After parting with Vitan, the holy saint also left the Vatican Museum.
Vitan had already arrived in the human world in the late afternoon, and after spending so much time exploring, evening had already fallen.
Since it was already this late, Asia saw no need to return to the church for evening prayers.
Exiting through the museum's main gate, Asia began her walk home.
However, the holy and kind saint had no idea that, among the bustling crowd, a man with pale skin, short black hair, and an ordinary appearance had been stealthily tailing her all along.
—Diodora Astaroth.
There's no need to go into too much detail about Diodora's story.
As a blood relative of Ajuka Beelzebub, the younger generation in the Underworld saw him as a lucky but unremarkable devil who inherited the position of family head only because the original heir died in an accident.
Still, although he seemed ordinary, he won people over with his courteous demeanor—he appeared to be a decent young nobleman.
But that was all just a facade.
His polite manners and harmless noble image were merely disguises. In truth, Diodora was a complete pervert.
He had an obsessive desire for nuns and saints, seeking personal gratification.
What he enjoyed most was watching pure saints fall into despair after their corruption, forcing them to become his subordinates and indulging in their defiled bodies.
By any standard—regardless of race—what Diodora did was unquestionably evil.
Calling him scum or a beast would actually be putting it lightly.
As a devil persecuting the church's saints, was he really in the wrong?
To the ancient devils, Diodora's behavior wouldn't be punished at all. In fact, they'd probably praise him!
After all, pursuing inner pleasure and indulging in physical desire—that's exactly what a devil should do.
"Strange… Why does it feel like someone's following me?"
Hidden among the crowd, Diodora suddenly felt a chill. He instinctively glanced around, trying to locate the source of the disturbing gaze.
"Is it someone from the church?"
"Maybe I'm overthinking… Still, I should get out of here quickly."
With that thought, he quickened his pace, shortening the distance between himself and Asia, and completely exited Vatican territory.
Unbeknownst to him, Vitan calmly followed from behind, also leaving the Vatican.
The Underworld territory corresponding to the Vatican belonged to the House of Asmodeus.
All devils wanting to visit the Vatican had to pass through the teleportation circle guarded by their house.
However, in recent years, Vitan's subordinates had frequently reported cases of illegal crossings.
At first, he didn't pay them much mind—after all, every year, a few thrill-seeking fools tried to sneak in and ended up dead.
But as the frequency of these incidents increased, and after receiving a Devil Piece from Ajuka, he recalled Diodora—a fringe character long forgotten in the original storyline.
That's why, even after already informing the Gremory family of his arrival, he didn't head straight to Japan. Instead, he came to the Vatican after receiving another report from his subordinates.
Time passed, and night soon arrived.
The dormitory provided for the saints by the church wasn't located inside Vatican territory but rather on Italian soil, adjacent to the Vatican.
Though the journey wasn't long, it still took Asia nearly half an hour to walk home.
"Today was such a wonderful day!"
The blushing nun held her simple dinner in one hand—just a freshly baked piece of bread and some milk.
As a saint, her dinner was very modest.
Remembering the warm interaction she had with Vitan earlier, Asia's face flushed again as she shyly stepped into the residence prepared for church staff.
But Asia, who always lived each day full of happiness, didn't know—
A devil's wicked thoughts had already enveloped her.
Night had completely fallen. Diodora stood watching Asia's room, a wicked smile curling on his lips.
As a devil who had successfully corrupted many saints, he naturally had his own methods.
But this time, his target was different.
This target wielded the sacred gear [Twilight Healing] and held a high position in the church. He didn't believe his old methods would work.
Forcing a saint into submission wasn't his style.
What he desired most was to witness a saint's natural fall from grace—that was what gave him the greatest pleasure.
And this target was exceptionally kind—so kind that even among saints, she stood out as remarkably pure.
That's why he came up with a plan that would grant him the highest possible satisfaction.
The area where Asia lived was mostly populated by clergy and rarely visited by tourists.
Vitan stood atop a small, three-story building nearby, watching Diodora's scheming with a look of ridicule.
What could he even say?
Diodora's disguise was anything but subtle—in his eyes, it was riddled with flaws.
He truly couldn't understand why, despite the numerous recent disappearances of saints, the Church hadn't figured out that a devil was targeting them.
They naïvely believed their devoted saints had simply abandoned their faith and left the church.
If asked for his opinion, he'd sum up the church leadership in two words: fucking idiots.
Moreover—!
The other unimportant Saints could be overlooked. Their contributions to the Church were quite limited, and their healing abilities were not particularly remarkable.
But Asia—who wielded "Twilight Healing", the most powerful healing sacred gear—was neither given a high status by the Church, nor was she assigned strong exorcists for protection.
Diodora's preparations were complete, and the repelling barrier had already been deployed.
Having calculated the patrol times of the priest assigned here by the Church, he removed his clean, tidy attire.
His plan—had begun!
Vitan, who kept everything within his line of sight, also curled his lips into a smile of unclear meaning, his figure gradually vanishing into the hazy moonlight.