However, he is not a third-rate character who cannot grasp the location of his opponent just because his vision is blocked.

Even under the intense flash of light, he was still able to grasp Natsu's location, and was about to launch a powerful counterattack when—

"Take another one of my moves."

Following this disturbing sentence, there was a loud explosion and a blast of wind.

Suddenly, the eardrum was exposed to the violence of the sound, and nothing could be heard except the intense tinnitus.

At the same time, a pungent smell hits your nose, making your nasal cavity itchy.

Even if I held my breath immediately, it was still too late.

This is not something you can just hold back. The biological reaction to expel foreign matter occurs uncontrollably.

“Aaaaaaah! My eyes, nose, mouth… cough, vomit, cough.”

“—Uh, uh, you…! Ahem.”

Tears streamed endlessly, sneezes and coughs erupted, saliva and nasal discharge erupted simultaneously. It was stinging, acrid, foul-smelling, sweet... all these sensations blended together, making it hard to distinguish one from the other.

This is a special sonic explosion tear gas bomb made by a vicious man with glasses who paid a huge sum of money to obtain the secret formula from a scumbag among scumbags. He then improved it to make it more vicious.

“Hmm!”

Even so, Knight Thorn was able to determine Kaim's position by his presence and tackle him, truly worthy of being a Knight of Light. Then, he cast a spell directly upward, creating a powerful wind.

At the same time, he closed his eyes tightly, coughed, and still activated "Holy Severance" by omitting the spell.

This went on for one and two beats.

The barrier showed no signs of being attacked, and his vision had also recovered slightly.

He grasped the situation through his tear-blurred vision.

So──

“…They ran away.”

A few knights remained, but Natsu and the others had completely disappeared.

I guess as soon as Niz left the range of Knight Thorn's magic dispelling, he immediately took everyone away.

"Tsk, I got tricked! Where's the Holy Guide... Damn it! He's been dismissed too! How could he lose his composure like that!?"

Should I say that his physical abilities are worthy of a half-apostle?

Kaim quickly shook off his physical abnormality and stamped his feet in anger.

Knight Thorn dispelled the barrier and simply stared coldly at Kaim as he raged. Glancing around to make sure the other knights had gathered, he looked up at the sky. And then—

"The drama of love and hate between father and son... Lord, is this as You wish?"

He murmured this softly.

The bright crescent moon hanging in the night sky seemed to smile even more broadly.

Prequel 5 Chapter 3: Lake Spirit

After the expedition team lost track of Ross and the others, some time passed.

Nearly a month has passed since the church announced its victory, but the capital is still filled with an atmosphere of celebrating victory.

After all, this is at the foot of the sacred mountain where the gods reside, so the residents don't set up too many messy street stalls or hold too many noisy activities, but it's still bustling at a glance.

People who usually take care to maintain a serious tone and behavior also gather together and happily praise the greatness of God and the church.

Far away in the sky, a woman was looking down at this scene with a gloomy expression on her face.

She is Lilith Akain.

A heroic woman who became Grand Master of the Knights Temple at the age of only 27.

She was self-aware of her position and held a strong sense of responsibility, maintaining a rigorous approach both in public and private life. Her attire and appearance were always immaculate, maintaining a battlefield mentality. She also understood that she was the envy of women nationwide, and she constantly maintained a resolute image, like a piece of armor she would never remove.

But the once flawless Lilith's beautiful short blond hair was now disheveled, as if it had been scratched harshly. Her deep green eyes held a dark, gloomy expression.

“…I don’t know anything, how carefree…”

She sarcastically said this weakly. Although this was just her mumbling in the privacy of her own home, it contradicted the official news and speaking it out was very dangerous.

The vast cretaceous palace, built along the surface of the Sacred Mountain, was awe-inspiring. A geometric-shaped sky corridor surrounded its perimeter. Lilith was hiding in a corner of the corridor.

She stared coldly down at the world below, then leaned her upper body against the railing, her head drooping listlessly, her drooping, smooth bangs covering her eyes.

“…Why…why…”

She murmured softly, her voice so faint it seemed to vanish on the wind. Instead, her teeth gnashed fiercely, and her grip on the railing crackled. Melancholy, confusion, suspicion, anger... all sorts of emotions surged within Lilith, and it was evident on the outside.

"That's enough. The railing is innocent, Captain Lilith."

“—! Captain Ollyn…”

The sudden sound frightened Lilith so much that she trembled all over.

She looked up suddenly and saw a man with black hair parted in the middle and wearing a monocle. The leader of the Beast Light Knights, Mulu Oliki, was walking towards her and raised his hand to say "Hi".

"Where is the usually stern and imposing commander-in-chief?"

"...Please forgive me for making you laugh."

"Oh, I was just joking."

Mulu shrugged, a wry smile on his face. Then, he came to Lilith's side, leaned his back against the railing, and raised his head.

"You can't even understand a joke. Your stubborn personality is exactly like that guy's."

"—! Stop mentioning Ros Byrne! And don't even mention me looking like him! He's a taboo now, and even mentioning him makes people—"

"But you were thinking about him, weren't you?"

“I…”

The inability to clearly deny is tantamount to admitting it.

The reason why Lilith was so depressed was because of Ross's departure.

Having lost her mind for a traitor, and having it exposed, Lilith lowered her head in shame. Mulu's wry smile deepened, and she sighed.

"Me too. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him."

Silence lingered between the two for a moment.

I don’t know how to express my current feelings.

If the person who fled was just an ordinary knight, all we had to do was shout "The traitor deserves death!" and execute him.

The only emotions in my heart are anger and contempt. No more, no less.

To use a metaphor, it is like swatting and throwing out the insects that invade a sacred place.

very simple.

However, the current situation was different. No matter how deep their faith was, they couldn't accept this fact.

Ross Byrne's escape was such a shock to them.

Furthermore, Mulu's friendship with Ross was even longer than Lilith's. They were also the same age and had even publicly declared themselves friends. He must have felt an inexplicable, unacceptable emotion within him, even more so than Lilith.

Having someone share the same emotions made Lilith's expression ease a little.

"How's the reorganization of the Knights going? I know I've drawn away so many talented people without reservation, and I feel bad for you, but... I'm on an urgent mission here too. Is everything going well?"

It seems that the reason why Mulu came to this corner of the aerial corridor was to recruit more personnel for the Beast Light Knights.

The topic of Ross came to an end, and Lilith's tense heart relaxed a little. Despite the relief, she still maintained a serious expression, shook her head and said:

"No, don't worry about it. Training knights for the Beastlight Knights is not easy, and we've lost our vice-captain and the Holy Wolf King. The truly difficult times lie ahead. Your burden will undoubtedly be even heavier, Captain Ollyn."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Mulu shrugged and said, "That's right," and continued.

"I heard that Zeba's position will be taken over by His Excellency the Sword Saint. Is that true?"

"Yes, I ask Master to take over."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Zeba, commander of the Third Legion of the Knights Templar, had been martyred in the previous war. Therefore, his position would be taken over by an elderly man who was currently serving as an instructor in the Knights Templar. He was also the former Grand Master.

Due to his advanced age and his own wishes, he retired from the front lines and took up teaching duties. However, even at nearly eighty years old, his strength remained intact. His skills were even more refined than before.

Recently, due to the serious losses suffered by the Knights of the Three Lights, a lot of manpower was replenished from the Knights Temple, and there were no other talents qualified to be the commander of the legion, so they had to ask him to return to the front line.

In addition, Cardinal Baran Distak, the commander-in-chief, was martyred, and his position was taken over by Archbishop Kimy Yesu Shimtiye on a part-time basis.

"In that case, the only ones left with a problem are the Knights of White Light."

“…That’s what you said.”

Mulu nonchalantly brought up the topic that Lilith really didn't want to talk about, which made her frown.

She felt Mu Lu's eyes turned to her for a moment, but before she turned her eyes to look at him, the topic continued.

"Each country has sent people to spy on the situation. However, they are just pretending to come to congratulate the victory, trying to sound out the rumors without leaving any trace."

"...Do you think they have ulterior motives?"

"No, they really are just here for a look. But if we don't display our Kamuyim properly, there might be fools who misjudge reality and cause trouble, right?"

In other words, the idea that "the church and God are not absolute, and there is no need to obey them anymore" may grow among certain forces.

"How foolish."

"That's absolutely right. Therefore, it may be necessary to ask the Apostle to appear in public soon."

The defeat of the "Apostle of God" was the primary reason for the nations to question the "absolute authority of the Church." The number of soldiers fleeing from both the Confederation and the Empire was so great that silencing everyone was impossible. Consequently, the news spread widely.

However, it is easy to shatter this basis.

The reason is, of course, because the "Apostle of God" is still alive.

Lilith and Mulu only learned about this after returning home. They were both so surprised that they almost couldn't stand.

The one who came out to greet them was actually the apostle who had died on the battlefield earlier.

Just when all the knights and priests were extremely depressed, not even having the chance to take revenge, and were about to go crazy, the reason suddenly appeared before their eyes.

Everyone was so surprised that they were scared to death.

Needless to say, thoughts like "God is indeed absolute" and "I can't possibly lose to a heretic" became stronger with my faith.

"I really want to see the despair on the faces of those liberators sooner, and realize that my struggles are futile."

Lilith laughed heartily.

Hidden within her heart were emotions more extreme and profound than ever before—hatred like a dark cloud, anger like thunder that threatened to scorch her entire body.

Not just because they are heretics. Not just because they are hindering holy war.

Clearly, it was also related to Ross's betrayal. Perhaps she also believed that if Ross had not met the Liberator, he would not have betrayed her. Her thoughts were almost like venting her anger.

Her intense emotions prevented her from noticing that Mulu was staring at her silently. His gaze was chilling, as if he could see through everything.

Unlike his scheming eyes, his tone was quite relaxed.

"That being said, the Apostle's original mission was to be the 'Oracle Maiden'. Forcing the Apostle to go to the battlefield and to try to restore the divine power like this is entirely due to our inability."

“…You’re right.”

"It would be great if Alem could serve as acting leader. At least we can reorganize the group."

"Don't be silly. Right now, Alem isn't up to the task. In every way."

The vice-captain of the White Light Knights—Aram Ockerman.

After he responded to the call and came to the meeting, he heard the news that Ross had fled, and his current state was unusual.

His eyes were wide and bloodshot, his teeth were clenched, and his whole body was shaking.

He even offered to resign on the spot and requested permission from the Legion to pursue Rous.

He had long ago begun to question the leader's faith, but had never reported it to his superiors. This was because he still wanted to believe that the White Light Leader, who embodied the majesty of God, could not betray him.

However, his trust ultimately resulted in such consequences.

Therefore, he insisted on taking responsibility, going to fight the traitor, and dying immediately to atone for his sin after the success.

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