Forced Confession, and... Love Triangle?

The battle was completely one-sided.

Even though Bishop Terry still had a shred of strength left to fight for his life, he had no desire to continue a futile struggle and scrambled desperately toward the window.

Escape! I must escape and call for reinforcements!

However...

A thick magical barrier blocked his path.

Cecilia sneered, instantly firing several smaller *Shadow Bolt*s that pierced through Terry's palms and feet, pinning him firmly to the wooden floor.

Bishop Terry let out a blood-curdling scream.

Seeing the expressionless woman walking slowly toward him, Bishop Terry's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and his expression gradually turned to despair...

But at this moment, Ansu suddenly called for Cecilia to stop.

"Wait!"

Because of his position, he could observe the movement outside the door, and he realized the timing was right.

Cecilia understood his intention instantly, and the black *Shadow Bolt*s dissipated in a flash.

Ansu walked forward unhurriedly, stopping in front of Terry. "Bishop Terry, actually... we don't necessarily have to kill you."

Bishop Terry was startled, hurriedly waiting for what Ansu had to say next.

"We are subordinates of High Priestess Samantha. We came here, on one hand, to stop this conspiracy against her, and on the other..."

Ansu glanced quietly at Cecilia. Cecilia clearly noticed the movement outside as well, so she secretly retracted the magical barrier that had been isolating the room's sound.

"We hope to root out the traitors within The Order. Aside from Elder Simon, there are clearly many other turncoats in the Council of Elders. As long as these people remain, they will be a threat to High Priestess Samantha."

"You mean..." Bishop Terry's eyes widened, his heart shifting from despair to sudden surprise.

"Yes, yes, exactly! Catching the traitors is what matters most!" He clutched his chest, coughing up blood incessantly, and pleaded painfully:

"There is absolutely no need for our cooperation to end! My goal is to earn merit anyway! Whether it's dealing with Samantha or capturing other high-ranking members of the Echo of Truth, both are great achievements!"

Seeing hope within reach, Bishop Terry completely abandoned all sense of dignity; staying alive was the only thing that mattered!

"How about this!" he hurriedly proposed. "I'll help you catch the traitors of The Order, and you let me go, how about that?"

"That depends on your sincerity." Ansu smiled. "If you can't provide a list that satisfies me, I won't be able to go back and report, will I?"

"Let me think, let me think..." Bishop Terry immediately recalled. "Darren, and John—those two are the members of the cult... er, the Echo of Truth that I met with before!"

"That's not enough..." Ansu shook his head, putting on a troubled expression. "They are just the lowest-level executors. I need the list of traitors from the Council of Elders."

"But..." Bishop Terry pleaded hurriedly. "I only know those two names. Aside from the first meeting with Elder Simon, those two were the ones contacting me... isn't that enough? If I really knew that much about you people in the Echo of Truth, would I even need to risk my reputation to conspire with traitors among you to lure and kill Samantha?"

"So you do know you were risking your reputation?" Ansu gave a mocking laugh. "I thought you lacked all self-awareness!"

"A dignified archbishop of the Church of Holy Light, actually capable of such madness for the sake of power. Do you have any idea how many innocent people at the Royal Academy would have died miserably if your plan had succeeded? How many families would be grieving because of it?"

Ansu stepped forward and stomped hard on Bishop Terry's palm.

Bishop Terry screamed again, trembling uncontrollably from the pain as more blood flowed from his hand.

Watching him in this state, Ansu still felt it wasn't enough to vent his anger, so he kept applying pressure with his foot, twisting it a few times.

"Enough, enough! Stop, ahhh...!"

Bishop Terry was nearly losing his mind by now.

This brat wants to cooperate one second and then puts on this self-righteous act the next—what exactly is he trying to do??

"If the Church is full of trash like you, then it really has no reason to exist." Ansu kicked him hard in the face, sending Bishop Terry sprawling and knocking out several of his teeth. "You are a disgrace to the name of the Holy Light!"

"Damn it!" Bishop Terry felt as if he had fallen from heaven back into hell. He cursed like a madman:

"You cultist scum! What right do you have to lecture me? As long as the goal is achieved, what does it matter if a few more people die? As long as I remain in this position as archbishop, I will always represent the name of the Holy Light!"

Just as Bishop Terry was cursing, an aged voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"He is right; you are a disgrace to the name of the Holy Light."

Bishop Terry froze for a moment. This voice...

The door was slowly pushed open, and the figure of Bishop Paul appeared outside.

He looked at the blood-covered Bishop Terry with disappointment. "Terry, we have worked together for over twenty years. I never imagined you would become a person like this. Has that pious, high-spirited ascetic of the past already died?"

"Paul?" Bishop Terry's eyes widened. "You, why are you here? Could it be..."

As if it had suddenly dawned on him, his fierce face grew even more enraged. "It was you! You set this trap! I knew it... how could the plan have gone wrong? It was you, you old bastard, who deliberately lured me here!!"

Bishop Terry's face grew paler and paler from blood loss, and his voice became increasingly weak.

But he still roared in frustration, driven by his intense emotions.

"Paul! Now that it's come to this... what the hell are you still pretending for? Drop that merciful saintly mask of yours! Aren't you happy? You finally got rid of a competitor like me!"

Paul looked at Bishop Terry and sighed helplessly.

"You are beyond saving..."

Ansu heard the sound of a carriage outside the inn, with a large group of people approaching; it must be the reinforcements Paul had brought.

At the same time, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from the staircase.

Freya pushed the door open, her pale golden eyes filled with worry. "Ansu! Are you alright?!"

Seeing the nervous Saintess, Ansu smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine, it's already over."

Freya looked at Bishop Terry, who was lying in a pool of blood and raving madly, and let out a gasp before quickly rushing to Ansu's side.

"So... the bad guy in The Church really was Bishop Terry? Ansu! How did you manage to take him down?"

Freya knew that when Ansu asked her to fetch Bishop Paul, he was looking for reinforcements, so she had hurried the entire way, terrified of being late...

But she hadn't expected that by the time she brought everyone over, everything would already be resolved?

Ansu was just too incredible!

A sense of admiration welled up within her. Freya gazed excitedly at the calm-faced Ansu, thinking that he was truly the one destined to change the world as foretold in the oracle! This was exactly how the Chosen One of her dreams should be!

However, Freya's expression did not escape the eyes of Cecilia.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, a trace of imperceptible gloom flashing through her gaze.

"Uh... as for how I took him down, it's a long story..." Ansu pondered a new lie in his heart and subconsciously glanced at the Scum Witch not far away, only to find her staring right back at him.

As if changing her face in an instant, Cecilia mimicked the tone the Saintess had used earlier and walked over with a half-smile. "Ansu~ you two sound so close!"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to this beautiful girl?"

The moment Ansu saw that expression, he suddenly started breaking into a cold sweat...

Oh, no!

He had been so focused on setting a trap for Bishop Terry that he had completely forgotten that this possessive Scum Witch... absolutely hated seeing him interact with Freya.

"Uh, this is the Saintess of The Church." Ansu gave a dry laugh, answering Cecilia, who was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"Ansu..." Freya blinked curiously, leaning in to whisper in Ansu's ear, "Who is this lady? Is she the help you called for?"

"She..." Ansu snuck a peek at Cecilia, "She is my boss."

"Boss?" Freya was even more confused. "Is she from the company where you work part-time? Why would your boss come here?"

Cecilia watched the young man and woman, who were practically huddled together, with a beaming smile.

Although she was smiling, her tone was chillingly ominous.

"So you still remember that I'm your boss?"

"Ah..."

"Come here!"

Under Freya's astonished gaze, Ansu obediently walked back to Cecilia's side.

Only then did Cecilia let out a satisfied huff.

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