Extra's Harem: Invincibility Starts with Marriage and lots of Children-Chapter 157- Monastery
Monastery Grounds – Nightfall
The old stone path was cracking, showing its age, with wild grass spilling over the edges.
The crescent moon cast a soft glow over the slanted roofs of the monastery, which now stood wayside—forgotten in a world filled with cultivators who could fly. Such mortal beliefs were often crushed, having no foundation to stand on.
Now, only the cold wind could be heard, whispering through the tattered prayer flags. The lanterns hung on, barely maintaining their dim flickers.
Two robed figures ambled along the corridor that wrapped around the inner sanctum.
The first, taller and slightly hunched with age, leaned on a wooden staff topped with bronze—a clear symbol of his rank as Head Priest.
The second, younger but clad in the same well-worn robes, walked a step behind him.
Silence lay thick, broken only by the distant chirping of crickets.
"Has the Ducal Prince, Kyle Arcutus, made contact?" the Head Priest asked, his gaze fixed ahead, recalling how his son had mentioned the prince's optimistic faith in their goddess during his visit to Princess Aleriana's wedding.
The younger priest looked up at the stars, his hands folding instinctively into his sleeves, as if seeking some warmth or protection.
He answered quietly, his voice carrying the weight of fatigue from a day spent begging and performing rituals for a little coin. Yet, faith still lingered in his eyes.
"No, Head Priest… not yet." He paused, exhaling slowly. "It feels like the Goddess wants our monastery to fade away with us. This legacy… ending in silence instead of glory—it's hard to accept."
He glanced down at the cracked stones beneath their feet, where sacred sigils once glowed warmly. Now, even the scent of incense had vanished.
Looking up again, he murmured, "Will there ever be light in this house, Goddess Agasthasa? Or are we just meant to be forgotten?"
The Head Priest stopped in front of a weathered statue at the courtyard's center.
Its face had long since eroded, standing now as a lifeless, nameless witness to their slow decline.
"…We still serve," the old man said, his voice rough, like gravel scraping dry earth. "Even if no one believes… the gods exist. And they will hear our prayers."
Together, they turned their gazes to the moon, exhaling quietly into the night—until—
Swish
'!'
"A-a flying object?!"
Both stumbled forward, instantly jumping down from the small platform they had been standing on, landing in a lawn thick with untamed grass. They bowed swiftly, recognizing that the flying object belonged to a cultivator.
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Mortals like them could not afford to offend someone who could fly.
This caution was rooted in a painful memory—the previous Head Priest, father of the current one, had died after offending an occultist by refusing to abandon his belief in the goddess Agasthasa.
If a priest must understand one thing, it is this: never offend someone with an ego—even if it's inflated and hollow.
"W-we greet the immortals," they said, placing their foreheads to the ground. For mortals, anyone who surpassed human limits was called an immortal. Though to cultivators, only beings stronger than them were worthy of that title.
Even the old man bowed, though pain laced his body from old injuries. It wasn't enough to stop him—not if it meant protecting the monastery from being burned down.
Slowly, the flying object descended into the lawn.
It looked like a large round mat at first—but on closer look, it was a hand fan, floating steadily in the air.
"Haah, that's the way… let's move," Kyle muttered, clutching his chest. Dark circles ringed his eyes; his body was deteriorating. Even though Mialthara kept his blood flow steady, the toll was heavy. He and Princess Aleriana moved toward a direction within the monastery grounds.
"Ye-yes… please hold on, husband," Aleriana said, carrying him. She could feel the weakening of his body, and her eyes flicked to Mialthara, whose strained expression betrayed the difficulty of maintaining the blood flow—a feat not easily done. With urgency, she descended from the artifact and moved, while Olea followed behind.
None of them spared a glance at the kneeling mortals.
'Th-this… place?' Ruvina was surprised as her feet touched the monastery ground. According to Kyle, this was the place where he might heal. She glanced around—curious, calculating.
If it was truly possible for a mortal place to regenerate damaged organs… then it was worth everything to uncover how. She didn't dare act now—especially not in front of Princess Aleriana, whose Qi was turbulent and vast, far exceeding even Prince Orion's.
This princess was not someone Ruvina could act recklessly around. For now, all she could do was observe. When they left—then she would interrogate the mortal priests and uncover the truth of this so-called healing.
"Meow."
Ashmira landed lightly, moving toward the old Head Priest—her stepsister. On her head sat Valeriana, completely calm, arms folded as if uncaring about either Kyle or her sister's fate.
She looked like someone far too familiar with death—and someone who believed that if nothing else, that stubborn man wouldn't die that easily.
"!—A-a cat?" the young priest exclaimed as he looked through a small opening in the ground. He observed the individuals who had descended from the flying vessel, watching their steps as they moved within the monastery's premises, completely ignoring their surroundings—as expected, even the last woman.
But what caught his attention was a small, completely black cat moving toward them. Even its eyes were black as it slowly lifted its gaze.
"St-stop! Keep your head lower, young lad!" the head priest snapped, instantly noticing the young priest raising his head.
He stretched out his hand, forcing the young one to bow again.
"Urgh!" But suddenly, pain shot through his wrist, causing him to collapse as he gripped his hand, the illness within him clearly worsening with time.
"H-head priest!?" The young man hurried to support him, watching in panic as the elder clutched his waist.
This always happened whenever they purified a house—especially one belonging to an immortal. Afterwards, the head priest would fall ill.
"Food?" Ashmira's voice came in a soft, eerie tone, almost as if it came from the cat's mouth. The young priest's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the feline.
The black cat gently stepped forward and placed her small paws on the head priest's back.
'Huh? What is she doing?' the priest wondered. But before he could react, a sudden burst of black aura erupted from the elder's body.
The young priest stumbled backward, watching in disbelief as the aura vanished directly into the cat's mouth.
"What?" Suddenly, the head priest raised his head, feeling that fatigue and exhaustion had vanished completely, as if the burden on his shoulders had disappeared, and he was clearly seated straight.
"Th-this, I am healed!?" The head priest glanced beside his young disciple, looking at him before, with a sparkle in his eyes, he turned toward that cat which was now moving in the direction where those individuals went.
:: Ugh, come Ashmira, that idiot has left us, this domain— ::
Valeriana told Ashmira to keep walking, considering the domain was getting shorter while pushing her out of Ashmira's head, as the bot seemed to keep the same pace as the domain, walking in the direction where Kyle went.
"Head priest—?!—what are you doing?" The young priest was clearly shocked as he saw the head priest throwing away the bead out of his neck as he swiftly went forward toward that black cat and, in front of her, kowtowed, yelling.
"Goddess Agasthasa, you finally came to help me in cat form!"
