The Samsara of Mortals

Talina took two steps toward the exit, then paused and looked back at Bertha. Bertha stood beside Neo, showing no intention of budging. Between whatever dregs of patronage remained from Samsara and a powerhouse of the Light right before her eyes, Bertha would choose the latter without hesitation. Her standing within the church was exceedingly awkward right now. The demise of the Church of Light had led to the complete fragmentation of its various factions. In the most chaotic period, there had been multiple central authorities, each claiming to be the orthodox lineage. Even now, though only one nominal center remained, it was split into two dominant factions, beneath which the regional factions of the Light operated essentially as independent fiefdoms. Prior to this, relying on her title of "divine envoy," the "bell toll," and the endorsement of the "central authority," she had managed with great difficulty to rally a force around herself. Yet because of the tragic outcome, the little "majesty" and "sacredness" she had painstakingly gathered had collapsed once more. Though she remained convinced that she was not at fault and that the "revelation" was not mistaken, even she did not understand why things had devolved to this point. Thus, she desperately needed a new backer, someone whose power could prop her up once again. Furthermore, after learning that Order had declared war on Samsara, it was even more impossible for Bertha to keep fleeing with Talina. The Church of Light had fallen so long ago that while the orthodox churches ruthlessly cracked down on Light remnants on the surface, any measure carried out for long enough inevitably bred a top-to-bottom numbness. Just as municipal departments were well aware of what those "pastry shops" on the streets actually sold and could easily catch violations whenever they wanted, outside of year-end performance quotas or special crackdowns, there existed a tacit understanding between both sides. Now, however, war between Order and Samsara had just begun, and the intensity of enforcement was entirely different. If Bertha stayed with Talina, not only would she put herself in grave danger, but one careless move might once again tie the Light faction to Samsara. Talina understood Bertha's intentions. She merely smiled faintly. As expected, vows made between the sheets expired the moment one got out of bed. The young lady of the Simonsen family had no choice but to walk out alone. "Actually, she isn't a bad person," Bertha said to Neo. "She isn't purely selfish." "That's because nothing between you and her has ever touched her core interests. Oh, except for going to bed." Bertha did not take offense at his words. She could sense that this powerhouse of the Light possessed an unusual temperament, but she was used to such things. The strong were always different from ordinary people, not to mention that he was someone concealed within Order—one's circumstances and past shaped much of who they became. "Her skills in bed are truly remarkable," Bertha said with a smile. "If you wish, I can call her back and let you..." Bertha's throat was suddenly seized, and she was slammed to the ground. She could not breathe, and she felt a terrifying power of purification swirling around her. With a single thought from him, she would be instantly purified into a pool of exceedingly pure flesh and blood. In that moment, true dread seized her. The eyes behind the silver mask chilled her to the bone. "I didn't kill you because of your identity as a member of the Light. Deep down, I feel no identification with it whatsoever. If not for the fact that you managed to find this place and could help me look into a few matters, I would have ended your existence without hesitation, given that your identity poses a minor nuisance to me. "Consider this your final warning. Learn your place, you useless divine envoy who can't do anything but make stupid mistakes." Bertha's head was pinned in place, leaving her unable to nod; she could only blink frantically to convey her assent. Neo released his grip, turned, walked to the center of the array, crouched down, and began adjusting it with his fingertips. Bertha sat up, clutching her throat with one hand, the pain still vivid. *Hum!* Just then, the center of the array sank downward, revealing a mirror beneath. Light beamed from the mirror, projecting an image that displayed the area outside the photo studio. Neo crossed his arms and watched the scene before him. Bertha stood up and asked in a small voice, "May I... watch as well?" Neo gave a slight nod. Bertha walked toward Neo. But halfway there, before she could even catch a glimpse of the image, Neo's gaze sharpened, and he waved his hand. *Bang!* Bertha was flung backward by a burst of force, slamming into the wall before sliding down in utter disarray. "No." "..." Bertha fell silent. ... Talina bit her lower lip. She was not stupid. She did not believe a word the silver-masked man had said. *Just a God's Servant?* *Do you take me for an idiot to believe such nonsense!* Yet she had no choice. She had to step out and face it, because she sensed that by stepping out, she might still have a chance of escape, whereas defying that man would mean him killing her on the spot without hesitation. *Every single person from the Light is out of their mind!* Talina thought bitterly to herself. Then, when she pushed open the door, she saw a young man standing right outside. A greatsword rested on his shoulder. More striking than that greatsword, and even clearer proof of who he was, was that... he was remarkably handsome. No. Damn it. Why wasn't he wearing a mask! Talina cried out inwardly. If the man before her were masked, her chances of escaping would undoubtedly be higher. But now that clearly was not the case, because she had seen his face. The silver-masked man had said that this young man was his subordinate, which meant he was also a member of the Whip of Order. With war declared between their churches, letting an enemy noble who had seen his face walk away—what kind of risk would he be taking! Karen was not wearing a mask; earlier, when he had gone to rescue Uncle Aisen and Aunt Kaixi, he had needed them to clearly see his face. Besides, though he and the captain had spent the day acting more like moles than actual moles, even staking out the place beforehand to reel in a big fish, what could possibly be wrong with hunting down members of Samsara as the Whip of Order? At most, their side had learned the news earlier and reacted faster than other members of the Whip of Order. Was being proactive at work against the law? Therefore, there was little need to conceal his identity. What Karen did not know was that his laziness in not wearing a mask had led to a woman having an intimate encounter with a stone wall. Karen had arrived at Gers Photo Studio a while ago. Instead of knocking or calling out, he had searched around the premises, convinced that there had to be something unusual about this shop. Then, Karen had settled on this side door. This did not mean Karen possessed high mastery over spell arrays—in truth, it was Alfred who had inherited Mr. Hoffen's knowledge of arrays, not him. He simply felt that entering through the front door seemed rather unrefined, out of keeping with the style of a photo studio handpicked by the captain. Just as Karen prepared to open the door and check inside, the door swung open, and right after... a woman clad only in a white undergarment walked out. The outfit resembled a leotard typically worn by ballet dancers, leaving her arms and thighs completely exposed. Although spring had arrived in Wien, the night air was hardly suited for such breezy attire; Karen was still wearing a khaki coat. "Hello," the woman greeted him with a nod. "Hello," Karen nodded back. "Are you heading inside? Please go ahead. He's waiting for you within." "Oh, all right," Karen replied, then asked, "Are you leaving?" "Yes." "And this outfit of yours?" Talina gave a bitter smile. "He stripped me of everything I had on before letting me leave. Not a shred of gentlemanly grace—he behaved entirely like a bandit." "Yes, that's exactly the kind of man he is," Karen responded with a smile. "Once the war is over, if you have the chance, come visit Samsara Valley, won't you?" "Certainly. If there's an opportunity, it would be my honor." "Farewell, then. Your handsome looks have softened the panic and confusion of my night." Talina curtsied to Karen. "Good luck to you." With that, Talina straightened up and began to walk away. ... Down in the basement, Neo watched the scene, lightly stroking his chin with a fingertip. Even he could not help but be surprised by Talina's performance. There was no denying that, at this moment, she had pushed her composure and poise to an absolute extreme. If one likened the situation to a dance on the edge of a blade, her performance was flawless. A pity she was facing Karen. Neo had confidence in this "God's Servant" he had personally recruited. Though he frequently poked fun at Karen's propriety, Karen could only pull off such propriety because he swiftly grasped each person's personality and preferences to respond accordingly. Acting in front of him? Could she really pull it off? ... Karen raised the Sword of Arius, blocking her path. Talina's gaze darkened. "My apologies. Since you already know that Order has declared war on Samsara, we are enemies now. My loyalty to Order prevents me from letting an enemy go." Talina let out a sigh. "Perhaps you might reconsider. A war between churches is nothing more than upper management moving lower ranks like pawns. It isn't something we can decide, but we can choose a reasonable grace." "You make a good point, but I am truly sorry. I cannot commit the slightest desecration against the God of Order. No matter when, no matter where, I cannot permit myself any flukes or slackening in this regard. "Because I have always felt that the benevolent gaze of the God of Order is watching over me. I am willing to offer my heart to Him." "I can give you promises, rewards, everything I have to give, and anything you desire!" Karen's gaze swept over Talina from head to toe. Talina bent her left leg slightly forward while resting her weight on her right, showcasing her shapely figure and especially her long legs to Karen. "I can swear to Samsara that if you let me go tonight, whenever you appear before me in the future, I can repay you with my body. You will have the opportunity to be served in bed by a direct female descendant of the Simonsen family." Such services existed in black-market bars, where men and women with church backgrounds sold their bodies. Transactions were made in point coupons rather than riels, and clients were mostly looking to satisfy psychological desires rather than physical ones. Karen shook his head. "You misunderstand. I have no interest in your body. I have two teammates whose figures are far more alluring and sexy than yours, and they even like to strip completely naked and sleep right in front of me." Pausing, Karen added, "You're too skinny." Talina gritted her teeth. "Do you know that the man inside actually asked me to come out and kill you?" "Oh, the one inside..." Karen tapped his temple with a finger. "Whatever he says is completely normal, because he's been having issues with his head lately." ... In the basement, Neo raised a finger and tapped his temple as well. "Heh..." ... Talina cried out, "He's a Light remnant!" "A Light remnant?" "Yes! He's a Light remnant lurking within your Order! I believe that with your loyalty to Order, you could never allow such a desecration of Order to happen, could you?!" "Of course!" "Then good! Go cleanse this undercover Light spy for your Order! I think that is far more important; there's no need to waste your energy on me here, right?" "You're quite right." "He's right downstairs. Go, hurry!" "However..." "However what?" "Do you mean something like this?" Right before Talina's eyes, Karen raised his hand. A pure white beam of light rose from his palm—the exceptionally pure power of Light. "..." Talina was struck dumb. She felt like an absolute clown. "My apologies for the final time. I cannot let you leave. This is a war; moral constraints must be temporarily set aside, and I don't need to convince myself otherwise." Karen raised the Sword of Arius. In the next instant, the Sea God's Armor materialized over Karen's body, followed by the power of the Dark Moon Blade clinging to the Sword of Arius. "You people are truly beasts!" Talina let out a furious roar. She felt toyed with, utterly made a fool of by these two men! As a young lady of the Simonsen family, she had never suffered such indignity in her entire life. At that moment, the fabric over her chest seemed to burn open, and a dark red bead seeped out from the flesh of her chest. The glow from the bead instantly enveloped her whole body, causing her aura to surge violently. Seeing this, Karen said, "I believe the man inside must have asked you whether you handed over everything. It appears you lied to him. So whatever promises you two reached earlier are completely void now." "Die!!!" Talina charged at Karen. Karen did not move; instead, he raised his hand and pointed toward the flank. "Order — Cage!" The charging Talina suddenly veered right midway through, darting toward the flank. She was still unwilling to fight this "God's Servant." If she had truly believed the masked man and thought this young man before her was merely a God's Servant, she wouldn't have bothered acting or saying so much earlier. Yet the moment she dodged aside, she found herself stepping right into a cubic cage. The surrounding space was locked down instantly. Karen's time sparring with Gray had yielded tremendous benefits. If Gray had held back on the first day, then every day after that, as Karen relied on his deep reserves of spirituality to wear him down, Gray rarely held back anymore, utilizing every trick in the book in their clashes. Therefore, observing the subtleties of how the woman prepared to attack, Karen had already anticipated her intention, even predicting the direction of her evasion based on the angle of her toes. It was not that this woman didn't know how to fight; rather, she knew too well how to fight in a textbook manner. Because of her noble status, she must have had numerous instructors teaching and sparring with her since childhood. Yet that kind of teaching—catering to royalty—only made her skills rigid and dogmatic. Karen turned, raising the Sword of Arius, ready to end the fight decisively. Just then, however, the dark red bead on her chest flared with light once more, and another figure emerged over the woman. This figure looked pained and struggling, like a slave bound to the bead. "Ah..." The woman let out a prolonged moan as the male-looking figure sank straight into her body. Her eyes turned pure white, her arms spread wide, and her lips chanted rapidly. After a blur of spatial distortion, she vanished from within the Order Cage. She escaped? Karen had never encountered such a fighting style and found it jarring for a moment. Right at that moment, Talina's figure materialized behind Karen, wielding a condensed black dagger that lunged straight for his neck. Karen sensed the distinct killing intent from behind him, yet his perception also told him that the woman was still inside the Order Cage he had summoned, never having left. He suspected this was an illusion meant to exploit faulty perception and force him to divert his attention. But the question was: who would gamble with their own life? Karen still chose to step aside, raising the Sword of Arius to parry. But as he turned around, the woman behind him dissolved rapidly into thin air. *Bang!* The woman reappeared inside the Order Cage, where the illusory dagger in her grip pierced clean through the barrier of the Order Cage. Free once more, she dropped to the ground. As expected... Was this an assassination technique? Karen recalled that Mr. Hoffen's notes contained an entry regarding the Church of Raymond. Members of that church excelled most at assassination arts. Just now, it had been used to shatter the Order Cage, but in an assassination, this move could divert the target's attention to create an opening for an instant kill. "Who are you?" Karen asked. "Church of Raymond..." First came a man's voice, which then shifted back into a woman's. "He formed a Samsara pact with me. It was I who enabled him to return from death and reappear in this world." "So this is the true doctrine of the Church of Samsara? You urge the world to bear suffering in this life and seek the afterlife." The corner of Karen's mouth curled into a mocking smile. "The samsara of mortals is your shipping crate."