"Hadn't Her Majesty the Blood Moon Queen already fallen? Why was she here?"
Who exactly was Abner Braine...? Not only was he acquainted with Duke Olmer, but he also seemed to be close to the Queen!
Nibais Audra's face was full of shock, and he wished he could immediately send this intelligence back to his clan.
The equally surprised Black Saintess Medea quickly calmed herself. She was already accustomed to Abner Braine's abilities in certain respects. Let alone the Blood Moon Queen, even if he had brought the Primordial Demoness here, she might have found it perfectly natural.
As for the others, since they did not know the Blood Moon Queen's identity, they merely gave her a few extra looks.
Olynnia had long grown accustomed to such scrutiny. She looked around, gave Nibais a nod in greeting, then walked to her designated position, picked up the Book of Virtues, and began presiding over the ritual:
"I!"
"I command in my name:"
"Servant of the Lord of Order, possession of the Justiciar, Book of Knights that has strayed from the Seven Virtues...
"Reestablish the connection between 'Virtue' and 'Knight';
"Open the path to the core of the 'Contract'..."
As Olynnia solemnly recited each investiture oath in concise, forceful Ancient Hermes, Sophia II, Judy, and the others all felt a faint connection forming between themselves and the Book of Virtues. They also clearly sensed that as long as they passed the "trial," they could rely on Virtue to borrow the power of Order contained within the book.
However, just as the ritual was about to succeed and the path to the core of Order opened, Abner seized the opportunity to directly draw out a projection of the Star Wand, reproducing Pallez's personally used Steal ability.
In an instant, a black gemstone broke