In the Name of the Father

Karen was the person in this world who most resembled the God of Order. He resembled him, but he was absolutely not him. When the black halo from Salayina's fingertips entered Karen's spiritual consciousness, her first impression was as if she had "seen" her father's back. That disposition, that atmosphere, that presence, that familiarity... Every last detail caused her to unconsciously overlay it onto the image of her father permanently branded in the depths of her soul. For her father was a truly towering existence—a mighty chief god who had risen from the war between the Light and Eternal factions and dominated the end of the previous era after Light fell. Those who shared even the slightest resemblance to her father were exceedingly few, because the vast majority of people were unworthy of such heights. Therefore, when a whole succession of similarities piled up together, creating a sense of cognitive confusion was entirely natural. At the same time, she finally understood why she had inexplicably awakened. It was not because this was the Ankara Memorial Hall; perhaps that had merely provided the triggering ambiance. The true catalyst had come from the... fatherly aura on this man that drew her to him. In truth, if Salayina had been able to observe more closely, if she could have stepped from behind Karen to his front and looked at him face-to-face—a very simple thing—then as the daughter of the God of Order, she would have discovered that this was not her father. The one with the greatest say in the matter was probably the golden retriever in Karen's home. In fact, it could be clearly seen from Kevin's attitude toward Karen. Lord Dal had once teased his primary self, saying it had returned to the position it was most accustomed to. Yet Kevin had never regarded Karen as the true "God of Order," because in its mind, it could clearly distinguish between the seat of the God of Order and the person sitting upon it. This seemed like a simple matter, yet it was exceedingly difficult to do. It was just like how most ordinary people could not tell the difference between a king named John and one named Jack; they only knew they were the king, possessing a fixed image seated upon the throne. Karen's prior tension had not been feigned, for two reasons. One reason was that he knew his spiritual consciousness space was powerful; even beings like Gaitanbert and Furnites would be suppressed inside it. However, the one facing him was Ankara. Even though she wasn't the true Ankara, but merely one fragment among hundreds or thousands, and even though her own awareness of herself was still in a hazy stage, Karen felt that once she truly entered his spiritual consciousness, he had no confidence at all. A single "Hey," uttered like a playful prank between friends to scare someone, had shaken Karen's soul and caused him to bleed profusely. If such an entity entered, she might very well overturn his "home ground." The other reason was that she wouldn't extend affection to him just because he resembled her father. She would surely know with crystal clarity what such "resemblance" signified. It proved that this security captain before her was actually walking the same path as her father. This was a profanation of her father, and at the same time, an implicit threat to him. What she would do next was obvious. Fortunately, however, Karen had good luck. He had relied on his trump cards to survive danger many times before, but this time, it truly came down to sheer luck. If Salayina hadn't turned away with such confidence, if she had lingered just a bit longer instead of completing the final seal while putting herself to sleep, Karen wouldn't have been so lucky. After entering Karen's spiritual consciousness, the black light froze in place, making no further move—an effect of Salayina's shock. And by the time Salayina wanted to do something more, it was already too late. Though her eyes were filled with confusion and shock, her eyelids drooped shut nonetheless. In the next moment, the aura around her began to recede, and her temperament reverted to her former image of rhythmic, natural grace. The real Salayina opened her eyes. As she opened her eyes, Karen feigned grogginess, pretending he was still half-unconscious just like Sains, Ashley, and the others. The memories between "Ankara" and the real Salayina were likely not shared, because Salayina's physical condition could not bear communion with "Ankara." Therefore, among everyone present, only Karen still retained intact memories. Salayina probably knew that Ankara had emerged, but she did not know what happened afterward. Through his "groggy" gaze, Karen saw Salayina raise her hand. In her grip appeared three small, cylindrical silver rods, as thick as a thumb and as long as the chopsticks used in Karen's home. Salayina stabbed one of the rods into her chest. *Pfft!* Karen continued to observe in his "daze," marveling inwardly: *This woman is truly ruthless.* People who enjoyed embedding all sorts of things into their own bodies were usually ruthless—like Neo, who had flayed the skin from his own face to craft a mask. Yet Karen quickly recalled how he had roasted his own soul with the Flame of Light... Well, it seemed they were all cut from the same cloth. After the first rod came the second, and then the third. Once all three rods were completely driven into her chest, Salayina gripped one with each hand, pressing both pinkies together against the third. Then, she began chanting an incantation. Bright yellow runes appeared around the three rods on her chest. As if treating her own body as a safe, she began turning the "dial." *Creeeak...* A harsh grating sound rang out. It was no longer just flesh; even her bones were being forcefully dislocated and twisted. One turn, another turn, and yet another turn. Blood continuously seeped out, but none fell to the floor; instead, it swiftly flowed back into her body from other points. Karen hadn't felt much when torturing himself, but watching someone else torture themselves before his eyes was truly an uncomfortable feeling. Finally, she could turn it no further. Upon waking, the first thing she did was reinforce the seal, locking the entity inside her away completely. Because she knew all too well that her vitality could no longer support the entity within coming out again. "Phew..." Salayina's arms hung limp at her sides. She remained standing, but her upper body was so exhausted that it was bent completely forward. At this moment, Sains woke from the state of having his memory sealed. He immediately crawled forward on his knees, watching over his Holy Child with deep concern. "My Lady, what happened to you? What happened to us?" "She came out," Salayina said. "However, she erased all your memories." Hearing this explanation, Sains immediately looked up at Karen and the others standing in a row nearby, killing intent flashing in his eyes once more. "My Lady, to be safe, I should still kill them all. She must have spared them out of regard for the Church of Order and chosen to seal their memories instead of striking them down, but a memory seal is not entirely foolproof." "Sains, do not do pointless things. The hotel's rescue squad will be here soon." "My Lady, I can handle it." Sains opened his mouth. His limbs were in a semi-paralyzed state, leaving him able to gather spellcraft only with his mouth. A cluster of yellow flame was now condensing before him, on the verge of erupting. Against four people who were still groggy and defenseless, spell flames of this caliber were more than enough. Right at that moment, Karen "woke up" and looked at Sains. Seeing this, Sains immediately craned his neck forward and gulped down the freshly condensed fireball in one swallow. Immediately afterward, yellow mist began venting from his nostrils and ears, and his entire face turned a waxy yellow. What's more, he even forced a smile at Karen, baring teeth stained yellow from the smoke. Karen asked in confusion, "What's going on?" "It was that Lilith's illusion technique," Salayina answered. "The effects are gradually fading now." "Oh, I see." "Your injuries, My Lady?" "I am fine." Karen walked over to Ophelia and the other two. They were also on the verge of waking, so Karen cast an extremely simple mental booster spell on them. Soon, they woke one by one. Karen then turned his gaze toward Sains, who was kneeling there, and pointed a finger at him. "Captain Karen, does the result of our previous negotiation still stand?" "Of course it stands. But I've always suffered from a troublesome sense of curiosity. I feel as though something happened just now, but..." "One hundred thousand point coupons." Hearing this number, Karen asked, "From which church?" "Order coupons." "A bribe?" "Gratitude for your protection, and to treat your subordinates to afternoon tea." "All right, thank you." "Actually, I can sense that you are not lacking in coupons, Captain Karen." As she spoke, Salayina deliberately glanced at Ophelia. "On that point, you are truly mistaken. I lack them—very much so." "Then, for coupons, could you betray your church, Captain Karen?" "Of course I would not betray my church for a few coupons." At that moment, sounds echoed from below; the rescue team was about to arrive. "It was you who led your squad to rescue me, Captain Karen," Salayina reiterated one last time. "I rescued you and foiled this assassination plot." "And the rest?" "What else could there be?" Karen looked back at Ophelia and the other two. All three women shook their heads. Salayina did not think Karen's memory had escaped being sealed; she was merely worried that her words—"She came out"—might have been overheard by Karen, as the timing of his "awakening" had been far too coincidental. Moreover, tipping a security squad was originally a common practice; she had merely given a rather generous amount this time. Salayina said, "In the name of the Moon Goddess, I swear to remain faithful to this agreement." Karen immediately responded, "By my piety toward the God of Order, I swear I shall remain faithful to this agreement!" *Bang!* The obstruction at the elevator doors was breached, and a group of Order priests rushed inside. Seeing them, Salayina was just about to straighten her posture, but likely aggravating the acute pain in her chest along with her weakness, her body tilted sideways and collapsed toward Karen. Karen did not reach out to support her; instead, he glanced at Ophelia. Ophelia dashed forward and caught Salayina just before she hit the ground. Karen wasn't trying to avoid impropriety; rather, he felt a certain wariness toward this woman who held Ankara sealed within her. Deep down, he had a premonition that Ankara's sudden awakening might have had something to do with him—that he had gotten too close to Salayina. And if Ankara awakened once more, there was no way he could fool her so easily again. The robes of the first Order priests to enter bore numerous solid geometric patterns, resembling the personnel from Old Delon's department, which specifically oversaw the key array projects across all church facilities in the York City Region. Behind them appeared squad after squad of armored knights. They were the garrison, mobilized only in emergencies by order of the Chief Bishop. The leader was tall and helmetless, his face marked with scars. He first swept a glance over Salayina, then turned to Karen and asked: "What happened?" "As you can see, an assassination attempt was made against the Holy Child of the Moon God Church." "Where are the culprits?" "Both dead." "Only one?" "The other's body disintegrated. If you search the floor carefully, you might still piece together a few bits." "You did this?" "Yes." At this moment, Salayina, resting in Ophelia's arms, spoke up: "We should attend the banquet." Even after such a massive incident, Salayina still insisted on attending the banquet, and the Church of Order consented. The former hoped to leverage the assassination attempt to forcibly win some sympathy, laying the groundwork for concessions in the upcoming negotiations. Even the slightest concession in talks between two orthodox churches far outweighed a mere hundred thousand Order coupons; in fact, such matters could not be measured by coupons at all. As for the Church of Order, they did not want the incident broadcast widely, since the assassination attempt had occurred inside the Ankara Hotel. On stage, Salayina, her voice trembling with weakness yet her pale face wearing a radiant smile, spoke eloquently of the splendid future following the union of the Moon God Church and the Church of Order. Below the stage, Karen held a plate, feeding precious delicacies into his mouth piece by piece, as if what he swallowed was not food, but the future friendship between the two great churches. Ophelia walked up beside Karen. Karen turned his head to glance at her and saw that her hands were empty, unable to resist sighing inwardly that Her Highness was indeed a royal princess—not one suited for everyday life. Looking over at Ashley and Blanche, on the other hand, they were not only enjoying themselves immensely, but also continuously bringing over freshly discovered dishes. Many items were made and served on the spot, and the two of them had practically cleared out three rounds. Their families were actually well-off too, yet within the squad's atmosphere, they thoroughly enjoyed the simple pleasure of capitalizing on free perks. However, Ophelia wasn't entirely incapable of fitting in. She was concerned about another matter: "We will be questioned after the banquet ends. Shouldn't we coordinate our statements now?" Karen shook his head. "Coordinate what?" "After the banquet, they'll definitely question each of us about the battle, and they'll examine the corpses." "Tell the truth." "What?" "Tell the truth." "But you swore an oath..." What oath? In the name of the father? "Only I swore an oath; none of you did." Karen popped an unidentifiable yet exquisitely succulent piece of meat from his plate into his mouth and said while chewing, "She's a bit like you." "In what way?" "Standing too high for too long, always thinking everything can be resolved and covered up through political maneuvers. But some things simply cannot be hidden—not unless you treat the heads of the relevant Church of Order departments as fools." "Then you should say I'm a bit like her, not the other way around." "Don't lose heart. Who knows what Dark Moon Island will become in the future, right?" *Click!* The lights in the room clicked on. Karen sat on a sofa, and seated across from him was Bishop Bern. An acquaintance of sorts. Karen had always believed that although Bern ranked near the bottom among the bishops of the York City Region, he was undeniably the most mysterious of them all. For this man's father currently presided over the present of the Church of Pamires, and his son would preside over its future. It was precisely due to his family's machinations that Old Saman had grown completely disheartened by the state of the Church of Pamires and chosen to take his own life. This assassination attempt was of an exceptionally vile nature, and its repercussions would be immense, because anyone could figure out that a faction hidden within the Church of Order had orchestrated and driven it. Any organization tended to be far more tense and cautious when dealing with internal enemies. "We meet again, Karen." "Yes, Lord Bishop." Karen rose from the sofa and bowed to Bishop Bern. "Sit." Karen sat back down and asked, "I've been sitting here for quite a while. Shouldn't the questioning begin?" After escorting Miss Salayina back to her room, he and the others had immediately been summoned to rooms on the floor below for questioning. Yet Karen had sat alone until now with no one interrogating him, until Bishop Bern's figure suddenly appeared here. "No rush." There was a knock on the door, and a black-armored knight handed a stack of interview transcripts to Bishop Bern. Bishop Bern skimmed through them quickly and handed one transcript to Karen. "These belong to your three subordinates—well, if Miss Ophelia counts as one. These are their interrogation transcripts. Take a look and see if there is anything you'd like to add." Karen took it and glanced through. He didn't know which answer belonged to whom, but they had indeed answered truthfully, just as he had instructed. "Do you agree with what is written here?" Karen answered, "I do." "Yet it doesn't match your statement at the scene." "That is because I knew there would be another round of questioning. My subordinates shielded me as well, omitting the agreement I reached with the Holy Child." "Oh? An agreement?" "The Holy Child of the Moon God Church promised me tea money amounting to one hundred thousand point coupons. Right now it's merely a promise, and she has yet to hand it over. Once she does, I will surrender it to the church." "No need. Since it is tea money, keep it for yourself. We cannot set such a precedent; otherwise, no elite squad will be willing to take on security assignments, haha." "Understood. Thank you, Lord Bishop." "Do you have any thoughts regarding this assassination attempt?" Bishop Bern asked. Karen replied, "I did not expect this Holy Child to be so powerful." Bishop Bern nodded. He said slowly, "Indeed. We did not expect it either."