Chapter 375

Chapter 161 The End of the Truth

“Is that so…”

I suddenly felt a bit weary.

So I relaxed my body and leaned softly against the chair, closing my eyes. My mind was filled with countless thoughts, so chaotic that I didn’t know what to think about.

After a while, I heard Angel speak again, “Little Black Charcoal… I understand you’re not feeling great right now, but… how should I put it? You see, from the beginning, I never saw you as a monster…”

…You’re full of crap.

I remember your face clearly from our first meeting.

“You are a living person. You have thoughts, emotions, a kind heart, and even loving parents, right? You are still yourself, and you haven’t really lost anything…”

Ah…

That’s why he had me go to Santor堡. He knew about the experiment and saw my appearance, probably guessing where I came from immediately.

“You had me go to Santor堡… to confirm these things?”

“…Yes, but not entirely. Duke Scarlajid has been looking for you for three years. Now that you’ve recognized him, isn’t there nothing better than this?”

It sounds nice…

“Just unfortunate events happened, causing changes in your body and giving you Abyssal powers… Now, you even have the power of Sinfire. But those are just powers; they can’t decide who you are. Only… you and those who love you… Ugh~”

He suddenly stopped talking and let out a rather disdainful groan, then mumbled, “Margaret’s straightforward brain, what does she write? It’s too mushy, completely unsuitable for me…”

…Margaret? What did she write?

Out of curiosity, I opened my eyes again.

In front of me, Angel, wearing a long robe, was leaning over the desk, his head close to the paper spread out on it, as if it was filled with dense text.

Hmm?

I sat up abruptly, snatching the paper from in front of Angel before he could react, and held it up to my eyes. It read:

A Hundred Ways to Comfort Miss Silvija.

First: Give her food.

Second: Stroke her head. Do it naturally, pretending it’s accidental, gently, like stroking a little kitten.

Third…

…Damn.

I couldn’t bear to read any further. I crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it behind me, then stared at Angel’s tense expression, a slight smile forming on my lips.

“You…”

Tilting my head, I thought hard but couldn’t come up with anything appropriate to mock him, so I said, “You’re quite thoughtful.”

“What else?” Angel suddenly looked aggrieved, as if he were a sulky child, “Margaret made me memorize all this… but there’s so much, how could I possibly remember it all! I knew I would be found out eventually…”

“You…”

Oh my God…

What should I say?

My head hurts… I don’t understand the logic of the church’s higher-ups, what kind of people are they… Forget it, don’t think about it.

My head was already a mess…

“Angel.”

I rubbed my temples and called him softly.

“Hmm?”

The blond man leaned back again, crossing his hands behind his head, stretching his legs out and resting his feet on the table, lazily responding as if nothing had happened.

Can’t figure this guy out…

I closed my eyes again and asked softly, “Do my father and mother… know about this?”

“No.”

“And… Carlos?”

“He doesn’t know either.”

I felt a sense of relief.

So, he and Margaret are the ones who know about this… but Margaret didn’t tell me.

Surely Angel must have warned her…

But why is he telling me this now?

And Nero…

“Nero knows I’m human. Yet he still wants to kill me… even risking his life…”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s a stubborn old fool, a lunatic. Don’t take him seriously.”

“…Did he really die?”

“Yes… I wish he could come back and see what he did.”

“What did he do?”

“Don’t you know? Several streets south of the royal city collapsed. Many people saw the sky light up with golden flames multiple times, speculating that there was a dispute within the church… Although they guessed correctly, some people even suspected that the rebellion in the royal city was related to the church, even though Elizabeth clarified it. This is outrageous… The city is in chaos now, conspiracy theorists are everywhere, and I’m struggling to suppress the situation… Fortunately, few died, otherwise, I would be…”

I could tell he was truly troubled by this.

“Don’t overthink it, Little Black Charcoal. The issues in the royal city aren’t your fault. Nero’s motive for killing you isn’t noble; it’s simply because I support you… The church is complicated. There are a few old-timers who oppose me, but they dare not confront me directly and resort to underhanded tactics…”

“So… Nero is actually your… opponent? The leader of your opponents?”

If Angel has enemies within the church, Nero must be the ringleader… So, did I eliminate a major threat for this guy?

“Opponents are real, but as for the leader… I can only say one of them. There’s another troublesome old-timer… Ah, he’ll definitely cause trouble for me this time… Tsk… Forget it, we won’t talk about this. Little Black Charcoal, you—”

Before Angel could finish, I

He interrupted him: “Ilius… is Extinction. Did you all know this… from the beginning?”

Could it be that there is also a ‘clinic’ on the other side of the canyon… no, that’s not right.

She was clearly with me; we were both in Xilagya. So why… did she say she was later transferred?

“We didn’t know about Extinction’s affairs in advance, nor did we find any research institutes like that in the canyon… At first, I also thought it was just an ordinary abyss… As for what exactly happened, we must get to the bottom of it. However… if we want to understand the truth, we might need to capture a member of the Gates of Truth alive… hmm, that’s quite difficult…”

… Capture a member of the parliament?

“If I encounter one, I’ll give it a try.”

“Oh~”

Angel let out a sigh.

Two seconds later, he changed the subject: “In any case, you have eliminated the Extinction Abyss, and you have done everything an excellent Pontiff Knight could do. Sincere thanks.”

“Thanks…”

Am I being thanked for killing Ilius? That once innocent and cute little girl… who suffered as much as I did…

The little girl who gave me donuts…

She died.

But I still can’t really remember her…

“Cough.”

My throat felt dry, and I couldn’t hold back a cough, wanting to say something, but finding myself unable to speak.

The atmosphere turned silent.

After a while, I faintly heard Angel rustling around opposite me, but I had no heart to open my eyes to see. I just lay back, leaning against the hard chair back, until I heard Angel speak again.

“There’s a third thing. Little Black Charcoal, when you ate the goddess’s judgment at that time… ah, you know, Nero’s ring, right?”

“Mmm…”

I hummed a sticky sound through my nostrils.

“Do you know that the ring was a divine relic bestowed upon the church by the Goddess of Sin five hundred years ago?”

“I guessed…”

Nero used that ring to release sin fire purer than that of the Gates of Truth. After hearing what Angel said, even a fool would understand what was going on.

“Do you know what the consequences of eating a divine relic are?”

“… I don’t want to know.”

If eating it was good, then it was just giving me more powerful sin fire power. I already knew that, and I actually think it’s not necessarily a good thing, so I don’t want to hear him say it. But if he says that eating the ring is bad, like dying from the burst of divine power, then it’s better not to know.

“You must know.” But Angel persisted.

Ugh, how annoying…

Can I plug my ears?

“Little Black Charcoal, do you know that you’ve done what the ancient saints only dared to imagine but never dared to do? Actually swallowing a divine relic… tsk tsk, should I call you the bravest Pontiff Knight in history or the most fearless abyss?”

“Whatever you want…”

“But, looking at things now, there doesn’t seem to be any major problems… While you were unconscious, Margaret and I tried various methods with healing miracles, and the conclusion is that the power of sin fire has ‘settled’ inside your body without causing any damage… You probably don’t realize how incredible this is. Let me give you an example, it’s like… well… like carrots and oranges being stewed together, like that.”

What kind of lousy example…

“Isn’t that delicious?”

“It’s quite awful, it could almost be called the devil’s cuisine.”

Then…

There might be a chance to make it for Carlos.

“In short, sin fire and chaos… these two forces shouldn’t mix, but they can in you… Little Black Charcoal, you’ve become stronger, able to control order, chaos, and sin fire at the same time! This is just a joke, you’re a miracle!”

Angel’s tone sounded surprisingly excited…

I’m stronger, what’s he excited about?

And this isn’t what I wanted. In the future, am I going to have to live like Teresa and drink others’ blood?

And that strand of white hair on my forehead… I don’t even know what I’ve become…

But Angel doesn’t seem worried at all. How much does he trust me… this is strange, okay?

“But, given that the fusion of the abyss and sin fire is unprecedented, even though everything seems normal now, no one can predict what will happen next… Little Black Charcoal, I’ll stay in the capital for a while. If you feel unwell, come to the church to find me immediately… If I’m not there, you can find Margaret… no, wait, she’s leaving soon, so you can only find me… hey, are you asleep? Did you hear me?”

I’m so annoyed…

Why is Angel so noisy…

I suddenly opened my eyes and stood up from the chair: “No other matters, I’m going back.”

The Angel sitting opposite me froze, then also stood up.

“Hold on, I still have something—”

Before he could finish, I interrupted him again: “Let me go back alone, in peace. Okay?”

Then I ignored him, frowned, and turned to walk toward the door I came in through.

“You… haven’t told me what you actually remembered yet…”

Angel’s weak voice came from behind.

I kept walking, without turning back: “I stayed in a cave at the bottom of the Imperial Cliff. Other than that, nothing else came back to me.”

As for the rest, you can figure it out yourself.

“… That’s all? Too vague…”

“Hey—”

I waved my hand and left the room.