The masked figures nodded their heads when they heard the Duchess’s commands.
After they confird that the Duchess had no further orders, they saluted once again and exited the room, leaving her alone.
"The Infernal Army is going to arrive at the border soon. Things are becoming more and more complicated...", Duchess Lobelia’s low voice spread in the dimly lit room.
--
Standing on top of a nearby rooftop, Liora was surrounded by a pale domain.
She watched silently as shadows erged from the Duchess’s manor and blended into the silent night, leaving the city without being seen or heard.
As she watched the shadows depart, a flicker of light flashed in her crimson eyes.
She had noticed these people’s arrival the very mont they stepped into the city and had tracked them until they reached this place.
However, afraid of being discovered, she hadn’t followed them into the Duchess’s manor but chose to wait outside.
Now that they were leaving, it seed that their eting with the Duchess was finally over.
Liora was not surprised that the Duchess had unknown subordinates under her command.
This was to be expected by a high-level noble and a powerful Great Knight.
What piqued her interest, though, was the familiar aura emanating from these people.
"Darkness, shadows, and a hint of evil...", she whispered.
It was obvious to all that these people were practicing Knight Techniques related to darkness.
This was not surprising by itself. Liora had t many people practicing such techniques before, including the Black Tulip family.
What made her interested, however, was that the darkness that these people exuded was deeper, purer, and far stronger.
She had only t such auras a few tis during her stay in this world. And they were all from people belonging to a certain faction.
"Necronomicon Sect...", Liora muttered.
It was exactly this realization that caught her off guard.
Liora could still rember that Diana, the mber of the Holy Church that she had captured, had told her that the Duchess was related to their cult.
Though not fully trusting her, Liora was leaning towards this fact being the truth. But now, the Duchess’s subordinates were clearly related to the Holy Church’s sworn enemy, the Necronomicon Sect.
This made her raise her eyebrows.
She couldn’t understand whether Diana was lying or the Duchess’s secrets were bigger than she initially thought.
--
Thinking of Diana, Liora rembered that she had not paid a visit to this prisoner for quite so ti.
Therefore, after she returned to her residence, she entered the demi-plane of the Space Orb once again.
With a wave of her hands, she deactivated the formation surrounding Diana, allowing her to wake up from her slumber.
This ti, it took far longer for Diana to regain consciousness.
Even though she imdiately opened her eyes, a trace of haze remained in her pupils for a long ti.
Clearly, although the formation had no attacking capabilities, the long sleep she had gone through had severely impacted her, despite her being a True Knight.
It took a few minutes for Diana to finally wake up.
She was not surprised to find Liora’s figure standing in front of her.
She didn’t know that more than a week had passed since the last ti the two t.
She couldn’t dream or think while asleep, much less keep track of ti.
Liora gave this mber of the Holy Church a few seconds to completely wake up.
After she confird that everything was fine and she was fully conscious, she jumped straight to the point.
"Do you know why the beasts have rioted? Is it related to the Holy Church or the Necronomicon Sect?", she asked.
Diana had already predicted that Liora was going to ask her for information.
But still, this question left her stunned.
After all, she had stayed here for a long ti. She had no way of communicating with the outside world and had no way of knowing what occurred outside.
But Diana quickly recovered.
She first shook her head to show that she didn’t know the answer, before suddenly pausing to think for a few seconds.
Then, she seed to rember sothing.
"I don’t know what happened that caused the beasts to riot. However, I do know sothing about the Ancient Beast Wilderness.", she said.
"According to an ancient book in the Holy Church’s library, there are powerful beasts that surpass the Great Knight rank that are sleeping deep inside the forest. Unlike the beasts that one would usually et, it is rumored that these beings possess a certain amount of intelligence, just like humans."
"If there is sothing that can cause beasts to suddenly go crazy, it can only be those beings.", Diana answered, certainty filling her tone.
Liora was not shocked.
Diana’s words only served as further confirmation of a guess she had made a long ti ago.
Most likely, the unknown person who targeted her not long ago was not a human, but a powerful beast.
And to possess the ability to track her movents, it was clear that it possessed a certain amount of intelligence.
Thus, thinking of the Fire Elentals that she had t in the Demon World, Liora guessed that beasts could also awaken once they reached a certain amount of power.
Thinking of this, she nodded her head to show that she understood, and continued asking questions.
As usual, Diana kept answering, unless it ca to matters directly related to the Holy Church and its secrets.
When their conversation was about to end, and Diana felt that she would be put to sleep again, she said a few more words, seemingly unintentionally.
"If you wish to investigate the cause of the beasts’ riot, you might want to pay a visit to the Holy Church. There, you may find the answers you’re seeking."
--
The next morning, Liora quietly left Hope City unbeknownst to everyone.
No one knew of her departure, including Duchess Lobelia and even Alpha.
Liora didn’t go far.
She simply entered the Ancient Beast Wilderness and searched for a suitable prey near its outskirts.
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