Chapter 637: Renegade

Chapter 637: The Apostate

Man, oh man, there are times when one simply cannot resist being a little mischievous.

Since it was a matter of no direct benefit, yet required a name to be left behind, one might as well leave someone else's—and that person ought to be the one you care about most in your heart.

Under identical circumstances, Neil felt that Karen would also have left a phrase: "My name is Neil."

Just like a certain pastry shop street in York City, where the most resounding title belonged to "Young Master Eisen."

It had nothing to do with entangled interests, and even less to do with deliberate calculation; it all stemmed from a sudden flash of inspiration in the brain at that very moment.

But it was precisely this flash that sparked a problem.

At the root of it, due to a severe lack of information, Neil had no idea how sensitive the name "Karen" was in this place.

Correspondingly, that skeleton had calculated everything, deliberately laying a trap here to praise Karen to the skies before Molindy, yet it never expected a member of the Church of Order to run in here and shout a line:

"My name is Karen!"

If the skeleton knew of the situation now, it might very well vomit a mouthful of blood and then re-examine the reasons why its designs against Karen always experienced deviations.

Right now, upon hearing this name, no matter how many suspicious factors remained, it was impossible for Molindy to let Neil leave.

She raised her hand,

Forden flew closer, but after a glance from Molindi, he halted once more in the distance.

A dozen tentacles sprouted from the massive heart, binding Nio in their momentum before piercing his flesh to shackle his very soul.

Nio's facial muscles began to twitch, and with a trembling voice, he said with great effort:

"I do not want... to die."

Within his mind, however, Nio was shouting: Keep talking, keep talking! I am already under your control anyway. Let those tentacles sink a little deeper into my flesh, so that when the time comes, I can use the Light of Fire to strike back against this aura of the undead!

Molindi did not disappoint him; she turned around, looked down at Nio, and spoke:

"In truth, I have no desire to kill you. I cannot bear to kill any believer of Order."

"Are you not... a renegade... though..."

Hearing this, Molindi let out a soft sigh. She had never betrayed the Church of Order; she had betrayed only the High Priest.

Refusing to accept the title of renegade, she believed herself to be the true champion of Order, harboring faith in the God of Order and believing that only His return could ensure the survival of the Church.

Without the protection of the God of Order, no matter how powerful the Church became, it would eventually be devoured by the other gods.

However, she had no wish to explain these intricacies to the man before her, and merely murmured with melancholy:

"Mere slaughter is utterly meaningless."

Upon hearing these words, the thought that flashed through Nio's mind was: Oh? So a renegade like you actually has such grand pursuits!

"You are right... simply killing a few priests... achieves nothing of real value... so to realize your goal... I believe one must consider the broader picture..."

"Hehehe..." Molindi laughed softly, amused. "Do you even know what you are saying?"

"I know... I just want to tell you... that I will never end up in a wretched state like yours..."

Molindi frowned, murmuring, "Oh?"

"Your mistake... was being too naive... being imprisoned here... what meaning does it have... what can it change?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I mean to say is..."

Right at that moment, a violent surge of magical array fluctuations suddenly rippled through the surroundings as the confinement array began to activate.

Molindi lifted her head to look toward the ceiling:

"Is that Karen? Seeing that you failed to return after so long, he has begun trying to activate the confinement array here. Daan must have given him the diagrams, but Daan did not know that someone aided me, allowing me to master this array in reverse long ago.

Very well, I shall lure him down, letting him believe he has succeeded."

Bound tightly where he stood, Nio blinked. In truth, the people above already knew she could control this confinement array, because their team harbored an evil god.

Moments later, crimson threads began to manifest throughout the cavern, intersecting and tearing at one another, each thread imbued with a terrifying power of bisection.

Molindi opened her palm, condensing a mass of fresh blood, while a thick wisp of undead aura was released from the heart below.

As Molindi fused the two elements together and cast the mass of blood outward, it formed a dark red puddle from which a woman, identical to Molindi in every way, slowly emerged.

The surrounding red threads seemed to find their target instantly, encircling the woman in a relentless, murderous vortex, shredding her body time and again, only for her to rise repeatedly from the puddle.

All Molindi needed to do was add a drop of blood to the puddle every now and then, allowing the controller of the array to perceive that they were crushing and executing the prisoner.

Molindi let out a soft laugh: "Heh, how foolish."

Nio thought to himself: Indeed, how foolish.

...

With the magic cube spinning in his left hand and the array turning in his right, Karen easily controlled the confinement array to execute the target.

Then, he spoke with absolute calm:

"The array is running far too smoothly; the opponent is luring us down. This indirectly proves that something has happened to Nio."

Alfred inquired, "Young Master, what do you intend to do next?"

Karen's gaze narrowed slightly as he said, "Sell him out."

Alfred deliberately remained silent, knowing his young master all too well.

Karen continued, "Given Nio's experience and awareness, the fact that he could not return after scouting, while the opponent can still play at fishing below, proves their strength is far greater than we anticipated."

Ventura said, "I believe the Chief of Scouting will understand."

Philomena nodded.

Kevin looked left and right, possessing no intention to bark. His relationship with Nio was good, and if he were still Raniedal, he would likely not watch the only little bat who showed him such respect perish, but he was currently just a dog.

How could a dog have a voice in matters of such gravity?

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Kevin: "..."

Everyone habitually turned their gaze to Kevin first, leaving the golden retriever looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Immediately after, their eyes shifted to Kanna, who had actually uttered the barks.

Karen said, "Can you guarantee that the one who created you will not harm a believer of Order?"

Kanna nodded and spoke: "She, to Order, to those people, is very, very good."

"Pious?" Karen asked.

"Yes, compared to those of the Crypt Church, no, even more real than them."

Ventura spoke up, "But she is a renegade."

Kanna shook her head, indicating she did not understand the concept.

Alfred, however, understood. Turning to Ventura, he asked, "Then do we count as renegades?"

"Of course not," Ventura answered as a matter of course. "We are loyal to the true Order."

Alfred shrugged. "Then why can others not be like us? We are all moving toward the same destination, merely choosing different paths to get there."

Philomena remarked, "Does that mean the Chief of Scouting will not die?"

Karen nodded. He placed great trust in Kanna's judgment; though her language skills were lacking, her sensitivity in certain matters often yielded the truest insights.

Alfred noted, "If our Chief of Scouting truly is a pious believer of Order, then that renegade likely will not kill him."

Pausing for a moment,

Alfred added:

"If he is, that is."

...

With a sharp splat, Molindi's duplicate at the puddle dissolved completely.

The real Molindi smiled and said, "Next, Karen should be coming down to inspect my corpse."

Nio simply could not contain himself any longer and asked, "My lady, I would like to ask you a question."

"Ask away."

"If we possessed the confidence to orchestrate this binding array for your execution, why would they ever dispatch me down here to investigate?"

"Does one preclude the other?"

"Does it not? Would it not make far more sense to first activate the array, crush you beneath its weight, and then send me down to verify whether your corpse had grown cold?"

"Did you not claim that you and Karen were at odds?"

"And you choose to believe that now?"

"What else is there to believe?" Morindi stared at Neo. "Did he know all along that he could command this binding array?"

"He did."

"Then his purpose in awakening the formation is..."

"To confirm whether I have met with misfortune. By now, those above must have their confirmation; they know I am compromised, and so they will not venture down. They trust my experience and my strength, and from my silence, they have deduced the measure of your own power.

Mark my words, they will not descend. At best, a decade from now, they might return to avenge me."

"Such labyrinthine schemes."

"It is merely that you are innocent."

"Are you mocking me?" Morindi demanded.

Yet, no anger stirred within her. Long ago, her companions and the High Priest alike would tease her, marveling at how someone could remain so endearingly naive.

It had been an age since anyone had described her so, and the word pricked at the shroud of her memories.

Because of it, a strange, faint warmth blossomed toward this creature she held so thoroughly in her grasp, and her lethal intent began to ebb.

The tendrils burrowing from her own heart deep into his flesh had already measured the ring of his bones; his youth guaranteed he was absolutely not Karen.

"It is merely my perception, please do not take offense. I meant no disrespect. In truth, I find it remarkable that despite being entombed here for so many years, your soul seems barren of bitter resentment."

"Even if I were to rage and rail against my fate, spending ten thousand curses in the dark, it would not strike the High Priest dead."

Ah, so your enmity toward the Church of Order runs that deep.

Morindi resolved to wait a little longer, to grant those above their time. If Karen and his cohort truly abandoned the descent, then perhaps she had no real need to slaughter the man before her. He was clever, and he possessed a certain wit.

She had once truly viewed the Church of Order as an entity worthy of guarding with her freedom and her very life, cherishing its every blade of grass and leaf.

Then, Morindi recalled the fragments of their conversation just before the binding array had flared to life, and she asked:

"You seemed to leave a thought unfinished earlier. You said if you were in my place, what would you have done?"

Neo answered without a moment's hesitation: "Indeed. If I were you, I would never have allowed myself to fall to such a wretched state. I would have shrouded my true intentions in darkness, climbed to the highest echelons, gathered might in the shadows, enduring and enduring until the perfect hour arrived to tear the Church of Order asunder!"

Morindi froze, a look of profound bewilderment washing over her features.

"You are..."

"Yes. Like you, I am a heretic of Order!"