STM 172

I also glared at him and said.

“It’s a miracle my family is even alive and breathing right now.”

“Isn’t the miracle that she isn’t dead? You always wanted your younger sister to die. Everyone knows you went around saying all that wealth would be yours if your frail sister died early. Now you’re suddenly acting like you care about her.”

“Now that I’ve become Salvation, I should change a little too.”

Hoiga let out a hollow laugh in disbelief as his attack failed to work.

“Someone who doesn’t know the future can never be Salvation.”

“What’s the use of knowing the future when you don’t even properly understand the person right in front of you?”

“You’re still the same stupid and vulgar Adeye Lu. I know you very well.”

I lowered my voice while staring him down.

“If you knew me so well, you should never have touched my family.”

Tap. I took a step toward him and clenched my fists. Perhaps due to the experience of being hit by me, Hoiga was tense and warned me.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I have no intention of grabbing you and beating you up, either. That wouldn’t be fun. It’s much better to watch you run off completely out of your mind.”

He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. I was the one who couldn’t understand his confused expression.

“Did you think I’d just sit still after what you did to me? If you really thought that, you underestimated me too much. Didn’t you say I seemed to have changed? Then you should’ve been on guard, Hoiga.”

I called his name and took another step closer.

“I can do anything you can do.”

“What can I do?” A question popped into his eyes, but he couldn’t voice it. I smirked as I stared into his wary eyes.

“Shall I give you another prophecy since you love them so much? Heat will fill the capital once again. You’ll see blue flames.”

“You… what are you planning to do with the Eternal Flame brazier?”

“I can’t even light the brazier’s flame, so what could I possibly do? Think harder. Just where and what exactly will happen.”

Hoiga bit his lower lip as he racked his brain.

“If you’re trying to kill me by setting this place on fire, you won’t be safe either.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not killing you. I could never kill you.”

How could I kill you? You still have a long way to go before you break.” As if my sincerity had reached him, Hoiga’s expression turned serious.

“Why do you hate me so much… ha, no.”

He probably stopped talking because he realized what he had done, but he still didn’t seem to understand my malice. Well, there’s no need for him to understand yet. Pain is always more agonizing when you don’t know the reason. I grinned on purpose.

“You know it well. That I want to trample on you. So, you see, I did it on purpose.”

“Did what?”

“The way I stepped forward in front of Grand Duke Kun at the White Branch meeting and claimed to be Salvation. I interfered because he’s the person you want. I did it to torment you.”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

“On purpose? Why on earth?”

“Just because.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“It looked like you lived your life working hard just to make that ridiculous unrequited love work. I wanted to trample on it.”

Shock spread across Hoiga’s eyes. However, the shock soon turned into rage. I decided to deliver one last blow to him at this point..

“The temple is strongly demanding the return of the Eternal Flame brazier, I decided to give it back. A priest is taking the brazier back to the temple today.”

“You’re sending Ariona to the temple? Are you sure?”

“You’re stupid. We caught two priests on the day of the fire.”

Only then did Hoiga seem to remember the other priest, Sidro. His eyes widened, soon filled with astonishment. Because I had asked with a smile.

“By the way, are you keeping in touch with your family?”

‎

‎

Clack!

As a carriage passed by the square where people had gathered and stopped in front of the Great Temple, the crowd stopped in unison and looked on with curiosity. The large carriage, with its iron bars, looked exactly like something used to transport prisoners.

It was also a mystery how the carriage could enter the plaza where the event was just about to begin. It looked very suspicious as it stopped only after reaching the Great Temple’s front gate. Guards and priests ran out because even the temple didn’t know about this, but the carriage had already stopped at its destination.

The carriage door opened slowly as if it were enchanted. A priest approached and looked inside, but his reaction was strange.

“Ahh!”

They recoiled in shock. Who on earth was inside? As the murmuring of the crowd spread, someone emerged from within. It was a figure dressed in the robes of a priest, but he had something hanging from his ankle that should not have been there.

Clank.

The priest kept his head bowed, and with every step, the iron chains connecting his ankles clanged loudly, signaling his movement. Why was he chained…

“Oh?! It’s Priest Sidro!”

Someone recognized him and shouted. While the flustered temple officials couldn’t respond immediately, Sidro suddenly started running up the Great Temple’s stairs.

They chased after him too late. He had already reached a high place where everyone in the plaza could see him. Sidro knelt there and shouted while trembling.

“The fire at the Adeye house isn’t my fault! I only followed the orders of the temple and the Ma family! This is unfair!”

A high priest of the temple gave orders to the others belatedly.

“Take Sidro away at once!”

Temple officials swarmed around Sidro, but no one could even grab his arm. They had finally seen the object Sidro was holding.

He held a small iron brazier to his chest. Inside, a small blue flame swirled, as if responding to the emotions of Sidro, who was trembling with a sense of injustice.

“It… it’s the Eternal Flame…”

Although the trembling voice was not loud, it echoed in people’s ears like thunder. Before long, screams rang out in the plaza, and it became chaos as people scrambled to escape.

The blue flame blooming from the brazier began to swallow the Great Temple as if it were alive.

‎

‎

This is impossible. It can’t be. Hoiga tried to judge the situation calmly several times as he headed toward the Great Temple. No matter how much Lu wanted revenge, he wouldn’t use Sidro to start a fire in the same way.

And at the Great Temple of all places? That would mean turning the temple and its believers into enemies. Would he do such a thing just for revenge without any justification…?

His thoughts were cut short as he watched the smoke rising high enough to be recognized even from a distance. The smoke was coming from the Great Temple.

The blue flame surrounded the Great Temple in an instant like a living creature that only attacks one target once it’s chosen.

It would not go out by any means and instead attacked those who rushed at it, so no one could get close and they could only stand there helplessly.

All people could do was stare at that flame in terror. They wished someone would put it out.

Just when nothing but a desperate wish remained, someone ran toward the Great Temple, pale with fear. He grabbed a nearby priest and screamed like a madman.

“What about the people from the Ma family?! What happened to them? They visited the Great Temple today!”

“L-Lord Hoiga?”

The priest who recognized him asked, but Hoiga didn’t even realize that people’s eyes were on him. He asked again.

“Tell me quickly. What happened to the Ma family members?!!”

“C-Calm down. Everyone inside escaped safely to the outside through the underground passage.”

In that instant, Hoiga’s tension completely drained away, and all strength left his body. As he staggered and was about to collapse, the priest quickly caught him and called out to him earnestly.

“Lord Salvation.”

Flinch.

Hoiga froze in place, but the priest’s desperate voice continued.

“Please, can you put out that fire? There are countless artifacts and records remaining inside the Great Temple. You are the only one who can do this, Salvation.”

Hoiga finally realized he was in the exact situation he had been avoiding for days. Countless people were looking at him. This situation was more terrible than worrying about his family being trapped in the flames. People began to bow their heads all at once.

“Lord Salvation, we beg of you.”

Hoiga’s face turned pale as more people bowed to him. From this moment on, the title of Salvation would fall away from him completely. The situation before him was too cruel.

It was as if someone had blocked all escape routes with a single Go stone and snatched the ground beneath his feet. Everything happened in an instant