During the negotiations, Derius had stated that the cage space was extremely unstable; pulling out just two bricks would cause it to collapse.
By "pulling out two bricks," he meant using the Church of Pamires's signature spatial methods to conduct a targeted demolition on that space, like blowing up a building.
As the Holy Child of the Church of Pamires, Derius had used Elder Sidi and the Seventh Knights currently trapped in that cage space as bargaining chips to fight for his church's interests.
Judging by the course of today's negotiations, he had indeed succeeded. Faced with the aggressive stance of the Church of Order, he had secured the greatest possible autonomy for the merger.
This was evident from Leon and Lore's deeply dissatisfied grumbling, for they cared far more about practical interests than empty prestige.
What they wanted was to enshrine the true god Pamires in a supplemental chapter of *Light of Order* to be venerated, while sucking the very marrow from the bones of the Church of Pamires, assimilating it completely.
Originally, events should have unfolded along those lines.
Yet now, with Bishop Bern's words, everything had veered wildly off course—no, it had been overturned completely!
Standing there, Karen even felt that, security regulations or not, was this really something he was supposed to hear?
Such a conspiracy seemed to have transcended the bounds of "Silence" protocol, far beyond what being forbidden to leave the Ankara Hotel until negotiations concluded could contain.
Once the bricks were pulled, the cage space collapsed, and disaster befell Elder Sidi and the Seventh Knights, could someone like him, privy to the secret, really walk out alive?
Sacrificing an entire knight order and a Temple Elder, no matter the purpose, was not a cost this Bishop Bern could bear out in the open, regardless of how extraordinary his true identity behind the scenes might be.
Karen raised his hand almost instinctively, wanting to tap the blue seashell by his ear to call the captain for help.
Yet halfway up, Karen saw Bishop Bern's gaze resting squarely upon him.
Not the Bishop Bern standing in front of him, but the "Bishop Bern" in the floor-to-ceiling window. Without the physical body moving, the reflection had turned its torso around—an utterly eerie sight.
Karen hesitated. His half-raised hand dropped to scratch the back of his other hand, as if he had broken out in eczema and was just scratching an itch.
Unlike Karen, who was worrying about whether he was about to be silenced, Derius's emotions instantly erupted into frenzy. He nearly roared at Bishop Bern:
"What on earth are you trying to do?! What are you doing?!"
Once the cage space collapsed, the Church of Order, facing such catastrophic losses, would have no choice left. The Church of Pamires would inevitably be obliterated by the fury of Order!
In the end, all the groundwork, all the negotiations, would become a complete joke.
His sacrifice, his planning, his efforts—all rendered utterly meaningless in an instant.
Bishop Bern looked at Derius and sighed. "You are clearly far younger than I am, yet why is the air of senility about you so much heavier than mine?"
"I want the truth!"
"You have already done what you were supposed to do."
Bishop Bern turned around, looked at Karen, and said, "The meeting time is up."
Karen nodded. "I'll see you out."
Bishop Bern walked toward the door, but as he passed Derius, Derius thrust out an arm to block him.
Derius's expression was somewhat savage. Perhaps, even though father and son hadn't met in years, a lingering bond of intuition still existed between them. He could sense that what Bishop Bern had told him earlier was neither an empty threat nor a joke.
"Explain yourself before you leave!"
Bishop Bern smiled faintly and reached out to brush Derius's arm aside.
Instantly, a flash of blue light radiated from Derius's arm. The aura of space flowed outward, attempting to seal off the area. It was a spell akin to Order Cage, yet far more natural and seamless.
A ring of black light appeared in Bishop Bern's palm, piercing through the nascent spatial seal in an instant. At the same time, the dark light sank into Derius's body, immobilizing him entirely.
*Thud!*
Derius dropped to his knees.
In just a single exchange, Derius had been utterly defeated by Bishop Bern.
A true confrontation rarely involved flashy, prolonged trades of spells. When there was an absolute disparity in strength, everything became brutally simple.
The last time Karen had seen an enemy handled so simply was when his grandfather made a move.
At that moment, as a personal security guard, Karen did not step forward to "rescue" Derius. It wasn't his place to intervene in a scuffle between father and son. More importantly, facing the unfathomable Bishop Bern, Karen felt that even if he did act, it would most likely just result in one more person kneeling on the floor.
Bishop Bern prepared to leave, but after taking only a few steps, a blue star-shaped mark appeared on the immobilized Derius's chest. A pure-blue insect flew out from the starlight.
When it appeared, Karen felt a tearing sensation in his vision, as if a blade were slicing through his perception.
The blue insect shot straight for Bishop Bern's back. Bishop Bern did not turn around, but the "Bishop Bern" in the floor-to-ceiling window reached out a hand. Extending from inside the glass into reality, it seized the Spatial Worm firmly before it could touch Bishop Bern.
The Spatial Worm began to thrash, the space around it twisting and tearing. But the hand holding it had materialized from the intangible into the tangible, not belonging to ordinary existence. Thus, no matter how hard the Spatial Worm struggled, it could not break free.
Soon, the power within it seemed completely depleted; it turned listless and stopped squirming.
Derius slumped along with it, blood seeping from his ears and nose as Karen watched.
Bishop Bern turned around and looked at the Spatial Worm restrained before him.
"According to records, it was solely through Semis's companionship that the true god Pamires was able to enter and leave the domains of most prime deities freely, and even traverse the battlefields of the gods at will.
"These spatial worms are descendants of Semis, yet none of them seem to have ever reclaimed the glory of their progenitor.
"My son, what do you think is the cause of this phenomenon?
"Is it because the bloodline of the spatial worms has degraded, or because the keepers themselves cannot reach the heights of the true god Pamires, thereby constraining the worms' evolution?"
With a light wave of Bishop Bern's hand, the restriction on Derius was undone. Bracing both hands against the floor, Derius lifted his head, face covered in blood, yet displaying a stubborn tenacity.
For he actually answered the question:
"I think... both reasons apply."
Bishop Bern nodded. "I know your answer is correct, but I dislike that kind of answer. In my view, if the two are in a symbiotic relationship, the reason one falls behind can only be that the other is not strong enough.
"*That* is an attitude oriented toward solving problems."
A symbiotic relationship?
Karen looked at the blue insect still held captive. So, was the relationship between Derius and this Spatial Worm equivalent to the relationship between himself and Purr?
At that moment, Karen suddenly felt somewhat glad—glad that Purr was not some slimy, squishy creature.
Bishop Bern seemed very patient. He squatted down and looked at the heavily panting Derius, like a father educating his son:
"If you were strong enough, it wouldn't be this weak. If it were strong enough, you could use it to break through my restraint.
"You see, growing stronger together is often vastly more difficult than one side growing stronger alone.
"That is what I mean by an attitude toward solving problems. Many times, excessive friction and balancing acts serve no real purpose other than feeding oneself a false sense of satisfaction and achievement.
"What I'm saying doesn't align with high-minded reason, but it aligns with reality."
Bishop Bern reached out and patted his son's head.
"Has it collapsed?" Derius still looked stubbornly up at his father.
"Mm, it collapsed."
"Why? Why do this?!"
Blood and tears mingled, streaming down Derius's face.
"Are you grieving for the Church of Pamires?"
"Why? Why do this?! Just why?!"
"For this Spatial Worm to willingly come out to help you against me, your relationship has long ceased to be a mere spiritual bridge. You two are partners.
"As expected, you assimilated this Spatial Worm long ago, and assimilated it exceedingly well."
Karen pursed his lips. So that night, Derius really had put on an act—having the Spatial Worm, with whom he shared an intimate bond, feign an out-of-control rampage so that, through Karen and Neo's eyes, the scene would be reported to the upper echelons of the Church of Order.
"It seems my worry was for nothing. I was truly concerned you might be foolish enough to leave such a precious insect unassimilated."
Richard's words flashed through Karen's mind—how he said Bishop Bern had worn a hesitant, uncertain expression as he took the elevator down.
So that was what he had been worried about back then?
He hadn't been worried about whether his son remained loyal to the Church of Order; what he had truly worried about was whether his son would forsake such rare benefits and opportunities for the sake of that so-called loyalty.
"If the Church of Pamires is destroyed, I will kill you with my own hands! I will kill you!"
*Smack!*
The hand that had been stroking his son's head suddenly pressed down with force, slamming Derius's face against the floorboards with a grinding crunch.
"Where did the composure you had at the negotiating table today go?
"When I have you completely suppressed, you actually issue death threats to me?
"Heh, what an utterly foolish thing to do. Even if you think that in your heart, there is no need to blurt it out so stupidly. Doesn't that just force my hand to kill you to eliminate future trouble?
"Or perhaps,
"deep down, you still view me as your father? After all, a father would surely tolerate a little rebelliousness from his son, wouldn't he?"
Bishop Bern grabbed Derius's hair, pulling his face up:
"As a father, I feel gratified. But as the superior who assigned you to this undercover mission, I feel furious!
"I allow you to love the Church of Pamires.
"I allow you to embrace the doctrines of Pamires.
"I allow you to betray the Church of Order, and I allow you to turn your back on the God of Order.
"Because in my view, true undercover work means deceiving even oneself.
"What I do not allow is for you, out of these so-called emotions, to show an expression like this before me—one that disgusts and disappoints me!
"You are my son, and you are my masterpiece.
"I can afford to lose a son, but I do not want flaws to appear on my masterpiece!"
Bishop Bern's expression shifted once more. He began smoothing his son's hair with his fingers, speaking softly:
"Tomorrow morning's session begins at eight o'clock. When the session starts, the communication rooms for both sides will open, and messages can be transmitted.
"The time the brick is pulled is ten o'clock. That leaves a two-hour window. You may choose to have your people send a message to the Church of Pamires so they can prevent this beforehand.
"I leave the choice to you. I hope you can make a wise decision—
"a choice made with a clear view of the situation. I hope you won't disappoint me again."
Bishop Bern stood up and walked toward the door. Karen opened the door for him.
Smoothing the cuffs of his clerical robe, Bishop Bern gave Karen a faint smile.
"Pardon me for letting you witness such an unsightly display."
Karen took half a step back and lowered his head.
Bishop Bern exited the room. Karen closed the door and accompanied him to the elevator, pressing the call button for him.
Just like last time, Bishop Bern didn't remind him to keep quiet, didn't threaten him, and didn't attempt to bribe him.
It was as if on this floor, secrets had become the cheapest commodities—strewn across the ground, disregarded by all.
The elevator doors slid open. Richard made an inviting gesture, and Bishop Bern stepped inside.
Once the elevator began descending, Karen let out a long breath. He returned to Derius's door, and without knocking, opened it and walked straight in.
Derius was sitting on the floor with his mouth agape, holding the blue insect in his hand and letting it crawl through his mouth into his body.
The scene looked like someone slurping down a fresh oyster.
Karen couldn't help but feel grateful once more that he and Purr didn't have to do anything like this.
Naturally, Karen understood that resorting to such a crude, forceful method of "reunification" was because both Derius and the Spatial Worm were exhausted, unable to return the worm the way it had emerged.
Karen picked up a box of tissues and walked over. He pulled out a handful and handed them to Derius, then pulled out more to wipe up the bloodstains on the floor.
Once everything was tidied up, Karen poured Derius a glass of water and a glass of red wine, placing them on the coffee table.
"Please rest well, sir."
Having said that, Karen stepped out of the room.
Standing in the hallway, Karen tapped the seashell with his fingers a few times, then walked back to the elevator doors.
Before long, the elevator ascended, the doors opened, and beside Richard appeared Neo.
Richard glanced at the situation, took the initiative to close the elevator doors, and descended.
Neo removed the mask from his face and asked,
"What is it?"
Karen hadn't used the tapping cadence reserved for emergencies, so Neo didn't appear particularly rushed.
Next, Karen recounted what had happened in the room to Neo.
He knew Neo's identity was complicated and that Neo had always harbored secrets, but in a moment like this, he still chose to share information with his captain.
With arms folded across his chest, Neo leaned against the wall, listening to Karen's narrative.
When Karen finished, Neo nodded. But before he could speak, Karen spoke first:
"All right, Captain, I'm heading back to my room to rest."
Neo chuckled. "Aren't you curious about what I have to say?"
"You'll say: 'Oh, I see.'"
"Mm, that really is what I was going to say." Neo slipped the silver mask back over his face. "Karen, what do you think of this Ankara Hotel?"
"Last time, I thought it had the best scenery in York City, a vacation resort."
"And now?"
"A prison."
"Yes, a prison. So whatever you see or hear here, there's no need to be surprised."
"I'm gradually learning to accept the calm."
"Besides, the Church of Order certainly isn't that pure, but it isn't as dark as you imagine either."
Karen wondered from what perspective the captain was saying this.
"Made some new friends over the past couple of days?" Neo asked casually, softening the transition into their upcoming 'good night.'
Was he referring to Leon and Lore?
"Not friends, just cellmates. Once we're out of prison, we probably won't have any contact."
"Cellmates? Heh, a very diplomatic answer.
"You seem quite adept at dealing with noble youngsters—you always manage to strike the right note with them."
"It's just conversation... or the technique of socializing."
"It's not technique. That's a talent others couldn't learn even if they tried. After all, no matter how sweetly a little puppy barks, it can hardly befriend a pack of tiger cubs—unless, of course, it was never a puppy to begin with."
Neo stretched lazily, waved a hand, and said, "Good night."
"Good night, Captain."
The elevator doors opened, and Neo stepped inside. As the doors closed, the elevator descended.
Richard suddenly heard the captain's voice:
"Bored?"
"No, not at all. I feel my work is very meaningful."
Neo turned to face Richard.
Richard saw the captain's shoulders trembling slightly.
At that moment, the silver mask slipped from the captain's face. His expression calm, his dark eyes gazed intently at Richard. His shoulders continued to tremble faintly, yet the captain... was not laughing.
Richard took two steps back instinctively until his back hit the elevator wall, his body shivering uncontrollably.
A cool sensation spread across his face; Neo had placed a silver mask onto Richard's face with his own hands.
"The squad just had a new batch of silver masks made. This one is yours."
"Thank... thank you, Captain."
"You know, ten years ago, I was just like you. While on mission, I was assigned to stand in this elevator. That conference lasted a full month, and I stood inside this elevator for a month."
"Captain, thank... thank you for the encouragement."
"I'm not encouraging you." Neo pulled out another silver mask and put it on. Richard saw the captain's shoulders faintly trembling once more.
*Ding...*
The elevator doors opened.
Neo stepped out. After the doors closed behind him, Neo took off his mask. This time, he was truly laughing.
He looked down at the mask in his hand,
muttering:
"Were you this stupid ten years ago, too?"
Chapter 206