Truth

All Wildfire Cultist are Senro's Hunting Dog.

When she came to this conclusion, Yi Weina herself could hardly believe it, because it was so crazy that the moment she said it, she couldn't help but wonder if she had made a mistake.

... No, it can't be wrong.

Yi Weina reaffirmed her resolve.

That must be it.

After a brief silence, Yi Weina heard Nick chuckle softly.

"Interesting." Nick looked at Yi Weina and asked with a smile, "Anything else? What else came to mind?"

Does this mean they're admitting it?

Yi Weina pursed her lips tightly.

In other words, the Wildfire Cultist standing in front of her was not a human, but a hunting dog, a real hunting dog.

But what happens after that? Why did they do that?

This is the most crucial point, but Yi Weina already had a general idea. So, while organizing her thoughts, she whispered, "You possess a certain ability, or rather, a certain ritual, that allows you to transform into a human after obtaining their flesh and blood, and not just in appearance, but also in memory and... emotions."

As she said this, Yi Weina recalled the events of the night before last—her grandmother telling her to "do the right thing."

To be precise, the person who said those words to her was not her grandmother, but the guy in front of her.

Considering what this guy later said to the deceased Chief, "Her obsession was too deep, and I couldn't completely suppress it," that's enough to draw that conclusion.

"But you need time to process these memories and emotions," Yi Weina said. "Am I right?"

Nick couldn't help but clap his hands for Yi Weina, just as his grandmother had done many years ago when she praised Yi Weina.

"As expected of my granddaughter." Nick's voice remained kind, but a hint of mockery and cruelty lingered within it. "But is it just my imagination? You seem to be avoiding a question. Do you truly not know what this ritual of replacing one another is, or... are you unwilling to think about it?"

Yi Weina's face immediately turned pale.

What exactly is this ceremony? How could she not know now that it's already happened?

What else can a pack of hunting dogs do if they need human flesh and blood?

Yi Weina knew the answer, but she still dared not think about it, dared not think about what these guys had done with her grandmother's body.

"It's delicious," Nick suddenly said.

Yi Weina froze on the spot.

"I mean, your grandmother." Nick licked his chapped lips with his bright red tongue, a cruel, bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face. "She tasted really good."

"...Shut up." Yi Weina's voice trembled.

"Huh? Why are you telling me to shut up?" Nick said with a laugh. "You were the one who brought that flesh and blood to me. Didn't you really think about what might happen?"

"Shut up!"

"Ah, it's actually quite interesting, you know? When I saw a little girl come to me with her grandmother's flesh and blood, begging me to help her bring her grandmother back to life..."

"Shut up!" Yi Weina could no longer control herself and threw the last weapon she had—a Hunter's hand axe—at Nick's head.

But she wasn't Hunter after all, and even if Nick stood still, she still couldn't hit him.

The axe sank into the tree next to Nick without even interrupting Nick.

"... Your hopes are the best ingredient to accompany my meal, making it taste even better."

Nick's smile grew even brighter, while Yi Weina on the other side was on the verge of collapse.

"Why..." she screamed desperately at Nick, "Why did you do this?! Aren't you the Senro's Hunting Dog?! Why did you betray the Senro God?!"

"Boom"!

Another thunderclap, like a roar from heaven and earth, followed, and the rain poured down harder and harder.

Nick's smile gradually faded after hearing the words "Senro God".

"Why would you betray the Senro God?" Nick asked slowly. "That's a good question."

Yi Weina was stunned.

Because the voice coming from Nick's mouth at this moment was neither his grandmother's nor the Chief Nick she remembered.

Instead, it was more majestic and more chaotic, as if it had just awakened from a long slumber.

"It's simple, because He's a madman, and He wants everyone dead," Nick said. "And I'll be the first one to die."

"...I don't understand what you mean!" Yi Weina said. "Why would the Senro God want you dead?"

"I told you, He doesn't just want me dead, He wants everyone dead," Nick said. "He always had a crazy goal, but He couldn't achieve it alone. He needed extra power, and lots and lots of people willing to give their lives for it. Whether they were Hunter or hounds, they were all tools, or rather... weapons, yes, weapons. If He could, He would prefer everyone to be his weapons. Weapons have no feelings, no thoughts, and when they break, you just get another one. But we are not, which is why He emphasizes other things, like trust and courage, especially... after I betrayed Him."

Nick unusually spoke at length.

Yi Weina's mouth dropped open slightly as she suddenly realized who she was talking to.

"You are..." Yi Weina said, her voice trembling.

Nick, as if he hadn't heard, slowly raised his head and looked at the lightning that was tearing the night sky apart.

"Death is also part of His plan. He wants to come back because once He comes back, it will show that He has found a way to overcome death. And in that way, He can use this method on...that guy."

Yi Weina wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but when Nick mentioned "that guy," his voice seemed to pause involuntarily for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.

"In this way, He can continue His insane idea and drag all living beings in the world, including the Gods, into the war that never ended a thousand years ago, even if everyone has to pay for it with their lives, He doesn't care... Hehehe, He doesn't care either. He will absolutely not allow anyone to back down, not even those closest to Him."

Nick slowly lowered his head and looked at Yi Weina. His eyes were full of emotions that Yi Weina couldn't understand, but they still made Yi Weina feel immense pressure, and she even wanted to kneel down.

"But it doesn't matter, He won't come back, because I ate Him," Nick said. "The whole world should thank me for devouring such a madman, yes... the whole world should thank me, instead of stopping me, don't you think?"

Yi Weina instinctively took a step back.

Under that gaze, Yi Weina seemed to have forgotten to breathe.

"It's alright, almost there, almost done. I have learned everything about Him and devoured Him. Now... only the last step is left." Nick's gaze seemed to penetrate Yi Weina's body, looking behind her, and then he said softly, "He has come. I... I can feel it."

As soon as she finished speaking, the pressure on Yi Weina suddenly disappeared.

The oppressive feeling in Nick's eyes had disappeared, replaced by a brief moment of bewilderment.

"Was that...the boss?" Nick asked again, sounding like Yi Weina's grandmother. "Ah, yes, the boss is about to wake up."

Nick looked at Yi Weina again.

"Saintess, you have just heard the divine oracle," Nick said. "Why don't you kneel down? This is your last chance."

Yi Weina's body was still trembling.

The Wildfire stayed on Nick for less than half a minute, but the oppression and fear it brought to Yi Weina far exceeded all of Nick's previous words.

For a moment, she really wanted to kneel down.

But she still stopped.

"Kill me," Yi Weina said, enunciating each word clearly. "I am the Senro Saintess! I will never bow down to Wildfire!"

"Hmm...I see. So you're a loyal saintess." Nick wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "But that's fine. We can get your loyalty after we eat you. Loyalty is far more valuable than pragmatism, especially for us."

Yi Weina's pupils narrowed slightly; Nick's words suddenly made her understand something.

"It seems you've realized it again. You are indeed a very intelligent person, Saintess." Nick said with a smile. "The reason we have gone to such great lengths, and why we have not taken over this land even though the Senro God is dead and the Senro Hunter have no successor, is because... we are learning."

"We don't hate our identity, but we must admit that beasts can only do so much. Apart from our leader, our race is uncivilized. We only know how to survive, but we don't know how to go further. But our leader gave us the answer, and that is... you."

"Our boss wants to become a god, while we want to become 'humans.' But our upbringing and physiological structure are different from yours. We are destined not to be able to think like humans, and we are destined not to have human thought processes, until our boss gave us the power, which is to devour... or what you call replacement."

"We devoured a courageous human and understood his courage. We devoured a loyal person and understood his loyalty. For the past hundred years, we have been doing this. We have not directly eliminated the power of the Shinra because we do not yet know how to control this land. So we are learning. We watch Hunter hunt, we watch ordinary people hide from the night, we watch the emotions and bonds of your parents and sisters that far exceed those of our race. We watch it all, and then... we eat you, and then these things become ours."

"We even cultivate certain traits that we need, much like how you humans cook. For example, if we need a descendant full of courage, we will first cultivate such a Hunter, and then arrange for our descendant to eat him, thus obtaining such a descendant. Our descendant cannot understand what trust is, so we will place the ignorant descendant next to a Hunter who can teach it what trust is, and then let it eat him, so that the descendant will know what trust is."

Yi Weina's breathing gradually became heavier.

"It seems you understand now," Nick said with a smile. "Yes, this Sacrificial Ground, and the Hunter who keep coming here, are the tools for my people to train warriors. And you, your grandmother, and the successive saintesses after the passing of the Senro God are all part of our ritual. You and we murdered those Hunter and trained my people, so from this point of view, you have long been our saintess."

With a "plop".

Yi Weina could no longer hold on and collapsed to her knees, her face filled with despair.

She thought of Wei Ke.

If Nick wasn't lying to her, wouldn't that mean Wei Ke was already dead, and the one who had been following them all along was...

"Roar."

The roar of a wild beast came from behind her.

Yi Weina turned around with difficulty and saw the Pure Silver Wolf that had saved her life two days ago slowly emerging from the woods.

He was even more agitated than two days ago. His dark green eyes, filled with murderous intent, were fixed on Yi Weina, and blood was spilling from between his teeth.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "Wei Ke!"

The Pure Silver Wolf did not respond.

"Oh, Saint," Nick said softly, "It seems you've finally remembered your identity and mission."

"No!" Yi Weina stood up and shouted at Wei Ke, "Wei Ke, don't listen to him! Remember who you are! You are Hunter, the last Hunter of the Shinra!"

The hysterical screams sounded so powerless amidst the raging thunder.

"Give up, Saintess." Nick slowly walked towards Yi Weina. "Do you know what the next step after 'devouring' is? It's cognition."

Nick stood beside Yi Weina, smiling as he looked at the Pure Silver Wolf not far away.

"We understand humans, learn from humans, and eat humans, not to become human, but to... surpass humans. Therefore, we must possess a knowledge that transcends yours after knowing everything about you," Nick said. "Understanding you is for the purpose of better consuming you and better surpassing you, not to become you. We will use all your skills and emotions, but we will never be bound by them, because... we are a race destined to become apostles of God. And the Saint ... he is the future God."

"Now that the Saint have remembered everything, it is time for them to return to the Lord's embrace. This is the Lord's last piece of the puzzle."

Nick bowed slightly to the Pure Silver Wolf.

"Greetings to you, Great Lord," he said softly. "Please make this woman the final step on your path to Godhood."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yi Weina saw Wei Ke roaring and charging towards her.

She closed her eyes in despair.

With a "pfft".

A stream of heat splashed onto Yi Weina's face.

But she did not feel any pain.

"Why...?" Nick's incredulous voice rang in her ears. "Saint, you... should remember everything..."

Yi Weina opened her eyes and saw the Pure Silver Wolf's claws piercing through Nick's chest beside her.

"... Wei Ke?!"

The Pure Silver Wolf did not answer Yi Weina; it seemed to have lost the ability to speak. After cutting open Nick's body, it let out an extremely mournful roar.

But it sounded like she was wailing.