Half an hour ago, the center of Maplewood Town.
Seance pulled the reins tight, his gaze grave as he stared toward the southern forest.
Before he had even stepped into this town, he had sensed a dense aura of foul magic; after arriving in Maplewood Town, he found the situation far more severe than imagined.
The air was filled with turbulent magical fluctuations, and even the sky was affected by black magic, appearing a stifling grayish-black...
"Those damned black mages..." the squad commander, Joshua, cursed under his breath. After tying up Seance's horse, he accompanied him all the way to the meeting hall in the town center.
"Lord Seance, please follow me. The local mayor has been waiting for a long time."
The mayor looked at this great figure he had never seen before with trepidation, his voice carrying unease. "Lords of the Church, you have finally arrived!"
He hurriedly began to describe the events that had occurred this morning.
"In the morning, the forest over there suddenly began to tremble, one wave after another, as if some great explosion had occurred... Later, even the sky turned dark!"
"People in town are saying that the demon-like cultist captain has come to kill us! My lords, I beg you to save Maplewood Town quickly..."
After listening, Joshua leaned in closer.
"Lord Seance, someone is clearly using magic to fight in the forest... and to create such a massive disturbance, they must be a high-tier mage."
He mused, "I didn't expect that tracking Samantha here would lead to such an unexpected harvest... Could these cultists be fighting among themselves?"
"It is possible." Seance narrowed his eyes. "After all, the attempted attack at the Royal Academy a while ago was caused by the conflict between the two factions of Echoes of Truth."
"Those cultist lunatics..." Joshua's tone carried anger. "To dare openly wage war around Benalu City is truly too arrogant! My lord, we must seize this opportunity and strike hard! We will wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"
"I don't need you to tell me that." Seance thought for a moment and gave low-voiced instructions. "Notify the clergy of the order as well as all enforcement squad members to immediately guard the main traffic routes leaving Maplewood Town."
Joshua nodded immediately. "Yes!"
"Furthermore." Seance looked toward the mayor. "Joshua, I need you and the mayor to evacuate all the townspeople here as quickly as possible. Tell everyone to get as far away from the forest as possible."
"Evacuate the whole town?" Joshua's expression flashed with surprise for a moment, then he asked in a low voice, "Lord Seance... could it be that you intend to... conduct a blanket strike on the forest side...?"
"Exactly." Seance nodded slowly, the Church emblem on his chest emitting a cold halo. "I will perform God-Descent here, letting the holy light thoroughly purify all the filth in this place."
Joshua took a deep breath, instantly realizing that Lord Seance was going to get serious...
But it made sense; the Echoes of Truth cult had truly endangered the world for too long. Now that there was an opportunity to eliminate the cult leader Samantha and even other high-ranking members together, any person whose heart turned toward the holy light would not let it pass...
"It's just..." Joshua spoke with a final trace of hesitation, "To perform such a large-scale divine art, we must report it to the Sacred Cardinal Guard, right?"
"All the archbishops are squabbling in the Royal Capital; looking for them is a complete waste of time!" Seance interrupted with a cold laugh. "Go and prepare with peace of mind. If anything happens, I will take responsibility!"
"Understood!" Joshua no longer hesitated. "Your subordinate will see to it immediately!"
The office fell silent.
Seance stood alone by the window, gazing at the distant forest shrouded in darkness, his eyes deep with thought.
Just as he was organizing his thoughts—
Two heavy thuds suddenly came from outside the door, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the floor.
Seance frowned slightly and then turned around.
The office door was pushed open, and an expressionless pink-haired girl stood before his eyes.
"Freya?" A flash of surprise crossed Seance's face.
His gaze swept over the two unconscious clergymen on the floor and finally landed back on Freya. "It seems I guessed correctly; you indeed did not die in that fire..."
Freya stared at this powerful and respected Pope's guard, clenching her pale fingers tightly to force herself to remain calm.
For Lord Ansu's sake... she had to stall him!
"What are you doing?" Seance looked at Freya, who remained silent and merely blocked his path, his tone carrying a hint of confusion.
"Have you already forsaken the holy light? Do you... intend to stop me?"
"I..." Freya's pale gold eyes flickered slightly as she rapidly thought of a way to stall for time in her mind.
At this moment, Joshua walked quickly into the office. "Lord Seance! The townspeople are being evacuated in an orderly fashion. We..."
When he saw Freya in the room, he was instantly stunned, and his brow furrowed tightly.
"Freya!?"
"Well! You despicable demihuman liar! I knew you weren't dead!" he shouted. "Someone, come—!"
In the next second, a blinding holy light suddenly erupted from Freya's hand.
【Hammer of Punishment】 struck Joshua with a heavy, air-tearing thud, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
"Freya! Have you gone mad?" Seance said coldly. "Attacking church enforcement personnel is a serious crime! Do you not want to return to the Church and clear your name anymore?"
"I'm sorry... Mr. Seance." Freya took a deep breath, her voice light but her tone firm. "During this time, I have thought about many things... the Church of Holy Light is no longer a place where I belong."
Seance raised an eyebrow, his heart even more surprised. "If the Church is not where you belong, then where is?"
"I cannot say..." A softness flashed in Freya's eyes.
She had, of course, found her own home, her true home...
Lord Ansu.
"Freya! Have you been bewitched by someone?" Seance's brow furrowed tightly; he felt that Freya's smile was somewhat familiar.
Then he remembered that back at the Cathedral of Radiant Radiance in the Royal Capital, she had shown the same emotion after receiving a letter...
So he subconsciously felt that Freya had been deceived and bewitched by someone!
After all, in Seance's memory, Freya had always been a simple and kind young girl.
And just a while ago, the Sacred Cardinal Guard had permitted her to leave the Church and live outside alone...
Perhaps it was during this time that she came into contact with people outside and was coincidentally deceived by some ill-intentioned villain?
"Of course not!" Freya immediately retorted. How could Lord Ansu possibly deceive her!
"Do you really want to become a true apostate?" Seance's tone carried both incomprehension and disappointment. "Freya, I watched you grow up. I know your devotion to the holy light better than anyone... And among the younger generation, your talent is the most outstanding I have ever seen. You clearly have an incomparably bright future; why must you destroy it..."
"Then who was it that pushed me to such a point?" Freya suddenly asked back.
"With my devotion and my talent, why was I hunted and imprisoned by the Benalu parish, and even branded with the crimes of 'heretic' and 'apostate'?"
Seance was stunned for a moment, then explained, "Those were all Archbishop Leonard's unauthorized actions to eliminate his rivals! The treatment of you and Archbishop Paul did not receive authorization from the Sacred Cardinal Guard, nor can it represent the will of the Church of Holy Light!"
Seance was not a stubborn church conservative. Even if Freya had demihuman lineage, and even if Archbishop Paul bringing the girl to the Royal Capital was indeed with 'ulterior motives'—
He and all the archbishops knew that Freya was a genuine holy revelator. She had been able to hear the divine will of the Goddess since childhood; how could such a person be a heretic?
To call her a heretic, did they mean to say the Goddess was a false god?
"But was the silence of all my church colleagues not a form of tacit consent?" Freya shook her head gently with a bitter smile. "Besides, Mr. Seance, do you really believe the Sacred Cardinal Guard would not have given authorization?"
Seance fell silent for a moment.
Indeed, his personal sympathy for Freya could not represent the will of the Church of Holy Light either.
"So, you have already made up your mind..." Seance sighed, his gaze fixed intently on Freya. "You intend to be an enemy of the Church, an enemy of the holy light?"
"I do not wish to be an enemy of the Church." Freya shook her head gently. "And from beginning to end, I have never been an enemy of the holy light."
"You..." Seance naturally understood the implication in her words; he was surprised by Freya's growth during this time.
"But what you are doing now is indeed helping cultists." Seance said coldly, "Could it be that the person who bewitched you is someone from the Echoes of Truth cult?"
"Mr. Seance, what I am doing is for the sake of the holy light." Freya suddenly began to smile, her tone carrying determination and firmness. "There is no need for more words. Let us fight!"
Seance's gaze became incredibly complex, but he still slowly drew a cruciform longsword, the blade glinting with a cold light under the reflection of the holy light.
"Fine. Then let me see... your resolve."
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