Mr. Great Crevixil

"How is this possible?!"

Mr. Billt Marvin, a guide for some of the Truth Society's followers and one of the True Lord's most devout believers, couldn't help but murmur as he watched Linton effortlessly command the young girl to parry and counterattack in the mist.

The [Gloomy Spirit] had been recorded in the Adventurer's Guild's "Catalog of Peculiar Monsters" years ago. However, due to its location in the wilderness, its tendency not to attack people proactively, and its characteristic of regenerating shortly after being destroyed, the Knights Order had not implemented any eradication plans, leaving it be until now.

All of the above indicated that it was a difficult monster to deal with, yet Linton appeared to be handling it with ease, even having the energy to joke with the young lady.

Of course, Marvin wasn't shocked by Linton's actions.

While eliminating this mass of mist was difficult, simply defeating or dispersing it was not.

With his strength, he could easily do it with a casual wave of his hand and a few spells.

What shocked Marvin was that every move, every action of the [Gloomy Spirit], was completely under the Necromancer's control.

Using his most proficient techniques in his own domain, he appeared as if his deepest secrets had been exposed.

As someone who could be considered a mid-level member of the Truth Society, he naturally understood what this implied.

"Precognition."

This was the True Lord's primary method of promoting his faith and his most genuine promotional material.

The previous day had been the Day of Worship, which Linton had also attended. Logically, even if he had remembered the scenes from his dream, it wouldn't be surprising, but the problem was—

—That worship had failed!

That's right, the Truth Society's Day of Worship dreams had a possibility of failure.

Marvin had once seen internal scriptures of the Truth Society. The specific wording was too vague for him to recall completely, but the general meaning was:

"Rules are shackles that the Lord of Blossoms and other gods have fastened upon the world. The True Lord, in his benevolence and love for humanity, did not wish to see people's paths predetermined from birth. He secretly placed people's futures before them, allowing them to choose their own paths. Thus, an unprecedented era of prosperity dawned upon the world."

"However, the True Lord's greatness was considered a betrayal by the Lord of Blossoms and other gods. They joined forces, using nails forged from the Twelve Stars to nail him to the peak of a cloud-piercing mountain, imposing the same shackles on humanity as well, causing him to suffer all the hardships and torments of the mortal world day and night."

"But even so, the True Lord remained full of compassion, quietly sowing the seeds of gospel on a certain day each month."

This day was the Day of Worship.

But since it was done "quietly," there was inevitably a risk of being discovered.

On the Day of Worship, the shattering of scriptures was a common occurrence, which was why Marvin had handled such situations with such ease in the past.

But a failed worship meant that the True Lord could not deliver his gospel, and those bound by shackles could not glimpse the future.

And if the worship succeeded, the scenes remembered in the dream would inevitably occur before the next Day of Worship; this was an undeniable fact.

So, the question arose.

How did Linton achieve "precognition" of actions when the worship had failed?

Marvin was utterly perplexed.

His memory returned to that Day of Worship.

First, Blacksmith Frel had approached him, saying someone was profiting under the True Lord's name, but he hadn't taken it too seriously.

—Being a fervent believer, he couldn't comprehend how anyone could associate a meaningless mass of metal with a great deity.

Then, during the worship, he noticed a young girl waking up earlier than everyone else.

This drew his attention, as he was currently studying the "Truth Scriptures."

Because at that time, the worship had only begun for five minutes.

And not long after the girl woke up, the worship ended in failure.

Marvin initially thought that perhaps this girl had done something, but when he realized that the girl might have been a Knight, he suddenly understood.

As the most unique existence in the Kingdom of Blossoms, the difference between a Flower Knight and an ordinary person was as easily distinguishable as that between royalty and the poor in the slums, especially for Iris, who had been nurtured from childhood and bore a lifelong mark.

In Marvin's opinion, perhaps the Lord of Blossoms had interfered and disrupted the worship, but had spared this former Miss Knight beforehand, allowing her to avoid mental shock.

After all, in all recorded texts, the Lord of Blossoms showed infinite tolerance towards her "children," even if she had abandoned her former faith.

But when the young lady's companion, Mr. Linton Crevixil, also woke up, Marvin, as a mage, immediately noticed an inexplicable connection between the two.

In the face of a level difference of up to 20, Linton's "Hider" lost its only function, and the Soul Link with Iris was exposed nakedly.

Of course, Marvin, who knew nothing about the ethereal soul, did not know what that connection was called or how to describe it, but he could sense that Iris was by no means human.

She was an existence not permitted by the rules, something that should not exist in the world; she herself was—

—A Taboo!

If such an anomaly were discovered by a mage elsewhere, it wouldn't be long before a large contingent of Flower Knights appeared at your doorstep.

But this was the Truth Society, a place rejected by the gods itself, and Linton bore the marks of Baptism, clearly indicating he was one of them.

At the time, Marvin, not understanding the situation, reported Linton's anomaly to his superiors according to regulations.

Now, looking back, a sense of clarity dawned upon him.

And when he saw Linton use [Dirge of the End], the fleeting, colossal shadowy figure behind him, resembling an idol, further solidified Marvin's thoughts.

Using a spell related to "precognition," protected by a shadowy figure like an idol, manifested as binding chains.

Linton couldn't possibly profit from the True Lord's name, because he was either fortunate enough to be personally guided by the True Lord and granted the authority to act, or

——he was the True Lord's direct representative walking upon the earth!

Marvin's eyelids lifted slightly.

At this moment, the last vestiges of reason were gone from his eyes, replaced by the flames of fanaticism. He desperately wished he could rush forward and kiss Linton's feet.

But he knew his current role was that of a watcher. If he were to inexplicably reveal himself, it would surely incur Linton's displeasure. And the thought that he was actually monitoring the True Lord's representative made Marvin want to kill himself to prove his unwavering faith.

After casting a few more longing glances at Linton, Marvin's figure gradually disappeared into the woods.

He had to go back and report, and at the same time, he had a question to ask.

"Which damn brat ordered me to monitor the great Mr. Crevixil!!"

On the platform where [Gloomy Shadow] had once existed.

Linton and Iris exchanged glances, looking at each other, then simultaneously shifted their gaze to the transparent figure that had reformed after [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?"