Before long, the enforcement knights regrouped one after another. Every one of them wore a disappointed expression—clearly, they hadn't found a single useful clue and could only withdraw empty-handed.
Seeing this, Pastor Twerd let a faint, awkward smile flicker across his face.
With the Light believers deliberately obstructing them, the enforcement knights naturally didn't dare act rashly toward the statue of the God of Light. And because of that, even if they continued searching, it was unlikely they would uncover the church's hidden secrets.
Just then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out.
In an instant, the statue of the God of Light shattered apart, plunging the entire Church of Light into chaos.
"What happened?!"
"Who has the nerve to blow up the God of Light's statue?!"
"Bastard! Who did this?! This is blasphemy against the God of Light!"
"..."
The enraged cries of the believers echoed throughout the church as they furiously condemned the unknown culprit.
At the same time, the enforcement knights immediately discovered a concealed passage beneath the base of the shattered statue.
"Hurry! There's a hidden chamber here—search it immediately!"
The moment he heard the shout, Pastor Twerd's expression turned ghastly pale.
He knew very well that although the secret chamber had already been cleaned thoroughly—and the enforcement knights would find no direct evidence—the one pulling the strings behind all this had undoubtedly grasped his most deeply buried secret.
Twerd's thoughts raced. Faces flashed through his mind—those who had come into contact with that victim: the enforcement knights, and those adventurers.
A vicious gleam surfaced in his eyes. His resolve hardened.
He must die.
Meanwhile, Kurose Akira and his party had already left the chaos of the Church of Light far behind.
Ivsha glanced at Akira with obvious worry and finally couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Akira… we blew up the statue of the God of Light. If Sister Kairi finds out, I'll definitely be punished to kneel in reflection…"
As a nun of the Church of Light, such an act was no different from openly declaring war on the Light Church itself.
Akira smiled faintly and reassured her, "Relax. The God of Light won't care about something so trivial. If you really feel guilty, then just pray a little longer tonight—offer your sincerity and repentance to the Holy Light."
"That's a wonderful idea~ Then I'll be looking forward to Mr. Akira's holy light shining on me all night long~"
Hearing that, Akira let out a helpless wry smile. Did I just dig a hole for myself?
Moments earlier, it had been on his order that Ivsha detonated the statue of the God of Light.
Of course, the reason Ivsha had been able to succeed so smoothly was also because the enforcement knights had managed to keep Pastor Twerd tied up. As the law-enforcement arm of the Starfall Kingdom, they had never held much goodwill toward believers from the Sun Theocracy.
As an adventurer, Akira's willingness to assist them in thoroughly investigating this case had earned their enthusiastic welcome and full cooperation. What they never expected, however, was that Akira would go so far as to blow up the statue of the God of Light.
It felt extremely satisfying—
—but the now-agitated Light believers were giving them quite the headache.
Still, Akira's speculation had been proven correct. Beneath the statue of the God of Light, there really was a hidden chamber. Even if it was unclear whether it would yield any solid evidence, its mere existence was enough to make certain people deeply uneasy.
"So then~"
Akira first led Ivsha and the others back to the guild.
Now, all he had to do was wait patiently.
The prey would come to him.
...
Late at night.
Inside Blue Moon City's hospital, a figure silently appeared—none other than Pastor Twerd.
As he entered, he deliberately sprinkled a liquid around the hospital grounds, as though activating some kind of mind-numbing effect.
After finishing this, Twerd headed straight for the ward where the victim was being treated.
Standing outside the room, his cold gaze fixed on the woman lying quietly on the bed. He spoke in a low, chilling voice:
"You cannot be allowed to live."
The instant the words fell—
He drew a dagger and moved to strike.
But at that very moment—
A flash of icy light cut through the air.
A longsword came down with pinpoint precision, severing Pastor Twerd's right arm in a single stroke.
"How is this possible?!"
Clutching his severed arm, Twerd staggered backward in terror.
His heart trembled violently.
A trap?!
This was a trap?!
"Loserine, did you miss?"A calm, almost leisurely voice drifted into Twerd's ears, like a blade of ice piercing his heart.
"I needed to make sure that strike wouldn't harm the patient in the room," Loserine replied coolly, her tone utterly unremarkable, as if she were stating an everyday fact.
"Always so meticulous," Kurose Akira said with a quiet sigh of admiration. Then his gaze shifted to Twerd, killing intent flashing through his eyes. "So you really did come. What—trying to silence a witness?"
Twerd's face went deathly pale. He stared at Akira, fury and terror intertwining.
"Damn you… it was you!"
"Just you wait!"
He instantly grasped the situation. There was no chance of turning things around—his only option was to run.
Spinning around, Twerd bolted for the door, desperate to escape this deadly place.
But just as he took a step—
He discovered his legs had been tightly bound by golden tentacles, completely immobilized.
"Pastor Twerd," Ivsha said as she slowly stepped forward, her voice icy, "you'll pay for everything you've done—with your life."
"You damned nun!"Twerd's eyes bloodshot, his rage erupted like a volcano.
"Finish him," Akira ordered flatly, unwilling to waste another second.
Loserine stepped forward.
Moonlight-like sword qi cascaded down, surging toward Twerd in an instant.
"AAAH—!"
After a shrill scream, Twerd's body collapsed into a pool of blood.
But the moment death took him, his body dissolved into a streak of golden light and shot away at high speed.
"An item that blocks a fatal strike—after him!" Akira reacted instantly. "Don't let him escape!"
In the blink of an eye, Twerd burst out of the hospital and sprinted madly toward the Church of Light.
Blood covered his entire body. One arm was gone. And yet, relying on Light-attribute secret arts, he barely maintained his shattered life.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"
His hoarse roar echoed through the night. He had never imagined he would end up in such a miserable state.
As he gazed at the Church of Light less than a thousand meters away, a faint smile crept onto his face—like dawn itself reaching out to him.
As long as I reach the church… there's still a chance…
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
A figure fell from above like a meteor, crashing down beside Twerd.
Cold light exploded outward as a sword plunged straight through his body, pinning him mercilessly to the ground.
"AAAAH!"
Twerd screamed in agony, his voice filled with despair and terror. He stared at Loserine in horror as fear flooded him like a tidal wave.
Six blue-luminescent wings shimmered beneath the moonlight, radiating an otherworldly power.
Is this woman… really human?
"Guildmaster—save me!"He stretched out a trembling hand, screaming desperately toward his guild leader.
But the instant the words left his mouth—
Several figures swiftly emerged from the church.
"Twerd, you've failed again," a short-haired black-haired man sneered at him in a low voice. "Why is your life nothing but failure? Useless trash."
Kurose Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over the five adventurers behind the man. All of them were above level 20—but that was all.
He quietly asked Loserine, "Can you handle them?"
Loserine answered casually, without the slightest hesitation:
"Give me three minutes."
"Three minutes is enough."
..
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