Warden

Forniat.

The Warden of Contract Land, and its nominal supreme commander.

That was all the outside world knew about him. No one knew who he truly was or how long he had lived. Not even the Popes of the various churches had more detailed information. They only knew that both he and Contract Land existed to seal away Visas.

A Warden who existed for one person... no, to be precise, for a soulless remnant of a body.

"Everyone has come from afar, yet I have little with which to entertain you." The Warden spoke slowly, his voice still making everyone's teeth ache. "All I can offer is my mission. It is a mission bestowed upon me by the great Gods, and it is also your mission. Since that is the case, let us dispense with excessive pleasantries."

You haven't said any pleasantries at all. Didn't you get straight to the point the moment you arrived?

Luo Qi grumbled inwardly.

Everyone inside the tent was observing the Warden, and Luo Qi was no exception. However, unlike the others, he was scrutinizing the Warden a little more closely.

He mainly wanted to see whether this guy could possibly be that "Ring Finger." With Tongue as a precedent, Luo Qi knew that a person's gender in Peach Blossom Paradise did not necessarily correspond to their gender in reality.

Ring Finger was known to be from Contract Land and extremely powerful.

The Warden was also from Contract Land and equally powerful.

Could they be the same person? After all, with chains wrapped around his body like that, it really was impossible to tell his gender.

Of course, so far, Luo Qi still could not find any similarities between the Warden and Ring Finger. He could only say that the gap between them was indeed rather large.

"Visas is dead, but his power has continued to wander the human world," the Warden said. "Since we cannot erase his existence completely, we must at least prevent his power from gathering again. That is the purpose of this assembly. As you can see, Obedience of Heavenly Voice has already been prepared. We need only enter a name into it, and the hidden danger will be eliminated. But I did not expect even such a simple matter to undergo complications."

The Warden's gaze fell upon Luo Qi, immediately making him feel as though thorns were pressing against his back.

"It was Rhine who originally provided the intelligence, requesting the execution of an apostate named Ulu and stating that he possessed at least four Corpse Pieces," the Warden said flatly. "But now you wish to change the name?"

At that moment, Luo Qi somewhat regretted attending this assembly.

He had originally thought he was here to show the various powers the grandeur of Rhine's next Pope. Now, however, it looked more like he had come to take the blame and get scolded.

If things went wrong here, would that old asshole Lan Ge dump all the responsibility on his head? But he had not gathered this intelligence himself.

Though countless retorts swirled through his mind, Luo Qi knew that he could only bear it at a time like this. After all, he represented Rhine's reputation.

"When we submitted the information, I believe we stated that this was only our deduction?" Luo Qi said, forcing himself to remain composed. "We only knew that four Corpse Pieces had gone missing. In such a short period of time, it was only natural for us to assume that a single person had acted—that is, Ulu. Of course, we did not expect him to have accomplices."

"Accomplices?" the Warden asked. "How do you know they are accomplices?"

Luo Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Damn it. He had forgotten that the information that Tongue and Hand Eye were accomplices had come from Peach Blossom Paradise. The people before him did not know that.

Think of something. Think of something.

Luo Qi's mind raced.

Got it!

"Because I saw that person with my own eyes." Luo Qi spoke slowly. "Chief Fenris can attest to this. I fought that Corpse Piece holder, and at the time, he told me that he had once worked with Ulu to obtain Corpse Pieces, only to be betrayed by Ulu in the end."

The Warden looked toward Fenris. Fenris gave a slight nod. "Yes, I can attest to it. Bishop Luo Qi did indeed encounter such a person."

"I want to know his identity, not a vague description like 'such a person,'" the Warden said.

"He has many names." Luo Qi's voice deepened. "Because he came from Holy Sound and personally created the disaster that befell Holy Sound. The names I know alone include Xi Ze, He Wei Ni Ya..."

At those words, the representatives of Holy Sound and Lyra both raised their heads.

"A Seven Sound Player?" The Warden lightly tapped the table, then turned to Holy Sound's representative. "What does Holy Sound have to say?"

"The information I know is no more than what Bishop Luo Qi knows." Holy Sound's representative wore an ugly expression. "The only one who should have known the whole story was Headmaster Ulysses, but he is already dead."

"I see." The Warden then turned his gaze toward Ina. "And Lyra's representative? As far as I know, Holy Sound was not the only one to suffer a drastic upheaval."

"Unfortunately, we possess little information as well," Ina said. "In fact, we do not even know which Corpse Piece was lost. If not for Rhine's report, we would not have known that we ever possessed such a Corpse Piece, because it was never in our hands. Perhaps someone once knew, but they departed together with that upheaval."

"So even now, we have no way of confirming who the other party is or how many Corpse Pieces he possesses. Is that what you mean?" the Warden said. "In that case, which name should we enter into Obedience of Heavenly Voice? Xi Ze, He Wei Ni Ya, or Ulu? Can any of you give me an answer?"

Under the Warden's questioning, the atmosphere of the meeting instantly became oppressive.

Until the representative of the Netherworld spoke. "Can't we enter all of them?"

The Warden looked at the Netherworld representative. "Obedience of Heavenly Voice erases every being in this world who recognizes the entered name. A single name can take the lives of tens of thousands. That is why activating it requires the consent of the Eight Great Churches... and you want to enter three names at once?"

"What is the problem?" The Netherworld representative scratched his head. "Wouldn't it be a good thing to let more people embrace death?"

Everyone fell silent.

In the end, it was the Warden who spoke. "You are being rather extreme. We have no intention of sending so many people to meet the Lord of the Netherworld. Moreover, Obedience of Heavenly Voice cannot accept that many names. It requires energy."

"But..." The Netherworld representative was about to continue.

"Enough." The Warden cut him off. "As far as I know, the Netherworld has no connection to those two people, so refrain from speaking for now. Just listen."

Only then did the Netherworld representative fall silent.

The Warden's attitude toward the Netherworld representative left Luo Qi somewhat puzzled.

The Warden exerted immense pressure on the representatives of the other churches, like a superior looking down upon inferiors. Yet when facing the Netherworld representative, he displayed none of that intimidation.

Why was that?

Luo Qi did not understand, but he did not show it. He merely remembered it quietly.

After going in circles for a while, the Warden perhaps realized that Rhine was currently the only party capable of providing valuable information, so he once again turned his gaze upon Luo Qi.

"What Corpse Pieces does that Seven Sound Player possess?" the Warden asked.

"Tongue, ears, and teeth."

"Three Corpse Pieces?"

"Yes."

The Warden stared at Luo Qi. "How do you know? Did he use all of those rules during your battle?"

No, in truth, he had not used a single one. Luo Qi had seen those three Corpse Pieces in Peach Blossom Paradise.

Luo Qi knew that directly naming those three Corpse Pieces would seem highly suspicious. But if he did not point them out, how could he make the Warden realize the severity of the situation?

So without changing his expression, he said, "No. He told me himself."

"He told you himself?" the Warden asked. "Why would he expose his own secret like that?"

"Because he is an arrogant man." Luo Qi had already thought of an excuse. "And he wanted to crush me psychologically. At the fiercest point of our battle, he told me that he possessed three Corpse Pieces. He also said that I could never defeat him, no matter what, and told me to give up sooner rather than later."

"And what was the result of the battle?"

"It was evenly matched."

"He used Corpse Pieces and still only fought you to a draw?"

"...Fine. I suffered a narrow defeat."

The Warden ignored Luo Qi and instead looked toward Fenris, who was also present, seeking confirmation.

Fenris nodded. "I can attest to it. Bishop Luo Qi's defeat was indeed very regrettable. If he could have held on a little longer, we would have gone to help him."

Luo Qi's eyelids twitched wildly.

Damn it, that isn't what 'narrow defeat' means, you bastard!

Luo Qi forcibly suppressed the urge to curse.

"So, the detailed intelligence you possess regarding that Seven Sound Player still came from his own mouth?" the Warden asked blandly. "Let us assume that he was telling the truth. That means no one ever obtained more than four Corpse Pieces. This Seven Sound Player has three, while that Ulu has two?"

Luo Qi heard the mockery in the Warden's words, and he knew why.

Over the past thousand years, there had not been no holders of multiple Corpse Pieces. Most of them had simply been dealt with internally by the major churches.

Some possessed two Corpse Pieces, while others possessed three, but most had not caused much of a stir. That was why Rhine had still planned to deal with Ulu itself even after learning that he likely possessed three Corpse Pieces. At least historically, it had been feasible. Matters had never escalated to the point where Contract Land had to intervene.

This time, Contract Land had been alerted because, from their perspective, an unprecedented holder of four Corpse Pieces had appeared and caused such a huge incident. Rhine's attempts to handle the matter alone had repeatedly failed, leaving them no choice but to report it to Contract Land.

But now it seemed that a holder of four Corpse Pieces did not exist at all. There was merely one person with three and another with two. Thus, the Warden had reason to question how the major churches had allowed things to become like this.

Although, looking back now, it was indeed absurd that Hand Eye and Tongue alone had managed to throw so many churches into chaos, the Warden's lofty tone still made Luo Qi uncomfortable. So, unusually, he hardened up and said to the Warden, "There is no point dwelling on the reasons now. We should instead think carefully about what to do next."

"Of course. That is the purpose of this assembly." The Warden spoke flatly. "Now, only the final step remains. I need a name. Originally, I thought that name would be He Wei Ni Ya or Xi Ze, but now it seems the situation has changed again?"

...Here it came. The most crucial matter.

Everyone looked toward the Warden, and as expected, he spoke slowly.

"Tell me, what is going on with Isaiah of Star Relic?"

Bai Wei, standing behind Ina, was also quietly observing the Warden.

This was a character who did not exist in the game itself, so this was Bai Wei's first time seeing him.

The Warden gave Bai Wei a strange feeling. He did not seem human at all, instead giving off a deeply chaotic aura. The iron chains around him also carried sealing power that could obstruct Bai Wei's observation to a certain extent. Bai Wei could have used the power of his gaze further to see through him by force, but that would likely have alerted the other party, so he did not do so.

In truth, the Warden was not the only one present who gave Bai Wei that chaotic feeling. Both the messenger of the Netherworld and the Knight of Duality felt inhuman to him.

Bai Wei knew what the Netherworld and Duality were like. In some respects, they had indeed already transcended the category of humanity.

Then what was this Warden? What kind of thing was he? Within Contract Land, the Warden stood on equal footing with a Pope. Even Diana of Ring Finger was his subordinate. What level of strength did he possess, and who was stronger between him and Isaiah?

It seemed Bai Wei needed to find a way to test him first. After all, if Bai Wei wanted to retrieve his body, this guy was unavoidable.

Hmm, perhaps he could find a way to make him clash with Isaiah?

While Bai Wei was pondering, the explanation concerning Isaiah had already ended. He thus collected his thoughts and continued playing the role of an inconspicuous little attendant.

"You claim that Isaiah killed that Seven Sound Player," the Warden said slowly. "But you have no evidence. You did not even see the corpse. How am I supposed to believe you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Luo Qi said. "Other than that Seven Sound Player, who else could have fought him to that state? Some unknown black-market merchant? Don't you think that excuse is far too clumsy? Besides, last night was not Spotless Night. In theory, a Star Relic Warlock who relied on the stars should have been utterly incapable of displaying that level of strength. Yet Isaiah did."

"You believe he relied on the power of Corpse Pieces?"

"It is obvious," Luo Qi said. "Precisely because he knew how powerful Corpse Pieces were, he took the risk of intercepting the target and came up with such a flimsy excuse."

Before coming here, Luo Qi had rehearsed his accusations against Isaiah several times in his mind to ensure they would succeed. His arguments were founded on logic and evidence, leaving no room for rebuttal.

And the Warden truly did not refute him. After a brief silence, he raised his head and looked toward the messenger of the Netherworld.

"Messenger of the Netherworld, I would like to hear your opinion."

Hear his opinion?

Luo Qi immediately frowned.

What did this have to do with him?

Just as Luo Qi was about to ask, the Warden's next sentence froze him in place.

"After all, you are people who have seen Visas with your own eyes."