Chapter Twelve: Convergence

“We must stop them, and the only way to stop them is to destroy them!”
Noyora’s gaze was fierce. If anyone else were present, he believed his presence alone would be enough to overwhelm everything. But in front of this person, he didn’t feel such confidence at all.
“Mr. Noyora, are you certain that Mr. Freust and Mr. Vazinki have reached an understanding with him?”
Dressed in his signature knightly hunting attire, elegant yet dignified, what perhaps set him apart was the flag pinned to his side. The cloud-like silk ribbon wrapped around a flagpole made of some unknown metal, resembling vines climbing up the pole, glowing brightly in the sunlight like a living serpent in motion.
“Knight Caesar, I swear by the Light God that both Freust and Vazinki have some kind of connection with those remnants of darkness. From the current developments, it seems they have reached some kind of compromise with Welch and that man as well. These opportunists have completely forgotten the vows they took when they pledged allegiance to our Light God—they are bringing shame upon Him.”
The knight frowned slightly. The leader of the Inquisition seemed somewhat unhinged now. Losing composure would only make things worse. Perhaps the situation was indeed serious, but it shouldn’t drive the believers of the Light God to such extremes.
Whether it was Freust, Vazinki, or even Welch’s Salvation Society, these were all matters within the Light Church. Even if they showed signs of separation now, it didn’t matter. What he needed to focus on was the remnants of darkness—especially when one of them seized supreme secular power, the crisis became even more severe.
The Pope had not yet emerged from seclusion. Though he hadn’t left any words for them, Knight Caesar had never forgotten the duties of the Wind Riders: to defend the light and eradicate darkness. This was an unavoidable responsibility for all Light Knights. The Pope had also never given him explicit guidance—judgment should come from one’s own heart.
And now seemed to be the time for him to make his own decision.
Soft sunlight filled the room, casting a bright glow on his broad forehead. Knight Caesar’s gray-blue eyes were slightly lowered, as if lost in thought.
Noyora remained calm as well. The other person’s decision would determine everything.

“Lord Noyora, it seems your concerns are justified. However, I have no right to comment on or interfere with Frunest, Vazinki, or even Mr. Welch. As for that dark scourge you mentioned, as long as you have evidence proving he is indeed threatening our Light Church’s cause, our Wind Knights will not hesitate to act.”
“Evidence?! Of course I have it. I can assure you, Knight Caesar—even the Pericles Church in Frunest has a female temple guardian who was defiled by darkness and even reduced to that guy’s sex slave. Not long ago, a holy maiden from St. Basil’s Church suffered the same fate!”
At this moment, Noyora no longer cared much. Whether she had truly become a sex slave wasn’t important; as long as he could successfully provoke the other party’s anger, that would suffice. His guess was not far off.
“What? Sex slaves?!” Fury surged within Caesar. If this was true, how could he tolerate it? “You’re saying our Light Church’s female believers have become sex slaves to that despicable wretch?”
“There’s not an ounce of exaggeration.”
“Very good, very good!” Caesar laughed in anger. “With dark forces rampant like this, what’s the Inquisition doing? Lord Noyora, it seems you’ve neglected your duties!”
“Knight Caesar, the strength of the dark forces now exceeds our imagination. The Inquisition often lacks the means to deal with them, especially since they hide well and even have the support of some within our Light Church. Knight Caesar must still remember that former magic genius Rebrí—even he has now completely degenerated into that guy’s loyal lackey. In the last Battle of the Prison Tower, even Trajan and the others were severely damaged.”
Caesar nodded slightly, unshaken. “Then let’s talk about the true strength this guy possesses.”
Noyora didn’t exaggerate. He knew only honesty could win the other party’s trust, so he simply recounted everything he knew truthfully.
“So, aside from him, there’s that rebel Rebrí and that puppet mage, Mihajić? Is that all his magical power?”
“No, not entirely. There are also some magi around him whom we’re not familiar with, but whose strength is no less impressive. In particular, many dark magi from the southern dark faction have arrived, most of whom we don’t know well. I need to draw Knight Caesar’s special attention to this.”
“That’s all?”

“There’s another guy we need to pay attention to, but we haven’t had any accurate information about him. Reports suggest he now seems to control both the mind and body of that holy woman at St. Basil’s Church. He possesses extremely powerful dark magic, even surpassing that of the protagonist.”
“Oh? Where did this guy come from?”
“We’re not sure. It seems he’s always been around, but his identity is mysterious, and we know very little about him.”
“Good, I understand.” Caesar wasn’t in the least bit dismissive.
“And then there are the knights under his command…”
“You mean those knights from Nicosia? Besides Leclerc, who else?”
“It’s not just them. Aside from the Homer Knights and the Wave Knights, we also know he has a Black Flame Knights Order composed mainly of dark knights, gathering many kinds of demons and monsters—there might even be necro knights. That’s his true core force.”
“Necro knights? Hmph, it seems this lord has an extraordinary status, having gathered so many demonic figures. Perfect—the Wind Riders haven’t had the chance to fight against such demons in a long time. If they’re all together, we can wipe them out completely.”
Caesar had been successfully stirred to fight and aggression. Being confined in Marco for so long hadn’t dampened his ambition; instead, it had fueled his anger. He desperately needed a battle to vent his fighting spirit.