Chapter 627: Confession

Ice-blue eyes!

That devil!

It's inside the church!

Lumian's spirit tightened; he had no time to think and immediately prepared to "teleport" away.

This time, he would choose Trill, the entrance of Saint Vief Church!

At that moment, he saw his own reflection in those ice-blue eyes:

A face twisted, expression cruel, gaze cold.

Then, one after another Lumian appeared, surrounding him.

There was the Lumian with dazed eyes, heavy breathing, flushed face; the Lumian with terrified expression, trembling uncontrollably; the Lumian with blank face and resolute gaze; the Lumian lost in confusion and sorrow, emotionally low; the Lumian with no will to live; the Lumian whose eyes burned red with rage and hatred…

In an instant, Lumian seemed to have split into countless versions of himself, each seeming real.

This severely disrupted his thoughts and actions, making it impossible for him to activate the contract mark representing "Spirit World Transit."

Following his last instinct, he sank his remaining will into his right hand, toward the brand left by the Blood Emperor, Arista Tudo.

Only by startling that ice-blue-eyed devil could he break free from his current state and gain the chance to "teleport" and escape!

Suddenly, whispers filled with intense madness and corruption echoed in Lumian's ears.

His mind instantly turned to sludge, swelling until it felt ready to burst.

The Blood Emperor's aura failed to be triggered in time.

Fragmented, emotional, agonizing fragments of thought exploded like fireworks in Lumian's mind, then slowly drifted down.

A fierce burning sensation arose in his chest, helping him locate his self and preventing total loss of identity.

After what felt like an eternity, Lumian finally regained control of his thoughts.

His first thought was:

"I'm still alive?"

From the moment the whispers attacked to now, enough time had passed for the devil to kill him dozens of times!

Lumian once again sank his will into his right hand and looked toward the devil with ice-blue eyes.

The devil, dressed in a black suit, tie, and with white hair, had straightened his posture, facing the "Life Holy Symbol," slightly bowing his back, arms crossed over his chest.

With eyes closed, he whispered in obvious pain:

"Merciful Mother, forgive my sins…"

Merciful Mother, forgive my sins… Lumian suddenly felt a shift in his heart and abandoned the idea of activating the Blood Emperor's aura.

He sat down again, beside the devil.

He gazed at the "Life Holy Symbol" on the altar, waiting quietly, not interrupting the devil's confession, quietly reflecting on what had just happened:

The different versions of myself I saw were true illusions—not real in the physical world, but inside my heart, inside my mind…

This was a high-level manifestation of emotional and desire fluctuations, activating individual emotions and desires to compete for control of the body, without reaching the point of dissociative identity?

The subsequent whispers and the mad curses when Naporedisli was expelled were similar, but this time there was no protection from the Fool's gray mist—no, there was still some protection; otherwise, my self would have been drowned in the river of madness brought by the whispers, even if I hadn't lost control, I would have fallen utterly, never lasting until the devil's conscience awakened and he began to confess…

I thought the safest place on the entire Hant Island was this church of the Earth Mother—specifically chosen to hide from the devil—yet here he was, praying… Clearly, I can no longer blindly trust the churches of the True Gods; without sufficient intelligence, nothing is absolute…

Yet, it was only inside this church that I survived; elsewhere, I would already be dead—either slain by Naporedisli fighting the ice-blue-eyed devil, or killed when the True God Church's angel descended, or the Tarot Society's angel arrived…

Lumian formed some suspicions, waited with quiet certainty, and began summarizing his experience, learning from his mistakes.

After several minutes, the devil with white hair, ice-blue eyes, and black suit finished his confession; his expression had calmed slightly, but the blood vessels in his eyes had multiplied.

Only now did Lumian notice the devil wore black leather gloves on both hands—even during confession and prayer, he never removed them—this contradicted the behavior of a devout believer: in human society, wearing gloves while praying was considered disrespectful to the divine, except in emergencies or special circumstances; the same applied to wearing hats.

The devil turned his head and looked at Lumian, speaking in a low, steady voice:

"You haven't fled yet? Aren't you afraid of angering me again?"

Lumian gazed at the "Life Holy Symbol" ahead and smiled:

"Not afraid. This is the church of the Earth Mother."

"Wasn't this also a church just now?" The devil kept his voice low, not disturbing other worshippers.

"An occasional accident is understandable," Lumian said calmly. "And I believe you can control yourself for a short time—six months, however, would be difficult."

The devil likewise looked toward the altar; his ice-blue eyes reflected the "Life Holy Symbol":

"Why do you think so?"

"I'm an experienced adventurer," Lumian smiled. "I know all True God churches share a rule: survivors of occult events who still harbor latent dangers are often absorbed into the church as clerical staff, granted long-term protection to avoid sudden death. Yet none of those who saw the devil on Hant Island followed this procedure—they all received only a few months of protection before leaving."

"Are they afraid that even inside churches or monasteries, people will keep dying?"

"That would severely damage the church's reputation, and higher powers can't watch forever."

The white-haired devil fell silent for several seconds, then said:

"I don't want to kill them, but I…"

His face twisted again, ice-blue eyes filled with agony.

He crossed his arms over his chest once more and whispered a prayer.

This time, he returned to normal quickly.

Lumian returned to his previous topic, smiling:

"Did you write all those epitaphs on their tombstones?"

"Yes." The devil in the black suit maintained his slightly forward-leaning posture.

So this devil has a very good relationship with the Earth Mother Church… He may not be deeply devout, but calling him a believer is entirely valid… Lumian knew that in many critical situations, even if he asked, the ice-blue-eyed devil wouldn't answer—and might even be provoked into severe consequences. He could only wait for a moment of emotional stability and absence of malice to gently probe for details.

But before he could speak, the devil had already asked:

"Foreigner, what exactly do you want on Hant Island?"

Lumian deliberately smiled:

"I recently encountered a devil incident…"

He briefly recounted how Salla in Colia Port had been affected by a "Love Spell," how he had been assigned to investigate, how the suspect's body had suddenly been taken over by a devil seeking a deal—which he refused—and how, using hidden official power, he had expelled the entity.

He did not specify the content of the "Love Spell," nor did he mention Naporedisli's name—for fear of deep hatred between them, where even a name might trigger violent reaction.

He concluded:

"I saw rumors of a devil on Hant Island in that notebook, and it seemed connected to the deal the devil wanted to make. Curious, I came to investigate—not to confront anyone."

"You couldn't confront anyone," the ice-blue-eyed devil honestly assessed.

Still gazing at the "Life Holy Symbol," he added in a calm, low voice:

"Curiosity kills cats."

Lumian laughed:

"It's indeed dangerous—but I found you and discovered that sealed valley in just one day. That proves I'm still capable."

Next time, I'll choose a safer sanctuary.

The ice-blue-eyed devil, with few wrinkles, smiled faintly:

"Your methods are unconventional, but they align with the underlying laws of the occult world."

"Yet if I hadn't been controlling myself, confessing my past killings and harms, you'd already be dead. Such an investigation holds no value."

Lumian didn't argue that, based on prior intelligence, danger was unlikely within the Earth Mother Church's church—what had just happened had ultimately proven to be a false alarm.

He changed the subject:

Why did that mysterious devil target you?

"And given my strength and my companion's, eliminating you—a so-called devil descendant—would be impossible. Was it actually trying to get us to die?"

The devil in the black suit stared at the "Life Holy Symbol" and said:

"I don't know who you encountered."

He refused to reveal more.

Lumian dared not press, dared not provoke; he quickly turned his thoughts, searching for another angle:

"You seem free—why don't you leave Hant Island?"

"It seems some force here is influencing you."

The devil's facial muscles twisted slightly:

"This is my duty. And my atonement."

"After I devoted myself to the Mother, I still sometimes lost control and killed, still accumulating deep sins."

"Then why not imprison yourself completely?" Lumian asked, recalling his earlier reasoning, feigning casualness.

"I can't. I'm unable. And I mustn't." The ice-blue-eyed devil showed pain again.

So indeed, your state is tied to the crimson devil in that valley… But you're already a Cold-Blooded One—why do you still suffer from killing? Why has the Earth Mother Church's doctrine of life's preciousness "healed" you? Lumian decided to soften the topic, helping the devil calm down.

He spoke casually:

"Sorry for being impolite just now—I never asked your name."

The ice-blue-eyed devil's gaze went vacant for two or three seconds:

"Naporedisli."

(End of Chapter)