Chapter 316: Are You Done Yet? (Extra Chapter 104)

Stella laughed cheerfully, stared at Herbert's increasingly stiff expression, and nodded with satisfaction.

Yes, that's right.

I just wanted to see that look on your face!

"Then, the young man who insists on justice with his words and is willing to sacrifice himself for others."

"When the time truly comes for you to make a sacrifice, what choice will you make?"

At this moment, Herbert fell completely silent.

The situation was actually not complicated.

Stella had simply placed two rails in front of Herbert—one with only himself on it, and the other piled high with people.

A speeding train was about to reach them, and the button controlling the train's switch was in Herbert's own hand.

Was it to selfishly stand by and let others be, so that he alone survived?

Or to sacrifice himself alone in exchange for the lives of others?

No, in fact, if Herbert truly chose to let the train rush toward him, he wouldn't even die.

Because he had only placed one leg on the rail.

This choice was unfair from the very start, and the price paid by both sides was not equal!

If he chose to sacrifice himself, Herbert would suffer greatly because of it, but he might also turn misfortune into blessing and obtain an even more powerful prosthetic limb.

But if he sacrificed others… then not only would he bear the mental pressure, he might not even be lucky enough to survive.

This seemed to have become an unsolvable choice.

"How about it? I think this is a pretty good condition."

Stella stopped taunting and provoking, and changed her tone, gently persuading: "You know what to do. You only need to bow your head a little, and they can be saved."

"They gain their lives, and all you lose is the so-called 'justice' you insist on upholding."

"The gods never speak falsely. What is promised to you will surely be done."

She believed Herbert would make the right choice.

No.

In fact, even if Herbert made no choice at all, it wouldn't matter, because the two choices were essentially no different.

For a holy professional, this was indeed a fatal dilemma.

If he didn't save others, he couldn't bear the guilt in his heart, his faith would collapse, and he would become an oath-breaker.

But if he saved others, that was equivalent to abandoning his faith, and he would still break his oath and fall.

Both ends were blocked.

"Herbert…"

Elisha pressed her lips together and tightly gripped Herbert's hand.

The Young Lady vampire didn't care whether Herbert would fall or not.

She herself belonged to the evil faction, and if Herbert fell, it would actually be better for her.

But Elisha cared very much that Herbert wouldn't be hurt by this choice, whether spiritually or physically.

Stella watched him with full malice, Elisha gazed at him with worry, and there were still some lucky survivors in the city who were also paying attention to this place at this moment.

He/She/It was also watching him.

Everyone's gaze fell here, all waiting for Herbert to make his decision.

And as the focus of the entire city's attention, the center of the storm, the key figure deciding the fate of countless people!

Herbert Albert, at this critically tense moment, was… spacing out.

"……"

More precisely, he was sighing and complaining in his heart, unable to keep lamenting at the bottom of his heart.

"Sure enough, no matter which world, good people are the ones who get a gun pointed at them…"

Being a good person is really too hard.

Because they are kind, because they have a sense of responsibility, they are also the easiest to be taken advantage of.

The kind are bullied, the tame horse is ridden.

Because they are good people, they are the ones who get a gun pointed at them.

Facing such moral blackmail, for an ordinary holy professional, it is an incomparably painful decision, causing tremendous torment to their spirit.

But the problem is, to morally blackmail someone, there is one necessary prerequisite—the person being blackmailed must have roughly equivalent morals.

That's right.

As long as you have no morals, you can't be morally blackmailed.

Never heard of anyone morally blackmailing a vicious criminal.

"Using this to test a cadre—isn't that a bit excessive?"

Herbert is not a villain, this is beyond doubt.

Although he is a less-than-solemn holy knight, he won't commit evil at will, and he will also restrain those around him toward goodness.

In most situations, Herbert can be regarded as a holy knight, possessing basic universal values and a clear-cut moral view of good and evil.

But if it truly comes to a life-or-death crisis, Herbert will reveal his own flexible and ever-changing moral底线.

What does the precepts that holy knights must strictly observe have to do with me?

I am the ally of the God of Humor!

Your rules here don't apply to me.

He won't stubbornly butt heads to the end; he will definitely slip away when it's time to slip away, with preserving himself as the primary goal.

Herbert quickly figured out his response plan—for now, just go along with Stella and act.

"Let's play along with her for now, pretend to agree to fall, then look for a chance to break the deadlock…"

Although he had been targeted by a notorious Miss Xie Shen, Herbert wasn't particularly flustered.

It's not like he hadn't been harassed by Miss Xie Shen before — what's the big deal?

Besides, he didn't think he could become a follower of the God of Depraved Desire.

This wasn't a matter of whether Herbert himself was willing or not, but whether "He" was willing.

You want me to be your lackey — did you ask my boss first?

Although Nie Nasha is dead, she hasn't died completely yet!

Although his own Miss Xie Shen was a bit silly, talked a bit too much, was a bit annoying, and was currently a bit weak… as a deity, her dignity should still be intact.

If the God of Depraved Desire wants to snatch someone from Nie Nasha's hands, I'm afraid it'll be a bit difficult.

Although Miss Xie Shen once again dropped the ball at a critical moment, and is now sunk in slumber from digesting materials, like she's dead without a single echo.

But if it really came to the step of being forced to change faith, Miss Xie Shen definitely wouldn't give no reaction at all.

The mental contingency plan was made, every response was prepared, but just as Herbert was about to speak, he suddenly froze.

"I… huh?"

In that very instant, he thought of a person — Fa'ao.

That holy knight he had high hopes for, the first to express wanting to follow his ideas.

The "foolish" fellow who would decisively choose to sacrifice himself for weaker companions, who would give up precious trial opportunities for slaves.

What choice would that fellow, who was almost the perfect holy knight template in the traditional sense, make at this moment?

Would he bow his head to Miss Xie Shen's divine favored?

I'm afraid, he wouldn't.

Fa'ao would probably choose to fight with everything he had until the very last moment, even if it meant death.

Even if it was death, it would be the most glorious death!

Just like the sun he believed in.

Choosing to perish together with darkness in the most violent manner.

Herbert's mouth twitched, and he muttered silently.

"Make your own choice, go do what you think is right… tch, damn it, why is all this stuff stuff I said?"

"Honestly, with words like these, I can't just pretend nothing happened, can I?"

He had told them so many high-sounding, preachy words before… who would have thought that at this moment they would all become boomerangs thrown back at himself.

"My past self really didn't leave myself any way out."

Harsh on others, even harsher on himself.

After a long silence, Herbert finally let out a long breath.

Hah…

The young holy knight raised his head, looked toward Miss Xie Shen's favored, and instead of stating his choice, asked a question he had always been curious about.

"Why me?"

"Why is 'He' so obsessed with me?"

"Why insist on choosing me?"

Honestly, he didn't understand why Stilla was so interested in him?

Even if she knew his name, it shouldn't warrant such enthusiasm, right?

She'd rather throw out such an exaggerated olive branch to win him over — that's quite a show of sincerity.

Insisting on forcing me to fall… what's the point?

Could it be that she wants my body?

And Stilla's answer made Herbert daze for a moment.

"You want to know the reason?"

"To personally make a pure soul fall — is there anything in this world more intoxicating than that?"

Understood.

Although it was said abstractly, Herbert understood completely.

Putting it in such flowery language — isn't that just 'luring the decent into the water'!

I'm quite familiar with this, some friends of mine are experts at this~

Anyway, whenever their cases go through my hands, I always fight hard to get them the perfect result of maximum sentencing.

The snake-human-form Miss Xie Shen's favored asked confidently.

"Then, young man, what is your answer?"

To this, the young man's answer was without the slightest hesitation or wavering.

"…I refuse."

Herbert raised his head and flashed a relaxed smile at Stilla, whose expression had slightly changed.

"Stilla, I will absolutely never become your companion."

"If you want a reason — I don't want to work with a disgusting creature like you."

He raised a teasing brow, half-truly half-falsely shrinking his neck, feigning unease: "If I were to be defiled by a creature like you… I'd rather die!"

How scary~

"You…"

However, Stilla's reaction was somewhat disappointing to Herbert — quite boring.

After being provoked, she merely narrowed her eyes, sizing him up like a venomous snake, and said in a low voice: "Herbert, you are insulting me."

Herbert shrugged and sneered: "Yes, I'm humiliating you — isn't that obvious enough?"

I'm cursing you out — got a problem with that?

"You made the wrong choice." The God-Blessed's expression was utterly icy, and the aura around her grew even more chilling.

"The wrong choice? Perhaps."

Herbert shook his head with ease and sighed: "I'm not stupid, but I'm not all that clever either. I've made plenty of mistakes in my life."

"But this time, I don't think I made the wrong choice."

If you want to lecture others, you have to live up to it yourself first.

"Also, forgot to mention one thing — I really don't like being told what to do."

"Especially when someone tries to force me into something — that's exactly what I refuse to do."

You try to drag me into depravity, then I'll be a true Holy Knight whether you like it or not!

"Good, very good — all your own choices." Stella's expression vanished entirely; the whole person now looked like nothing but a wild beast ready to devour.

"Oh right, hold on!"

But just before she could act, Herbert suddenly spoke up:

"I know you might be about to charge over in a rage, but before that, I have one last question for you…"

He laughed helplessly and said softly: "I've stalled for you this long — surely you've gotten ready by now, right?"

Stella:!!?

"What?"

Stella froze for a beat, then suddenly looked at Elisa beside Herbert.

She!!?

Could she possibly have some way to stop the ritual?

But strangely, when Stella looked clearly, she found Elisa staring back at Herbert with an equally blank face.

"Eh?"

Who are you talking to?

Me?

Did I prepare anything?"

!!!

Stella suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of unease at that moment.

Something's wrong!

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

As Stella was searching for what was off, she heard a voice.

It was a voice that, even after hundreds of years, still made her instinctively afraid the moment she heard it.

"Thank you."

"It is enough."

And it was right beside her!!?

Stella jerked her head down and looked at the "Veranmeya" in her arms — at some unknown point, that head had taken on an entirely different appearance.

A face she knew all too well!

"Sivani!!?"

Sivani opened her eyes, gazed at Stella, and whispered: "My sister."

"I've come to save you."

!!!

There was no time to think — Stella instinctively tried to fling the head in her arms away, but the flesh-and-blood serpent tail beneath her suddenly stopped obeying her!

"You!!?"

Those serpent tails began moving on their own will, coiling around her body!

"What did you do?!"

Sivani — nothing but a single head — gazed at her panicked younger sister, lowered her eyes, and murmured:

"Let me grant you…"

"Your final salvation."

(End of Chapter)