Capítulo 96: Chapter 96: Finally Caught You
"Damn it!" This was Anieta's first reaction upon hearing that the Holy Knights had gone to "console" the orphanage. By the time she received the news, twenty minutes had already passed since the Holy Knights had headed to the orphanage.
She did not believe it was a coincidence, especially under the current city-wide martial law.
The president of the Aesthetic Society had no choice but to immediately take a carriage from the headquarters of the Aesthetic Society to the orphanage.
"Hurry up!" The continuous rumbling of the carriage's bearings echoed as Anieta, frantic with urgency, kept urging the coachman to go faster. However, the orphanage outside the city was some distance from the Temple University District in Marinburg, and with the constant traffic and congestion, Anieta knew it would take more time.
She began to ponder.
Obviously, if it were someone else, the guards could use various reasons to delay them until she arrived. But the orphanage's guards and staff had no reason or means to stop the Holy Knights' visit, as their intentions were impeccable, and they had already obtained the approval of Marinburg's Senate. In this period of martial law and mutual suspicion of Chaos cults, the orphanage staff could not and dare not refuse the Holy Knights, as doing so would undoubtedly raise the suspicions of the rulers. Regardless of how much the nobles or merchants of Marinburg disliked the Holy Knights, they could not deny their necessity.
So, was this a deliberate test or a bizarre accident?
Or had the Church of Justice already obtained evidence?
Anieta felt as if she was sitting on a furnace.
Few knew that Anieta, the president of the Aesthetic Society, was over a hundred years old.
Anieta had disguised her corrupt and depraved inner self with a beautiful appearance, undergoing numerous surgeries to modify her looks and figure, eventually becoming an even more captivating beauty. Over nearly a century, through replacing organs, skin, and dark rituals, countless pitiful souls allowed her to defy the years and appear stunningly beautiful. Her evil followers kidnapped innocents from the streets for vile experiments, peeling skin from living bodies, cutting out still-beating organs, and even committing more disgustingly perverted acts.
The orphanage was her largest live organ bank and den of iniquity.
She was so eager to continue being beautiful; her beauty was the only thing she cared about. Her mind was filled with tension and madness; she would not allow anything to touch her beauty!
Her inner turmoil made her somewhat irrational. Without confirming what the Holy Knights had done, she could not judge based on the current situation. She could only wildly speculate on various outcomes and search for ways to deal with them.
In endless agony and worry, she arrived at the orphanage.
Anieta rushed out of the carriage, her high heels clacking sharply on the ground. The orphanage guards, seeing it was her, hurriedly opened the gate.
Even before the gate was fully open, Anieta rushed into the orphanage, first cautiously asking the guards, "Where are those Holy Knights?"
"The Holy Knights have already left, President," the guard replied, his eyes flickering, his expression filled with confusion.
"Left????" Anieta exclaimed in disbelief, "Really left?"
"Really left."
The president of the Aesthetic Society found this outcome incredulous. She thought, what do these foolish guards understand? She immediately rushed into the interior of the orphanage.
The inside of the orphanage was very tidy and clean, even somewhat luxurious. Various sculptures and paintings were placed inside the orphanage, and exquisite carpets with various patterns covered the hallways and rooms, contrasting starkly with the orphans' simple clothing and thin faces.
"Watzek? Watzek?" Anieta loudly called out the name of the orphanage director, her confidant.
"Miss Anieta!" A man wearing a high top hat and a fancy tailcoat quickly appeared. Seeing Anieta, he promptly took off his hat and greeted, "Good afternoon, President."
"Good your XX!" Anieta slapped Watzek across the face, instantly swelling his cheek: "I ask you, where are those Holy Knights? What do they know?!"
The hat fell to the ground.
"They... they didn't know anything. They just came here, brought some food and clothes, then toured the orphanage. We told them we were busy, and they graciously said they were disturbing us and left," Watzek, his face swollen, dared not resist.
"Just that?!"
"Just that."
Anieta's expression was strange and ferocious, her facial muscles seemed to twist into knots, her beauty now distorted and grotesque. She motioned for Watzek to follow her to a corner for a private whisper, "Did they really not do anything else?"
"Really, they just visited the 'specimens,' then brought food, cracked a couple of bad jokes. The Temple Knight even put that predestined specimen named Anna on his shoulder, asking her if the food was good, how the living conditions were. The specimen's answers didn't reveal any flaws..." Watzek detailed the visit of the Holy Knights: "I was watching the whole time. They toured for about twenty minutes, and I felt it was about time, so I said we had other matters, and they left understandingly."
"What about Belte?"
"He's been downstairs the whole time, no movement!"
"It's too simple! Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Anieta still didn't believe it. The president of the Aesthetic Society simply couldn't accept that the Holy Knights had just come for a visit. After thinking for a long time, she finally decided, "I'm going down to see for myself! Wait here!"
"Understood." Watzek never dared to oppose Anieta's decision, otherwise, he would be the one killed.
Thus, Anieta opened the passage leading to the Chaos Altar downstairs.
When Watzek saw the president of the Aesthetic Society disappear into the dark passage, he spat and cursed, "Go to hell, you dead bitch! When I also receive the favor of our lord, you'll be the first I kill!"
At that moment, a guard rushed in panic: "Bad news! Director Watzek! The Duke and the Archbishop of Poseidon have stormed in with a large force of personal guards and Poseidon Knights!"
"Damn it! Why didn't you stop them!" Watzek stood up in shock, instinctively glancing towards the open secret passage in the room, fearing the worst: "Quick! Block them!"
"Block who?"
Before he could finish, a calm and authoritative voice came from outside. The Duke of Marinburg strode into the director's office, followed by Laine and Veronica, both smiling behind Schultz.
"Whom did you want to block? Is there something in the orphanage that shouldn't be seen?" Schultz had just entered when the Duke immediately noticed the dark entrance in the director's office. The expressions of the Duke and the Archbishop of Poseidon showed slight surprise: "It seems there really is."
"This is... the power of Chaos! I feel the aura of Chaos energy!" Archbishop Odric's face changed, the rows of bottles hanging from him buzzing: "It's a Chaos Altar! There's a Chaos Altar in this tunnel!"
"Personal guards! Prepare for battle!"
A tall soldier took the lead with the chant, his hair graying, his eyes etched with the marks of time, and his face scarred from many battles. He was one of the protectors of Marinburg hired by Schultz, Robert Bayeux-Camprevan.
A former Imperial General, a legendary high-ranking Sun Knight.
"In the name of Mannan! Poseidon Knights! Exterminate the evil!" Archbishop Odric also shouted loudly, the dozen or so Poseidon Knights with him unsheathed their curved swords, charging directly at the orphanage's guards and servants.
Under the assault of the personal guard and the Poseidon Knights, the guards were killed on the spot whether they resisted or not, and the servants could only spare their lives by surrendering. The entire orphanage plunged into chaos, filled with curses, the clashing of swords, cries, and pleas for mercy.
It was over! Watzek knew it was too late; instinctively, he drew a dagger and rushed at Duke Schultz of Marinburg with incredible speed.
To take the Duke hostage and force them to leave was Watzek's only thought.
But he wasn't the only one with plans; the Duke himself was prepared.
A golden sword appeared in Schultz's hand, the Duke making only one strike.
A slash that seemed to tear through the fabric of reality, a golden arc nearly splitting the air itself.
Watzek was cut in two mid-air, the corrupted orphanage director instantly killed, and his body vaporized into a lump of flesh by the powerful golden energy of the Duke's sword.
Laine remained unphased, while Veronica's expression didn't change, but she was secretly shocked. She really hadn't expected the Duke of Marinburg to possess such formidable strength.
No wonder he could maintain his position as the ruler of such a chaotic and fractious Marinburg. Such a formidable figure was not to be underestimated. Veronica gained a deeper understanding, realizing she had perhaps underestimated the heroes of the world.
As the Duke's personal guards and the Poseidon Knights continued their suppression, an anomaly occurred. Many Abandoned emerged from the orphanage, these twisted, mutated beings attacking the guards and knights in a frenzy.
When the identities of these Abandoned became clear, even Veronica couldn't help but feel compassion.
These Abandoned were small in stature, some still wearing tattered clothes, some with youthful faces visible.
They had once been children of this orphanage, tormented by experiments and sacrifices to this point! To this day, they had become monsters that knew only the craving for flesh and souls.
Many Poseidon Knights, facing these charging figures, felt a chill down their spines, ashamed as they were forced to kill these pitiable Chaos creatures. While these creatures were too numerous, they could not inflict much damage on the knights, but it deeply troubled their hearts.
Archbishop Odric took action, unable to tolerate such blasphemous dark deeds or the presence of such a large Chaos cult on his turf, leading to so many orphans suffering. He raised his sea-blue mermaid scepter, beginning to chant a spell.
"The Wrath of Poseidon!!!"
Seawater surged from the air, filled with Poseidon's fury, tearing apart the large group of dark creatures in the tidal waves.
"Lord Schultz, please step outside the orphanage, leave this to me and Veronica," Laine raised his griffin war hammer: "I and Belte have a lot to 'discuss.' I'd love to 'talk' about all the troubles we've encountered along the way with him using my hammer. This is my fight."
"No problem, then I'll watch from outside. Wish you a triumphant victory!" Schultz nodded, the Duke of Marinburg unfazed, calmly retreating to the outside of the orphanage under the protection of his personal guard. Outside the orphanage, more Poseidon Knights and personal guards awaited, rushing into the orphanage upon hearing the sounds of battle inside.
Trusting in Laine, Schultz had brought a full two hundred personal guards, and the Poseidon Knights deployed an entire platoon. These were all full-time professional soldiers, the majority of whom were elite fighters, unmatched in combat strength.
After Schultz and Odric left, Laine's expression gradually became complex, his face reflecting a mix of emotions: "From Winter City to Ulan Town, from Carlsen Seaport to Scaville Mountain, from Myojin Seaport to Marinburg, from the arena to the orphanage... everything, was to hunt down Belte."
"Let's go, my dear, let's put a perfect end to this story." Veronica was no longer in her usual dress and high heels today, the woman had changed into a fiery red battle leather jacket, her dark brown hair tied up.
"Let's go!" The two, along with many personal guards and Poseidon Knights, entered the secret entrance in the director's office.
In the underground tunnel.
Anieta, the president of the Aesthetic Society, anxiously found the Chaos Altar, but discovered nothing unusual happening; the Chaos Altar was still as before, shimmering with black light, flowing with filthy energy.
Anieta carefully inspected the Chaos Altar but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Only a black-robed figure was near the Chaos Altar, who stood up impatiently upon seeing Anieta enter: "Is the martial law over? Can I go out now?"
"No!" Anieta's demeanor was very fierce: "Do you know how much danger you've brought me? The Holy Knights have just searched here!"
"So what?! Anieta! Do you know? I'm in pain, unbearable pain. My lord will never want a champion who hides underground avoiding fights. It's constantly urging me to go out and fight!" The black-robed figure tore at his own skin in agony, his will to spill blood and desire for battle constantly tearing at his nerves. This is the result of worshipping Chaos: only through battle, skulls, and blood can one please the dark gods.
"You just need to wait a little longer, wait for the situation to calm down, then you can go wherever you want and kill to your heart's content!" Anieta thought to herself, believing those who worship Chaos to be fools. Once this was over, she would definitely kill Belte.
"Oh! Then I am honored to inform you, Mr. Belte, your desired battle is here now." While they were still arguing, a cold male voice behind them answered their question.
The trigger of a rune shotgun with demon-repelling holy flame was pulled, blasting the Chaos Altar into pieces.
A basin-sized fireball hit Anieta in the back, the president of the Aesthetic Society screaming as she exploded into flames and fell to the ground, her life or death unknown.
The black-robed figure stood up: "Finally found me, Nord fool?"
Laine's blue eyes burned with white fire.
"I've finally caught you, Belte!!!"
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