Chapter 2: The Holy Light Trial

When the twelve wall lamps flickered back to life,my blade of light was firmly pressed against Roger's Adam's apple.His sword was drawn three inches,with necromantic runes writhing like living creatures on the inner wall of the scabbard.Gasps rippled through the audience—on the second son of the Black family's sword,there was a soul-devouring curse that the Church had explicitly forbidden.

"Father should have told you,"I rotated the light blade,searing a charred mark on his neck,"what a miserable end awaits an heir who secretly practices dark magic?"

"Slander!"Roger's pupils turned an unnatural grayish-white,as if possessed by a demon,"It was you who used the dark element..."

The flock of crows suddenly let out an extremely shrill cry.The petals of the black roses instantly condensed into sharp arrows,striking and knocking away his sword.The moment the scabbard shattered the stained-glass window,I flicked my finger,shooting out a thread of dark element,pinning the vaporizing necromantic runes firmly in mid-air.

"Do I need to summon the Eye of Judgment to verify?"I stared intently at my father,who sat pale as paper in the VIP seat,"Or perhaps have the Cardinal conduct a purification ritual on the spot?"

The Cardinal's staff slammed into the ground,and golden chains appeared out of thin air,tightly binding Roger.As the holy fire began to burn the necromantic runes,my dear brother finally let out an inhuman scream—his left hand was visibly growing repulsive necrotic spots at an alarming rate.

Eileen's attempt to sneak towards the side door froze.I had already ensnared her ankles with shadow chains.This accomplice who had helped kill Lila in my previous life now fell clumsily on the altar steps,like a butterfly trapped in a spider's web.

"And you,my dear,"I crouched down,picking up the pearl hairpin she had dropped.Light elements spread along her hair,instantly charring the carefully arranged side locks,"The potion you spilled in my study three days ago,it should have been mixed with fogweed juice,right?"

Upon hearing this,the Holy Knights immediately and resolutely sealed the doors.The Cardinal took the hairpin,gave it a light sniff,and the crystal ball at the top of his staff immediately displayed an image from three days ago:a vial of green liquid hidden in a secret pocket under Eileen's skirt.

"Fogweed can induce magical overload,"I turned to the representative of the Alchemists'Guild in the audience,"Shall I prepare an antidote on the spot to verify the concentration of toxins in this young lady's blood?"

The Cardinal's mistress suddenly screamed and lunged at the Cardinal:"This bastard is lying!Roger just passed the Church's review last month..."

Her voice was cut short.I unfurled the handkerchief stained with Lila's blood,and dark elements held the blood droplets together to form a curse—exactly the variant of the soul-devouring curse on Roger's sword scabbard.

"Feeding necromantic runes with your own sister's blood,"I stomped hard on Roger's right hand that was trying to form a seal,"Do I need to summon an astrologer to trace back the curse ritual?"

The entire dome-shaped testing field erupted in an instant.As the Holy Knights dragged Roger away with magical manacles,I keenly noticed the Cardinal's mistress secretly crushing a communication crystal.This woman thought no one saw the wisteria pattern on her cuff,but she didn't know that I had changed the surveillance runes in the castle on the first day of my rebirth.

"Now,"I turned to face the Cardinal,my gaze resolute and fearless,"it's time to fulfill the promise."

As the bronze gates of the Holy Temple's library slowly opened at dawn,the copper key in my embrace suddenly levitated.The"Twin Canon,"which should have been managed by the High Priest,automatically turned its pages.The yellowed pages displayed a three-dimensional projection of Lila's hospital room—the gray mist entwined around her heart was the mother of the soul-devouring curse.

"So that's how it is."I bit my fingertip and drew an inverted cross on the canon.Dark and light elements slowly moved along the patterns on the mithril box.The moment the box lid popped open,the emerald brooch left by my mother shot out a brilliant beam of light,uprooting the curse in the hospital room.

The family physician,who rushed over,nearly shattered the diagnostic box.Lila on the hospital bed suddenly sat up and coughed out a blood clot entwined with dark energy.The cawing of crows came from outside the window.I saw my reflection in the glass—my left eye had turned into a clock gear pattern.This was the beginning of the price for time reversal.

"Brother..."Lila's fingertips were still stained with blood,but she smiled and raised the gleaming family crest,"You've taken back what belongs to you."

I touched the inheritance rune at the bottom of the mithril box.Suddenly,a deafening explosion came from the direction of the castle.A magical messenger owl crashed through the window,with a bloody note tied to its leg:underground altar,necromantic transformation array,and the names of thirty-seven missing maids.

In the morning light,I put on the new robe embroidered with the symbols of light and darkness.It was time to let those rats hiding in the shadows know what a terrifying experience it was to be targeted by the Godslayer.