Demon Bible

Chapter 201: Lilian

As it turned out, many so-called unexpected situations occurred precisely where one least expected them.

Conversely, the areas one anticipated and prepared for rarely presented any problems at all.

The clerics took a trip to the Medical Merchant Guild to convey Nemus's will, and the guild promptly fell into absolute silence.

Nemus's message was exceedingly clear. The Church's reform was strictly the Church's business.

During this process of reform, opportunists who had previously relied on the Church's rules to turn a profit had absolutely no right to voice any opposition.

"You are just like beggars. We move along a fixed route, and having discovered this path, you sit here every day, surviving on the coins you beg from us."

"Now that we have changed our route, it does not mean we are obligated to consider how the beggars will survive."

"If you cannot survive, then go die."

The Church served God. Its duty was to manage the faithful and those who might eventually convert to the faith.

These merchants were not in service to the Church.The Medical Merchant Guild was thoroughly stung by such nakedly ruthless words.

However, their hot heads quickly cooled down in the aftermath.

The lingering terror from the Church's previous battles against local noble families, followed by Gotthard's arrival and the oppressive suppression of his Gold Will, had yet to dissipate.

At best, these merchant guilds employed a few Black Iron Rank guards. If they managed to scrounge up enough resources to produce a single Iron Rank combatant, it would already be considered incredibly impressive.

Under such circumstances, what could they possibly use to fight the Church?

Yet, while the Medical Merchant Guild presented no issues and was perfectly deterred into submission, a real problem surfaced over at Westbin's household.

Zoven had disappeared.

Westbin's family hailed from the Lillian Family. Among them, only Westbin and his son Zoven had awakened the Fae Bloodline.

Therefore, as it stood, only Zoven's blood could be used as the crucial material to complete the potion.

Zoven's family had been perfectly cooperative up until now, but today, the boy vanished without a trace.

'Have I relaxed my vigilance over Westbin's family these past six months?'

'Have I grown slack?' Nemus asked himself, only to realize that such a thing was truly difficult to determine.

The surveillance on Westbin's family had been continuous.

Perhaps it could not be called lowering his guard, but since the methods of observation had not been further strengthened, it certainly felt like a lapse in attention.

His impression of Zoven had remained stuck in the past, viewing him as a little child who knew nothing and understood even less.

In reality, over the past half year, Zoven had been progressing at a staggering pace.

As for growing slack, Nemus had been secretly researching Fae Power all this time.

He was attempting to acquire Fae Power without relying on Fey Blood, all to gain the ability of Observing History. However, the progress of this research was far from fast.

Even now, he had yet to obtain any new Fae Power.

After all, this power was inherently profound and mystical in nature.

Slow progress was completely understandable.

Yet, a total lack of results could easily be labeled as slacking off.

Ultimately, what was originally meant to be a ten-year plan had unexpectedly been pushed to this stage in merely half a year.

Nemus narrowed his eyes, gazing at Westbin's family as they sat in their chairs, simply waiting for death.

Among them, some feared death, yet concealed a deep sense of joy.

Others were brimming with resentment, furious that Zoven had disregarded them and failed to take them along when he fled.

But regardless of whether they felt joy or resentment, the only thing lingering around them now was absolute despair.

Outside, countless people were currently praising Nemus for a job well done, claiming he had saved their lives. But those were just the ordinary citizens.

They were the ones enjoying the benefits brought by Nemus's absolute control.

Westbin's family, however, knew exactly how brutal and heartless of an entity Nemus truly was.

"Do you have anything you wish to say?" Nemus opened the Book of Ages, casually asking for their final words.

Without Fey Blood, the Historical Trajectory would not entirely slip from Nemus's grasp, and his sharp perception of impending trends had long been established.

However, he could no longer use the Book of Ages to perceive the finer, more intricate details.

This would cause Nemus to lose a massive advantage.

Fortunately, his prolonged perusal of the Book of Ages allowed him to rely on the Revelation of the Breath of Holy Precepts and his Destiny Perception. Through these, he could indirectly sense enough to know the situation was not completely out of control.

Zoven's escape was absolutely not a spur-of-the-moment decision; there must have been subtle clues in his daily life.

The fact that these people had failed to report anything to Nemus and allowed Zoven to slip away meant the fault lay entirely with them.

Whether they had chosen to conceal the truth or genuinely noticed nothing, it no longer mattered. Unless Zoven returned right this second, their deaths were a certainty.

"Zoven should have thought of this when he ran away anyway. If he didn't care about your lives, why should I care about his feelings?"

"You cannot control history! You will only be crushed to death by it!"

"No, I am innocent! Zoven and I weren't even close..."

"Spare me! I will help you find Zoven!"

In the final moments of life, it truly was a case of a thousand people showing a thousand different faces.

"Purr," Nemus called out. The next second, the body of Purr, who stood right beside Nemus, began to transform as dark spots surfaced across his skin.

In an instant, Westbin's entire family levitated into the air. A moment later, a crushing, immense weight descended upon them.

Standing on the other side of Nemus, Krew adjusted his glasses, completely ignoring the fresh blood splattered across the lenses.

Then, a Crimson Magic Array overflowing with an overwhelmingly evil aura materialized.

A massive amount of crimson fluid merged together and began to bubble and gurgle. Countless vengeful wraiths and spirits within continuously emanated a thick, suffocating presence.

Before long, however, these vengeful spirits began to converge.

After fifteen minutes, a blood-red butterfly crawled its way out of the crimson pool.

It shook the viscous fluid from its wings and fluttered directly toward Krew.

Krew extended a hand to catch it, his eyes fluttering shut.

"I sense him. He has not left the town," Krew declared as he opened his eyes, swiftly providing Zoven's exact coordinates.

"Then find him and drag him out!"

Following Nemus's command, his subordinates immediately sprang into action.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tail Fin Town, a sudden chill shot down Zoven's spine. His entire body felt as though it had been completely drained of strength.

"Zoven! Zoven!" Just then, a palm-sized little creature with two pairs of green, leaf-like wings appeared a short distance away, frantically calling his name.

"Hah... hah... What is it?!" Zoven gasped, looking over at the little creature. "Lilian?"

"Something terrible has happened! If you don't run right now, you'll never escape!" the Fae, who shared her name with the ancestral family from which Westbin originated, cried out in absolute panic.

"The problem is... I just realized I can't leave." Zoven raised his arm. At some unknown point in time, a ring of peculiar runes had surfaced on his skin, restricting his range of movement.

There was simply no way for him to leave Tail Fin Town.

"It's the Church's Sealing Art. I can't believe that man was so cautious. I didn't even notice this thing before." Lilian fluttered over to Zoven's side and inspected the mark, finding herself entirely helpless against the seal.

"And after I already helped you break the contract and pull that Parasitic Artifact out of your body, too..."