In the Holy Hall, before the White Oak Long Table where only a single silhouette of light remained.
The New Pope, watching everyone leave, suddenly turned his head soundlessly and looked toward the strands of holy light shining down from the void.
Within them, a mass of black mud abruptly stirred. It formed a face covered in flesh buds, dead and hollow, facing Chuck Mario Chrisworth, the handsome-featured former stripper.
The black mud face curled its mouth into a bizarre arc, and a cold overlapping voice rang out in this sacred place.
"Rest assured, your master will never learn of what you have done."
"Other than the Thorn itself, no one knows that the 'holy blood' left behind by the Light was abandoned by the Thorn and returned to that original holy mountain... and you did nothing wrong, because we sent that holy blood back to the Thorn Kingdom... so this is still a righteous, bright war."
"Washing blood with blood—how righteous."
As the final sentence ended, mocking laughter echoed through the Holy Hall. Amid Chuck's cold snort brimming with killing intent, the black mud face slowly collapsed.
In the Dreamland, Tang Qi had just sent off the sage version of "Tang Qi Number Five." He had put away the True Love Fable and was now watching the two Dream Familiars newly born from two nodes within the realm.
These two were also the last successful familiars.
All the other Dream Seeds had died. The candidate familiars had failed their trials and been sent back to Origin Star.
Normally, with only two new familiars, the realm should have been peaceful and tranquil.
But that was not the case. Noise was disturbing many nodes within the realm, as well as the Dream Creatures.
At the edge of the Forest of