Demon Bible

Chapter 177: I Advise You to Choose the Future

While Isabella was still reviewing the files of the Redemption Department, she noticed that several elites from the Missionary Department were rapidly heading out under Dong He's leadership.

The meeting had just concluded, and the handover was not even complete yet. Had a major incident already occurred within the Missionary Department?

Meanwhile, Rhine wore a slightly gloomy expression as he walked toward the "home" he rarely ever visited.

However, this flicker of emotion quickly faded into indifference, vanishing completely.

Just moments ago, he had received news that the Nitton Family had been attacked by unknown assailants. The Nitton Family Head was injured, and the rest of the situation remained unclear.

As for the attackers, it was said that they had already retreated unscathed.

Furthermore, the characteristics of the attackers this time were not particularly distinct.

The only known detail was that their leader was an Iron-rank Warlock; the identities of the others were entirely a mystery.

There were about seven or eight of them in total, all draped in black robes that shielded them from detection.

Due to the relapse of an old injury, the Nitton Family Head had been unable to mount an effective defense.At this moment, the Nitton Family Head was wrapped in heavy robes, with Leydo by his side tending to him.

Several black scars on his chest were faintly writhing, as if something within them was siphoning away everything from the Nitton Family Head.

This was his old injury—a wound left behind from a battle against a Calamity Beast decades ago when the ground Disasters had surged.

Seeing the return of Rhine, who almost never came home, a flash of resentment crossed Leydo's eyes. But he quickly lowered his head and continued to care for his grandfather.

The Nitton Family Head, on the other hand, looked at Rhine with evident surprise. "Why have you returned?"

"I resigned from my position as bishop, so I finally had some time to come back and take a look," Rhine replied.

"What happened here?" he continued, interrogating them in a strictly businesslike manner, much like an investigator handling a case.

This detached attitude infuriated Leydo even more, yet he did not lash out and angrily question Rhine as he normally would have.

"Just some brainless bandits who stumbled into the Nitton estate." The Nitton Family Head paused before providing a standard, dismissive answer.

His thoughts briefly drifted back to the encounter.

During the attack, while the Nitton Family Head was still hesitating, Opper's tone had suddenly shifted.

"The legacy of a family lies more in its future," Opper had said.

"At the very least, I can be certain that Rhine is not the future of the Nitton Family." After possessing Opper, Nemus's entirely different aura had instantly made the Nitton Family Head's scalp tingle with dread.

Nemus had stared at him before shifting his gaze to Leydo.

"There are far too many things entangled with Rhine."

"The Nitton Family, or at least this branch family of yours, cannot bear the weight of it."

"Young men like this one are the true future. Do you not agree?"

"Indeed!" the Nitton Family Head had nodded in acknowledgment. He seemed to be agreeing with Nemus's words, yet it also felt as though he was answering the question Opper had raised earlier.

"Then, I wish the Nitton Family longevity." With that said, Nemus had ended his possession.

Opper and the others had offered a slight bow before withdrawing from the Nitton estate.

After those people left, the Nitton Family Head gradually came to a decision.

Sending out the family's holy blood to participate in the Saint Child Project had indeed been a sound investment at the time.

Rhine's Saint's essence and innate talent were exceptionally rare, even within the main family.

His rise to power had stabilized their branch family. Although they could never make Rhine fully pledge his loyalty to them, the other benefits they reaped were far from meager.

He had thought the storm surrounding the Saint Child Project had passed, but he never expected the situation to escalate to such an extent.

It seemed it was time to cut ties. The future of the family, after all, still rested upon the shoulders of its normal members.

"Is that so?" Rhine saw through the lie but did not particularly care. He simply nodded and chose to leave.

Forty years ago, when he was just a few years old, the family had sent him away to be a test subject. To be precise, he had been sold to the laboratory, allowing the family to acquire a batch of resources in exchange.

Otherwise, with the Nitton Family Head already injured decades ago and the various family members proving to be worthless, they would have collapsed long ago.

Even with some support from the main family, how could they have held on for so long?

It was nothing more than the Church paying to buy him when the Saint Child Project began, all in order to collect enough of the Saint's bloodline.

From that moment on, he had severed all ties with the family.

For over ten years, he had been subjected to countless experiments. There was torture, there was agony, and death shadowed his every step.

It was not until he grew older and the research for the Saint Child Project shifted toward cultivating embryos from scratch that the attention on him gradually diminished.

By then, having failed to produce any significant results for a long time, he and several other "failed Saint Children" were finally released to serve as "phased products" working for the laboratory.

Lord Guilliman had discovered them and chosen to bring them to his side to teach them.

It could be said that the moment he was personally sold off by his family, his identity as a human being was stripped away. Even after being released from the laboratory, he was still just a "product," not a living, breathing person.

His humanity had been bestowed back upon him by Guilliman.

Therefore, no matter what befell the family, he truly did not care. The only reason he did not kick them while they were down, or cut off all relations immediately, was out of consideration for his own Saint's essence.

However, judging from the behavior of the Family Head and Leydo, it was highly likely that someone had obtained information related to him through them.

Who could it be?

For once, a rare spark of interest flickered within Rhine.

The Saint Child Project had a very glaring flaw. The bloodlines of all the original Saint Children had been artificially adjusted and injected with massive amounts of potions, leaving their bodies brimming with various types of "energy."

In other words, every single one of them, these "failed Saint Children," could essentially be used as a rare "medicinal ingredient."

Those who knew this were mostly individuals connected to the former Saint Child Project.

Which meant that whoever was targeting him was likely an old acquaintance.

"Or rather, an old acquaintance I am not entirely familiar with," Rhine murmured, taking off his glasses and gently wiping them with a handkerchief.

Later on, Guilliman had personally taken charge and concealed the identities of all the failed Saint Children.

Rhine had also nominally returned to the Nitton Family, under the guise that he had merely been "studying abroad" before.

Those who were particularly familiar with him would naturally recognize who he was.

Only those who were unfamiliar with him would need to verify his identity through the family.

Of course, it was also entirely possible that the other party's goal was not to use him as a "medicinal ingredient."

The Saint Child Project from back then had left behind a massive, chaotic mess.

After all, it was an experimental project that spanned twenty years and involved multiple Saint's bloodline families.

There were also countless byproducts like them—creations that could neither be called successes nor outright failures.

After that brief moment of excitement, Rhine put his glasses back on, his emotions returning to their usual cold indifference.

He began to seriously ponder who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, and whether their arrival at this moment would interfere with the plans he was currently executing.

As for the possibility that those people might try to make a move against him, Rhine could not care less.

It was simply impossible for him to lose!