Chapter 150: Fenrir and Snow White |
“You, search over there!”
At the mouth of the alley, Bishop Beckett directed the knights to split up and search through the neighborhood. Then he glanced toward another squad of knights rushing past the distant intersection—that was the group dispatched by Cardinal Zeven.
The objective of deliberately letting Weiss escape and expanding the impact had already been fully achieved.
Weiss had been fleeing everywhere in order to suppress her blood craving and murderous impulses, which also meant that the number of witnesses continued to increase.
Cardinal Zeven wanted to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, but the first step was to find Weiss, who was running loose within the diocese. To do so, he had no choice but to ring the alarm bell and impose martial law across the diocese, sending knights everywhere to search. In that case, the spread of the incident across the entire major diocese became inevitable.
This Book Is First Published on Taiwan Novel Network
When something like this happened, anyone with a little brainpower could understand that even if Weiss were a Witch—even if she were temporarily assumed to be a heretic who had infiltrated the Church—after finally climbing to such a position, how could she possibly self-destruct in such a meaningless manner at an event like this?
But in the eyes of ordinary civilians who knew nothing about transcendent powers, Weiss displaying the form of a Witch in front of countless witnesses made her, without question, the perpetrator of a terrifying incident—the culprit responsible for the casualties among innocent civilians present.
And even if the upper ranks of the Church knew Weiss had been framed, they would still have to give the public an explanation.
He had to find Weiss before anyone else did.
Standing alone at a crossroads away from the others, he activated his Blessing, allowing the sigil to float before him.
It would not be a problem if someone saw him contacting someone in secret. It was normal for him to communicate with his superiors during operations, and the action itself was entirely reasonable—as long as no one eavesdropped.
At the same time, the Great Witch Arachne was hiding in a hotel room somewhere, pouring wine into a glass as she gazed out the window, enjoying the city sinking into fear.
She truly loved this kind of transaction—profitable and allowing her to do what she enjoyed.
Sensing movement, she reached out to close the window and took out the Secret God emblem.
“Madam, we require your assistance,” Bishop Beckett said, lowering his voice as much as possible.
“Extra work means a higher price,” Arachne replied with a smile.
“That should already be part of the agreement,” Bishop Beckett responded calmly. “Mr. Johnny is already ready to set sail at any moment.”
“I can add some additional services. If you want the situation to get even bigger, I could help you assassinate the Cardinal,” Arachne said with a wide grin.
“Please do not do anything unnecessary. If it reaches that point, even we would have difficulty arranging your escape,” Bishop Beckett replied sternly.
This terrorist was indeed dangerous. A slight misstep in cooperation could lead to matters spiraling into something even they could not control.
“Just joking. I don’t want to be judged by Her Majesty the Queen for acting on my own initiative,” Arachne said leisurely, taking a sip of wine. “I can only sense a faint trace of the aura. From the hiding place you arranged for me, it should be roughly to the northeast. It hasn’t moved at all—she’s probably hiding somewhere.”
A map of the diocese immediately appeared in Bishop Beckett’s mind. Based on Arachne’s description, he began forming a spatial image. Those who possessed the Blessing of the Secret God rarely had poor directional sense or spatial imagination.
Hidden from sight, suitable for hiding—
Several possible locations quickly surfaced in Bishop Beckett’s mind.
“There’s a witness report. Gather up!” he called out, summoning the knights.
Weiss crouched alone in the corner of an exhibition hall, hiding behind a statue. Her consciousness was constantly struggling between primal impulses and rationality.
Without blood or the stimulation of other people, she had recovered slightly, but the effects of the magical potion were still continuing to take hold. The relief was only temporary—she had no idea how long she could endure.
In her hazy state of consciousness, it took her quite a while before she noticed that the Magic Mirror she was clutching tightly in her hand was producing a resonant tapping sound.
She suddenly jolted awake and stared at the mirror in disbelief.
Through the blood-written plea for help on the surface, she met Leon’s eyes.
“Leon?” She wiped away the writing with her hand, her voice trembling slightly.
She had not truly expected Leon to respond. It had only been a desperate struggle when she had no other options.
Yet Leon had actually answered her. To her at this moment, it felt like a dream—so much so that she wondered whether it was a hallucination born from her desperate will to survive.
Leon also saw what Weiss looked like now.
Her pale face, silver hair, glowing red eyes, and the faintly visible fangs between her slightly parted lips.
Without a doubt, this was the appearance of the Blood Kin recorded in the Church’s records.
“Bishop Weiss, what exactly happened? What is this form you’re in?” Leon asked.
At that moment, Weiss seemed to wake from a dream and suddenly realized something.
After seeing her like this, would Leon still choose to help her?
“I was researching— I’m being framed right now— I can’t control my mana—” Weiss panted heavily as she spoke, her words slurring. “Leon… help me—”
After staying quietly here alone for a while, the impulses seemed to have eased slightly, but they continued to pound against her mind, making it difficult for her to think. Even her speech became fragmented.
Framed—
The moment Leon heard that word, a suspect had already appeared in his mind.
So the Earl had attended the Holy Spirit Festival this time specifically to set a trap for Bishop Weiss?
If all of this was the Earl’s plan, then intervening—
Would that not truly mean becoming an enemy of the Earl?
Leon’s heart sank.
This was not like secretly meeting Weiss before—this was something that, once discovered, would cause their relationship to completely collapse.
But Weiss was not someone insignificant to him. She had helped him. Even putting aside their relationship, she possessed the medicine that could cure Sally—something only she could formulate!
In the end, the very reason he had chosen to cooperate with the Earl in the first place was to save Sally, whom he had personally sent to prison.
He did not know what the Earl’s true purpose was in setting this trap for Weiss, but if this matter conflicted with his own interests, then he had to make a choice!
“Where are you? Can you describe it clearly?” Leon asked, staring at the Magic Mirror.
To hear each other more clearly, they both leaned very close to the mirror, almost able to hear each other’s breathing.
“I’m in— I’m in—” Weiss panted while looking around. “This is—an exhibition hall? There are many statues… and suits of knight armor—” Her gaze wandered toward the window. “There’s a red-brick tower across the street—”
Would Leon really help her? This was an enormous risk. Perhaps Leon would instead report her.
But Weiss had no energy left to think about such things. She was trapped in a desperate situation, tormented not only by her primal impulses but also by the helplessness of being completely alone.
Her memory was too hazy. She could not recall how she had ended up here. Going outside to check would risk being seen.
“Red-brick tower… exhibition hall…” Leon quickly recalled.
During the earlier assessment period, he had actually wandered around the major diocese.
Ordinary people would struggle to identify a place from such a vague description seen months ago, but Leon could replay his memories using the Blessing of the Supreme God. He quickly reviewed them in his mind.
Then the red-brick tower appeared in a corner of his memory.
Opposite it was—
The old art museum located northeast of the Creator Church. There really was a deserted exhibition hall there.
“I know where you are. Wait there. If you change locations, tell me immediately!” Leon instructed.
“Mm—” Weiss answered with difficulty.
The mirror returned to darkness as Leon put it away.
Weiss clasped the mirror in her hands and held it to her chest, curling up in the corner and waiting anxiously. At this moment, she could only pray that Leon would arrive soon.
She had no idea how much agonizing time had passed when Weiss heard a faint sound.
“Is he here?” For a brief moment she felt a flicker of excitement. Instinctively, she expanded her domain perception. The Blessing of Exhaust Blood allowed her to sense creatures with heartbeats within a certain range.
Her mind struggled to focus. It took several attempts before she finally detected something.
The moment she sensed it, her blood ran cold.
Because what she detected were multiple heartbeats—right nearby!
A group had arrived here.
They were definitely knights searching for her!
The door she had closed earlier was suddenly kicked open.
A squad of knights stormed into the exhibition hall under the leadership of Bishop Beckett.
“The bloodstains outside make it very obvious. Come out yourself!” Bishop Beckett drew his loaded gun. “You have nowhere left to run, Weiss Rogers.”
All hope collapsed for Weiss.
As her body turned cold, she finally regained a fleeting moment of clarity.
There were no other exits in this exhibition hall. If she tried to smash through the window from this distance, she would definitely be shot.
Now she could only surrender.
Even if Leon arrived now, what difference would it make? He might even become implicated.
Thinking of this, she forced herself upright and dragged her heavy body out from behind the statue.
Every gun barrel immediately pointed at the revealed Weiss. The knights formed a volley formation together with Bishop Beckett.
The moment Weiss saw Bishop Beckett and the Fully Appointed Knights, the impulses in her body—only slightly calmed before—surged up again.
“Don’t shoot—” Weiss raised both hands, forcing the words out before her rationality completely disappeared. “I’ve—been framed—”
If she were shot again, even if she did not die, she would completely lose control.
If someone else had found her, perhaps they might still have prioritized stabilizing the situation under Cardinal Zeven’s orders.
But this time, the person who found her was one of those who had framed her.
Bishop Beckett’s eyes turned cold as he prepared to aim at a non-vital area of Weiss’s body.
Without warning, a massive black shadow suddenly smashed through a side window and burst into the exhibition hall. The shattering glass instantly drew everyone’s attention!
Bishop Beckett’s gaze shifted for a split second, yet he could not clearly see the shadow—it was simply too fast.
Even after breaking through the window, the speed at which it fell with gravity was abnormally fast. It landed before the shards of glass did.
No one even had time to blink before the shadow accelerated further, leaving behind an afterimage as it lunged toward Weiss.
Having transformed into a werewolf, Leon lowered his body and sprinted before anyone could react. He slammed his shoulder into Weiss’s waist, lifting her onto his shoulder in one motion.
Time Acceleration!