Arthur headed for the back door of the bar, wiping the blood from his face.
The Moth's instincts told him that he was in grave danger and would be relentlessly hunted by the Black Devil Order.
It was hard to imagine how the followers of a hidden being who liked to spy on low-sequence rituals would behave after receiving a divine oracle.
From this ritual, Arthur could roughly tell that the Black Devil Order believed in "equivalent exchange."
For now, he would set aside the question of what "equivalent" meant.
Judging by how the Black Devil had granted its followers power in exchange for sacrificing a group of victims, the "exchange" part was clear.
"Damn it! God of Light above!"
"Who would actually enjoy spying on low-sequence rituals?"
The heavy footsteps behind him thudded across the bar's wooden floorboards, making Arthur's heart tighten.
Fighting would be the stupidest choice. He decided to take a small sailboat to Rhine Island and lie low until the danger passed.
"Oh! I suggest you get out of here, and fast!"
"Once the Church of Light's priests arrive, you cultists will all be purged!"
Arthur jogged through the alley behind the bar, tossing a "Dread" at his feet with a flick of his hand.
There was still one "Ease" stored in the [Rite], and one bullet left in the Fear Pistol. He hadn't had time to clear out the musket.
He still remembered how his opponent had overpowered Arena in terms of strength aboard the Jasmine. A direct confrontation would mean certain death.
Fury burned in Simon's eyes as he let out a disdainful laugh. "The Church of Light only has the Rhine Church and the Shadow Temple on the nearby islands."
"So what if a Deacon of the Shadow faith and a servant of the Light faith have come to Blue Bay Island?"
He knew the Church of Light's deployments inside and out.
Given the sudden turn of events, the Church of Light couldn't quickly send mid-ranking priests from a nearby grand port.
Arthur suddenly stopped, his lips moving as he smoothly raised the Fear Musket.
The Moth's Hum abruptly burst in Simon's mind. His body paused for a moment, and the Fear Bullet struck him.
Arthur kept running, and Simon kept chasing him.
The Church of Night's Swordsman came to his senses, roused from the whispers, and rushed over to obstruct Simon, tangling with him for a short while.
Simon somehow produced a hand axe and swept it across, knocking aside both men's swords. A pang of reluctance rose in his heart.
As he carefully recalled Arthur's words, the Church of Night's enforcement squad, Ghosts Under the Moonlit Night, quickly arrived on Blue Bay Island.
If word got out, the enforcement squad stationed on standby at the nearest port, Bries Grand Port, would come at once to eliminate the cultists.
Given their status and influence, they could very well mobilize the nearby Royal Navy and blockade the surrounding waters first.
The more Simon thought about it, the worse the situation seemed. He took a long look at Arthur's retreating figure.
The Black Devil's oracle had already been delivered. Killing Arthur would surely bring a generous reward, and he could always find another suitable opportunity later.
Taking a deep breath, Simon made up his mind and broke through toward the harbor.
Arthur jogged to the Blue Bay Private Tavern. The Church of Night's people were doing their job, keeping the cultist occupied.
All he had to do now was wait here for Deacon Wallace's support, then head to Rhine Island and accept Governor Drew's protection.
"A lord who faced cultists without flinching and dared to draw his sword, even killing one of them—Her Majesty the Queen will surely have to show her appreciation."
"Under the Tudor Dynasty's Cultist Elimination Ordinance, the head of a cultist is worth 1,000 gold coins.
The Church of Light and the other major churches also offer a certain amount of 'Justice Gold Coin' as a reward, usually 100 gold coins.
That is, provided the Church of Light verifies the identity of the cultist you killed."
Arthur stood still, cold sweat breaking out across his back. Turning around, he saw the Royal Apprentice Painter Hisoka and the trembling scholar Leo.
Behind them, there was quite a commotion in one of the rooms. It seemed to be hiding many people.
He smiled without giving anything away. "What a coincidence. I just killed a cultist."
Arthur studied Hisoka's expression, trying to detect anything unusual or read some emotion on his face.
Hisoka was calm—too calm. The complete lack of anything out of the ordinary was itself out of the ordinary.
Someone who could remain calm in the face of a cultist attack, after dozens of people had been killed in the tavern, was either a natural-born detective or absolutely confident in his own abilities.
It was hard to imagine an artist with such a rich artistic temperament staying so calm under these circumstances.
Arthur didn't know much about artists, but creativity required passion and a flash of inspiration.
If Hisoka had been a passionate artist with the courage to face fear, standing in the bar and delivering a speech, perhaps it would all have made sense.
But Hisoka struck him as a quiet scholar, as still as the surface of Lake Baikal.
Hisoka had something wrong with him. Arthur was sure of that now.
He couldn't tell what exactly. Hisoka might be involved with the Black Devil Order, or perhaps some other secret religious organization.
The passionate, blood-pumping, terrifying first half of the night passed. The second half was eerily quiet.
Boots clattered against the stone paving as Arena arrived at the Blue Bay Private Tavern with the Church of Night's priest.
The Church of Night's priest searched everyone in the tavern. After finding nothing amiss, he said:
"Goddess of Night above!"
"Under the witness of Silver Moon, we foiled the Black Devil Order's conspiracy!"
"The traces of the Black Devil Order have been sealed off. The church will take over the investigation, and order on Blue Bay Island will soon be restored."
The priest's gaze lingered on Arthur for a moment.
"Miss Arena, I need to personally stand guard over the site."
"By all means, Priest Eugene."
Priest Eugene stayed only briefly before hurrying to the ritual site to safeguard the Church of Night's claim!
This was a victory for the Church of Night!
Arena tapped her sword against the stone paving, signaling Arthur to come over and talk.
The faint sea breeze brushed their cheeks as the two walked along the deserted beach. Arena spoke in a low voice.
"I'm going back to my family for a while. This time, the Black Devil Order has gone too far."
The Whisper of the Black Devil had appeared in a small-scale ritual on Blue Bay Island.
If the sequence conducting the ritual hadn't been so low, if there had been a high-level sealed artifact, or if they hadn't been so short on sacrifices, the Whisper of the Black Devil could very well have developed into a catastrophe, turning Blue Bay Island into a "God-Forbidden Zone" where the power of an evil god erupted.
Arena paused, then suddenly asked, "Who exactly did that 'he' in its words refer to?"
Arthur knew he couldn't hide it. The two Church of Night Swordsmen had seen Simon relentlessly chasing after him.
"Me."
"That's a good thing. Being targeted by the Black Devil Order means you're on every church's whitelist."
"Of course, you should still be careful. Someone might make a big deal out of this."
Arthur shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Now that this is over, I can start putting my plan into action."
Arena knew Arthur's plan: abandon his identity and head to England University to become a scholar.
She didn't know the details of how he planned to do it.
"Now that we're parting ways, we won't see each other again until Fog City. I'll prepare a letter of recommendation to help you get through the doors of England University.
"Have you thought about the name you'll use under your new identity? I could prepare it in advance."
Arthur had already thought about it: the surname and given name for his new identity.
"Sherlock Albert."
Arena repeated the name "Sherlock," a vague sense of familiarity coming over her.
Then she remembered that at the auction, Arthur had mentioned a friend who was fluent in Sea Race Language, named Sherlock.
Had Arthur been laying the groundwork for his new identity even then?
"Then... beautiful Miss Arena, I hope you won't be surprised when we meet again."
At Blue Bay Island's harbor, Arthur watched the ship recede into the distance beneath the dawn light.
Just then, Deacon Wallace arrived at Rhine Island aboard a fast boat, his face dark as a storm cloud.
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