NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1269
Chapter 107: The Judge
Qionghua just shook her head, still keeping her head down. The wide magical hat obscured her expression, leaving only her similarly slender back to sway slightly in the flickering firelight.
“I can’t see. Although the stars here are not reversed, they seem to be unusually chaotic as if something is interfering. I can’t glean any information from them. If only Miss Priscilla were here, perhaps…”
Branch Dionysus slightly froze and then chuckled as he shook his head.
“Is that so? Well, it’s understandable. After all, the enemy we’re facing is too strange. They even managed to create something like the Shadow World. In contrast, it’s not surprising that the stars are being disturbed. You don’t need to blame yourself too much.”
“…”
Qionghua didn’t reply; she just lifted her head again, as if waiting for something. After a moment of staring at the scholar-like man, who made no move, she quickly fell silent and lowered her head again.
“It’s late.”
“Yeah, it’s indeed late…”
Agreeing with the girl’s mumbling, Branch, who knew she was just that type of taciturn person, didn’t mind. He just kept fiddling with the bonfire, occasionally adding new logs to maintain the light and warmth.
The battle in the Shadow World could last quite a while, so the two might have to take turns keeping watch to guard against any enemies that might appear at any moment.
…
As soon as they stepped into the Shadow World, everyone was taken aback by the scene before them.
As a mirror of the real world, the Shadow World had no structural differences from the outside world. After passing through the seemingly intangible shadow, if it weren’t for the significant changes in brightness and the surroundings, they probably would still think they were standing in the front yard outside the manor.
The makeshift camp had not been replicated here, and at this moment, the visible front yard in the Shadow World was riddled with pits and indentations, as if trampled by some immense force, leaving behind circular depressions.
In many of those depressions, a large number of distorted figures were “embedded,” dressed in cult robes and wearing metallic masks. The scent of blood assaulted their noses, indicating that a rather brutal battle had just taken place here.
“Whew, what… what’s going on?”
Almost tripping over a cultist who lay on the ground, barely clinging to life, Miss Le Qiao Qiao almost jumped in shock. With her somewhat blood-phobic tendencies, she was probably the most unadaptable person to such a scene among them.
“They should be the guards here, but they were all slaughtered by some… far stronger opponents. What a terrifying power…”
Looking at the deeply indented wall, where the bodily outlines had turned into a bloody mess from a violent impact, Enrique’s expression grew exceptionally serious.
Even if they were cultists, those were still lives.
He originally meant to say “some kind of monster,” but realizing something suddenly, he changed his wording to a more diplomatic expression. Soon after, he cast a surprised and slightly respectful glance at the golden-haired little girl, who was being led by Miss Vilyric, standing at just over one meter tall and seemed remarkably harmless.
“Miss Xiao Guang, it couldn’t be… did you do all of this?”
The little Dragon Daughter glanced indifferently at the tree-spirited youth, as if being questioned by a superior, naturally emanating a sense of oppressive dread.
“Are you afraid, or do you pity the enemy?”
Clearly, as an adult and a legendary adventurer, Enrique diverted his gaze quickly after just a moment’s contact with her unapproachable golden eyes.
“I just think that some of them don’t deserve to die. Every life has a spirit. Why resort to complete extermination unless absolutely necessary? Even if judgment is needed, it should go through a more authoritative and fair institution…”
“Fair judgment? Oh, of course, there is.”
Unceremoniously cutting off his words, the golden-haired little girl simply pointed at herself with a bland expression.
“Isn’t it right here?”
After saying that, she completely ignored the bewildered expressions of everyone and happily led the black-haired girl outside the manor.
“Sister, over here!”
“Okay, okay~”
This farm, used as the stronghold of the Church of Truth, was nearing the outer suburbs of a nearby city. To the east and south stretched vast, untouched primeval forests, part of an even larger forest sea. Continuing south, they wouldn’t be far from the legendary “Eternal Night Forest” where daylight never reached.
Even though the actual border of that area still had some distance from here, with sporadic signs of biological activity in between, it was indeed remote enough. This was also the reason why the official army would take much time to arrive here.
The area used by the Church of Truth for ritual magic was within a clearing in the southern part of the manor’s forest.
However, before reaching their destination, they encountered some minor “troubles.”
“Uh? Hmm… don’t those guys look off? They feel different from those back when Marcelo was around.”
Observing the dozen or so chanting cultists slowly emerging from the shaded grove like beasts, Miss Vilyric made a remark without much tension.
Though they weren’t as strong as that Bear-Human, they were certainly of a higher “completion level.”
If normally, the cultists in this Shadow World merely borrowed a certain kind of blessing to a degree, then those in front of them had completely fused with that “power,” truly transforming into a whole new life form.
Having lost their bodily limbs, they were now made entirely of “ash,” showing only a rough outline of their forms through the cult robes and masks draped over their bodies. It was hard to say whether they were evolving or simply mutating.
Xiao Guang, who had been secretly investigating this place for a long time, naturally understood the principle behind the current scene. She cast a dismissive glance over her shoulder and quietly explained.
“This is the ultimate goal sought by members of the Church of Truth. In this reflection world, they continuously fuse with that guy’s granted power, becoming stronger and more twisted. In the end, they transform into these completely altered creatures, attaining what they call ‘eternal life.'”
“Sister, the small Shadow World you encountered earlier, that so-called missing person case, should be a hunting trap used by these guys to find sacrifices. They exploit the souls trapped within using that divine power, offering them to their god in exchange for supposed favors.”
“As long as they’ve demonstrated that kind of power, it indicates they have certainly sacrificed living souls themselves. The higher their status in the cult, the more such acts they have inevitably committed. In fact, I’ve already witnessed several similar minor rituals during this time.”
Though the little Dragon Daughter was not explaining to everyone, those with at least the strength of Enrique and others, at a considerable level, could undoubtedly hear her unmasked words. For a moment, they stared at each other, their expressions turning somewhat grim.
If that’s the case, then it means every single follower of the Church of Truth here is a butcher with blood on their hands…
Calling them guilty beyond redemption is not an exaggeration.