“…Where have I seen this before?”
Loki asked softly.
This ring was something he had snatched from the hands of the Witch Clan.
As the top lackey of the Hand of Truth, he naturally bore the heavy responsibility of assisting the Chief in collecting ritual artifacts, searching for and seizing them across the world.
Just like a certain demigod who sought to ascend.
It had been a battle that shook the heavens and the earth.
The Witch Clan was a renowned educational organization, with schools teaching magic established all over the world, helping the gifted to control the power of the Sea of Souls—
Because of this, their influence was even greater than that of a small country.
Yet Loki still succeeded.
During a grand celebration, he snatched this unadorned ring from a witch’s hand and managed to escape alive despite being hunted by over a hundred witches.
“I saw it in the hands of a witch. I could easily sense the power attached to it… It’s definitely no ordinary artifact.”
Christine explained.
As expected.
Loki looked helpless, reaching up to tidy his hair.
She must have seen that witch before he made his move.
Artifacts like this were not unique, but they were still extremely rare treasures. Even among the Witch Clan, only those of high status could wield them.
And the person Loki had robbed back then happened to be the Witch Clan’s chieftain’s daughter.
That was tantamount to stomping on the pride of every witch in the world—and then smearing mud on their faces.
Thus, he ended up on the Witch Clan’s blacklist, bidding a final farewell to that paradise of beautiful girls who dared to wear short skirts and ride broomsticks without safety shorts.
Ah, what a pity.
Whenever he got close to the witches’ academies, the highest alert would immediately be triggered, and dozens of witches would fly out at once to attack him, just like stirring up a hornet’s nest.
He already had so many enemies anyway, what was one more Witch Clan? Whether he got his throat slit once or ten times, it all felt the same to Loki—he didn’t care at all.
And even if they wanted revenge, they’d still have to consider Christine’s opinion.
Living off a woman really was a delightful thing. Thinking this way, perhaps all that desperate “work” in the first half of his life had finally brought some reward.
With that thought, Loki’s mood improved quite a bit.
Five years had passed, and nothing had happened, right? The witches had probably given up by now.
Besides, the artifact was already ruined, so taking it back was pointless. There was no way for them to track him down.
If anything, since he’d used it to blow up the Hand of Truth’s Chief, the witches ought to come thank him in person, shouldn’t they?
“It was about two or three years ago, I think. I don’t remember too clearly. But that girl was the Witch Clan’s chieftain’s daughter.”
“?”
Loki sat up abruptly.
“What did you just say? Two years ago?”
“Hmm? Oh, that is a bit odd. You should have snatched this artifact back when the Hand of Truth was still around… so, five years ago, right?”
Christine crossed her long legs, outlining the perfect curve of her calves. The surface of her boots reflected a vague light, swaying gently like feathers.
A curious flame sparked in her eyes.
“Since it’s a ring, maybe this artifact is actually a pair? In other words, she still has one on her hand?”
“A pair… Hey, that’s not a good omen.”
Prompted by Christine’s reminder, Loki vaguely recalled that celebration from years ago.
It hadn’t been any ordinary celebration… but so much time had passed, he couldn’t remember what it had been for.
“If they’re a pair of rings with extraordinary power, there must be some kind of resonance between them, right?”
Christine chuckled softly, enjoying Loki’s embarrassed expression.
“Maybe the witches are already on their way for revenge.”
“Impossible. If that were the case, they would’ve come for me five years ago.”
Loki shook his head calmly.
“Well, who knows? Maybe they’ve just been secretly watching to see if you’re still as strong as you once were.”
The knight’s tone grew quite cheerful.
“But if they really want to do something to you, you’ll have no choice but to rely on me, right? Honestly, you’re hopeless.”
Do all women love talking to themselves like this?
Loki grumbled inwardly. The annoying thing was, he couldn’t deny that Christine was right.
No matter what, he really should try to recover some of his strength. Otherwise, sooner or later, he’d end up being beaten to his knees by a woman.
But as for how, Loki had no clue.
Because of his actions, the Archons had sealed their domains tightly, terrified that even a hint of their power would be seized by this soulless one, allowing him to return to his peak.
If that ever happened, the Archons’ followers in the real world would truly be powerless against Loki.
Loki put the ring away.
Although he carried other “artifacts” with him, they were no different from ordinary ornaments—kept purely for the sake of memories.
“What was this ring’s original function?”
“No idea. You’d have to ask a witch about that. I only collected artifacts to meet the Hand of Truth’s ritual needs. I have no idea what they actually do.”
“Such a waste.”
“I don’t care. Anyway, we should talk business now.”
Loki forcibly steered the conversation back. If Christine kept digging, she’d only uncover more and more.
He’d worked hard to convince himself to forget all those troublesome matters—if he remembered them now, especially in his weakened state, he’d only lose sleep.
After all, Christine couldn’t protect him twenty-four hours a day.
…
Selulu?
Forget it, she was the most dangerous woman of all.
Just as Loki tried to bring the conversation back to business, the door was knocked.
“Come in,” Christine said.
The door was gently pushed open, and a young female attendant entered, bowing respectfully to them both.
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation. Lady Christine, Bishop Part wishes to see you.”
Loki and Christine exchanged glances.
Part?
Loki remembered that man.
He was the chief of the Kaisania Holy Church’s local branch, a man of high standing—at least in this great metropolis of Kaisania, he was a figure of considerable influence.
But the Holy Church… didn’t have a good relationship with the Order of Knights.
There was a considerable overlap of authority and interests between the two, so they rarely interacted deeply. Usually, they’d just exchange polite greetings when they met, or help each other out for the sake of being fellow forces of order.
Loki recalled the woman he’d just interrogated.
Normally, the blasphemers Loki caught would be handed over by the Order of Knights to the Church for processing.
But this time, the blasphemer had been captured by the Church’s own Saintess, only to be sent to the Order of Knights.
Given that this level of information wasn’t classified, the Church must have learned that the Order of Knights was unusually detaining a “Hand of Truth” remnant.
In principle, within the nation’s borders, blasphemers were to be handled solely by the Holy Church, while the Order of Knights dealt only with “ordinary” criminals.
But since the line between blasphemers and criminals was always blurry, the Church and the Order frequently clashed over jurisdiction.
“Tell him to wait—”
Christine hadn’t finished speaking when she suddenly stood up, narrowing her eyes and looking toward the corridor behind the attendant.
Loki followed her gaze, and immediately saw a fully armed squad come into view.