The Cake Maker did not seem to offer the slightest resistance. He merely spread his hands and said candidly, "Then what else could I do, Miss Knight?
"The things in the Promotion Ritual were fake. The buildings were fake, the ground was fake, and the people inside were fake too. Everything was nothing more than stage props, just like the ritual materials."
Faced with Hai Na's questioning, the man simply spoke candidly. He took a cigar from his chest, lit it with the flame on his index finger, then blew it out and exhaled a wisp of smoke.
When he opened his eyes, that honest and dependable air instantly turned into the authority of a gang leader.
"Besides, did you get something wrong, Miss 'Knight'?"
The man's voice was low and indistinct, carrying an unquestionable firmness and an exhaustion he could not conceal. "We're enemies, aren't we?
"If I remember correctly, that was the New Moon Ritual. The essence of the New Moon Ritual was mutual slaughter... You entered the New Moon Ritual voluntarily, didn't you? Shouldn't you have been prepared to kill everyone?
"If so, what did I do wrong by deceiving you? Hmph... I'm a ritualist. You don't actually expect me to duel you, do you? Don't you think that would be unfair?"
The "Cake Maker" sneered and exhaled a wisp of smoke. "Quietly prepare the ritual materials and use the fewest people to create the most powerful materials—that requires bringing out their strongest emotions. What do emotions mean? They mean Path Urge... and they also mean power. They mean a chance to overcome the strong despite being weak, a chance at victory and transcendence."
"—No. They mean sin."
Hai Na spoke in a deep voice and raised the Sword of Lightning in her hand.
"Oh?"
The Cake