Chapter 469: The Real One

The stars and the moon faced each other indifferently.

The whole sky seemed divided horizontally into two layers: the upper layer was the glittering stars falling from the infinite distance, growing ever deeper, and the lower layer was the serene, bright moon rising from the pitch-black sea.

Two completely different forces, beginning from that invisible dividing line, had already begun a silent collision.

It was a confrontation far beyond the level of “human.” Even though both sides’ powers were only probing offensives, just a wisp of their leaked aura was enough to make people tremble and kneel.

"That... that is..."

Marvin Worm looked at Anna, who stood proudly confronting the stars, and didn’t even have time to care about the star cluster he himself had just devoutly summoned. His terrified gaze swept over the bright moon behind Anna—a moon that seemed real—and his voice began to shake.

"The moon? That’s the Great Moon? But hasn’t the moon already died? Why? Why does she..."

"Of course the moon is already dead. But after she died, her legacy was inherited by the ‘daughter’ she carefully chose. Isn’t that reasonable?"

Muen lightly pinched the Marvin worm sitting atop the woman’s head. All the other insects had been completely burned away by the black flame; his soul now had only this one place left to hide.

"Daughter?"

Marvin’s expression changed drastically, as if remembering something.

"She... but why is she still human? To be chosen as a divine heir shouldn’t she..."

"Obviously because true love conquers all."

Muen interrupted the Marvin worm and said with a smile:

"You single dog definitely wouldn’t understand that."

Marvin: ???

"Well, let’s leave that aside for now. Wandering poet, at this point, you’ve already used up all your tricks, haven’t you?"

Muen raised Elizabeth, then hooked and broke the insect’s legs one by one, leisurely admiring the writhing and struggling Marvin worm.

"If you still have any stage skills left, please use them quickly, otherwise you won’t have the chance soon."

"N-no, no!"

Marvin screamed in pain.

"It’s not over! Even if that little girl holds the remnants of the Great Moon’s power, so what? How can an incomplete Authority resist a true supreme existence? You’ll all die, all of you will die!"

Yes, it wasn’t over yet.

Even though the Moon’s remaining, incomplete Authority was formidable, it could not possibly oppose a complete, true Evil God!

That Lord of the Stars had been an equal even during the Moon’s era of full glory. Now that the Moon’s Authority was so broken, how could it compare?

So... so!

Marvin looked up at the sky with hopeful eyes.

He could feel it—up there in the infinite heavens, among those shining stars, a terrifying being was casting an indifferent gaze toward this place, like observing an ant colony forming strange patterns on the ground.

And more power was about to descend. The stars flickered, and boundless might was brewing!

Then—

Marvin felt that gaze sweep past the proud figure standing in the heavens and fall upon him.

"Huh?"

Marvin immediately felt fear, felt trembling—it was the instinctive reaction of being watched by a higher existence.

But at the same time he was ecstatic; that being had truly noticed him. That meant his devout prayers—

Yet at that moment, the stars suddenly dimmed.

That cold, penetrating gaze that had completely seen through Marvin’s soul left swiftly without a trace.

The presence high in the heavens departed. Everything just now felt like an illusion. In the suffocating air, the chill wind of early spring blew once more.

The sky cleared again, and only the “real” moon behind Anna shone coldly upon all things.

The soul of Marvin, still hiding inside the insect’s body, continued trembling, but this time, only from pure fear.

"Wh-why?"

Marvin couldn’t believe it. That Evil God had abandoned him—just left?

But he clearly had...

"Heh-heh."

Watching the ridiculous scene of the worm in his hand, Muen suddenly sneered.

"To say something like that—it seems even though you became a two-faced heretic slave serving both sides, you don’t actually understand your masters very well."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Marvin was stunned.

"Still don’t get it? Those guys have always believed in a ‘fair’ trade. You offer a sacrifice of a certain value, and they give you an equal amount of power. Just five hundred sacrifices aren’t enough for that being to bother consuming much strength, right?"

Muen crushed the worm’s remaining body in his palm, slowly grinding Marvin’s soul bit by bit.

"Looks like, in that one’s eyes, your soul has no value, wandering poet."

"...No, no, that’s not true! It’s not like that! I was so devout, I gave everything! Why, why!"

Perhaps the truth was indeed as Muen said, yet Marvin still refused to believe it. The remaining worm body twisted madly in its final struggle.

But Muen had lost patience.

His senior sister descended from the sky, nodded to Muen, indicating that the crisis in the town was completely resolved and that no trace of heretics remained.

Muen nodded back.

Then his fingers closed again, the black flame flickering.

Amid the shrill, miserable screams, the performance from Marvin’s soul continued.

His soul was slowly devoured by the black flame, bit by bit, painfully and relentlessly, like being boiled in the oil cauldrons of hell until he paid for all his sins.

...

"It’s all right now."

Within the re-formed golden barrier, Anna gently held the little girl in her arms.

"It’s all over."

"O-over?"

Emily blankly loosened her hands, which had been covering her ears tightly, and opened her eyes, looking around in confusion.

She had been obedient the whole time, keeping her ears covered and eyes shut.

Now she still had to face, with her small body and heart, the unchangeable reality.

—Her mother’s body lay quietly to the side. Thanks to Muen’s special care, it hadn’t been much damaged.

But the original wounds had been severe enough. Before Emily opened her eyes again, Muen had done some simple handling, but unfortunately he had never learned any mortuary preparation, so he could only make it look slightly less tragic.

"Mom..."

Emily’s small body trembled, and she bit her lip hard.

Perhaps because she had already experienced it once, the little girl seemed especially strong at this moment.

But when she raised her head and looked around the quiet little town shrouded in night, the fragility in her young eyes made even Muen’s heart ache.

"W-where... where is everyone?" Emily’s lips trembled. "Where’s Mayor Auntie? And the others? Where did they go?"

"They..."

Anna gently stroked her small head, hesitated a moment, and said, "They went somewhere else to get treatment. You don’t have to worry."

"R-really?"

Emily stared blankly at Anna.

"Mm." Anna said, "You really don’t have to worry."

"T-then... that’s good."

It was supposed to be good news, yet Emily suddenly lost all strength, grabbed Anna’s clothes, and burst into loud sobs.

Perhaps Anna’s kind lie hadn’t fooled this prematurely mature little girl.

After crying for a while, Emily fell into a deep sleep.

Anna quietly cast a small sleep spell on her to keep her emotions from overwhelming her body.

After all, such a blow could make even an adult collapse, let alone a twelve-year-old girl.

"What will you do next?" Muen looked toward Emily.

"We’ll take her for an examination first. She spent too long alone with a heretic; it’s hard to guarantee she hasn’t been subtly polluted. That’ll also give us an excuse to take her away from the town."

Anna summoned a subordinate and had her escort little Emily to rest.

"As for what happens after that... it’ll depend on her own choice."

"Is that okay? She’s still a child."

"A child," Anna said softly, "but she’s already grown up. She should be able to make her own choices."

"Is that so?"

Muen looked at Anna’s profile.

Perhaps because he saw something similar in Emily, Muen could sense in his senior sister a long-suppressed emotion. The senior who rarely showed anger was truly angry this time.

"Sorry, junior."

Anna brushed back her hair. The brief clash with the Evil God hadn’t marred her beauty at all.

"I probably can’t return to Belrand with you. After something this big, the Silent Bureau needs me to personally handle the aftermath."

"It’s fine."

Muen held Anna’s small hand and smiled reassuringly.

"I’m not a kid who can’t find his way without you, you know."

"You know that’s not what I mean."

Anna looked at him seriously, her pretty face unusually stern.

"They were coming for you, junior. Someone wants you dead—and they’ve gone completely mad."

"...I know. Something is already brewing in Belrand. But don’t worry, Senior. It’s not my first time facing this kind of thing. I’ll be twice as cautious. The people from the Duke’s estate coming to fetch me are already on the way."

Muen tightened his grip, comforting her, then his tone sharpened, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» eyes flashing cold light.

"Besides, this time when I go back, it’s to settle all of it for good."

...

Although the Silent Bureau’s reinforcements were still on their way, leaving them severely short-handed, the cleanup proceeded methodically.

After sealing away the ancient relic Marvin had used, 【Gospel of the Fool】, Muen followed Anna to regroup with Jinze, who had separated earlier to track the observers.

"They’re dead."

Jinze’s expression was heavy; unconcealed anger flashed across his square, stern face.

"They’ve been dead for three days."

When the room was opened, a foul stench poured out.

Three men in black lay grotesquely on the floor, their deaths miserable.

Their bodies hadn’t decayed, but were riddled with holes where insects had burrowed, as if serving as nests for incubation during this time.

The insects had clearly been cleared away, but the corpses were so mutilated their faces could no longer be recognized.

"From the traces left in the room, they resisted with all their might, but before that, they clearly hadn’t noticed the enemy’s approach. They were ambushed," Jinze said.

"Why? They were observers," Anna asked.

"I think there are two reasons."

Jinze presented a bracelet—one Muen found strikingly familiar—and a document together to Anna.

"First, his aura was concealed by a special artifact. Second... Marvin Strelimor truly exists in the official intelligence system."