The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

　Through the Court of Redemption, Cain extended the olive branch of fate countless times and offered gifts to those souls in suffering.

　Then, she would charge the right price at the right time and control those souls to where she needed them to be.

　She redeemed those souls, but the price was manipulation and control.

　She keeps talking about free will, but it's just another way of manipulating the fate of others.

　This is no different from the Red Moon.

　"You won't get what you want."

　After Xing Mo finished speaking, the six wings behind him exploded, and his body instantly broke through the ten strings, stabbing the golden spear at Cain.

　Looking at the whistling star foam, Cain raised his spear and whispered:

　"destiny!"

　"boom"

　In an instant, the golden starlight dyed the sky and the earth into pure gold. All the strings vibrated under the golden light, and strange visions appeared frequently.

　And among the countless streams of light, two figures intertwined at high speed. When the two gun tips collided, golden lightning continuously burst out, tearing apart the space and concepts together.

　The academic city of Academi.

　Right in front of the White Tower, the Extraordinary Department has taken control of the situation.

　The bodies of the three messengers lay on the ground. Miriam killed two of them, and the rest of them worked together to kill one.

　As for the other Messina guards, after the messenger's defeat, their chances of winning were close to zero, so they were either captured or

　Captives, or surrender.

　""

　Returning to White Tower Square with Ophelia, Alice saw Miriam coming towards her.

　"Are you okay?" Miriam looked at Alice.

　"I am fine."

　Alice and Miriam hugged each other gently, then turned to look at the groups of people nearby.

　Those people were Ophelia's backup. Alice saw Laura Williams from the North City Police Department, Isis Elebella from Winter County, and even Blackwood.

　"Miss Alice, long time no see."

　Heimu bowed to Alice. He was wearing sunglasses, a black suit like Yan Xia, and a sword on his waist.

　Behind him were mostly people dressed similarly to him, and they were obviously part of an elite force.

　"I didn't expect you to come," Alice said softly.

　"Ah, well, Miss Ophelia negotiated with us a long time ago. Of course, Prison Ox hadn't left yet, so she sent me here directly."

　Heimu looked very reluctant. He scratched the back of his neck, looking like he had been working overtime.

　"Of course, I'm also happy to participate in this kind of outdoor activity. After all, it's for our future cooperation."

　Alice nodded slightly and looked at Ophelia not far away.

　She was explaining something to her adjutant with a serious expression on her face.

　"So, the prerequisite for opening the Door of Painting is to sacrifice Ophelia."

　After listening to Angelica's story, Miriam walked to Alice's side and looked at Ophelia in the distance with her.

　"Do you think she would?" Alice asked softly.

　"I can't guarantee it. After all, this is... a sacrifice."

　Miriam said in a deep voice:

　"I'll go with you to prevent any accidents."

　"Ah."

　It has to be said that Alice still doesn't dare to completely trust Ophelia.

　Dedicating everything to the Citadel—everyone can say such a slogan, but how many people can really put it into practice?

　It would be better to say that when people keep saying that they are willing to give everything for something, they have actually already drawn a line in their hearts, and the price of crossing that line is unbearable.

　Alice wonders if Ophelia can cross that line.

　Objectively speaking, Ophelia did contribute a lot to the Citadel. She soiled her hands, shouldered the sins of so many lives, and fully supported the other side.

　Even without mentioning those things, tonight, if Ophelia had not made arrangements in advance, if those members of the White Tower Council really let the Messina Chamber of Commerce in, Alice couldn't imagine what the scene would be like tonight.

　Xiaomo said that Ophelia could not hurt innocent people.

　This fact made Alice feel heartbroken.

　Because this means that the people Ophelia killed were not innocent.

　So many people...

　They are not innocent...

　human nature.

　These two words were branded in Alice's heart.

　Because of this, she didn't dare to blame everything on Ophelia's humanity.

　After this battle, Ophelia became one of the greatest contributors to the Academy and was destined to go down in history.

　For the sake of the Citadel, she killed her own father and prevented the infiltration of the Messina Chamber of Commerce.

　Sacrificing her own family for the sake of justice is enough to erase all the bad reputation she had left behind.

　Now, she was only one step away from leaving her name in history. She just needed to survive until the end of the holy war.

　Would she really trust Alice and allow herself to be sacrificed?

　""

　While thinking, Ophelia finished her instructions to the adjutant and walked over.

　Seeing her approaching, Albus's eyes were immediately filled with hostility, and Angelica's movements also paused noticeably.

　"Let's go to the Painted Gate." Ophelia nodded to Alice.

　"You guys, wait for us outside," Alice nodded to the members of Section 1, "Milliam will come with me."

　"Alice, are you sure..."

　"No problem." Alice said.

　She nodded to Ophelia and walked forward with her towards the White Tower.

　As Alice passed through the White Tower gate and descended the endless spiral staircase, she kept staring at Ophelia's back.

　Ophelia didn't let anyone catch up. Alice could only see her back, but her pace was calm.

　After descending the spiral building for an unknown amount of time, Ophelia suddenly spoke:

　"Alice Pucht, do you believe...that He will eventually forgive us all our sins?"

　Him.

　Goddess of the Star Sea.

　Alice thought for a moment before speaking:

　"God has banished us to this world and given us pain, so we commit sins."

　"He has no right to forgive us, and we can never be forgiven."

　"You're quite deviant..." Ophelia chuckled. "Yeah, I agree. Every wrong has its perpetrator. If you hate me, how can the goddess forgive me on your behalf?"

　"Your methods are too extreme, but I can't say I hate you, because in terms of achievements, no one can deny you, that's a fact."

　Alice shook her head.

　"But at this point...are you still thinking about atonement?"

　"Do not."

　Ophelia shook her head slightly.

　She turned to look at Alice, the light from the lantern making her face half dark and half bright.

　“Redemption is never the end of the road we travel.”

　“Salvation is but for

　To find inner balance is just to comfort oneself, and is essentially selfish and an illusion.

　“Redemption or not, atonement or not, there is only one thing waiting for us at the end.”

　"That's..."

　"..judgment."

　As they were talking, the three of them arrived at the bottom of the White Tower.

　A massive, majestic stone door stood in the center of the room, its frame shimmering with rainbow light, its silhouette resembling a guillotine.

　The door of painting.

　In the words of Miss Pearlis, the origin of everything is hidden there.

　Looking at the outline of the door, Ophelia turned and faced Alice.

　"It's your turn, Alice Pucht."

　"My turn?"

　"The Citadel will always need someone to take the helm. This person must be fierce and powerful enough to be feared by everyone."

　Ophelia's face was calm, but Alice saw that her hands were shaking.

　"If Star Angel doesn't want to be that kind of existence, then someone must become that kind of existence for her."

　"It's either me or you."

　"I understand you have a mission, but now, the missions we were given have come to an end. After me, it's time for you to take over."

　Ophelia took two steps forward, and Alice met her gaze, very close.

　"Promise me that you will protect the Academy City and the Xinghai Church."

　She finally heard the tremor in Ophelia's voice.

　It was just a slight vibration of the tone, but Alice knew what kind of landslide and tsunami was hidden behind it.

　"I..."

　She felt a lump in her throat—was Ophelia really just...accepting her own sacrifice?

　Did she really give her life to Alice so easily, without any hesitation?

　She took the lives of others like an executioner, and then with the same decisiveness... gave up her own life?

　"Promise me!" Seeing that Alice didn't answer, Ophelia's voice rose a few degrees.

　"...good."

　Alice closed her eyes and nodded slightly.

　Seeing her nod, Ophelia smiled.

　The last descendant of the Sean family turned around and knelt in front of the Gate of Painting, just like the first saint Arcadia Sean in his memory.

　Alice grabbed the cross on her chest, and with a "buzz", the Sword of Dawn was in her hand.

　Following the image in the revelation, Alice thrust her sword into the ground and twisted the hilt—

　"Om——"

　Golden starlight quickly outlined the ground, drawing a complex string array centered on the Gate of Painting.

　The shape of the Sword of Dawn quickly dissipated, turning into discrete starlight and entering the interior of the string magic array.

　Golden phantoms emerged from the string magic circle, flickering unsteadily.

　They surrounded Ophelia, and clusters of golden branches grew on the girl's body.