Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 466 Terrifying Echoes

Veronica's nosebleed immediately made the atmosphere, which had eased slightly, tense again.

The seeds of doubt have been sown, and everyone is starting to wonder – can praising the church really guarantee everyone's safety?

In the past, they would have had unwavering faith in the barrier left by the Goddess of Life, but now, who knows what might happen?

Two people have already died tragically in the Cathedral of the Dawn's Crown, yet they still know nothing about the killer and have been forced to hide in the Church of Praise.

In an instant, almost everyone recalled the doubts that those who advocated leaving had about Carlo the day before.

The murderer might be mixed among them.

The barrier of the Goddess of Life can only keep out intruders, but it cannot stop the assassins who have already infiltrated among them.

The sect leaders warily scrutinized everyone around them. They had all come in response to Carlo's call and were not actually familiar with each other. This made everyone's expressions fierce and made them even more suspicious in each other's eyes.

The chaos in the auditorium momentarily stunned Veronica, but she quickly regained her composure.

A nosebleed could indeed be a death omen given by the killer, but it could also be a way for the killer to convey some kind of message to her.

To date, she believes she is the only person who has deciphered the killer's information.

She went alone to the small house next door, closed the door, and kept the fear and suspicion outside. The sect leaders, who were already in a state of panic, did not notice her departure at all. This time, even Carlo did not give a speech. He went to the statue of the goddess of life and prayed devoutly.

Veronica went to the corner of the room, put her hands behind her head, and lay flat on the floor.

The "death warning" actually calmed her down and made her focus.

Assuming the nosebleed is a message the killer is trying to convey to her, what exactly is he trying to reveal?
This would immediately remind her and everyone else present of Darrant's murder, causing panic... Huh?

Suddenly, Veronica sat up from the cold floor.

The reason why the sect leaders are panicked by the same scene is that something similar happened at a recent meeting, when everyone thought victory was assured, and then suddenly things changed – just like what is happening to them now.

Carlo promised everyone that the Church of Praise would protect them, but was that really the case?
Veronica noticed the footsteps outside the door. The footsteps were very light and were passing right in front of her door, which immediately alerted her. At this time, no one in the auditorium would dare to act alone. She tiptoed to the back of the door, pressed her ear to it, and listened carefully. Only after confirming that there was only one person making the footsteps and that the person had gone far away did she open the door a crack and look in the direction where the footsteps had disappeared.

The old, energy-saving crystal chandelier in the corridor provided very poor lighting; she could only vaguely make out the silhouette of a person embedded in the darkness in the distance.

At a time like this, probably only the murderer would dare to stray far from the main group and explore the darkness alone!
Veronica kept the sect leaders' doubts in mind. They suspected that the murderer had blended into the crowd, and she could not rule out that possibility either. Although she did not find the young man in the crowd, there were too many spells in the world that could change one's appearance. Who knew?
Perhaps the face she saw in the confessional that night was also a fake.

Veronica clutched a magic scroll in her left hand and a mace in her right, and followed quietly.

She followed him all the way to the depths of the circular chapel. It was not hard to see that the figure in front of her was very familiar with the structure of the chapel, and he reached his destination without the need for torches or gas lamps for lighting.

The door was ajar, and Veronica could vaguely see what was inside through the crack.

The figure was facing away from her, in front of a mirror, and its movements were extremely suspicious.

It's now!

Veronica's eyes narrowed, and in an instant she activated the binding scroll she held in her hand. The eerie green light transformed into vines that burst forth from the ground, wrapping around the figure's ankles and arms in the blink of an eye. Without hesitation, she channeled her abundant life energy into the weapon in her hand, and with a sharp shout, she swung the mace at the back of the figure's head.

Forget this and that, just knock them out first—

The next moment, the hammer that had been raised high came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, and her expression froze on her face with embarrassment.

Veronica suddenly discovered a huge flaw in her reasoning.

Besides the murderer, Pope Carlo himself was also among those who dared to emerge from the hall at this time and wander alone in the darkness.

Just now, she was attempting to attack the leader of the Church of Life.

"Your Holiness, Happy Holidays."

The smile on her face was more like a grimace. Under normal circumstances, attacking the Pope in the far west would undoubtedly be a capital offense. Even the captured rebels did not attempt to strike the Pope on the back of the head with a mace.

Although the hammer hadn't even struck yet, the magic scroll's effect was undeniably effective.

"What holiday?"

Carlo was clearly not buying it, scrutinizing her with an authoritative gaze.

"Uh, well, that... okay, Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you at the door!"

Veronica defended herself, saying, "But these are very sensitive times, so it's always good to be careful. I thought it was the murderer."

Carlo nodded reluctantly, no longer pressing her, as if accepting her explanation.

Veronica untied the magical vines binding Carlo's body, and at the same time looked around the not-so-spacious room. Apart from a mirror in the center of the room, there was nothing else special about it. In the dim light, her and Carlo's figures were reflected in the mirror. Perhaps because the mirror was a little dirty, their faces were blurry and had a kind of eerie feeling.

"What are you doing here?"

Veronica couldn't help but ask.

“I am checking the integrity of the barrier to prevent those heretics from finding any loopholes.”

Carlo's tone was authoritative, and his answer was impeccable.

"There's a question I'm not sure if I should ask."

Veronica paused for a moment, then made up her mind and spoke.

"Don't ask any more questions."

"...I think it's better to ask."

Before Carlo could continue to refuse, Veronica interjected, "I'd like to know what Lord Darrant said before his nosebleed?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Because according to the natural order, I'm going to die soon too."

Veronica remained resolute, adopting a stance of "I want to die knowing why," adding, "I don't want to die in vain; maybe there's some connection between us."

"He mentioned Ivy Margaret."

“Ivy? What happened to her?” “Darrant is the greatest mind binder in the world. He implanted a switch in Ivy’s head. Once the switch is activated, she will become no different from those puppets controlled by mind binders.”

That's it!

Veronica suddenly realized why the sect leaders felt confident of victory at the meeting; they had all seen the Mind Binders' methods to some extent. These people always lived in the shadows, influencing the changes of regimes and sects from unseen places.

"His death is a heavy blow to us!"

Veronica automatically filtered out Carlo's indignant complaints, feeling that new problems had arisen.

Assuming Darrant wasn't just bluffing at the meeting, how did he manage to do it?
Although the spell of the Heartbinder is powerful, it is not easy to plant a "seed" in people's minds, especially when the other party is the head of an empire that is in opposition to the far west. How could Darant swagger into the new cabinet and cast a spell on Ivy in front of everyone?
Sevier!
Veronica felt she was getting closer to the truth. The name that appeared alongside Ivy Margaret's became a key clue, and there must be an extremely important connection between the two.

What exactly is it?
Sisters or mother and daughter?

It seems that Darrant had some connection with the Margaret family long before the Empire and the Far West were at odds. That's why when the visitor mentioned Sevier's name, Darrant immediately met with her and completely let down his guard against the murderer, because this was a secret known to at least a very few people.

"Veronica!"

Carlo's sharp shout pulled her back to reality, "I'm talking to you!"

"Excuse me, I've suddenly thought of some important clues!"

Veronica was completely immersed in her own world, and now that she had a direction, she instantly thought of a new entry point.

First, there were the few surviving guards of Darant. They were all Darant's confidants. Although they did not know about Sevia, they knew Darant's whereabouts. They should know when Darant had been to the Empire, or at the very least, when Darant had left the far west for a long time.

That was when he met with the Margaret family and placed a curse in Ivy's brain!
After the initial joy of gradually uncovering the truth, a long period of confusion followed.

Investigating the past of the Holy Word sect and the Margaret family seems to have strayed from her duties. As the arbitrator of the Church of Life, her current job should be to find the murderer and prevent him from continuing to kill.

"Go back!"

Carlo glanced at her sideways. "This is the Church of Praise. As long as you stay with other people, you won't die."

This seemed to be a response to what she had just said.

With a heavy heart, Veronica returned to the auditorium hall the way she came. Only her footsteps echoed in the deep corridor. She seemed to faintly hear the sound of a mirror shattering behind her.

Stay with everyone.

Carlo's instructions were still on her mind.

The murderer wouldn't be so deranged as to kill someone in the hall. As long as no one is left alone, they can spend a relatively peaceful night in the hall. Tomorrow, she will leave the Church of Praise to meet the surviving guards.

Veronica silently pondered her plans for tomorrow.

A light appeared ahead, and people were talking.

She pushed open the door, and after being in darkness for so long, the hall became somewhat blinding. She stood still, looking down at the sect leaders in the hall, but when she saw the figure in front of the goddess statue, all her thoughts collapsed in an instant, and an indescribable fear crept up her spine.

This made Veronica's hands and feet cold and her breathing difficult.

She clearly saw Carlo, who had just finished praying, in front of the goddess statue.

With a dignified expression, the Pope rose and walked toward the crowd, about to deliver another inspiring speech.

If Carlo had stayed in the hall the whole time, then who was the person she encountered in that strange room?

Thinking of this, Veronica instinctively looked behind her, but the path she had come from was now lost in darkness.

The murderer has already broken in.

The people in the hall remained completely unaware of this; they had been gathered together by Carlo to listen to his speech.

However, before Veronica could inform everyone of this news, a commotion broke out in the auditorium below.

The sudden turn of events startled many people so much that they fell to the ground.

That was the statue of the Goddess of Life in the auditorium. At this moment, blood flowed from her loving eyes. Almost simultaneously, the energy storage crystal in the hall began to flicker, followed by intermittent, terrifying laughter—the laughter of a twisted woman, shrill, horrifying, and filled with despair.

Even Carlo, who was giving a speech, stood frozen in place.

After the shrill laughter lasted for more than ten seconds, a dull thud came from behind Carlo. The shock forced him to flee in a sorry state towards the crowd. The next second, the upper half of the broken goddess statue crashed down on the spot where he had just given his speech.

The statue representing the faith of the Church of Life was smashed to pieces in front of them, and finally someone couldn't help but scream.

For devout believers, what is happening before their eyes at this moment is far more than just visual horror.

The shattered statue of the goddess of life, and the blood flowing from its eyes, both conform to the description of "Destruction Day" in the sacred texts.

It symbolizes the fall of the righteous god and the resurgence of the evil god.

Different religious sects, however, have almost identical interpretations of "Doomsday".

All signs point to the same "future".

The end of the world is coming.

As the last rays of light faded, Veronica heard people, unable to contain their fear, fleeing the sanctuary hall and scattering throughout the circular hall.

It doesn't matter where, as long as we don't stay where this evil god has descended.

Veronica was plunged into darkness. In a daze, she turned to the side and hid. People passed by her from time to time, fleeing into the depths of the corridor without looking back. That was the very place where she had just encountered the murderer.

Suddenly, the words of "Carlo" before his departure echoed in her ears again.

—This is the Church of Praise. As long as you stay with other people, you will not die.

This is both a warning and, seemingly, a harbinger of slaughter.

People who are falling apart are going against the advice they are told.

She had a premonition that a bloody massacre was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)