“And also Brother Nai De, did you really send him to Ficnis City?”
Naili, who had been quietly sitting beside Kaili, suddenly questioned Baron Huo En.
Huo En immediately glanced at his son beside him.
Kairui lowered his head, not daring to meet his father’s gaze.
Huo En began to admire Wright a little—he had seen through the flaw in the plan at a glance.
Huo En nodded.
“Nai De investigated the mine incident. His father died trying to save the miners. He wanted to know why the mine couldn’t reopen, then witnessed me extracting souls… Haha.”
Huo En suddenly felt it was all so laughable.
Not the boy who pursued the truth, but himself—unable to let go because of a futile delusion.
He continued.
“So I gave him two choices. First, stay in the mine forever. Second, never return to Blackwater Town. He chose the second.”
“You weren’t afraid he’d tell others about it?”
Wright pressed.
“Naili is here. He won’t say anything,”
Huo En shook his head and continued.
“Besides, he’s a guy who keeps his promises.”
Naili clenched her fists, then covered her face and wept.
So many years of waiting, and finally she had the answer.
Brother Nai De didn’t abandon her—he had a reason he couldn’t stay.
“Sanctuary Priest, please deliver a fair judgment.”
Wright urged again.
“A fair judgment?”
“Mr. Wright, you just want a list.”
Aescher was in no rush to declare the verdict; instead, he looked at Huo En.
“Then, Baron Huo En, do you still wish to revive your wife?”
The baron’s temples were streaked with gray, but the traces of his youthful handsomeness and arrogance remained.
He and Wright were like two extremes—one an indestructible sword with legendary exploits, the other an unnoticed stone.
“Sanctuary Priest, what do you mean by this?”
He countered.
“You have not committed a capital crime, and Mr. Wright does not seek your life.”
Aescher smiled faintly, as if wishing to dissolve their conflict.
Yet these words left the crowd stunned.
“To kill for the sake of reviving your wife, and not just one, leading to such a horrifying result—such a sin is not light either, is it?”
Kaili spoke.
In fact, ever since entering the banquet hall, she had been watching Aescher.
Even when drawing her sword at Kemel, her eyes stayed fixed on the ‘Sanctuary Priest.’
He was unfamiliar with the procedures of judgment, and indifferent to the result.
Only when the mine was mentioned did his eyes glimmer with greed.
“King’s Property belongs to the King, Goddess’s Property belongs to the Goddess. Worldly punishment is for the City-State Court. And I,” Aescher stood, walking slowly to Huo En’s side, “Can only, within the law of the Temple, provide a fair opinion to dispel the world’s confusion.”
Wright raised his head and stared at the young Sanctuary Priest.
His broad palm rubbed slowly.
This was unexpected.
According to intelligence, Sanctuary Priest Aescher had once enforced the law justly, requesting the Temple to strip a viscount of their clergy status as compensation for a merchant who died from injuries, and received approval.
But now, he seemed inclined to ignore this matter?
The situation shifted dramatically in an instant.
If he did not exercise holy authority, then Wright would have to face the Baron alone.
Wright stared at Huo En and handed over a portrait.
“I just want a name.
Auberon Onado.
Baron, have you seen him?”
Baron Huo En glanced at the portrait and shook his head slightly.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have a memory like yours. I don’t know their names, nor can I tell you if one of them is your son.”
After speaking, he looked sideways at Sanctuary Priest Aescher.
This Sanctuary Priest seemed… different?
Huo En’s eyes flickered.
Yes, that familiar feeling—the same as the old Necromancer he stabbed to death.
A threat of death and an almost arrogant pride.
So the old Necromancer’s heir happened to arrive today.
Huo En glanced at Wright and the blonde demon hunter lady.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
Fate truly is the greatest dramatist, bringing them all to this very moment.
“Can you hand over the bodies of the missing? I can identify them one by one.”
Wright still tried to press for a chance.
“Wright.
I won’t leave you anything.
You betrayed the town’s trust—you must pay for your deceit.”
Kemel glared at Wright with fury.
He would not allow Wright to see the corpses—besides, many bodies had already become Contaminated by Dark Energy within the tunnels.
If that child was inside, the crazed baker would leak the news to the City-State Court, or even to the Temple or Council above.
Even if his child wasn’t among them, he couldn’t guarantee Wright wouldn’t do so.
He dared not underestimate this always silent man any longer.
“Sanctuary Priest Aescher, to turn a blind eye to evil—have you not betrayed the grace you received?”
Kaili remained seated, but her right hand gripped the hilt of her sword.
Wright’s gaze at her was confused.
Was this investigator from the Temple of the God of War going to attack a Sanctuary Priest out of anger?
He sat quietly.
If today’s judgment ended inconclusively, he would face a baron’s vengeance.
He had planned to escape, but seeing Kaili’s actions, he decided to try one more time.
Li Qiuchen reached into his pocket and clenched the Blue Crystal.
The Zhesi Gem’s warning compelled him to activate [Perception] and identify the problem.
His internal mana was exhausted, so he could only use the Blue Crystal.
As the crystal’s mana flowed into his body, the Zhesi Gem responded at once.
After these twists and turns, his eyes finally entered [Perception] mode.
Let me see—just what are you.
At this moment, Aescher smiled at Kaili’s question.
“Love is a sweet slavery.
The sins Mr. Huo En committed to revive his wife will be judged by the City-State Court…”
Li Qiuchen released his grip.
The Blue Crystal’s mana was down to a quarter.
He’d considered many reasons why the Zhesi Gem warned him about Aescher.
Maybe Aescher bore the aura of death or a curse.
Perhaps he was haunted by an Evil Spirit.
Li Qiuchen had even considered that Aescher used Shapeshifting Art to disguise himself as a Sanctuary Priest.
But he had never expected that the other party would be veined with black energy—Contaminated by Dark Energy?!
A Contaminated by Dark Energy still retaining rationality.
Was he a remnant of the Demon King Army?
No, more likely an elite.
Li Qiuchen swallowed unconsciously.
He couldn’t help but be shocked at Aescher’s audacity—no, it was pure horror.
An elite of the Demon King Army disguised as a Sanctuary Priest of the Temple of the God of War, infiltrating the town’s Temple, even presiding over the baron’s judgment?
And even now, calmly discussing the greatness of love and the limits of religious law!
When Li Qiuchen was still Ellen, people often said he was reckless.
He once toyed with a Sin Demon King, challenged a prince in the royal city, and proposed a law theory contrary to the mainstream.
But in terms of boldness, the person before him was the real master.
***
Taya Culture Tip:
“On the Irreplaceability of Soul Integrity in the Cross-Planar Recall Ritual—A Case Study of the ‘Rose Tragedy'”
Issuing Organization: Warlock Alliance Soul Research Institute
File Level: Restricted Access
[Case Overview]
The “Countess of Roses,” Anasfi Ouna von Wirth, was a renowned noble of the Old Empire.
Her beloved—Knight Commander Lothar—fell in the Battle of Blood Scab.
The Countess refused to accept her lover’s soul being consigned to the Demon King.
She spent her fortune and power, gathering three of the era’s most famous Necromancers to attempt to “fill” her lover’s damaged soul with the souls of fallen soldiers and resurrect him.
[Ritual Process and Result]
The ritual itself was a “technical success.”
The powerful magic reconstituted the soul, creating a body with his appearance and partial memories.
However, on the seventh day after awakening, the creation massacred seventy-three people in the castle—including the Countess—during a routine patrol without warning.
The Capital dispatched the Order of Radiant Knights to purify it.
This became known as the “Rose Tragedy.”
[Investigation Conclusion]: An incomplete soul cannot bear complete consciousness, ultimately leading to tragedy.
Afterward, this case was included in the Saint Palace curriculum as a core example of the “inviolability of the soul.”
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