"How is that possible?!"
Billt Marvin, one of True Lord's most devout believers and the guide for the congregation in part of the Truth Society's territory, could not help murmuring as he watched Linton casually direct the girl to parry and counterattack within the mist.
The Gloomy Spirit had been recorded in the Catalog of Peculiar Monsters by the Adventurers' Guild several years ago. However, because it lived in remote wildernesses, did not actively harm people, and would resurrect not long after each time it was destroyed, the Knights Order had never carried out an extermination plan against it, allowing it to remain to this day.
All this showed that it was a difficult monster to deal with, yet Linton seemed utterly at ease, even finding the leisure to tease that young lady.
Of course, Marvin was not shocked by Linton's maneuvering.
Though destroying that mass of mist was difficult, defeating and dispersing it was not especially hard.
With his strength, he could accomplish that simply by waving a hand and throwing out a few spells.
What shocked Marvin was that every movement and every action of the Gloomy Spirit had fallen entirely under the necromancer's control.
Using its most proficient moves within its own domain, it had still looked as though someone had seen straight through it.
As someone who could already be considered middle management in the Truth Society, Marvin naturally knew what that meant.
"Precognition."
This was True Lord's primary means of spreading his faith, as well as the most convincing proof of his teachings.
A few days ago had been the Day of Worship, and Linton had participated as well. Logically, even if he had remembered the scenes from the dream, it should not have been surprising. But the problem was—
—That worship had failed!
That was right. The Truth Society's Day of Worship dreams could fail.
Marvin had once read the scriptures recorded within the Truth Society. The wording had been too vague for him to remember it completely, but its general meaning was:
"Rules are shackles placed upon the people by gods such as the Lord of Blossoms. True Lord is merciful and loves the people; he does not wish to see them have their paths planned from the moment of birth. He secretly places their futures before their eyes and allows them to choose their own paths. Thus, the world welcomes unprecedented prosperity."
"Yet True Lord's greatness was deemed betrayal by gods such as the Lord of Blossoms. Together, they used nails forged from the Twelve Stars to pin him atop a mountain piercing the clouds, placing the shackles of the people upon him as well, making him endure all the suffering and torment of the mortal world day after day."
"Yet even so, True Lord remains filled with love, secretly spreading the gospel on one day of every month."
That day was the Day of Worship.
But since it was done "secretly," there was inevitably a risk of being discovered.
On the Day of Worship, torn books were already a common sight, which was why Marvin had handled the situation so calmly at the time.
But a failed worship meant True Lord could not deliver his gospel, and those bound by shackles could not glimpse the shadow of the future.
And if the worship succeeded, the scenes recorded in the dream would inevitably occur before the next Day of Worship. There had never been an exception.
So the question was—
How had Linton managed to "predict" their actions when the worship had failed?
Marvin could not make sense of it no matter how he thought.
His memories returned to that Day of Worship.
First, Blacksmith Frel had come to tell him that someone was profiting off True Lord's name, but Marvin had not paid much attention to it.
—A fanatic like him simply could not understand how anyone could associate a lump of meaningless metal with a great god.
Then, during the worship, he noticed that one girl had awakened earlier than everyone else.
That made him pay more attention to her, since he had been studying the Truth Scriptures.
At that time, only five minutes had passed since the worship began.
Not long after the girl woke up, the worship ended in failure.
At first, Marvin had thought the girl might have done something. But when he realized she might once have been a knight, he immediately understood.
As the most unusual existence in the Kingdom of Blossoms, Flower Knights were as easy to distinguish from ordinary people as nobles and royals were from slum dwellers—especially Iris, who had been steeped in those teachings since childhood and marked by them for life.
In Marvin's view, perhaps when the Lord of Blossoms had intervened to sabotage the worship, she had spared this former Miss Knight in advance and protected her from the mental impact.
After all, according to the records of all known beings, the Lord of Blossoms showed limitless tolerance toward her "children," even if Iris had abandoned her former faith.
But when Linton Crewechill, the man beside the girl, awoke as well, Marvin, being a mage, immediately discovered an inexplicable connection between the two.
Before a gap of twenty levels, Linton's "Concealer" had lost its sole purpose, and the Soul Link between him and Iris was laid bare.
Of course, Marvin knew nothing at all about intangible souls. He did not know what that connection was called or how to describe it, but he could sense that Iris was definitely not human.
She was an existence not permitted by the Rules, something that should not have appeared in this world. She herself was—
—A taboo!
If a mage discovered such an anomaly anywhere else, it would not be long before a large squad of Flower Knights appeared at your doorstep.
But this was the Truth Society, a place rejected by the gods in the first place, and Linton bore the marks of baptism. He was clearly one of their own.
At the time, unable to determine what was going on, Marvin had reported Linton's abnormality to his superiors according to procedure.
Now, looking back on it, a measure of understanding dawned in his heart.
And when he saw Linton use Dirge of the End, the enormous, godlike black shadow that flashed behind him only made Marvin more certain of his conclusion.
He used spells related to "prophecy," was protected by a godlike black shadow, and manifested chains meant for binding—
Linton could not be profiting off True Lord's name, because either he was a fortunate man personally guided by True Lord and granted the authority to wield his power, or—
—He was True Lord's agent walking upon the earth!
Marvin slightly raised his eyes.
At that moment, the little rationality in his eyes had vanished, replaced entirely by fanatical flames. He desperately wanted to rush forward and kiss Linton's toes.
But he knew his current identity was that of a watcher. If he exposed himself before Linton for no reason, he would surely incur Linton's displeasure. And at the thought that he had actually been monitoring True Lord's agent, Marvin almost wanted to kill himself to prove that his faith had never been disloyal.
After casting Linton several more reluctant glances, Marvin's figure gradually vanished into the forest.
He had to return and report this. At the same time, he had a question to ask.
"Which little bastard sent me to monitor the great Mr. Crevixil?!"
On the platform where the Gloomy Shadow had once existed.
Linton and Iris exchanged glances, staring at each other in bewilderment. Then, at the same time, they turned their eyes toward the transparent figure that had re-formed after the Gloomy Shadow disappeared.
The figure blinked its bright eyes and called out in a childish voice.
"Big brother, big sister, are you here to take me home?"
Before you continue