The words were written under the prayer table, the blood had been wiped away, but the fluorescent imprints were clearly visible to Diana, and she saw that the lines were shaking and twisting, and each stroke seemed to permeate all the strength of the writer, as if through them she could see the incomparably strong emotions of Malm Dunit when he wrote them—

Bordering on madness.

Diana withdrew her gaze from the crazy handwriting, and searched the room again, and this time, she found nothing more—the priests in charge of the aftermath were still dutiful.

The black-haired maid blinked, turned away, and prepared to leave the scene.

However, the moment she turned around, a strong wave of magical power suddenly condensed in the room—no, it appeared in this room out of thin air!

Diana turned around instantly, and in the next second, she noticed that an invisible wind of magic swept through the entire prayer room, and wisps of black-red breath emerged from the air, converging and forming around the small prayer table like a vortex, just like the blood that had been spilled here flowed back into a body that no longer existed, and the dimly lit small lampstand suddenly burst into flames, and in the suddenly brightened light, a tall, translucent, as if a mixture of smoke and light and shadow condensed and floated in the air!

"Blasphemous heresy!" The illusory and distorted figure stared at Diana standing in the prayer room and let out an angry roar, while the smoke-filled face faintly took on the appearance of Malm Dunit, and with this roar, he suddenly opened his hands and shouted a prayer like a hug and a dedication, "Lord! Punish your soul and destroy this heresy that desecrates the sanctuary! ”

The moment the illusory figure suddenly appeared, Diana had already made a defensive gesture, her eyes appeared with a glimmer of light, a pale white aura suddenly appeared all over her limbs and torso, and a layer of shield covered her whole body, and in the next second, Malm Dunit's prayer summoned a hazy phantom - the phantom was like a giant in black armor, his face was shrouded in black mist, only the scarlet eyes full of murderous intent lit up in the depths of the mist, it appeared from above Malm, And took a step in the air, raised the battle axe wrapped in flames high, and slashed towards Diana!

The tomahawk seemed to be inescapable, and as soon as Diana's body moved, the illusory blade of the axe had already landed on her head, and then from the head to the torso, the tomahawk pierced through the body of the black-haired maid without delay.

Nothing happened.

Diana glanced down at her unscathed body, and her figure quickly faded and disappeared into the room in the blink of an eye.

The illusory ironclad giant stood still in mid-air for a moment, then began to fade and dissipate, and the prayer room resounded with Malm Dunit's slightly confused self-talk: "...... A pile of steel...... No heart? ”

Hurried footsteps came from the direction of the hallway, interspersed with a rapid, muffled conversation, and then the door of the prayer room, which had been opened, was pushed open, and a team of heavily armed papal knights and a large number of war priests poured into the small room.

The room was empty, with no intruders or visions, and in the eyes of the dazed priests, only a small lamp not far away was quietly lit, casting a dim light on the prayer room.

……

Ferdinand Wendell's face was dark, and his gaze slowly swept over the huge map of the entire empire, and on the map, which had been drawn with a lot of effort by countless cartographers, large and small rust-colored spots and patches of color could be seen everywhere and all over the territory.

“…… For the first time, I realized so clearly that the power of the Church had penetrated the world to such an extent that we had not noticed......" The former wolf general, who rarely frowned on the battlefield, frowned at the moment, and his tone was more serious than ever. ”

"This is already the result of the continuous suppression and checks and balances of the royal family in the past ten years," Rosetta glanced at the old duke beside him, "The belief in the god of war is closely bound to the military power of the empire, which indirectly leads to a large number of military nobles who are also believers in the god of war, which is deeper than the influence of the Holy Light Church in Ansu at the beginning, and for hundreds of years, the people of Typhon have become accustomed to seeing the priests of the god of war as reliable protectors and guides, which makes the checks and balances and suppression of the royal family more difficult." ”

“…… I know the resistance you have suffered, even for a long time...... Even I can't understand some of your initiatives toward the church," Ferdinand looked complicated, "If it weren't for Bard......"

"Speaking of which, I still want to make sure," Rosetta said suddenly, "you have seen visions of Bard being abandoned by the gods and tormented and burned by the fire of faith in an 'Enlightenment', and that 'Enlightenment' occurred years after his disappearance...... For these reasons alone, do you really think Bard was still alive at the time? ”

"Malm once said that it was a 'warning sign' that Bard had turned his back on the gods, so the gods warned me in the form of enlightenment, but I know Bard, he is not a man who will turn his backs on the gods, he ......"

Duke Ferdinand's voice suddenly became a little uncontrollable, as if he didn't know how to express his conflicted and wavering feelings, so Rosetta didn't let him continue: "It's okay, Ferdinand, I know your feelings—just as I know Bud." In any case, your choice to not allow Andesa to be baptized because of this misgivings about the church seems to be the right one now. The 'faith' that mankind has always relied on deeply...... It's not as safe as humans think. ”

"I didn't think about it at the time, I just wanted to try not to let Andessa go down the same path until I figured out what happened to Bard......" Peddinand shook his head, as if he didn't want to remember the past, he looked up again, his gaze returned to the map in front of him, "You warned me a long time ago to keep a certain distance from the church, and now your warning has finally been fulfilled......"

As he spoke, the old duke's expression gradually became extremely serious, and he waved his hand, as if holding an invisible sword in his hand: "Your Majesty, the truth behind the gods is really what you said......"

"I know it's hard to believe," Rosetta said in a deep voice, "but Gawain Cecil has sent us a great deal of evidence and information, and that stuff is ...... It is completely consistent with the vision of the Church of the God of War today. ”

“…… I see, Your Majesty," Ferdinand nodded slowly, straightening up and saluting like a knight, "then this is a war—let me retire and prepare for it." ”

The former wolf general, who was no longer young, turned around and walked out of the emperor's parlor with a steady and powerful step, and in the large and brightly lit room was only Rosetta Augustus, the ruler of the empire who watched quietly in the direction that Peddinand had left, and after a few seconds, his gaze suddenly froze.

Not far in front of him, a hazy shadow was imprinted on the floor that should have been completely illuminated by the light, and the shadow swelled and wriggled on the surface of the floor as if it were substantial, and at the edge of it, a large number of rust-colored lines, barely visible to the naked eye, had spread everywhere, to the surrounding walls, to the doors not far away, and even to the ceiling!

The moment Rosetta's gaze fell on the shadow, an indescribable, dream-like whisper suddenly sounded in the room, and a rusty bloody breath rushed straight into Rosetta's nostrils, and then, a hazy human figure quickly formed in the air, those rust-colored lines and shadows on the floor were connected to the human form, and a hoarse voice sounded from "it", tearing Rosetta's eardrums: "Augustus ......"

"Malm Dunit," Rosetta's face was as frozen as ice, his black eyes stared at the strange figure, he rubbed his fingers slightly, but the magic warning did not cause any movement outside the house, and none of the guards who should have noticed the anomaly and rushed into the room at the first time did not appear - even so, he did not show a panicked look, but his eyes were even colder than just now, "I really didn't expect that we would meet in this situation, old friend." ”

"I didn't expect you to go so far on the path of rebellion against the gods...... the hazy shadow said hoarsely, and his figure became a little more solid, "I thought you were just doing some 'checks and balances' on a whim, as you have done in the past, but I didn't expect you to be completely blinded and not even see the guidance of the right path - it's a pity, my old friend......"

"It's not the same checks and balances as you used to be, Malm," Rosetta said in a deep voice, "it's no longer a matter of worldly rights and interests, it's a matter of your church, there's a problem with your faith, there's a problem with your lord—you're slipping in a weird and dark direction, and you're no longer a threat to the Empire, it's a hazard." ”

Such words completely enraged the shadow, and he suddenly raised his body, and a large number of indescribable murmurs and layers of rust-colored aura instantly filled the entire room, and he shouted angrily: "Enough! You have fallen into a deplorable heresy, and your guidance is a waste of time—let the power of the Lord help you to come to your senses! ”

In the face of the sudden increase in pressure on his body, Rosetta just stared coldly ahead, he did not retreat, but stepped forward: "It's the same...... Depending on your state, most of them have been transformed into something like an evil spirit or a dead soul, and it is indeed a luxury to expect you to still be sane in this situation. ”

As if the shadow of Malm Dunit did not hear the sarcasm, he simply raised his hands in the air, and the rust-colored wave in the room crushed down on Rosetta: "Sinner! Face the Lord's sanctions! ”

"You have miscalculated one thing," Rosetta said calmly, looking up at Malm's shadow, "The Augustus, who have been cursed by the gods for two hundred years, have never feared any so-called 'lord'. ”

He closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, there was an infinite amount of starlight in those deep black eyes.

In the next second, everything in the entire living room was flooded with surging starlight, walls, roofs, furnishings...... Everything quickly melted and dissipated in the starlight, and an unusually brilliant starry sky image that seemed to appear only in the dreams and fantasies of humans swallowed everything, and easily swallowed the Malm projection that was calling for the divine power of the god of war, who only had time to let out a terrible howl, and an unbelievable roar: "...... How dare you! ”

The bright starry sky drowned out Malm's words, and those bright points of light began to slowly rotate in the purple-black smoke, taking on a bizarre and confused appearance, and Rosetta Augustus stood in the center of this "chaotic starry sky", becoming the center point of all the stars.

Listening to the roar left behind by the Malm projection, he only sighed slightly: "It doesn't take much courage to kill a monster. ”

In the next second, the illusion of the chaotic starry sky quickly shrank and disappeared, and the things in the living room that had been swallowed returned to Rosetta's sight, he frowned, and shook his head slightly: "It's just an insignificant shadow......"

"It's okay, a shadow is enough to prove your sincerity," a hoarse, low voice suddenly sounded in his ears, a voice he knew so well—the same sound that every descendant of Augustus would hear, echoing in the deepest depths of that nightmare palace, "I did taste it...... It's the power of divinity and faith, and it's a nice appetizer. ”

"I've shown my sincerity, and it's up to you to show your attitude," Rosetta said coldly, "Don't forget what you promised." ”

"Of course, of course – we're all fed up with this tormented relationship, and that's what we have in common. You use yourself as a springboard for me to return to the 'outside' world while I end the curse on House Augustus and will not return...... It's a fair deal, and we're both looking forward to it," the voice said cheerfully, in a sincere tone, "You can rest assured that I'll keep my word more than a mortal—after all, I'm the eye of God, and I don't care about lying or deceiving." ”

"It's for the best."

……

Gawain made his way to the widest terrace of Melita's house, and under the bright night sky of the Arctic region, he looked up in the direction of the peak where the headquarters of the Jury was located.

Even though it was still night, it was already morning according to Cecil time.

Gawain's face was a little serious.

For some reason, a faint sense of uneasiness had been haunting him since the previous night, and at first he thought it was due to the fact that he had talked too much with the dragon god about the secrets of the Voyager, the gods, the Reverse Tide, and the Black Well, and that it was the psychological pressure of these things that had unnerved in his heart, but as he gradually cleared his mind and rested for the night, the uneasiness did not abate in the slightest.

And last night, he had vaguely felt an "aura" similar to the Voyager's relic, and although the feeling was very faint and lasted less than three minutes, he could be sure that he was not delusional.

Tarrond has some Voyager relics, which are the result of the dragons' continuous "recovery" from various places, but they are just sealing those legacies, under the absolute rule of the dragon god, no dragon will touch or even activate the Voyager's legacy without authorization, but last night, Gawain was sure that he felt some kind of Voyager's relics being activated by the breath fluctuations...... This is undoubtedly anomalous.

Something might have happened - the feeling in his heart grew stronger.

(End of chapter)