Thorns twined, the Radiance from the Confession Sword enveloped the entire square, no, half of Jiatai City.

Not far from the port outside, the calm ocean was abruptly split in two, those devout sea beasts gathered by the Holy Light, cowered within the gravel and muddy water, not daring to move.

Yet this sword, he could not completely strike down.

A hand clad in a bright red glove, adorned with a gemstone ring, gently grasped the blade's edge.

Holy Light spilled from the glove, silently, a clear grip mark appeared on the body of the Confession Sword as if the power of Time was altering the essence of the Confession Sword; it began to rust, to decay, and amidst the decaying blade, emerald thorns abruptly sprouted.

The fine, sharp thorns pierced through the bright red glove, successfully penetrating Charles I's flesh, and crimson drops of blood emerged.

Charles I did not let go, calmly holding the blade as if the hand that was being cut was not his own. His other hand reached out swiftly, seizing Ludwig's neck, as his blood-stained palm lightly brushed over the Confession Sword.

He spoke with a cold indifference: "You see, this is the blood of the covenant, it will bring thorns the disgrace of 'Traitor.'"

Amidst the sound of sizzling, the Confession Sword suffered thorough corrosion. This "Legendary Level" wonder, under the gaze of Transcendents, became riddled with holes, turned pitch black, broke apart, and then crumbled into powder, falling into the ground amidst the thorns.

In the blood-drenched palm of Charles I, a spear composed of Holy Light was born, it instantly stained with blood.

The next moment, without any sound, the spear pierced through Ludwig's heart.

In the eyes of the watching Transcendents, it seemed as if the already faint "Life Flame" suddenly leaped a few times, then promptly extinguished.

Like a ball of rotten flesh, Ludwig, his eyes slowly closing.

The trail of blood from his lips "drip-drip" fell onto Charles I's red glove, his mouth moving as if admonishing, as if preaching:

"Those who do not practice the way... follow the way of Magic."

"The Flower of Truth... shall bloom amidst the thorns!"

"Shh"

Receiving his admonition, Charles I gave him another "Holy Blood Spear," which clung closely to Ludwig's ear, as if the powerless Second Rotten Head, seemed to reopen its decaying eyes due to the intense pain.

First, he saw Charles I, and then looked towards Ludwig, stunned for half a second, and then realizing something, his expression suddenly changed, and he started to curse out loud:

"Sims you're scheming against me again, I'm going to kill..."

Before he could finish, a strange noise erupted from inside his head.

A thorn burst forth from the back of the Second Rotten Head's skull, and then "pfft," it pierced into Ludwig's skull.

Originally emerald, the thorn after establishing this "connection," suddenly took on the mottled green symbolizing Pollution, the greasy yellow of decay. Ludwig, who was already "dead," slowly lifted his head again, beginning to rot and emit foul odor.

But the snuffed out Life Flame, leaving only wisps of smoke, unexpectedly reignited.

Ludwig's eyes, visibly rotting at an observable pace, but the Devotion, the peace within them, remained untainted.

His voice growled hoarsely, as if a corpse was speaking: "Those who do not practice the way..."

Before Ludwig could finish his admonishment, the frantic voice of the Second Rotten Head came.

"Shut up!"

"I, Simon Becker, have always walked the path of Magic, you little waste brainwashed by Sims, get lost, let this old man show you, how true strong men fight."

As if infuriated to the point of fury, the Second Rotten Head directly pushed Ludwig's head aside, taking over the neck, "click-click" as he adjusted, he gained control over the body. He slowly raised his hands, seemingly about to make a move.

But before he could do anything, an unprecedented blast of Holy Light erupted from Charles I's hands.

The Second Rotten Head's skull was purified instantly.

However, quickly, a new head was born, then purified again, resurrected swiftly...

Within the sacred radiance, suddenly a bizarre cry rose: "Yo ho ho...the Master said, the holy light purifies all filth?"

Amidst the strange chanting, a stubborn, rotten skull burst out of the holy light, a brazen and ferocious smile on its decaying face. It appeared abruptly before Charles I, nearly brushing against the formidable Pope's face.

Yellowed teeth opened wide, releasing a foul stench.

"Bet you didn't see this coming, I'm so filthy that your holy light can't purify me at all... Your master, he's been deceiving you... Hahaha."

The derisive laughter, infuriating all Bright believers, reverberated across the plaza.

But the laughter did not last long. Charles I, seemingly unfazed, created a "Holy Blood Spear" in his hand and, under the angry gaze of the Second Rotten Head, thrust the spear through its skull just as it was about to resurrect.

Charles I remained cold and indifferent; he didn't even turn around.

But his voice echoed through Secret Phoenix City at that moment.

"Ancient Castle Bureau!"

Just three words, and the Mysterious Side once again plunged into chaos.

Originally having "settled down" and prepared for neutrality, the newt phantom representing the William family, upon hearing those three words, suddenly raised its crowned head, the fire of justice within surging wildly.

...

Inside the Ancient Castle Bureau, in a room completely filled with white hair and faint glowing light.

Here, one cannot sense the outside world, nor can the outside world sense anything inside.

Rafael stood in the room alone, facing the highly dangerous "MH-046."

Seemingly an old man in his eighties, this Contained Object, revealing only a head, showed its first abnormal activity outside of its usual routines.

Previously, this old man engaged in communication only once within 24 hours, and only with two people from the Ancient Castle Bureau, aside from himself, the other being the bureau's most powerful William O'Neill.

Since the Second Rotten Head incident, many organizations seeking secrets and intelligence have done similar things, be it divination or using high-level wonders.

The Ancient Castle Bureau was no different. In the night after that event, William O'Neill and Rafael had been taking turns communicating with MH-046.

Just about ten hours ago, William O'Neill had just finished an interrogation without acquiring any effective information.

The next interrogation was not supposed to be now.

But it was the first time MH-046 initiated communication, making Rafael extremely nervous at this moment. He hadn't practiced any Combat Extraordinary Profession, nor could he, like Old Coulson, wield various Curios for combat.

Rafael knew he had an extraordinary constitution, which allowed him to be exempt from contamination by numerous dangerous Contained Objects, including MH-046.

But in his own definition, he was a scholar, a researcher of the Mysterious Side.

For the mission, as well as to satisfy his own curiosity.

At the same time, he maintained sufficient vigilance, having arranged many defense measures using his authority before entering the room. Should anything go awry, several high-level agents on the other side of the glass window would come to his rescue with several powerful "Contained Objects."

MH-046 inside the Ancient Castle Bureau is considered extremely dangerous, but after multiple "verifications," those within the bureau believed that several Contained Objects could counteract this unknown old man.

After thorough consideration and confirming that there were no loopholes, Rafael stood in front of the old man.

Suppressing the impulse to take a deep breath, Rafael looked at MH-046 in front of him, about to follow the procedure to greet him first, experience a bout of unexplained amnesia, and then proceed with the interrogation.

But at that moment, Rafael saw the old man suddenly smile, revealing pearly white teeth that seemed to glow, causing Rafael to fall into a sudden stupor, instantly frozen as a petrifying voice resounded suddenly in the room.

"Thorns!"

"My Lord!"

ps: A 4,000-word chapter, here's the first update, thanks for everyone's monthly ticket and support.

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