Vera's Death, and the Truth?

Ansu stared at Vera's body, an indescribable rage sweeping through him.

He clenched his fists, trying to stop his body from trembling.

Calm down. Calm down...

This was only a simulation. The tragedy hadn't happened yet...

He still had a chance to change things.

With a grim expression, Ansu gently picked up his sister and laid her on a cleaner bench nearby.

He took out his journal. He needed to know what had happened over the past ten hours.

Just like last time, the writing in the diary was twisted and strange, like fake text generated by AI. It was completely unreadable.

But as Ansu flipped through the entries, he gradually recalled the events behind each one.

"Freya and I kept watch until late into the night, but Bishop Terry still made no moves."

"I spoke with Cecilia. She hadn't noticed anything unusual either, so all we could do was wait for the Academy's open day the next morning."

"I went home. After staying up all night, I was exhausted in body and mind. Vera was very worried, but I couldn't explain things to her. I had to get some sleep quickly; I'd be heading to school in two hours."

At that memory, Ansu sighed quietly. Vera had been worried about him, so she'd used the open day as an excuse to visit him at school.

He lowered his head and looked at the floral dress Vera was wearing. Their adoptive father had bought it for her, and it was the most expensive piece of clothing in her wardrobe.

Perhaps she hadn't wanted her classmates to look down on her, so Vera had dressed up. Even the hair tie holding her ponytail had cute little ornaments...

Ansu stroked his sister's pale golden hair, a fierce killing intent rising in his eyes.

He wouldn't let the mastermind get away. He would turn everything around.

He continued reading the entries, and new memories kept flashing through his mind.

"After daybreak, I forced myself to go to school. Kevin was preparing a performance in the auditorium. He told me that several Church archbishops and some prominent figures from society would be there to watch."

"It's almost nine, and more and more people are arriving at the school."

"The performance is about to begin. I saw the 'noble' Cecilia among the guests. Her expression was strange, as if she wanted to tell me something."

"But then something unexpected happened."

What happened next was just as Ansu had expected. It had been a trap set by the Church.

"The Church's armed forces suddenly took control of the Academy. They claimed cultists were hiding here and said no one could leave until they'd been screened."

"Chaos erupted."

"Besides Cecilia, there really were cultists hiding in the auditorium. The two sides broke into a fierce battle, which swept up many innocent people. Kevin died horribly."

"I haven't finished my investigation. I can't die here!"

The diary ended there. Ansu could vaguely remember barely escaping the battle between the two sides.

That explained why he'd ended up on this tree-lined path. He'd been trying to flee, not head to the auditorium.

Ansu put away his journal and hurried toward the auditorium. No matter what, he had to go back.

By now, the battle had already been decided. Around the auditorium, many cultists wearing silver masks were cleaning up, executing the clergy who were still alive one by one.

A cultist near the entrance grabbed a Church priest by the hair. Ignoring his pleas and struggles, he swiftly slit the priest's throat with a sharp knife. Crimson blood sprayed everywhere.

When he saw Ansu approaching, the cultist's eyes instantly turned wary behind his mask. Then four cultists appeared around Ansu as if by teleportation, surrounding him.

"I'm one of you! I'm one of you!"

Ansu hurriedly raised a French military salute. His gaze passed over the cultists and landed on Cecilia.

Cecilia's noblewoman's dress was covered in blood. She was supporting a middle-aged woman, with many cultists gathered around them.

The middle-aged woman was Cecilia's teacher, Elder Samantha. She didn't look particularly old, but she was actually three hundred years old.

"Ansu?" Cecilia noticed him outside the entrance and looked surprised.

After handing her teacher over to some other cultists, she appeared in front of Ansu in an instant.

Elder Samantha watched Cecilia's movements, studying the boy who looked like a student with curiosity.

"Your Excellency the Witch, what happened here?"

Cecilia ordered the cultists surrounding Ansu to back off, then grabbed him and dragged him outside. "Didn't I tell you to leave? Why did you come back? It's dangerous here!"

Ansu knew perfectly well that it was dangerous, but he'd come to investigate. "Sorry, Your Excellency the Witch!"

"I need to know what happened here, and why Elder Samantha suddenly came. Only then can I figure out who the mastermind is."

"Why are you so stubborn?" Cecilia glared at Ansu. "It's already happened. What good will finding him do? Your fellow members of the Order and your teacher are here, so you don't need to concern yourself with this. The most important thing is to get out. The Church's reinforcements are on their way..."

Cecilia gripped Ansu's hand tightly, trying to get him to blend in with the students outside. "The Church hasn't noticed you yet. Hurry back! I'll contact you once things have died down."

But Ansu's next words stopped Cecilia in her tracks.

"Vera is dead."

"What?" Cecilia froze for a moment, then remembered that Vera was Ansu's adopted sister.

She knew the siblings were very close. She could also read the suppressed fury on Ansu's face.

It seemed that nothing could stop him from continuing his investigation...

"Your Excellency the Witch, please tell me!"

"Fine..." Cecilia could only sigh and quickly tell Ansu everything that had happened that morning.

Elder Samantha had come today because someone had told her the Chosen One had been found. So she'd stopped her training and immediately set out for the Royal Academy.

But just as she arrived, the Church's forces had surrounded the place.

Ansu knew that Samantha cared deeply about the Chosen One. The "prophecy" had always weighed on her mind. She believed that the Chosen One's faction would eventually bring about the Order's downfall and destroy their plans for revival.

There was no denying it: judging by the original storyline, Elder Samantha had been right.

But just as the "Demon King" could never defeat the "Hero," all her efforts were doomed to fail.

"There's a mole in the Order. The mole lured Elder Samantha here this way so that the Church of Holy Light would kill her." Ansu quickly pieced together the whole scheme.

"I think so too." Cecilia narrowed her eyes. "It was probably someone from the Reformist Faction's elders. I just haven't found out which one of them, one of the confidants who notified my teacher..."

As the two spoke in hushed voices, the other members of the Order watched them in surprise.

When had the Witch ever been this kind to her subordinates? She'd insisted on taking him away without a word, as if she were afraid he'd be in even the slightest danger...

Samantha looked even more surprised. She knew Cecilia well, and Cecilia's personality didn't seem like the sort to care about other people...

So Samantha took a closer look at Ansu.

"Who is he?"

One of the cultists beside her answered at once. "He's the student Cecilia chose. He's the informant investigating the Chosen One at the Academy."

"Oh?"

Elder Samantha studied Ansu thoughtfully. "Bring him over."