Seed of Predator—it sounded like a terrifying power.
Merlin frowned as he sensed the change in mana coming from Jane's body. As a former mage, he could clearly feel the drastic transformation in her mana.
"…Seed of Predator can be used to increase your strength, but you must understand that this power can also devour your desires if you fail to control it properly," Merlin warned Jane about Seed of Predator.
"…" Jane nodded slightly after hearing Merlin's words.
"By the way, how long are you planning to keep kneeling in front of me?" Setting everything aside, Merlin felt uncomfortable seeing Jane still kneeling before him.
"!" Realizing this, Jane quickly stood up, her face slightly flushed with embarrassment.
"May I ask you something…?" After standing up, Jane wanted to ask Merlin a question.
"What is it?"
"I've already received a blessing from God Arkan. Does that mean from now on I have to pray to him?" Jane asked, because based on what she knew, once someone received a blessing from a god, they were required to serve that god from that moment on.
"…" Merlin fell silent for a moment. He hadn't prepared an appropriate answer to Jane's question.
In truth, Merlin himself didn't know that Arkan would follow his role as a god, while Merlin became his Apostle. This was outside of Merlin's own plans.
'Damn it, Arkan threw the mess for me to clean up,' Merlin thought.
"The answer is after you can use Seed of Predator properly," Merlin said, pointing at Jane.
Hearing that, Jane looked at herself while sensing the changes within her body caused by Seed of Predator.
"…I need to train more. I have to master it before entering the tower," Jane said as she clenched her fist.
Merlin smiled faintly, seeing the determination that emerged within Jane. It was as if he was looking at a reflection of his past self—entering the tower with the same resolve to change humanity's fate.
"…Jane, I want to ask you something," Merlin said.
"?"
"Do you know anything about the Demon Faction?" Merlin asked.
"!!!" Merlin's question immediately shocked Jane.
Information about the Demon Faction was one of the most closely guarded secrets and rarely known by the general public. Even so, as a member of the Calone family, Jane had access to far broader information than ordinary citizens—even compared to other noble families.
"…" Jane nodded hesitantly.
"What do you intend to do with them?" Jane lowered her voice when speaking about the Demon Faction, asking carefully, considering that Merlin was also an Apostle of a god.
"They disrupt the order that should be upheld and involve innocent people…"
"!!!" Jane was once again shocked upon hearing this. Throughout her life, she had only heard of the Demon Faction roaming within the city and had never been interested in what they actually did.
"…Do you mean they're involved in the recent kidnapping cases?" Jane asked, as Merlin's words pointed toward the most sensational incident of late.
The incident involving the kidnapping of children and women in the city of Sirus.
"Yes," Merlin replied.
"I intend to purge them, but the obstacle is the people backing them."
"Who are they?" Jane asked curiously.
"The nobles. They're involved in the kidnapping cases," Merlin revealed, exposing the cooperation between the Demon Faction and the nobility.
"…I don't have accurate data on who exactly is involved."
"But there's one factor we can use as evidence—the donors of the Church of Rebecca," Merlin mentioned the nobles who made massive donations to the Church of Rebecca.
"!!!" Jane's expression turned extremely shocked.
"…In other words, the Church of Rebecca is the mastermind behind the kidnappings!" Jane realized from Merlin's words.
"Yes. Pastor Flaudis is the brains behind it," Merlin said.
"That's impossible!" Jane stared in disbelief. Her face froze for a moment as her mind began to process everything the Church of Rebecca had done.
As Jane fell silent, she recalled several noble families she remembered donating large sums to the Church of Rebecca, including…
"The Polaris family—they're the main donors of the Church of Rebecca…" Jane stiffened as she realized something.
"…No wonder their behavior has been so different lately."
"They've been extremely passive, unlike before when they always acted as if they already ruled this city. Turns out, behind the scenes, they were preparing something…"
"Ruling the city?" Merlin was intrigued by the words Jane used.
"Yes. I don't know what kind of sickness to call it, but the Polaris family has an abnormal obsession with ruling this city."
"…They've invited several nobles to submit under their authority. Of course, my family strongly opposed this."
"The Polaris family wants to monopolize every aspect of the city—economy, manpower, and connections. Naturally, my family doesn't want that to happen, because this city was given by the Founder of the Union to serve as a home for humans who are not Climbers."
"Even so, my father tried several times to uphold this principle, until eventually the Polaris family changed the city system of Sirus by separating the noble district from the districts of the poor and middle class."
"So that's why the city is divided into several zones," Merlin muttered as he stroked his chin.
"…Jane, I want to ask you directly—can you hold back the Polaris family for me?" Merlin asked.
"…As for Pastor Flaudis, I'll deal with him myself," Merlin added.
"…" Hearing Merlin's request, Jane felt that what he was asking was an extremely heavy burden.
"At the very least, persuade your family to restrain them…" Merlin knew how heavy his request was, but there was no noble family equal to Polaris besides the Calone family. No matter what, Jane had to accept it.
"…Alright. I'll try discussing this with my father," Jane said as she nodded.
After that, Jane left Merlin's house, carrying the weight of the future of Sirus City on her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Merlin sat alone in the living room, thinking again about what had been discussed earlier. "If that's the case, judging from what Jane said, it's highly likely that the summoning ritual conducted by Pastor Flaudis is connected to the goals of the Polaris family…"
"…The annihilation of the Calone family."
Merlin realized this too late. He looked toward the door several minutes after Jane had left. "I hope they realize what I've just thought of."
Arkan's Eye appeared on Merlin's neck. "Hey, are you planning to confront Pastor Flaudis directly?" Arkan asked inside Merlin's mind.
"You're not stupid, right? Facing him with strength no greater than an ant," Arkan added, trying to knock some sense into Merlin.
"Of course I'm not that foolish. I still have another plan to cleanse pests like him," Merlin replied.
"Alright, I trust you…"
"…But remember this, Merlin. If you die, I die too. So don't act recklessly," Arkan reminded him before Arkan's Eye closed and the voice in Merlin's head faded.
"Yeah," Merlin said softly, falling silent.
The two of them shared the same body and were bound by the same fate. If one of them died, the other would die as well. Merlin had already learned this when they first fought in the world of Merlin's subconscious.
"Perhaps… I should strengthen my body as well," Merlin muttered as he glanced at the book Lightning Breakthrough Aura that Jane had given him.