Was his request, written in words of blood and tears, due to his sense of responsibility as the deputy head of the group, or was it due to other factors?

"After all, he's completely devoted to Rouse. It's not impossible that he's pretending to go on a expedition, only to end up joining the enemy camp."

Maybe he just wanted to leave with Royce. Maybe that was his true intention.

It is not impossible that the most unlikely people to defect have defected. Suspicion is inevitable.

Therefore, the outcome was inevitable. Pope Lusilu rejected Airem's request. Instead, he granted the Byrne family the opportunity to redeem their reputation and the honor of becoming a semi-apostle.

Upon hearing this news, Alem nearly went mad. This was probably the inevitable outcome.

"Is there really no hope for him to return to the team?"

Lilith was lost in thought at the time, too busy to care for Aram. Since he was no longer under her care, even now she has no idea of ​​his current situation.

All I remember is seeing him being taken away and put in solitary confinement. That was the last time Lilith saw Alem...

"No, he has been released from the confinement room. Your Majesty has mercy. He is currently confining himself in the martyrdom room."

"He... really wants to die?"

The "Martyrdom Room" is an "experimental facility" located in a corner of the Royal Palace. Those who, for various reasons, are no longer able to fulfill their duties, undergo various inhumane human experiments here, hoping to at least contribute their bodies and lives to the Church in one last effort.

However, Mulu shook his head and denied Lilith's speculation.

"It seems someone suggested he volunteer for a new enhancement program. After all, he has excellent aptitude, and if he succeeds, he will surely gain immense power."

"You actually have that kind of plan... In the end, you want him to defeat Ross Byrne with his new strength, huh?"

"If Kaim and the others fail."

"Is this strengthening effect... really that powerful?"

"I don't know the details. However, he will be the reserve force of the expeditionary force. Logically, his enhanced abilities should be at least comparable to those of a semi-apostle, or even stronger."

"Well……"

During the previous battle, Lilith had felt deeply the inadequacy of her own abilities. She naturally couldn't even dream of the glory of becoming a semi-apostle; but if she could be enhanced simply through a single Church technology, then... Lilith was a little tempted.

"Don't be impulsive. That technology is still in the experimental stage. We can't use the valuable General Manager as an experiment."

Realizing that her thoughts were seen through, Lilith made a "wu" sound and was speechless.

After a pause, Mu Lu spoke again, but his tone suddenly changed, becoming extremely cold.

"But I think it's only a matter of time."

"What?"

"Neither Kaim nor Airem can kill Rouse."

Seeing how inexplicably confident he was, Lilith narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Rouse is indeed powerful, arguably one of the Church's strongest forces. However, Kaim and his companions have been endowed with the greatest resources possible, making them exceptionally powerful.

"No matter what, the possibility isn't zero..."

"Let me put it another way. I can't accept Rouse being defeated by them."

"What did you say!?"

Mulu leaned against the railing with his head lowered, the same posture as Lilith just now.

Therefore, she couldn't see his expression now. Lilith could only stare at his profile in astonishment.

"That's an unacceptable outcome. Don't you agree, Chief Lilith?"

"Captain Olly?"

Did he think that Laws should not be conquered?

Lilith was half in disbelief. Wasn't this kind of thinking tantamount to hoping for a failure approved by His Holiness the Pope? Such a dangerous statement could very well be seen as a betrayal.

The other half, on the other hand, felt the same way. Perhaps he still believed in his friendship with Ross. Lilith suspected this because she herself harbored the same hope.

However, her thoughts soon turned into fear.

"Brainwashing and the like have no effect on that guy. That's right, it has absolutely no effect on him. His defection today wasn't caused by the liberators' manipulation of his body, but rather—the spark of heresy has been smoldering within him from the very beginning, smoldering for a long, long time. He's been trampling on faith without a blush, even when talking to me, even when we were on the battlefield, with our backs to each other! How can this be tolerated? Of course, it's impossible. This is far worse than betrayal. I—we, we've always treated this heretic as a friend and respected him wholeheartedly! What else could this be but malice!? We've been living under the malice of Ross Byrne all this time! Commander Lilith, isn't that right?!"

The resentful words grew louder and louder, until they sounded like shouts.

Only then did Mu Lu raise his head. His gaze made Lilith gasp.

Eyes like deep darkness, streaked with bloodshot red, resembled a cauldron from hell. His expression was ferocious, like a demon.

Only then did Lilith finally understand.

Mulu did not empathize with Lilith's indescribable feelings, nor was he unable to accept the fact that Ross had betrayed him.

Wrong, absolutely wrong. He was different from Lilith, there was a decisive difference between the two.

There was no trace of confusion in Mulu Olicky's heart. There was no melancholy or dull emotion.

There is only overwhelming humiliation, and the heroic anger and despair that is determined to wash away the humiliation.

The only person he had to kill was Ros Byrne, no matter what. Even if such a thought was considered disrespectful and went against His Holiness the Pope's plan, it didn't matter.

This was the only thought in his mind.

Therefore, the reason why he came here specifically to find Lilith was definitely not for any peaceful reasons.

"What about you? What do you think?"

"What's the meaning……?"

"I'm asking if you want to take care of him yourself."

"Captain Olly, calm down. You're not calm enough..."

"I am very calm and observing very calmly."

"Examine... what? You mean, examine me!? What do you mean by that? You'd better explain yourself. This is probably an insult I cannot tolerate—"

"You have a crush on Royce, right?"

“Wha-what!?”

Suddenly, Lilith felt her blood boiling. Whether it was out of anger or shame, she didn't know.

Mu Lu didn't care about her reaction at all and continued to say what he wanted to say as if talking to himself.

"Before that guy got married, your family went to discuss the marriage, didn't they?"

“W-what…”

"I heard that it was you who made the request when you turned ten and were deciding on your fiancé. Your father thought that our family's social status made it a mismatch. But you still refused and forced your father to discuss marriage."

"..."

Lilith was speechless, her calm state of mind seemed to be shattered by a blow.

What Mulu said was true.

Lilith's family was also one of the famous and prestigious families in the Kingdom of God, so she had the opportunity to see Laws, who was just beginning to rise to prominence at the time, and had admired him since she was a child.

However, as a user of magic from the Age of Gods, there were countless people who wanted to marry him, and the Akain family was just a small player among them. Naturally, they were not chosen in the end.

Of course, you'll know about this kind of thing with a little research.

However, what happened between her and her father was entirely her personal privacy.

How could Mulu know about this distant past that even the servants didn't remember? Thinking of this, Lilith couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

At the same time, she was certain that Mulu had come to see her for this very reason. As he had said, he had come to examine Lilith. Therefore, he had thoroughly researched Lilith's experience and background beforehand.

"You really work very hard, and you became the general manager at such a young age."

“…What exactly do you want to say?”

"While your unique magic, 'Thunder God,' is powerful, lightning-type unique magic itself is not uncommon. It wouldn't be difficult for a captain-level individual specializing in magic to accomplish the same feat using ordinary magic."

He was right. Although the magic power consumed and the speed of activation were significantly different, Lilith's inherent magic itself was not special.

To put it bluntly, it was merely a lightning spell that could be cast without the initial lead time. Yet, she had thoroughly honed this ordinary innate magic to the point of being competent as a general, even creating many of its own practical techniques. All of this was the result of her extraordinary effort.

The driving force behind the effort is of course a deep faith and a desire to devote oneself to God.

However, Mulu questions her motives.

"'Since my family's rank isn't enough, I should at least achieve a position of equal standing'... Is that what you're thinking? If so, it's truly heartbreaking. After all, Deborah also sincerely hopes that Ross will take a second or third wife. Perhaps, regarding this expedition, you don't want Ross to be in danger, secretly hoping for failure—"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. A magnificent double-edged sword was pressed against Mulu's neck.

"Even if you are the leader of the Beastlight Knights, you must not speak such evil words and question my faith. If you continue, you will pay the price and suffer physical pain."

Her tone was calm, yet it also revealed a cold and chilling murderous aura.

Mulu widened his eyes, rolled his eyeballs, and met Lilith's eyes.

His eyes were extremely cold, without a trace of life, as if he could suck the life out of others just by staring at them.

On the contrary, Lilith countered it with a blazing gaze.

The atmosphere between the two sides was extremely tense, as if they were walking a tightrope on a precipice.

The two of them were in a stalemate, and it was unknown how long it had been—

Suddenly, another voice intervened.

"What are you doing?"

““──!””

It was incredible that anyone could get close to these two people without being detected.

They both turned their heads at the same time and saw a man standing beside them without them noticing.

"...Captain of the Light Guardian Knights, what can I do for you?"

Mulu looked at the man suspiciously. He was none other than Darion Kaze, the leader of the Knights of the Guardian Light.

Lilith also looked at him with a probing look.

No wonder.

Because, until recently, both of them had mistaken someone else for Darion.

Darion used to be a middle-aged man with short brown hair, an average build and height, and no particular features. But the man before him looked completely different. His white hair was combed back, his eyes were red, and he looked young.

Of course, everyone knows the whereabouts of the previous Darion.

Everyone thought Darion was defeated by Rouse and died a martyr. However...

—Don't worry, everyone. My strongest knight is still alive.

As the throne room trembled with anxiety over the news of Darion's death, Pope Lucil suddenly spoke. Then, a figure emerged from the depths of the hall. It was the man before him. The Pope declared with absolute certainty that he was the true Darion.

He also said that the Darion who used to be by his side was actually just a member of the Knights of the Guardian Light.

Of course, everyone is confused.

But then again, the leader of the Knights of the Guard is a key figure in the Pope's guard. Why would he leave the person he is protecting just to pursue a traitor? From this perspective, it seems reasonable.

It makes more sense to say that a personal bodyguard was sent to pursue Ross because he posed a considerable threat.

After this man's appearance, a stream of astonishing intelligence emerged, including the formation of a thirty-man punitive force from the Light Guardians, the discovery of mass-produced replicas of the Seven Sacred Armaments, Erim's madness, and the transformation of Kaim and Shem into semi-apostles. As a result, everyone stopped questioning his identity and assumed he was the real Darion Kaze.

However, when I think about it again after a while, I can't help but feel that something is not right.

The young man before him looked too young, perhaps even older than Lilith. Could someone so young truly be the leader of the Light Guard Knights? More than that, the more puzzling thing was his aura. Clearly a different person, he felt identical to the deceased double.

Even though their appearance is completely different, it's still strange that people can still feel that "this person is Captain Darion" without any sense of abnormality. This fact is really weird.

He was so treacherous and unpredictable that the two of them were instinctively wary.

Not sure if Darion knew what the two were thinking, he spoke again, repeating his previous question expressionlessly.

"I'll ask again. What are you doing?"

The target of the questioning seemed to be not only Lilith, who was holding a sword against someone's neck, but also Mulu.

At the same time, it exudes a stronger sense of oppression.

They were not allowed to choose the other option - "no answer".

"...He insulted me with words that were intolerable. Therefore, I demand that he retract his words and apologize."

"I do this for the future of the Knights and the Church. It's necessary."

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like