Perhaps You're the True Holy Warrior?

"I'll help you with the translation."

"Oh~"

Upon hearing this, 009 reached out to stop Arthur, "Alright, that's enough."

Arthur blinked upon hearing this. "That's it?"

This isn't like 009 at all.

Yes, killing to the bitter end is 009's consistent style.

However, 009 had another thing in mind this time.

If both of them were to die, then Jena might not genuinely help him translate; instead, she might twist his words to derail 009's plans, thus seeking revenge against him.

Conversely, sparing their lives to use as leverage, and giving the young girl a glimmer of hope, is much more controllable than the former.

After all, 009 can be blunt: if she doesn't convey the message properly, I'll take it out on your two poor friends.

Remember, they all died because of you.

This is the truth that 009 learned when faced with moral blackmail.

Even though the two were unwilling, what could they do?

They couldn't kill 009, nor could they defeat Arthur. With the Paladin's right arm severed, compromise was the only option.

The three left, and under Jena's watchful gaze, who kept turning back to look at him, the paladin clutched his severed arm and knelt on the ground.

"Zane, how are you?!"

Paladin Zane shook his head. "To be honest, it's not very optimistic..."

"What about Holy Heal? Can't paladins use Holy Heal?"

"But I am Oathbreaker..."

"Then what should we do?"

"Do you remember what we brought out of that tomb last time...?"

Which one do you want to use?

"Are you sure?"

"I can't worry about that anymore."

Blood continued to ooze from the severed arm of Paladin Zane. The man carrying the lute gritted his teeth and pulled a bottle of green potion directly from his satchel!

"Have you thought it through? What if..."

Before the man could finish speaking, Zain picked up the potion and drank it all in one gulp!

The instant he drank the potion, his body was covered in bluish-purple stripes, his muscles bulged, and the wound on his severed arm healed instantly!

But his eyes turned green.

This is something they found during a previous expedition into an underground catacombs.

It was the tomb of an alchemist, and there were many potions inside, but the names of these potions were all very strange.

What Lover's Heart, Father's Blood, Mother's Tear, Children's Hate, Beggar's Tongue...

The effects of these potions were completely unknown, because the alchemist had been a witch in his previous life, so they dared not drink them.

However, he also brought out a few bottles and gave them to a local herbalist, asking him to study the effects of these medicines.

The herbalist told them that these were all forbidden medicines whose formulas had been lost, and some of the bottles had lost their effectiveness due to the passage of time.

Some are still effective, but there are also uncertain risks and mutations.

The effects of these potions were also quite superhuman, so in the end they kept only two bottles and gave the rest to the herbalist.

The two bottles they left behind were "Brother's Wound" and "Sage's Eye."

The herbalist told them that these potions were products of the Alchemy School and must follow the Law of Balance.

What is the Law of Balance, which is the basic principle of alchemy: equivalent exchange.

Whatever you gain, you will lose.

In other words, when you enjoy good conditions, you will inevitably have to endure bad conditions.

This potion, Brother's Wound, can heal all wounds, but its side effect is that the person who drinks it will be unable to receive any form of treatment for their wounds in the future.

If it really comes to the last resort, this potion might actually come in handy.

With this in mind, they carried the bottle of medicine with them as a safety net.

The other bottle of medicine was for a selfish reason.

In the Sage's Eye, the effect of this potion is to allow people to see the real world, but the side effect is that they can no longer see the false world.

So what is truth? It's actually very simple: it's something that doesn't contain any lies.

The literal translation is that the person who drinks the potion can discern the truth from the lies.

Of course, this is not limited to the level of lies; it can be applied to many other levels as well.

But these things are no longer important.

"We have to rescue Jena."

Yes, we need to rescue Jena, but how?

A bard, a paladin without the power of light and with a missing arm.

What can the two of them possibly do?

Both of them fell silent upon thinking about this.

"I must save them. I cannot abandon my comrades. That is my vow."

"But whether or not such a creed exists, I will never abandon my companions."

Upon hearing Zane's words, the man carrying the lute paused for a moment. "Perhaps... I may have misunderstood you. Even without a creed, you are the true paladin."

Upon hearing this, Zain suddenly lowered his head.

He remembered someone, Achilles, with whom he had joined the church and become Holy Warrior.

But Achilles' brilliance was so dazzling that the Holy Warrior who joined the church at the same time as him paled in comparison.

He also said this to Zane about Achilles.

"Perhaps you are the true Holy Warrior."

Zain then asked him in return, "Don't you think you are?"

He only answered Zain with one sentence.

"If justice will prevail, then the losers must be evil."

The battle between good and evil is a well-worn topic, but the Holy Warrior will always stand on the side of justice.

Achilles, however, introduced a new interpretation.

The victor is righteous, the loser is evil.

This is a view that violates the principles of justice, but it is an objective fact.

Without these otherworldly beings, Achilles would have become synonymous with justice.

But now, he can no longer be associated with the word "justice".

It seems, as he said, that the loser is evil.

Zane got up. "Both the Church and the Empire no longer exist. The scale of this disaster is so great that it could very well lead to a repeat of the Shattered War."

"But we don't have the capacity to do anything more; rescuing our comrades is the only thing we can do right now."

"This is not justice, because I'm tired of the word."

"I've had enough of the red tape. I've given up everything Holy Warrior, all I want is to save our friends."

"To achieve this goal, I can disregard all means, because I am now a warrior."

Upon hearing Zain's words, Rat, the man carrying the lute, paused for a moment.

Are you sure you're telling the truth?

"These are the truths that ten sincere words cannot buy."

"If that's the case, then I have an idea."

"However, you should be mentally prepared, because what I'm about to show you is something that the church strongly opposes and cannot tolerate."

"Now that even the church no longer exists, what's the point of saying all this?"

"That's true."