A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“They are both enemies,” Carrasco said.

His portrayal of Beatley as an enemy was driven by his own selfish motives.

Perhaps he's thinking of using Bray to take care of both of them? But is that even possible?

That's it?

"Also, don't rush," Carrasco said with a wry smile.

He felt that Bray was even more anxious than he was.

He finally noticed that his sword was trembling, but he still couldn't figure out why his sword, "Vancarell," was trembling.

Even when facing that excessively powerful man, "Vancarel" was not afraid.

After a moment's thought, Carrasco briefly explained the two enemies he was referring to.

“Do you need me to come with you? Maybe I can help you,” Carrasco said.

"Never mind, Levy and I are fine." Bray waved his hand, indicating that Carrasco could continue lying down.

From any angle, Carrasco looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.

If a battle breaks out later, Bray won't have the time to take care of anyone else.

Bray is not good at many things, including protecting others and fighting in groups.

"Then good luck." After hearing Bray's words, Carrasco gave up struggling and sat down on the ground to rest.

The way he held his sword made Bray raise an eyebrow slightly.

“You are too,” Bray said to the narcissistic stranger.

Normally, he wouldn't bother with passersby, but seeing how nervous Carrasco was about his sword, he was slightly moved.

Carrasco, like him, was a swordsman.

It might be a case of mutual appreciation.

"Levy, keep leading the way." After leaving Carrasco with those words, Bray prepared to continue.

"Oh!" Levy, who had been waiting for a long time, was overjoyed when she heard Bray call her name.

Her tail wagged rapidly, and she accidentally kicked up a piece of gravel.

"Thud!" The stone landed next to Carrasco's head, nearly killing him.

If Levy had been any more careless, the capital would probably have lost a Sword Saint.

"..." Carrasco stared at the two figures with a dark expression, and let out a long sigh.

Was his own thinking wrong? Betley's words echoed in his mind.

Even he had to start to ponder.

---

The place Carrasco was pointing to didn't seem to be particularly far away.

"Bray, it's noisy up ahead!" A moment later, Levy's ears twitched, and she slammed on the brakes.

Unfortunately, Bray ran too slowly and didn't bump into Levy.

"Up ahead?"

"Mmm, bang bang bang," Levy vividly described the sounds coming from ahead.

Although Bray couldn't hear, Leigh seemed to be speaking very loudly.

He even wondered if he had gone deaf.

"Was the sound that loud...?"

“Super big!” Levy nodded solemnly, her tail standing upright.

"Really!" she emphasized, then covered her ears.

Okay, Bray was sure his hearing had deteriorated.

However, he regained some confidence later on, because after Levy led him a little further, he was able to hear noise again.

That was the sound of fierce fighting.

And if Bray isn't mistaken, it was a one-sided beating.

Can a one-sided beating be violent? Of course it can.

"BOOM!!!!" Bray took a step forward, and a booming sound rang out.

A slender black shadow crashed heavily down from above in front of Bray.

Almost instantly, Bray drew his longsword and assumed a perfect defensive stance.

Levy also started to bristle, letting out threatening growls like a wild beast.

The slender black figure exuded the same aura as the group of cultists from before.

It was even more intense, so thick it was like ink that couldn't be dissolved.

Because of the presence of this shadowy figure, the "divine source" within Bray's body was still raging, stirring up some kind of instinct deep within Bray's soul.

"Ah, what an insensitive person..." The slender black figure slowly rose to its feet, muttering to itself.

That was the figure of a seductive woman, with a charming and alluring voice.

But Bray was stunned for a long time after hearing the voice.

Hearing the voice and seeing the beautiful figure, Bray blurted out a name.

"Sha'er?"

The owner of that beautiful figure also froze upon hearing Bray's voice.

She turned to look at Bray, who was speaking, and their eyes reflected the familiar face from the past.

“Bray?” Shar said in surprise.

Bray never imagined he would see her again one day.

She never imagined she would meet Bray.

All of this was unexpected.

Just as Shar was about to say something, an extremely arrogant voice rang out.

The menacing, hound-like sound echoed throughout the entire sewer system.

"I didn't expect the Saintess to meet with someone she knows." Betley slowly walked over from not far away.

"Let me guess." He pretended to be thinking.

"Could it be one of your many lovers?" Betley looked at Shar and Bray with amusement.

Wearing a dark blue trench coat, Betley never expected that today's hunt for cultists would be so complicated.

First, one guy stopped me, and then it seemed like another guy was about to stop me.

He was so annoyed; he was extremely unhappy.

"Get out of my way, or I'll kill you too." Betley's chuckle gradually turned into a sinister grin.

His expression was ferocious, as if not only his face was distorted, but his entire body was twisted.

An intense hatred that anyone could feel surged from Betley.

Bray glanced at Betley, then at Shar.

Levy, standing behind Bray, had no idea what was going on and dared not speak.

All she knows so far is that this woman seems to know Bray; nothing else.

The one-eyed adventurer first raised his left hand and made a gesture.

"Don't speak yet," Bray said to Betley, his face expressionless.

Bray's tone caused Betley's ferocious aura to falter slightly.

He looked at Bray with interest and casually fiddled with the pocket watch strapped to his wrist.

"Who...who are you?" Bray turned his gaze back to Shar.

She did look exactly like Shar, but there was no doubt that she exuded a strong cult aura.

It is a certain aura that tempts people to fall, causing them to continuously plummet into the endless abyss of desire.

"Haven't seen me for a year or two, and you've already forgotten me?" Shar's lips curved into a beautiful smile as she asked Bray.

Shar casually recounted some memories of her past with Bray.

After hearing this, Bray remained silent for a long time.

This woman is indeed the same Sharl from back then, no, not the same Sharl from back then, just "Shal".

She didn't say a word about what was happening.

So if you were to ask Bray now what he plans to do—

Bray doesn't know how to answer you either.

Someone told him that two people were planning to destroy the capital.

One of them was a stranger, and the other was his childhood sweetheart.

So if I gave it to you, what would you choose? You have no choice.

If you can't even see the vortex you're in clearly, how can you possibly make the right choice?

"Are you done catching up?" Unfortunately, the world won't stop just because you hesitate.

Even when you have no choice, the world still keeps turning, and other people still move.

You are not the center of the world, and the world does not exist because of you.

Bray looked up abruptly, but the next moment he saw Betley rushing towards him.

Shar noticed this even earlier than Bray, got up from the ground ahead of time, and then used her divine magic to teleport away.

As she left, she gave Bray a very subtle look.

Her intention was to use Bray as a pretext to leave.

So, what exactly was Bray to her at this moment? Perhaps someone who wasn't so important.

Even if you've known each other for three years, the feeling of meeting again after two years of no contact.

Familiar, yet strange.

At this point, Bray was not a stranger to Shar, but he wasn't particularly important either.

At least in her mind, compared to "Lord Dopne," Bray was definitely more important.

"What a pity." The red patterns behind Sharl detached from the plane like ribbons and danced in the wind.

If you stand in front of Shar, you will immediately understand why she is a saint and why she is an evil saint.

"Boom!!" The floor in front of Bray shattered instantly.

The wind whipped Bray's hair into a frenzy, and he stared blankly ahead.

Levy looked at Bray with some concern, but the clumsy girl only knew instinct and didn't know how to care for Bray.

"Ha, I thought you would protect your childhood sweetheart?" Betley said jokingly.

From the memories Sharle shared with Bray, Beatty could easily guess the relationship between the two.

Childhood sweethearts, isn't that just childhood sweethearts?

To Betley, all cult members are trash—a bunch of people who would abandon their humanity for their so-called faith.

“I don’t think I need anyone to protect me~” Sharle was lifted into the air little by little by the pile of patterns, looking down at Betley and Bray below.

Of course, the main focus was still on Beattie.

"No, of course you need it."

“Although no one can protect you,” Betley said, opening and closing his pocket watch.

At the same time, he glanced at Bray with a disdainful look.