Liz pushed open the heavy doors of the church. The sight before her made her heart lurch.
Thick smoke blotted out the sun, as if even light had been swallowed by this catastrophe.
Corpses of demonkin residents lay scattered across every corner of the square. Blood dyed the ground red.
The air reeked of blood and burning.
In the center of the square, the massive fire dragon let out deafening roars.
Every breath of flame ravaged the surrounding buildings and lives, reducing them to ash.
Liz’s vision blurred from the smoke, yet she could still clearly feel the despair and terror.
The low chanting of prayers behind her had completely stopped.
The peace of the small church had been thoroughly invaded by the hell outside.
Some demonkin residents fled desperately from the square into the church.
People blindly followed one another.
As soon as one person started running, more followed closely behind, as if doing so could let them escape this nightmare.
“They’re going to kill us! They’re going to kill us!” Cries of terror rose one after another.
She saw the county police, who should have been protecting the people, now mechanically raising their rifles and mercilessly firing at demonkin residents who had already lost the ability to resist.
At that moment, a demonkin half-blood stumbled and fell at Liz’s feet.
A single horn protruded from his forehead, but otherwise he looked almost no different from an ordinary human.
His eyes were filled with terror and helplessness, as if he were waiting for death to descend.
The officer following close behind raised his gun without mercy, but Liz quickly stepped in front of the half-blood and signaled with her eyes for him to hide inside the church.
Several officers gathered around.
They recognized Liz.
She was one of the three Cerberus Bureau vampires who had killed that terrifying Black Knight last night.
A complicated look flashed through the officers’ eyes—gratitude mixed with awe.
They raised their guns, then immediately lowered them. Clearly they knew Liz was not an opponent they could easily handle.
Liz looked down at the numb officers. Her gaze was lofty. “You should be ashamed of firing on civilians!”
Several officers lowered their heads. They threw their guns to the ground.
Perhaps they too had been swept up in this chaos. They were also relieved that someone had finally stepped forward to stop the slaughter.
Liz stood guard at the church doors.
Her figure was like an insurmountable barrier.
In the suffocating silence, Miriel walked forward, surrounded by her white-robed elves.
“Muni Institute researcher, was this your order?” Liz glared at Miriel, her voice filled with uncontrollable anger.
She recognized the crest on the white robes. The Muni Institute was one of the United Kingdom’s highest technical agencies.
Its influence was unfathomable. But Liz had never imagined they would treat lives so carelessly.
The corner of Miriel’s mouth curled into a false smile. There was not a trace of warmth in her eyes.
“Calm down, little bat of the Toriduo family. My name is Miriel. Dorothy, is it? Or would calling you Liz feel closer?”
Her words were full of mockery, as if Liz’s anger was nothing more than a trivial performance to her.
Liz was momentarily stunned.
The elf before her not only knew her codename but even her true name. This was clearly highly classified information within the Cerberus Bureau.
“…Have you all gone mad? Killing so many civilians—how are you going to explain this to Londinium?” Liz forced her voice to sound calmer.
Miriel gave a contemptuous laugh.
“Oh dear, what civilians? They are all Mutual Aid Society fanatics. The police and Dragon Guard are carrying out suppression right now.”
Her tone was light, as if she were merely discussing an inconsequential game.
Liz’s heart sank to the bottom.
She understood. This was a lie jointly fabricated by the dragon and the city hall—a story about jointly resisting a Mutual Aid Society riot. Its only purpose was to cover up their incompetence and crimes.
“Are the elderly and children inside the church also terrorists?” Liz’s voice was almost accusatory. She stared straight into Miriel’s eyes.
Miriel shrugged indifferently.
“The Mutual Aid Society has already caused over a thousand casualties in several other ducal territories. Let them take responsibility for these three thousand as well. The Mutual Aid Society’s enchanted bombs turned these poor old and young hostages into ash. By the time the heroic Enforcers arrived, it was already too late. They did everything they could but found no survivors.”
She casually spun a chilling lie, as if the disappearance of those lives was merely a change in numbers.
Liz clenched her fists in rage.
She realized Miriel was inviting her to join this deception—using innocent lives to exchange for merit.
“What a despicable lie. Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you to headquarters?” Liz demanded.
Miriel smiled faintly and took out a scroll of documents from her robes, handing it to Liz.
“Don’t be in such a hurry. We also have conditions you cannot refuse.”
The sealing wax on the document bore the crest of a fire dragon’s head.
This was an emblem only the Supreme King and diplomatic missions were qualified to use… This was a document from the very highest level of this country!
Liz accepted the scroll. Her fingers gently brushed over the cold wax. Mixed emotions surged in her heart.
“This is a summons for a hearing convened by the Standing Parliament.” Miriel withdrew her smile. Her tone became serious.
“The Kent incident has already been reported upward exactly as I described. Like you, the big shots do not entirely trust our account.”
“Are you handing me a knife? I could expose your crimes at the hearing.” Liz spoke coldly, already preparing to break the wax and read the document.
Miriel shook her head.
“Stop. This letter is not for you. Your partner, Cheshire Cat, is the one required to attend. Little Claire has been running field missions these past three years, all for the sake of promotion, right? This is an unparalleled opportunity—provided she answers according to our script at the hearing.”
Her tone carried a hint of threat, but even more seduction.
Liz’s heart clenched violently.
She had not expected Miriel to know Claire’s true identity as well.
“How do you know our real names?” Liz finally could not help but ask. Her voice was full of vigilance.
Miriel laughed lightly.
“We know far more than that. Politics, business, academia, the military… including the Cerberus Bureau. We are everywhere.”
The Crowned Ones.
That term suddenly surfaced in Liz’s mind. It was a conspiracy theory that had circulated in the Northern Continent for years.
During her studies at the Intelligence Academy, Liz had researched the United Kingdom’s enormous power machine.
Through its intricate system of checks and balances, the core components of this machine were all long-lived races: Dragon Guards replacing lords’ private soldiers to maintain local order, vampires monitoring bureaucrats and foreign races in the night, elves controlling academia and commerce.
The legend of the Crowned Ones was born from this—immortal races colluding with one another, dividing the nation’s resources.
Liz had originally thought it was merely an urban legend fabricated by disgruntled human nobles.
“The Crowned Ones… You really exist.” Liz’s voice trembled slightly.
“Since this letter is for Claire, why don’t you go find her to cooperate?” Liz continued, trying to draw more information from Miriel.
Miriel narrowed her eyes.
“She is a person without a past. Who would befriend someone without a past? Our people once went through Claire’s files. All her information was placed inside a black file bag stamped with the three-headed hound crest. Yet that file bag contained only blank paper. Your good partner’s secrets have always been carefully protected by the Cerberus Bureau. Did you know that?”
Liz had long known Claire’s background was not simple. But she had never imagined Claire’s background was this mysterious.
“The young priest who persecuted your teacher back then was acting under someone’s orders. You only took revenge on that pitiful young man. We can give you all the information about the person behind him.”
Miriel stepped forward, bringing her face close to Liz. Her voice was low and full of temptation.
Miriel’s hands took Liz’s right hand and placed a slip of paper into her palm.
Liz’s heart pounded violently. She tightly clutched the paper in her hand.
“So we have reached an agreement? All you need to do is step aside, then keep your partner in the dark.” Miriel still wore that suffocating false smile.
This was a condition Liz could not refuse.
She could not forget that church ruin in the first snow. She had never imagined there would come a day when she could clear her teacher’s name.
The hearing was an excellent opportunity for Claire’s promotion.
Although Liz did not understand why Claire so desperately wanted promotion, she knew it meant a great deal to Claire.
She knew that once she stepped away from the church doors, it meant she was abandoning the innocent demonkin residents behind her. Only death awaited them.
Did she have the right to acquiesce to this massacre?
Would Claire want Liz to make this decision for her?
If Claire were here, what choice would she make?
Liz fell into deep hesitation.
Miriel waited patiently. She knew this young vampire would make the correct choice.
After a moment of silence, Liz slowly stepped aside from the church doors.
“Good girl. Unlike those lowly short-lived races, our cooperation will be long-lasting.”
Miriel smiled at Liz. Victory gleamed in her eyes.
She glanced coldly at the officers behind her, as if declaring the legitimacy of this slaughter.
Liz walked forward in silence. She did not look back.
She heard the old orc priest’s chanting resume inside the church.
“We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry in our bodies the death granted by God, so that the life granted by God may also be revealed in our bodies.”
Gunfire suddenly rang out. The chanting stopped abruptly.
Then Liz heard the sound of the fire dragon beating its wings. That enormous body stirred up smoke and dust as it shot into the sky.
Finally, the Containment Zone fell into dead silence once more. Only the sound of burning flames echoed in her ears.
She had caused the deaths of the old orc and the little girl.
But what else could she have done? Challenge the entire city’s police force and a giant dragon?
She understood she could do nothing.
As Liz was about to walk out the main gates of the Containment Zone, she saw that familiar figure.
No.
No.
She should not be here.
Those lovable red eyes were brimming with tears.
From Claire’s gaze, Liz saw shock, then confusion, and finally disappointment.
Claire’s lips trembled slightly, as if silently asking, “Why?”
But Liz did not answer.
She simply walked silently past Claire and out through the gates of the Containment Zone.
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