After drinking the potion crafted by Sophie, Green felt completely refreshed.
No wonder Sophie is so remarkable.
Leisurely sitting in the study, Green picked up the mountain of documents stacked thick on the desk and began to review the accumulated official matters from commanding battles.
“Not bad, Miss Jessica.”
With a quill pen in hand, Green continued to swiftly deal with paperwork while speaking to the graceful former Truth Knight at his side.
“You truly have the talent of a manager.”
Jessica did not respond to Green’s idle talk. She merely gazed out the window with deep, pensive eyes at the people outside who were continuously celebrating their glorious victory.
“The Church of Light has truly lost.”
Watching the lively, exuberant crowd—regardless of status or race—reveling together in the joy of triumph, Jessica realized a certain fact more profoundly than ever.
The Church of Light had been completely defeated.
“The true victory isn’t on the battlefield, but in people’s hearts.”
Jessica recalled something Green had once said.
As the cheers echoed through the streets and alleys, the long-standing authority of the Church, once regarded as the embodiment of light and justice, had now collapsed.
Yet, for some reason, Jessica suddenly felt lost.
Even though she had already turned her back on the Church of Light after learning its true nature and witnessing the bishop’s and other Truth Knights’ despicable acts, she had made her decision resolutely.
But now, truly knowing her former employer had been utterly crushed, Jessica couldn’t help but feel a torrent of emotions.
“What’s wrong?”
Green put down his work and walked over to her side.
“It’s nothing.” Jessica shook her head. “I was just thinking, does so-called holy light really exist? If it does, then why can’t I sense it?”
A good question.
Seeing Jessica’s confused expression and recalling her earlier struggles, the sharp-minded Green immediately guessed what was going on in her heart.
Lost your faith, and now you can’t find direction in life?
“The death of the Church of Light doesn’t mean the death of justice.”
Intending to comfort her, Green said, “Even the Church of Light’s Gospel doesn’t necessarily stand for evil.”
“Our Land of Hope’s victory doesn’t make us the embodiment of justice. The Church’s defeat doesn’t make them absolute evil, either.”
As Green spoke these layered words, they resonated with Jessica’s sensitive heart.
“The point is…”
Green looked earnestly at the confused Jessica. “What do you believe justice to be in your heart?”
Justice I believe in?
Jessica felt as though she was just barely able to grasp something.
All this time, she had tirelessly pursued the so-called holy light through countless days and nights, yet the feeling always eluded her. Now, however, she seemed to sense a breakthrough.
It was… it was…
Buzz!
Just as Jessica was about to touch that holy light, an invisible barrier forcefully blocked her thoughts.
Failed again.
Jessica lowered her head in frustration.
“Lord Green, does this mean… does this mean I have no talent?”
The former Truth Knight’s tone carried a hint of disappointment. “Or is it that, in those years following the Church as a Truth Knight, I committed too many sins in the name of enforcing their so-called commandments?”
“So I’ve already been rejected and cast out by the holy light?”
Raising her head, Jessica’s voice was filled with confusion and uncertainty.
“No.”
Green firmly denied her suspicion.
“Jessica, you are not wrong.”
Green spoke calmly. “Yes, you once followed the Church of Light’s laws and gospels, hunting all sorts of heretics and enemies.”
“But though some heretics were innocent, most were sinful—some even heinous. What was wrong in striking them down?”
Green casually drew a file from the desk. “This is intelligence recently passed along by Black Gloves. Take a look yourself.”
Curiously taking the file, Jessica only had to glance at a few pages before she froze.
“This… this…”
She started breathing heavily, blinking in disbelief.
“No way. Are these all… all things done by our own Land of Hope soldiers?”
Jessica could hardly trust her eyes. In fact, if Green hadn’t handed her the file himself, she would have assumed it was Church of Light propaganda.
“In any organization, once its members grow numerous, corruption and decay become inevitable.”
Looking out the window, Green spoke expressionlessly. “At that point, what tests a leader isn’t how to win, but…”
“How to manage your failures.”
Coldly glancing at the file, Green drew his quill and slashed a crimson X through several names.
Another round of purging was needed.
Green’s eyes were filled with regret.
There were quite a few familiar faces on that list.
It was a shame…
“When the external enemy disappears, our greatest enemy becomes ourselves.”
He looked intently at Jessica. “The Church of Light began as an excellent leader, guiding humanity out from under the dominance and oppression of other races.”
Green’s tone carried a peculiar weight.
“But they failed to stay true to their original intentions, letting the corruption spread until the Church was riddled with rot.”
Green paused, staring carefully at Jessica before him.
“In truth, after our victory, I don’t plan to abolish the Church of Light.”
Casually, Green announced a bombshell.
“What?!” Jessica was stunned for several seconds before she reacted. “But… but all our efforts, this whole struggle, wasn’t it to bring down the Church of Light?”
“It was, and it wasn’t.”
Green stared directly at Jessica, as if he could see through to her heart’s deepest feelings.
“My purpose in toppling the Church of Light isn’t to utterly destroy it. On the contrary, it’s to save the Church.”
Green spoke every word with force. “To rescue it from the rotten, sin-stained leadership and transform it, giving it new life!”
This…?
“But… but why?”
Jessica took a deep breath, struggling to recover from the shock.
“Well…”
Green smiled but said nothing, only speaking after Jessica had pondered over and over again, “Honestly, I’m just too lazy to build another organization from scratch to spread the Path of Holy Light.”
The Path of Holy Light?
Suddenly, Jessica understood.
“The Church of Light’s original intention, and most of their Gospel’s content, actually aligns with the Path of Holy Light’s commandments. The only issue is that their leaders, after countless years of corruption, have reduced it to empty words.”
He looked at Jessica, who once believed herself to represent justice with unwavering faith and fiery conviction.
“Jessica, are you willing to help me breathe new life into this ancient organization?”
Jessica was momentarily dazed.
She suddenly recalled how, back in Radiance City, she had pushed herself relentlessly, even being promoted to Truth Knight ahead of schedule.
Her greatest motivation had, of course, been revenge against witches and other heretics.
But…
Jessica’s thoughts surged within.
There was also a hidden force, deeper and stronger, driving her forward.
“I don’t want anyone else to experience the same despair I once did.”
That thought—the will to keep others from repeating her mistakes, no matter the cost.
“That’s my true intention, isn’t it?”
Buzz.
At that instant, Jessica sensed it: that vague presence, shrouded in darkness but stubbornly sprouting in the world.
Light.
The original light.
A seed of hope sprouted in Jessica’s heart.
She could feel the holy light!
Knock knock.
There was a knock at the door. “Green, Green, I’m ready with my dress for the victory banquet.”
Click.
The door to the study opened.
Wearing a brilliant gown and radiating charm, an extraordinarily beautiful figure entered the room and gracefully took Green’s arm.
Sophie.
Seriously, couldn’t she have waited for me to share my good news about finally sensing the holy light?
Jessica looked up, ready to tease Green and finally vent her frustration.
Huh?
Jessica blinked.
Bathed in the holy light, the whole world appeared anew before her eyes.
But…
In this new vision, Sophie—intimately holding Green’s arm—was shrouded from head to toe in a foreboding, inky black aura.
Jessica blinked again.
Everything vanished without a trace.
Did I imagine it?
There was no time to tell Green about it; Jessica could only watch as the two lovers, blissful in their joy, walked out the door.
Forget it. I’ll tell him when there’s a chance.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.