A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Then it's up to you," Bray said softly, patting the hilt of his sword.

"I can't do anything with you, Master. You're too useless. I'll have to help you!"

Although Bray didn't use a pleading tone at all, Jue Xiang had already agreed on his own.

In a narrow alley, Bray crept furtively behind a wooden crate.

Ahead was a woman wearing linen clothes walking.

"That's right, Master!"

"It's her. She has terrible divine magic."

“Ah…” Bray looked at the woman dressed in linen clothes, hesitating to speak.

He had a lot to complain about, but he didn't know where to begin.

Ordinary citizens are tempted and corrupted... This plot feels so familiar.

"Master! What on earth are you thinking?!"

"This person is in a very dangerous situation, so you'd better follow him closely."

If Jue Xiang weren't a physical entity, he would have already smashed his own book over his Master's head.

Bray was speechless for a moment. If he remembered correctly, Jue Xiang should have been portrayed as a literary girl.

Why do I always feel like her public image has collapsed?

"Okay," Bray said quietly, then cautiously followed.

He hadn't acted so cautiously in a long time.

He wouldn't do anything troublesome if it weren't for the chance to catch a big fish.

Not long after, he finally met the guy he was waiting for.

A person shrouded in a long, black robe walked towards the female citizen.

In this deserted alley, the two stopped in their tracks without prior arrangement.

The woman in linen clothes nervously rubbed her hands together, as if she wanted to say something to the figure in front of her.

"You want to go even further, right?" the figure said in a strange voice.

The voice was so strong that it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.

“Yes, I want to… continue,” the female citizen said weakly.

"I understand how you feel; that feeling of constantly falling is wonderful," the shadowy figure said in a cheerful tone.

"Come with me, I will take you to that endless abyss."

After saying this, the figure looked back deeply, as if looking at Bray hiding behind the wooden box.

"What...what are you looking at?" the female citizen tried to ask.

"It's nothing, let's keep going."

Bray, standing behind the wooden crate, naturally noticed the shadowy figure's gaze.

Has he been discovered?

"Master, I feel like you've been discovered," Zeke said to Bray.

“I feel the same way,” Bray said.

He didn't really know how to hide himself; his aura and such were just randomly released.

It's not surprising that I was discovered.

Should he say "Hey☆ I've been found out" at this point?

"So what do we do now?" The literary girl had never thought about what to do after being discovered.

Coincidentally, Bray had no idea he would be discovered, even though his hiding skills were indeed terrible.

“It’s okay, keep following them,” Bray said.

The other party didn't expose me, so I didn't care anymore.

You're saying the other side will definitely prepare a trap? That's certainly possible.

However, if I don't catch up now, there won't be a next time.

---

The underground of the imperial capital is just as vast as the surface of the earth.

In some ways, the space is even more ample.

The intricate sewer system provided some people with ideal conditions to establish a base.

Unless the capital city expends a great deal of manpower, it is extremely difficult to find a place underground in the capital city.

Drip, drip, water dripped down the cracks in the bricks above.

The only walkable areas are on both sides of the road; the middle is filled with sewage, making it impossible for people to wade across.

After navigating several roads, the shadowy figure led the female citizen to her destination.

What was presented to the female citizens was a decadent paradise.

What is a depraved paradise? In short, you can find everything you can imagine in this place.

She even discovered that there were quite a few people here, probably over a hundred.

The sounds of joy, pain, and roars intertwined in my ears, creating a strange and wonderful sensation.

"Sir...where is this?" The female citizen looked at the dark figure with an uncertain expression.

Despite being in a sewer, where the environment should be very humid, this cult's stronghold was unusually dry.

Even living here wouldn't make anyone feel uncomfortable.

"The place you've always dreamed of."

“Be true to your desires. What do you want?” The man reached out a hand from under his black robe, grabbed her chin, and asked slowly.

The rhythm of the sound was very slow, as if it were lulling people to sleep.

"What do I want?" The woman's face flushed sickly as she prepared to express what she truly desired.

The purpose of the "fallen master" is very simple: to lead people astray.

Why did He do this? There was no reason, it was simply because it was His mission as the "fallen Lord".

The fact that He possesses the power to corrupt all things also means that He has the obligation to corrupt all things.

It's that simple.

His followers follow His will at all times.

"You're in too much of a hurry," a charming voice rang out from not far away.

A woman with a graceful figure walked over and spoke to the figure.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Holy Maiden." The figure immediately stopped what he was doing and knelt down.

"Nothing can be rushed. The reason it's called 'fall' is because of the process of falling," the woman known as the saint said calmly.

"And when do you plan to introduce the second guest you brought back?" she said softly.

"Sorry, I forgot," the shadowy figure said in a tone of deep remorse.

"Please come out, sir, who has been following me all this way," he said, turning to face the person behind him.

Bray first peeked out to make sure the other person was calling him before calmly walking out.

Sure enough, he had already been discovered.

At first, he wondered if the other party was trying to trick him into revealing himself, but it seems he was overthinking it.

Bray looked around, taking in the terrible scene before him.

This is the stronghold of cultists; it truly lives up to its "cultist" reputation.

"Master, Master, I wasn't wrong, was I!"

"Yes, Jue Xiang is indeed very impressive," Bray praised Jue Xiang.

Some people may think it's pretentious, but only the person involved knows how much they need such a compliment.

"Yes, Master will have to rely on me more often in the future."

“You are my sword. If I don’t rely on you, who else can I rely on?” Bray said irritably.

"Yes, you're right!" said the melody from the world of the mind, blushing, and then covered her face with the book.

Even though no one could see her predicament, she still did it out of habit.

“Sir, instead of talking to yourself, why don’t you introduce yourself?” the shadowy figure said.

“I wasn’t talking to myself…” Bray said, turning his head to avoid the water droplets falling from above, clearly annoyed.

"That's right, Master wasn't talking to himself," Zetsu also protested.

"Besides, I don't need to introduce myself, your saintess should know me," Bray said casually, pointing to the alluring woman behind him.

Bray would never forget the woman's voice and appearance.

He was her childhood sweetheart, whom she hadn't seen for many years, named Sha'er.

However, he never expected that Shar, who had followed the hero, would now become a saintess of a cult.

Was she abandoned? That was the only possibility Bray could think of.

"Brey, it's been a long time."

“I thought you would be even more surprised,” Shar said with a smile.

She was already very beautiful, but after becoming a saintess, she seemed to have gained even more charm.

Bray glanced at Shar with a blank expression, his fingers rhythmically tapping the hilt of his sword.

"I thought I would be very surprised."

He was puzzled as to why he remained so calm after learning that Shar was the so-called saintess of a cult.

Why was that? He couldn't figure it out.

"Master, is she someone you know?"

"Childhood sweethearts, I guess." Bray said the most indifferent thing in the most intriguing tone.

--"That…"

"It's alright." He patted the hilt of the sword, as if to reassure Juexiang.

"Bray, why did you come here?" Shar pressed her lower lip to her lips, as if thinking.

"Could it be that they accepted a mission concerning our church?"

“No, not at all.” Bray shook his head; he hadn’t accepted any missions.

“In that case, let’s move a little closer.” Shar took a few steps toward Bray.

"No need." Bray remained motionless, not even lifting his eyelids.

I always felt that the Sharl in front of me was not the Sharl I knew.

No, it should be the same person, but the changes are too great.

“You have no intention to kill, so why don’t you come and sit down with me?”

"I'm very interested to know what you've been through all these years."

Shar showed Bray the exaggerated scene behind her.

It fully embodies all aspects of human depravity, and contains them all.

Of course, that's an exaggeration.

The content of "degeneration" cannot possibly be limited to just that one part.

“What happened…” Bray sighed deeply, though he wanted to ask Shar the same question.

What has she been through all these years?