Hep Luo Shuang’s hands pressed against the table, and unprecedented seriousness gleamed in her pale purple eyes.
Her gaze was nailed to the alchemy recipe spread out on the parchment.
The night wind outside battered against the window with a mournful howl, while the atmosphere in the living room was so heavy it nearly dripped with tension.
“This recipe could never have been developed by a normal alchemist.”
The girl’s voice was unwavering, and each word struck like a hammer against everyone’s hearts.
“Look here.”
She extended her finger toward the name circled on the recipe—soul devouring vine.
“This plant is no ordinary poison weed. It’s a specialty that grows near the cracks of the abyss. Within the empire, there are simply no conditions for it to grow.”
Helos looked up, sweeping her gaze across everyone gathered around the table.
“I’ve never even heard of this thing, let alone seen it used to refine potions.”
Eleanor didn’t understand alchemy, but she could hear the fear lurking beneath her sister’s words.
Helos nodded and gave her final verdict: “This is practically ironclad proof. That old fox Duran has likely already colluded with the cultists.”
“Moreover, that so-called ‘antidote’ was probably provided to him by those cultists. Their goal is to use his position in the Church to legitimately spread a lethal poison capable of destroying this entire city.”
Once this reasoning was laid out, an icy chill ran through everyone present.
If before they had only suspected Duran of resorting to any means to seize power, now the nature of the matter had completely changed.
This was no longer a struggle for power. This was trampling on life itself, a betrayal of the entire Southern Diocese.
Gavi spoke with a blank expression, her calm voice cutting through the stifling air: “But… although we can deduce this conclusion logically, in reality, we haven’t found any traces of cultist activity.”
“This city, this cathedral, even around Archbishop Duran himself, none of that signature aura has appeared. If cultists are truly pulling strings behind the scenes, they couldn’t possibly hide so perfectly without leaving a single trace.”
That was the most troublesome part.
An unseen enemy was the most terrifying one.
If they couldn’t find the mastermind lurking in the shadows, they could never truly resolve this crisis.
Hearing this, Julius, who had remained silent until now, suddenly froze.
A flicker of confusion passed through his pitch-black eyes, as if he had recalled a detail he had overlooked.
He murmured under his breath, his brow furrowing deeper: “Chaotic aura…”
If he remembered correctly, on the day they first arrived in Orissa City, he had indeed sensed a faint trace of chaotic aura.
The aura flashed by in an instant, so quick it felt like his imagination. At the time, because Helos was beside him, he hadn’t investigated further to avoid causing panic. And afterward, he had indeed never sensed anything similar again.
But now that he thought about it, perhaps it hadn’t been an illusion after all.
Julius abruptly raised his head, a sharp light bursting from his eyes.
“No, it’s not that it never appeared.”
“What?”
Helos and Eleanor both looked at him simultaneously.
“On the day we first arrived in Orissa City.”
Julius took a deep breath, his tone turning extremely grave: “At the Central Plaza, near the Saint Statue. I sensed chaotic aura once.”
“It was very weak and disappeared quickly—so quickly that I thought I was hallucinating.”
“But looking back now, that feeling was definitely unmistakable.”
“You mean… the cultists had already infiltrated long ago?”
Eleanor’s voice also grew heavy: “And right under our noses?”
“Very likely.”
Julius nodded: “Although I never detected any similar traces afterward, not even during this festival, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Perhaps they used some method we don’t know about to conceal their aura, or… they’re hiding somewhere we would never expect.”
“Like… within the Church itself.”
This speculation made Eleanor feel dizzy.
If even the Church had been infiltrated, who could she trust?
How many of the priests and nuns were demons wearing masks?
Those clergy around her, those who seemed so devout…
Helos gripped her sister’s ice-cold hand and comforted her: “Don’t panic.”
“Don’t panic. No matter how deep they’re hiding, since Julius found a clue, that means they’re not invincible. As long as they’re still active, they’re bound to slip up eventually.”
“At least now, we’re no longer completely in the dark.”
The girl turned to Julius, her eyes filled with admiration.
“Well done, Julius. This intel is crucial—though it’s a few days late.”
“But with this direction, we won’t be stumbling around like headless flies anymore.”
“In that case.”
Eleanor took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She restored the authority of the Saintess and said seriously: “I will immediately issue orders. In the areas around the Square and the cathedral, any suspicious persons—regardless of status—will be detained on sight.”
“Also, the checkpoints in and out of the city must be strictly inspected. We cannot let a single person carrying poison slip through.”
“But that’s not enough.”
Helos shook her head, her gaze returning to the recipe: “If we only defend, we’ll always be on the back foot. Therefore, we must take the initiative to strike.”
She extended her finger and tapped the table heavily.
“The most important and urgent matter right now is to stop Duran’s actions.”
“That old man has gone mad. He could distribute those so-called ‘antidotes’ to the people at any moment. If he succeeds, how severe would the consequences be? It would be an irreversible disaster.”
Helos didn’t continue, but everyone present understood—that would be a catastrophe.
The girl’s voice turned icy and piercing: “We must take him down before he makes his move.”
Gavi raised an objection: “But the cathedral’s current defense level is high, and Duran has many trusted subordinates around him. If we attack head-on, it will inevitably cause large-scale bloodshed.”
“Moreover, moving against him under these circumstances could easily be turned against us—they’d accuse us of attempting to assassinate the Bishop and sabotage Church unity. If that happens, our position would become even more difficult.”
“Who said anything about attacking head-on?”
A mysterious smile curled at the corner of Helos’s lips.
She pulled the glass bottle containing the dark green poison from her chest and gently swirled it under the light.
“We have this.”
“What is that?”
Eleanor was confused.
“This is evidence, and also a weapon.”
Helos narrowed her eyes: “Doesn’t Duran want to be the Savior? Doesn’t he want to display his ‘miracle’ before everyone?”
“Then we’ll give him that chance.”
“But… in return, I need some time to prepare an antidote of our own.”