Chapter 324

Chapter 110 Light and Darkness Part Seven

When the nun entered the room with a basin of water and a towel, I quietly left.

The outcome of my conversation with Margaret was ultimately unsatisfactory. I told her my innermost thoughts, but Her Highness the Holy Maiden did not agree. Her conditions were for me to “behave properly,” adhering to certain doctrines, such as “not interfering in state affairs, not participating in wars, and not letting personal emotions determine one’s stance,” among other things. After hearing just a few of these rules, I no longer wanted to listen because I realized I had already broken most of them.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand her.

As the Holy Church’s Holy Maiden, everything Margaret said or did would always be a topic of discussion. However, unlike the Pope Knight, the title of “Holy Maiden” could only represent redemption, not killing. This was precisely the purpose of establishing this title by the Holy Church.

A Holy Maiden was destined to remain single. She could not have feelings or desires, and she must remain untainted by worldly affairs, always revered and forever devout. The Holy Church wanted the public to see the Holy Maiden as a positive and untouchable figure… bluntly speaking, it was just a facade.

Think about it, if one day when people talked about the current Holy Maiden, they didn’t discuss “salvation” but instead talked about how she quickly eliminated someone yesterday and today blasted another person into pieces… what kind of image would that be?

So, Margaret was actually quite exhausted.

Her title determined that her method of solving problems could only be through discussion, not action. Therefore, she dared not do this and could not do that, fearing any mistake… I could understand her.

Margaret’s standards for me were also reasonable.

After all, “doctrines” were equivalent to the laws of the Church in this world. As the Pope Knight, I enjoyed the honor and wealth that came with my position, had a substantial sum of money, a beautiful house, and was respected wherever I went by showing my identity. At the same time, I had also become part of this system, so naturally, I had to abide by the law and take on corresponding responsibilities. There was nothing wrong with that; others, including Carlos, were also like this.

Margaret was not wrong.

She was just… too inflexible.

Perhaps her title limited her thinking, or maybe she was just a very rule-abiding person. Under the current critical circumstances, Margaret still strictly adhered to doctrines, not daring to overstep even slightly. She maintained that “selfless and impartial” image at all times, even in places where the public couldn’t see, even with me… I should be considered a very special individual, right?

But for me, she remained like this.

She drew a circle on the ground, confining herself within while also wanting to confine me… Margaret believed that was right. Previously, she had said she wanted to guide me onto the right path.

She must have been under a lot of pressure…

But actually, some things really…

In this world, there was no internet or mobile phones, so it was impossible for the Holy Maiden’s actions somewhere to immediately result in out-of-context videos being posted online. The ordinary people’s limited sources of information were basically all controlled by the Church… So, some things, ordinary people could never know. Whatever the Church said was the truth.

But Margaret didn’t understand this.

Perhaps, she had her own principles…

In her eyes, I had probably crossed the line, no longer abiding by the rules, killing people at will… the consequences of doing so might come when everything ended.

It didn’t matter…

As long as Victoria was safe…

Anyway, I no longer wanted to accept Margaret’s opinion.

I didn’t try to persuade her either. For someone like Margaret, her beliefs were hard to change through words. So, if we didn’t agree, there was no point in talking more. Staying in the room made me uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help much, so I decided to go out for some fresh air.

When I left, Victoria seemed to have improved significantly. Margaret didn’t say what she would do if I disagreed, but continued to focus on treating the poison. Entrusting Victoria to her, I felt reassured.

There was no other way.

The wind outside the church was strong.

I climbed to the top of the central main tower, which looked like an onion dome, and stood there, holding the golden cross at the tip of the tower, looking out over the city.

From here, I couldn’t see the palace situation, but I was observing whether anyone was coming to their doom.

And, I tried to sense the location of the Abyss.

Margaret had already instructed some clergy members, but she didn’t directly mention it was the Abyss. Instead, she asked them to check the list of people entering the city in the month before the war. But now, there was a problem. No one in the church knew where to go or who to ask, and the person originally in charge of this information might already be dead. It was the duty of the garrison troops, and with the chaos in the city, it was possible.

The church was already short-handed due to the need to treat the wounded and calm public emotions, and it was difficult to spare many people for this task.

Although eventually a few people did go out…

But what use were just a few people… Even if they found the list, it would take a long time to read through it… Now, the question was whether there was anyone familiar with internal affairs who could cooperate with the investigation, which was a major issue.

This was really…

Damn it.

I couldn’t feel any presence…

I rubbed my forehead, feeling complicated, and cast my gaze downward toward the hollow courtyard inside the church.

The wailing continued, and the place was crowded.

I remembered that chairs and tables used to be placed here, and Elie and I once had heart-to-heart talks here. It was a spacious and beautiful place, but now it was filled with civilians who had fled from outside. Looking down, the crowd was dense, many injured, and some lying on the ground barely alive.

Nuns were bustling below, and I even saw several children from Catoloma wearing ill-fitting monk and nun robes, running around to bandage the wounded and apply ointments.

My head started to hurt again…

I really wanted something to eat.

An unusual appetite surged again, and saliva began to secrete in my mouth. I shook my head, trying to get rid of some of the thoughts.

A bad idea suddenly popped into my head.

I should go down first…

At least I need to confirm Victoria’s safety… I can endure a little longer…

Jumping from the top of the tower, landing above the nave, stepping on the top of the round stone pillars standing in the courtyard, climbing over the railing and returning to the second floor of the inner court, then quickly walking towards the room where Victoria was.

It’s about time… I should go take a look…

The corridor was very quiet.

Contrary to the noisy situation below, almost no one was staying on the second floor. Civilians were not allowed up, and the clergy were almost all busy in the front hall of the nave. After entering the interior, the entire second floor seemed as silent as a dead pool, only my clear footsteps could be heard.

Suddenly, I heard faint whispers.

“You go through the back hall… Be careful, don’t get caught…”

Huh?

Who is it…

I immediately stopped, followed the sound, turned my head to look at the tightly closed door on one side of the corridor.

Someone is inside…

What not to be discovered?

Something feels off.

I instinctively held my breath, pricked up my ears to listen carefully.

“Make sure you see Duke Lex… Tell him… Don’t use any written form, don’t let anyone see… Inform him of Elizabeth’s whereabouts as soon as possible… He will remember… All your promises…”

I was stunned for a moment.

After understanding the meaning of these words, anger and disbelief erupted like a volcano from my chest.

That old bishop!

I recognized his voice!

Almost without hesitation, I took a big step forward, kicked the door open.

Bang!

The brown wooden door flew out.

The room was brightly lit, with solemn and sacred furnishings. A golden cross hanging on the wall ahead exuded an inviolable aura. An old man in a gold-embroidered robe sat upright at the desk next to the cross, with a young monk standing beside him.

They were startled by the loud noise, but hadn’t reacted yet, only seeing the wooden door fly out, they instinctively shrunk their shoulders and dodged to the side.

In the next moment, I had already rushed into the room.

Moonwalk!

Whoosh—

Gale-force winds overturned bookshelves and candle stands, sweeping the entire room, countless papers flying everywhere. The old bishop’s eyes widened, wrinkles on his face creasing in horror. Just as he was about to raise his hand, I grabbed his head and forcefully pressed it down.

Bam!

It hit the table, wood chips flying everywhere, the brown solid wood “cracked” and split, splinters stabbing the old bishop’s face. At the same time, I used my left hand to grab the chest of the young monk next to me.

My eyes glowed blue.

Frosty ice mist instantly wrapped around the monk’s body, freezing him into an ice sculpture. I released my left hand, letting him slowly fall backward. At the same time, the right hand pressing the bishop’s head pulled his hair, dragging his face out of the splinters, then slamming it down again.

Crack!

The thick wooden table split in half, fresh blood splattering.

“Aaaaah——”

The old bishop finally managed to scream in agony.

His body softened, kneeling before me. I grabbed his hair, lifting him up to prevent him from falling, staring at his face covered with splinters, already bloodied and mangled.

“Tell me! What are you doing!”

“You… I…”

The bishop’s front teeth were knocked out, blood dripping from his chin. His expression was dazed, his thin body trembling violently, hands flailing in the air, not knowing what to grab, his tongue also seemed injured, mumbling incoherently.

“You are a bishop of the church! How could you…”

“I didn’t… I…”

“I heard everything!”

“Have mercy… Have mercy…”

In the next moment, pale golden light bloomed around him.

Zzz—

“Aaah!”

The bishop suddenly went berserk, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his right hand wrapped in white light reaching toward my head.

Dare to resist!

Boom!

Black flames rose from my right arm, the fierce fire spreading to the bishop’s entire body in an instant. His mouth opened wide, his twisted face hideous, eyes fixed on me, seemingly struggling to shout something, but his body rapidly withered in the black flames, his face collapsing into ashes.

White smoke entered his chest.

Ah…

Delicious…

Only when the burning black flames reached the broken wooden table did I suddenly come to my senses. I shook myself awake, hurriedly waving my hand to contain the flames.

丝丝黑烟飘散。

I stood呆立在一片狼藉的房间，直勾勾地看着墙上圣洁的十字架发愣。片刻后又转头看了看倒在脚下、已经被冻僵硬的修士，用力揉了揉太阳穴。

头疼…

没想到会用混沌之力啊…怎么会…

头疼…

先去…告诉玛格丽特…

那名修士已经死透了。我没再动他，转身快速走出房间。

刚才听到老主教提到了那位老公爵…

说好的不带立场不涉政呢？

难怪我们走后他们能如此顺利推进…王城的内乱，教会的不作为…这些混蛋，居然暗中支持老公爵…肯定私下收了不少好处！

我必须把这个消息告诉玛格丽特…

脚下步伐越来越快。接近走廊前方拐角时，忽然从拐角另一侧传来急促的脚步声。

是谁…

我本能地警惕起来，右手蓝芒绽放。

紧接着，三名满脸焦急的孩子从拐角处窜出。他们行色匆匆，慌慌张张差点撞到我，在看清眼前还有人时忽然愣住。

不是敌人…

意识到这一点后，我急忙将右手藏在身后。

“…姐姐？！”

咦？

清丽熟悉的声音吓了我一跳，定睛一看，发现领头的小女孩竟然是艾丽。

她看到我同样吃了一惊，小脸瞬间变化，原本焦急的神色突然转为喜悦，但下一秒嘴巴一瘪，似乎要哭出来。

“姐姐…”

“有人不见了…”