... It turns out I'm the tool after all..."
The rain fell heavier and heavier, making it hard for Syl to keep her eyes open, and her glasses were covered in a layer of water droplets.
Helplessly, Syl could only take off her glasses, put them inside her clothes, and start climbing down slowly by the windows in the alley.
"If the Joker knew her controller was descending like this, she'd probably become a shut-in ^^D"
"Shut up!"
After snapping back, Syl began to concentrate on her rock-climbing task.
With great effort, Syl finally climbed down to the second floor.
After checking the distance to the ground, Syl leaped down, landing perfectly and splashing a large amount of water... and stepping on a pebble in a small puddle.
This pebble caused Syl's center of gravity to become unstable instantly. With a slight "crack," Syl's right foot was sprained.
"Hiss—"
Syl squatted down, clutching her ankle and sucking in a breath of cold air from the pain.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow—"
The pain was so intense that Syl almost shed tears. She quickly raised her hand and cast Hand of Healing on herself.
But other than making her feel slightly better, it didn't heal the strain at all.
If Syl had been wearing a mask of pain while clutching her ankle before the spell, after casting Hand of Healing, she could shout in pain calmly and even felt a bit happy.
"Sh*tty Divine Art!"
Syl supported herself against the wall and stood up shakily, limping bit by bit toward the mouth of the alley.
At that moment, behind Syl where she couldn't see, that small golden shield flickered slightly.
A figure wearing a black robe and holding a black umbrella appeared behind Syl.
Syl didn't seem to notice the appearance of this figure.
The figure silently watched Syl's limping back as she leaned against the wall.
Syl was soaked through by the rain, her pale gold hair clinging to the robe on her back, and the ankle exposed beneath the black robe was clearly swollen and red.
The hand holding the black umbrella trembled slightly. The figure looked up and surveyed the surroundings.
"Ibi...za?"
With a soft sigh, the figure walked toward Syl and raised the large umbrella to shield her from the pouring rain.
Only then did Syl realize that someone seemed to be standing behind her.
Syl turned around quickly and saw a petite figure holding a large black umbrella high to shield her from the rain.
"Archbishop Aishala?!" Syl's expression was slightly surprised; she hadn't expected Archbishop Aishala to come here at all. "Why are you here?"
"Raining, picking you up," Aishala said flatly, as calm as if she were simply picking up a child from school.
After answering the question, Aishala pointed to Syl's right foot and asked:
"Foot?"
"I accidentally twisted it..." Syl wiped the rain from her face and smiled at Aishala somewhat sheepishly. "The rain was too heavy, and I didn't see the stone in the puddle..."
"Careless..." After Aishala spoke, she reached out her left hand and made a grasping motion toward Syl. A holy light with a few black spots flashed, and a faint phantom of Aishala appeared behind Syl.
Instantly, Syl felt the pain in her foot vanish. Although her right foot still felt weak and she could only limp along, the pain was completely gone.
Even the ravings in her mind subsided quite a bit.
In contrast, a slight frown appeared on Aishala's originally calm little face, and she took a small breath of cold air.
"Teleportation, cannot, two people." Aishala's expression quickly returned to calm. She held the umbrella out to Syl and said flatly, "Hold it."
"Eh?" Before Syl could react, she subconsciously reached out and took the umbrella. However, when she got it, she tilted it slightly toward Aishala.
This small gesture was noticed by Aishala.
Aishala pursed her lips slightly, then directly reached out both hands, grabbed Syl by the waist, and lifted her up.
"Eh? Eh eh eh eh?"
Syl cried out in surprise as she found herself being hoisted over Aishala's shoulder.
Then, seeing that Syl's feet would still be exposed to the rain if she were carried like that, Aishala switched to a princess carry.
The umbrella still couldn't cover the width of a princess carry. Finally, Aishala had to set the bewildered Syl down, then turned her back to her and reached her hands backward.
"Hold on."
From the looks of it, she was going to carry Syl back on her back.