In the name of the true god

Edmund's impression of Jude changed once again.

He had assumed that Jude, in his panic, would recklessly push the other person into the abyss.

There's actually nothing wrong with doing this.

After all, people like him who can disregard life and death and whose greatest pursuit in life is to save more of their kind are extremely rare.

To live is the only instinctive choice for a normal person.

Fortunately, Jude was able to remain calm and did not become too ruthless. Although there were undercurrents in the capital's heavy prison, the situation did not completely get out of control.

"I can back down and turn a blind eye to what he's planning, but I can't guarantee he'll let me off the hook in the same way," Jude said worriedly. "What if he turns around and uses my identity to blackmail me, forcing me to help him rescue people?"

If you don't reveal your identity, the other party may not believe you.

Once you reveal your identity, if the other party is ruthless, it's like falling into a quagmire.

"I think it's worth a try," Edmund said cautiously. "If the other party were ruthless enough to achieve their goals at any cost, they would have eliminated you the moment you posed a threat to their position. The fact that they've let you go time and again shows that they have a bottom line."

That's true...

If you've already killed the priests, what's so difficult about killing yourself too?

He would rather risk being replaced than kill himself, an "ordinary person"—this person can't be all that bad.

"...Then I'll make contact first, and if that doesn't work, I'll look for other methods." Jude had no choice but to agree.

"Hmm." Edmund nodded.

"...Edmund." Jude, his brow furrowed and his mood heavy, asked a peculiar question, "Why are wizards and resonance sorcerers involved in this struggle against the Holy Church?"

"For survival," Edmund replied solemnly.

"But many wizards and resonance sorcerers involved have also defected to the Holy Church. Isn't this a better way out than those who persist in resistance, who face either permanent imprisonment or public execution?"

Edmund asked, "Do you really think this is a better way out?"

Jude remembered the female sorceress.

His mental state was dejected, and his hands and feet were shackled, clearly indicating that he still could not be fully trusted by the Holy Church.

Strictly speaking, they only formed an unequal partnership.

The Holy Church promised to let her live, but she had to serve the Holy Church at all times.

But how exactly does one live?

Judging from the female witch's mental state, it's probably not much better than being locked up in prison.

Edmund offered his perspective: "Admittedly, a very small minority of our kind may unintentionally harm others when out of control, or abuse their supernatural abilities for evil purposes, deepening the public's negative impression of us. However, not all involved wizards and resonance sorcerers are bad people. The laws of contact and similarity are merely abilities and tools; what kind of person one becomes should be solely determined by oneself. The Holy Church has no right to declare us heretical and send us to the gallows simply because we also possess supernatural powers and are not under their control..."

Edmund spoke at length, with particular emphasis on his father.

His father had helped many civilians with his ability to use the Law of Contact, but when the civilians discovered his father's true identity, their kind faces would immediately turn into ferocious and terrifying ones.

Some people picked up hoes and pitchforks, intending to surround and kill them.

Someone secretly reported it to the church and earned a large reward.

The father and son could only hide constantly, like rats in a sewer, unable to see the light of day.

Even so, Edmund's father never blamed the common people. He continued to do his best to help wherever he went, trying to change the public's perception of witches and sorcerers.

Influenced by his father, Edmund also resolved to overthrow the four holy churches, save all the implicated wizards and resonance sorcerers who were falsely accused, misunderstood, and ostracized, and allow his kind to live openly in the world.

After listening to Edmund's story, Jude was deeply moved and also recalled Edmund's last words before his execution.

Edmund said that the four existing gods are false gods, and the only true god will appear in the world in the year 450 of the Christian calendar.

What did he actually find out in the next few years?

Or is it to protect the implicated wizards and resonance sorcerers, and to carry out the same smear campaign against the Holy Church?

Jude asked, "Would you do the same thing as the Holy Church?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Holy Church claims that witches and resonance sorcerers are heretics, so would you accuse the God worshipped by the Holy Church of being a false god without any basis?"

"I wouldn't slander anyone without grounds, not even the Holy Church," Edmund stated decisively. "Why ask this all of a sudden?"

"...It's nothing." Jude was still not ready to reveal the future to Edmund.

Similarly, Edmund's words did not fully resolve his doubts.

As a result, his views were much more conservative than Edmund's, believing that what was lacking between wizards, resonators, and the Holy Church was mutual understanding, which could not be achieved through fighting each other.

From this perspective, Edmund's actions seem quite reasonable.

After all, his father had been doing good deeds, but instead of gaining understanding, he was repeatedly betrayed.

When simply being a good person doesn't work, there's really no better way to solve their predicament than to fight and force the Holy Church to back down and change its strategy against "heretics."

"Jude," Edmund said, looking directly at Jude, "do you know something?"

Edmund still noticed...

Jude wanted to lie and deny it, but then he remembered that Edmund had always been honest with him: "...I do know something."

"About me?"

"Yes."

"tell me."

"I can't say."

Why?

Jude sighed, "Do you know about the butterfly effect? ​​It means that a small change at the beginning can gradually trigger a series of chain reactions, eventually leading to a huge change. Just like a butterfly flapping its wings in Nordonia could potentially cause a tornado in Florence a few weeks later."

Edmund muttered, "How is this possible..."

"That's entirely possible," Jude emphasized. "If I tell you what will happen in the future, and you make changes in advance, then everything else will change as well, one thing after another, and perhaps everything in the future will be completely different, even I might cease to exist... And if I don't exist, then who is standing here telling you what will happen in the future, prompting you to change the past?"