Long Her. (Continued)

In my view, the tents and stone houses overlapped one another, creating an odd impression.

This made the Doctor somewhat suspicious.

What other problems might arise here?

"..."

Maria didn't say much in response to the Doctor's question.

She simply closed her eyes and carefully sensed for a while.

A moment later, she opened her eyes in confusion.

"There's no unusual aura here... There are no followers of Gordan here."

"Is the timing wrong?"

The Doctor offered a hypothesis from the side.

Perhaps the timing of their visit was not ideal.

After all, according to the records, soldiers' disappearances did not happen every day; they were usually sporadic and occurred every few days.

Perhaps... they arrived at the wrong time?

"Perhaps."

Maria did not deny the Doctor's conjecture, but this still did not explain her doubts.

After all, in her mind, the enemy responsible for all this was probably someone inside the military camp... Otherwise, why would a stranger appear every few days and then, right before everyone's eyes, take away a group of soldiers without anyone intervening...

This is just too outrageous.

The only reasonable explanation is that the other person was a member of the military, so his actions were entirely consistent with his identity.

However, this also increased the pressure on Maria in her search.

After all, she wasn't in the mood to wait around passively.

She needs to actively locate the enemy!

Maria frowned and quickly scanned the camp.

Half an hour passed, but Maria still didn't sense anything unusual.

This made Maria start to wonder if she had misunderstood something.

But at that moment, Maria's brow twitched slightly.

While the Doctor was still completely bewildered, he reached out and hooked his arm around her waist.

Then...

"Sulfone--"

Like a gentle breeze, it only rustled the leaves for a few moments before settling back down.

"Um?"

In the darkness, a figure suddenly paused.

He almost instinctively sensed something and immediately turned around.

But...

"..."

His breathing was slow, but it still came from behind him...

Maria could even guess how he would react.

Almost instantly, the man gave a bitter laugh and raised his arm.

Maria blinked.

"I didn't threaten you..."

"Um?"

Only then did the man turn his head.

He then realized that Maria had not raised the blade to hold against him.

This made him pause for a moment, then suddenly realize what was happening.

He thought Maria only sensed his presence, but in reality, Maria even sensed who he was.

"You are as perceptive as ever."

The man gave a few bitter laughs, took a small step forward, and let the light illuminate half of his face.

Black Ring, black wings... and that thin, aging face with white stubble.

"Um?"

"Angels?!"

Maria and the Doctor reacted differently; Maria was somewhat puzzled, while the Doctor's eyes widened the moment he saw the other person.

Although this Angels's appearance is a bit too... too cool, its image of having wings on its back and a halo on its head still highly overlaps with the Angels in film and television works.

Only...

Why is the Angels's halo black?

Maria, however, was puzzled by the other party's current state.

She frowned, then stood still again.

What's wrong with your body?

If Maria's estimation is correct, the blood she gave him should be enough to keep his body healthy and stable for a long time, right?

How did he end up like this?

He has aged so much that he no longer looks like a robust young man who is one or two hundred years old.

"A lot has happened while you were gone."

The priest shook his head slightly, without explaining the matter clearly.

After a few moments of silence, Maria didn't press the matter further, but instead brought up another issue.

Why are you here?

Although they are now fallen Angels, the hatred between the Sarkaz and Laterano cannot be eased by such a small matter.

For the Sarkaz who truly hate Laterano, they don't care if you're a fallen Angels or not; if they want to take action, they won't care about your identity at all.

In particular, the Kazdel Military Committee is composed of radical members of the Sarkaz.

The priest shouldn't be here unless absolutely necessary...

"I think my goal is the same as yours."

The priest still showed great respect to Maria. He bowed slightly, glanced at the astonished Doctor beside him, and then turned away.

"As you've probably noticed, quite a few things seem to have happened in the Sarkaz lately... I'm not talking about the battle between the Twin Demon Lords."

The priest bowed.

Although he hadn't had much contact with Maria over the years, he was probably the one who understood Maria's attitude towards the Great Beast the most.

Therefore, he believed that Maria's presence here was definitely not a coincidence; she was probably also investigating...

The priest's words also made Maria squint.

She paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

"So... what did you find out?"

"... Please come with me."

The priest bowed, then turned and began to lead the way.

"Gentlemen... your sacrifices were worthwhile. Everything you did was for the future of the Sarkaz!"

In a dark corner, a squad of no more than twenty or thirty soldiers was receiving a speech.

However, unlike a normal lecture, this group of people did not seek out a brighter place; instead, they deliberately found a rather dark corner to conduct their lecture in secret.

It seems they're planning something shady.

Even so, these soldiers who obeyed the orders were all flushed with excitement, their wide eyes seeming ready to strike at any moment.

The man was very satisfied with the scene.

Finally, he waved his hand again and rambled on about 'glory,' 'future,' and 'hope,' before nodding after confirming that everyone's passion had been ignited.

"Gentlemen... let's set off!"

"Yes!"

The small team of just over twenty people immediately nodded, then put on their gear and set off.

In no time at all, they disappeared from the camp's perimeter.

Only then did Maria and the others slowly peek out from the dark corner.

They overheard the conversation between these people.

But...

Hearing this, however little is enough to explain Maria's confusion.

"What... are these people going there for?"

Maria turned her head and looked at the priest beside her.

After all, the priest had started the investigation earlier than them, so he might know something.

But when Maria asked him, the priest shook his head bitterly.

"After I realized something was wrong, I tried to figure out what these people were planning to do."

"But every time it ended in failure."

"They're either suddenly discovered or inexplicably lost... To this day, I've only figured out the time intervals between their actions. As for anything else... I'm sorry, I haven't been able to find out anything more."

As he spoke, he couldn't stop coughing.

This made Maria frown even more.

Something's not right...

This is really not right...

How could a priest who received his own blood donation appear so vulnerable?

Unless...

Maria paused suddenly, then her gaze sharpened as she looked at the priest.

After a few moments of silence, the priest nodded with a wry smile.

"Your keen insight always redefines my understanding, madam."

"I see."

Maria frowned, looking thoughtful.

The Doctor next to him looked completely bewildered.

What?

What are you two talking about now?

"Oh, I see," "So perceptive"... You all just exchanged a glance, but it feels like a whole paragraph is missing?

The Doctor looked completely bewildered.

Maria, meanwhile, mentioned the Doctor and quietly followed the other soldiers, explaining things to her as she went.

"You should remember that I told you before that I can extract a part of a person's memories from something like the soul, right?"

"Um..."